https://bloomerang.co/resources/webinars/ Tom Ahern will provide proof-positive, airtight answers to the questions that are crucial to your fundraising success – each one world-sourced from top fundraising practitioners, creative agencies, and veteran researchers working in seven different countries.

1. 1
“How do I
convince
my boss?”
Busting Through
the Ignorance Ceiling
@ Your Nonprofit
May 30, 2019
Bloomerang webinar
~ by Tom Ahern
“Tom Ahern … is one of the
country’s most sought-after
creators of fund-raising
messages.”
The New York Times, Nov. 2016

2. 2
Agents of Good ~ AIGA ~ Tobin Aldrich ~ Angel Aloma ~ American Marketing
Association ~ Ron Arena ~ Armageddon (movie) ~ Ask Direct ~ AS220 ~
Association of Fundraising Professionals ~ Claire Axelrad ~ Bob Ball ~ Beth
Beall ~ Antoine Bechara ~ Ashley Belanger ~ The Better Fundraising Co. ~
Blackbaud ~ Bloomerang ~ Bluefrog ~ Pat and Sue Bradley ~ Kathy Brennan
~ Michelle Brinson ~ Jeff Brooks ~ Ken Burnett ~ BuzzStream ~ Donald B.
Calne ~ John Caples ~ Dale Carnegie ~ Denisa Casement ~ The Case
Writers ~ CFRE ~ Chronicle of Philanthropy ~ Robert Cialdini ~ Jerry
Cianciolo ~ Tina Cincotti ~ Alan Clayton ~ Catherine Clifford ~ Maggie Cohn ~
Sandie Collette ~ CompassPoint ~ Connecticut Forest & Park Association ~
Crisis Aid ~ Lisa Cron ~ Roger Craver ~ Stephanie and Chris Davenport ~
Harriet Day ~ Fabienne DeSoza ~ The Domain Group ~ DonorVoice ~ Roger
Dooley ~ Shanon Doolittle ~ Peter Drury ~ Julie Edwards ~ Amy Eisenstein ~
Tony Elischer ~ Ted Elliott ~ Emerson & Church ~ eNonprofits Benchmarks
Study ~ Entrepreneur ~ Leah Eustace ~ Fast Company ~ First World War ~
Rudolf Flesch ~ Shell Folder ~ Food for the Poor ~ Fractl ~ Friends of the
Mississippi River ~ Future Fundraising Now ~ Lynn Gaertner-Johnston ~
Gayle Gifford ~ Gillette Children's ~ Giving Tuesday ~ Giving USA ~ Seth
Godin ~ Good Works ~ Fraser Green ~ Rory Green ~ Sheena Greer ~ Chip
Grizzard ~ Pam Grow ~ Johannes Gutenberg ~ The Evelyn and Walter Haas,
Jr., Fund ~ Ann Hale ~ Hampton Roads Community Foundation ~ Sally Kirby
Hartman ~ John Haydon ~ Dan Hill ~ Andrea Hopkins ~ Jon Howard ~ Cory J.
Howat ~ Humane Society of Northeast Georgia ~ Jerry Huntsinger ~ IFC ~
Russell James ~ Andrée Joyaux ~ Simone Joyaux ~ Daniel Kahneman ~
Dean Karlan ~ Andrea Kihlstedt ~ J. Peter Kincaid ~ Joseph LeDoux ~ John
Lepp ~ Richard C. Levin ~ Abraham Lincoln (his Gettysburg Address being a
brilliant case for support) ~ John List ~ Jim Little ~ Beth Ann Locke ~ Lollypop
Farm ~ Chuck Longfield ~ David Love ~ Jay Love ~ Jen Love ~ love generally
~ Linda Lysakowski ~ Masterworks ~ McConkey Johnston International UK
(now the Christian Fundraising Consultancy) ~ Ruth McDonald ~ Mike
McKenna ~ Harvey McKinnon ~ Kivi Leroux Miller ~ MoonClerk ~ The Motley
Fool ~ National Council for Aging Care ~ The New York Times ~ Stephen Nill
~ The Nonprofit Storytelling Conference ~ The Nonprofit Times ~ Norges
Blindeforbund ~ North Carolina State University ~ npENGAGE ~ Damian
O'Broin ~ David Ogilvy ~ Jerry Panas ~ Pareto ~ Ben Paynter ~ PBS TV ~
Amanda Pearce ~ Sophie Penney ~ Richard Perry ~ The Philanthropy Centre
~ The Philanthropy Roundtable ~ Mark Phillips ~ Stephen Pidgeon ~ Marc
Pitman ~ Stephen G. Post ~ Psychology Today ~ Richard Radcliffe ~ Terry
Rossio ~ Jim Sardina ~ Adrian Sargeant ~ Lisa Sargent ~ Patti Saunders ~
Eric Schmidt ~ Jeff Schreifels ~ Kevin Schulman ~ Nancy Schwartz ~ Rick
Schwartz ~ Steven Screen ~ Sea Change ~ Jen Shang ~ Alan Sharpe ~
Sharp HealthCare ~ Steven Shattuck ~ Matthew Sherrington ~ Showcase of
Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration (SOFII) ~ Emily Silak ~ Paul Slovic ~
George Smith ~ David Solie ~ Christiana Stergiou ~ Stephen Stills ~ Marty
Stone ~ David Stout ~ Ilene Strizver ~ Tom Struthers ~ Tom Suddes ~ Target
Analytics Group ~ Steve Thomas ~ Sean Triner ~ Joseph Troncale ~ Mark
Twain ~ Amos Tversky ~ USC Annenberg ~ Jose van Herpt ~ Veritus Group ~
Vida Joven ~ Patricia Vidov ~ Siegfried Vögele ~ Erica Waasdorp ~ Keith &
Rosmarie Waldrop ~ Mal Warwick ~ Jerry Weissman ~ Colin Wheildon ~ The
Whiny Donor ~ White Lion Press ~ Wikipedia ~ Paul J. Zak ~ Hermann Zapf

3. 3
“Everything on one postcard” exercise, Mark Phillips, May 2019

4. © 2019 JOYAUX/AHERN 4
As marketing guru Seth
Godin once blogged, our
target markets are often
“lazy people in a hurry.”
Network for Good

5. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 5
“DONORS FOR LIFE!”

6. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux 6
Q. How long does the average
donor stick around?
[ ] 1-3 years
[ ] 4-6 years
[ ] 7-10 years
[ ] More than 10 years

7. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux 7
Q. How long does the average
donor stick around?
[ ] 1-3 years
[X] 4-6 years
[X] 7-10 years
[ ] More than 10 years
Please note:
Monthly donors last longer

8. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 8
“WE NEED YOUNGER
DONORS!”

9. 9
How to double your fundraising revenue
• Move 10% of your donors to monthly giving.
• Persuade about 3% of your donors to upgrade their giving to
the $500 level or higher.
• Get 5% of your donors to include you in their wills.
Hilborn Charity eNEWS, via Future Fundraising Now, 2017
© 2017 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com
WHAT’S NOT MENTIONED?

10. © 2018 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 10
Q. How old is the average
Canadian/Aussie/US/NZ/UK/Irish
donor?
[ ] 35 years of age
[ ] 55 years of age
[ ] 75 years of age

11. © 2018 Tom Ahern | www.AHERNCOMM.com 11
A. How old is the average
Canadian/Aussie/US/NZ/UK/Irish
donor?
[ ] 35 years of age
[ ] 55 years of age
[X] 75 years of age Please note:
Eyes over 55?
14 point type

12. Of course I’ll do my
bit! That’s how I
was brought up.
Source: Jeff Brooks and Mark Phillips
© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 12

13. 4%
11%
17%
22%
46%
<35
35-44
45-54
55-64
65+
Donors by age (percentage)
13 © 2018 Tom Ahern

14. 14© 2018 Tom Ahern
exactly
At a nonprofit
community hospital
in California

15. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 15
“OLD PEOPLE DON’T
CARE ABOUT
ONLINE!”

16. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux
16
Q. Which generation consumes
the most online content?
[ ] Generation Y/Millennials / Born 1981-2000
[ ] Generation X / Born 1965-1980
[ ] Baby Boomers / Born 1946-1964
[ ] Mature/Silents / Born 1927-1945

17. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux
17
A. Which generation consumes
the most online content?
[ ] Generation Y/Millennials / Born 1981-2000
[ ] Generation X / Born 1965-1980
[X] Baby Boomers / Born 1946-1964
[ ] Mature/Silents / Born 1927-1945
Source: Adweek, reporting on joint research by Fractl and BuzzStream, 2015

18. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 18
“WE WON’T SEE
THAT MONEY FOR 20
YEARS!”

19. © 2017 Tom Ahern 19
Q. How soon after you begin a
serious bequest marketing effort
will your first legacy gift arrive?
[ ] Within 3 years
[ ] Within 6 years
[ ] Within 12 years

20. © 2017 Tom Ahern 20
A. How soon after you begin a
serious bequest marketing effort
will your first legacy gift arrive?
[X] Within 3 years
[ ] Within 6 years
[ ] Within 12 years

21. 29%
43%
15%
7%
4%2%
WHAT are you waiting for ????
When did people leaving a gift to charity in 2015
write/amend their wills?
Source: Mark Phillips, Bluefrog
Bequests come in
quicker than you
might assume =
within 1-4 years.

22. “Tomorrow” dollars?
Half of all charitable bequest dollars came from
decedents this age and older…
Current U.S. study: Age 88
New Australian study (5% sample of national
probate files): Age 90
Remember that most realized charitable bequests
are added within 5 years of death
Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP®
Professor, Texas Tech University
22

23. © 2018 Tom Ahern 23
“The dead speak”. The last gift people
give you is NOT their “bequest”. It is
to tell you the kind of person they
were. Where they lived. What they
cared about.
Do the work to understand their
passions.
David Love, 2018

24. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 24
“DIRECT MAIL IS
DEAD!”

25. One of our subscribers, a small org,
wrote in recently to say that they’d lost
2/3 of their donors after dropping DM &
switching to digital only.
25© 2019 Tom Ahern
Source: Pam Grow tweet, January 2019
WRONG ASSUMPTIONS CAN KILL YOU

26. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux
26
Q. How big was online giving
in North America in 2017?
[ ] 5-10% of all giving
[ ] 10-25% of all giving
[ ] 25-40% of all giving

27. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux
27
A. How big was online giving
in North America in 2017?
[X] 5-10% of all giving
[ ] 10-25% of all giving
[ ] 25-40% of all giving
Total online revenue grew by 23% in 2017,
after 15% growth in the year before [a
significant portion of that growth, though, was
due to direct-mail recipients completing their
gifts online, as shopping behaviors have
shifted over the last 30 years]
[However], just about every individual
email metric declined:
++OPEN rates for fundraising and
advocacy emails shrank by 1%.
++Fundraising email CLICK-THRU rates
went down 6% (to 0.42%).
++Page COMPLETION rates were down
6% for fundraising messages (to 17%) and
4% for advocacy messages (to 76%).
~ M+R 2018 Digital Benchmarks

28. Tom Ahern | © 2019 28
Source: Mark Phillips, April 2018
MULTICHANNEL WORLD NOW

29. © 2019 Tom Ahern |
www.AHERNCOMM.com
29
Source: Blackbaud, Chuck Longfield, via Cherian Koshy, at AFPICON 2019

30. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 30
“WE NEED AN ICE-
BUCKET CHALLENGE”

31. 31© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX
Source: Aimee Vance tweet, April 2019
I’ll tell you a secret. I once had a silly
post for an Animal Sanctuary that
reached engagement of 1,000,000...
ORGANICALLY. One million. You
know what it got us? ZERO. Zilch.
Nada. A few more followers. Maybe a
small donation or two when we ran
campaigns and included FB. ZERO
IT’S ALL IN THE EXECUTION

32. Tom Ahern | © 2019 32
How Soi Dog makes money from Facebook...
NON-MONEY OFFER:
Sign a petition
A$K
NON-MONEY OFFER:
Give your email address
A$K A$K

33. © 2019 JOYAUX/AHERN 33

34. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 34
“HOW ABOUT CROWD-
FUNDING?”

35. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux 35
Q. What percentage of crowd-
funding campaigns reach goal?
[ ] Almost all
[ ] About 50%
[ ] A third or less

36. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux 36
A. What percentage of crowd-
funding campaigns reach goal?
[ ] Almost all
[ ] About 50%
[X] A third or less
FURTHERMORE, about that pot of gold at the end
of the rainbow: Of the 76,931 successfully-funded
projects on Kickstarter, 72% of them raised less
than $10,000 and only 85 have raised the
legendary $1 million or more.
~ Crowd101, August 2017

37. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 37
“WHAT ABOUT A 5K
RACE OR
SOMETHING?”

38. © Ahern and Joyaux 2018 38
Q. How many first-time donors
make a second gift?
[ ] 20%
[ ] 40%
[ ] 60%

39. © Ahern and Joyaux 2018 39
A. How many first-time donors
make a second gift?
[X] 20%
[ ] 40%
[ ] 60%
Please note:
Peer-to-peer events like
5K charity runs bloat your
house list with one-time
donors
“Wrong” donors?

40. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 40
“WE NEED MORE
VISIBILITY!”

41. © 2019 JOYAUX/AHERN 41
Visibility without a complementary
campaign calling for action has little
shot at fundraising success.
Oxfam, Greenpeace, and Food for the
Poor all started very small and over
the years became huge charities.
Visibility didn’t build them. Shouting
for donors built them.

42. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 42
GRAB THE SALES
LEAD FUNNEL WITH
BOTH HANDS AND
DON’T LET GO...

43. Half complete gift = 20
You email 10,000
20% opening rate = 2,000
2% click-through rate = 40
© 2019 Tom Ahern 43

44. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 44
“I WON’T SIGN THAT!
IT DOESN’T SOUND
LIKE ME!”

45. “I’m getting push back from
management that it’s too
cheesy and sickly sweet.”
director of development (and Moceanic student), on
how her new appeal was received internally; 2018
© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 45

46. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux 46
Q. What’s the chief purpose of
donor communications?
[ ] Ask for help
[ ] Make the donor happy
[ ] Upset no one

47. © 2018 Ahern and Joyaux 47
A. What’s the chief purpose of
donor communications?
[ ] Ask for help
[X] Make the donor happy
[ ] Upset no one

48. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 48
DON’T BE BORING
(BE DELIGHTFUL)
> OR AT LEAST FLATTERING <

49. © 2017 Tom Ahern 49

50. “Mom was wrong. Research
shows that even when
people perceive that flattery
is insincere, that flattery
can still leave a lasting and
positive impression of the
flatterer.”
© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 50

51. 51
You’re in my home, brain and face:
“Why are you here?”
Bad guest or good?
Tom Ahern | © 2019

52. To make ME
feel good!!!
52Tom Ahern | © 2019
Important!
Wanted!
Needed!
Proud of myself!
Happy!
Pleased!
Entertained!Surprised!

53. 53
KIND
CARING
COMPASSIONATE
HELPFUL
FRIENDLY
FAIR
HARD-WORKING
GENEROUS
HONEST
Source: psychologist Jen Shang, quoted in the NY Times 2012
© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX
USE ADJECTIVES LIKE THESE

54. 13 qualities you can recognize in your donors to deepen connection:
Thank you for your...
- courage - faith - trust - concern -
loyalty - dedication - sense of justice -
vision - resolve - integrity - kindness -
steadfastness - understanding -
compassion
54© 2019 Tom Ahern
Source: Lisa Sargent tweet, February 2019

55. CORPORATE communications are about how
great the organization is. Favorite pronoun:
we
55© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX

56. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 56
7 “magic” words
#1 ~ You ~ #1
Because
Thanks
Small
Immediate
Expert
Support
Claire Axelrad, Clairification.com; 2018

57. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 57
35,000 gifts; ltr.
featured in the NY
Times, Nov. 5, 2016
35,000 gifts; ltr.
featured in the NY
Times, Nov. 5, 2016

58. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 58
IN THE
BIG
TYPE,
PLEASE

59. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 59
The QUICK! gift of joy
The QUICK! gift of joy
The QUICK! gift of joy

60. 60
The QUICK! gift of joy
The QUICK! gift of joy
The QUICK! gift of joy
The QUICK! gift of joy
© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX

61. © 2019 JOYAUX/AHERN 61
All fundraising copy should
sound like someone talking.
-- George Smith, Tiny Essentials of Writing for Fundraising
To WHOM are
you sending it?

62. 62
Source: Katya Andresen, Nonprofit Marketing Blog, Network for Good
1. Capacity 2.
Empower 3.
Enhance 4.
Indigenous 5.
Partnership 6.
Development 7.
Systemic 8.
Community
9. Innovation
10.
Superlative 11.
Outcomes 12.
Support 13.
Sustainable 14.
Resources 15.
Dignity 16.
Facilitate 17.
Diversity 18.
Fostering
© 2019 JOYAUX/AHERN
JARGON = DOA
Intellectual, not emotional

63. Adrian Sargent’s loyalty factor #1 of 7
Your “service quality” is good
Do you anticipate questions, for
instance? Do you acknowledge gifts
promptly? Do you speak like a normal
person?
63© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX

64. 18 bits of jargon to eschew
64
Source: Katya Andresen, Nonprofit Marketing Blog, Network for Good
1. Capacity 2.
Empower 3.
Enhance 4.
Indigenous 5.
Partnership 6.
Development 7.
Systemic 8.
Community
9. Innovation
10.
Superlative 11.
Outcomes 12.
Support 13.
Sustainable 14.
Resources 15.
Dignity 16.
Facilitate 17.
Diversity 18.
Fostering
© 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX
KILL
“At-risk kid. Give us
your money!”
“Food-insecure family.
Give us your money!”
Jargon prevents
empathy!JARGON defines LOUSY
“customer service”

65. © 2019 AHERN/JOYAUX 65

66. 66
My
free
how-to
e-newsletter…
www.aherncomm.com
I subscribe!
Tom Ahern | © 2019