Five Basic Ingredients For Making Your RG Program A Club

You’ve probably noticed that most of the posts so far have been about bringing a donor on board, starting their relationship with your organisation.  You’ve probably been thinking that this is symptom of the fact that I come from a donor recruitment perspective.  You’d be right, I think. But you also know that starting a donors journey is, in every sense, the only beginning of the story; the first date in what we hope will become a long and loving marriage. If you’ll allow me to change the direction of my metaphors for a second, one of the best ways to keep a donor on board is to make them feel part of something, a movement, a club, a tribe.Here are some of the cornerstones of what you should give donors in order to build  an effective club.

Give it a name: One day there I’ll write a post on my favourite program names.  They’re an important part of giving your donor tribe an identity. Some of my favourites include Amnesty’s “Human Rights Defender”, Greenpeace’s old “Rainbow Warriors” program name (I may be making this up, but I think that’s what it was called) and Fred Hollow’s Foundation’s “Miracle Club”.  I’ve also seen ideas floating around about different clubs for different levels of giving, for example giving $25 p/m makes you silver member, $35 turns you into gold.

Give them a card: Someway of demonstrating that they’re a member to themselves and to others. Keep it as exclusive as possible something that only donors can have.  There are arguments for membership cards giving donors discounts at shops etc… use these with extreme caution.  Depending on where you’re based their may be legal issues, and it potentially detracts from why people are giving in the first place.

Talk to them: In terms of outbound communication you shouldn’t need to be told again that it’s important to write to the donor not about the organisation (If you do need to be told again, may I introduce you to Messers Ahern, Brooks and Burnett).  The best clubs will let their members know about whats going on in the right manner and at the right time. Also the best clubs know its important to listen to their members and you should encourage feedback from your donors. Ensure that the people who pick up the phone to your people want to talk to them and be helpful. Ensure emails, tweets and Facebook posts are answered.

Give them a place to meet: From scout huts to Gentlemen’s clubs the greatest clubs crate places for their members to interact. It’s not something that has yet caught on with donation programs due to practical issues such of finding somewhere to fit  10,000 plus people. But 21st century technology is all about bringing people together. One if the best ideas that’s been floating around recently is that of closed Facebook groups for donors.

Give them other something to do: Encourage  your donors to write letters, run raffles, bake cakes, sizzle sausages. The more actions they take for your cause, people like two contribute so give them opportunities to do so. Not only do the community actions keep the donor engaged and giving, but they also bring in extra support for your cause, in terms of funding or activism

There are of course many more of these ideas and not all of these are the right fit for everyone. The engagement of donors becomes increasingly important in world where consumer opinion drives performance.  A club helps give a sense of belonging, which helps retain your supporters year in and year out.

Why F2F Flourishes In A Recession

Recently the PFRA in the UK (the self regulatory body for face to face over there) released a report showing that in 2011/12 more people pledged to make a regular gift to charity through a face to face fundraiser than in any previous year. 800,000 donors were recruited, a growth of 18.2% in two years. This would be commendable for any industry during the sort of economic pessimism the UK saw during that period. For charity giving, which is often though of being a low priority for people in times of financial strife, a period of growth in a recession goes against all logic.

Unsinkable?

It’s not to say that F2F is recession proof. The figures here don’t give details about the amount people were giving, wether their gifts were successful or attrition rates, all of which are incredibly important in determining “success”. However, the fact that more people came on gave through F2F raises the question of why and how.

A lovely way to do it

As PFRA spokesperson Ian MacQuillin says, F2F is a brilliant way to give. People are more likely to give to another human being than they are to a Facebook advert. In the face of increased regulation by local governments and negative coverage in the media, it is important to remember that lots more people have positive experiences of F2F than negative ones.

People are nice and RG is nice

Even in a recession people are inclined to give. It’s human nature. Making a small donation each month is a great way to give effectively. Speaking to a nice person on the street is a nice, easy way to do it.

New Blood

Much like the blood sausage industry, F2F relies on new blood; not literally you understand, but in the form of new recruits to start fundraising. However It’s fair to say no child dreams of becoming a face to face fundraiser when they grow up. It’s something that people fall into. With fewer job prospects around more people fall into it. There really isn’t a maximum number of fundraisers that can be out there, the more fundraisers the more pledges. This seems to me to be the most likely reason for the increase. A hypothesis backed up by strong recruitment in the US over the last few years. But this is just an opinion, what are your thoughts?

Complaint Plan

Have you ever had one of *those* weeks, where it seems like you’re receiving complaints from all over the place. Just when you think you’ve dealt with one exceptionally bizarre issue another three pop up. I’ve just had one of those weeks, complaints coming in across all of our channels. It hurts because you know that the donors, or potential donors who are complaining will think less of your organisation as a results. It hurts because the fundraisers or agencies who you trust to look after the brand of the organisation you (hopefully) love and initially it looks like they might have abused that trust. It hurts because it means that your dealing with unpleasant stuff, rather than the love in the RG circle of life.

When complaints come in, it’s important to have a checklist at hand to be able to deal with them appropriately and so you don’t loose your mind. Here’s mine:

Breathe

Remember that complaints happen. Fundraising, especially RG recruitment and management require very public interactions. When ever there are public interactions, there will be complaints. If you are not getting complaints at all, your probably not doing any fundraising

Take care of the complainant

No, not the Goodfellas type of “taking care”. That won’t solve your problems in the long term. Your first priority is the person who feels aggrieved  This is the first thing to deal is the person who is complaining. They are hurt more than you are.

• Listen to them: Hear out their complaint.  For many people all they want is to be heard.
• Apologise: Tell them that you’re sorry that they feel that way.
• Reassure them: Let them know that they are being taken seriously.
• Tell them:  Let them know what you’re next steps are and offer to contact them again.

Investigate

• Assume Nothing: Go in with an open mind. There are ALWAYS too sides to the story, you will need to know ALL the facts before making any judgements.
• Speak to the fundraiser: Or, if more appropriate, get their manager to speak to them. Make sure that they know the extent of the allegations made against them
• Check against former complaints: You and the agency should both have a complaints log outlining everything that has happened and outcomes taken. This is important for spotting any trends that develop.
• Compare the facts: Separate what happened from the subjective interpretation by any of the parties. There could be a number reasons behind the complaint; from a misunderstanding, through bad practice or bad management and onto a serious cause for concern. On the other hand the complainant may have an interpretation of events which is disputed by the facts, it could be that they have had a bad day, they’ve misinterpreted or misheard a fundraiser*. I’ve even had experience of people making up complaints because of a vendetta against the fundraiser. The important thing is to only work on the facts and put all speculation to one side.

Take appropriate action

What’s appropriate is always specific to the situation. Sometimes it will be as little as feeding back to the fundraiser how the donor felt so they know not to act in the same way again. Sometimes retraining is required, sometimes a written or verbal warning. In nine years of fundraising, there have only been four instances where the complaint has required a termination of contract.

Go Back to the Complainant

Tell them what has happened. Be honest and open with them. As any PR person worth their salt will tell you, honest will stop a negative issue from escalating and if there is a time when PR decision and a strong moral compass are saying the same thing, then you KNOW something must be right.

Document Everything

Get everyone’s point of view down and the actions taken and the outcomes. This will allow you to spot any trends which develop.  Trends may mean taking more drastic action.
With everything cleared off you can, to certain extent relax. But be ready for the next phone call, email or even twitter comment because another complaint is inevitable.

*As an aside, I’d advise any F2F fundraiser from saying anything after a member of the public has walked past them. At that point even “have a lovely day” sounds like “**** you **** ****”.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Face to Face Fundraising (And Why You Should Too)

There was a time when I hated face to face fundraising. If you were to ask me about it at any time before November 2003 I would have told you that it was annoying and intrusive. During this time signed up to three charities on the street with three fantastic experiences, but like many people, i spent a lot of time and effort blocking these out.

Then I started working as a face to face fundraiser. It was one of those jobs you fall into because as backpacker in Australia the only real alternative was picking pineapples. It wasn’t long before I had completely changed my mind about the entire concept.

Circle Of Love

There is something exceptionally empowering about face to face for everyone involved . For some donors it’s the decision to start doing something for a cause that they may not have given a thought to that day/week/month/life and almost certainly haven’t taken action about before that day.

For the fundraiser, there is a fantastic feeling associated with every sign up. For me it was realisation that I convinced someone to act, to do something about a cause they believed in and that made me feel fantastic. I don’t kid myself that every fundraiser out there is doing it just for the cause, although the vast majority care far more than they are given credit for. Even if your completely unmotivated by the cause, the yes that you’ve got after 100 no is an amazing experience.

For the Charity and those whom it helps, there is the knowledge that they’re going to be getting that fantastic predictable regular gift that I discussed previously. But there are two other main reasons why face to face is such a great way of finding regular givers.

Size Matters

One of the primary reason why face to face is so popular among charities and NGOs above a certain size is that it brings in just SO many new donors. We’d love to think that human nature is such that people decide to donate of their own accord, but the reality of the situation is that hardly anyone does. Roughly 100 people sign up through face to face for every one person who signs up through a website. People simply don’t give unless they are asked.

‘Ol Faithful

Face to face is generally very reliable in the numbers that it brings in. There are necessary check and balances that need to happen in order to ensure its as secure as we want, but you can generally get what you expect as soon as you’ve locked in a contract. Its relatively rare for an agency to fall far below target, especially without significant notice. It’s also rare for the pledges to start performing significantly different from how they have in the past. As an industry it continues to grow, it crew by 18.2% in the UK through 2011/12, and that’s in the middle of a recession.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Regular giving is brilliant. The pledged automatic monthly gift has become the corner stone of NGO fundraising in most of the world. There are many reasons for this,but here are a couple of the main ones.

Stable and Predictable

This is perhaps the most obvious of points, but regular giving remains the most predictable form of fundraising. You can have a pretty good guess at what an appeal will bring in or estimate major donor income for the financial year, but it takes extraordinary circumstances for RG income to throw up a surprise, certainly a nasty one. What’s more, with some relatively easy modeling and some large but not overly complicated spreadsheets, you can make pretty accurate income predictions that cover several years. With this level of security NGOs can go about their work with the confidence that a program won’t have to be pulled half way due to lack of funding.

It’s All About Relationships

Giving regularly gives donors and charities the opportunity to have more meaningful and more productive interactions. With the knowledge that a donor will almost certainly be giving next month, charities can afford to invest in communicating more frequently and more deeply with their donors. The donors, quite rightly, enjoy knowing more about where their money is going and so are more inclined to keep on giving, to increase their gift and to make one off donations

Easy Admin

This may seem like a minor point, but really it’s pretty important. If done correctly, with stable systems, RGs should take fewer hours to administer. Data only has to be entered once into a database and it should take care of itself. Obviously work needs to be done to get people on board and keep them interested, but this it doesn’t require someone to take a dozen cheques to the bank.

There is Always a Downside

I can get a bit evangelical about RG, I do recognize that there are issues that can effect programs negatively. In fact, one of the main things this blog will cover is what these things are, how to avoid them or ways I which to get out of them. But even with the issues, it’s important to remember that regular giving can and has been the best way to make a difference.