100 Donors in 90 DaysI like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen. Ernest Hemingway

Pamela Growwww.pamelagrow.com • Simple Development Systems • 2012

Pamela Grow • email: pamelagrow@simpledevelopmentsystems.com 1

Let’s get started!Are you ready?

What can you do to attract new donors - and keep

the ones that you already have - in today’s

challenging economy?

Start by always remembering my mantra: When you

begin to shift your focus from money to building

lasting relationships, the money will automatically

follow.

It’s almost by osmosis!

Review the upcoming five day’s worth of assignments. Each one should take you anywhere from

15 minutes to an hour to complete. Don’t be tempted to dismiss any one task!

Are you ready? Let’s get started!

Day OneCREATE A DONOR PROFILE

Today I’ll be asking you to do something that you may have never done before. You may even be

wondering exactly why you’re doing it and how this step will bring additional donors into your

organization.

I can hear you now: “Create a donor profile? Whatchoo talkin’ about Willis?”

Simple. Creating a donor profile is one of the most illuminating things you’ll ever do - and my

first step in working with new clients. When you can truly envision the individual you’re writing

to you’ll find that your overall writing, from your appeals, to your emails, to your website copy,

will take on a deeper, more personal approach.

And we’re looking to build lasting relationships, remember?

In Ken Burnett’s marvelous book, Relationship Fundraising: A Donor-Based Approach to the

Business of Raising Money, one of my favorite things is that Ken prefaces every chapter with a

“Donor Profile,” an in-depth story about one particular individual and how and why they give.

Each profile describes in depth a particular donor’s day to day life, his/her likes and dislikes, the

kind of car that he/she drives, even his/her upbringing.

The very idea of donor-centered fundraising often seems to be perceived as a trend in the

nonprofit world when, in reality, it is the only legitimate – I would even venture to say honest –

method to long-term, sustainable funding.

What we fundraisers often forget is that the “who is so much more important than the what.”

We’ll spend hours crafting our mission statement or our organization’s story – without giving

the slightest thought to the person who is reading it!

And, while a natural disaster may bring out nearly everyone’s humanitarianism (I don’t know

anyone who didn’t give something to a Haiti relief agency), you will strengthen your development

efforts - and bring in new donors - by spending some time really getting to know your donors.

One direct marketer I follow goes so far as to attempt to whittle down your ideal client – in our

case this would be our most loyal and dedicated donor – and she refers to that individual as your

“tarquet.”

Do what Ken Burnett does and truly envision that person. What they do for a living, what they

wear, where they live, how many children they have, where they worship – give that person a

name!

Here are a few examples. Years ago I worked for an organization with a duel mission: they

provided inner city middle school children with the tools they needed to go beyond their

oppressive public school education and go on to scholarships at private schools or the city’s best

magnet schools, and eventually college. The programming was taught by talented high school

and college students, which, in turn, drew talented teachers into urban education where they

were most needed. A definite win-win.

After reviewing a sampling of our most loyal donors, when I envisioned this agency’s “tarquet,” I

arrived at “Lisa.”

Lisa is a 47-year-old woman with a masters degree in political science. She didn’t grow up

in the area but moved to the region with her husband for his career 12 years ago. She

considers herself a progressive liberal and an environmentalist and believes in the

importance of giving back. Lisa and her husband enjoy a relatively affluent lifestyle and

live in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Their eldest son is in his senior year at Berkeley and

their daughter is in her junior year at the local public high school. After volunteering for

Teach for America, Lisa’s son, who had been floundering, found his true calling. Lisa

drives a Prius and shops at Whole Foods. She volunteers for three organizations and

serves on two boards.

Another client, an organization that provided poor public school students with school supplies

learned that their Ideal Donor was not whom they originally thought, teachers, but rather a

50something woman with grandchildren. She had reached a degree of financial stability and

comfort, and she had known poverty in her life.

Without fail, every client I have put through this exercise has come away amazed. Their donor

was rarely the person they thought they were.

Can you see how identifying your ideal donor will help you in developing your messaging?

Your Assignment

How would you identify your organization’s ideal donor?  Sample your database and complete

the Ideal Donor worksheet at the back of this packet. Have fun with it and let your imagination

run wild.

Whatever you do, don’t dismiss this step - it’s important!

Day TwoCREATE A SURVEY

Early on in my own fundraising career — long before I’d taken any Association of Fundraising

Professionals courses, before I’d read any nonprofit development books — the great marketing

classics navigated me through my first few years. Books like Dale Carnegie’s How to Win

Friends and Influence People, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and Dan Kennedy’s

Ultimate Sales Letter. And what I did in my initial two weeks on my first job eventually shaped

our hugely successful annual campaign.

It was simple really.

I queried our database to find 20 most loyal donors – individuals who had given over a minimum

of $150 every year for seven to 10 years.

I drafted a simple letter expressing our thanks for their continued support, along with an

introduction, and I enclosed a brief survey asking why they had contributed regularly for X

number of years. I included a self-addressed, stamped return envelope.

All but two responded.

Several sent in substantial checks, although I had made no mention of money.

Their responses were illuminating.  They were poignant and sometimes humorous.  What’s

more, they shaped my strategy going forward and many of their comments played a permanent

role in the agency’s marketing materials.

Your Assignment

1. Begin by querying your own database. If you’re a young organization, you may only have a

few years of data to go on. What are some different ways that you can segment your data? By

age? Donor loyalty? Use your imagination!

2. Draft a short, warm letter thanking the donor for their past support and requesting their

feedback. To sweeten the pot, think about a drawing with a prize or two.

3. Create a brief survey. Once again, use your imagination! Here are some sample questions to

get you started:

•Why do you support our work? Is it a particular program that caught your attention?

•We’d love to have you join us at a board meeting to talk about why you support our work.

Could we call you?

•How would you like to hear from us? Do you prefer our quarterly print newsletter, or is

your preference by email?

•What forms of social media do you use? Facebook? Twitter? Pinterest?

4. Include a postage-paid return envelope and mail.

Don’t stop now. One of the tenets of Simple Development Systems is to conduct frequent little

surveys. Most organizations don’t survey because, in their mind’s eye, it’s become a huge,

drawn-out process.

 

As famed fundraiser Dr. Adrian Sargeant notes, "Corporates have known for over 30 years that

the single biggest driver of customer loyalty is their satisfaction with the quality of service

provided."

      

Survey in your print newsletters. Survey in your enews. Survey via social media. Don’t let a

month go by without conducting a survey, even if it’s only one question!

Day Three CREATE YOUR PASS IT ON PACKET

Years ago, in my very first position as development director for a regional health organization, I

knew that, as successful as our first appeal had been, we really needed to grow our donor base.

That’s when I put together what I referred to as my "pass it on" package.

For every donor who gave in excess of $250, along with the thank you letter I would include a

packet, along with a simple request to "pass it on" to like-minded associates. I was concerned

about looking "cheesy"... worried about turning donors off.

I needn't have been. The "pass it on" concept was very successful. Many years after the fact I

can't recall exactly how many new donors we brought in, but three of them turned into major

donors. What's a similar concept that you can use to grow your own donor base? This one came

straight from the master of direct mail himself, Mal Warwick, during a tele-seminar and I thought

it deserved repeating:

Do a few queries of your database. Look for your most loyal donors and look for those donors

who gave in excess of a set amount. Then pick up the phone and ask them to give you the name

and addresses of three people who might be really interested in your work. Ask permission to use

their name and send out a letter of introduction. Simple as that!

Think of your “pass it on” packet as a welcome kit in letter format. The front page is a

personalized thank you to the donor. The back page features more information about your

organization as well as an invitation to “Introduce a friend.”

Day FourBEGIN YOUR ORGANIZATION’S MONTHLY GIVING

What's the one thing that your organization can do to truly connect with your donors on a

deeper level, lead to greater bequest giving and grow your sustainable income — all at the same

time? If you guessed monthly giving, you're right!

But in a recent survey that I conducted, a full 31 percent of those responding noted that their

organizations did not offer monthly giving. Twenty-nine percent indicated that, yes, their

organizations have monthly sustainer programs, but very few participate. And only 22 percent of

respondents indicated that they enjoyed the benefits of a robust monthly giving program.

And yet, a monthly giving program is relatively easy to implement (and grow)!

Here's all you need to do to get started:

1. The capability to offer electronic funds transfer (EFT) and/or credit card payments. One

organization that I spoke with offers its monthly giving program solely via direct mail and a sign-

up form provided by the bank. If your organization isn't set up to accept recurring credit card

donations, the beauty of EFT is that the retention rate tends to be higher than other methods

because there are no expired credit cards.

2. A "product" to offer your donors. What does their $10 or $20 a month buy? Feeding America

notes that "every $1 of your monthly gift will help to provide $9 worth of food through [our]

network of food banks."

UNICEF gives a compelling reason for donors to give monthly: "Monthly giving provides a

steady and cost-effective source of income to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. And because your

monthly donation is processed automatically, you help us reduce our costs — which allows us to

fund more programs and help more children." The organization also lets donors know that "$15

a month (50¢ per day) can provide 12 packets of high energy biscuits specially developed for

malnourished children."

Paint a picture in the donor's mind. Get specific, and get creative.

3. A donor base. Begin by targeting those donors who already have demonstrated a commitment

to your organization, either by a history of loyal giving or more than one gift in the last fiscal year.

Get your board members "on board." Introduce them to your e-mail list.

4. Have a solid plan in place to steward your monthly donors well. The care and feeding of

monthly donors is a big question in many people's minds. By all means continue to

communicate. Donor retention expert Lisa Sargent recommends sending out special versions of

your regular communications, offering special opportunities (events, guided tours, president's

breakfasts, etc.) and saying thank you — a lot.

Does your organization offer monthly giving but you've found that it's languishing, with few new

sign-ups? Spend some time surveying your current monthly donors to find out why they give.

Turn their comments into a "testimonial" sheet. Segment your database, and develop a targeted

mailing for the sole purpose of recruiting new monthly donors that includes the "testimonial"

note with your mailing.

Include those testimonials on your website as well to encourage new monthly gifts.

Review your monthly giving program every year with an eye to growing it. And always consider

the lifetime value of your donor.

Day FiveSHOWER THE DONORS YOU DO HAVE WITH LOVE

Like it or not, sustainable fundraising is a nurturing process. You wouldn’t mix up some flour,

yeast and water and throw it in the oven expecting bread would you? Of course not, you’re going

to mix your ingredients, knead your dough, allow it to rise, punch it down and maybe even repeat

the process, then bake it. It’s the same with fundraising – you’re creating a nurturing process

with your donors and prospective donors.

That relationship with your donors should be all encompassing: from personal contact to direct

mail, to your web presence to email and to how people in your organization answer the phone.

And, in everything that you do, you should be thinking about lifetime value.

Nonprofit marketing always takes place in a context of what we call – wait for it – a market. And

when you consider your market, there is a line separating your potential donors (demographics,

psychographics, etc of people that can or might give you money) and donors (people who have

actually given you money). You may prefer to look at them as potential vs. proven. If you must

ensure that your messages pay off, do you allocate your resources according to this model? Or do

you favor your existing donors?

While on this topic – love your donors, not your mission. It is all too easy to get caught up in

nonprofit marketing that is I/me based (we are so good because.... we are number one

because...). By falling in love with your donors, you make them the focal point, you monitor their

feedback (notice I didn't say ‘dictate’ the marketing as they’re not qualified to do so, but they are

very qualified to vote with their dollars as to the effectiveness of a particular appeal), and you are

aware of their preferred method of contact. Another word of caution on the meaning of

‘preferred’: just because people say they prefer tweets doesn't mean they respond best to tweets.

It is important to test.

So, what are the most powerful ways to love your donors?

• Two words: thank you. One of the ways to show love is by showing appreciation. Make it a

practice to say thank you not once but twice or even three times. Schedule 30 minutes in your

daily routine to call a handful of recent donors to thank them personally for their gifts.

• Touching: you physically touch someone you love but you can also demonstrate touch by

calling or writing to someone and saying, ‘You’re an important person in my life and I just

wanted you to know that’. Or, ‘Hey, just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you’. I

recommend a minimum of 12 touches a year. They could be a combination of three print

newsletters, two direct mail appeals, six email newsletters and one postcard. A minimum of 12.

• Donor appreciation events: you get together with family and friends during the holidays...why

not get together with donors (you love them, remember?) and celebrate with them?

Your Assignment

Today you’ll be selecting anywhere from five to 10 random donors and showing your love with a

gift. Need an example?

‘Dear Dave Donor,

Are you wondering why I’ve enclosed a packet of gum with this letter?

Well, I just wanted to say thanks and I was thinking how 'sweet' you were to give a gift

earlier this year and giving you something sweet seemed appropriate.

Enjoy! (These are the new Trident Rainbow flavored ones so they are sugar free and

won't cause cavities.)’

See what we’ve just accomplished? We made our interactions with this person fun (and you do

have fun with your friends, don’t you?), it wasn't a 'give me money' communication, and it was

most definitely memorable. Do you think they'll see us in a favorable light the next time we do

ask for money? And don’t you think that they’ll share what you’ve done with friends and family?

About the AuthorAuthor, coach, and nonprofit marketing consultant,

Pamela Grow is the author of Five Days to Foundation

Grants  and  Simple Development Systems.

Pamela’s been featured by the Chronicle of Philanthropy

and the Foundation Center.  She’s the founder of

#smNPchat on Twitter – the only Twitter chat geared

specifically to the small nonprofit development shop –

and she co-hosts Small Shop a regular column of

Fundraising Success Magazine. She is a regular

contributor to SOFII, the showcase of fundraising

innovation and inspiration, and CharityChannel.  Pamela has presented at the annual Nonprofit

Technology Conference, the New Jersey Association for Grant Professionals, and Network for

Good’s 911 webinars.  She hosts regular grant-training webinars with CharityHowTo.

Pam segued from nearly seven years working in programming and communications at a

Philadelphia regional grantmaking foundation to the world of fundraising 11 years ago.  In her

first position as a 15-hour a week development director for an agency with a $3 million dollar

budget, she increased individual giving by 25% – while reducing costs by 31% - and increased

foundation funding by an astonishing 93%! She’s raised over $10 million in funding since then

and has been positioning small nonprofit organizations on the path to sustainable funding ever

since  with her “Simple Development Systems” of donor-centric fundraising methods.

Prior to entering the field of nonprofit fundraising, Pamela worked on issues ranging from

corrections to social services to mental health with the Michigan State Legislature. Her greatest

satisfaction lies in teaching small community-based nonprofits how to, in her words,  “market

like the big boys” with limited time and resources.