When you plan your year-end fundraising campaign, how do you know what will really open your donors’ hearts and minds (and wallets) to your cause?

After all, there are so many fundraising strategies and hoops to jump through. How do you put it all together?

The first step to realize is that a fundraising campaign is an exercise in persuasion and communication.

Just like a recipe, different formats will yield different results. But whatever recipe you choose, the important thing is to understand the reasoning behind the “ingredients” that go into it.

Let’s take a look at what every successful year-end campaign should have — regardless of how your recipe gets stirred up.

1. Step-by-step timing that gets your donors’ attention.

You’re competing for your donor’s time, energy and attention in a very crowded media marketplace. It will take several steps and appeals to gain recognition on your donor’s overloaded personal radar screen.

Start first with a warm up, such as a phone call thank you and update. Then send a postcard announcing your year-end campaign. Then the appeal letter; then the follow up letter (“we haven’t heard from you.”)

It will take several attempts for you to actually gain your donor’s attention. If you are planning to send out only one letter, you’ll be disappointed with your results.

Whether it’s an email campaign or direct mail campaign, followup processes are an essential ingredient. Plan your followup along with everything else. It should be part of very appeal process.

2. Different media that reinforce your message.

You’ll need to reinforce your message in each communications channel you use: email, web, letters, postcards, brochures, phone calls. Your email reinforces your letter; and your letter reinforces your phone call. And you need the same message in each channel – all echoing each other.

Again, your donor is overloaded with messages coming in from everywhere. This is how do you get through to her.

And her habits may be changing.  Is she even opening her snail mail these days? Does she even write checks any more? Or does she avoid technology? Meet her where she is.

She really cares about your cause, but she just has to be reminded in several different ways.

3. A story that evokes emotion.

We all know that stories are more powerful than organizational accomplishments.

Make your appeal into a story. People are more likely to read a story than they will read a regular letter. Stories will draw your donor in and encourage them to keep reading. Powerful stories illustrate how you are changing and saving lives.

Studies show over and over that donors give out of emotion, then justify it with logic. You have to open your donor’s heart to the cause before you ask for her financial help.

Use a visual metaphor to illustrate your story. Try telling the story from a different angle in each appeal. The story is what will grab your donor’s heart.

4.  An appeal letter that your donor will open and read.

I hate to tell you, but lots of appeal letters simply aren’t opened or read. So how do you get through to your donor and make sure he reads the appeal?

First, the envelope needs to be memorable. If it looks like an impersonal form letter, you’re dead. Check the label – if it looks institutional, then your letter will be trashed quickly.

And the letter has to be about the donor, not about you. Talk about what the donor wants to accomplish and what’s important to the donor.

It’s essential to use:

• “I” and “you” words to make it very personal.
• Lots of white space, short sentences and paragraphs, bullets, photos, headings to make it easy to read.
• A strong P.S. – because that’s what the donor will read first.

5. A specific dollar amount that encourages a larger gift.

If you “hem and haw” about your ask, then you’re dead. You need to cheerfully and enthusiastically ask your donor for his financial commitment. No if’s, ands, or buts.

Be completely up front and ask for a specific dollar amount. If you just ask for “a generous contribution,” your donor is liable to low-ball, and you’ll be disappointed.

6. A clear call to action that motivates the donor to give.

Where, oh where, is the call to action on nonprofit web sites, in appeal letters, in presentations and speeches? You gotta tell the donor what they can do to help. You gotta make that request clear and simple. You must ASK:  Write your check today. Or make a gift today. Join our cause today. Take action right now.

Your call to action conveys urgency showing why they must give and give now.

And it needs to show how the money will make an immediate and lasting difference. Make it clear how much money you need and what you need it for.

And make sure your call to action is the same on both web, email and direct mail – and in personal presentations.

7. A donation process that makes it easy for your donor to give.

Clearly you have to make the giving process simple and seamless for the donor.

For direct mail appeals, you’ve got to include a pre-addressed reply envelope with every appeal. If you don’t include that envelope, you can pretty much forget your campaign.

But remember many donors are not writing checks any more. Be sure your web page offers a clear, simple path to make a gift. Test your web donation process by making a gift yourself – how intuitive is it? Is it cumbersome? Are you asking your donor for too much information?

Studies show that many donors leave the donation page before they make a gift. Don’t let that happen to you!

8. A web site that encourages donors to give.

What does your web site look like? Is it a brochure presented in web format? (boring) Is it all about you?

Have you considered what visitors to your site are looking for and what THEY want?  You might be surprised. (hint – check out your search box and what visitors are searching for)

Studies show that many donors who write checks visit web sites first to find out more information.  Be sure your site gives your visitors and donors what they want!

Set up a “Your Gifts at Work” page to show donors what you are doing with their money.

9. A thank you process that will keep donors giving.

Plan your thank you process when you plan your overall campaign. We all know terrific thank yous and stewardship are the first step in preparing your donor for an additional gift.

Plan now to have board members to call and say thank you immediately after you receive the gift.

Create the thank you letter when you write the appeal letter. Create a special welcome packet for new donors to make them feel part of the cause. Remember the old adage: find 7 ways to thank your donors and they’ll give again!

10. A Dec. 30-31 strategy that will maximize on-line giving.

Many organizations receive a majority of their on-line gifts the last two days of the calendar year. And between 35-42% of on-line gifts are made the last two months of the year. You need a specific strategy for the last week, with appeals scheduled for the last two days.

On-line gifts made in the last two months of the year tend to be higher than those made earlier in the year.

So plan those year-end email appeals now!

If these tips help you, plan to join me for my next webinar on September 22 for Top 10 Strategies to Raise More Money This Year-End. We’ll drill down more into these topics and I’ll share even more successful fundraising strategies to help you raise the most you can this year-end.

And leave a comment and tell me your impressions of this list!

I’m organizing a coaching mastermind group of professional fundraisers and need your help!

What do you want out of a 100% results-oriented group? What would help you stay on track, stay focused, and stay way ahead of the game?

How important would it be if you could create a personal plan for success in your work and your life?

Is it important to be able to implement the latest fundraising strategies to help you raise more money for your cause?

I’d really appreciate it if you’d fill out my VERY SHORT, eight question survey and give me some input on how to structure the coaching program.

Help me keep you inspired, edgy, powerfully productive, ready to raise lots of money and have a terrific time doing it.

Click here to take survey, and there’s a special invitation after you fill it out.

And thanks, thanks, thanks for your help!

Everybody’s losing their donors left and right.

Are you holding on to your donors? Or are they drifting away never to be seen again?

Across the board in the fundraising business, the probability that a donor will make a second gift to an organization is only 50%.  To make matters worse, the probability that a donor might make five consecutive gifts is only 10-15%.

Use these strategies to make your donors feel really, really special.  Then they’ll say “yes” when you ask for their support again.

1. Create a personal “insider’s briefing” for donors.

• Make them feel special by inviting them for personal briefings.
• Encourage a casual atmosphere and an exchange of questions.
• Have a facilitator who can help bring out questions from the group and encourage interaction.

2. Hold private tours for donors.

• What if you asked every single donor to come over for a personal or group tour of your organization?
• What a wonderful way to thank donors and show them personally the good work you’ve accomplished via their donations.

3.  Host a social or series of socials for donors.

• And this does not mean a “donor appreciation event” (who would want to come to that?)
• Instead, hold a porch party or a cook-out for your donors. (that sounds like fun!)
• Be sure you have a fun, not dreary event. Turn it into a party!

4.  Send a newsletter just for donors.

• Send something that has lots of pictures and stories.
• It should be plastered with information on the results you are achieving with their investments.
• Its tone should be friendly and informal.

5. Give them special treatment at your events.

• Give donors special seating.
• Give them a special star on their name tag, or special access to something.
• Find a way to have them feel really special at your event. At the least, recognize them.
• Try holding a private reception for your bigger donors immediately before a big event.

6. Create special communications just for donors.

• You could call it the monthly donor update, or “Good News for our Friends.”
• Try a special personalized e-briefing: “your gift at work.”

7.  Survey your donors.

Ask them what they think of the communications you send them.

• Ask them what news they’d like to hear from you.
• Ask them their opinion of your newsletter.
• Check out Tom Ahern’s article We don’t care what our donors think of us. He refers to a recent fundraising conference where 150 attendees were asked if they conducted donor satisfaction surveys. Not a hand went up. He then talks about how nonprofits are doing such a poor job holding on to donors.

8. Call your donors to say thank you.

• Thank you phone calls are a sure-fire way to keep donors happy.

Here are the statistics that Penelope Burk found when she tested the impact of board members making thank you phone calls to donors:

Board members called to thank donors within 24 hours of receiving the gift.  The next time the donors were solicited, those called gave 39% more than the other donors who did not get called. After 14 months, those called were giving 42% more than the other donors who did not receive phone calls.

9. Invite them to “State of Your Organization” update conference calls.

• Check out how the Atlanta Union Mission communicated with its donors and managed to budget a 10% increase in gifts because of its excellent donor retention.

10. Invite them to participate in an activity.

• I joined the Sierra Club and three weeks later was invited to a potluck dinner of the Triangle chapter.

• Three weeks after that I was invited to the “clean sweep” of our region’s waterways. I was impressed that they moved so quickly to get me involved.

11. Create a special “donors only” web site for them.

• Let them make comments on the site and tell their own stories.

• Check out how Care International cut attrition of their face-to-face acquired donors by 50%.  They created an online reporting approach back to each donor that spoke to them in a personalized fashion, sharing – in specific terms – what their contributions accomplished.

What have I missed? Please leave a comment and share the way YOUR organization slathers attention on its donors.

Alert! Did you know that donors – those wonderful, fickle folks we study, dissect, analyze and love – are shifting their giving patterns yet again?

If you knew what today’s donors are really looking for, and what would prompt them to give – just think of the impact on your fundraising.

How much more could you raise? Check these out so you can weave these points into your communications and marketing.  You’ll see a marked uptick in your fundraising results.

Thanks to researcher Penelope Burk for pointing out these new trends in her latest profile of 2010 donors, just released this week by her consulting firm Cygnus. She studied American and Canadian donors to 42 different nonprofits, and she found that donors are definitely cutting back on the number of charities they support.

If you want to be on donors’ short list of favorite charities, be sure you give them what they are looking for today:

1. Donors are increasingly favoring nonprofits that provide measurable results.

We’ve been seeing this trend for a while but now it’s unavoidable. The question is, are you providing this information to your donors? How are you offering it? And are you making it transparently accessible and easy to find?

Sharing this data builds trust. The more donors trust you the more they are likely to stay with you.

What to do:

• Create a “Your Gifts at Work” web page and make it easy to find.
• Present specifics and numbers about how you impacted the world. Use pictures, charts, graphs to illustrate.
• Celebrate your results in all your communications.
• Be sure your staff and board members know the numbers so they can spread the word.

2. When donors feel oversolicited, they are more likely to stop giving.

Donors have been warning us about this but now we have the hard data. When donors think a charity is asking too often, they are turned off. And they drop away.

What to do:

• Send a monthly stream of news to your donors about your good work.
• Be sure your communication in between solicitations is appealing.
• Don’t ever re-solicit until you first thank your donors and share your results with them.
• You can solicit several times a year, only if you do these other two things first.

3. Donors are now more influenced by lower fundraising costs.

No doubt about it: donors look at the percentage of fundraising and administrative costs as an indicator of efficiency. You want to come across as a well-run organization. Donors want to give to charities that are a good investment; that get a lot out of each dollar. AND donors want to be assured that their gift is not going to get frittered away in overhead or administrative expenses.

What to do:

• Pay attention to your overhead and fundraising numbers before your fiscal year closes and it’s too late.
• Discuss with your CPA or auditor the correct way to classify fundraising expenses.
• Sometimes there are gray areas in how a cost can be tracked. (one thing I learned in B-school years ago – when there is a gray area – take it in your favor.)
• Make it easy for donors to find this information.
• Explain what overhead covers and why investments in fundraising are so important.

4. Donors are increasingly favoring local projects instead of regional or national causes.

I didn’t see this one coming, with all the international disasters that get so much publicity. But it’s true – you are better off if you are serving your local community.

What to do:

• If you are a national organization, emphasize your work at the community level. Send donors information about what you are doing in their own community if you can. Send Ohio donors specific information about the number of people you help in Ohio.
• If you are local, play it up!

Thanks for leaving a comment and sharing your perspective. How have your donors changed? Are you seeing these trends?

“Too much to do and too little time to do it.” That’s the motto of a fundraiser’s life.

How do we know where to focus? What priorities to choose among the many options? How best to spend our time?

If you are floundering, tracking down too many leads without results, calling on too many donors, holding too many events, running around and around, chasing deadlines, writing grants. . .

Haven’t we all been there? And are you there right now?

Here are two simple questions that will focus you exactly where you need to be. Ask yourself these two questions constantly, and make the correct choice on where to focus. And you’ll automatically achieve greater results when you focus on the right donors in the right way.

Ask yourself this:

Is this . . .   (you name the activity) . . . the best use of my time?

What will be the return on my investment of valuable time, energy and attention?

Do you want to spend your time on planning yet another event, creating yet another report for your board, attending yet another endless staff meeting? Or do you want to spend your time in front of major donors who can change the course of your organization’s future?

Guess what: you get to choose each day what goes on your priority list.

You choose.

If you are wondering where to put your time and energy, check out this chart.  It’s the approximate average cost per dollar raised of various types of fundraising strategies. It’s taken from James Greenfield’s classic book, “Fundraising: Evaluating and Managing the Fund Development Process.“

Take a look at the return you get from spending your time seeking major gifts, compared to the time you might spend planning a fundraising event.

The return on your effort is far higher! Spending time with your major donors, seeking major gifts is by far the highest and best use of your time.

Major gifts has the greatest return on your investment of time and energy.

Take a look at events: for every dollar you raise, you have to spend $.50.

But for major gifts, for every dollar you raise, it is only costing you five to ten cents.

So it’s easy to figure this out! Spend your time with major donor prospects in face-to-face visits.

But no matter what, no matter how small an organization you have, even if you don’t have any major gift prospects – start now by identifying a handful of wonderful people who love your cause and who can become major donors. My article, “If you want to raise big money, do this  now!” will give you advice on what to do next.

So where do you spend your time? Do you focus too much on the small stuff? What’s keeping you from making those face-to-face calls on your donors and prospects? How can you change your priorities to spend time where it will pay off the most?

Set a goal.

Get out of your office. Set a goal of at least three in-person calls/visits a week. No matter what. These visits can be thank you visits; they can be advice visits, introductory visits, board member visits – any kind of in-person “get-to-know-you-and-listen-to-your-story” visits.

And it’s fun too. I personally love to make face to face visits. I’m interested in people and their passions for a better community. I love listening to their stories. I bet you are interested in people too.

Give it a try and you’ll be amazed. And you’ll have fun too.

What are your challenges making time to see major prospects? Does your boss understand? Does your board understand where you need to focus your time? Leave me a comment below and share them with me.