Happy Sunday morning and welcome to this week’s issue of The Fuel Tank.

Ah, the ‘Big Ask’. The nonprofit sector has it all wrong! The big ask should not be about that moment when you request a donation. The big ask should be around my favorite question word: WHY

That’s right, your most important question to a donor should come after they give, when you ask them what was so important about your mission that they decided to provide a gift. That’s the type of follow up that’s needed these days to stand out, demonstrate empathy and truly understand donor motivations. Without asking, you’re either assuming, guessing or showing you just don’t care why they gave as long as you have their money.

That brings us to the topic at hand. Follow-up and nurturing. From my vantage point, this is an area that needs vast improvement if nonprofits are going to successfully compete for attention in this very noisy, competitive world we live in.

There are so many ways to build better bonds with the human beings we call donors than a simple thank you and gift acknowledgement. I can tell you that as a donor, I am stunned by how little true engagement has even been attempted by the charities I’ve given to. Who knows how much more involvement I would have been motivated to have if real conversations had been started?

The good news? It takes only a simple mindset and process shift to create a compound positive impact on your organization. So let’s dive in and get you all energized as we head into a new week!

The Challenge Draining Your Nonprofit’s Engine

The Limitations of Conventional Gratitude
Look, do you need to send a note of gratitude and an acknowledgment for every gift? Of course you do. But there’s two things to think about.

One, if the goal is to build a long-term relationship, are these communications helping, or are they just a step in a transactional process?

Two, what else could you be doing outside of the thank-you to better align donors with your mission and have them clamoring to partner with your nonprofit? Because if your standard thank you notes seem to disappear into the void without much impact or acknowledgment from donors, you’re wasting an opportunity. In a world where personalization and unique experiences stand out, traditional methods of showing gratitude may no longer cut it to engage and retain today’s donors.

How it Might Break Down if Not Addressed

It’s pretty straightforward. If donors don’t feel an emotion stronger than acknowledgement, they’ll quickly lose connection with your cause. And over time, those people who gave willingly to your organization, some of whom could have been nurtured into lifelong supporters, will forget about you. Just simply forget. And that can impact your nonprofit’s ability to sustain its initiatives over time.

A thank-you and acknowledgement are EXPECTED. They’re the minimum price of admission. But donors want to be engaged, connected, heard and valued. Organizations that are able to stoke those feelings are the ones that will create a movement, not just a donation. And those that don’t will be left behind wondering why their donor attrition rates keep rising year after year.

Igniting Some Ideas to Rev it Up

So what are some ideas to spice up your donor stewardship and engagement strategy?

1. Personalized Video Messages: Create short, personalized thank-you videos featuring team members or beneficiaries expressing their gratitude. These can be emailed or shared as private links to the donors.

2. Impact Experience Days: Invite donors to experience the impact of their donations firsthand. This could be a virtual tour of a project site or an invitation to an exclusive webinar detailing the outcomes of their support. When people are immersed in outcomes, they are inspired to continue to act.

3. ‘Be Heard’ Events: Host special events, either virtual or in-person, where donors are both recognized and heard. Include two -way Q&A sessions (answer their questions, but also ask some of them), meet-and-greets with beneficiaries, and previews of upcoming projects.

4. Small Personal Gifts: Think about what’s important to the donor, not to your org. Make it about them, not you. Extra points if you’ve gained some insight through conversation, and can follow up on that. As an example, let’s say someone donates to your charity that fights animal cruelty, and in a conversation, you learned that they have 3 rescue dogs. Send them 3 dog toys or something similar with a note of gratitude. Or ask for the names of the dogs and create a custom thank you that includes the dog’s names too.

5. The ‘Why’ Conversation: So many donors make contributions and are never asked why they gave. I find this staggering. What a huge lost opportunity to discover what led someone to your mission and the reasons it’s important to them. This is potentially the most important piece of information you could gather on your path to building a lasting partnership with a donor. Ask!

Energizing Fundraising & Development Pros

Let’s start with the obvious - fundraising and development folks don’t want to have transactional, superficial relationships. No human does. They want to be engaged the same way donors want to be engaged. Engagement and belonging fuel energy!

Empower your team by involving them in the creative process of donor stewardship. Nobody knows the people who give better than them! Encourage brainstorming sessions to come up with unique acknowledgment ideas that align with your nonprofit’s mission and values. Highlight the importance of personal touch in donor relations and provide training on best practices in executing these creative strategies. Recognize and reward team members who go the extra mile in donor engagement, reinforcing the value of innovative thinking and personalization in every interaction. Give them the chance to have the ‘why’ conversations vs. some generic outreach that does nothing to advance connections.

These types of actions will both enhance donor retention and invigorate your team, keeping them motivated and invested in the success of your fundraising efforts.

It’s Gonna Be OK - Here’s Proof

Converting Energy Into Action

You Can Implement Creative Stewardship Today

1. Assess Your Current Stewardship Practices: Start by reviewing your existing donor acknowledgment methods. Do they trigger conversations and deeper understanding of your donors? If not, it’s likely time to make some changes.

2. Develop a Stewardship Plan: Outline a plan that incorporates a variety of communication and engagement methods, starting at the time of donation and moving forward. With every step in the plan, think about what it means from the donor’s point of view. And consider if it moves them a step closer to being a true partner. You can tailor this plan to different levels of giving, but don’t be so rigid that you cater only to major donors and miss opportunities to uncover the future big supporters that may just be testing the waters.

3. Leverage Feedback Loops: You know who knows the most about what’s critical and valued by your donors? Your donors. Know who’s next on that knowledge tree? Your front line fundraisers. Get continuous feedback from both. Value their insight. Make sure they have a real role in building these new programs.

This Week’s White Hot Spotlight

Freedom Fidos / Fidos4Heroes

Headquarters: Columbus, Georgia, United States

Summary: Freedom Fidos trains and provides service dogs to veterans and individuals with disabilities, particularly focusing on those suffering from PTSD and physical injuries. Their mission is to empower veterans and help them regain independence through the companionship and assistance of service dogs.

What Makes Them Different: The organization stands out by using rescue dogs whenever possible, giving both the dogs and veterans a second chance. Their program emphasizes not just physical assistance but also the emotional bond between a veteran and their service dog, fostering healing on multiple levels.

Mission: To transform the lives of veterans and others with disabilities by providing highly trained service dogs at no cost.

Supporting Story: In a letter to Freedom Fidos, one veteran wrote:

“The day I received Junior I was able to stop taking 3 psychotropic medications the VA has prescribed. I have stayed off of those medications for the last two months. I swear it’s like Junior has been able to heal things which no other resource could heal.  For the past two months I have traveled to 30 state parks and interacted with numerous people. I don’t know if I would have been able to do this if I didn’t have Junior. Every morning I wake up to his panting tongue licking my face. In contrast to many days when I would have stayed in bed before, I now am excited to start my day with my best friend. He is my little healer, best friend, and gives me so many other things which I can’t even describe. Thank you for saving my life.”

This is a nonprofit truly making a life changing difference!

I know some of what I talked about above can be challenging, especially for organizations that have a large amount of donors or are short on resources. Having the ‘why’ conversation at scale with every donor may not be realistic. Automated acknowledgement letters may be the only way to reach everyone on a timely basis.

And that’s OK. You don’t have to overhaul what you’re doing. Start by incorporating some creative stewardship into your process for a small group of donors. Measure the impact in terms of the relationship, their involvement, recurring giving and more. Don’t overcomplicate. For example, you could add a P.S. to your thank you emails - ‘I’d like to ask you one simple question. Are you OK with a phone call that won’t take more than 1 minute? Please reply ‘yes’ if you’re up for that.”

I’d love to hear from some of you on your ideas for deeper and more effective donor acknowledgement and stewardship. Go ahead and shoot me a message.

For more information on Philanthropy Fuel and the workshops I offer, visit my website below. There are a few ways I can potentially help you and your teams upskill and get energized.

And follow me on LinkedIn for more fundraising and development content.

Here’s to a great week for each and every one of you!

Dan

P.S. Looking for a good read? We’ve all been in situations where there’s a disconnect between strategy and execution, and it often comes down to poor communication. My friend, Dr. Michael Gerharz, wrote an amazing book, “The PATH to Strategic Impact”. It has tremendous application in the nonprofit world, where getting everyone at every level of the organization on the same page as far as mission and vision is imperative for sustained success. Check it out here: