https://bloomerang.co/about/team/wayne-robbins/

1. Donor
Communications
Tom Ahern’s 9 Secrets to Success:
Getting your Story Right!
Date: 4/9/2015
Presenter: Wayne Robbins

2. Key Reasons For Donors Leaving »
• No longer able to afford support
• No memory of ever supporting!
• Organization asked for inappropriate sums
• Feeling that other causes are more deserving
• Not reminded to give again
• Organization did not inform how monies were used
• Did not feel connected!

3. Key Reasons For Donors Leaving »
BAD COMMUNICATION

4. What Happens When Donors Leave »

5. CUE THE EXPERTS:
Dr. Adrian Sargeant
Chief Scientist
Professor of Fundraising at the Center on Philanthropy at
Indiana University holding what is presently the world’s
only endowed chair in that discipline.
Top 10 Most Influential People in Fundraising
Renowned expert on Donor Retention and Donor Loyalty
Mr. Tom Ahern
Donor Communications
Head Coach
One of the world’s top authorities on donor
communications
Author of 4 books on Donor Communications
Winner of 3 prestigious international IABC Gold Quill
awards

6. You send a message...
Goal of donor communications »
...and you want action!

7. 1. What do I know about the target audience?
2. What does that knowledge suggest I do?
3. What are the obstacles?
First, ask yourself »

8. Ignore Pay
attention
You send a message »

9. Ignore Pay
attention
You send a message »

10. • How did you grab my attention?
• How did you stir my emotion?
• How did you make your case so I cared?
• How did you talk to me personally?
• How did you advance the case story?
• How were you relevant to the reader?
• How were you relevant to the times?
Why were you successful? »

11. You’re trying for “mental nods.”
Secret to Success #1 »

12. Pay
attention
Ignore
Skim & engage Skim & discard
You send a message »

13. Pay
attention
Ignore
Skim & engage Skim & discard
You send a message »

14. Pay attention
Skim & engage
Not satisfied Satisfied
Action No action
© 2013 Tom Ahern
Ignore
Skim & discard
You send a message »

15. © 2013 Tom Ahern
An Example »

16. Why am I in
your home?
Ask #1.
Do I have
relevant news?
Ask #2.
Do we have a
connection?
Ask #3.
Brief opening
Personalization

17. Reinforce the
connection
Are donors
important?
Far more than
you might
realize.

18. Disqualify
other sources
of income
Demonstrate
importance of
donors’ work
Ask #4
Shift responsibility for the success of the mission onto
donors’ shoulders

19. Remind what’s
at stake
Ask #5
News value.
Urgency.
And Ask #6.
Flesch reading ease: 58, Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 8

20. Ahern Audit »

21. Your appeal is NOT about how
wonderful your organization is.
Your appeal IS about how
wonderful the donor is.
Secret to Success #2 »

22. Beginning
of mail
End of mail
Elapsed time:
1-3 seconds

23. You do not sell everything
to everyone.
You sell to specific values, feelings, beliefs,
hopes, dreams, connections, affiliations,
tribes, etc.

24. It’s not about you.
It’s about the donor.

25. Not you.
The donor.

26. Not you.

27. The donor.

29. What kind of communication
am I going to write today?
First Question »

30. Types of Donor Communications »
• Letters
• Emails
• Acknowledgements
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Videos
• Blog Posts

31. 1. Acquisition
(no gift yet, reader is a stranger)
2. Renewal
(made a prior gift, reader is a friend)
Two Distinct Types of Appeals »

32. ½ of 1%
Acquisition Response Rate »

33. 40-70%
Renewal Response Rate »

34. 1. Who are you (your promise)?
2. What do you want?
3. Why should I trust you?
4. Why do you matter?
5. How do you relate to me?
6. What’s the rush?
Ask Yourself (Acquisitions) »

35. 1. What did you do with my prior gift?
2. Are you grateful?
3. What do you want now?
4. Do you have proof?
5. Again: Who are you?
6. What’s the rush?
Ask Yourself (Renewals) »

36. • Use the person’s name
• Use the pronouns “you” and “I”
• Include an audience attribute:
“As a parent, you know....”
• Geography: “As a resident of...”
• Hand-written touches
Personalize! »

38. Make your donors the solution
to some local problem.
Secret to Success #3 »

39. They’re aware of consequences
“Someone might be hurt if I don’t give.”
Dr. Adrian Sargeant: Why Donors Stay Loyal »

40. “…the purpose is to get the
reader involved long enough and
interested enough to make a
positive decision. Nothing else.”
-- Jerry Huntsinger

41. 1st paragraph: 10 words or less.
Secret to Success #4 »

43. Multiple asks
Secret to Success #5 »

44. Multiple Asks
Logo
[ Optional important message ]
Dear Ms. Smith,
If you’re like me, the sight of
kids running around on stage in
silly costumes makes you giggle
with delight.
Sincerely,
Ms. Sincerity Champion, ED
PS: ytuytggygkigkygkygigikgy
Ask!
Ask!
Ask!
Ask!

45. The purpose of donor communications:
To get inside a person’s home or office ...
... and carry on a brief,
persuasive “conversation in
print,” hoping it will earn your
cause a gift.

46. It’s not breaking
and entering.

47. How does a good
guest act?

49. • Is the letter a conversation – or a brochure?
• Is the opening sentence short?
• Is it personal (“you” and “I”)?
• Have I said why I’m here? (“I’m writing to you
today because...”)
• Does it make a promise?
• Is there urgency?
• Are there at least 3 asks?
• Does it entertain (tell a story, offer news)?
• Is the donor the hero?
Donor Communications Checklist »

50. Don’t bore me.
Secret to Success #6 »

51. Neuroscience says…
“Coming across new information
triggers a chemical reaction that makes
us feel good, which in turns causes us to
seek out even more of it.”
Source: Wall Street Journal article by Lee Gomes, on USC neuroscientist, Dr.
Irving Biederman; published March 12, 2008

52. Dear Jane Sample,
Our doctors call it "Day Zero.”
It’s the day you come back from the dead.

53. Anything
Will Grab My Attention
(including the word “new”)

54. Also “new-ish”
Words like secret, hidden, hints, tips,
update, private, confidential, mystery,
discover, unveil, expose, reveal,
divulge. Phrases like "Did you know?",
"Myths and Facts," "Frequently Asked
Questions," "Heard on the Blog."

55. Know your SMIT.
Single Most Important Thing.
Secret to Success #7 »

56. “Focus on the SMIT (single most important
thing) you want to tell someone, right now.
Ideally focused on a story about an individual.”
-- Jonathon Grapsas

59. Get them into a fight.
Secret to Success #8 »

61. “Giving is not about a calculation of
what you are buying,” Yale economics
professor, Dean Karlan, proved.
“It is about participating in a fight.”
The New York Times | March 9, 2008

63. Make a promise.
Secret to Success #9 »

64. Memphis Child Advocacy Center
Helping Victims
Become Children Again
They are not giving to this, at least not initially
They are giving to this

65. Donors don’t give to your
organization.
They give through your
organization to:
• fix a problem they worry about
• sustain or expand a solution they believe in
• get more of what they’re interested in
• feel like they’ve made a difference

66. • Emotion
• A story
• Urgency
What You Must Have »

67. 1. Mental nods
2. Not about you, it’s about the donor
3. Make your donor the solution to a problem
4. 1st paragraph: 10 words or less
5. Multiple asks
6. Don’t bore me
7. Know your SMIT
8. Get them into a Fight
9. Make a Promise
9 Secrets to Success »

68. Tom Ahern’s
free
how-to
e-newsletter:
www.aherncomm.com

69. Next-Gen Database/CRM
Easy Enough for All to Use!
(Even the CEO)
Enables Campaign
Best-Practices!