Development for Conservation How to Write Better Fundraising Letters Workshop C03 Presented at Rally 2016 29 October 2016 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Anita O’Gara, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation David Allen | fundraisinghelp@sbcglobal.net | 608-239-5006
The Case for Membership Programs Before we get too far into the specifics, here are some major context points to consider and remember: 1. By “members,” we simply mean donors whose annual gifts are both expected and unrestricted. Members might mean “voting rights” for some organizations, but we are not necessarily using it that way. 2. Members provide the single most reliable – most permanent – source of unrestricted funding available. This is operations money. 3. Membership recruitment rarely breaks even – it’s almost always a revenue negative enterprise. Organizations raise money from membership through renewals and appeals sent to existing members . Existing members give between $25 and $25,000 on a regular basis. The essential argument for renewal is, “You did it last year. You did it the year before. It’s April. It’s time.” This argument is easy to make and hard to screw up. And it works regardless of the dollar amount you are renewing. 4. Membership is also an important starting point for all major gift cultivation. And sustained membership over a long period of time creates fertile ground for planting seeds of planned giving. 5. Members can be recruited in MANY different ways. One of the most efficient is direct mail, though it’s not the only way. BUT – Members tend to renew the same way they were recruited. Direct mail recruits renew through the mail. Canvass recruits renew off a canvass. Someone who joined from a table or booth at the State Fair will need to see you there again next year to renew. And people who find you on-line to join will need to find you on-line to renew as well. Of all these methods, the one most solidly in your control is direct mail. It’s been the method that has worked the best for years, and it still outperforms everything else out there. 6. We sometimes refer to membership recruitment as “marketing,” and the budget available as the marketing budget. Most organizations with more than 500 or so members have substantial marketing budgets. A good thumb-nail calculation for how much money you need to spend annually to build and sustain a membership of a certain size is to multiply the number of members you want by $20. So, if your goal is 400 members, your marketing budget should be in the neighborhood of 400 X 20 = $8,000, not including staff time.
7. A good thumb-nail calculation for how many members you need is to divide the amount of operations money you need by $200. Most land trusts I have met would be stable with 1,000-2,000 members. 8. It is far less expensive to renew current members – through second, third, and fourth letters, or through phone calls and/or visits – than it is to replace them. BEFORE you launch any kind of serious direct mail effort aimed at building membership, make sure you have your renewal systems humming. 9. Most land trusts with membership programs use a monthly renewal system for their membership. It’s probably overkill, and if you have a choice, we recommend that you don’t start that way. Start by using a “membership drive” model, probably in the spring months, and follow it with an Annual Meeting in early June. Send these same people a fall appeal (with at least one follow-up letter) in early November. You will quickly graduate to a twice per year model with some members renewing in the Spring and getting a Fall Appeal, and other members renewing in the Fall and getting a Spring Appeal. At 600 members or so, consider dividing them into seasons, with three or four recruitment and renewal pushes each year. Don’t go to monthly pushes without a dedicated staff person to run the system. And Remember: even if you have a monthly system in place now, you don’t have to mail every month. If you only have six renewal in July, move them into August and skip July!
10/4/2016 Context Acknowledgements • By “members” we mean: • Jeff Brooks, The Fundraiser’s Guide to Donors whose annual (or more often) Irresistible Communications gifts are both expected and unrestricted • The Nature Conservancy • Membership (renewal) money is the easiest money to raise and the hardest to screw up Context • The “Direct Mail” appeal letters we will discuss this afternoon relate to Nine Rules for Writing ASKING CURRENT MEMBERS FOR AN Irresistable Appeals APPEAL GIFT THIS YEAR NOT renewing members Context Rule #1 OR If you’re not testing, you’re not learning. ASKING NON MEMBERS TO “JOIN” MAKE A FIRST GIFT 1
10/4/2016 Testing Why People Give • A/B Tests – make sure everything else is People give because they believe: held constant • what you are doing is worth doing, • Code the response cards • you can get it done, and • their gift will make a difference. • Make sure each test group is demographically identical To get an A/B List Editing • Start with an Excel spreadsheet file of the • Every number in your draft letter is mailing list suspect. Take ‘em out. • Sort by zipcode first and then by street address • Use the we/us/our filter: do these • Create a new column “A” pronouns include the reader? • A1 = 1 • A2 = if(A1=2,1,A1+1) • Copy that formula for each cell below A2 Rule #2 Editing • Use the Flesch ‐ Kincaid reading ease tool and write letters at the 6 th grade level (OK, maybe 8 th ) The secret to good writing is in the editing. • Is there an ask on each page? Is the ask clear and obvious? 2
10/4/2016 Sample from Vermont Because our work is not just about a legal Let’s make 2016 even better! transaction, but about building relationships over time and providing an ongoing service, You can help by making a $100 holiday we give our members the opportunity to donation today. Together, we will create, make additional gifts during their support, & protect the Ice Age Trail – one membership year. Today I ask you to please step at a time! consider making that extra gift. Sample from Oregon Rule #3 Please contribute to this effort and please join us on upcoming Connect with the Land Don’t tell me, SHOW me. tours, volunteer work parties and gatherings at Green Island and other MRT protected lands. And help spread the word on how your investments in clean water and shade (In words, that is) trees bring smiles, and happiness, and life to a river. Thank you for your support of the McKenzie River Trust. Sample from Wisconsin Tell a Story • Stories convey emotion Your holiday donation of $100 will go a long • Stories stimulate the imagination way toward helping us with our mission to • Stories move us to action create, support, & protect the Ice Age Trail. Will you help us make 2016 even better? • Make it a story about one person • Make it first person • Make the donor the hero 3
10/4/2016 Rule #4 Design • 13 pt type • 1.15 pt line spacing • Double space between paragraphs Technique matters. • 1.25 inch margins • Serif font (Don’t trust yourself and don’t trust your • High contrast paper donors when it comes to technique.) • Minimal graphics; no print over graphics Useful Techniques Rule #6 • Write longer letters • Include a PS Note Have a Call to Action. • Communicate urgency Make it urgent. • Tell a story, or several • Be corny, be obvious Make it specific. • Clearly ask for a specific amount of money • Have an ask on every page Rule #5 Specificity Your support could bring hope Your gift of $25 or more – sent Design for older, female eyes. by December 31 – will give to some special kids. low ‐ income kids in our community soccer uniforms, so they can compete joyfully in this character ‐ building sport. 4
10/4/2016 Response Cards • Keep it simple Please join today with a gift of $100 or • Include a space for email and phone more. Help make it possible for James and numbers thousands like him to learn about nature. To • Have several boxes for gift amounts, but even imagine that he could be a Naturalist. not too many • “Other” is outside the largest gift amount, not the smallest • Use the reverse side for a special message Rule #7 Rule #8 Segment your file. Texture Matters Tailor the response cards. Segmentation Texture Ideas • Board and former board members • $1,000 ‐ plus members • Include a real photo • $250 ‐ 999 members • Include a leaf or pressed flower • $100 ‐ 249 members • Or Bookmark • $99 ‐ minus members • Use a real stamp • Lapsed members • Use a textured stock • Event only donors 5
10/4/2016 ? Our Our Non-Traditional Looks preserves! acres! • Newsprint Our Our programs! staff! • Greeting Cards • Postcards • Multichannel Communications Rule #9 Donor-Centered Fundraising You are Rewrite your letters to be awesome! donor ‐ centric. Let me show you how. Org-Centered Fundraising We are THANK YOU! AWESOME! 6
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