Donor Relationship Management

Why convert? And to what end? To quote Tom Harrison, Russ Reid CEO, why are nonprofits mad at about 50 percent of their donors at any given time for donating in the “wrong” way?

In its attempts at conversion, the sector either makes too many assumptions or too few and too many attempts to convert the wrong donors to the wrong something and not enough trying to convert the right ones to a convertible something.

Do you know what your donors want? Do they want a clever T-shirt? A fancy certificate? A lovely lapel pin? A practical coffee mug? A recognition lunch? Maybe. However, while some donors will appreciate receiving trinkets or invitations to recognition events, others really don’t care and still others will view such items as a waste of money. So, what do your donors really want?

Virtually all donors want to know that their donations will have a positive impact. In other words, donors of all sizes want to know that their contributions make a difference.

In our May 2011 issue, Pamela Grow offered "10 Foolproof Fundraising Tactics." Her intent was to give readers ideas on how to raise money even when it seems no one is giving. But her solid advice holds true no matter what the economy is like and no matter when or who you are asking.

While the Harry Potter phenomenon is less timely now than when a new film would hit the big screen — oh, calm down, I hear all of you fans clamoring that HP is always timely — this blog post, "Advice For All You Muggle Fundraisers from Professor Albus Dumbledore," remains a favorite by Pamela Barden.

Avoid crying by proper preparation and strategy. In the end it's all about scoring and enjoying the game!   

In the November 2009 issue, then To the Point columnist Jocelyn Harmon wrote about a timeless issue — "The Fine (Yet Simple) Art of Thank You."

In our May 2012 issue, Donor Voice CEO Kevin Schulman mapped out the "Anatomy of a Committed Donor."

While looking through past articles and columns, etc., for this "Looking Back" feature this morning, I was kind of struck by the snarkiness of this Editor's Note from March 2009. I must have been in a snit, but it eventually winds its way down to a point about fundraising and the important task fundraisers have in educating donors about how good it is to give.

Survey, contact and interview your donors all you want. There's real value in doing so. But that value may turn out to have more to do with cultivation than with predicting their future behavior.

View your fundraising position not only in increased revenue terms but as a lobbyist. Your job is to educate, communicate and engage old and new internal and external constituencies in the life of your organization with respect to philanthropy.