Turnbull Marketing Group strives to help nonprofits help others by implementing affordable, effective fundraising and marketing strategies. But we can’t do it by standing on a soapbox and shouting. The only way we truly help nonprofits is when we talk with them, when we engage them in meaningful conversation.
The same principle holds true when it comes to getting your donors truly committed to your mission. You can’t shout at them or lecture them on why your mission is important. Well, you can, but I don’t recommend it.
Instead, try engaging your donors in a conversation. Encourage their feedback. Learn what is important to them, and then talk to them about it.
Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but exactly how do we this, you say. Good point.
Here are some tips to get you started:
- Write your appeals and newsletters in a conversational tone. Appeal to your donors’ emotions — their hearts — not their heads.
- Keep your donors updated on the great results of your efforts. They need to know they’re making a difference.
- Ask for your donors’ feedback. If you’re a Christian organization, ask for prayer requests. Share your prayer needs.
- Start a blog on your web site where you bring your donors into the moving stories that are created every day through your work. An excellent example of this is Aloma’s Travel Journal from Food For The Poor.
Once you start talking with your donors and not at them, they’ll start talking back. And one of their favorite ways to talk is through their giving.
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