Counter intuitive ideas

I am blogging live from Pareto Fundraising with Jeff Brooks of Future Fundraising Now fame presenting fundraising ideas to our staff. We are discussing donor retention for mail and email appeals. One advantage Jeff has over us is that his clients have much, much bigger data files so he is able to get more testing done.

Testing is great because lots of best practice fundraising is counter intuitive. For example, longer letters tend to work better, more frequent mailings asking for money increase retention and total lifetime giving, calling people at dinner time and asking them to upgrade their monthly gift works.

If you were to ask donors, in advance - perhaps in a focus group - about the tactics above they would suggest that these tactics won't work. But they do.

So here is a new counter intuitive idea that he says works, and we don't do here.

With the volumes of data available to him, he has been able to test the use of thank you letters as asking delivery mechanisms. This is not done by charities in Australia, and Penelope Burke who wrote Thanks! advises against it. But, according to Jeff, her research is based on opinion through surveys etc. He, however, has tested it on data and over many years has found that it does not increase attrition, but does increase income by 10-15%.

So, if you may appeals and ask for money here are some tips.

1) If you send more than one wave, do not remove donors who give to wave 1 from the subsequent waves. You are reducing your income now and in the future.

2) Test including an additional ask in the actual thank you letter. For example, a tear off option on the thank you letter, or a self mailer envelope. Always include a return envelope.

We have seen some recent success in sending a regular giving ask with thank you letters to newly acquired donors based on an American idea, so this cash ask approach seems an obvious thing to test, even it if feels wrong.  More forward thinking charities could try testing a regular giving self mailer or 'pack' which goes out with all thank yous to non-regular givers, not just new donors.

If you try it in the future, or already have - please let me know the outcome!

Sean

Bush Fire Appeal

This got to me. I really advocate human stories not statistics, but the humanity of this poignant reminder hits at my fundraising core.

An email from the FIA (Fundraising Institute of Australia).

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Dear Fundraiser,

As a result of the recent bush fires in Victoria Australia Post has issued a list of the affected areas which we would like to pass onto you, particularly if you are involved in direct mail campaigns.

Area where there will be no delivery
Marysville - mail held at Healesville DC
Narbethong - mail held at Healesville DC
Steeles Creek - Christmas Hills - mail held at Yarra Glen LPO
Kinglake - mail held at Whittlesea LPO
Kinglake West - mail held at Whittlesea LPO
Eden Park - mail held at Whittlesea (now possible partial delivery)
Bruces Creek - mail held at Whittlesea LPO
St Andrews - mail held at Research DC

Wandong - now possible partial delivery,
- P/O Boxes Delivered, Residential not delivered

Hazelwood Nth & Sth - mail held at Morwell DC
Jeeralang - mail held at Morwell DC
Gormandale - mail held at Traralgon DC
Currajong - mail held at Traralgon DC
Callignee - mail held at Traralgon DC
Dederang - mail held at Wodonga DC
Stanley - mail held at Beechworth DC
Flowerdale - mail held at Broadford LPO
Buxton - Mail held at Alexandra
Taggerty - Mail held at Alexandra
Thornton - Mail held at Alexandra
Won Wron -mail held at Yarram
Calrossie - mail held at Yarram
Devon North - mail held at Yarram
Macks Creek - mail held at Yarram
Tarra Valley - mail held at Yarram
Clonbinane - Mail held at Broadford
Glenburn - Mail held at Yea
Hazeldene - Mail held at Broadford
Eildon - Mail held at Alexandra
Kiewa Valley - Mail held at Wodonga
Beechworth - Roadside held at Beechworth
Wooragee - Mail held at Beechworth
Mt Beauty - Mail held at Wodonga
Eskdale - Mail held at Tallangatta

Areas that have been partially effected today

Toolangi, Chum Creek, Warburton (Patch Creek), Whittlesea RSD's (Pheasant Creek - Eden Park, Kilmore RSD's, Yea, Alexandra, Broadford, Yackandandah, Myrtleford, Bright, Traralgon Sth, Flynn, Neerim, Sth Noojee, Hiawatha, Stacey's Bridge, Jack River, Trawool, Tallarook, Tallangatta

Areas that it is very likely that there will be future impacts

Kilmore/ Broadford/ YeaNeerim Sth & Hazelwood AreasBeechworth AreaWoodside / Yarram / Alberton

Healesville - Has been put on high alert

Estimate on Mail carried over today (where known)
Mt Beauty 1500 articles
Yackandah 700
Broadford 1500
Alexandra 2600
Yea 1700
Morwell 650
Traralgon 800
Yarram 600
Marysville/Narbethong 660
Kinglake 1600
Kinglake West 600
Wandong 1800
Bruces Creek 400

Please make a gift online http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm.

Sean

A personal reminder of the importance of feedback

Donors support charities because they are nice and they care. Our job as fundraisers is to make sure they have every opportunity to do so, and are encouraged to do so again.

There is some debate as to whether thank you letters should be sent to some, all or no donors following gifts. The arguments against are all focused on cost saving, and to some extent the assumption that the donors wouldn't want their money spent that way.

We at Pareto Fundraising encourage charities to say thank you every time someone donates, and send donor care letters updating donors on how their money has been used. Sometimes we fail to persuade them to do so.

But I had a little reminder today of the importance of feedback. I am currently in London, where I am presenting some fundraising training sessions at a fundraising conference.

Last night, as a friend, John Sauvé-Rodd was leaving I asked him what honey bees had to do with with fundraising - and told him about my blog.

A fundraiser that he had just introduced, Anetta Murphy, overheard and said - 'Oh, I know; did you write that blog about the honey bees in Canada?'

Now I had never met Anetta and she works for an agency in Dublin, but she told me that her boss, Damian had sent her the blog.

To this point I thought I had about ten readers of my blog (my sister, my girlfriend, my dad and about half a dozen Pareto Fundraising staff) so I was amazed - but more importantly incredibly motivated to carry it on and make sure I get more quirky, but useful, stuff up there.

OK, big ego boost too - but honestly, isn't that what donors need as well? (I don't say 'want' because they - like me - would deny that!)

So please, send me feedback too, I want to know who reads this!