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Are You Ready to Take Advantage of the December Online Giving Spike?

by Diane Remin
Posted in Online Fundraising Year-end Giving

You don’t want to overlook year-end online fundraising–and specifically the last three days of December. 

A seminal study by Network for Good and True Sense Marketing found that online giving spikes during disasters and during the month of December. The study is based on $381M of online giving from 66,470 nonprofits during 2003-2009. Get your free copy at www.onlinegivingstudy.org.

The December Spike

Giving spikes during December, but goes through the roof on the last 3 days and even the last few hours.  The data suggests that the winning strategy is a set of online giving solicitations during December, culminating with at least one if not two at the very end of the month.

The Online Giving Experience

Just like with other forms of giving, the more personal the experience, the better. 

Specifically:

  • Donors loyalty for donors acquired through generic giving pages is 66.7% lower than for donors who give through charity-branded giving pages
  • Donors who give through charity websites vs. giving portals start at the highest level and give the most over time
  • Recurring giving is a major driver of giving over time — invite it!

Happy Holidays!

Major donors are in your midst

by Diane Remin
Posted in Major Donors Major Gifts Major Gifts Program

How can smaller nonprofitsengage potential major donors?

My mantra is, “pick up the phone.”

Who do you call?

Anyone making an annual fund gift of $1,000 or more.  Don’t have anyone like that?  Then drop down to $500 or even $250.

The nonprofit community has a love affair going with paper. But to engage major donors, you’ve got to get to know them. And they need to know you. So, when I say, “pick up the phone,” it’s not to ask for anything – quite the contrary. It’s to set-up an in-person visit at the donor’s home or office. If your donors are spread across the country, focus on one geographic area at a time and set-up multiple visits.

The corollary mantra to “pick up the phone” is “get on the plane.”

To engage potential major donors, you need to deeply understand their interest in your organization. What prompted the first gift? What does he/she likes best about your programs and services. How does your organization tie into the donor’s life -family, work leisure and school? What other organizations does he/she support? What’s the draw?

Similarly, the donor wants to know more about you. If you’re on the board, why? As staff, what do you see on a day-to-day basis that keeps you motivated? How well your organization’s programs and services resonate with his/her interests. What impact is he/she having?

Board, staff and donors alike want to help build your wonderful organization. An in-person visit is a great time to consider whom else the prospective major donor knows who might be interested in your organization’s work. Do be clear about how the donor can assist as a “connector” and ask how to best involve him/her, e.g., “Are you willing to make an e-intro?” to “Can I use your name?”

Where’s the money, you might be wondering? Nowhere until a relationship is established. And rightly so.

Get on the plane!

by Diane Remin
Posted in Major Donors Major Gifts Major Gifts Program

You likely know the answer before you call fundraising counsel for advice. “Yes,” get on the plane and complete your major gift solicitation in person.

Fundraising counsel for nonprofits of all sizes share this call in common:

A NY-based client gets on the phone and says, “Well, we have this donor in CA and oh, the travel, I was just out there last month….”

“How much is the gift for?” we inquire.

“$50,000” answers the client, who then adds, “I know. I know.” 

It’s a quick call for us.  We only utter two words, “How much?”

There is no question that it is challenging to maintain relationships with a national donor base.  But if you’ve gone so far as to qualify and cultivate a donor, you don’t want to give up on best practice at the finale. 

That means not only asking for the gift in-person, but also securing the gift in person.

Are you flying from the US to Hong Kong for $10,000?  Probably not, unless the relationship-building opportunity warrants the visit and/or you can combine the trip with other visits. There are travel judgment calls to be made.

Most of the time, you do know the answer before you call:  “Get on the plane!”

That extra plane ride is likely to be rewarding in so many ways.

Breathing Your Way to a Major Gift

by Diane Remin
Posted in Major Gifts

There’s only so much you can do about your major gift prospects’ passion and excitement about your work.  But there’s plenty you can do about your prospects’ connection to you.

Creating rapport is a key ingredient of relationship-building.  Thanks to the research conducted by the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) community, we know that physiological “matching” builds rapport.

Speech Pattern

Many of us naturally change the pace of our speech to get more in-tune with that of our conversation partner (without mimicking, of course). That is one element of matching. And it’s a good one.

Blinking and Breathing

 Here are two less obvious ones:

  • Blinking at the same rate as your prospect
  • Breathing at the same rate as your prospect

 Experiment with one at a time, and find the one with which you are most comfortable.

 Give these rapport-building techniques a try, and let us know how it goes.

 P.S.  “Mirroring” helps build rapport in any context. It’s not just for major gift work.

Major Gift Cultivation & Solicitation: Say “yes” to the coffee

by Diane Remin
Posted in Donor Cultivation Major Gifts Making the Ask

When the donor offers you refreshments, say “yes.” 

The first few minutes of a major gift cultivation or solicitation visit set the psychological stage. With the offer of refreshments, the prospect is taking a step toward you.  Accept. Your acceptance is building the social bond. You are also modeling “yes” mode.

If the offer is generic, as in, “Can I get you something to drink?” pick something that is obviously available. Water is a safe bet if you don’t see cans of soda or the coffee pot percolating. If you are offered an array of choices, e.g., “Would you like coffee, a soft drink, or some water?” – feel free to select your favorite. 

If the prospect has made coffee or is serving tea, he or she will typically tell you: “I’ve made fresh coffee.” Say “yes” to the offer whether or not you are thirsty or a coffee drinker.

 Your only escape is a medical issue that precludes you from partaking, i.e., the prospect already made caffeinated coffee and you can’t have caffeine, in which case you should thank the prospect, wish you could join him or her, encourage the prospect to pour him or herself a cup and request water instead, e.g., “Thank you so much for making/ordering coffee. It smells great and I wish I could join you but I’m not permitted to have caffeine. But please do pour yourself a cup and I’d love a glass of water.”  Don’t forget the glass of water.

Beverages are the most frequent offer, but the same holds true if cookies, pastries or other foods are presented.

 Say “yes” to the coffee at the beginning of a donor cultivation visit or major gift “ask” and set the stage for success.