Are You Engaging Donors or Disengaging Them?
Special challenges for nonprofits
For nonprofits, the risk is similar. Ongoing engagement can keep donors up-to-date and keep you in their minds. But to make sure your cultivation pieces cultivate instead of alienate, you have at least four challenges:
- First and foremost, make the message relevant. And by relevant, I mean relevant to your financial supporters. They are not the same as your advocates, petition signers or Facebook sharers.
- Second, make sure it goes to the right people. You already talk differently to different segments of your file. Make sure your cultivation communications reflect those differences as well.
- Third, carefully consider whether engagement is really even part of part of fundraising … or whether it’s actually part of donor communications (and budget accordingly).
- Fourth, don’t overdo it. That motivation is really what they want from you.
Willis Turner believes great writing has the power to change minds, save lives, and make people want to dance and sing. Willis is the creative director at Huntsinger & Jeffer. He worked as a lead writer and creative director in the traditional advertising world for more than 15 years before making the switch to fundraising 20 years ago. In his work with nonprofit organizations and associations, he has written thousands of appeals, renewals and acquisition communications for every medium. He creates direct-response campaigns, and collateral communications materials that get attention, tell powerful stories and persuade people to take action or make a donation.
