Become A Youtility
Today I followed a couple of links that led me, late bloomer that I am, to this ‘new’ word: Youtility.
It’s a nifty term, capturing a concept that all fundraisers should have embraced by now.
I started with Claire Axelrad’s great seductive headline — Want to Guarantee Fundraising Success? Dive Into These 5 Fundamentals. So I dove into her article, which talked helpfully about …
- Integrating donor-centered fundraising with a robust social content marketing strategy.
- Mastering online social fundraising.
- Mastering one-to-one major-gift fundraising.
- Mastering donor retention.
- Shifting to an organization-wide culture of philanthropy.
Plenty of good advice as she developed those points.
But one of her links stood out for me. She said fundraisers must “commit to being useful.”
And that phrase was linked to here: Why Nonprofit Content Should Help; Not Sell. It was here that I learned there’s a whole book called Youtility, by marketer Jay Baer. A NY Times bestseller no less … how embarrassing to be so far behind the curve!
The central proposition of that book is simple: Sell something and you create a customer today. Help someone and you create a customer for life.
Claire was using the concept with reference to content served up by nonprofits — too much of it about the organisation, not enough of it about the donor. Baer calls content that is useful to the customer a ‘youtility’.
But fundraisers should take the concept of ‘being useful’ to the donor much further than just ‘donor-centered’ content. The idea of your nonprofit being a Youtility should infect your entire orientation, attitude and practices toward donors, including areas like ‘customer service’, as Roger emphasised in this post.
If you’re not being useful, you’re just selling. And that’s a short-term strategy at best.
What has your organization done lately and communicated that’s useful to your donors? Not useful to the ’cause’ … useful to your donors.
Take Claire’s advice … commit to being useful. Become a Youtility.
Tom
2 responses to “Become A Youtility”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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I’m so honored to have been the one to steer you guys to this concept of “Youtility.” It’s only fair, as you’ve steered me to many great resources as well. I’m a huge Jay Baer fan, and think just about everything he has to say on his blog, “Convince and Convert,” applies to nonprofits in spades. And I agree this concept must extend to your entire nonprofit culture. It’s why one of my “Dive the 5” fundamentals I’m discussing in-depth this year on my Clairification blog is to shift to an organization-wide culture of philanthropy. You’re right. This does go beyond donor-centered “fundraising” strategy. It takes the concept of being of service into the very fibers of the organization. Donors are part of our mission. We exist to serve them, so they can be the change they want to see in the world.
“Organization wide culture of philanthropy” is the heart of the matter for one of my clients! Their board members, C-Suite, medical staff, employees, and volunteers are required to take “Philanthropy 101”, which is a one hour class presenting the mission of the foundation, accomplishments of the foundation, and goals of the foundation. +4,000 people carry a tri-fold business card called “Foundation Fast Facts” and are empowered 24/7/365 to give an elevator speech on behalf of the foundation! Is there any surprise their lifetime value of a donor is $4,400.00, and industry standard ranges from $1,000-$2,000!
When these people hear a positive comment from a grateful patient. they simply ask, “May I have our foundation contact you?”