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On January 30 we presented “Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat” at the Northwest Development Officers Association conference.  It was a real thrill to be asked to present, to meet new people, and to meet people who have been following Better Fundraising For All.

We spoke about how following a rhythm of Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat increases revenue and builds relationship with your donors.

If you’d like a copy of our presentation, as well as a copy of the Annual Fundraising Planning spreadsheet we showed at the conference, just sign up on the right!

Steven was recently featured in Movie Mondays talking about how he improved performance for a nonprofit’s newsletter.  If you want your newsletter to raise more money, watch the 7-minute video and apply the three principals!

We trained several organizations in 2012 on our fundraising system; Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat.  The system quickly shows why most fundraising isn’t very effective and then just as quickly shows you how to raise more money right away.  Take a look at this 1-minute video of Jim and we look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks ahead!

Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat from Steven Screen on Vimeo.

Here's Jim Shapiro summarizing how the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat system helps you raise more money – especially for Major Donors.

Thank you to the over 240 BFFA followers who signed up for the “Raise More Money Before December 31st” information campaign.  We received positive year-end fundraising reports from across the globe.  If you have a positive update, please post it here on the blog.

The most powerful secret in fundraising from Steven Screen on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Seth Godin for recently writing about Weber-Fechner law.  Here’s how Seth explains the law:

• It’s easier to tell the difference between two bags of flour that are three ounces apart in weight when one weighs a pound, than it is to tell the difference between two bags that are three ounces apart when one weighs twenty pounds.
• It’s easier to tell the difference between two flashlights that are 6 lumens apart when one is just 2 lumens bright than it is to tell them apart when one is 200 lumens.
• The more stimulus you’re getting (light, sound, pressure, delight, sadness) the less easily you can notice a small change. That seems obvious, but it’s worth saying.

What does that have to do with fundraising?  A lot, these days.  There are 1,500,000 nonprofits in our country today.  The vast majority of them are fundraising.  That’s a lot of noise and stimulus.  And the average donor can’t tell them all apart. Are you cutting through the noise?  Does your messaging really stand out, quickly and powerfully?  Really?  Or does it blend in? Here’s what Weber-Fechner means for your nonprofit; you need to be willing to stand out in the crowd if you want attention (read; to raise money effectively).  This means you’re going to receive complaints and that some people aren’t going to like you.  This means you’re going to have to communicate to your donors more often than you think you do.  Or you can muddle along in the middle.

The people you’re serving are important, right?   Are they important enough for you to be edgy and bold enough to get attention?  If you aren’t, what’s holding you back?

NPR’s Fall Fund Drive began today.  I’m always struck by how many things NPR does right in their fundraising, so let’s take a look at what we fundraisers can learn from them…

1. They always talk to one person.  The announcers are always saying things like, “That’s where you come in,” “you make the programming on this station possible,” and “We need you to become a Member today.”  Unlike too many nonprofits who sound like they are talking to everybody at once, they talk directly to me.  It’s very effective.
2. They know the power of repetition.  This Fund Drive will be a constant part of their programming for a couple weeks.  Why?  They know that if they only ask once or twice not enough people will give.  So why do too many nonprofits only ask their donors for money a couple times a year?  They should learn the important fact that NPR knows; not everyone is able to give at the same time, so give people lots of chances to give.  Nonprofits, you should ask for money more often.  You’ll get a few complaints but you’ll get FAR more people who are happy to help.  And you’ll do more good.
3. Finally, they make specific Asks based on listener preference.  During news programs they ask for support to pay for their news gathering.   During entertainment and arts programming, they ask for support for those shows.  All of the funds are undesignated, but they craft their asks around what they know the listener likes.  Nonprofits, you can do the same thing.  Send out fundraising appeals and newsletters themed around specific programs.  Some of your fundraising can be more general, but the more specific you can get around interesting, life-changing programs you’re running, the better.

In our “Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat” system, we teach the same things; talk directly to your donors, ask them often, and be specific when you do.  These are the bedrock principals of Asking well.

But for today, just make your fundraising more like NPR’s and you’ll likely raise more money.

Yesterday I received an email from a nonprofit I support.  The entire email was about the great things the organization was doing.  Then they asked me for a gift so that they could do more great things.

Think with me for just a moment.  Imagine how much more powerful the email would have been if it told me about all the great things I was doing with my gifts, and then asked for another gift so that I could do more great things?

There is no way we can say it enough times; you should spend less time talking about your organization and what it’s doing, and spend more time talking about what your donors can do (and have done) with their gifts.

Donors want to accomplish something with each and every gift they give.  When you’re asking for money, if you tell donors what their gift will accomplish they are more likely to make a gift.  When you’re reporting back on what their previous gifts did (you do report back, don’t you?), if you tell them what they accomplished they will be happier about their gift — and therefore more likely to give another gift.

Next time you ask your donors to make a gift, don’t ask them to give a gift to your organization.  Ask them to give a gift to do something specific.  You’ll raise more money.

If you want to be a successful fundraiser (or fundraising organization) you need to do these three things well.  You’d be surprised how much else you can throw out the window if you get this right.

Ask: ask your donors to send in a gift.  Don’t dance around it, ask them to make a gift right now.  Ask them multiple times and be very specific about what you want them to do.  And here’s a tip the fundraising Pro’s use; don’t ask donors to send money, ask them to solve a problem.  For instance, ask donors to ‘feed one hungry person’ or ‘rescue one pet.’  Donors like to solve specific problems, so present a problem and ask the donor to solve it.

===> But you have to ask.

Thank: Thank your donors each time they make a gift and thank them quickly (we recommend in 48 hours or less).  Most organizations thank their donors in a mundane, legalistic way.  Instead, your goal should be to make your donors feel incredibly appreciated and that the gift they just gave is going to change the world.

Report: Donor’s want to know what happened with their gift.  You need to make sure there is a prominent part of your fundraising communications that’s dedicated to showing donors what their gifts did.  (The best way we’ve seen to do this is via human stories told in a newsletter format, but that’s not your only option.)  After all, if your donors don’t feel like their gift made a difference, why would they give another gift?

Ask, Thank, Report.  Your fundraising communications should be built on these three things.  You’ll raise more money — and have happier donors — if you get this right.