• 1. Don’t send too many emails. I’ve been told by Stuart that he has “too much to do” to read an email message every day. About one a month is enough for him.
• 2. As often as possible, include a photo in my email. Not surprisingly, Grace, age 5, will barely read or look at an email that doesn’t have a photo in it. When it has a photo of something interesting she’s all over it and in fact wants to share it with others.
• 3. Only use the telephone for special meaningful conversations. Both Stuart and Grace have been known to say, “Auntie, Why are you calling? You know I don’t like to talk on the telephone.” From their honest comments I learned to utilize phone calls for important days when there is something they have to share OR when I have a short exciting bit of information to tell them.
• 4. Send snail mail sometimes, especially if it’s personalized. The kids get very excited when they check the mail box and there is a fun envelope or package addressed just to them. Come to think about it, so do I.
• 5. In-person visits are the very best way to communicate. A few times I year I make the trip to Florida to visit with Grace and her brother Stuart. The few weeks before the visit we talk about what we’ll do together, plan for the trip in our phone and email communication and we make it an interesting visit when we get together.
• 6. Overall, don’t try to communicate too often and keep it fun. Too much only becomes something to endure because “Mom said so”. Less is more and can cause a yearning for more information when the previous call, email or letter was so interesting.

Despite a few mishaps and too frequent communication on my part, I am happy to say, Grace and Stuart and I are as connected as ever. I’m grateful for them taking time to teach me these lessons. I recommend you keep them in mind with your important people.

Graph source: Donor Power Blog August 5, 2009

It does NOT surprise me. I teach this fact in all of the workshops and breakout sessions I deliver. We have fun with this in the Sharing Your Mission Powerfully segments of my Sustainable Strategies fundraising sessions because we work on telling stories about your mission.

One of the barriers for most people is they think the emotional example has to be sad or be about someone we feel sorry for. I disagree.

The key is to identify a variety of emotions you have to share. Check out this list and ask yourself which of these emotions could we convey today with a story or quote or photo?
Belonging Confident Excited Funny Grateful

Funny Hopeful Peaceful Pride Angry

Embarrassed Vulnerable Safe

Notice these are not all negative emotions. The focus can be a tiny moment in the week when you heard a story or a quote from an insider, like a parent of a client or the caregiver or even the client themselves that conveys one of these emotions. What you are seeking is an interaction that causes the reader or listener to connect to something deep inside.

Here’s an example of a short email message sent out to volunteers who are helping with an upcoming fundraising event:

Scurry, hurry, rush, rush, rush. We don’t want to miss the bus, bus, bus. Lions and tigers and bears OH MY!! This is why we’re on the fly!

That’s what the kids were screaming last Thursday morning as they were anxiously waiting for the Head Start bus to pick them up. The bus normally comes around 8:20am, but the kids were all ready and waiting at the front door by 8:00am sharp! They just didn’t want to miss the field trip to the Como Zoo! For some of the children, this was going to be their first trip to a Zoo ever and they were jumping with anticipation!

It was fun to be here that morning and great to hear the stories afterwards of all the animals they saw, creatures they held and butterfly’s that landed on them at the Butterfly tent.

This is how life should be for a child. Homeless or not. There are 3,000 children in Minnesota tonight.

You’ve got lots of choices about where to share emotion: fundraising campaigns, email messages, newsletters, on the website, one-on-one meetings and anywhere you are sharing communication about your organization. Keep these questions in mind as you shift your communication to include more emotion:

• Include emotion that honors your clients.
• Include emotion and still engage the more linear thinkers who want some facts or statistics.
• Include emotion that is positive, hopeful, funny. It does not have to be pity or sadness.

Send me an example of your emotionally connecting communication. I love to see what works!

Last week I met with Ann, from a local mid-size organization serving youth. We talked about their eNewsletter and whether or not it was effective. She said, “Our click-through rates are low and I know we are missing something.” So we took a look at some of the past articles.

What we found is all of the articles were either thanking others for support or inviting readers to an event. Nowhere was there a message about why the dollars raised at the event were important, or why the youth needed that specific event.

In the articles that were inviting readers to attend something it was not clear what would happen for the youth if people DID attend. Example: When you join us at this event we will raise $15,000 — Enough to allow 300 low-income, troubled youth ages 6 – 16 to feel safe and have the fun a child deserves to have.

Here’s one article headline example:
Rockland Bank Sponsors Youth Day

The article went on to tell readers about all the fun that was had at a recent youth event. The event was in the past so I couldn’t attend but the newsletter used a good amount of space to acknowledge the sponsor. And I wasn’t clear WHY the youth needed this event in their lives.

Here’s what I suggest your headlines and articles do:

1. Have a subject line or headline that causes me to want more information. The subject line for the eNewsletter is as important at the titles of each article.
2. Tell readers something about the outcome of what you do.
3. Briefly explain why your organization needed the money and let people know if you need more for future programs, youth days or whatever was sponsored.
4. In the copy of the article give acknowledgement to the sponsor by bolding their name a couple of times. Frankly, the sponsor doesn’t often care if they are listed in the headline. They want to know their work mattered and made a difference.

Here is a re-write of the headline with short article that conveys some “meat” about why this event was held:

$10,000 Allows Youth Experience of a Lifetime.

For six hours, 75 troubled youth, ages 6 to 16, got to forget their worries and play like children are made to at the Rockland Bank Youth Day on June 16. Surrounded by caring adults, youth like Dashawn (include photo) were able to laugh, run, cook and eat two healthy meals and create memories that will last a lifetime. For a few hours these youth were free from peer pressure and the struggles of living in low-income neighborhoods.

In addition to $10,000, Rockland Bank provided 80 volunteers who participated in the amazing Youth Day experience.  Each volunteer was paired one-on-one with a youth to teach them a new skill or simply mentor them for a few hours.

This year we have the resources to hold 3 of 6 planned Youth Days. More than 500 youth who would normally participate in these fun, safe day-long events will not be able to due to funding challenges this year. There is still time to schedule the remaining 3 Youth Days if your company is interested. Please contact Ann@Youthdayevents.org for more information.

Our sincere thanks to Rockland Bank!   

Remember to cause readers to learn something in your communication.

Focus on the outcome of what your organization does rather than the logistics of how great the event was or will be and you will likely create better understanding about what is needed and MORE participation.

Twitter is a web application that allows 140 character messages to be sent via text or online on any topic. I receive “Tweets” on my Blackberry from a handful of people and once or twice a day I check online to quickly scroll through the many Tweets I’ve received.

I “follow” experts in the social profit sector to stay current on the “hot” fundraising conversations and topics each day. Translate that to: Daily I receive bunches of 140 character doses of great fundraising advice, suggestions on helpful books, awesome fundraising blogs and lots of really helpful information.

You can “follow” my Twitter updates without using Twitter by visiting my page online to see the latest updates about fundraising, money, giving, and more.

Today I’ve compiled a list of some of the resources I’ve shared so you have them all in one place.  Enjoy!

3 helpful resources for Fundraising in a Challenging Economy from Community Shares WI:
A Survival Kit for Fundraising in a Bad Economy–from the Association for Fundraising Professionals

Managing in Tough Times: A Collection of Resources for Nonprofits and Funders Navigating Turbulence–from The Bridgespan Group

10 Things You Can Learn from Real-World Donor Thank You Letters–from Fundraising Success Magazine.

Wise words on direct mail. The Huntsinger tutorials.

A Definitive Guide to Government Grants. Simple and clear.

Good listen: What to cut when the budget is tight. Always helpful podcast from Fundraising is Beautiful.

Another AFP goodie: Major Gifts: It’s Not the Donation Amount that Matters-It’s the Strength of the Relationship.

Some good tips.”6 Ways to Build Your Email Subscriber List through Social Media”

My niece, Grace, is 5 years old and very special to me. She’s wise beyond her years and when she moved away from Minnesota to Florida, I was determined to keep in touch with her. I didn’t want her to forget me and I wanted to stay connected with what’s going on in her life. A year and a half later, she has taught me a few great tips for anyone we want to stay connected to, especially our donors and volunteers.

• 1. Don’t send too many emails. I’ve been told by my very precocious niece that she has “too much to do” to read all those emails.
• 2. As often as possible, include a photo in my email. Not surprisingly, Grace will NOT read or look at an email that doesn’t have a photo in it.
• 3. Only use the telephone for special meaningful conversations. Grace has been known to say, “Auntie, Why are you calling me again? You know I don’t like to talk on the telephone.” From that honest comment I learned to place my calls at times when she has something important to share OR when I have a short exciting bit of information to tell her.
• 4. Send snail mail sometimes, especially if it’s personalized. Grace gets excited when she checks the mail box and there is a fun envelope or package just for her. Come to think about it, so do I.
• 5. Ocassional in-person visits are helpful.  I visit Grace in person once or twice a year, when I was leaving on a recent visit she leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I’m gonna miss you Auntie”.
• 6. Overall, don’t try to communicate too often and keep it fun. Too much only becomes something to endure because “Mom” said so. Less is more and can cause a yearning for more information when the previous call, email or letter was so interesting.

Despite a few mishaps and too frequent communication on my part, I am happy to say, Grace and I are as connected as ever. I’m grateful for her taking time to teach me these lessons.

• Make an emotional connection to your mission in the first or 2^nd paragraph by telling a very short story of a client or use a quote from someone who has used your services.
• For snail mail solicitations, make the “ask” 3 times. First ask in the very beginning so the reader is clear why you are sending the letter. 2^nd ask adjacent to some startling statistic about why your services are needed. 3^rd ask can be in the P.S. reminding the reader to put their contribution to work right away by going to your website to make a contribution.
• For email campaigns, keep the message to 250 words or less. Sending weekly or biweekly updates and additional asks during the “campaign” to keep the momentum going.

• Share one or two startling statistics or facts about why your work is critically important. Example: How many children are homeless in the community tonight, or how many children are obese, or the number of people you turn away due to limited resources. Be sure to share, succinctly, with a call to action, why YOUR organization is the answer.
• Make the financial goal clear. Include the deadline for raising those funds. Follow up with another message via email or regular mail to report on how you are doing meeting your goal. Give a reason to make a contribution immediately.
• Make sure your written thank you or phone call follow up is immediate. Donors recognize when it takes a long time to receive their acknowledgement.
• Announce how you did in making the goal. If this is your annual campaign, make sure to be asking only for a specific time frame and then keep donors and the community informed about the relevance of your services in between the time you will ask again.

I’ve seen some very effective campaigns this spring and some that are failing. Those that are successful are following most if not all of these guidelines.

The other communication was a letter in the mail from Organization B. The letter was friendly but succinct. It was one page long with short paragraphs that clearly spelled out what was going on and how I could be a part of the solution:

• The fiscal year will end on June 30, 2009
• There will be a budget shortfall of $240,000
• The “ask” was clearly stated: If every household who supports this organization will give an extra $6 more a week for the next 13 weeks they will raise enough to meet the needs of the organization and they won’t have a shortfall.

I immediately went to the website of the Organization B and made a contribution for more than $6 per week requested and felt great about knowing what is going on and that I was helping.

The following day ironically I heard a message from a staff person at Organization A who shared that they have cut a staff position from their tiny staff of six and are desperately in need of office supplies to help the bottom line.

I was shocked to learn that the organization A that looks so great in that snappy color newsletter was in need of funds.

Are you asking or telling these days? When times are challenging it is not better to ask less…now is when you ask more. Provide good, solid information that is factual and compelling. Provide a solution that your community can be a part of and welcome their support.

Oh and please accept on-line contributions. You’ll increase exponentially the amount you raise.

And it’s exactly what I’ve found to be true. Long, wordy e-newsletters don’t get read. Instead, organizations should use short, personalized emails to supporters giving clear instructions for participation.

The Obama campaign used this form of short, action oriented messages that helped raise more than $500 million in contributions from more than three million individual donors online. And those donors did not receive a tax deduction for like social profit organizations can provide.

Times are challenging and organizations are in need of dollars for the increased demand of their services. Take a page from the recent successes of some of the political campaign fundraising efforts. Send regular, short emails to supporters inviting recipients to do one thing a week. Emails should also tell the supporter what their action will accomplish and what will happen next.

Using this system of communication in the Obama campaign gave supporters a “steady narrative of actions, feedback and milestones”, said Thomas Gensemer.

The Obama campaign rewarded supporters who took action with public praise and the tactic elicited a “new sense of transparency” among supporters about where their money was going.

ACTION: Carefully crafted email campaigns around a single financial goal with a compelling need will generate increased contributions from focused, targeted and compelling messages.

CAUTION: Use this method of communication judiciously so you don’t turn away supporters with too many messages.

Read the full Third Sector Online Article here.