It’s easy to forget what it feels like to be a donor.
After years of working in fundraising, it can be hard to remember how it feels to send a gift, then wonder what it was used for, or why you haven’t heard back. After all, you’re in the trenches. You know exactly how far you have to stretch each and every precious dollar.
But too often, when it comes to the messages organizations send to donors, we celebrate our own wins rather than sharing what a donation accomplished.
The truth is, donors want to know how they are changing lives and making a difference — not you. Understanding that distinction is key to what we refer to as “Donor-Centric Fundraising.”
For your donors, supporting your mission isn’t about how amazing the organization is (even though it may be pretty amazing). It’s not even about the world-shaping work the organization does. It’s about them, the donor. It’s about the impact through which they, the donor, enable your organization to accomplish amazing things. It’s about how they help make that world-shaping work possible. It’s about how they take action that leads to lives changing for the better. This is an important principle in relationship fundraising. But it’s also the foundation for a donor-centric approach to your fundraising efforts.
Why Your Donors Don’t Want to Hear about Your Nonprofit
Donor-centric fundraising is the key to developing stronger donor relationships and raising more money for your mission. This approach to fundraising means you put the needs of your donors at the top of your priority list—even ahead of performance goals. It means focusing your message around them and the impact they are making through your organization. It means communicating, recognizing, sharing, and engaging as opposed to “begging.” It means building relationships.
Stop investing in campaigns aimed at “shouting your message” at donors. By interacting in more personal and impactful ways with the donors already in your file, you can refocus on what you and your donors care about the most: your cause.
Our latest resource, Demystifying Donor-Centric Fundraising was created to help you make your donors feel like heroes. By changing the way you communicate, you will increase donor retention, build a healthier culture in your organization, and deepen engagement across all levels of the donor pyramid. Download the full-length resource here.