Category: Repeat

Hello from San Antonio!

Steven Screen  |  Repeat
BF Team photo.

The team from Better Fundraising and I wanted to say “Hi!” from the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference here in San Antonio!

If you’re here, please come and say hello. If you’re not here, I hope you can make plans to come to next year’s conference in San Diego.

If you were expecting a blog today and would still like to read one, here are a couple of posts that can make a real difference in your fundraising:

Your Fundraising IS the Relationship

The Gap and The Gift

I have to run and give a session. Thanks for being a Fundraiser!

Smeared Ink, Human Connection and Donor Love

John Lepp  |  Repeat
Letter

Editor’s Note: the following is a guest post from John Lepp of Agents Of Good.  John’s book, Creative Deviations, is a master class in how to *think* about fundraising.  Yes there are lots of tactics and cool ideas to steal.  But if you can start thinking the way John thinks you will unlock your ability to raise money.  ~Steven

I like talking about the 1,000 things you can do in your direct response program because it speaks to the obsessiveness you must have about our craft. It also highlights the humanness of our craft.

Everyone is looking to automate since it is less work, more profitable (HIGHLY debatable) and faster…

BUT: human connection and love are not check boxes, my friends. There are no short cuts, magic bullets or quick ways to build meaningful connections with other people.

I want to share a few examples with you.

My pal Francesco Ambrogetti (formerly the director of development at UNICEF Italy) created a “Donorlove Department.” He would test all sorts of things to see what would increase a donor’s lifetime value and retention rates.

And he found that he could do that by doing two of the simplest, most human things possible.

He would send a handwritten card within 48 hours of getting a gift. The card simply shared that the donor’s specific gift was received, expressed gratitude and appreciation and reiterated what the gift was used for. He would also call donors on their birthday or the anniversary of their gift. A phone call. To say thank you.

A card. A phone call.

These two things helped him see a 30% increase in retention and 50% increase in the lifetime value.

A card and a phone call. Forget all the shiny objects and gee-whiz factor of technology…

A couple other ones I like to share are things like paperclips. Or stamps. Or smeared ink.

A card or photo or insert paperclipped to your letter sends a signal to your donor that a human was involved – quite simply since machines CANNOT attach paper clips to things.

A stamp (or many, many stamps) on your envelope WILL get looked at and noticed. The more the merrier… especially when placed willy-nilly and on angles. Machines and computers do not do things WILLY NILLY… Humans do!

I am left-handed. So whenever I address an envelope or write in a card, I smear my ink all over the place. Computers don’t do that. They are perfect.

Imperfections make for incredibly effective (and profitable) direct response. They will help you raise a lot more money.

These are just a few quick examples of things I have included in Creative Deviations. You can find it on Amazon or Apple Books around the world.

I would love for you to get yourself a copy, dive in and tell me (john@agentsofgood.org) what you think. Unless you hate it.

Editor’s Note: Steven here again. Get John’s book. Really. 

Why your direct response fundraising should be like a Hallmark Christmas movie…

Sarah Lundberg  |  Repeat
Hallmark

Something strange happens to me at the end of October.

I’m a smart, logical, educated person who appreciates arts and culture.

But at the end of October when Hallmark Christmas movies start playing 24/7, I turn into… someone else. Someone who will watch movie after movie with essentially the same characters and the same plot. Someone who tears up at the end of the movie when the lovers FINALLY kiss and then a gentle snow begins to fall.

Sigh. It’s so sappy.

But I’m a direct response fundraiser, so I notice something else.

A Hallmark Christmas movie reminds me of effective direct response fundraising. It’s formulaic. You know what’s coming next. The plot is easy to follow. And you may tear up because, gosh dang it, it’s emotional!

And it works.

Every year, they make more of these movies because people – like me – are watching them!

Sometimes we try to make our direct mail fundraising appeals into something more like a Cannes Film Festival entry. Complex. Ironic. Edgy. Different.

But that just doesn’t work as well.

If you want to appeal to the highest number of donors, your direct mail fundraising should be more like a Hallmark Christmas movie.

Here’s the basic formula:

  • Tell them why you’re writing to them
  • Share the problem that needs to be solved
  • Tell how the problem could be solved
  • Ask the donor to give a gift to solve the problem
  • Go into more detail about the problem and solution
  • Include a story that illustrates the problem (optional)
  • Ask them to give again
  • Signature and title
  • P.S. Ask them to give again and include the deadline.

Listen. I get it. Near the end of every single Hallmark Christmas movie, I grumble and complain and wonder why I watch these silly movies.

Then the snow starts to fall and there’s a magical kiss and I’m a puddle on the floor.

There’s something about that feeling…

The direct response formula isn’t a secret. Simple. Easy to follow. Emotional. Maybe a little bit of magic… These things help donors get to the point where they will write a check to make something good happen.

Follow the formula with your next direct response fundraising appeal or email and let me know how it goes!

Comment here or find me on Twitter @sarahlundberg.
Sarah

Less is Less

Steven Screen  |  Repeat
Less is Less

Most organizations would agree that “Less is less” when it comes to fundraising.

If you ask less, you’ll raise less.

But the converse is also true: if you ask more, you’ll raise more.

If your organization believes that “less is less,” but doesn’t believe that “more is more,” you’ve placed a boundary around the generosity of your donors.

It’s worth asking how that boundary came to be.

Most organizations (and the people working in them) are afraid of being rejected when asking for money. So they set the boundary out of fear.

But like most boundaries that are placed out of fear, they are pretty limiting. The boundary around your donors’ generosity limits how much they will give to your organization, and how much money you can raise.

If you can remove your boundary – and embrace the truth of “more is more” – you’ll unlock your donors’ generosity and you’ll do more good.

Practice On Your Non-Donors

Steven Screen  |  Repeat
try

Want to become a more effective Fundraiser but your organization won’t allow you to send out enough fundraising to really improve your craft?

Practice on your non-donors.

Get permission to send more fundraising to the non-donors on your email list.

After all, you have nothing to lose with those folks, right? And the purpose of your email list is for members of the list to be turned into donors, right?

If people in your organization question you, focus their attention on how the organization has said that you need more new donors, and that’s exactly what you are trying to do.

The side benefit is that you and your organization will be more effective fundraisers because of it.

If your CRM setup means you don’t know which of the email addresses on your list are donors or non-donors, you have an extra step to take. Create an email list for your test sends, and from that list remove any addresses that look like they might be for your major donors, board members, staff and foundations.

Then start to try stuff. Send an e-appeal that tries a new approach. Try sending a “breathless dispatch from the front line” instead of the “standard sanitized perfectly-proofed update.” Send two e-appeals in a week. Send out a survey designed to get legacy giving leads.

It might be a bit messy. But it’s all practice that will make you more effective.

Organizations that want to get more effective at Fundraising allow little “messes” like these in order to learn and grow. As I said last week, “Ship your work. Get feedback. Improve it. Repeat.”

If you’re not regularly practicing, chances are you’re not getting more effective.

The Long Cut

Steven Screen  |  Repeat
improve

“Ship your work. Get feedback. Improve it. Repeat.”

This lesson comes from the Tech and Art worlds, but it applies perfectly to fundraising.

Every time you send out a piece of fundraising, you’ve shipped your work. Celebrate it.

Then you get feedback in opens, click-throughs, # of gifts, response rate, etc. Measure it.

Then you ask, “What could we do to get more opens, click-throughs, etc.?” Improve it.

Then you keep it up. Because when you repeat the cycle, you get the “compound interest” of ever-improving results.

Ship your work. Get feedback. Improve it. Repeat.

It’s not sexy. But it’s a priceless way to serve your beneficiaries or cause.

“It’s Too Easy to Read!” The One Complaint I’ve Never Heard from a Donor

Sarah Lundberg  |  Repeat

In my 20 years of nonprofit work, there’s one complaint I have NEVER heard from a donor.

I’ve never heard a donor complain that something is too easy to read and understand.

But interestingly enough… that IS something a lot of organizations worry about.

The worry goes something like this:

  • “We don’t want donors to think we’re talking down to them!”
  • “That doesn’t sound like our executive director!”
  • “Our donors are different… they are educated!”

There’s a Steven Screen saying that I have on a sticky note next to my computer screen: “Nobody has to read your fundraising.”

Painful… but true!

If you don’t make your fundraising easy to read, most donors will stop trying.

That’s why you need to do the work to make your fundraising communications easy to read.

When you make your fundraising communications easy to read and understand, more donors will read. And that will lead to you raising more money.

Here are three simple things you can do to make your communications easier to read.

  • Use short sentences.
  • Use words that are easy to understand (and limit organizational jargon!).
  • Don’t be afraid of sentence fragments or starting a sentence with And or But.

Here’s the thing…

This has nothing to do with how smart your donors are. Your donors ARE smart – I get it! But your donors are busy, and they have a bunch of things competing for their attention at any given moment.

So… you must do the hard work to make things simple and easy to understand.

It’s worth it – I promise!

Before I go, I want to share a free resource you can use to help you make your fundraising communications easy to understand. I use it all the time!

https://hemingwayapp.com/

Copy and paste your text and Hemingway will assign a reading level and highlight complex sentences. Aim for a 6th – 7th grade reading level.

When you do the hard work to make your fundraising communications easy to read and understand, your donors are more likely to give. It’s that simple! Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Find me on Twitter @sarahlundberg.

Fundraising “Decision Razors”

Steven Screen  |  Repeat
razor

Over the weekend I was introduced to the term “decision razor” – a rule of thumb that simplifies decision making.

Turns out that “Occam’s razor” is one of several decision “razors” that allow you to “shave off” possibilities you can ignore, steps you don’t need to take, or discussions you don’t need to have…

I bring this up because decision razors allow Fundraisers to make better decisions faster. They allow Fundraisers and organizations to “shave off” valuable time and potentially bad decisions by applying one core principle.

Here are five of my fundraising decision razors. They’ve proven helpful and successful over the years.

Razor #1

If a tactic or approach is effective for the donors of several organizations, chances are it will be effective for your organization’s donors.

When I suggest a new tactic or approach to an organization, I often hear, “Oh, that would never work with our donors/donors for our sector/donors in our country.”

In truth, it’s the opposite; if the tactic or approach works for a lot of other organizations, it’s more likely it will work for yours.

Razor #2

When deciding whether to add another piece of fundraising to donors, go ahead and add it unless you have numerical data that shows that previous additions resulted in reduced net revenue or retention rates.

If you don’t have numerical data, you’re flying blind. And if your organization is having trouble with this issue, read this.

Razor #3

Little of what you write will be read.

Most donors will scan – not read – your donor communications.

So you should create your materials knowing that most people won’t read the whole thing. This results in a style of communication that gets the point quickly and highlights the ideas that are most important to the donor – which is proven to work GREAT in fundraising communications.

Razor #4

Most donors care more about the beneficiaries or cause than they care about the organization itself.

Creating donor communications that are mostly about your cause and/or beneficiaries, and less about your organization / programs / staff / beliefs / etc., will generally raise more money.

Razor #5

The amount of communications you send to donors is a signal about how important your work is.

Fundraise a couple times per year? Must not be that important.

Fundraise regularly? Run a campaign that includes two letters, 10 emails and social? That’s one of the things that signals to a donor that “this is important.”

I know it’s hard for smaller organizations to make the time to create donor communications, but that doesn’t make this razor untrue. (And we created Work Less Raise More specifically to combat this problem – we make it crazy quick and easy to create effective fundraising pieces.)

So… are these “decision razors” helpful to you? If so, leave a comment below and I’ll share more of them!

Confidence Not Needed

Steven Screen  |  Repeat
work

This post is for people who are worried about their fundraising work this fall because they aren’t confident that they really know what they’re doing. 

To quote the writer Chuck Wendig,

“The work doesn’t need your confidence. 
The work just needs the work.”

The same is true for fundraising: the fundraising you create doesn’t need your confidence. It just needs your work. 

Yes, there’s lots to learn about fundraising. But always remember that your donors want to help. You are communicating to donors who are friendly to your fundraising. 

So if you aren’t confident in the fundraising you create, I want you to internalize these three truths:

  • Donors care about your beneficiaries.
  • Donors will often give you the benefit of the doubt.
  • Your donors WANT to do good.  They are LOOKING for ways to give away their money to help the world become a better place.

You can raise lots of money without doing “great” fundraising. Your donors want to help!

Make your fundraising, put it in front of your donors, and pay attention to the results.

Do “the work” this year, and by December 31st you’ll have raised money and helped your beneficiaries.  Your confidence is not needed, but your work is.