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Planned Giving: When Age Is Really A State Of
Mind
Sometimes age is just a number. Just ask action-packed star
Harrison Ford, 67, or siren songstress Tina Turner, 69, about
the numbers. In a time where 60 is the new 40, when do you tell
someone about your planned giving program? And more importantly
-- do you need to change how you approach people?
If your materials feature lace dollies and knitting
grandmothers, it’s time to reevaluate your planned giving
approach, according to Dan Pritchard, director of planned giving
at Chicago-based Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, and Kathy
Swayze, owner, president and creative director of Impact
Communications, Inc., based in Washington, D.C.
To read the complete article click
here...
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Communications ...
7 ideas for getting to
the donor's heart
Fundraisers have more communications channels
than ever – direct mail, your homepage, direct response
television, Facebook. The options can make your head spin. But
you have to ask yourself, how do you make your messages
count?
Sarah Burdi, assistant vice president of Falls
Church, Va. based InovaHealth System Foundation; Bruce Wenger,
vice president of client services and senior consultant for
Henderson, Nev.-based IDC, Ltd.; and Jessica Harrington, vice
president of Philadelphia headquartered Schultz & Williams,
outlined some key messaging strategies at the recent Bridge to
Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference, in National
Harbor, Md.
Here’s how to start getting the most out
of your messages:
-
Focus on core mission. When you drift away
from your mission, donors get confused and might think you
aren’t utilizing the donations. Make your donation
messages strong and relate back to your true mission.
-
Tell a story. The messages get lost in a sea
of statistics. Drive your message down into a story for your
donor to make an emotional connection.
-
Find your unique voice. Messages from
individuals, such as your organization’s CEO, could drive
response higher than the faceless organization. Make it someone
your donors would respect and want to hear from.
-
Be thankful. Let your donors know that your
organization is grateful for their contribution. Try to include
where the gift helped or include information about the overall
campaign, so donors know they were a part of a larger
movement.
-
Listen to donors and report back.
Communication shouldn’t be a one-way street. Ask donors to
give their opinions about what the organization is doing. Then,
thank them for their input and write what will happen with those
results.
-
Be specific. Give donors choices, such as
different donation amounts, to focus their attention.
-
Create urgency whenever possible. It can get
donors to react fast. But don’t slap “urgent”
on every communication -- it could desensitize your donors for
when you really have a crisis. |
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Database ...
5 ways to boost response
because of data
You work hard gathering data about your
donors to create a richer donor database. Now it’s time
for that donor database information to work for you.
There are a variety of ways you can use
data to help increase response, drive a higher average gift or
mail less if you think strategically, explained Janet Winston,
vice president of analytics at Fairfax, Va.-based SCA Direct,
and Lisa Maska, partner at Washington, D.C.-based Lautman,
Maska, Neill & Company.
Winston and Maska gave some data-driven
examples at the recent Bridge to Integrated Marketing &
Fundraising Conference, in National Harbor, Md.
Here are
some tips:
- Analyze past giving behavior. Some
mailings, such as your premium package, can be expensive. Why
should you send out a high-dollar premium to donors who will not
respond to the mailing, year-after-year? Mail premiums to those
who are the best premium responders and create a non-premium
package for the others you want to mail.
- Segment for sensitive issues. Your donors
might come to your organization in many different ways. You
might want to send mail regarding contentious topics to those
donors who may be most likely to respond based on past interest.
That way, you are reaching donors who care about the issue
without alienating other donors.
- Use behavior data. Winston and Maska gave
the example of one organization adding people who signed a gift
shop guestbook, requested online premiums or purchased
merchandise in acquisition appeals. Nearly 3 percent converted
to donors. See if you have behavior data you can use for your
acquisition, such as volunteering.
- Reference past gifts in the copy. Think
about using transactional data from your last annual appeal to
sort out those donors who gave the year before. Make reference
in the copy to last year’s gift and thank the donors. That
might push them to make another gift this year.
- Use additional data in the copy.
Organizations that used affinity or interest data to incorporate
in the copy usually see an increase in revenue and/or response.
It shows that donors appreciate being recognized for their
individuality.
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Donors
...
Knowing that you can make the
ask
One of thoughts attributed to automobile titan Henry Ford is:
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t --
you’re right.”
If you are nervous that you can’t make that major gift
ask, you might be already dooming yourself to that
destiny.
It’s time to get over that fear of asking, according to
Barbara Ciconte, senior vice president of consulting services at
Donor Strategies, Inc., in Chevy Chase, Md., and Jeanne Jacob,
executive director of Goodwin House Foundation in Alexandria,
Va., at the recent Bridge to Integrated Marketing &
Fundraising Conference, in National Harbor, Md.
Ciconte and Jacob explained that you need to have confidence
in the mission and the program for the ask to be successful. You
should also take time to research the prospect and tailor the
presentation to that particular donor’s wants and needs
instead of biting your fingernails.
Ciconte and Jacob recommended that instead of worrying about
the unknown; focus on ten roadblocks to a successful
solicitation:
- Not asking for the gift
- Not asking for a large enough gift
- Not listening or talking too much
- Talking only about the organization and its structure
instead of the those who benefit from the organization’s
services
- Making your presentation sound like a rehearsed sales
pitch
- Ignoring honest objections from the donor
- Not having pre-arranged signals between fundraising team
members
- Asking for the gift too soon
- Not being flexible and not having alternatives for the donor
to think about
- Speaking after asking for the gift instead of giving some
time for silence
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