Is your CRM ready to maximize your year end appeals?
As we come to the end of summer, nonprofit professionals like you are assuredly thinking about and planning for a busy and productive year end. For many, this planning includes hosting events, drafting year end solicitations, and crafting that perfect Christmas card. While those can be all important for engaging with donors during this crucial time, we believe that leveraging your nonprofit’s data will improve the performance of each of these initiatives.

Let’s look at your donor data.
How confident are you when pulling mailing lists? For a lot of nonprofits, this can be a significant pain point and is their least favorite task associated with mailings. However, even just a few hours of sorting and filtering data can help you identify 95% of the donor profiles that need updating. Do yourself a favor and pull your largest YE mailing list right now. Once you have it in a spreadsheet, highlight the data and click the “sort and filter button” in the home menu. This will allow you to sort and filter each column’s data. As you do this, highlight all of the errors you run across (i.e. “123 Main St” in the “State” field, “Apt. #1” is in the “Address 1” field) and update them in your donor database. Looking for duplicate profiles? Try sorting by street address, full names, or email address.  Once updated in the system, go ahead and rerun that list. However, this time submit it to a service like truencoa.com which will run your entire list through the USPS database and provide you with forwarding addresses as well as 9-digit zip-codes. Implementing any one of these strategies will save you postage and will ensure your mailings will be delivered as timely as possible.

Segment Your List.
Another way to boost your year end is through effective data segmentation. Perhaps your organization engages in a Giving Tuesday campaign and sends personalized hand signed Christmas cards to donors. You don’t have to be a seasoned marketing professional to realize that mailings for these two initiatives likely shouldn’t targeted the same audience. After all, do you really want your top donors to give a potentially smaller gift on Giving Tuesday when their large gifts have always come in the last week of the year? Likewise, sending handwritten notes to someone that only gives small online gifts might not be the best use of your staff’s time. This year, why don’t you try the following segmentation examples to maximize your efforts:

Christmas Card
•    Donors that give $500 or more 
•    Donors that give most of their support in the last 2-weeks of the year
•    Donors that gave more than 3 gifts in the last year
•    Donors that have given in the past via soft credit (i.e., donor advised fund)

Giving Tuesday Mailer
•    Donors that give less than $500 a year
•    Donors/Prospects that are highly engaged with your organization’s email marketing
•    Donors that have given online or by credit card in the past

Call us for a free 30 minute consultation for how you can improve your existing data and, more importantly, show how to leverage your data to make your year end the best it can be!

We don’t have to look far to understand our responsibility when it comes to forgiveness. Christ was very explicit when Peter asked how often he should forgive a brother who sinned against him. “… Up to seventy times seven” was Jesus’ reply (Matt. 18:22). Clearly there is no limit on how often we should forgive. But as fundraisers, is there a cap to the number of times we can ask a supporter to give?

I learned a valuable answer to that question during my time as the director of a men’s homeless shelter and recovery center. We had just completed a very successful capital campaign to build a transitional housing unit for graduates of our discipleship program. The lead gift of $1 million was provided by the owner of a multi-national business with plants in the U.S. and South America. He was a generous, long-time supporter of the mission. Since he was one of our Top 10 lifetime contributors, I personally managed the relationship and would meet with him periodically to share news about our ministry.

During one of these cultivation appointments, a month or two after completion of our capital campaign, I happened to mention that the mission hadn’t yet found a way to purchase a bus to gather homeless men and bring them to the mission for a meal and a warm bed. It was not an ask. I merely wanted to share how our outreach program was expanding.

The donor looked at me rather sternly, “How much do you need to buy a bus?” When I quoted the cost he said, “Why didn’t you come to me for the funding?” Apologetically, I told him we were looking to other donors because “you’d given us a million dollars just two months before.” I explained that I felt awkward asking for more so soon after such a large gift.

I’ll never forget what he said to me next, “Denny, don’t deny me my joy.” Though he was an extremely successful business owner, this donor found his greatest fulfillment in the stewardship of the profits God had entrusted to him. He felt a deep-seated responsibility to help those in need, but he relied on organizations like our mission to point out those needs.

So, is there a limit to how often a development officer can ask a supporter to give? My answer is a lose translation of James 4, “we have not because we ask not.” You’ll never raise the resources necessary to support your ministry if you don’t ask people directly. But how do you know when it’s too much or too often. Here are three thoughts:

The donor will show you.
Part of cultivating a fruitful donor relationship is understanding the motives and rhythm of a donor’s giving. Some supporters prefer to time their giving with specific events such as tax refunds, the last week of December, employment bonuses or investment dividends. Others have more personal giving triggers. I once had a couple who always made their annual contribution on their wedding anniversary. Use your CMS database to track donor giving habits and be sensitive to your donors’ patterns and preferences.

Ask when to ask.
Especially with your mega- and major donors, it’s not only appropriate but especially helpful to ask how a donor prefers to be approached. Some may only want to meet annually with your director or CEO. Others will appreciate more frequent contact. Asking about timing also allows you to identify areas of your ministry that are the most appealing to a donor, such as woman’s programs, scholarship needs, campus expansion, etc.

Also, donors who are direct mail responsive will quite often tell you how frequently they want to receive your appeals. Don’t yield too easily to donors who promise to give without a reminder. Ask permission to mail them at least appeal a year, rather than honoring their request to be dropped from your file to save the printing and postage cost.

One-to-One
As my mentor in fundraising says, “People give to people for people.” Invest in knowing your donors, particularly those of high capacity, so you can invite them to partner with your organization when and how they prefer.

“God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). You do, too! Give your donors something to cheer about by asking them again and again to partner with your ministry. Don’t deny your donors the joy of giving!

Author: Denny Bender, Consultant
Before joining The Timothy Group, Denny served as Executive Director of Union Rescue Mission in Wichita, Kansas, a 114-bed emergency housing shelter for homeless men that also provides addiction recovery, a residential life-change and re-engagement program, as well as food assistance and infant care items for women and needy families.