Responding to our Boomers Reinventing 50  post, Sarah Spengler commented:

"Tom – interesting that you should talk about AARP and their advertizing campaign:  I just received some materials from them, having joined. very recently.  Among their offerings are discounts on motorcycle insurance of all things.  THAT told me I was in the right place.  And it made me wonder how long that has been a part of their mix.  It seemed pretty radical to me and told me very clearly that this is not my grandmother’s AARP!

When a nonprofit can keep that current it says a lot about the flexibility and capacity of their leadership.  I was very impressed – to your point exactly."

I’ll bet AARP’s welcome package was chockablock full of "stuff."

But what stuck out to Sarah was one tiny item … one small cue in the scheme of things — the motorcycle insurance. Clearly it sent her a confirming signal that she had made the right choice in joining AARP. With that cue, AARP "said" it was modern enough for this modern woman.

Two observations about this example …

First, it underscores one of the most important things a welcome package should do (beyond thanking the donor) … quickly reinforce the positive emotion and confirm the sound judgment the donor initially felt/associated with joining the organization (making the gift).

And note, for some AARP new members, the motorcycle insurance is — I’m certain — a very tangible benefit they will seize and use.  But for most it might simply send  the right signal.

What is it about your nonprofit’s welcome or acknowledgement package (or e-message) that delivers this kind of reinforcement?

Second, it reminds me of one of the first direct mail letters I ever received … and certainly the most life-changing.

The letter came in 1970 from Common Cause, an organization I’d never heard of, which was just launching.

A key theme of the letter was that the Congressional seniority system was a crucial obstacle to both accountability and progressive movement in the Congress. I was a grad student in political theory at the time. And my reaction was that any organization that recognized the key importance of this obscure structural convention was really going at the heart of things … it was the right organization for me.

The seniority system was my motorcycle insurance!

I immediately became a member of Common Cause, began volunteering … and within a few months got my first "professional" job there. And the rest is history!

Think about the "cues" your organization sends in its fundraising and communications materials. What are the words or images that send the strongest cues? What is the signal they actually send? Is it intentional? How do you know you’re "reading" this the same way as your recipient is?

Tom

P.S. Know who was responsible for Common Cause’s direct mail at that point? Roger Craver!