It’s time to put yourself in your donor’s shoes. What kind of experience are you giving them when they interact with your organization? Is it good, bad, or somewhere in between?  Let’s look at some of the different aspects of fundraising and donor communication to see what kind of experience you’re giving your donors.

The Fundraising Appeal Experience

Your donor receives an appeal from you. At least one appeal per campaign should come by mail because your donor will be more likely to see it and take action. Donors can get a lot of fundraising appeals from many different organizations, especially on GivingTuesday and at year-end. What are you doing to make yours stand out?

Does your appeal address your donor by name and take into account any past giving? Is it easy to read and scan and include a story and a clear, prominent ask that lets know the donor know how she can help make a difference for your clients/community?

Or is it a generic, longwinded mess in a tiny font? Are you using jargon and other language your donor won’t understand? Are you focusing too much on your organization so your reader feels like an afterthought?  

You only have seconds to capture your donor’s attention and get her to make a donation. If this is not a good experience for her, well, I think you know what will or won’t happen.

The Giving Experience

Congratulations, someone has decided to make a donation. Since most people give online, I’ll focus on that first.

They’re on your website ready to give. How’s that going to go? Do you have a branded donation page (worth the investment) that’s easy to use and navigate? That means keeping it simple without too many fields to fill out and not making people set up an account. It also needs to be accessible on a mobile device. If your donation page is a pain to deal with, you run the risk of someone giving up and not donating. 

Speaking of websites, your entire site needs to provide a good experience for your donors, as well.

While many donors give online now, not everyone is comfortable doing that. Be sure your direct mail appeal includes a reply envelope so someone can send you a check. Your mailing address should be included in your email appeal and on your website. 

Other donors may want to give by phone. Is it easy to reach you by phone? Several years ago I was doing work with an organization that was holding an event. Someone wanted to register by phone and the staff person tried to get her to register on their website. Um, she wouldn’t have called you if she wanted to do that.

Meet your donors where they are to give them the best giving experience. 

The thank you experience

Okay, your donor has made a gift, but her journey isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning.

If someone donates online, what happens next? Is she directed to a thank you landing page that showers her with appreciation or does it look like a transactional receipt? It’s not that hard to make an engaging landing page, maybe one that says Thank you Kim! and includes a thank you photo or video and other ways to get involved.

The same goes for the automatically generated thank you email. Make sure your donor experiences some gratitude here. There’s no reason why you can’t craft an engaging, personal thank you message.

All donors whether they give online or by other means get a thank you by mail or phone. Donors may miss your email, but something by mail or phone will stand out. If you can do a handwritten thank you card or make a thank you call, all the better.  

At the very least, send a thank you letter, maybe with a short personal note. The recommendation is to get thank you letters out within 48 hours. If that’s going to result in a mediocre letter (which many of them are), then it’s okay to take a week to produce a stellar letter. A stellar letter would be one that’s personal and takes into account whether a donor has given before. It’s also all about thanking the donor – not bragging, explaining what your organization does, and asking for another gift.

Don’t wait too long, though. What are telling your donors if it takes you months to send out a thank you letter? They deserve a better experience.

To give your donors the best thank you experience, make a plan to show gratitude once a month. Use this opportunity to send a handwritten note. It’s always a welcome surprise if you do this.

The donor engagement experience

Showing gratitude is just one way to engage with your donors. They also want to hear how their gift is making a difference.

You may send newsletters and other updates, but what kind of experience are you providing? Are you sharing stories and other content you know your donors will be interested in? Or is your newsletter just one big, boring bragfest? Even if you’re sharing stories, are you making them engaging? 

Are you getting to know your donors? You could send them a short survey and ask what drew them to your organization. Do you send welcome packages to new donors? Do you do something special for long-term donors? Do you invite donors to engage with you in other ways, such as volunteering?

Keep in touch with your donors at least once a month. A communications calendar will help you with this. Remember the ask, thank, report, repeat formula. If all you do is send generic appeals, you’re not giving your donors a good experience.

Think of your donors at every level of their journey to give them the best experience possible.