Fundraiser, You’re Not Alone
For much of the year, fundraisers can at least pretend to ourselves that our cause or charity is the the only game in town (of course our donors know better).
We can delude ourselves into thinking …
This email, this letter, this video, this Facebook post, this text message will be the highlight of my donor’s day … Nothing else is going on … It will be the only such message they’ll receive on the day … They can’t miss it … It will really stand out … get the cash register ready!
Right!
Of course that’s never true (you’ve heard of ‘willing suspension of disbelief’?!).
But it’s especially not true during the year-end window we’re now entering. Let’s pick a random start date for ‘year-end’. How about November 1?
From that day on, force yourself to assume that each and every day until January 1 each and every donor of yours (as you like to think of them) will get 1 to 5 fundraising appeals. I don’t think that’s improbable, do you?
You’re not alone. Your appeal is just one little pellet in a daily shotgun blast.
Why do you think that donor (the one you call yours) will pay any attention to your appeal, need, organization? What will make your appeal special, distinctive, differentiated? Once you’ve figured that out, multiply it by the dozens of appeals you’ll probably send out over those 61 days.
Once you’ve figured that out, with any spare time you have left, you can get ready for that true celebration of sameness … #GivingTuesday! Only 42 days to go.
Tom
One response to “Fundraiser, You’re Not Alone”
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 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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Tom: 1 to 5 fundraising appeals a day? You must be talking about “zombie donors” who never actually donate. My research says it’s more like 10 pieces a day for typical direct mail donors. Which, of course, supports your point even more.