© 2014 tom ahern | donor communications 202 making real $$$ tom ahern | berkshire taconic cf |...

© 2014 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 1

Donor Communications 202

Making Real $$$

Tom Ahern | Berkshire Taconic CF | Sept 2014

Direct Mail | © 2010 Tom Ahern | www.aherncomm.com 2

The following letter was written by a volunteer with zero

experience. It raised $55,926 for a small-town library.

Tom Ahern | © 2013 4

Why us?What are we doing that’s so uniquely wonderful that the

world should want more of it and support our new plans?

1

5© 2011 Tom Ahern | www.aherncomm.com

Why us?

Why us?

Why us?


Why us?

Why us?

Why us?

Tom Ahern | © 2013 7

Why now?What’s the big hurry?

What changed? Why is this URGENT?2


Why now?

Why now?

Why now?


Why now?

Why now?

Tom Ahern | © 2013 10

Why you, the donor, might care?3


Why donor cares? “I’m needed.”





Why donor cares? “It’s mine.”

Why donor cares? “I can honor someone.” Greed.

“We support a charity or a soccer team or a perfume because it gives us a chance to love something about ourselves.”

13© 2014 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com

Source: Seth Godin

“We support a charity or a soccer team or a perfume because it gives us a chance to love something about ourselves.”


Source: Seth Godin

The world as we know it

Over the past decade the number of US nonprofits has shot up by 47% to a whopping 1,056,000 organizations. Yet private giving as a percentage of the US national income dropped by 11.7% in the same period. Clearly, too many organizations chasing too little money.


Source: January 2013, The Agitator

Appeals, thanks, & newsletters work together.

You ask. You thank. You report.You ask. You thank. You report.You ask. You thank. You report.

16

The virtuous circle...

© 2014 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com

Appeals, thanks, & newsletters work together.

You ask. You thank. You report.You ask. You thank. You report.You ask. You thank. You report.

17

The virtuous circle...



A.k.a.,

LOVERIZING: Wooing, Winning and Keeping Individual Donors

“Loverizing” equals “donor centricity.”“Indiscriminate donor hugging” is

another synonym.

1993 2003 2004



The “F” pattern

? Really?

The story’s about the donor...every time someone donates to a good cause, they're buying a story, a story that's worth more than the amount they donated.

It might be the story of doing the right thing, or fitting in, or pleasing a friend or honoring a memory, but the story has value.

For many, it's the story of what it means to be part of a community.

Source: Seth Godin


Pixar PitchOnce upon a time ________________.Every day, _______________________.One day ______________________.Because of that, ________________.Until finally_____________________.

24

Source: Daniel Pink, To Sell Is Human, via Joanne Fritz


A donor showed up. Someone JUST like you!

visionenemyhero

servedSource: Stephen Pidgeon and Tangible



Yes, I donate....

Jane | Age 89 | Widowed

Every 15 minutes someone in the UK begins to lose their sight. Today, with your help, we can give them the practical support needed to rebuild their shattered lives.


Source: Stephen Pidgeon and Tangible

Vision

Hero

Enemy

Served

hero defeats enemy



donors make sad happy


So, why?


70+% of first-time donors in the U.S. do NOT make a second gift.

A 10% improvement in your donor retention improves your revenue 50% immediately.

And that’s just the beginning....


Source: Adrian Sargeant, 2010

“A three-minute thank-you call will boost 1st year retention by 30%.”


Source: The Agitator, 2013

First-time donors who receive a personal thank you within 48 hours are 4 times more likely to give again.

Source: Damian O’Broin via Bluefrog presentation at IFC


Calculating donor retention

Step 1: Count the total number of donors who gave in your most recent calendar or fiscal year.

Step 2: Divide the number of donors who made a donation in year 2 by the total in Step 1.

Step 3: Multiply the result from Step 2 by 100 to obtain your retention rate as a percentage.


Source: Roger Craver, 2014

Communications are a mirror held up to donors. They see themselves in

what you say.


Welcome tothe family

40TOM AHERN © 2014

St. Jude’s welcome package

• #10 envelope: THANKS! Your St. Jude welcome materials are enclosed.

• Personalized, one-sided letter (for $10 gift) gushes, “I’ve just received the marvelous news – you’re the newest member of the St. Jude family.” Marlo Thomas

• P.S.: “I know there are many worthy charities that ask for your help. Please know how honored we are that you’ve chosen to support the work of St. Jude.”

• Inserts: thank you from patient, thank you from parent, small notepad, reply slip with a gentle ask for “extra gift”

41© Tom Ahern | © 2013


LOVERIZING

TOM AHERN © 2014 43

“Does my stuff passthe ‘you test’?”


Step One in Your Recovery

If you haven't yet made Sharp one of your charities, I am writing to sincerely ask that you ...

.... Please consider making your first gift today!

Since my treatment, I've learned just how important donors are to Sharp.

Year after year, donors have helped Sharp build new facilities, buy new equipment, fund scholarships, research, community outreach ... and more.

When you hear the worst diagnosis in your life, you quickly appreciate why all those years of donor support matter.

"Diane, your tonsils are full of cancer," I heard the doctor say. And that wasn't all of it. I had cancer in my jaw and the roof of my mouth as well.

I'd already lost a year because an earlier doctor, not at Sharp, had misdiagnosed my sore-throat symptoms and sent me home with a remedy from the drug store.

At Sharp, I was rushed into surgery immediately.

As you might imagine, it could have been a very, very bad scene for me.

45© Tom Ahern | © 2013

The word “you” is a

profoundemotional trigger.

Hello, I'm Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services. Welcome to our 2009 interactive annual report.

The generosity of you, our donors, is one of Catholic Relief Services greatest blessings. Your support gives us the resources we need to bring innovative solutions to tough humanitarian problems. Your compassion transforms lives.

Donors:Why they’re justnot that into you

49TOM AHERN © 2014

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT USABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT USABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US ABOUT US

51TOM AHERN © 2014

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT USABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT USABOUT US

ABOUT US

ABOUT US ABOUT US ABOUT US

ABOUT THE DONOR

52TOM AHERN © 2014

A lot of charities could be mistaken for

egomaniacs.

53TOM AHERN © 2014

Corporate communications are about how great the organization is. Favorite pronoun:

we54TOM AHERN © 2014

Donor communications are about how great the donor is. Favorite pronoun:

you56TOM AHERN © 2014

Thanks to youand other generous donors like you,

we were able to turn...

57TOM AHERN © 2014

Your donors will never tire of hearing how useful they are.



LOVERIZING

Sore throat? My tonsils had filled with cancer.

But thanks in part to donors like you,Sharp cancer care had the cure.


Dear Tom,

My name's Diane York.

I'm a mother, a wife, a career fashion designer ... and, thanks to the magnificent care I received at Sharp, I am also now a cancer survivor.

If you are, or have been, a donor to Sharp, I want to take this special opportunity to thank you personally for your contribution to my recovery.

ETC....

Donor love


Giving increased75% over previous

letter

Actually...

You ask (and flatter).You thank (and flatter).You report (and flatter).

You cannot flatter too much.

64TOM AHERN © 2014

65

Source: Neuromarketing blog

“Even when people perceive that flattery is insincere, that flattery can still leave a lasting and positive impression of the flatterer.”

TOM AHERN © 2014

67

Curiosity builder Exclusivity trigger

Flattery trigger

© 2013 Tom Ahern


Dear Jane Doe,

Welcome ... I hope.

I’m writing today to request the pleasure of your acquaintance.

There’s a place reserved for you on The Rhode Island Foundation’s mailing list ... but only if you agree and check, “Yes, I’m interested” on the enclosed reply card.

You’ll be in good company, that I can promise.

[etc.]


Do they even know you’re a charity?


Or do they assume someone else’s

money does the job?

72

Anatomy of a failed front page...


Tom Ahern | © 2014 73

...and a good time was had by all 34...

How many kids depicted?

One. Teensy.

How many donors excluded?

17,966 out of 18,000

Your newsletter is not the society pages.

Stay on mission.


75

“Donor, who art thou?”


“A young donor is 60.” Jeff Brooks



Yes, I donate....

Jane | Age 89 | Widowed

Average donor age at Sharp?


7575

Donors by age (percentage)

79

For eyes over 60...

AIGA recommends 14 pt. for body copy.


Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) began to outnumber their elders in the donor-aged population starting in 2010. This monster demographic group is going to be the backbone of charitable giving from now until the mid-2030s.

81

Source: Jeff Brooks, Future Fundraising Now, 2011

Thought for today...

Donor Newsltr-Kivi-1 | © 2014 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com

Donor Newsltr-Kivi-1 | © 2014 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 82

Baby boomers aren't digital natives. They grew up with paper. Print will always be a big and romantic part of their lives. Boomers are expected to dominate donations until 2035

reporting on Jeff Brooks’ data

Why Merchant’s Quay went from 3 printed issues a year to 4. Donor newsletter response rates:

2011, response rates of 6.35%, 6.59% and 8.00%.2012, response rates of 7.40%, 7.33%, and 12.08%.2013, response rates of 9.90%, 12.38%, and 12.73%.

For the record, this hasn't killed their donor retention rate. Au contraire. It now stands at 60%, double that of most U.S. nonprofits. (And no, their file is not dying. We do acquisition rollouts 2-3 times per year. The database has grown 5X in as many years. Five times.)


Source: Denisa Casement & Lisa Sargent, 2014

Why Merchant’s Quay went from 3 printed issues a year to 4. Donor newsletter response rates:

2011, response rates of 6.35%, 6.59% and 8.00%.2012, response rates of 7.40%, 7.33%, and 12.08%.2013, response rates of 9.90%, 12.38%, and 12.73%.

For the record, this hasn't killed their donor retention rate. Au contraire. It now stands at 60%, double that of most U.S. nonprofits. (And no, their file is not dying. We do acquisition rollouts 2-3 times per year. The database has grown 5X in as many years. Five times.)


Source: Denisa Casement & Lisa Sargent, 2014

https://www.mqi.ie/newshttps://www.mqi.ie/newshttps://www.mqi.ie/news

Paper or electrons?

!Both!Print is for money. Both are for love.


You need a “Poster Anecdote”~~~

Or 3. It’s a “micro-case” that’s easy to remember and repeat. Board members

will love you for it.


90

When she entered our 3rd grade, she couldn’t spell “cat.”

At the end of the year, she could spell “Tchaikovsky.”



Whatis YOUR “poster anecdote?

5 MIN

Break!Break!93


Who’s got a good one?

94

© Tom Ahern | © 2013 95

“Did I get them into a fight?”

96

“Giving is not about a calculation of what you are buying,” Yale

economics professor, Dean Karlan, proved. “It is about

participating in a fight.”

The New York Times | March 9, 2008

“We need to educate our donors.”

NO, YOU DON’T!

98TOM AHERN © 2014


“Donors are staggeringly ignorant of the causes

they support.”

-- Richard Radcliffe, dean of UK donor researchers

100

Direct mail secret to success.......

You’re trying for “mental nods.”


A. Lee Edgar, M.D.


If you believe inHospice as much as Ido, open immediately....

Authority figure

Mental nod

What should I do next?

102© 2014 Tom Ahern |

www.AHERNCOMM.com


What they do have, though, are:

feelings

WILL

FIGHTTO TURN SAD INTO

HAPPY




values

WILL

FIGHTFOR TRUTH




interests

WILL

FIGHTFOR BIRDS




connections

WILL

FIGHTFOR KAREN’S FRIEND

IN SIERRA LEONE


“Tom, this is Nellie!”

“Tom, this is Nellie!”



debts to repay

FY13: “Donors support UChicago priorities with historic $459 million fundraising year” including a $300 million gift from Trustee David Booth


Why getting donor centricity right doesn’t matter for a donor like David Booth....

“By using the efficient markets hypothesis developed at the University of Chicago business school, we have been able to document clearly that you don’t have to try to outguess the market in order to have a good investment experience,” Booth said.“It would be hard to find anyone who benefited more from a University of Chicago education and from the faculty at Chicago than I have,” said Booth, who has been a member of the Council on the Graduate School of Business since 1999 and a member of the University Board of Trustees since 2002.




instincts

Look up “cuteness” on Wikipedia.

116TOM AHERN © 2014

WILL

FIGHTFOR ANY KID



What’sYOUR fight...“IF you care about...”

2 MIN


What’sYOUR fight...

2 MIN


Why they stay

In fundraising,

the donor is the “customer.”


Your job is to make that customer happy.


Why bother?


UNhappy customers give ELSEwhere.


Loyalty factor #1

Good customer service

Do you anticipate questions, for instance? Do you acknowledge

gifts promptly?


Source: Dr. Adrian Sargeant

“Did they getmy gift?”


“What’s this?”


Your thanks and your newsletters are the hug!


Anticipating questions and answering them is

a big service issue


“Do they even know my name?”


What’s wrong with this picture?



Consequences of “Tom” not “Thomas”

“Are they grateful?”


• 25,000 of highest donors received a simple EXTRA thank you at the beginning of the year, for their past generosity; no reply device included

• 25,000 did not

139

Source: from Angel Aloma, Food for the Poor, reported by The Agitator, May 2012

Both groups gave the same number of gifts during the year. But the group that received the simple thank you note was more generous: they gave almost $450,000 more that year.

What’s an extra “thanks” worth?



Thank You! You’re our hero. You’ve changed the lives of our students, their grandmothers, and the communities we serve by investing in The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project – thank you! Your contribution is moving the mountains of poverty and paving the way toward success for the most vulnerable children living in your lifetime. Thank you for supporting...

They share your beliefs

141

Loyalty factor #2




Source: photo by Paul Lamb

They’re aware of consequences

Believing“Someone might be hurt if I don’t

give.”Believing

“Someone will be helped if I do give.”143

Loyalty factor #3




Source: Jeff Brooks, June 2013

You’ve established a personal link

You give the donor credit. You speak directly – and frequently –

to the donor.

147

Loyalty factor #4




LOVERIZING

Angel Aloma, ED of Food for the Poor, a $1 billion dollar charity, to Tom Ahern:

"I want to reiterate that much of what we are doing now in regards to donor centricity was inspired by your wonderful presentation.... I am convinced that the reason why we have grown in the last years of tough economic conditions in the country is because of that wonderful switch that you inspired [in our communications]."


Loyalty factor #5

They’re learning

Are you taking them on a journey?




For every $1 spent on this donor newsletter, $7 comes back in gifts.

Loyalty factor #6

Multiple engagements




Offer

“I’ve helped bring in almost $16 million in

new funds since 2010.”

“I’ve helped bring in almost $16 million in

new funds since 2010.”


Offer

Offer

Offer

Offer

Offer

Tabs are offers

Offer

They trust you

Oddly, if you’re seen as smart in one area, people assume you’re

smart in all.

166

Loyalty factor #7



Get the other 6 right and this one takes

care of itself.


The gift of joy:

You make the stories in this newsletter possible!



At least once per page in the BIG TYPE, love thy donor loud and clear

From you....They want to belong.They want to see their values in

action.They want to win!They want to feel good.They want to feel loved.They want to feel smart.They want to feel needed.They want to feel important.They want to feel something.

173Tom Ahern | © 2014

How much are these GUIDELINES

actually worth$$$$?


How great the ORGANIZATION is = $4,470 in gifts


CORPORATE communications

DONOR communications

How great the ORGANIZATION is = $4,470 in gifts


How great the DONOR is = $49,600 in gifts

1,000%

IMPROVEMENT!!!

178

Myfreehow-toe-newsletter…www.aherncomm.com


I subscribe!

I subscribe!

© 2014 tom ahern | donor communications 202 making real $$$ tom ahern | berkshire taconic cf |...

Documents

agitator slide

seth godin slide

tom ahern berkshire

donor cares

donor communications

indiscriminate donor

number of us nonprofits

us national income