Coronavirus threw the whole world for a loop, putting lives at risk and increasing the need for charitable organizations to step up to the plate. First and foremost, your organization needs to focus on the health and safety of your team members and your community.
Coronavirus is a humanitarian crisis. As a nonprofit and a leader in the community, you should make a conscious, proactive effort to inform your donors of your crisis management strategies, lead by example and practice social distancing and recommended healthy practices in the community, and to be understanding and empathetic toward your supporters.
As a nonprofit organization, in order to ensure you can keep your doors open now and in the future, one of your top priorities should be donor retention.
Building your relationships with donors is a great way to set up your nonprofit’s fundraising strategy for the future. According to Bloomerang’s retention guide, if your new donors only give once (as about 80% do), you’ll be left with a loss on your initial investment to gain those donors.
However, if you build up these relationships and focus on maintaining the connection in this time of crisis, you’ll find that you’ll raise more both now and after the pandemic ends.
The best way to communicate during a global crisis? Call your donors. Calling donors allows your organization to:
- Check in with your existing donors.
- Personally establish a connection with new donors.
- Find an alternative to in-person interactions.
Boosting donor retention and building relationships is more important than ever during a humanitarian and economic crisis. Calling your donors is just the first step to showing that you care.
1. Check in with your existing donors.
Calling your donors on the phone has one major advantage that email, social media, text messaging, and other communication platforms just can’t match up to. It allows for a back-and-forth dialogue between two parties.
Think about it: when your nonprofit sends an email to your supporters, only so many people open the message (usually between 15-20%). Assuming everyone who opens the email actually reads it, you’re still only reaching a small number of people.
This doesn’t take away from the importance of email at all. It’s still a very valuable platform. However, when it comes to fundraising and engaging supporters during a crisis, interacting with supporters is incredibly important for keeping them engaged.
When you’re calling your existing supporters during this time of crisis, be to sure conduct the following steps:
- Prioritize the donors in your database. Make sure you know who the most valuable supporters in your donor database are in order to reach out to them first. Using segmentation strategies, identify your major donors, long-term supporters, monthly donors, volunteers, and new donors to prioritize in your outreach.
- Prepare for each and every call. Before each call, be sure you’re ready to engage with that individual supporter. Looking at their donor profile, brush up on their previous interactions with your nonprofit, such as the last event they attended. This will help you build a personal connection and further your relationship with them.
- Ask how the supporter is doing first. The first thing you should do on a call is ask how your supporter is doing. A simple “how are you” or “how are things going in [their hometown]” can go a long way in establishing a connection with the supporter. It shows you care about their well-being.
- Empathize with your supporters’ situations. Coronavirus is hitting everyone differently. Some people are out of work. Others are still working, but feel like they may be putting themselves at risk as an employee of an essential business. No matter what, show empathy for what your supporters are going through.
- Explain your nonprofit’s needs. Make sure to explain why your organization needs help more than ever before. Tell donors about what you’re trying to accomplish during this time. For example, you may be trying to raise money to buy hand sanitizer for the homeless population in your community. Expressing this helps them picture exactly how their contributions can help.
- Provide a way for donors to make a direct impact. Many of your supporters will likely need to cut some of their personal expenses given the economic climate. However, providing an immediate impact will help them feel more compelled to give. For example, you can provide donors with a “wish list” so that they can purchase items you need as an organization rather than simply donating money.
When you’re able to establish a personal connection with your supporters, then show them the direct impact they can make for your organization, you’ll have much more success while fundraising during difficult times.
Plus, this keeps donors engaged. Even if they may be giving less than normal, keeping them engaged with your nonprofit’s activities will help your organization maintain strong donor retention in the long run.
2. Personally establish a connection with new donors.
One of the primary audiences recommended for your organization to reach out to via phone is new donors. This includes those who gave to your nonprofit over the last 90 days.
Studies have shown that calling a new donor within 48 hours of their gift results in a 4 times greater likelihood of them donating for a second time. A Bloomerang study confirmed this, and also found that their next gift tends to be larger and come faster than if the donor isn’t called.
This means your nonprofit can increase your new donor retention rate dramatically by simply calling your first-time donors in a timely manner.
Make sure to look for a nonprofit CRM solution that offers a first-time donor column on the dashboard. This will help you better understand exactly which new donors to prioritize for your calls. If you’re in the market for a solution that will do this, this guide will help guide your organization to one that will fit your priorities.
Imagine that your nonprofit has multiple donors who all gave within a short period of time. You should prioritize calling those that gave most recently and the greatest amounts. This way, you’re sure to follow up quickly with your most impactful donors. For example, let’s say your nonprofit received the following donations in the last three days:
- Susan gave $1,000 on March 3rd.
- Tommy gave $500 on March 2nd.
- Roger gave $500 on March 1st.
- Georgina gave $300 on March 1st.
In this case, your organization should prioritize reaching out to Susan because she gave the most and most recently. When you reach out, make sure to thank her for the gift, acknowledge if she gave to a particular campaign, and tell her what impact the gift will have for your organization’s programs.
Given the troubled economic climate, you should also be sure to acknowledge the importance of your organization receiving donations during this time. Explain to your supporters that any contribution is incredibly appreciated during times of crisis.
Showing new donors personalized attention and appreciation during a call can turn your new donors into loyal supporters for your organization. This boosts retention rates and your long-term fundraising efforts.
3. Alternatives to face-to-face interaction
As a nonprofit professional, you probably know the importance and impact of face-to-face interactions with supporters, particularly with your major donors. These supporters like to feel like an integral cog in your organization and to know that their ideas are heard and appreciated by your staff.
For public health safety in response to COVID-19, many of us have taken shelter in our homes. Calling your donors is a great alternative to these imperative face-to-face conversations for your nonprofit.
Don’t forget that as technology has advanced, you have the ability to both audio and video call your supporters. Resources like this Charity article or this other CharityVillage article provide lists of virtual communication and fundraising software that organizations like yours can use to reach out and keep up with your supporters during a quarantine, including video calling technology.
You might choose the following ways to replace face-to-face interactions with calls with donors:
- Video call. Video calls are particularly effective because you’re able to better see the facial expressions of the other person. We recommend encouraging supporters to turn on their cameras to establish a closer connection with them in a manner that’s closer to face-to-face interaction.
- Audio call. Keep in mind that some supporters may prefer not to use video for their calls. They may have children running around the house, a mess in their living room, or simply don’t want to retire their sweatpants just yet. Respect this perspective and make audio calls an option.
Of course, calling is simply one channel through which you should establish and foster relationships with your supporters. You should also be sure to employ your other channels for communication and appreciation too.
For example, you should be sure to give shout-outs to your supporters on social media platforms and in other marketing resources like your annual report. You should also send them emails to keep them updated with your current events and keep your website updated with the latest organization events or resources.
The truth is, there is no single platform that you can use to magically double or triple your organization’s fundraising. It takes multiple channels and multiple interactions to effectively reach and build relationships within your donor base.
The best thing your nonprofit can do is communicate on a variety of channels and create diversity in your outreach strategy. Make sure to conduct research about each channel so that you know exactly which platform to prioritize using with each audience.
Knowing how to use phone calls properly and how to prioritize who you call will show the greatest impact. Reading this article is just the first step. You should be sure to do the same type of research for each platform you use, and you’ll be well-equipped to communicate effectively and build lasting relationships with supporters.
Steven Shattuck is Chief Engagement Officer at Bloomerang and Executive Director of Launch Cause. A prolific writer and speaker, Steven is a contributor to “Fundraising Principles and Practice: Second Edition” and volunteers his time on the Project Work Group of the Fundraising Effectiveness Project and is an AFP Center for Fundraising Innovation (CFI) committee member.
