How to Enhance Donor Loyalty

Improving Donor Engagement Online Bridget Brandt Brisbane Consulting & Sage

Agenda
Do you have engaged donors?
Engage them online
New
Established
Tools to Engage
Q&A

What are “Engaged Donors”
Engaged Donors are those who are taking ACTIONS
Donate
Attend events
Volunteer
Recruit new donors
Engaged Donors are those who are a part of your “Community”
Interacting and communicating WITH your organization
Interacting and communicating with others ABOUT your organization (online and offline)
Building a relationship

Why do you want “Engaged Donors”?
More cost-effective to renew a donor than find a new donors
Engaged donors extend your organization’s reach into the world
Engaged donors do more:
More frequent donations, larger donations
Take more actions
Tell more people about your organization
Peer to Peer fundraising

How to Tell if Your Donors Are “Engaged”
They are taking actions
Back to the definition of an engaged donor
Social Media
Increased mentions
Increased fans / followers
Increased traffic to website
From social media, emails, etc.

Ideas to Nurture Engagement Online

Mind the Gap
The “Engagement Gap”
The gap between a first time donor and an “engaged donor”
What do you do with your first time donors?
Need multiple ways / methods to get involved
Need a graduated offering of actions
Start simple (forward this email)
Move on to more involved actions (peer to peer fundraising)

ASK!
1) Ask them to do small favors
Tell a friend, forward email, sign petition, comment on blog, volunteer
Every simple action will deepen the engagement and bond
2) Ask them what they want / need / care about
Easy way to engage and get them to do a small favor
The results will allow you to tailor content to what they care about

Events
In person and online events
In person - Gala, meetups, etc.
Online - webinars, online chats, Tweets, etc.
Get to know them on a personal level
Deepen the bond and cultivate those major donors
Smaller niche events
Eg. Women’s Caucus or Austin Chapter
Easier for individuals to connect

Listen / Connect with Influencers
Always remember that engagement is a conversation
Don’t just listen on your site, go where the conversations are already taking place
Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Largest growth on Facebook is 35+ year olds, with the 55+ crowd growing at 922%
Join the conversations in an authentic way
Accept and respond to criticism
Identify Influencers and engage them separately
Provide extra support to help them spread the word

Give Them the Content They Want
Community Philanthropy 2.0 survey, donors (30-49) want to hear about:
Organizational Impact (80%)
Success Stories (74%)
More details about the organization (71%)
Info on financial accountability (43%)
Segment and tailor your content
Examples - Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Make it easy to pass it on
Tell-A-Friend / Forward This Page

Make It Easy
Make it easy to stay in touch
Capture emails, blog updates, RSS feeds
Make it easy to spread the word
Tell-A-Friend / Email this Page
Social Media Icons
Make it easy to interact
Blog commenting
Online forums
Facebook and Twitter widgets on website

Nurturing Engagement in New Versus Established Donors

Nurturing New Donors
Welcome Email(s)
1st 30 days is key - Research in retail sector
Higher open rates, click-throughs, and actions
Special invitations to events / opportunities
“ Since you are a new donor…..”
Give updates on how their donations are helping
Give specific examples / Use emotion
Ask them to tell others
Tell-A-Friend scripts, social media, etc.

Nurturing Established Donors
Identify your most passionate donors and give them additional support
Need to identify them (CRM, Sage Fundraising Online, etc.)
Help them to spread the word
Segment and speak directly to them
Online tools make this much easier
Separate emails for your top supporters
Special Recognition
Events for repeat donors only (VIP’s)
Recognize at live events and in print
Name tags / Badges in community / Article in newsletter

Tools to Engage Donors
Constituent Relationship Management (CRM)
Tell-A-Friend / Send this article
Google alerts
Social media icons
Sage Fundraising Online

Conclusion
Donor engagement can lead to many good outcomes
Only YOU can figure out what works for YOUR organization

Question and Answer
Contact Matthew McDonald:
Contact Sage:
Bridget <dot> Brandt <at> sage <dot> com
www.sagenonprofit.com
800-811-0961

How to Enhance Donor Loyalty

by Sage Nonprofit Solutions on Jul 12, 2011

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How to Enhance Donor Loyalty — Presentation Transcript