The holiday season is full of family, friends, and fun. We look back over the year and give thanks for our good fortune. Many of us also share our good fortune with those who need lifting up by donating to our favorite charities. It makes the holidays even sweeter to know that we’ve made lives a little brighter.
But why do most of us stop there? Why do we waltz into the New Year focused on how we are going to change our own lives with resolutions? What about the neighbors in need we helped during the holidays? Most likely, their situations have not changed just because the holidays are over.
It’s up to us as nonprofit leaders to remind donors that our clients still need them. The New Year is the perfect time to build long-term relationships with holiday-only donors by utilizing engagement techniques that give them a reason to help again.
The International Journal of Happiness and Development published a study in 2013 about social giving. The study reported that when we extend even a little bit of kindness or generosity to others, we experience a strong social connection and feelings of positivity. The study also concludes that we feel happiest when we donate to a charitable cause through someone we know instead of simply sending a donation through a website or direct mail. It is also possible to extrapolate from this study that donors with positive emotions associated with their giving might make more frequent and even larger donations. Happy supporters might even be more likely to become loyal volunteers and community advocates.
This study speaks volumes as to how we can maximize year-round donations by finding ways to build that social connection with not only donors but volunteers, board members, and other supporters. The more connected we feel, the more we want to help, so that we experience even more of a connection. It becomes a wonderful two-way cyclical relationship.
But how can we do this? The ANA’s Marketing Word of the Year for 2019 is a clue. Personalization may seem like something that only big brands have the data and resources to do but even small nonprofits can deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. We can not afford to think about our supporters as one type of person or as needing the same thing. If we assume that, we are not going to make those social connections that are so vital to engagement.
First, list what we know about our supporters. Group them according to demographics, donor intent, donor platform or vehicle, or any other relevant characteristic. Create personas for each group including needs, wants, pain points, donor triggers, and messaging and stories that would resonate with that persona. If you feel like you need more details about your supporters, ask them! Most donors appreciate it when you ask them to be a part of building the relationship. Once you have applicable persona information, look for opportunities to interact either in-person or online with each persona in a way that addresses one of their needs, wants or pain points.
Use powerful stories and images that place them in the narrative and show them how they make an impact when they make a gift. But don’t make every connection an ask. Make some communications just a touchpoint to foster the relationship. Do make an ask when you have a compelling reason such as a shortage of needed items or a capital campaign but craft the ask in the form of how their gift will help an individual client or family. And make sure to personally thank each supporter for each and every gift, no matter the size.
Email is the easiest way to segment and personalize messaging to supporters. It is possible to also use social media to do this by recruiting ambassadors to spread your message to their online networks. In-person connections can be made at events, program tours or group volunteer opportunities. Don’t forget handwritten thank you notes and phone calls. Our board members make thank-you calls to individual donors every month and many of these donors give again. That old-fashioned personal touch still means so much to certain donors.
I’m reminded of the book by Chip and Dan Heath, The Power of Moments. Here is our opportunity to create extraordinary moments with elevation, connection, pride and insight. Moments matter in life. We shouldn’t leave them to chance. Especially when the holidays are over and life goes on. Donors may forget about the cause but they are still looking for social connections that make them feel good. And our clients are still depending on us. We can be the catalyst that brings us all together.
