Blog

Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah, features a particularly “moving” selection with a “Refiner’s Fire” theme.  As the four vocal parts move in and out against the full orchestra, there’s a feeling of shaking and staccato energy, reminding listeners that refining requires lots of movement, some heat and even passing dissonance.

For 2010, with the teasing glimpse of an uncertain economic recovery, there’s no better message to send to your constituents than things are “moving” at your organization.  Refining your vision and modus operandi can only be viewed as positive.  So, to begin the year, consider doing three things:

1. Shake things up. Introduce something new. Or do something differently.  But make sure it’s tied directly to your mission statement so there’s no brand confusion or fears that you’re straying from your purpose.  If you help people, help in a new way.  If you evangelize, launch a program that reaches out differently.  However, make it clear that this is an “add on” to the historical effectiveness of what you’ve always done.
2. Feel the heat. Admit that times are tough.  But emphasize that you’re working harder and smarter than ever to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Cut something that’s expendable.  “Tweak” something to become more effective.  In this year of recovery, most Americans are still cautious.  Your focus on effectiveness will bond you to your donor’s mindset even more closely.
3. Admit passing dissonance. Tough times demand hard discussions.  Admit your staff has grappled with difficult issues.  But strong teams endure tough times and come out more united.  That’s what you’re experiencing.  Honesty will be honored.

Starting strong is the earmark of a winner.  Lead in 2010.

Developing loyal donors is key to any nonprofit organization’s ability to thrive over time.  That’s why it’s critically important to get brand-new donors to give more than one gift to your organization during their first year.

During my first 22 years in this business, I’ve learned these truths time and time again through research and testing:

• For new donors who only give one gift in their first year, only about 25-28% of them will continue giving into another year.
• For those giving two gifts, about 55-60% of them will continue.
• For those giving three or more gifts, about 78-80% will continue in their giving and loyalty into the next year!

Asking your new donors for another gift soon after their first gift is not a bad thing.  In fact, the opposite is true!  Those who recently gave are the most likely to give again.

This Christmas and into the new year, do your donors a favor:  help unlock their giving potential by asking for their support in an un-shameful and un-apologetic way, then promptly thank them right after they do.  They’ll feel great, you’ll feel great, your organization will feel great.  Most importantly, those being reached through your programs and services will feel great.

That’s truly the gift that keeps on giving all year long.

Merry Christmas.

Just in case you haven’t noticed, Masterworks is on Twitter.

You can follow us at www.twitter.com/masterworks.

Happy Tweeting!

YouTube recently announced that advertisers can now target their ads very specifically – even down to individual videos.

The video targeting tool also allows targeting of videos by keywords, viewer demographics, interest-based categories, or some combination of the three.

One possible application for nonprofits

In a disaster-response situation, particularly with disasters in developed countries with solid technology infrastructures, a lot of user generated content finds its way onto YouTube. Savvy nonprofits should be looking to target all of the YouTube videos being made around the disaster, with direct links to landing pages optimized for donation response.

Note: The targeting options are officially in beta, so they may not be available to everyone just yet.

A fascinating and encouraging report was published last week by the American Red Cross.

Here are some of the highlights of the appropriately named Holiday Giving Poll:

• Nearly one in four Americans has had their salary or work hours reduced.
• Two out of three Americans say it’s more important this year to give something to charity because of the economy.
• Those who have had their salary or work hours reduced are no more likely than other Americans to cut back on gifts to charity.
• 20% of Americans are planning to reduce their charitable giving this year (44% plan to reduce travel expenses; 30% plan to reduce money spent on gifts)

And the real kicker:

• Nearly 20% of Americans are planning to increase their gifts to charity this year.

As we enter the busy season for many of our clients, let’s continue with confidence. Let’s continue giving people the chance to be a part of causes that they genuinely want to be a part of. Don’t be afraid to tell your donors what your needs are this holiday season.

They want to know. And they want to help.

Here’s the full Red Cross report: http://bit.ly/56z8Ar

Short cycle time. Instant gratification. Real time. All these characterize new media as a channel. And because of this fact, organizations often fall into planning their new media communications with the same characterizations. The result often means new media communications are last-minute additions to the overall mix.

There are certain upsides to last-minute, new media communications planning. These include timeliness with current events and lower costs as a result of generally higher efficiency.

However, we advocate for a quarterly or annual planning model, where the primary direction of communications is set months in advance, and that plan is generally worked out accordingly. Exceptions would include emergencies or other breaking news elements that need to be responded to, as well as a subset of social media that simply cannot be planned ahead.

There are a number of advantages to planning on a quarterly or annual basis:

• Better integration with other channels. It takes time to integrate across channels, particularly since some channels like direct mail require lead time for production. By planning ahead, integration can be baked-in rather than bolted-on.
• Better discipline and strategy. Last minute communications planning can lead to diffused focus and inconsistent messaging. Often, in planning ahead, we find an increase in the ability to think through strategy before we execute.
• Enables “pounce” opportunities. By planning ahead for regular communications, both the organization and agency are able to free up capacity to pounce on urgent opportunities the moment they arrive.
• Better distribution of resources. Nonprofit communications staff is typically constant, while the communications themselves rise and fall with the seasons (for instance, communications in December tend to be much higher than those in January). By planning ahead, an organization can better accommodate spikes and lulls in communications.

Again, there are certain aspects that cannot be planned ahead, such as conversation taking place with constituents via social media, emergency response, etc. But the more that can be planned ahead, the greater the capacity to deal with the immediate and urgent.

Are you planning ahead? What do you think?

Your mother told you to say it.  It’s just good manners.  And for nonprofits responding to a donor gift, the better you say it, the deeper your relationship will grow. 

For most, it’s a 17-line letter form with an attached receipt.  Sure, it’s personalized, and you may even mention the purpose of the gift.  Some go as far as describing the “good” that’s happening because of the donor’s generosity.  But it always carries that BRE quietly asking for another gift.  Would you really do that to a friend after they just gave you what you asked for? 

Instead, surprise me with the extravagance of your gratitude.  Give me something cool.  It doesn’t have to cost you much.  Actually, it shouldn’t.  But share something of value.  Point me to your website and a new story of the great things we’re accomplishing together.  Or, share an online video or a white paper on the issue I’m interested in the issue I just gave a gift to help solve.  What about a video thank you from a child like those I just helped?

Or, just tell me a personal story of your family, and how this ministry impacts you on an everyday level.  What a gift that would be — to actually let me into your head and heart! 

Saying “Thank You” well demonstrates your dependence on the donor.  And when you excel at that, you’ll be cultivating donors for life.

I think “disciple” is a strong word and “follower” takes on a new meaning with Twitter. Whatever I want to call myself, I think Seth Godin is smart.

He posted today about lifetime value. His post focuses on a business relationship, but the comparisons to fundraising are obvious.

For years, Masterworks has been using Long-Term Value (LTV) as a primary metric to determine the success of our marketing efforts. This allows us to not only choose marketing vehicles that have the best initial return, but also those that acquire and cultivate donors with the largest long-term value to a ministry.

We have been doing this sort of analysis at Masterworks since 2006.  And with our multi-channel efforts we now can get a more complete picture of value across any response channel, online or offline.

I’ve always defined innovation as doing something first that others emulate. Looks like focus on long-term value fits that definition.

Update: This just in Steve Hanberg, we’ve been doing LTV analysis at Masterworks since the 1990′s. Looks like the information I got was off by about a decade.

A recent issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy carried an article entitled, “Fund Raisers Rethink Scope of ‘Big’ Contributions.”  The most interesting idea in the article was a report about Purdue University and what they did as the economy slid into uncertain waters in September, 2008.  The university announced a $5-million fund to match gifts of $25,000 or more to endow a scholarship. Within five months, 50 such gifts had been received.  Many were multi-year cash pledges. 

The University of California at Berkeley received a similar matching gift to endow professorships.  Qualifying gifts had to be $1 million to $1.5 million.  The pace of donations eligible for the match slowed only slightly in the 2009 fiscal year, according to David Linder, an associate vice chancellor at Berkeley.  That’s saying something, considering the faltering economy.   

We’ve seen the same principle work in the world of Christian ministries.  Last year we offered our clients a program to encourage major donors to contribute collectively to a matching grant fund for year-end giving.  Donors responded well.  They felt a closer tie by providing a leadership gift that would result in increased income for the ministry.  And it was seen as a good investment because, in essence, their gift was being matched by the increased general donor giving.  It was a “win-win-win,” benefitting major donors, general donors and, of course, the ministry most of all.

After attending the most recent Direct Marketing Association conference in San Diego last month, I came away with one conclusion: I pity most marketers.  They have to create need first – often out of little to nothing – then sell the features and benefits of their product. 

Looking at some of today’s products, that’s a Herculean task.  Think about it.  Do I really need another TV?  Isn’t three enough?  What about the revolutionary new closet hanging system so I can jam more clothes into storage  –  clothes that I really don’t need anyway?  Even that new diet cola that I enjoy so much!  New research claims that even diet cola makes you fat.   

As marketers for faith-based organizations, we’ve got the edge because we can offer everything our constituents need to be happy.  Here are seven of the biggies! 

1. Heart connection – We provide a heart-to-heart link with people in need.  We tell their stories.  Share their pain.  Build an emotional relationship. 
2. Sense of purpose and value – We give the opportunity to do something significant.  Save a child’s life.  Change an adult’s destructive behavior.  Connect people of all ages with God’s purpose for their lives. 
3. Easy response – We offer the ease of accomplishing significant things from the comfort of their home, by simply returning that postage-paid envelope.
4. Affordable price point – We enable great things to be accomplished with a gift amount that’s appropriate to the constituent’s financial condition, thanks to intelligent data. 
5. Tangible results – We accomplish things that we can show off!  A healthy, well-fed child, a cured parent who’s taking care of their family and contributing to the community, a once directionless man or woman who now has purpose and power because of God’s intervention in their lives.
6. A sense of community – We open doors to a community of shared values.  As we report back and give back in every way we can, there’s a growing sense of “belonging.” 
7. A lasting legacy – We make it possible to leave a lasting legacy centered on what’s really important to our constituent’s value system.  

 Let’s go out and make people happy today!