Valentines Day – February 14 – is twelve days away. Get ready now ’cause it’s a great time to share the love and show your donors, members, advocates, and volunteers how much you appreciate them.

As we know, whatever you’re doing in direct mail for Valentines Day is already done except for tracking the results. And hopefully you’ve integrated that with social media and email.

But just in case you didn’t do anything via direct mail … there’s still time to send supporters a Valentine by email AND social media.

Critical point: For this to work you absolutely positively MUST have reader-centric messaging. This is ALL about them and what they make possible.

Here’s an idea you could whip together in a few hours:

• Create a short video of your staff wishing supporters Happy Valentines Day. They can shout, “Happy Valentines Day” as a group. But I suggest you choose one person to take 20-30 seconds expressing everyone’s gratitude for what your donors, advocates, etc. make possible. Include an example or two of what donors have done. Have FUN with this. Maybe everyone holds a red heart they made out of construction paper. Or each heart has a different message on it and the camera scans over the messages as the speaker is talking.
   
• You can promote the video on your Facebook page and through email.
   
• Post it on your nonprofit’s YouTube channel.
   
• Have a link to the video (along with a line of teaser copy) on your homepage and a few other key pages of your website. Draw web visitors’ eye to it by including a short graphic with the text and link, or possibly have the video itself on your website if you can.
   
• Encourage supporters to share your Valentines greeting with folks they know who also like what you do. And make it EASY for them to share via email and social media.

Share the love. Cultivate your supporters with a simple Valentines greeting. Keep it simple. Have fun.

If your staff looks a bit awkward in the video – so what? That’s a genuine emotion most of us can relate to and it also shows sincerity. It will help donors, advocates, volunteers and members to connect with real people instead of a faceless organization. It will strengthen your relationship with them.

Related posts:

10 Suggestions to cultivate website visitors

Donor Cultivation and Natural Disasters … ideas for ANY charity or association regardless of your mission

Donors are a lot like Teddy Bears … why they give and give

Your fall, holiday, and end-of-year campaigns are underway. You’ve carefully integrated your direct mail with email, telemarketing, your website, social media, press releases, and possibly mobile.

That’s good.

What happens when your prospects, donors and members respond? What’s your integrated plan for acknowledging their generosity?

How will you express your gratitude and exceed their expectations with your expressions of gratitude?

Here are my thoughts for a basic acknowledgment system:

Online donors (house file)

• Donors immediately see an acknowledgment page on the website after making the donation.
• Link(s) on the page take them further into the topic they just supported with their gift.
• Immediately sent a personalize email saying thank you.
• Within a week they also receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter).
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Email down the road that gives them an update on the program they just supported.

Online donors (prospects)

• Donors immediately see an acknowledgment page on the website after making the donation.
• Link(s) on the page take them further into the topic they just supported with their gift.
• Immediately sent a personalize email saying thank you and welcome to your organization. Now they receive your “welcome series” of emails and are suppressed from the rest of your email mailings until the series is complete.
• Within a week they also receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter) and your welcome package.
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Email down the road that gives them an update on the program they just supported.

Direct mail donors (house file)

• Within a week they receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter).
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Send an update down the road on the program they just supported.

Direct mail donors (prospects)

• Within a week they receive a personalized direct mail thank you letter (NOT a form letter) and your welcome package.
• Depending on the size of the gift, a thank you phone call would be a smart idea. Just DON’T ask for another donation.
• Send an update down the road on the program they just supported.

Don’t treat everyone the same

Some donors – based on the size of their gift – warrant high touch. For example: A genuine one-on-one letter from the top leader of your organization. I mean, with each letter you start with a blank sheet of paper and write it for that ONE donor.

For others a warm phone call is a nice touch. I recommend you also have differences in your welcome package for the mid-level and high-end gifts.

I’ve been touting for several months that in today’s market … in today’s economy … with today’s savvy donors and consumers you MUST GIVE THEM AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Make resources available and create an exceptional experience for your supporters.

Cut corners with your expressions of gratitude and you’ll pay dearly: Fewer repeat gifts. Retention drops. Average gift size declines. Acquisition declines (ask me how that happens if you’re skeptical).

You raise far less revenue with a casual, perfunctory acknowledgment system.

What business decision will you make?

Related posts and resources:

Need help with your thank you letter?

Create a Nonprofit Loyalty Program

Are you Nickel-and-Diming Your Donors?

Have you noticed how many of the major (and minor) consumer brands have rolled out new loyalty programs of late? Within the last 18 months or so they’ve either overhauled their loyalty program, or launched something completely new.

WHY they’ve done this is what’s important to you as a nonprofit:

1 – Loyalty members are often 3 to 4 times more valuable than other consumers.

2 – These companies are surviving the lingering recession due in large part to revenues from loyalty programs.

3 – Higher return on investment seen on loyalty programs.

4 – Loyalty members provide a strong revenue foundation.

5 – During challenging economic times loyalty members contribute an even larger percentage of revenue.

Those five reasons ought to get and keep your attention.

Loyalty programs go far beyond a smile and gracious thank you at the time of purchase. That’s still essential. But it’s not enough these days.

In the nonprofit world we speak of donor cultivation and stewardship. As part of your cultivation you write warm and friendly letters, emails and web copy that’s reader-centric. You send out timely thank you letters and welcome packages. You ask supporters to share their opinion. And on it goes.

Traditional cultivation isn’t enough

Today I think you need to do even more. You need to go beyond cultivation and create a nonprofit loyalty program. And no; I’m not referring to a sustainer program either. You need to go beyond that too.

Donors, members and consumers are more demanding than ever. If your charity or association isn’t meeting exceeding their expectations … you’ll lose them. And if by chance you don’t completely lose them you won’t receive as much revenue from them. So you still lose.

How can you reward them?

Brainstorm with your staff. Include people who don’t normally work in development. Brainstorm with your consultants.

Find ways …

- To reward supporters

- To keep them coming back (e.g., making multiple gifts; or buying products and services as an association member)

- To increase their lifetime value

- To give them an exceptional experience

Achieving this demands non-linear thinking. But I firmly believe your nonprofit will reap the benefits when you find ways to reward loyalty. When you find ways to give something back to those who help you day-in and day-out.

I know you can’t give them a free gallon of milk after buying 8 gallons. Nor can you give them a free pizza when their card is full, or a free dessert on their birthday. Use the consumer market as inspiration, but don’t get hung up on the fact that you can’t precisely duplicate what they do.

Brainstorm. Use non-linear thinking. Reward supporters of your nonprofit with MORE than a traditional thank you letter or email.

Create a nonprofit loyalty program that rewards them for their faithful support. With our rapidly changing times and sluggish economy, I believe it’s fundamental to your development strategy.

Related posts:

How “L.L.Bean” compassion can inspire nonprofits to do the same

Do you really value the opinions from donors and members?

You’re annoying subscribers

Ever wonder what donors, members and prospects say behind your back?  Every wonder how they feel about the experience they have with your nonprofit?

Are their thoughts pleasant? Or are they bitter? Seth Godin wrote a blog post last week titled, Memories of bitterness. His point was that a negative experience leaves a bitter memory for a long time.

And people will talk about that bitterness with their friends and colleagues whenever something jogs their memory. So as a fundraiser and marketer … you need to care about the conversations and the memories your supporters have.

Why? Because the bitter memories and negative conversations will reduce the number of people who choose to support your nonprofit.  In other words, you earn less revenue.

Besides caring, what can you do to help ensure their experience with your charity or association is positive? Or better yet, an exceptional experience?

Be brutally honest with yourself as you answer these questions:

◊ How sincere was that last thank you letter?

◊ How friendly is your staff when they answer the phone? How helpful are they in connecting callers with the right person? Is your staff genuinely eager to help donors and members?

◊ How do you think about your supporters? As the life blood and soul of your nonprofit? Or as a number … a source of revenue?

◊ How hard do you work to find out what is of interest to your donors and members … what is important to them?

◊ When you write an email, page of web copy, direct mail letter or Tweet … are you thinking, “How does this help my reader? What does this mean to them?”

◊ Are you writing copy the way you want to see it … or in a way your readers most enjoy, appreciate and respond to?

◊ How considerate are you … really considerate … of the people who support your nonprofit?
Are they first in mind when redesigning your website?
Are they first in mind when creating an online donation form?
Are they first in mind when writing any copy?
Are they first in mind when planning an event?
Are they first in your mind?

Your answers to those questions determine the memories and feelings your donors and members have toward you. Your answers determine the tone of the conversations people are having about your charity or association.

You might be helping your cause. Or you might be undermining it.

As the fundraiser and marketer, I firmly believe your donors, members, prospects and advocates need to be foremost in your mind. They ought to have a higher priority than the people your mission serves.

The front line staff employees can have the beneficiaries of your mission top of mind. But again I say, as the marketer and fundraiser … for you it’s the supporters of your mission.

Customer Service. Donor Service. Member Service. Volunteer Service. Make it all exceptional for sweet memories and conversations. You’ll also raise more funds.

More posts on exceptional service and donor cultivation:

Because You Care and THEY Need to Know You Care

Why fundraising isn’t enough for your charity

Not every nonprofit has a mission to help people after a natural (or man-made) disaster. The Red Cross immediately comes to mind but they’re certainly not the only one.

Yet whether you do or don’t have such a mission, you can still help your supporters deal with disasters … this includes associations. I see it as another way to cultivate your relationship with them by providing helpful information.

How? I have a few thoughts on this but first the infographic:

The infographic above helps identify the greatest risks by region, has some information on how to prepare your home and families to handle these risks, and how disasters have impacted our country. 

You don’t need to wait until a disaster is forecast (e.g., hurricane, ice storm). Nor do you need to wait until one has occurred (e.g., earthquake, tornado, wild fires). 

Using the infographic plus additional resources from FEMA and other government agencies, you could prepare a tip sheet for your supporters. Mention how you’re preparing your own office (or updating your disaster response plan for your office and staff). And how you want to make certain that the folks who help you everyday – and whom you care about – are also prepared for natural disasters.

The concept is well-suited for a geo-targeted mailing. And for the email subscribers you have yet to get a physical address for, perhaps your call to action can entice them to give at least a zip code.

Since the preparation tips are tied to events most likely to impact a specific region, you need to know which tip sheet to send them based on their location. This cultivation email allows you to gather more data on your email subscribers as you help them.

What’s more, since text messages via mobile are ideal for cultivation and timely news, use this as an opportunity to get supporters to opt into your text messaging program. (More mobile cultivation ideas in this DMANF article I wrote.)

That’s the idea that popped into my head when I saw this infographic. Any nonprofit – charity or association – can use this as another way to help their donors and members. It’s another way to say thanks for all your support.

Want more on cultivation and stewardship of donors and members? Read these related posts:

Cultivate with email

12 Cultivation Tactics

NOTE: Infographic courtesy of “Daily Infographic”

You care about the people who support your nonprofit. And they need to know it.

They need to hear this message often. Your donors, members, volunteers, advocates, etc. need to be continually reassured that you don’t merely view them as a source of money. And that brings me to my topic for today.

This is Customer Service Week, October 3-7, 2011. It was officially declared by Congress as a nationally recognized event in 1992, and it’s also an international event.

As I understand it the primary idea is to show appreciation for your Customer Service staff. And the goal is to also make more of your organization aware how important it is for EVERYONE within your nonprofit to give exceptional service.  In other words, the responsibility goes far beyond the folks in your service department (perhaps known as donor services, member services, or something similar).

The website CSweek.com (Customer Service week) has plenty of ideas along that line. Plus I think their ideas will spark ways in which you CAN ALSO express more appreciation toward the supporters of your organization.

And that’s what my post today will focus on: Giving supporters an exceptional service experience with your nonprofit.

Why is exceptional service required?

If you want to grow … if you want to acquire AND retain donors and members … if you want to build loyalty … if you want to increase average gift size … if you want your nonprofit to be healthy and survive these challenging times … then you must give supporters an EXCEPTIONAL experience.

As a general rule or trend, donors and members are supporting fewer nonprofits than they have in the past. In some cases they’re giving similar amounts, but again to fewer charities. And in many other cases they’ve reduced both the number of charities they support and how much they give.

For associations, people are scrutinizing the value of a membership harder than ever. Is it worth $375 to join Acme Association? What do I really get out of the deal? What else could I do with that $375?

So to be chosen as one of the select few you must stand out. You must do more than have a worthy cause because there are thousands and thousands and thousands of worthy causes. Many quite similar to yours.

Exceptional service is an easy way
to stand out from the crowd

Read over the ideas on the CSweek website (tips for customer service week). Much of what they recommend for boosting morale of your donor/member service staff can also transfer to your supporters.

Brainstorm creative and even fun ways to show how much you appreciate and value the people who keep the doors of your nonprofit open.

For example:

Create a short 20 or 30-sec video of your staff as a group saying “thanks for being such a caring and helpful support of <insert name of nonprofit>. “ Say you’re a hospital…

Mary holds up a photo of a child and says, “Without you 5-year old Tommy wouldn’t have received the emergency surgery that saved his life after a car accident.” Sam holds up a photo of a baby in an incubator, “The Johnsons would have lost their precious daughter Eloise if you hadn’t helped make possible the purchase of new equipment for our maternity ward.” And have a third employee share one more example.

Then the group says together, “Thank you on behalf of all the children, parents, and people of our town – including you and your family – who depend on you and <Charity Hospital> everyday of the year.”

Use that idea for any mission. Grab a dozen people. Whip it together today or tomorrow.

Post it on its own page on your website with a headline and paragraph of introductory copy filled with sincere gratitude. Then send out the email Thursday to everyone who is on your list.

Put a teaser ad about it on your home page. Send out multiple tweets and Facebook updates Thursday and Friday. Post the video on your YouTube channel.

Show your gratitude as you simultaneously demonstrate terrific customer donor/member service.

Include any staff member who answers your phone in the video even if they’re not “officially” part of your service team. Include employees who don’t typically interact with donors and who aren’t on the fundraising staff. They’re still ambassadors for your nonprofit when they leave the office and talk with family and friends about what they do for a living.

Everything you do is CUSTOMER DONOR/MEMBER SERVICE.

Don’t over think it. Don’t try to make it a snazzy studio production. Informal and fun will make a greater impact in this case.

What else can you do?

◊ Call major donors and as many mid-level donors as you can. Thank them for their support. Maybe share a very short success story that’s only a paragraph long. Ask if they have any questions or anything they would like to know. Wish them well. Call is over in a minute or maybe two – depending on their questions and response. 

Perhaps you can involve staff people in these calls that don’t normally interact with supporters. This would allow you to make more calls and also highlight within your organization the importance of exceptional service by everyone.

◊ Send a short email with a photo of your staff with a message of gratitude.

◊ Next year, when you have more time to prepare you can send a postcard to your direct mail list. Include a trackable vanity link and QR code to the unique landing page with your “thank you video” (see example above).

◊ Use your social media networks and send out messages of PURE gratitude. Do the same with text messages.

◊ If you have any kind of a party for your service staff to show your appreciation of their great work, take some photos and video. Share these on a special page of your website and drive traffic to it.

Mention how much your employees enjoy serving those who help make <insert an expression of what your mission does> possible.  You can also highlight this in your next newsletter. Just focus the message on your readers.

Remember: None of these messages contain any form of an “ask.” Not even a soft ask. It would be dreadfully tacky in this case to highlight donor/member appreciation and all they make possible; and then ask for money. Tsk-tsk.

Make time to not only show how much you value the customer donor/member service people on your staff … but also the supporters of your nonprofit.

I assure you that the return-on-investment (ROI) for whatever time and money you devote to showing that you care deeply about your supporters will be high. You may not see the return next week. And it may even be difficult to quantify. But it will be there.

More ideas and help from these related posts:

Don’t encourage donors to choose a substitute for you

12 Donor cultivation tactics  to make your supporters “feel the love”

The role of compassion in nonprofit fundraising & marketing … How L.L. Bean compassion can inspire nonprofits

Your nonprofit is engaged in diligently engaging your supporters.  Congratulations!

Or are you?

Not all ACTIONS qualify as engagement.  For example, these actions are NOT engagement:

- Receiving an email
- Receiving a direct mail letter, catalog, etc.
- Inviting a supporter to an event
- Talking to a supporter face-to-face or on the phone
- Clicking on a pay-per-click ad

Although I don’t classify the list above as forms of engagement, those are desired actions. And they move people one step closer to engagement.

What’s next? Here are a few engagement actions but they’re not great indicators of strong support or solid loyalty:

• Opening an email
• Opening your text message
• Clicking on a link within your email
• Signing up for a webinar
• “Liking” your Facebook page

So don’t rely too heavily on those types of actions when evaluating the success of your campaigns.

Instead, set your sights on the following. When you’ve got donors, members and advocates taking these actions … then you’ve got exciting engagement taking place:

◊ Calling your call center
◊ Filling out a survey
◊ Participating in a contest as a contestant
◊ Voting in a contest or poll
◊ Attending a special event, conference, or webinar
◊ Recommending you to their friends and family
◊ Using you nonprofit’s mobile app
◊ Forwarding your emails to their friends and family
◊ Posting a review of your nonprofit, webinar, or event on your Facebook page
◊ Requesting information
◊ Volunteer to help in some way
◊ Scanned your mobile barcode
◊ Clicking through AND watching your online video or listening to your podcast
◊ Post a comment on your blog
◊ Making a donation or joining your association (once they do this, strive to get them truly engaged with the preceding 14 activities)

Again, although everything listed above is the result of a supporter TAKING ACTION, not all actions are forms of engagement. And not all engagement activities are created equal.

Create goals and move toward the deepest levels of engagement. It’s these deep forms of engagement that reap the greatest rewards for your nonprofit in terms of funds raised, higher retention, etc.

What forms of deep engagement are working best for your nonprofit? Please share anything I missed by adding a comment to this post.

Related posts for more useful information:

12 Donor Cultivation Tactics … includes info on involvement / engagement

Donor cultivation and fundraising tools keep growing … an ideal engagement channel

How to engage donors and members

Donors are a lot like Teddy Bears.  They’ll give and give again if you simply treat them right.

If you ever had a Teddy Bear as a child (hmm, and maybe you even collect them as a grown-up), you know how special they are.

Special just like your donors.  Always there for you.  Teddy Bears give you kindness, love, and hugs whenever called upon.

But discard Teddy in a dusty closet . . . never show him any kindness or gratitude for all he’s done for you . . . and you end up getting ZIP. 

As I said before; donors are the same way.  This cartoon illustrates what I mean.

 Donors do not want to be thought of as merely a source of money.   When you treat them like that they give ZIP in return just like Teddy Bears.  Also realize that if you even think of them that way it comes through in your copy.

They’re individuals who want to feel appreciated and important.  They must KNOW that THEY are helping to make a difference.  Show them how their gifts help a single child, a single family, save a bird, or whatever your mission is … put it on a scale they can relate to.  Put it on a scale where they can see the impact of their gift.

And again, give them the information they want.  Put donors in the spotlight and your charity in the background. 

Oh … and as always be sure to thank them FAST every time they do something for you (and even when they don’t).

By the way, did you notice how the gray Teddy Bear is looking to his friend for a recommendation BEFORE he decides to give?  This highlights another reason to treat donors right: Happy emotionally connected donors act as brand evangelists and promote your nonprofit to their network (link to 9-6-11 post with stats on this behavior).

Finally, make certain you send out a nice portion of PURE cultivation messages.  In other words, don’t ask for a donation in every single direct mail package, every single email, every single video, every single text message, or every single social media update. 

Treat your donors right and they’ll give you lots of love and kindness in return – just like a Teddy Bear – in the form of repeat gifts, loyalty, volunteering for events, recommending you to their friends, and other forms of support.

More related posts:

Whether acquisition, renewal, or cultivation be sure to shine the light on your readers … Holy Acquisition Batman

How to get the first gift and then the second … Giving Once. Giving Twice. SOLD! To the charity with the right message.

You need to play by THEIR rules if you want more donors or members for your nonprofit.

They’re in control.  Not you. 

Therefore if you want to acquire AND retain supporters, you need to consider why they wouldn’t support you.  No offense, but there are plenty of good reasons why people DO NOT GIVE or DO NOT JOIN. 

You may not be able to imagine what sort of cold, heartless soul could ignore donating to help a child with cancer.  You may not be able to imagine what kind of selfish, live-for-today person could refuse to donate to your save the wetlands campaign.  And you may not be able to imagine how anyone could be so stupid as to not see the wisdom of joining your association.

But the reality is that most people who decline are deeply compassionate, care about the environment and our future, and are quite intelligent.  They simply can’t support everyone regardless of their personal wealth.

In order to be their nonprofit of choice, you need to play by their rules. 

◊  Give them reasons why your organization is THE organization.  Show the VALUE of what you do.  And for goodness sake, don’t assume it’s obvious what that value is. 

◊  Overcome their objections to giving or joining in your appeal letter / email.  You can’t expect 100% positive response!  But why not take away reasons to say “no” and increase the odds of getting a “yes?”  To be clear, you will get more yes responses with this approach.

◊  Write and act like an everyday human.  Be personable, friendly, warm, and approachable.  Maybe include a head shot of the letter signer.

◊  Build the trust they have in your charity or association.

◊  Remember that EVERYTHING YOU DO IS CULTIVATION, stewardship, and nurturing your relationship with donors and members.  Website, emails, social networks, text messages, letters, advertisements, phone conversations, posters and billboards and flyers, live events, news articles, and so forth.  Be clear.  Be kind.  Put the donor first.

Make it worth their while to be part of your organization.  You owe them a great experience.  They owe you nothing.

To acquire and retain more donors and members you need to play by their rules.  And those rules aren’t bad.  It’s a whole new world.

Related posts to this topic:

Hidden objections to giving or “Buyer’s remorse for nonprofits“

8 fundamentals to boost acquisition and retention … Holy Acquisition Batman

Raise money with appeal letters that are appealing

When someone opens the door for you … do you say thank you?

When someone offers to let you go ahead of them in the check-out line … do you say thank you?

When someone picks up a glove, set of keys, or a pen that you accidentally dropped on the ground … do you say thank you?

And in all these examples, do you say thank you at the moment the courtesy happened?  Or do you ask for their card so you can send a thank you note 4 – 8 weeks later?

Quickly send personalized thank you letters to donors (© Copyright 2011 - PK Scribe, LLC)

Why treat donors worse than a stranger?

Assuming you answered “YES” to my first 3 questions and you do say “thank you;” and assuming you thank the stranger for their kindness the moment it happens … why would you treat a donor worse than you do a stranger?

That’s exactly what you’re doing if you fail to acknowledge a donation with a thank you letter.  And if it takes you 2, 3, 4 or more weeks to say thank you then that’s also a poor way to treat donors.  

Donors are the people responsible for the research you do … the lives you save in your hospital … the homes you build for the poor and homeless … the children you feed in your soup kitchen … the adults you teach to read so their self esteem sky rockets and they can get a much better job … the wounded veterans you counsel … these donors are the reason your nonprofit can keep its doors open.

And yet donors receive less courtesy than a stranger who let you go ahead of them in a check-out line.   That’s not right.

Send thank you letters and figure out how to send them within a few days of receiving a donation. Many a small charity has figured out how to do this.  So can you ― regardless of the size of your nonprofit.

And for those online gifts and mobile donations add a print thank you letter to your digital note of thanks.  That really packs an impressive punch.  Give donors the courtesy they deserve.  Treat them better than strangers.

Find more help for writing nonprofit thank you letters here.