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The post Nonprofit Times – Create a world inspired by giving. appeared first on Bloomerang.
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One evergreen piece of advice often given to nonprofit fundraisers is to share feel-good stories about their mission. They’re encouraged to talk about their mission, introduce the clients they serve to supporters, and share tangible actions they were able to take because of their donors’ generosity.
That’s great advice—and we stand by it, too.
But what about the nonprofits that work with heavy subject matter? What if the feel-good stories are still sensitive or have the potential to further fatigue donors or supporters who are tired of hearing about the challenges we’re facing in the world today?
For example, maybe your organization works to combat online child sex abuse, fights to provide hope for those struggling with suicidal ideation, or advocates for children who’ve experienced abuse or neglect.
Your mission is so important, but the reality is that those topics can be difficult to bring up in casual conversation.
In short, you don’t want to scare supporters away. Because if they throw away or delete your appeals, that’s a missed opportunity to win their support.
Don’t lose hope if you’re facing this issue! In this post, we’ll share how to connect with supporters while still honoring the work you do.
Just because the work you do exposes you and your supporters to sensitive topics doesn’t mean that you can’t share some lighter content with your supporters and potential donors.
So, what does balancing out the tough content look like?
Like we said, we don’t want you to stop sharing the important statistics and somber stories you have on hand. These things communicate the seriousness of the work you do, and you need donors to take you seriously. You also, however, need to prime them to hear sensitive or serious content.
Your staff is likely aware of the realities of the work you do and what it means to think about those things every day. But what events equate to just another Tuesday at the office for you can be triggering for your audience. That’s where content warnings come in.
A content warning is a sentence or two that lets your audience know you’re about to share something that some readers may find heavy or upsetting. It can be as simple as saying, “The post below contains content related to domestic violence.” Readers can then choose to engage with the content or not.
It’s best to separate the warning from the post and make it the first thing readers see so they don’t skim over it and miss the heads up. This simple gesture can protect readers who might be triggered by the information, which lets them know you respect their space. If they feel respected, they will be more likely to engage with your content in the future.
One way to ensure the information that you share is balanced and your content warnings are thoughtful and accurate is to prepare. This isn’t the kind of thing you want to throw up on your blog, out on social media, or in a direct mail appeal without thinking about it. Or, rather, the messaging around the information you share needs to be especially sensitive to your audience’s potential feelings.
This may require your team to spend more time or put more energy into sharing these messages. Most fundraisers we talk to are short on both—but trust us when we say it’s worth the cost.
Why? This preparation lays important groundwork.
This can be as simple as making a plan at the start of the week or month about what to share and determining what content warnings might be necessary. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What is normal to you but may not be normal to them? How will this make them feel? Will it decrease or increase the chances of them responding to your appeal?
If you’re not sure how to do this, ask your audience. Survey some of your community members to see what messages are working and which ones could use polishing.
Along that note, it’s also crucial that you honor what your constituents want. If someone doesn’t want their photo, real or full name, or situation shared in your marketing or fundraising appeals, listen to them and withhold that information. There are plenty of ways to share stories without giving out identifying information. Make sure you get their approval ahead of time so you’re not wasting your valuable time and energy.
Your audience wants to engage with you and the work you do, even if it’s heavy. We hope these tips help you feel more confident in sharing nonprofit success stories in a thoughtful way.
The post How To Fundraise Effectively When Your Nonprofit’s Success Stories Include Sensitive Or Triggering Content appeared first on Bloomerang.
This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.
 
This workshop will help you unlock and leverage the power of your program data. You’ll learn the steps to consolidate, analyze, and visualize your program information to create data-driven messaging that will fuel more program funding from grants, partners, and major gifts donors.
 
Best of all, this framework requires no budget and no technical resources from your team – just an open mind and a willingness to get curious about the data that’s under the hood of your non-profit.
 
Learning Objectives:
 
• Actionable best data practices to allow your organization to go from data chaos to clarity
• The 6-step framework your team can use to start moving to being a data-informed organization
• A low-tech, no-budget step-by-step roadmap to quickly uncover priorities in your data
• How to identify and define the leading indicators of your program’s strategic objectives
 
Access Sarah’s Guide to Utilize And Visualize Your Non-Profit’s Data here!
 
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Community Brands recently shared donor retention data that reinforced alarming trends that the nonprofit sector has been monitoring for a while. In their survey, they asked nonprofits what their current donor retention rate was: about 60% said they didn’t know and the rest had an average donor retention rate of 45%. On average, donor retention rates increase based on the average gift amount. For donors who give gifts under $100 the average retention rate is 25%.
Donor retention merits priority treatment. On average, it costs five times as much to acquire a new donor compared to keeping existing donors.
The solutions to improving donor retention aren’t rocket science. They are the foundation of sound stewardship which is genuinely acknowledging and thanking donors for their precious gifts of time and money.
As a fundraising trainer/consultant who’s had the privilege of working with a wide range of nonprofits and a diverse group of professional and volunteer nonprofit leaders, I want to highlight ten pragmatic ways that nonprofit leaders can more effectively keep donors happy and even increase the gifts that fuel their missions. These are based on proven principles of the art and science of fundraising, innovative strategies, and best practices.
If you have the bandwidth, go beyond the traditional form letter and make thank you calls as soon as possible — ideally within 24 hours. This is especially important for first-time gifts or to donors who have significantly increased the size of their gifts.
Staff might be paid to lead stewardship activities but calls from board members will be an unexpected treat. This is also a good way to engage board members who are reluctant to get involved in the fundraising processes. A lot of times these calls will result in voice-mail messages, but that’s okay because the message will still leave a strong impression.
I like monthly e-newsletters that combine brief stories and compelling photos. An essential requirement is fiercely maintaining a consistent and disciplined distribution schedule like the first or last week of the month.
As our esteemed colleague Erica Waasdorp, President of A Direct Solution, is quick to point out: a monthly giving program has the power to nearly double your retention rate. Be sure to highlight monthly giving options on your website, marketing material, and especially in donor conversations.
It’s amazing the results that are possible from phones and other smart devices. There’s nothing like showing the mission in action. These videos can have a huge impact.
There is a lot of positive energy when you bring donors together and they have the opportunity to share personal perspectives on supporting the mission and forge friendships which concretely benefit nonprofits.
Photos typically catch more attention. Can you show donors with the recipients of their generosity?
Sending a card, email, or other message marking donation milestones since the first gift, such as one year, two, five years and so on, makes a difference. Experts emphasize the huge importance of getting donors to support you for a second year in maximizing lifetime donor value.
They don’t have to be fancy or long. You receive plenty of form letters and email, but how many handwritten notes do you receive through the mail? This will definitely help your organization stand out in the donor’s mind.
I’m not a fan of giving away coffee mugs, pens, and other items that most people will complain they don’t have a place for, but little touches like dropping off freshly baked cookies will produce smiles and fond memories.
Note that none of these strategies are very expensive and most small and mid-size nonprofits should be able to carry them out. These and other ways are designed to convey to donors that they are truly the most important people in the world to us. And there is a bigger picture at stake. While American philanthropy totaled an awesome $485 billion, for the first time in nearly two decades, only half of U.S. households donated to a charity. Donations to charitable causes are reaching record highs, but the giving is done by a smaller and smaller slice of the total American population. As recently as 2000 the share was about two- thirds of American households. Donor retention will play a critical role in turning around this disconcerting trend.
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This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.