Communications, Fundraising

Are You Communicating Effectively with Your Donors

We need our donors. They are the ones who are helping us to advance the mission of our organization. In return, they want to feel connected and be insiders. Honestly, this is simple to achieve, but many nonprofits miss the mark on it.

Remember the way we communicate with our donors will determine whether they will be consistent and loyal supporters of our organization.

  1. Be Systematic
    1. Set up a calendar of what type of communication you are sending out and when it goes out
    2. Plan ahead and determine who is in charge of each communication
    3. Create themes and message ideas and get everybody to agree on them ahead of time
  1. Be Creative
    1. Come up with different ways to say thank you to our donors
    2. Don’t send an Annual Report, make it into an Accomplishments Report
    3. Don’t rely on written word, how about pictures or live video?
  1. Use lots of channels
    1. In person
    2. Phone calls
    3. Mail
    4. Events
    5. Ne
    6. Social Media
    7. Acknowledgements
  1. Demonstrate the impact of donations to your mission; don’t forget to be transparent
  1. Get the tone right
    1. Different constituent groups prefer different tones (lofty and formal vs. warm and fuzzy)
    2. Tell stories and be friendly

By making sure your communication strategy is engaging to your donors, will increase the chances that they will continue to give to your organization.

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