How to Have 4 to 6 Touch Points With Your Donors This Summer
Every year, I write anywhere from 10-20 fundraising campaigns for my nonprofit clients.
On average, they raise a minimum of 24% above their expected fundraising goal.
Each time, I am so, so proud of all of their hard work.
But something is happening in 2023 that I haven’t seen before.
What used to take four to six weeks of priming your donors is now taking eight, 10 - maybe even 12 weeks. And even then - some folks aren’t hitting their goals. 😞
The need to communicate with extreme transparency and specificity is at an all time high.
Perhaps most important is the need to build connections with your donors at all levels. From your $5 to your $50,000 donor. Bringing in a human element to your fundraising practice is a must.
One of the top reasons I see nonprofit leaders and fundraisers struggle to ask for money at any time of the year is because they haven’t done a great job of:
Keeping the relationship going after a donation is made: Maybe leading up to the donation you were checking in, asking to grab coffee, or inviting folks to attend a virtual meet up? And then your donor made a gift and….crickets. It’s totally ok - you are a busy human after all, but it’s best to pick up the ball and summer is a great time to do that.
Communicating impact: Donors care about how their money is spent. Have you told them specifically? It doesn’t matter if it’s to put new tires on the food pantry van or give your program coordinator health insurance. It really, really doesn’t. You just don’t want to leave your donors hanging wondering, “Did they even spend it at all?”
Makes sense right? It just doesn’t feel great to only reach out to your donors when you are asking them for money.
So don’t.
Here are a few strong recommendations of what you can do this summer to have at least 4-6 touch points with your donors.
Emails
Chances are, you are not emailing your donors enough.
Take the summer to send at least two nurture emails (one per month) to your list.
Here are some prompts/ideas if you struggle with what to say:
Tell a story of impact
Introduce your list to someone on your team
Tell the origin story of your nonprofit
Share 5 fun facts about what’s going on at your nonprofit this summer
Talk about your 2023 impact so far and what you aim to do in the second half
Teach a lesson, share a blog, or give a tutorial that provides value to your audience
Send a “Loopback” Email
A Loopback email is an email you send to all of your 2022 end-of-year donors (or early Spring 2023) to tell them specifically what impact their donation has made on your nonprofit organization so far.
Step 1: Pull a list of all of your donors from your last campaign. 2022 EOY Giving Campaign or some combination of anyone who has given in the last 12 months.
Step 2: Send them a Loopback email. Need a template? Check this one out for free.
Say Thank You
According to research, donors who are thanked for their gift within 48-hours after their gift is made are 400% more likely to give again. In a world where retention rates are at an all time low, saying thank you to your donors is an effective way to get them to come back to make their next gift.
Here are a few ideas:
Send a personalized email
Make a gratitude call (bonus: I like these because on the off chance you get them on the phone - you can ask them a question like, “What inspired you to give?”
Send personalized Loom videos
Write and send a handwritten note
Send a donor survey
Your donors hold critical information that you can inturn use in your marketing. But you need to know what it is!
That’s why a donor survey can be a great tool.
Here are some sample questions you can ask:
How did you hear about (insert organization name)?
What inspired you to give?
When you make a donation to (insert organization name), how does it make you feel?
What is the best gift you’ve ever received and why?
Do you have a direct connection to someone at (insert organization name)? If so, who is it?
Coordinate an in-person or virtual meet-up
When thinking about touch points, I always encourage my clients to organize some facetime with their donors. This can be super casual, in-person or online.
In truth, it is less about your donors actually attending (that’s a cherry on top!) but it’s more about having a reason to reach out to them with no ask to make a donation tied to it.
My favorite way to gather folks? Consider hosting a simple virtual lunch and learn where you showcase your leadership team or program team members to tell some stories of impact. You can follow the session with an open Q&A from any guests that attend.
Pro tip: Make sure that this meet-up is free, but you should capture email addresses from folks who plan to attend.
And finally….
Start making those major gift asks now
You know how the end of the year is super busy for you personally and professionally? Same goes for your donors?
Why not start planting some seeds with your major gift donors now versus waiting until Q4 like everyone else?
My best advice? Invite them to be a part of the solution. Go big with your impact goals and let your donors know how they can be involved.
This is my plan for the clients I work with one-on-one to ensure that no matter what we do come end-of-year giving season - they will have gone above and beyond in their engagement with donors leading up to any asks.