![\"happier-donors\"](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/lidya-nada-638316-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat makes you happy?<\/p>\n
For me, happiness often comes in the form of chocolate chip cookies, a good book, and seeing my daughters playing together without fighting. But out of everything, I feel happiest when I\u2019m heard, respected, and appreciated by the people around me.<\/p>\n
Humans love tangible moments of happiness. New shoes. A fresh coat of paint. Cupcakes.<\/p>\n
Yet, it\u2019s often the way we treat others and are treated ourselves that epitomize true happiness.<\/p>\n
All this begs the question: are you giving your donors a truly happy experience? You\u2019re sending them donor stories, but are you also listening to their stories? You let them know you received their donation and are thankful for it, but do you know what makes them tick? Are you providing a personal giving experience?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to be everything to everyone, but your donors are special people. They deserve attention. Part of your job is to make them happy.<\/p>\n
Help boost their donor happiness factor by exploring these four areas.<\/p>\n
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The first key to making your donors happy is understanding them, and one of the best ways to do this is to get a 360-degree view of their philanthropic involvement.<\/p>\n
This means digging deep to learn about your donor\u2019s online and offline giving habits<\/a>. They support your nonprofit, but what other organizations ones do they volunteer with? Where do your donors serve as board members or community advocates?<\/p>\n Understanding them involves a conversation, but it\u2019s extremely time-consuming to have a conversation with every single donor. I\u2019m tired just thinking about it!<\/p>\n Instead of getting overwhelmed by the task-at-hand, start small. Single out a small donor segment,<\/a> such as your major donors or those who\u2019ve given for three years or more. Invite them for a meeting at your office, or email them asking if there is a good time for a quick phone call.<\/p>\n Try to find out:<\/p>\n A little online searching also goes a long way and can help you fill in any information gaps. Many organizations post their board list on their website and highlight their major donors and stellar volunteers in newsletter features and testimonials.<\/p>\n To Do: Learn about your donors through conversations and searches to get a full view of their giving habits and philanthropic interests. <\/strong><\/p>\n We connect with donors in many different ways; through content, media, in-person meetings, etc. But often, the communications we create are organization-focused and not necessarily donor-centric.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not making your donor the center of the nonprofit story, then you\u2019re missing the mark.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re sending out email after email without basic facts about your organization, without recognizing that some of that audience has been a part of your fabric since you started, then you\u2019re missing the mark.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not telling your nonprofit story in a relatable way, well, you get my point.<\/p>\n Map out your communication strategy based on how you want to build a relationship with that donor, not just about what you want from them (money, time).<\/p>\n Donor-centric communication plans<\/a> build trust and loyalty and show that you understand your donor.<\/p>\n To Do: As you craft your communications and your outreach plan, make your donor the star of the show.<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you know what fuels your donors to give back, it\u2019s up to you to use that knowledge to deepen your relationship. Customize the donor experience by using personalized offers for each donor segment.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you fundraise for a University, and 10% of your major donors like to direct their gifts to the Athletics department. You can use that information to create a custom campaign geared for this donor segment, such as improving the locker rooms or resurfacing the track. Donors who direct their gifts to the University\u2019s Anthropology department or Study Abroad program may feel strongly about the track, so don\u2019t target them in this campaign.<\/p>\n Specific offers don\u2019t always have to be asks. You can also target your communications such as your direct mailings and newsletters per interest segment.<\/p>\n A personal donor experience is time-consuming on your end, but it helps your donor better connect with your organization\u2019s mission and impact in the long run, and ultimately boosts retention.<\/p>\n It boils down to being relatable.<\/p>\n To Do: Segment your donors, and create specific offers such as asks and stories that appeal to their segment. <\/strong><\/p>\n You work day-in and day-out helping to make the world a better place, and you know the intricacies of your nonprofit. Your donor might not have the personal knowledge you do, but they\u2019re bound to have some opinions about how you\u2019re going about reaching your goals.<\/p>\n Nowadays, it seems like everyone has something to say. Sometimes that\u2019s a good thing. Many times, it\u2019s not. Regardless, we all deserve to be heard.<\/p>\n So listen to your donors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ask for feedback, and be prepared to take it.<\/p>\n Here are a few opportunities to seek feedback:<\/p>\n Make the feedback about them, not you. \u201cTell us what you think\u201d makes the feedback about their experience, and not your organization.<\/p>\n Then, thank your donor for their time, show appreciation, and make an honest effort to respond to feedback on an organizational level. Listening shows you care, and that helps elevate happiness.<\/p>\n To Do: Survey your donors and consistently ask for feedback to make them heard and, in some cases, use their knowledge to perfect your processes. <\/strong><\/p>\n Your donors deserve to be happy.<\/p>\n So skip the tangible, quick and easy techniques and instead, give them a personal experience by listening and adapting your outreach strategy. Happiness results in a stronger donor-to-nonprofit relationship, a positive influence on other supporters, and retention.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth the effort.<\/p>\n CauseVox makes it easy for you to manage relationships with your supporters and create personalized fundraising sites, peer-to-peer campaigns<\/a>, and donation pages<\/a>, all in one place, while also providing a remarkable giving experience to ensure donor happiness.<\/p>\n Thousands of organizations from small community-service charities and national organizations to global development nonprofits use CauseVox to grow their impact by inspiring, activating, and rallying people to advocate for their cause.<\/p>\n\n
Create A Donor-Centric Outreach Plan<\/h2>\n
Use Specific Offers<\/h2>\n
Ask For Feedback (& Be Prepared To Take It)<\/h2>\n
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