At an AFP Conference in Boston, I had the privilege of sitting down with Lynne Wester, Donor Relations Guru, to discuss the importance of thanking donors without asking.
Interview Highlights (Transcript)
Here are some highlights from our interview, but definitely take a few minutes to watch it this video in its entirety — there’s some great stuff not covered below.
Why Donor Relations are so Important
AE: Explain donor relations and why they are important?
LW: Donor relations encompasses four pillars — everything from acknowledgement through stewardship through recognition and engagement — which is how you relate to a donor.
It’s everything but the ask. It’s that entire relationship — that 99% where the ask is only that 1%. It’s the loving, the caring and the nurture.
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
Get Your Board Members on Board
AE: I’m always trying to explain to board members that the ask is such a small part of the fundraising process. Fundraising is so much more than the ask.
LW: Start every board meeting by having your board members thank five donors. Every board member can express gratitude and can do it in such a meaningful way, and those are the folks that your donors want to hear from.
AE: Talk a bit more about that. Is it a handwritten thank you note or a phone call?
LW: My model is that I like to start training my boards to start every board meeting with 5 handwritten notes. Handwritten notes are the gold standard. Donors rarely get those personal touches.
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
It’s All About “Thasking”
AE: What else do you have for us today?
LW: One of the behaviors I’d like to see more is just thanking without asking — I call it “thasking.” It’s important to build a relationship, not just generate revenue, and that’s why we have such first-time donor retention problems.
It’s all about how you sincerely thank donors and tell them the impact of their support, without in the same breath, asking for more.
We should balance out our “asks” with our “thank you’s.” Sometimes I ask folks, “What’s your ask-to-thank ratio?” That is — how many times do you ask a donor for a gift versus how many sincere thanks you give them without asking for money.
AE: What do you say to those organizations that include a request envelope in their thank you notes?
LW: My question to the people that do that is what percentage of your revenue do those gifts amount to versus your retention. I think they’re running off more donors than they’re keeping.
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
Loyalty is Key to Donor Retention
AE: Let’s talk about retention. What does that mean to you?
LW: Donors desire to be loyal. They want to support a cause time and time again. They want to build a relationship with us.
But sometimes our motivation isn’t for those donors to be loyal, but to give us money. I want us to question our belief that a donor can give us small amounts over time and we celebrate those donors as much as we celebrate our major donors.
We probably all probably know the name of the donor who gives us the most money. But how many of you know the name of the donor who has given the longest consecutively?
AE: There are so many benefits to that, lifetime giving, planned giving. If we give those donors a little loving, care and attention, maybe they will turn into a bigger donor. But even if not, loyalty is so important.
LW: Loyalty is so important because it so rare. We don’t incentivize loyalty. We need to tell their stories.
Watch the full interview for a success story that drives this point home.
Final Thoughts from Lynne
AE: What final thoughts would you like to leave with us today?
LW: I want us to be frenzied about thanking. I want us to be as passionate about thanking a donor and making them smile and moving them to emotion as we do the way we celebrate when we get a big gift. That’s my mission — to put the passion in thanking.
Enjoy more words of wisdom from Lynne Wester about donor relations and a variety of other topics on her website, Donor Relations Guru.
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