The power of data: using information on your donors to fuel growth in your program

Check out my latest article on using personal data which talks about focusing on past behaviour and finding emotional triggers to raise more money.

Jonathon

Stewardship: who bloody cares!

I hope that got your attention.

Of course, I care. Lots in fact about how we care for all those wonderful people who support our organizations.

But frankly, I am sick of the word stewardship/donor care, whatever you want to call it, being the buzz topic at conferences. This was the case last week at the IOF Convention and quite frankly it drove me a little bongkers.

Why?

Because we over analyze it.

Some of the sessions were actually debating whether we need different terms, what the definition of stewardship was/is. Blah blah blah .

Let’s be honest. Good donor care isn’t brain surgery. They don’t hand out Nobel Prizes for it. Just do it!

I’ve posted lots about this topic (so maybe I am being hypocritical here?), but my posts provide practical, real life examples of what it means to look after your donors: thank promptly and appropriately, feedback regularly, treat people like they are your friends, continue to ask, get personal, tell them how they are making a difference. Simple.

It’s almost as if we (the sector) feel we need to continually put it on the agenda. But my friends, we don’t. We just need to do it.

Remember, innovation isn’t about doing new stuff, it’s about doing things you’re not currently doing. Same goes for looking after your donors.

Jonathon

Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller

Whether we like it or not, our world is about to get a whole lot smaller.

That’s the view of economist and author Jeff Rubin who recently released the fascinating but frightening book entitled “Why your world is about to get a whole lot smaller”.

I’d suggest all fundraisers read it, for it has connotations for all of us.

Now granted, this is one man’s opinion.

But there’s lots of evidence to back up Jeff’s words. In a nutshell Rubin talks about the worlds obsession with oil, and more importantly the relationship between the price of oil and the state of the global economy.

In regards to oil he says, “it will never be cheap again. Take away cheap oil, and the global economy is getting the shock of its life.”

The most alarming part, for a novice on this issue like me, is the rate at which we are running out of the commodity that we rely so heavily on.

Which means, hence the book title, the world is going to get a whole lot smaller.

If that is the case, and travel becomes exorbitantly expensive, what does this mean for the charitable sector? What does that mean for how far the charitable dollar reaches?

If this really is true, then the global downturn will look like a storm in a teacup in comparison. Let’s face it, charitable giving has only fallen a few % in the last year amidst what we keep defining as the word recession since the great depression, but even when it picks up again, can we be sure we can have the impact we really want/need to have on the world?

If the cost to transport relief from say the developed to the developing world is ten times more expensive, what will happen to those who need it most? Will it not get there or will be have to raise ten times as much in the first instance?

If there are fewer cars on the road, how will the local soup kitchen get their daily meals to those in far flung places?

And if it is more difficult to cross the country, or even the city you live in, how will you meet that potential major donor face to face to ask them for that $1m lead gift you need to build your new animal shelter?

Believe the evidence or have your doubts, but regardless, these are issues we will face, and in our lifetime.

I think it’s time charities starting planning for disasters, and I don’t just mean tsunamis. I mean financial downturns. I mean the warming of the planet. I mean the world running out of oil.

The latest downturn has shown us how exposed we can be. It’s time we start looking ten and twenty years ahead.

Jonathon

Please, please share!

I’m currently in London to speak at the Institute of Fundraising Convention.

I love this conference, hence why it’s my sixth time here.

If I have to be picky though, there’s one thing that I always walk away disappointed in however (like most conferences) and that’s a lack of sharing. And by sharing I mean results/evidence/case studies.

I’m not sure if it’s an unwillingness, nervousness or perhaps even fear?

But let’s be honest. Sharing for ‘the greater good’ is exactly that. Often the fear to share is from those who have moved to the ‘third sector’ from the commercial world. And I can understand that, it’s a different space to operate in, culturally at least.

Coke don’t share their recipes with Pepsi, and why would they?

But we’re not Coke and Pepsi here.

We should be about increasing the size of the pie, or getting more from those within it. It isn’t about getting a bigger chunk. Wrong attitude. Seriously, we don’t have anything to lose from sharing. Of course we need to respect confidentiality (certainly as agencies on behalf of clients) but discussing the good, bad and the ugly from our programs can only benefit the sector.

And that means helping more beneficiaries.

So I’m imploring those at the Convention to open up and tell us:

• What’s worked, what hasn’t and what are you trying that you’re just not sure about?
• About some monumental stuff ups. I’ll buy you a drink in the bar if you do.
• About your latest results.
• About the latest test learning’s
• About others you know who are doing some kick ass stuff

Please, please, share with us. We need it to get the most value from the conference.

I promise I will during my session entitled How to Look at What Others Are Doing to Raise More Money

Jonathon