Other mistakes that undermine your web fundraising

Last time I wrote about the "beginner" mistakes that undermine your web fundraising. This time I will cover the more intermediate mistakes that cost you online donations.

1. No Benefit for the Donor

If your website is all about what a wonderful non-profit you are, all your achievements, all your programs, you sound just like most other mediocre websites, whether charitable or commercial. If, on the other hand, you communicate what your organization can do for the donor, you immediately separate yourself from the pack. As with successful direct mail text, use the words “you” and “your” often. Your website should not appear to be a snare to catch a gift, but a tool for the donor to achieve his or her philanthropic goals.

2. No Urgency

Make it clear why the donor must do something now. What are the implications if they delay? Perhaps even set a deadline. “We need to raise $xxxxx by xx date in order to ensure children are fed.”

3. Colors Blend In

Does your call to action stand out or are you enslaved by corporate brand guidelines? Fundraising is often about creating action out complacency. It is hard to do that if everything is subject to the tyranny of a non-intrusive color palette. Your “donate” button should be big, bold and assertive. Your call to action statements should stand out. Tell the snarky designers to apply their sacrosanct brand guidelines on a nondescript brochure. You need to make sure your case for giving literally vibrates on your web page.

4. No Credibility

Donors are not only concerned about ensuring that their gifts are well used but also that they appear to be savvy philanthropists.  They don’t want to look like fools to their peers. They want to give to organizations that are winners. Nothing cuts through the “Who are these people?” question better than donor profiles, complimentary quotes by supporters, or the logos of recognizable corporate sponsors. Use them.

5. Loaded with Jargon

Sometimes it’s fun to use big words that make you look smart, right? Maybe, but it is a terrible fundraising tactic. Few but your own employees will understand highly technical industry jargon. Simple words work best when trying to persuade someone to take action.

Apply these elements and see your website giving soar.

7 "beginner" mistakes that undermine your web fundraising

A couple of years ago Jeff Brooks referenced on his blog, Future Fundraising Now, a post from  Copyblogger regarding unfortunate content mistakes that undermine website sales. Jeff noted how these same issues could easily be applied to fundraising websites. Here are the first seven "beginner mistakes":

1. No Call to Action
Optimizing, tweaking, beautifying your website is nearly fruitless (from a fundraising perspective) if you don't ask for a gift.

2. Below the Fold
Web visitors shouldn't have to scroll down to see your call to action. State your case and ask for the gift in the upper portion (above the fold) of the screen.

3. Not Authoritative
Tell your readers exactly what you want them to do, and do so with conviction.

4. Not Specific
Don't make it a guessing game. Spell out exactly what you want your visitors to do. Give, sign-up, share, like, etc. Make it easy, make it clear.

5. Too Much Self Proclaimed Hype
Tooting your own horn comes off as so much puffery and bloviating. A third party endorsement is much more effective.

6. Multiple Calls to Action
What's the most important thing you want your visitor to do on your website? This is often very difficult since we are tempted to provide the vast array of things we do as nonprofits and present all the things we want the visitor to do as a result. People are often stymied by choice and they end up doing nothing. Prioritize.

7. Puny Call to Action
As the Copyblogger author states, "I've never seen a website call to action that is too big."

In the next post I will share what Copyblogger regards to be the more "advanced mistakes". In the meantime, go back over your website and see if you have committed any of these rookie blunders.

Back to the Future

Roger Craver, one of the founders of the fundraising agency Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co, currently provides insights through his fundraising blog, The Agitator. Back in 2011 he posted an article titled The Future of Fundraising. It was based upon Blackbaud’s recently released report Growing Philanthropy in the U.S.  The report contained reams of helpful recommendations and insights. A lot has happened since 2011. Osama Bin Laden is off’d, Occupy Wall Street begins, Muammar Gaddafi is killed, the Sandy Hook massacre takes place, the Japan tsunami wrecks havoc, Prince William and Kate Middleton marry, and NASA’s Mars rover detects evidence liquid water once flowed on the red planet. Where stands fundraising? Were the Blackbaud recommendations heeded? You be the judge.

Here are a few of the top takeaways from the report and Craver’s analysis (minus some of his entertaining but salty language):

•     Redefine Relationships. Stop being selfish. Focus on giving for giving’s sake.

•     Re-orient toward longer-term measures of fundraising performance. Immediate measure of ‘success’ (response rates, immediate ROI, giving totals for the year) doom us. Look at long-term values.

•     Enhance focus on retention and building supporter loyalty.  Listen up! With retention rates in the dumper too few nonprofits really understand that a 10% improvement in retention results in a 200% improvement in lifetime value.  Time to get real.

•     Develop a more integrated approach to fundraising. It’s not the method, stupid, it’s the message. And the message must focus on the donor’s concerns, not yours.

•     Break down organizational silos and encourage greater collaboration between teams. The authors are too kind to say it, but you should be ashamed of your territoriality.

•     Give supporters greater control over the relationship. Ken Burnett, The Agitator, DonorVoice and scores more have been preaching this for years. This is the arena where you can quickly add the most value.

•     Tackle high turnover rates in the fundraising profession. Face it. It’s not the pay it’s the lack of respect from CEOs and board members that drives folks out of this trade. We have an identity crisis and have to deal with it.

•  Educate all stakeholders about the necessity of a longer term and integrated approach. I know, I know, it’s like playing Mozart to a cow, but we have to do it. It’s a real challenge, but we must not allow Boards to be stupid about fundraising, stewardship and philanthropy.

•     Empower the regulators to enforce 100 percent filing of Forms 990 to increase their utility. Hey, I know this seems picky, but the fact is that some organizations don’t file, some lie, some don’t.  Transparency is key to the future of philanthropy. Get with it.

•     Blow the whistle on organizations claiming to have zero costs of fundraising. As long as watchdog organizations reward ‘zero’ costs, organizations will lie. It’s time to call out the phonies in the watchdog groups and blast the nonprofits that play this game. There simply ain’t no thing as ‘zero’ fundraising costs.

•     Encourage nonprofits to develop complaints schemes. Anyone who knows anything about donor retention and commitment is familiar with the importance of feedback. (See http://thedonorvoice.com)  This report reminds us of the absolute necessity to provide multiple methods for donor feedback.

•     Develop new and more appropriate measures of performance.  Efficiency and cost of fundraising sucks as a measurement of anything.  There are far more appropriate measures.

•     Develop the self-regulation of fundraising. Ethics be damned.  There’s a whole host of scumbags out there. But, we can do something about them.

•     Encourage the adoption of monthly giving. Serious Monthly Giving or Sustainer programs produce 600% – 800% more revenue. Get to it. Now!

•     Encourage and promote best practices in social media.  Importance of social media isn’t $, it goes to building loyalty and commitment.

•     Encourage asset-based giving. The Report claims that 93% of a person’s giving potential is realized with a bequest or other planned gift.  Get at it!

•     Improve the quality of bequest fundraising practice. Death is our friend. But, with at least 8% of our donors willing to make a bequest, this just has to be taken out of the incompetent (marketing-wise) hands of planned giving officers and placed in the hands of those capable of selling.

•     Redesign the system of professional development and certification for fundraisers. Important stuff here. Knowledge and understanding of donor behavior is key for the future, not the number of AFP merit badges.

•     Educate board members about the intricacies of fundraising.  Among all the barriers to successful fundraising and philanthropy, the ‘board’ is the mightiest barrier and pain. This report rightly targets the boards for education and improvement.

I’d say all of these would make the list of priorities for 2014.  What say you?

I Resolve to...

A year ago January, the Advancement Best Practices LinkedIn Group asked their members to list their fundraising resolutions or goals for 2012. Here is what they answered:

42% Build a philanthropic culture
20% Link metrics to ROI
17% Engage trustees/ CEO
16% Identify new potential donors
5% Not one of the above

I think it is interesting that the top goal was to build a philanthropic culture. You would think that was a given for anyone working for a nonprofit. The fact that it was yet to be built, (not even simply improved), says something about the state of our business. If a nonprofit or charity doesn't have philanthropy at the core of what they do, how are they surviving? How are they connecting with and motivating their donors? By coercion? Yikes!

According to Guidestar, up to 60,000 nonprofits fail each year and in 2010 8% claimed they were in imminent danger of going under. Why?

I think the lack of a philanthropic culture is part of the problem. But more importantly, there is a fundamental misunderstanding as to how and why donors give. Here is what nonprofit leadership must understand:

• The heart is more important than the head. Executive Directors and Boards are often embarrassed to present the emotional side of their story. They want to "convince" the donor that they are a good "investment". Leave the investment up to the bank. Your charity or nonprofit most likely grew our of a compelling need. Don't forget that. 
• You must ask to receive. The classic "If we build it they will come" is hooey. If you don't ask, someone else will -- and they will get the donation.
• Everyone in your organization must be comfortable with the fundraising process. I have heard some fundraisers say, "Everyone in our organization is a fundraiser". I don't buy that. Fundraising is a skill forged from experience and an art born of personality. Not everyone is good at it nor do they have to be. If this wasn't so, why would we hire fundraisers? But the entire staff should understand how it works, if only to support the efforts of the fundraising team. The one thing that can kill an organization is an employee who is constantly denigrating the fundraising process.
• Take advantage of every avenue to raise funds. There are 1.5 million nonprofits in the US. That's a lot of competition. Make it easy for the donor to give to you through the channels they prefer. You must have an annual fund program, solicit major gifts, make use of social media and e-philanthropy, create profitable events, accept planned gifts, and keep abreast of whatever is working for other organizations.
• Test, test, test. Be fiscally prudent but don't be afraid to take risks. Risk can often be reduced by testing. I am constantly astounded to find experienced nonprofits that fail to test fundraising approaches. 

There are certainly other elements of successful fundraising. As the survey identifies, link your metrics to return on investment. (This is especially true of events. I am sure many organizations would be shocked if they included direct and all indirect costs in their event profitability assessment.) Engaging trustees and all leadership in the mission as well as the fundraising process is helpful. And yes, finding new donors is important. But, I would have ranked "steward current donors exceptionally well" ahead of prospecting and that isn't even listed! Your most valuable donors are the ones who have already provided you with a gift.

What are your resolutions for 2013? I will list mine in my next post.

Post Direct Mail Fundraising

Direct mail is still the king of fundraising. Despite the incessant drumbeat of speculation that direct mail  is on the wane, dying, or already dead, it is still responsible for 75% of all fundraising revenue for a typical nonprofit (source: Blackbaud 2011 donorCentrics Benchmarking Report). 

By the way, bad direct mail should be dead. With a stake in its heart!

Personally, I believe that the most successful fundraising strategies include a multifaceted approach. Coordinated campaigns that include complimentary direct mail, online, social media, telefundraising and personal solicitations are proving to be extremely effective.

But what would post-direct mail fundraising look like? Are alternatives to direct mail dependent campaigns really working for certain charities?

Is post-direct mail fundraising already here and does it looks like Charity:Water?

Tom Belford of the Agitator blog recently asked regarding Charity:Water's September campaign Is this any way to launch your annual appeal? He answered with a definitive "You bet it is!" And Beth Kanter recently posted about Charity:Water's brilliant use of Instagram. 

The following video hints at why Charity:Water is so successful, why it connects so strongly with donors on an emotional level, and how it utilizes electronic media so well.

September Campaign 2012 Trailer: Rwanda from charity: water on Vimeo.

The video tells a great story and illustrates how Charity:Water is a key part of the story. But it has the astuteness of understanding that Charity:Water, the nonprofit, is not the story. It is all about the people of Rwanda. It is their story. The story is told clearly and simply. It promises that if you - the donor - partner with Charity:Water you can help ensure the story ends well.

Paull Young, Charity:Water's Director of Digital Engagement, recently summed up their approach this way:

• ask supporters to give up their birthdays, offering a great experience in return
• focus on sharing great content, not asking for money
• make the campaigner the hero, not the organization
• strive to have a ten year relationship with constituents
• rely 100% on social media and online platforms with no direct mail

This approach seems to be working extremely well for them. Charity:Water raised over $8.6 million in 2009 and over $16 million in 2010. All without utilizing direct mail.

Let's take a look at how they do it online. Click on this link for their September Campaign 2012. 

Charity:Water leverages the web beautifully. An arresting first frame of an embedded video takes up nearly half of the page. Towards the top of the page is a progress bar showing how much has been raised so far and what the ultimate goal is. Under this first video titled "The Trailer" you see there will be four other videos that can be viewed on August 28, September 4th, 7th and 11th. These are tempting teases encouraging the visitor to return to the site. Naming the lead video The Trailer makes it seems like a movie premier and I think you will agree the clip has the impact and production values of a Hollywood blockbuster.

As you scroll down you see that you can donate now or start your own campaign. You also see that they promise to "prove" they have completed their goals with photos of each completed well site. They will even supply GPS coordinates for each project just in case you want to check them out yourself.

Lastly, as you continue to scroll down on the landing page you see project cost information, links to individuals who have started campaigns, profiles of the people they are helping, more outcome data, and information on what different levels of contributions will accomplish. Scattered throughout the page are multiple links providing ways to give, start a campaign, or receive additional information and project updates.

The entire site is beautifully designed. The data is simple and compelling. The visuals are eye-catching.

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone that does this better than Charity:Water.

Is Charity:Water unique? Could this same "no direct mail" approach work for all charities? I am not sure it could. Many nonprofits have a more complex and nuanced story to tell that may require more traditional communication media. Additionally, many prospects may be less comfortable with online giving. Perhaps more telling, many charities may not have the superb "new media" talent to pull something like this off.

What do you think? Is this the future of fundraising? Or, is this simply a superbly executed exception?

Old Charity. New Technology.

According to the Associated Press, the Salvation Army set a record for donations generated by their ubiquitous "Red Kettle" fundraising efforts this past holiday season. Bell ringers attracted $147.6-million dollars eclipsing the $142-million dollar record set in 2010. More than $41-million dollars were collected outside Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores alone!

The Salvation Army has been collecting donations with their red kettles since 1891, but don't think they are stuck in the past. Recently, they have launched two "virtual kettle" programs. Now, individuals, teams, or corporations can host their own Online Red Kettles. Using Salvation Army web-tools, supporters can build a personal Online Red Kettle page, upload an address book, and send email invitations that encourage friends and family to support the cause.

Additionally, the charity introduced an option to make credit card donations on-the-spot using mobile payment technology through a Salvation Army representative's smartphone. The Salvation Army is the biggest nonprofit to adopt mobile payment technology offered by Square Inc. 

There are a couple of interesting lessons that can be learned from these initiatives:

• A 147 year old organization can learn "new tricks", particularly if they focus on the needs of the donor.  Major George Hood, the charity's spokesman stated, “A lot of people just don’t carry cash any more. We’re basically trying to make sure we’re keeping up with our donors and embrace the new technologies they’re embracing.”  Three cheers to the Major and his associates!

• A lot of small donations sure add up! Don't underestimate the impact of volume. Considering that the average kettle gift is less than $2.00, amassing $147.6 -million is an achievement that might understandably be considered totally unrealistic if a charity hadn't just gone out and done it. 

I look forward to seeing what the Salvation Army does next.

Videos and Making the Donor Connection

Donors don't often get to see how their contributions make a difference in a tangible way. They rarely meet the students who benefit from their student aid gift, they can't visit the African village assisted by the clean water well that they funded, they don't hear directly from the families that received food and shelter because of their gift, they don't see their money building a ship to monitor the ocean environment, or are taken directly into the jungle to see animals they have helped save.

Each of the following videos attempts to visually provide a closer connection with their charity. Some are folksy thank-yous, some feature the charity founders, some their staff in the field. Some have fairly sophisticated production values and some are more modest. Regardless of their appearance, their authenticity helps create an aura of credibility. 

The first video from University of California, Irvine utilizes a clever animation technique that ties together the comments from students that have received student aid. It employs a classic "thank-you donor" approach.

The second video from Charity:Water, a nonprofit that helps fund drilling for potable water wells, is also in the "thank-you" mode and features their affable founder and his likable staff. He and his organization come across as the kind charity that a 20 or 30 something could get behind.

The third video eschews higher production values or gimmicks but provides unvarnished statements of gratitude from real people helped by the social services agency Sarah's House.

The next video from Greenpeace illustrates donor contributions in action as the viewer witnesses the construction of the third Rainbow Warrior environmental watchdog craft in a shipyard in Bremen, Germany. ("You wanted us to build a ship to keep watch over the oceans and look, we're building it!")

The last video is from Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, England and the Aspinall Foundation regarding its lowland gorilla project. Follow Damian Aspinall as he visits a gorilla habitat in Gabon to see how a "reintroduced" gorilla that he raised in captivity is faring five years later back in the wild. The video does a great job of taking the donor right into the animal reserve in West Africa and reinforcing the value of the donor's contribution. Additionally, this particular video was focused on thanking donors who had made a second gift.

How can you use video to make your mission seem more immediate and tangible to your supporters? Consider the following:

• Produce short video thank-yous featuring those served by your nonprofit.
• Demonstrate what happens to a donation after it arrives at your charity. Follow the check from the minute it comes in the door until it funds a project.
• Reveal a day-in-the-life at your organization.
• Show before and after your organization impacts an issue.
• Profile your staff and leadership as they speak with passion about their mission. Include everyone from your CEO to your janitor to illustrate both deep and broad commitment.
• Create a "what if we did not exist scenario".
• Record donors talking about how giving to your organization is a life-changing experience.

Send videos out by email, post them on your website, put them on YouTube, screen them at events. Who knows, they might even go viral. Or end up being featured on someone's blog!

Attack of the Nonprofit Infographic!

Yes! Another nonprofit infographic! Infographics are so 2.0, aren't they?

But this post really isn't about infographics. The real story is about a relatively new web tool called Pinterest. It was recently featured on social media doyenne Beth Kanter's blog. Here is how she described it:

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can organize and share images and videos you discover on the web. Think of it as a social network of visuals -- where you can find images from other people with the same interest or use it to curate your own visual "interest space".

Beth has used it to collect "snappy" nonprofit infographics such as the one below (originally created by Network for Good). You could also use it to collect and share photos or videos featuring the great work of your nonprofit. Or it could feature visuals of your mission's outcome. Who knows what other applications it may have!

You can even embed a"Pin It" tab on your browser to immediately "pin" an item of interest to your personal "pin board" and share it with others.  Wow! 

BTW, check out the infographics Beth has "pinned" to date.

Can we get rid of that "old" direct mail?

Here is another great infographic from Kivi Leroux Miller's Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com site. It is compiled from their 2012 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report. 

It is interesting how the "new media" -- website, email marketing, e-newletters and Facebook -- are deemed either very important or somewhat important to a higher degree than the "tried-and-true" print newsletters and direct mail. 

This is particularly intriguing in light of fundraising expert Jeff Brooks' recent post on his Future Fundraising Now blog entitled What's wrong with the Next Big Thing? To quote:

One of the most pointless and uninteresting things you can hear is that something is the Next Big Thing in Fundraising.

Anything that's being bandied around as a "big thing" is not a big thing. Not yet, and probably not ever.

You'll know a thing is big when nobody's calling it a big thing any more -- but they're just using it successfully to meet their goals. 

Another way you can tell a thing is big is when people start claiming it's "dead".
The two Biggest Things in Fundraising today are direct mail and the house of worship collection plate.

Now, it is important to distinguish considering these newish channels from the standpoint of communication versus solicitation.  Electronic channels will serve an ever more prominent role in getting the word out. Truly, email, websites, social media, et al are important components in any nonprofits communication arsenal.


The problem lies in the belief that any of these will supplant direct mail or in-person solicitations as a significant source of gift revenue any time soon. And oh, how we yearn to replace costly direct mail with something inexpensive such as email! Do not succumb to this spurious temptation! 

Use email to support direct mail. Employ social media to provide broader opportunities for education and engagement. Spruce up your website and make sure that it tells your story in a clear and compelling manner. But realize your gifts will come mostly through old-fashioned but lucrative channels. 

Where and Why People Donate Their Time and Money

YourCause, an online resource designed to provide powerful online tools to facilitate fundraising and volunteering, recently posted a great infographic focused on where and why people donated their time and money in 2010/2011. Note that the top motivators for giving included a personal or emotional connection to the charity or being asked by someone they know well. Religious and educational causes accounted for top categories to receive volunteer assistance.  Not surprising given the current recession, economic development was the top issue donors wanted addressed by charities. Also, note that the ways in which donors choose to give appears to be becoming more diverse with donors stating that they have made much greater use of giving channels beyond sending a check in the mail.  

Let’s see what 2012 brings!

(Thanks to Katya Andresen for mentioning this on her blog.)

Online Giving and Older Donors

A new study by fund-raising consulting firm Dunham + Company out of Plano Texas seems to suggest that donors that are 60 or older are beginning to defy the long-held presumption that they aren’t comfortable giving online.  They found that of the 524 donors who participated in the survey and had made at least one gift of $25 in the past year, 51% of those in the 60 plus age group made their contributions online. Additionally, once these donors gave online they tended to give more frequently than younger donors.
(Link to Dunham + Company Study Article)

Wow!  Or, to quote the study “We believe this study blows some holes in the conventional thinking about older donors and online giving.”

Or does it? Is it problematic that the survey was conducted online? Does this skew the results? I believe to a great degree it must.

Should we temper our enthusiasm for results that are generated by a study that requires that the participant have a level of comfort with the online process to even take the survey?

You betcha!

Nevertheless, there is some validity in the study statement, “This just reinforces the need to apply best practices around integrated, multi-channel communication strategies and give donors options on how they want to fulfill their gift.”

This should apply to all demographics. Make sure the online giving process is clear and simple. And perhaps most importantly, reassure the donor of any age that the transaction is secure.

Giving online, even though it receives a tremendous amount of attention, still pales next to more traditional offline giving. The more we improve the online process, the more donors of all ages will have the confidence to give electronically.

What do you think?

I Give Marriott the Customer Focused “You” Award

It's early December and I just received an email from Marriott Rewards with a subject line “Seasons greetings from J. W. Marriott”. It is a wonderful example of customer-focused communication. The salutation is personalized with my name and it is signed by Bill Marriott in his handwriting. It might seem to be a familiar “end-of-the-year” thank you missive but it excels at coming across as genuine and warm. Here is a link to the email.  Marriott email.

Note the use of such phrases as (I have added the underlining) “thank you for your continued loyalty”, “It is an honor to host you”, and “I look forward to welcoming you at any of our nearly 3,700 hotels in 72 countries.” In fact the communication uses you or your a dozen times.

Too often we are tempted to focus on our achievements and our needs – to use year-end thank-you letters and emails as thinly veiled self-promotion opportunities. The Marriott letter does mention that next year will be the company’s 85^th anniversary but they deflect that potential self congratulatory trap by stating that the true benefit of this milestone is that it “uniquely positions Marriott with the insights and experience to serve you, our treasured guest, and make your stay memorable”.

Three short paragraphs and I feel appreciated. But this email is not just a feel good thank-you message. It also provides the opportunity for the recipient to take a number of beneficial actions. There is a link to customer email preferences where the recipient can update personal information, limit or expand electronic communications, or simply opt-out of future emails.

There are also three prominent links displayed in the message. Two links titled “Find a Hotel” and “Explore a Plan” lead to a colorful and interesting corporate website that can help a customer plan a stay at one of the aforementioned 3,700 hotels around the world. Another link leads to the Rewards page where the customer can see how they fare with this benefit.

What can fundraisers learn from this well executed email? Consider these possibilities:

·      A “you” focused message from your organization’s leader presented in a conversational and genuine tone

·      Links that direct the recipient to select giving or volunteer opportunities

·      A way for the donor to help craft their own communication experience

I think this would be a far superior relationship builder than the common and hackneyed “two weeks left in the year, send your gift now” approach. What do you think?

It’s Not Over Solicitation If It’s Relevant

L.L. Bean is a master of customer relationship management. 

I ordered a couple of Christmas gifts for the kids online the other day and here is what I received:

10:00 PM, Sunday night: Gifts ordered online

• 10:07 PM, Sunday night: L.L. Bean sent me an email with the subject line “Thank You For Your Order (Note: May Contain Gift Information)”. This was great. I could confirm that my order was received properly and Bean provided a toll-free number in case there were any issues. They even included a heads-up that this email could contain gift information if I needed to keep it from my kids peering over my shoulder. Also prominently displayed was a link to a video titled “Ever wonder what happens after you place an order?” Check it out here, it is a paragon of customer focused communication: http://www.llbean.com/shop/video_collection/#featured_47

• 11:44 PM, Sunday night: Less than 40 minutes later I received another email with the subject line “ Your L.L. Bean Order Confirmation (Note: May Contain Gift Information)”.  This time the email included a link to track my order and noted that one of my items was back-ordered (along with the anticipated availability date). I was also informed that my order qualified for a $10 promotional gift card that would arrive in about 10 days. Wow! Nice surprise.

• 10:14 PM, Monday night: I received a shipping confirmation email letting me know which items had shipped.

• 3:42 PM, Wednesday afternoon: I received another ship confirmation email showing what additional items had shipped and included a link that showed me where my package was at that very moment (the trip from Maine to Illinois to Missouri)

• 4:30 PM, Thursday afternoon: I received two of my four ordered items. Waiting in my inbox was an email with the subject line “Good News, Your Packages Have Been Delivered (Note: May Contain Gift Information)”.  It also reiterated the Bean 100% satisfaction guarantee and provided step-by-step instructions for returns.

Five emails in five days. Each one relevant and helpful -- one even providing notice of the unexpected $10 gift card. 

Oh, and with each email L.L. Bean featured pictures of and links to interesting items related to my purchases tempting me to consider additional purchases.

What can fundraisers learn from a top-notch merchandiser like L.L. Bean? 

Let’s consider the following potential scenario:

1. Within minutes of an online contribution you send the donor an effusive thank-you email. 
2. On day two you send an email note stating that the donor's contribution has been directed to a program or department to be put to immediate use.
3. Then, within a day or two, you report back to the donor the potential impact of their gift. Perhaps you share a story of a person or a program that will be helped. 
4. Lastly, the donor receives an email note of gratitude directly from a program director or an individual who has benefited from the gift. 

You also include in one of your emails a link to a video titled “Have you ever wondered what happens after you make a gift?” I'm sure many donors really do wonder about that, especially since they often never hear from an institution again until the next “ask”.

Additionally, each email correspondence includes links to other programs and giving opportunities. 

Do you think the donor would consider this over solicitation? 

Bet not. 

I dare say the donor would be thrilled and might even spring for an additional gift just to start this satisfying process all over again. 

Give it a try and report back your results!