Whether or not you like the Tina Turner song, What’s Love Got to Do With It?, this is a question you’ll want to think about if you haven’t yet. And how do chicken nuggets relate to any of this? Check out professional fundraising consultant Simon Scriver as he connects it all in his TED Talk. [By the way, for anyone who likes an Irish accent, you’re really in for a treat!]
In all seriousness, though, the PiP team is still feeling pretty jazzed since Donor Love Southwest, a two-day workshop jam packed with helpful nuggets, good reminders, and data to back it all up. Huge shout out to AFP Las Vegas for making it possible!
Some of our favorite highlights from this event are really basic things that any size nonprofit can do to show donors (and anyone else, for that matter) how much you love and appreciate them. Check out a few ideas below, and let us know on one of our social channels what you’re going to start doing. One step at a time, as they say.
- Compassionate. Fair. Friendly. Generous. Helpful. Honest. Hard-working. Kind. Research shows that donors connect to these words. Use one of these adjectives when communicating with your donors.
- Think of your donation forms as a conversation, not interrogation. Too many fields and too many decisions/choices for the donor will not lead to a donation, or any kind of relationship, for that matter. Keep it simple.
- Make sure all people in your organization have customer service training, so that when that random person calls and says, “I’d like to make a donation,” you know how to help them and get the most from the interaction. Transferring the call to three different people or putting a donor on hold for too long are two surefire ways to frustrate someone trying to donate. Put yourself in their shoes.
- Good stewardship leads to more donors and larger donors. It’s also less expensive than donor acquisition. What are you doing to steward your donor? The ideas are limitless, but here are a few easy ones:
- Showcase your donors and your clients rather than bragging about your organization. It’s way more powerful (and modest) when someone else talks about how much you’ve helped them.
- Send a hand-written donor love note or “thinking of you” card—just because.
- Use the word “you” in your donor communications. Make the donor your hero.
So, next time you wonder what love has to do with it, know that it absolutely does.