Luke Gedeon is running a group project in support of Caring for China (C4C), an NPO dedicated to helping the Chinese people move toward greater freedom, including freedom of speech. In this project post, I want to talk about ways NPOs can more effectively raise money through direct mail solicitation.
The most important thing an NPO must convey is a direct mail solicitation is legitimacy. NPOs should assume that the recipient is skeptical. We are bombarded by requests for donations and in the back of our minds we fear being swindled. This attitude may hold even among previous donors.
How can a NPO convey legitimacy?
- Tell us what percentage of donations goes to charitable work as opposed to staff payroll and other operating costs
- Include an audited income statement and balance sheet, or links to where we can find them
- Provide endorsements from known, authoritative sources
- Let us know how long you have been operating
- Let us know how many people contribute, have contributed more than once, and how much they contribute on average
To my way of thinking, NPO solicitations must appeal strongly to the head as well as the heart. Transparency has become an organizational attribute of prime importance in the marketplace, a result of free, open, and two-way communication facilitated by the interactive web.
In the for-profit world, adspeak, one-way communication, and hype arouse suspicion if not outright hostility among consumers who expect plain talk, conversation, and facts. We have every reason to think these same sentiments will carry over into the NPO world. It is, after all, one world.
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Brad, in these tough times, NPOs have the additional challenge of raising money from donors with shrinking dollars. It becomes essential to develop messaging that connects with the head and heart and inspires people to give even as they tighten their personal budget in many areas.
Karen Swims last blog post..March of the Illiterati in E Flat
Stop including labels and other stuff in the mailings. Wastes money and many won’t donate in exchange for them. They’ll donate simply on a letter, if they plan on donating at all.
Meryl K. Evanss last blog post..Q&A on Query Letters and Book Authoring with Wendy Burt
Hi Karen and Meryl – You two know much more about the NPO world than I do, so thank you for adding your valuable comments. I’m glad you mentioned the label/stuff issue, Meryl. Feeling “guilted” into donating is not pleasant – seems like a shortcut when the strong messaging that Karen speaks of just isn’t there.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..How a Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Can Raise More Money
Brad, So far we do not have a budget to report.
But, when we do start bringing in some donations a lot of it will go to staff, second stage fund-raising, and capacity building. Do you think that will be a negative? We have done a lot with volunteer time so far, but are looking for funding in order to grow. I guess we need to report those volunteer hours don’t we?
Karen, I am hoping that if I start at the bottom of the economic cycle and survive, that I will do really well when things pick back up. Think I’ll make it?
Meryl, I can guarantee that I will never send you labels or other stuff in the mail. I do not like paper so I am not going to be sending junk mail, but I wonder what the electronic equivalent is. I gotta be careful about that because I do like electrons.
Luke Gedeons last blog post..Why I Joined Caring for China
Oops, I re-did my comment and left out the most important part… Thank you, Brad!
Luke Gedeons last blog post..Classic Re-post: The Future is Obsolete!
Hi Luke, Glad to help. As for your question about posting “non-income”, that’s a good one. I’m definitely NOT an expert on NPO, so I’m reluctant to even offer an opinion. My instinct is to be open and straightforward, rather than try to give a false impression. It may be better to keep silent on the point until asked, but then again, perhaps your newness will inspire people to build with you from the ground up. It actually sounds like an ideal situation for a little split-testing. Perhaps send out solicitation letters/emails, one talking about your finances, the other saying nothing. See which draws better response.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..How to Prepare Yourself for Launching a Business Blog
“Transparency has become an organizational attribute of prime importance in the marketplace”
Brad, I thought that the term ‘transparency’ represented one of your pet peeves! (just kidding)
Seriously, though, with the amount of fraud, or perceived fraud, as a result of scams, you can’t blame people for being cautions, and a little professionalism in this regard will go a long way towards assuaging concerns with respect to legitimacy.
In addition to the points which you have mentioned, organizations must provide their collectors with name badges, or some other form of appropriate identification, and should require collectors to provide a receipt for all donations given.
In addition, they should also ensure that their collectors are properly informed about what the organization actually does so that collectors are able to respond in to any questions or concerns of prospective donor on the spot in an appropriate fashion.
Often, decisions about whether to donate or otherwise are made on the spot, and the professionalism or otherwise of the individual collector concerned will have a big influence upon which way these decisions go.
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Andrew, You are indeed a careful reader to remember my dislike of transparency! I did in fact struggle with that sentence and decided to use the word because I didn’t want to get sidetracked. Your suggestions about preparing collectors and giving them credentials are spot on. And speaking of professionalism, collectors should dress appropriately as well. We’ve had folks come to our door soliciting for worthy causes, and not be able to tell whether they were fundraisers or had just escaped from prison.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Are You a Social Media Doer or Dabbler?
This is a really interesting post, probably one of the hardest things to do in terms of marketing, is getting people to part with their cash.
I think if you follow these tips and are able to persuade people to donate to charitable causes then marketing for other platforms such as businesses will seem like a walk in the park, as after all if an individual purchases a product they are getting something physical in return.