Latest / The Nonprofit Podcast / Ep 167| 3 No-ask donor tactics to fuel Fall fundraising

Transcript

Ep 167| 3 No-ask donor tactics to fuel Fall fundraising · The Nonprofit Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to start thinking of summer as our window of time to quietly build momentum for what's ahead.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: Ask yourself one question.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Where in my stewardship plan can I weave in real voices from the community?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I mean putting in real intention to analyze your stewardship plan and co-create with your community.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: And when fall rolls around, you have already laid the groundwork.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Your supporters won't be primed and they're already going to feel scene.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: The Nonprofit Podcast, powered by DonorBox.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Brit Stalker, your fundraising coach at DonorBox.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Today I am going to deliver a weekly dose of fundraising tips that you can use right away to increase your donations.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Plus, I'm going to share all inspiration ideas to grow your reach and deepen your impact right now.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: So we are in July, and I don't know about you, I feel like it's kind of a weird month.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're still catching your breath after, oh my goodness, last year's year in planning.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're head down planning the launch of a new fall program.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe just maybe you're like me, hey, my kids are out of school, and I want to use the summer to take a few days to disconnect, to be present so that I can give it my all-come fall.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Wherever you may be, friends, I want you to know July matters more than we think.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: More than we think.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: What do we know?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Most people outside of the nonprofit space use the winter time to slow down, right?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they recharge, they bundle up.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I want you to start thinking of summer as our window of time to quietly build momentum for what's ahead.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just giving you a permission slip to make July a month of what I call quiet momentum.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: And by that, I don't mean you're not launching something huge, you're not squeezing in another dang appeal.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: I mean nurturing what you already have in place and do it better.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, better.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: So today I'm gonna walk you through three simple community-centered tips where you can show up in deeper and more meaningful ways for your supporters this summer.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so let's get to it.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Tip one.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Now, most of you probably are already doing this.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: You're sending out your beautiful handwritten thank you notes to your supporters.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you might even have a timely sequence when those go out.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: You might have a devoted volunteer this month.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to take it a step further and make those thankful touch points a little bit more human.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And here's what I'm thinking: people are tired, right?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: They still love those meaningful handwritten uh thank you notes, but why not pick five community members, not just your monetary donors?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's the person who's always sharing your Instagram post.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's that board member who shows up early and never misses a board meeting.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's a monthly donor who's given like clockwork for five years.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever it may be, grab your phone right now, check out there's so many cool free and low-cost tools out there: Loom, CapCut, Canva, and you're gonna record quick 20 to 30 second, heartfelt, real human, nothing polished videos where you're gonna connect with your donors or your supporters in meaningful ways.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Three things in these short and sweet videos.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Say their names up front because names matter, right?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Two, call out how they're specifically connected to the work, how their role is tied to a specific outcome.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Jessica, I saw that you shared the story that we posted on Monday three times on your platforms.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, I have to tell you, you it basically helped us recruit three volunteers.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Tie their specific role to a specific impact.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: And three, you're gonna invite them in a deeper way.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: This isn't gonna be an ask, it's just another way to engage them on a different level.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: And what my idea is, is it's it's it's just a subtle ask.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Jessica, if you have a sec reply, please tell me one thing that's inspired you in the last couple of weeks with the work that you're part of.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'd love to hear from you.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: No pressure, there's no perfection, you're showing up in a human, authentic way, and you're tapping into some free, affordable tools on your phone to engage with your donors in meaningful ways.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: And thinking smarter, not working harder, why not batch those videos?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: Why not make a slew of five, five to 10 short and sweet, 30 to 90 second videos?
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's gonna bring so much benefit in building deeper connections with your supporters than that hour trying to analyze why your email open rates are the way they are.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: All right, tip two: try hosting a 30 to 45 minute in-person coffee or tea gathering right in your community.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: There's not gonna be pitches, there's not gonna be slides, there's not gonna be a monetary ask.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: This is simply a no-pressure, relaxed, safe place to connect with each other and get the level of intel that you're gonna need to engage them on a deeper level and fall.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: So a few things here.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for those of you who don't have the opportunity to bring your donors along in person, I would say skip this step and focus on the other two.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: But for those who do have this opportunity, leverage it, use it.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: When you're inviting folks from your community, the key here is mix it up.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: You want variety, you want donors, you want new volunteers, you want past clients, you want partners.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Again, I know summer can be tough to get people to show up, but people are craving real connection.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: And there is this sweet spot, right?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: When people return from vacation right before they get into fall, there's kind of this lull period.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Take advantage of that where you're simply inviting your community members to show up.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: Coffee's on us as the nonprofits, and just connect, build connection and community.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: And one thing to know, as you, the nonprofit, is on the day of your job, it isn't to fix anything.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: You're not going to center yourself, you're not even leading this event.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: It is to hold space.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: You're allowing people to connect and feel part of something bigger.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Now, you know, people are kind of socially awkward at first, right?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: So you might nudge things along with one question, and that might look like, hey, David, hey, I know, you know, you've been with us for about 10 years.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: What's kept you connected all along to this work?
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: He'll answer, and then you can kind of bring other supporters into the fold to kind of get that conversation going.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, you can open up the event with one question, but once the conversation revs up, you're gonna sit back, you're gonna just listen, you're gonna jot stories down, you're gonna jot words down, collect all of the color that's gonna help you when you go back to work and put in your CRM, and it's gonna help you highly personalize those appeals come fall, the next interaction that you have with the donor.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is gonna be your opportunity to not just create a space to allow people to build community, but it's gonna give you the level of qualitative data, the intel that you need to build deeper connections when it comes fall time.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: All right, now tip number three.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm guessing most of you probably already have a stewardship plan in place, right?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: You might have automated drip campaigns where various emails go out for different donor segments at different particular times.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: You might have an automated quarterly newsletter, and heck, you might have even automated somehow your physical mail, your thank you notes that go out at certain times.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Keep doing that.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: And for those of you who don't have a stewardship plan, don't fret.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here to help you offline build that when it makes sense for you.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: But what I'm thinking here is use this as an opportunity to give some juge to improve your existing stewardship plan.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: And what I'm thinking here is ask yourself one question.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Where in my stewardship plan can I weave in real voices from the community?
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Am I doing that, first of all?
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: And if not, how can I and where can I?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not talking about dropping in a quote here or there.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean putting in real intention to analyze your stewardship plan and co-create with your community.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't have the bandwidth or the capacity or the time to collect those stories, why not start now, publish a post across different channels, and ask your community members, your supporters, your board members, your clients, your partners to share colorful details about what brings the meaning most about the work that your nonprofit is doing.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: This is a great opportunity to start collecting intentional, human, authentic stories and taking a look at all of your communications and making sure that you're weaving those stories in.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now you don't need to rewrite everything, right?
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: You just need to swap in, it might be a few messages or two that feel a little bit more warm, a little bit more human and personalized.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so that is your July roadmap in a nutshell.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Plain and easy, right?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: One, create five short and sweet videos that you can then send to a variety of supporters.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: Two, host a cozy no pressure coffee chat to build community connection.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And three, refresh your stewardship content, weaving in real authentic voices with the help of co-creators in your community.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: And when fall rolls around, you have already laid the groundwork.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, your supporters are will already be primed and they're already going to feel seen.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Have I missed anything?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Which of these ideas feel doable?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Or hey, maybe you've got your own special ways to nurture your donors.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: Either way, the pod crew, we'd love to hear it.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: So please reach out.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for being with me today on the Nonprofit Podcast.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Britt Stockert.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm cheering you on as always.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to know that we see you, your work matters.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: We're honored to support it.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: And hey, if this episode resonated with you, please share it with your networks.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Leave us a review, subscribe to our YouTube channel, and share it.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, take that first step and stay inspired.
• 11:55
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• 12:00
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• 12:06
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• 12:09
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• 12:11
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