20-Question-FINAL-2016-r2

The end-of-year results surprised everyone. “The donors who received all 12 mailings
gave 35% more than the ones [who’d limited their appeals].” What did the test
sponsor learn? ‘I learned that unless a major donor asks to limit his/her mailings, they
should stay with the normal cultivation strategy. You never know when something will
strike a donor’s fancy. Each appeal is different.’”
Jeff Brooks commented, “There’s an important lesson here: Less mail, less giving.
That’s true in nearly every situation. Including major donors. Never assume donors
will give more or retain longer if they get less contact. It almost never works that way.”
Don’t over-react to complaints about over-solicitation. They’re probably false
alarms. And certainly don’t listen to the timid amongst us who fret, “We’ll drive off our
donors if we ask too often.” While it sounds reasonable, even considerate, the science
says it’s dead wrong. The correct view is, “We’ll leave a lot of money on the table if we
don’t ask often enough.”
One last thing.
Since I’ve tripped over this peculiar misunderstanding more than once, let’s be
clear: when we talk about an “annual fund,” the word “annual” has nothing to do with
asking just once a year. Rather, it has to do with what you’re raising money for: your
charity’s annual operating expenses.
One cure for complaints about “over solicitation”? Choice.
There is a countermeasure you can take that will fend off complaints about oversolicitation:
send your first-time donors a little questionnaire that asks them about their
“communications preferences.”
The survey should ask these newcomers what they want to get from you (email,
annual reports, special appeals, annual appeals) and how often.
This kind of courtesy up front can prove profitable down the road. Dr. Adrian
Sargeant’s research found that donors, when asked their “communications preferences,”
tended to stay with charities longer and make bigger average gifts.
23
20 Questions RE Donor Communications © Tom Ahern, 2016