Social media for fundraisers

I've just given a presentation on social media strategy for communication managers at non profits and it got me thinking about the integration of communications and fundraising. The biggest organisation attending had employees dedicated to social media communications and to fundraising. The smallest organisation had two employees. So let's presume that most organisations don't have people dedicated to social media.communications.

For the fundraiser social media could be a valuable tool in acquisition and in retention but it could also be a  huge time waster and a diversion from the real job objectives. The challenge for the fundraiser, and perhaps any communications manager is to spread the load.

Collaboration is the key. While the fundraiser might be concerned about donor relations, retention and acquisition, other members of the senior team will have their own objectives - education, lobbying, advocacy, information, brand management etc.

On this particular communications tool, the smart organisation will be working collaboratively to ensure that resources are used to the best effect. There will be new roles and responsibilities delegated to different staff members. For example the new hire who already has her own facebook site and easily sends numerous twitters to her friends every day will become the social media adviser and trainer. The IT guy who hardly ever leaves his office will be the moderator. The nurse or social worker will be content specialist and a disabled client living in rural Northland will provide the monthly reports on web users, traffic, number of followers and topics of conversation. The fundraiser may tap into all of these areas of expertise and all of this content to digest into a weekly, monthly blog for donors.

The fundraiser may decide the key area is relationship building. So instead of focusing on the internal needs, he or she focuses on donor recognition at the places where donors hang out.

Here's some ideas for donor relationship building

• Identify the face book sites of your donors and post thank you's where all their friends can see! 
• Celebrate their philanthropy with virtual certificates and endorsements - become friends through social websites
• Track the special interests of your donors through sites like Linkedin and actively communicate in the groups they are following
• Actively seek information about social media sites your supporters are following
• Set up closed groups for specific stakeholders to meet and converse with each other
• Ask influential or respected people to thank your best donors through social media such as Facebook or Linkedin
• Introduce your supporters to each other through social media sites
• Seek feedback from your supporters through social media tools

Direct Mail - still relevant?

Direct mail is still king as far as fundraising goes. Even with the advent of email addresses, blogs, online sign ups etc, the most money is still being raised from direct mail. We also know that if you sign up people on line you will need to convert them to direct mail if you want to keep them for more than a year.

In a recent survey conducted by the magazine Fundraising New Zealand, six organisations were asked to provide details about their direct mail campaigns in 2011. For all full run down on the results contact Tony Pilalis(you can find him on Linkedin) or view the www.foresee.co.nz website.

However I wanted to draw your attention to the changes in the average donation. The survey found that over the six organisations, the average donation had increased to $60.92, up from $33 in 2003 and $52.96 in 2008. Does this size of donation surprise you? Does it fly in the face of anecdotal comments you have been hearing? This shows the importance of getting the numbers right by testing. You don't want to be asking people for $25 if they are happy to give you $65,  When preparing your direct mail campaign, make sure you don't undersell yourself by asking for too little.

The other influencing factor in a successful direct mail campaign is to segment your database to make your correspondence more personal and the size of the request more appropriate. There are a number of ways of segmenting, for example according to size of previous gifts, number of previous gifts, average of the last year's gifts, whether they have ever given before, how they signed up, when they signed up, reference to personal interests. Can your database give you this information? Are you even collecting this kind of information?

Fundraising blog topics

Had a comment from Mike Kotlyar with a few good ideas for postings. Thanks Mike. Face to face is one that he mentions in particular, along with volunteer strategies, and of course direct mail. That reminded me that telemarketing is another hot topic. If you start to bristle at the thought of those particular fundraising tools, you have to remember that they may not be aimed at your demographic.

This brings to mind a little story that someone shared with me. She had been doing her direct mail letters and of course there were a few addressed to people that she knew. As we do, she scribbled a little message on a post it note to her friends, demonstrating the personal nature of the mailing. When the CEO, who was signing the letter saw the note, she was horrified and said that the letters should be formal and proper, not with little notes stuck on! She obviously hadn't seen a Readers Digest mailing! So we need to ensure that if we have the expertise, we remind the people we work for that our strategy is sound and based on research or evidence.

I also get lots of people who fear that their letters will end up in the rubbish bin. It's okay! You don't need to be too precious about your mailings. They will end up in someone's bin. Don't stress over it. It doesn't mean they don't love you. Just that on this occasion they aren't going to reply.

The same for telemarketing. Some people will reject the call. It's a fact of life. The  important thing is not to get communication nerves. Keep going and don't sweat the small stuff.