Throw away those pewter pins and plaques and get out your phone books. New research shows that donors don’t want formal recognition, just information.
Speaking earlier this month at a meeting of the Vancouver chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, Penny Burk highlighted some of the startling findings of her recent research into donor communication.
Burk conducted 100 one-on-one interviews with 50 Canadian philanthropists and 50 Canadian companies. When asked the question “Do you want to be recognized and how?”, the consistent answer was “no.”
According to Burk’s research, donors say they have three main needs:
- Prompt gift acknowledgement
- Confidence that their gifts have been “sent to work” as intended
- Measurable results of gifts at work before another gift is requested
Test proves value of saying “thanks”
To test the importance of prompt gift acknowledgement, Burk conducted a “Thanks Test” in conjunction with the Ontario chapter of the Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA). The association sent out a direct mail piece that pulled a typical one percent response rate and brought in 1,965 new donors. The average donation on the acquisition mailing was $26.28. From the pool of new donors, they selected a test group of 222 people — roughly every tenth donor. Within 24 hours of receiving their gift, a CPA board member called the donors in the test group to thank them for their gift.
Three months later, the CPA solicited all donors again and found that the test group donors’ average gift was 39% higher than that of the control group. The average donation from the test group was $34.24, while the average from the control group was $24.59.
The longer term results are equally impressive. After 14 months and six more solicitations, the value of the average gift from the test group was $35.00, versus $24.57 from the control group, a difference of 42%. Anecdotal feedback also indicated that many test donors focused their giving on the CPA more specifically and stopped giving to other organizations following the one-on-one contact.
Burk notes that some organizations have replicated the test with slight variations. Follow-up tests have found that it’s safe to call to say thanks within 48 hours of receiving a gift. However, if you leave the thank-you call longer than that, donors think that you’re calling to ask for another donation. Some organizations have also had success calling people much later to thank them for being a donor, rather than to acknowledge a specific gift.
Recognition is no substitute for information
Burk’s research found that formal recognition in the absence of information puts donors in the awkward position of having to accept praise without knowing what they have achieved. As she explains, “without knowing if they have fulfilled their obligation to themselves, they are denied the satisfaction of giving.” Rather than being praised, she says, people want to know what you’re doing with their money.
Both individual and corporate study participants indicated that they want to receive shorter newsletters from organizations that they support. Individual donors said that they don’t want to see their name in lights. Rather, they want to read about the results of their gift at work. They showed an interest in reading more about programs and services, and interesting stories about the strategic direction of the organization. In short, they want to know how their money is making a difference.
Unlike individual donors, Burk found that companies do appreciate formal recognition for their contributions. They welcome certificates and plaques that are of good enough quality to hang in the company offices. Corporate donors also want to see their own giving highlighted in organizational newsletters. Many prefer to receive the newsletters via e-mail so that they can forward the information around the company more quickly. For corporate donors, carefully constructed recognition offers excellent internal communications opportunities for the company to reach its staff and clients.
More of Burk’s findings an analysis will be available later this year in a book that she’s publishing: “Thanks! A Guide to Donor-Centred Fundraising”. For more information, visit the web site at http://www.burkandassociates.com/book.htm.
