Future Fundraising Now

Don't dumb down your fundraising -- smart it up

Some fundraisers are terribly afraid "dumbing down" their fundraising.

I think it comes from one (or more) of these sources:

1. Fear that if they don't come across as erudite or sophisticated, their donors will lose respect for them.
   
2. Pride (even arrogance) in their knowledge and education.
   
3. Obliviousness that not everyone (in fact, hardly anyone) sees the world as they see it.
   

Here's what it looks like when writers approach fundraising like that:

Donor support will ensure patients and their families have the resources and support systems in place to maintain optimal mental health, including creating wellness centers, providing personalized navigation assistance, expanding treatments and services and a reimagined outpatient environment that develops innovative solutions for community-wide mental health issues.

This sentence doesn't need to be "dumbed down."

It needs to be "smarted up."

• It needs to be made more readable, with several shorter sentences that have one idea each.
  
• It needs to be about concrete things, not abstractions.
  
• It needs to use the language of the reader, not the jargon of the writer.
  
• It needs to address the reader in a direct way -- not just make an observation about "donor support."
  
• It needs heart.
  

And all that takes skillful, careful, smart writing.

You and I see writing like this in fundraising all the time. The writers no doubt think they're displaying their professionalism and intelligence.

What they're doing is displaying their lack of writing chops.

Few donors will notice, because few will make it beyond the third word of a passage like this. Those who get through will have no idea what it's about, much less what they should do about it.

Next time you're told not to "dumb down" your writing, take a moment to see what you can do do "smart it up." You'll see the result in your fundraising revenue almost immediately.

Your unique voice makes your fundraising fail

The worst thing I've ever been told by a nonprofit client:

Our president has a very strong and unique voice. It's critical that all materials you write for us adhere to that voice.

Every time I've heard this, the result has been the same: The boss' unique writing voice doesn't adjust to effective fundraising writing. In fact, it pretty much outlaws it.

The unique voices of boss after boss are surprisingly similar to each other: formal, complex, hard to read, self-focused, padded out with abstractions.

So fundraising limps along weakly, with tepid response to every campaign.

The odd thing about "voice" in writing is that most people don't recognize it at all. It's something they heard about in some English course a long time ago, not a practical reality in their own writing.

You have to be an experienced writer to grasp the idea of voice. Some of those "unique voice" bosses get that much. But they're unaware of an even more important feature of voice:

Expert writers understand that voice adjusts to its audience.

The very purpose of "voice" is to accomplish a goal.

If you find yourself struggling with a "my unique voice" boss, you have my sympathy. If the boss is a reasonable and insightful person, you may be able to have a fruitful discussion about the issue. You can use the many books and blog posts about effective fundraising writing to make the point.

Some bosses will listen to you. Some won't.

If you're stuck with the second kind, I suggest you start looking for a different job. There are some amazing leaders out there who will let you do your job and thank you for not wrongly applying their voice to the fundraising!

6 ways to raise funds with more emotion

Everyone tells you to use emotions to raise funds.

How, exactly?

Here are some great approaches, from the Hands-On Fundraising Blog, at 6 ways to put more heart into your fundraising today:

1. Sincere thanks. Thank your donors with real gratitude. Wear your heart on your sleeve as you thank them. And be specific about what they did when they gave.
   
2. My correct name means you like me. Make sure your data is clean and that it's easy (and quick) for a donor to fix their name if you have it wrong. Consider asking them what they'd like to be called.
   
3. Friendly language.
   Don't try to impress them with your formal, businesslike language. That doesn't feel nice -- it feels standoffish. Use colloquial, informal, friendly language. And leave out the professional jargon and marketingese.
   
4. Honesty is respect. Tell the truth. Always. Even if it feels awkward. That's how you do it in "real life," and in fundraising.
   
5. Communicating with a full heart. Always. When you ask, when you thank, when you report back ... use the language of the emotions. That's where the action is!
   
6. Worrying less about the dollars and more about the donors.
   No donor owns your budget and your goals the way you do. They only own what they can do. That's what you want to talk to them about: Making the world better with their donation. Stay on that topic, and you can't go wrong!
   

Want to keep your donors? Be repetitive!

Messages that work, work.

I know that's so obvious it's almost silly to say it out loud.

But it has a practical application that most fundraisers don't practice or even know about. This is revealed in a helpful and surprising test described on the GroupThinkers Blog at We tested reactivating newly lapsed donors in acquisition. Here’s what happened.

Background: It's common for large direct mail programs to include lapsed (13-24-month since last donation) in their renewal or cultivation programs. That is, they get pretty much the same treatment that non-lapsed donors get. Also common: Deeply lapsed donors are 25+ months since last donation) are included donor acquisition mailings, meaning they get pretty much what non-donors get.

The test was to send the acquisition pack to half of the 13-24 month lapsed donors. The control: The renewal mailing they would normally get.

Look at the results:

The test group (who got the acquisition pack) responded 2.75x better than the control group. And while the control group brought in slightly above break-even net revenue, the test group was 2,454% higher.

Those are significant results!

It demonstrates something that may surprise you, but is consistently true in almost all situations: If someone has responded to something before, they are highly likely to respond to it again.

Messages that work, work.

Don't be afraid to keep sending out your most powerful messages. They work!

Donor acquisition vs donor cultivation — know the difference to succeed in both [PODCAST]

Donor acquisition — in any medium — has a fundamentally different “ecosystem” form donor cultivation. Knowing the difference will make you far more effective in both.

We discuss the differences in response numbers, cost, messaging, and long-term impact between acquisition and cultivation.

From the archives of the now-defunct podcast Fundraising Is Beautiful. This episode first aired on February 18, 2015. Listen here:

(If you don't see the audio player below, click here to listen.)

Is your direct mail fundraising just a garbage factory?

The use of freemiums in direct mail fundraising -- low-cost items sent to grab donors' attention -- can be a useful tactic. For some organizations, and in some fundraising sectors, it's a price of admission to the fundraising game.

Address labels, notepads, and other low-cost useful items can make the difference between an unsustainable fundraising program and one that works.

But there's a danger of sliding down a slippery slope: needing to send increasingly stand-out (and costly) items: nail clippers, gloves, blankets, calculators ... it goes on and on.

In the direct mail view of the world, these things are high-end luxuries ... but in the real world, they are low quality versions of what they are. You become a garbage factory, churning out crappy stuff and pouring it into the mail.

These things improve response rate -- sometimes by a lot. But they have some downsides:

• High cost of mailing.
  
• Low average gift.
  
• They bring in low-retention donors.
  
• They bring in donors who continually need more stuff in order to keep giving.
  

The garbage factory fundraising strategy gets you more donors, but they have lower value. And it costs you more to get them.

What makes the garbage factory work, in theory, is that hiding among that higher quantity of lower quality donors are a few more high-value people: People who can upgrade to major donor status, become monthly donors, or leave a bequest. It doesn't take a large number of those to make a difference for any fundraising program.

Thing is, once you choose the garbage factory path, it's very difficult to stop. You need the high quantity to push down the per-piece cost of your freemium mailings. You also need to keep sending freemiums to your current donors, because they're not very responsive to anything else. And because those donors are also on other garbage-factory lists, you're in an arms race, not only with yourself, but with other garbage mailers. Costs keep rising. Donor appetites for new freemiums keep growing.

Here's my advice on this complex topic:

If you aren't using freemiums now: Don't start. You're already tilted toward a value orientation (rather than volume).

If you're using low-cost freemiums: Keep your eyes open. Don't let average gift drop too low; that's the first sign that you're tilting to far toward volume over value. Stay out of the freemium "arms race" by keeping your freemiums simple and inexpensive.

If you're already a garbage factory fundraiser: Take a good look at the long-term value of your donors. Make sure you aren't just churning through donors and barely making net revenue. Try to wean yourself away from the dependence on the garbage factory by seeking different lists and making your message more cause-oriented.

(This post first appeared on October 13, 2017.)

The goofy cartoon character who can transform your life [Book Review]

Book review: Creative Deviations by John Lepp.

Take a good look at this simple cartoon character. You may be about to learn the most important lesson about fundraising you can ever learn from this fellow.

It's a googly-eyed grinning person in the shape of a blue heart. Blue. Who happens to be holding a red heart. While wearing a yellow hardhat. Spaghetti-like arms and legs. There's a logo imprinted on his body.

Go ahead and say it: You hate this character!

It's goofy. Not professional. Not serious.

It's okay if you hate it.

It's also okay if you kinda like it. Or even love it.

What you think about it is beside the point. I suspect most people over the age of 6 don't care for it, and would fight like tigers to keep anything like it out of their fundraising.

So here's the lesson: Whether you hate it or love it, it is (or could be) a powerful element in someone's fundraising.

Get used to it. Especially if you, your boss, or your board really, really hate it.

Its name is "Humbert, and you can learn about it in a great new book for fundraisers called Creative Deviations by John Lepp.

John created Humbert for the Humber River Hospital Foundation in Toronto. It's in a section called, appropriately, Design Your Boss Hates. Here's what he says about it:

Humbert was there to show [donors] all of the small ways they were having impact! He had a voice unlike everyone else. He wasn’t a doctor or a nurse or an administrator of any kind. He was the custodian of donor love and care...

Humbert is just one thing in a book filled with useful delights for fundraisers. I'm focussing on it because it demonstrates John's fun and reality-based approach to fundraising...

If you read his book and follow his advice, whether it's about typefaces, the power of paperclips, or using silly cartoon characters -- you will be a stronger, more effective fundraiser.

And I think you'll have more fun doin it.

This book shows the work of a long eyes-open career in fundraising. It has a lot more about design than most of the books do. It's lavishly illustrated, and an easy read.

Get this book!

Creative Deviations by John Lepp

8 ways you might be chasing away your best donors

Like any relationship, how you behave toward your donors matters. Your actions can determine whether donors stay with you or move their support elsewhere.

From the Veritus Group Blog, here are some of the most common donor-losing actions you should watch out for, at Eight Ways to Lose Your Donor:

1. Ignore what they are interested in. Donors give to make specific wonderful things happen. Make that the heart of your connection with them.
   
2. When your donor gives, thank them whenever you can get around to it. The quicker you thank them, the better. It shows them that their donation matters to you.
   
3. Send your donor a boiler plate thank-you letter. Thank them for the same thing you asked them for! Don't change the subject.
   
4. Don’t bother to tell your donor how their giving made a difference. Be specific. Don't assume they just know.
   
5. If you see your donor at an event, don’t mention which specific program they gave to. Their gift matters. You should keep it top of mind.
   
6. If your donor put your organization in their will, then the deal is done. Keep talking to them.
   
7. Think of your donor as a prospect. Remember, charitable giving is a relationship, not a series of transactions.
   
8. If your donor has a complaint or concern, just ignore it. A complaint is an opportunity. Never miss the chance to deal with their issues.
   

The sad thing about these eight mistakes is how often they are committed by well-meaning fundraisers who really want to get things right -- but simply let these things happen.

5 things to do when you hit the paper shortage

If you're a direct mailer, you may have already experienced the pain of the widespread paper shortage. If you haven't, you likely will eventually.

Getting stuff printed is more expensive, and often you can't get the paper you need. (In my experience, it's envelopes -- especially non-standard sizes and stocks -- that are not available.)

To keep your direct mail fundraising from hitting the wall in the fast-approaching fundraising season, check out this helpful article at Nonprofit Pro: Direct Mail Fundraising During the Great Paper Shortage:

1. Talk to your vendors now. Find out what is and is not available. A good printer can help you work around the realities you face, before it becomes a screaming emergency.
   
2. Be open-minded. Not getting exactly what you want probably isn't going to kill your fundraising results. Be flexible.
   
3. Look at different format options. Maybe there's something good you haven't considered!
   
4. Plan earlier than usual. This is key. Starting projects earlier can save the day!
   
5. Data is king. Mail smart. This is the time when you may have no other choice.
   

Most of all, don't give up!

You may think you should go all digital to avoid the whole problem. For most, that would be a terrible mistake. While donors are increasingly giving online, direct mail is still the top driver of donations -- including online donations.

The compelling power of "membership cards" in fundraising

We want donors to feel they're a part of the cause. We want to be inclusive. We want them to know we are paying attention to their generosity and appreciate it.

"Membership cards" can help meet these needs. And if Uncle Maynard's mailbox is an indication, they work.

I once attended an organization's annual gala. At one point, the president asked everyone to get their membership cards from their wallets and wave them in the air. My heart sank; I had helped produce the membership card mailing. It had done well, but I figured three or four people would actually have cards with them.

The majority of those in the banquet hall held up cards.

Here are a couple of recent examples. Uncle Maynard doesn't get these just once a year. Each of these organizations sent them four (as near as can tell) times in a year. They work.

Here's a card from the American Red Cross.

The outer envelope.

The letter. The card is on the upper right, perfed so the donor can remove it.

The back of the card. This features information the Red Cross wants you to have.

And here's a similar mailing from the American Cancer Society.

Outer envelope. Note how similar it is to the Red Cross envelope.

The reply device. The card perfs off the right end. There is no letter in the package.

The back of the card. This is information that may be handy for the donor. (I've tested a pocket calendar like this one against "useful information" like the card above. The calendar wins, hands-down.

You may think these cards are corny. I think they are. But they can be a powerful motivator for donors. It's worth trying!

More from the Trove

(This post first appeared on September 13, 2017.)