Mark Moshier CFRE Team Leader Council Fund Development Boy Scouts of America National Council Donors Want 2 Things They want to feel good about what their money has done Tom Ahern Your Job ID: 475408
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Slide1
What Donors Want!
Mark Moshier, CFRE
Team Leader, Council Fund Development
Boy Scouts of America, National CouncilSlide2
Donors Want 2 ThingsSlide3
They want:
to feel good…
about what their money has done.
-Tom AhernSlide4
Your Job
Deliver Accomplishments
Induce emotional gratification
-
Tom AhernSlide5
Donor Survey: Why Make
a
Gift?
Very Important
Believes that the charity is well-run and efficient 82%
Making life better for the less fortunate
57
%
Making a difference in your own area or community
55
%
Fulfilling a desire to give back to society
46
%
Can direct exactly how donation is going to be used
40
%
Addressing an illness that afflicted a loved one 30%
Helping to construct a lasting building/structure
19
%
Creating income tax deductions
18
%Slide6
Donor Motivation for Making
Gifts
1. Philanthropy
2. Gratitude
3. Honoring Loved Ones
4. Nonprofit as Family Substitute
5. Tax Benefits
6. Financial Benefits
7. Social Standing and Prestige
8. Recognition Slide7
2009
charitable giving
Total = $
303.75 billionSlide8
Types of recipients of contributions, 2009
Total = $303.75 billionSlide9
Our Environment
Philanthropic Climate
Competition for charitable dollars
Donor awareness
Donor expectation
What Donors WantSlide10
The number of 501(c)(3) organizations 2000–2009Slide11
Our Environment
Philanthropic Climate
Competition for charitable dollars
Donor awareness
Donor expectation
What Donors WantSlide12
Factors for Success
Organization Factors
Board Strength
Case for Support
Organization
History
What donors WantSlide13
Glossary definition - case for support
A written statement of why a donor should consider supporting your
organization.
Telling your story through the Case for Support
because the case should be just like a good story.
The case should therefore be: *Enticing, captivating, persuasive and stimulating!
Case For SupportSlide14
This means your case statement has to:
Be and feel
larger
than your
organization.
Show how you meet a major public need.
Be moving and personally relevant for reader.
Be credible and convey a sense of genuine urgency
.
Key Point
: Case should be told from donor's viewpoint.
Case for SupportSlide15
1. Why us?
2. Why now?
3. Why should a donor care?
Three Big Questions
-Tom AhernSlide16
Why us?
What are we doing that is so uniquely worthwhile?
-Tom AhernSlide17
Not sure why you matter?
Pretend you’ve gone away.
-Tom AhernSlide18
Why Now?
What’s the big hurry? What Changes? Why is this crucial now?
-Tom AhernSlide19
Why you?
“
You” is the donor. Have you made
the donor “my hero”?
-
Tom AhernSlide20
“Why in the world would I
give away my hard-earned
money to you?”
-Tom AhernSlide21
Donor Centered Fundraising
Author – Penelope Burk
Cygnus Applied Research, Inc.
Burk & Associates LTD.Slide22
“Donor
Centered
Fundraising” by Penelope Burke,
is based on a survey of hundreds of charities and donors
Ended mid-2003
Donors in the survey supported an average of 25 charities each year
WHAT IS IT BASED ON?Slide23
Prompt, personalized acknowledgment of their gifts
Confirmation that their gifts were used by the charity as intended
Measurable results about the impact of their gift
before
being asked for the next
gift
THREE THINGS DONORS WANTED THE MOST
– Penelope BurkeSlide24
Impersonal acknowledgements
Acknowledgements received more than two weeks after the gift
General appeals with few measurable results
THREE THINGS DONORS
DIDN’T LIKE
– Penelope BurkeSlide25
In other words, donors want:
1. Acknowledgement
2. Recognition
3. Information
Get donors to see a
picture
of who you are and what you do.
THREE THINGS DONORS WANTED THE MOST
– Penelope BurkeSlide26
The best “thank you” letters acknowledge the human being who gave the gift
Warm, personalized
Say more about the person than the gift
75% of all “thank you” letters start out:
“On behalf of…” or “Thank you for …”
First sentence of the letter is extremely important
THANK YOU LETTERS
– Penelope BurkeSlide27
“What does a donor feel like when they give?
This is what you should keep in mind when acknowledging gifts
Warmth of the “thank you” should reflect the warmth the donor felt when they made the gift
THANK YOU LETTERS
– Penelope BurkeSlide28Slide29
Billing InsertsSlide30
Donors like newsletters
But do they like
yours
?
NEWSLETTERS
– Penelope BurkeSlide31
68% of donors prefer a one-page newsletter
They feel that they would know and learn more about the charity
69% of donors say they don’t have time to read the newsletters they get now
NEWSLETTERSSlide32
Donors like photos, but they should be “your program in action”
Don’t show people getting awards
Don’t show people shaking
hands
The “Big Check”
If you only send your newsletter to donors, it won’t attract new donors
NEWSLETTERS
– Penelope BurkeSlide33
Donors do not like “doo-dads” and “knick-knacks” for recognition
86% of individual donors do not like token gifts
100% of corporations do not like token gifts
What about plaques?
Individuals do not display plaques/certificates
But corporations DO display them
RECOGNITION OF GIFTS
– Penelope BurkeSlide34
But individual donors DO like to receive photos – as long as they are photos of the program at
work
They don’t really want photos of themselves
RECOGNITION OF GIFTS
– Penelope BurkeSlide35
85% say they would make another gift
AND
86% say they would make a larger gift
… if they received what???
A THANK YOU PHONE CALL FROM A BOARD MEMBER
THE BEST RECOGNITION OF ALL?
– Penelope BurkeSlide36
Phone CallsSlide37
Donation Amount
Acknowledgement Action
Level of Interaction
Up to $25
Computer generated letter or receipt
Impersonal-minimal effort
$25.01 to $50
Computer generated letter receipt along with more meaningful information
Information Sharing
$50.01 to $100
Computer generated letter receipt along with more meaningful information
Phone call from fundraising staff
Personal Interaction with staff
Donor Acknowledgement PlanSlide38
Donor Acknowledgement Plan
$100.01 to $250
Computer generated letter receipt along with more meaningful information
Phone call from fundraising staff
Handwritten note from Scout Executive
High Level Staff Personal Interaction
$250.01 to $500
Computer generated letter receipt along with more meaningful information
Phone call from fundraising staff
Handwritten note from Scout Executive
Personal thanks from a board member
High Level volunteer personal interactionSlide39
$500.01 +
Computer generated letter receipt along with more meaningful information
Phone call from fundraising staff
Handwritten note from Scout Executive
Personal thanks from a board member
Note from non-development staff
Invitations to special events or activities
High-Touch attention and cultivation
Donor Acknowledgement PlanSlide40
“Asking” is not the same as “communication”
70% of donors would give more if communications improved
DONOR LESSONS
– Penelope BurkeSlide41
Consider “flagging” first time donors, and
have
Executive
Director and
Board member thank them
Greatly increases chance of second gift
Many donors say they use first gifts as “tests” to see how the charity responds
A second gift is more likely to be more in line with a donor’s giving capabilities
Invest in “low level” donors
DONOR LESSONS
– Penelope BurkeSlide42
It is always less expensive to try and keep existing donors, than to acquire new ones or recover lapsed donors.
DONOR LESSONS
– Penelope BurkeSlide43
Today’s donors require Seven Contacts
between gifts
Donors want a timely acknowledgement of their contribution
Donors want a personalized “thank you” for their gifts.
Seven Contacts ApproachSlide44
My SourcesSlide45
Penelope Burke- Cygnus Applied Research
“Donor Centered Fundraising”
www.cygresearch.com
Tom Ahern- Tom Ahern and Ahern Communications
www.aherncomm.com
Marshall Howard- Marshall Howard Associates
“Lets Have Lunch Together”
www.marshallhoward.com
AcknowledgementsSlide46
Mark Moshier, CFRE
Team Leader, Council Fund Development
Boy Scouts of America, National Council
mark.moshier@scouting.org
www.scouting.org/financeimpact