Fundraising Tips: Do You have a Weekly Donor-Touch Day?
by Andrea Kihlstedt
Like you, I’ve been reading a lot about the dire donor retention stats. Or, better put, the statistics about fleeing donors. It’s as clear as day that getting a new donor costs more than the donor is likely to give!
The good news: I’ve got a simple suggestion for you!
Set aside one day every week for reaching out and communicating with your top 50 donors and anyone else you have identified as someone who might realistically move into that group.
Imagine this: Every Wednesday from the time you start work until the time you close up for the day you do only one thing: reach out to your major donors.
- You call to schedule meetings with them.
- You send personal emails to them with the most recent photos of someone you’ve helped.
- You follow up on your last meeting with someone.
- You send flowers to a donor whose birthday is coming up.
- You deliver chocolate chip cookies to the people who have made the biggest difference to your organization.
- You write a personal thank you email or note to a donor who has touched your heart.
- You meet with someone to ask for a gift.
Make Every Wednesday Donor Day
You literally fill your Wednesdays with major donor work. It’s front and center for that entire time.
Commit One Day Per Week to “Donor Day” and Here Is What Will Likely Happen
- You’ll spend the rest of the week making sure you’re set up for your major donor day.
- Your donors will start to feel appreciated.
- You’ll get to know your donors better–much better.
- They’ll start making more and bigger gifts to your organization.
- Your colleagues will get used to not asking you to do anything else on Wednesdays.
- You’ll have more fun, and
- You will raise more money for your organization
Try it out for 2 months; that’s eight Wednesdays. Let us know what happens.
Have some ideas for what you’ll do on your donor day? Share it with us in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter.
By the way, did you know that in Sweden for many years everyone…I mean EVERYONE…ate yellow pea soup for supper on Thursdays? No matter where you went, that’s what you’d eat. It created an expectation and a comfort and perhaps even a sense of national identity.
