Am I asking too often? Almost certainly not. If communicating too much were a problem, you’d see donor retention drop as you increase communication. That never happens. Retention increases as you add communication. So does net revenue. You’re far more likely not asking often enough to keep donors on board.
We send the same messages over and over – donors must be getting sick of them. You are paying close attention to every piece of communication you send out. Donors are not. What seems like mind-numbing repetition from your point of view is just a message starting to get through for most of them. Repetition is your friend!
Do my communications make my organization look bad? Effective fundraising is about problems that urgently need solving. It’s easy to get the sense that all you have are problems and no solutions. Unless you are regularly reporting back, showing donors that they’re giving makes a difference. Fundraising is a relationship, not just an endless parade of asks.
The future of fundraising is not about social media, online video, or SEM. It’s not about any technology, medium, or technique. It’s about donors. If you need to raise funds from donors, you need to study them, respect them, and build everything you do around them. And the future? It’s already here. More.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com. More.
The future of fundraising is not about social media, online video, or SEM. It’s not about any technology, medium, or technique. It’s about donors. If you need to raise funds from donors, you need to study them, respect them, and build everything you do around them. And the future? It’s already here. More.
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Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 30 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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