Even if you successfully get donors to make site visits and are able to reach out to them as described above, it is not enough. You need to do more to keep in touch. After all, how many times a year will a donor be willing to come to the organization, or how frequently can you call for an appointment without becoming a pest? Besides, there are other ways to communicate and express interest in donors. Let’s begin by looking at communication that is more about the donor than the organization.
Send birthday and other appropriate greeting cards. Send get-well cards and even flowers to a donor in the hospital. Keep your eye open for items about donors in newspapers. When you see one, clip it and send it along with a “congratulations” note to the donor.
Now let’s take a look at some more formal communication media. You should have a regular newsletter that goes out to donors. By regular, I mean at least every other month. Actually, I would recommend monthly. The newsletter can be sent as paper or email. The latter will cost far less and make a more frequent schedule easier to maintain, but be prepared to get paper into the hands of those who do not want to receive email. I would expect that number to be very small and shrinking almost daily. The newsletter should be aimed at the donor community, rather than something that goes to everybody from clients to employees.
Include donors on your press list and make sure they get copies of every press release you send out. Think email again.
Send photographs of things the organization is doing. Again email is easier, quicker, and far less expensive.
And finally, send something special that reflects well on the organization. If you’re a social service organization and your clients make crafts, how about sending something made by a client? Share with donors the thank-you notes you receive. Have clients of the organization write to a donor explaining the difference the organization has made in their lives.
To learn how FundRaiser can help you evaluate your donor base for a capital campaign