Follow Up So Donors Can Follow Through

Hello everyone,
 
I hope this newsletter finds you well.  I wanted to use this month’s Calibration Point to get you thinking about follow up and follow through.  January and February are good months to follow up and follow through on your fourth quarter invitations to give.  The fact that individuals did not give in the fourth quarter in response to your appeal does not mean that they have no interest.  We hear from many donors in the field that they often just forget to respond to an invitation to give.  They planned to follow through, but they needed to follow up.  With that in mind, let’s consider a “follow up so donors can follow through” strategy.  It is really simple and effective.    
 
1. Identify donors who did not respond to your fourth quarter calendar year appeal and target that group for personalized follow-up communication.
 
2. Resend these donors an invitation to give along with a personal letter, note or phone call.   
Board members can be great assets in this role.  Listen to the podcast; this is a good place to land the plane with the board.  Let the donor know that you are thankful for their continued consideration of being a partner with you in 2020 and investing in those you serve.  Note that you are resending the invitation to invest in that partnership in case the first one was misplaced.  Consider including an insert of your board, mission, vision and the theme for the coming year.  
 
3. Keep track of donors’ responses.
 
4. Thank donors as they give, and track when they give.  
 
That’s pretty well it.  Follow up, so your donors can follow through.  Many organizations don’t follow up out of fear donors will get mad.  If your solicitation reflects that the donor is a transaction, you bet, they will get mad.  This is not because you followed up, but because you are just resending a transactional appeal to them.  On the other hand, engage them personally as a relationship that matters and share an opportunity to make a difference.  This communicates building relationship and not about getting checks.  Good luck as you follow up, so donors can follow through!
 
Sincerely,
 
Jamie