Donors are beautiful

In a busy world of pushing appeals out the door for a number of amazing organizations, I often loose sight of how wonderful the people are who are receiving the packs.  Today I was reminded of what beautiful, lovely people they are.  People who are interested in the work that the charity is doing.  People who are proud of the impact they are having.  People who are touched by the words in the letters that we send, and who are moved by the images of the people whose story we are sharing with them.

We have just mailed Cancer Council NSW's tax appeal, and were privileged to tell the story of a beautiful little girl named Emily, who was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer just weeks before her first birthday. Emily's mum was kind enough to open up to us and allow us to share their difficult journey, the highs and the lows of the diagnosis, the treatment, the recovery and of course their hope for Emily's future.  You can read more about Emily's story, and make a gift to help Cancer Council NSW fund more research and treatments for children with cancer by visiting their website.

On the response form, we invited donors to send some words of encouragement to Emily and her family. Cancer Council NSW have started to receive the most beautiful messages from their supporters and I am thrilled that they shared some with us. Reading these messages made me smile, made me cry, and reminded me how lucky I am to do what I do. As a fundraiser, I get to connect with people every single day - to share stories with them - to inspire them - and to give them the chance to make a difference.  And these people are extraordinary people, who like me, believe our world can be better.

I know engagement devices are nothing new, but if you are not already doing them, start.  Not on every appeal, and only when its relevant, but not only will they increase response, they will give you something to smile about. 

Thoughts on Social Media and Fundraising from FIA Conference 2013

The use of social media in fundraising is a hot topic in the fundraising circuit these days, evidenced by the fact the social media sessions at the FIA conference a few weeks ago were packed full of fundraisers dying to know how they could turn facebook, twitter and instagram into revenue for their charity. 

Given that, I thought I'd share a few of the learnings that I picked up over those two days:

In Jill Ruche's session "How is Digital Different", she pointed out that the first thing that people look at on your facebook page is your profile picture, so it is paramount that this is compelling.  Her three keys to writing great facebook content were:

• identify who your audience is
• test the best time to post
• plan a communications schedule. don't just post content, be strategic about what you are sharing and when

In Benjamin Mangold's session "Remarketing with Google", he points out that Australia has very high mobile penetration.  For the first time, more money will be spent on digital than on TV this year.  In terms of advertisements, he cautioned that your landing page is even more critical to your success than the ads you create.  It is essential that we think about where we are sending people when they click through.

Finally, Kate vander Voort in her session "Using Social Media to Improve Fundraising Results" stressed that social media is not a silver bullet.  98% of non profit organizations with a facebook page did not raise a cent last year. She reminded us that when using facebook, you have to put your brand aside.  People using social media are longing for engagement.  They want to get behind you, but it is essential that you engage with them. You need to demonstrate what it is that you are doing and take them on a journey before you even think about asking. 

A few other social media thoughts and ideas...

1. When people take action (give a gift) on your website, prompt them to share their action via social media
2. Inspirational quotes get more shares than anything else on facebook
3. Use video - it is the most compelling way to tell a story and to motivate a gift
4. Likes are nice, but not really a relevant measure.  Don't just think about how you are going to get those likes, focus your attention on how you can turn those likes into action.

And something fun to emphasize that the last point, check out UNICEF Sweden's new TV spot "Likes Don't Save Lives".  It has proven to be very controversial in the fundraising sector - but I happen to like healthy controversy.