Have you started thinking about your year-end appeal yet?
You might be seeing some social media posts and emails that will make you think you need to do a deep dive into your data, or order your special labels early to avoid disappointment, or undertake some kind of online integration exorcism in order to get on top of your workload and your life.
I call “reindeer sh!t” on that.
If you’re into the tactics of your holiday or year-end appeal now, you’re out of touch. How can you possibly know what will be the most important or impactful or beautiful story your charity has to offer 6 months from now?
Instead of focusing on your own schedule, I urge you to focus on your donors. What are they doing right now? They are likely not thinking about your holiday appeal! Spend the next few months focusing on what their experience will be WHEN they give. You’ve got loads of time to develop the right offer, story and campaign to move your donors and communities of supporters to give. But what is far too often rushed or is an afterthought is the donor’s experience AFTER they’ve given.
As my friend and mentor Tammy Zonker says, “When you are present to gratitude, amazing things happen.”
Here are 6 simple, crucial things you can do right now to improve your donor’s giving experience as you head into your fall, holiday and year-end cycle.
Destroy all your thank you letters. For real. I believe in creating a custom thank you letter for each appeal. It speaks directly to what you just asked for, it shares a bit more of the story and promises to keep the donor informed about their gift in action. And you likely have a standard thank you letter that goes out every time a donor gives an unsolicited or non-campaign specific gift. Eviscerate it. If you have lots of unsolicited gifts, create a protocol where you update that letter frequently, working to ensure that no donor gets the same thank you letter twice
Make an online gift to your own charity. See what happens. Most charities raise most of their money online during the fall and holiday season. And most online giving experiences are devoid of emotion and gratitude. Now is the time to reflect on how you can make your online giving experience (and the follow-up plan and strategy) stronger.
Pick up the phone and pick up a pen. Warning! This might not be measurable and might not immediately improve your retention rates. But if you’re staring out the window wishing you were having a margarita on a sunny patio, instead please pick up the phone or a pen and call or write to one (or a few) donors. Just to say thank you. You’ll love what happens, I promise.
Start open conversations. In your newsletters, or on your social media, provide an open space for donors to share what they think, what they would like to see more of, what stories or projects resonate with them most. And respond to each one, personally.
Take a moment and think about your high-value donors. Monthlies, mid-level and donors who have given every year for 20 years (or 10 or 5 or whatever math makes sense). What can you do this fall or year-end to make their experience remarkable? How can you pull aside a small enough segment of donors to treat them like gold? What does that look like? What does that feel like?
As you head through the summer and into the fall, remember that the season to give is not a reason to give. When you are ready for your fall, holiday and year-end activities, what are the project priorities you want to focus on? How can you turn that into a great offer? Start conversations with program staff and/or beneficiaries. Worst case scenario is that you start a story bank and have more than one great story to pick up when you get there in the fall.
So instead of filling your July with jingle bells and reindeer droppings, instead fill it with gratitude and love for your donors.
