Pop quiz: What is the factor most likely to
impact a person’s willingness to donate to a nonprofit organization? According
to a survey by YouGov, it’s relationship. Key to this relationship is helping
donors feel great about their donations and see how their giving is making a
difference.
How do you deepen your donors’ relationships
with you? Get to know them. Use surveys, third-party data sources, pop-up web
forms, and other methods to gather information about your donors that you may
not already have. This information can be used to tailor your communications in
ways that are most effective.
Say you are providing services to
underprivileged children around the world. If your survey reveals that potential
donors are in the medical field, for example, you might emphasize the value of
their donations to fight disease or provide clean water. If, on the other hand,
donors are teachers, you might highlight the ability to give the children good
educations. Or you could provide the same messaging to both groups, but use
different imagery.
Not everyone wants to take the time out of
their day to fill out a survey, so if you are going to ask people to do so,
give them something of value in return. “Value” doesn’t have to mean a monetary
incentive, such as a gift card or entrance into a drawing. It can be something
as simple as exclusive insight into a project you are funding ("Respond to
our survey and receive a link to an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of our
volunteers at work").
Donors give because it makes them feel good.
The response incentive needs to reflect that motivation, and it will be
different for every organization.
Need
help creating a donor survey to further the mission of your organization? Give us a call at 440-946-0606.
Or visit our website here for more information.
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