Donor Relationship Stage : Win Me Back – ft. Braden Spencer from Heart Foundation

Donor Relationship Stage : Win Me Back – ft. Braden Spencer from Heart Foundation

by | Oct 24, 2022 | Donor Endearment, donor engagement, donor-centric, Donor-centricity, Education, Sustainable Fundraising

Win Me Back.

This is the acknowledgment stage. It’s time to listen intently; to face up to the issues and accept the role you played in creating them. You might even need to apologize. Above all, it’s about understanding whether you’re meant to be together and then putting in the effort to make that happen.

For this stage of the donor relationship journey, we were joined by guest NFP speaker Braden Spencer, Head of Individual Giving at Heart Foundation.

A bit about Braden:

Braden is an accomplished fundraising executive who has held senior management NFP and Agency positions in both Australia and Canada. Braden has built many successful fundraising programs over the past 13 years, working for large organisations such as Heart Foundation, Save the Children, and World Vision.

He uses a unique style of vision, creativity, accountability, and genuine care people leadership to ensure success in his programs.

In his spare time, Braden is an adventurer, marathon runner, avid hiker, basketballer, traveler, advocate, volunteer, business owner, strategist, and loving partner.

A bit about Heart Foundation:

Heart Foundation has been the trusted peak body working to improve heart disease prevention, detection, and support for all Australians. For more than 60 years, Heart Foundation has been on a mission to reduce heart disease and improve the heart health, focusing on key areas such as risk reduction, support care, education, and research.

Heart Foundation currently has 15,000 active regular donors, 65,000 lapsed regular donors, 60,000 active single giving donors, and 15,000 active raffle donors.

What Braden had to say about the Win Me Back stage of the Donor Relationship Journey:

Rules are made to be broken…but not these ones:

1. “Data is the key to everything. Without great data you will fail!
2. Invest small, prove it works, invest big – test and innovate.
3. Build your team and/or use the experts – no one person knows everything!
4. Know who your donor is, what motivates them? Look after them!
5. Know your success metrics – reporting and analysis is vital!”

As we all know, COVID19 has had an incredibly impact on the world of fundraising. There has been increasing competition for donors, and while this is happening, donors are changing and adapting to a different way of life post-pandemic. So as fundraisers, we need to be asking ourselves – Who is our target audience (has this changed from what we originally focused on)? What makes our audience give (has their giving process changed)?

Data = Insights:

Starting with clean data is key. Cleaning and enriching your existing data, enables data selection and management of your data, with confidence and ease. Choose your Acquisition channels wisely and think about reducing the size of your audience; this will allow you to focus on the metrics (daily!), and truly get to know your audience on a more meaningful level.

Improve your donor experience in 6 steps:

1. Start by implementing your systems/software…automate everything!
2. Focus on your Acquisition experience to maximise efficiency and impact for your cause.
3. Communicate – thank your donors, and then thank them again!
4. Understand each donor individually. Who are they? Why did they leave? What is their preferred communication channel/s?
5. Apologise where appropriate.
6. Create a fun donor experience. Communicate with your donors in new ways. Be innovative!

Thank you to Braden Spencer for sharing his experience and tips, you can view the full session show notes here.

If you’d like to hear more from the likes of Braden and your fundraising peers, we invite you to join the LemonTree Donor-centric Collective; a community built for fundraisers. The community attracts 1000+ fundraisers across Australia, ranging from small to large NFP’s and guess what…its completely FREE! Enjoy member-only access to community webinars, the chance to speak on behalf of your cause, and most importantly be involved in the donor-centric movement!

Previously in this series:
• Stage 1: Catch Me – ft. Joanne Rogers from The Shepherd Centre
• Stage 2: Welcome Me – ft. Lauren McDermott from Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research
• Stage 3: Teach Me – ft. Jody Crooks from WWF
• Stage 4: Grow Me – ft. Mahza Ahadiwand from Children’s Cancer Institute
• Stage 5: Keep Me – ft. Jonathan Storey from Environment Victoria
• Stage 6: Endear Me – ft. Cassandra Bailey from OzHarvest
• Stage 7: Renew Me – ft. Tata Tan from Royal Far West

Join us in 2023, as we begin our new series ‘First steps to a donor-centric environment’:

Step 1 – Maximise the quality of your data
• Step 2 – Find ways to collaborate
• Step 3 – Ensure strong donor governance
• Step 4 – Recognise their life stage
• Step 5 – Listen to their needs & wants
• Step 6 – Lifetime value & share of wallet
• Step 7 – Optimise your communication
• Step 8 – Nurture & grow

The 8 Steps (& 4 Principles) to Becoming More Donor-Centric

The 8 Steps (& 4 Principles) to Becoming More Donor-Centric

by | Jul 6, 2022 | donor-centric, Donor-centricity, Sustainable Fundraising

Having explored some of the barriers to donor-centricity, it’s time to focus on the 8 steps you can take to help your organisation become more donor-centric.

At LemonTree, we define donor-centricity as: “The continual dedication to increasing the depth and breadth of your donor understanding, so you can connect more meaningfully, collaborate more effectively, and – most importantly – genuinely care for your donors in order to create ongoing value exchange, build trust and increase loyalty.”

Much like the relationship we have with each of our friends, the members of our family and the people we work with, there is no single, linear path you can take to build trust, earn loyalty and nurture a long-term, sustainable relationship with your donors. However, there are some critical steps we can take to create the right environment for a relationship to flourish.

It’s a bit like growing a lemon tree. You have to do some groundwork first before you can expect a seedling to grow into a fruit-bearing tree. You need to consider the type of lemon tree you want to grow, the seed itself and whether it’s viable, the soil, the pot, the light, the positioning, the climate, the water, the fertiliser, and so on. You have to cultivate the perfect conditions for your lemon tree to grow. Even then, with all your nurturing, it can still take upwards of three years for it to produce fruit…and some trees never will.

The same is true when it comes to creating a donor-centric environment. You need to be in it for the long-haul. This isn’t a quick ‘low-hanging-fruit’ strategy (excuse the play on words!). It takes time and effort to cultivate the perfect conditions for your donors to grow – but it’s an effort worth taking because it leads to long-term, sustainable relationships.

8 steps to cultivating a donor-centric environment

Step 1 – Maximise the quality of your data: the most important asset you own right now is the data on your donors, both past and present. When it comes to data, quality is just as important (perhaps even more so) than quantity. Data is your key to building sustainable relationships between your donors and organisation, so be sure to practice good data hygiene!

Step 2 – Find ways to collaborate: your own data will only ever tell you so much. Donor-centricity is a commitment to increasing the depth and breadth of your donor understanding. Finding ways to partner and aggregate data insights will fuel your donor understanding and lead to best practice communication and donor management.

Step 3 – Ensure strong donor governance: your donors are the life source of your organisation and the beneficiaries you serve. Without your donors, the solution to your cause disappears. Protect your donors by introducing strong governance practices for all your donor engagement processes. Remember, protect your donors to protect your cause!

Step 4 – Recognise their life stage: a donor’s ability and willingness to donate to your cause will vary in both time and dollars as their circumstances change and evolve. Always take into account the life stage and household composition of your donors in order to provide the most engaging experience.

Step 5 – Listen to their needs & wants: “seek first to understand, then to be understood” – so Stephen Covey told us. To build trust in a relationship you need to listen to and understand the wants and needs, hopes, fears, likes and dislikes of the other party. Only by understanding and capturing your donor preferences can you communicate with them in a way that will resonate, connect and build trust.

Step 6 – Lifetime value & share of wallet:  with a wider donor understanding of engagement, a level of sustained giving over longer periods is achieved. History has shown us when donors are over-communicated to, they suffer donor fatigue and reduce overall giving. Factor in share of wallet when calculating lifetime value. Know what is fair and reasonable for your donors.

Step 7 – Optimise your communication: sometimes silence really can be golden. Your messages, channels and the timing of your communication should be based on your donor insights. It’s not always about when you have something to say, it’s about contacting a donor when and where it is appropriate for them.

Step 8 – Nurture & grow: just like any other relationship, it takes time for donors to get to know, like and trust your organisation and the work you do. Invest the time in leveraging your knowledge of your donors, your cause and its beneficiaries to find common ground, make connections and demonstrate your value. Grow the size of your donor pond, by nurturing tomorrow’s givers, today.

Regardless of the path you choose to take, your journey towards donor-centricity should be underpinned by 4 core principles.

4 Principles of Donor Centricity

  1. Donors are people, not ATMs: loyalty will be created by treating donors as equally as important as your cause itself.
  2. Knowledge is power: the best, most engaging donor experiences will be created by leveraging the data, analytics, insights and observations available to you.
  3. Relationships are ‘give and take’: trust will be created by having meaningful, two-way conversations that foster reciprocity and fair value exchange between you and your donors.
  4. It’s a marathon, not a sprint: create the maximum return on your investment by measuring the lifetime value (LTV) of a donor, not just the campaign value.

These principles are the cornerstones of creating a donor-centric environment. They are non-negotiable. They are a mindset. They are a manifestation of your intent to connect, collaborate and care for your donors…whichever path you choose to take to get there.

If you’re on the journey to donor-centricity, why not join LemonTree’s free Donor-Centricity Collective (DCC)? As a member of the DCC, you can learn from your peers, share your experiences, ask questions and keep up-to-date with the latest strategies to become more donor-centric…AND be part of a movement to help grow sustainable giving in Australia! Simply click here to sign up for free.

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Next up in this series:

  • The different stages of the donor relationship and how they impact donor-centricity

Previous:

Donor Relationship Stage : Renew Me – ft. Tara Tan from Royal Far West

Donor Relationship Stage : Renew Me – ft. Tara Tan from Royal Far West

by | Jun 21, 2022 | Sustainable Fundraising

Renew Me.

This is a re-establishment stage. It’s an opportunity to breathe fresh life into the relationship in a bid to make it stronger. It may even be time to start afresh; revisit expectations and work on understanding each other

For this stage of the donor relationship journey, we were joined by guest NFP speaker Tara Tan; the resident Head of Fundraising at Royal Far West (RFW).

A bit about Tara:

Tara has been the Head of Fundraising at RFW for the past 4 years, leading, single giving, regular giving, trust and foundations, community fundraising, events, and branches. Tara has found the biggest commonality between her previous roles and experience, and RFW, is the focus on individual giving programs, and growing both cash and RG in a sustainable way…

A bit about RFW:

RFW is Australia’s only national charity dedicated to improving the health and well-being of country children and believes that:

  • Healthy country children are critical to our nation and our future
  • Every child has the right to be respected as an individual and we acknowledge their specific needs, rights and contributions
  • Access to the right support at the right time can positively reset a child’s life trajectory
  • Access alone is not enough – the quality of services and outcomes matter
  • To support a child’s health and well-being, it is vital to support the parents, carers, health professionals and educators around the child
  • An integrated and collaborative approach is the best way to support children and their families

The RFW the 5-year strategy:

Acquire a significant level of RGs to underpin the organisation long-term. In year 4 RFW are very close to hitting this target, successfully acquired 1,500 RGs in year 1, through an online lead with TM conversion program. Tara reported, “The commonality is “infancy” – picking up programs in their early stages and maturing them to scale.”

Maturity often manifests itself in the movement from cash to RG program. Are there common challenges in this, with the new expectations that are implied in RG donors?

“Yes, absolutely! The reality is that we needed to build the plane while we’re flying it – there are going to be things we want to do that we don’t yet have the budget for; this results in very difficult decisions on where we spend and what we invest in”.

With such a new program, there is so much to implement. How do you make the critical decisions around which parts of the process to implement?

“We have an amazing donor care team, so interactions are largely taken care of (although most are cancellations and very late in the journey). We picked the touch-points that we felt have the most impact – welcome, birthday, etc. – but the issue with building while flying is the inability to properly optimise. This year we’ve had to focus on financial ROI alone, this makes stewardship and governance difficult, with the focus on process components such as payments… This comes at the expense of the “warm and fuzzies” such as donor nurturing and feedback.”

What does engagement mean to a donor that could be on the verge of lapsing? What does it mean to you to try and do this?

“It’s one thing to know when they might lapse, it’s another to know why and to learn what to do to stop it. We have the data to understand when people are going to drop off (beyond the natural term of the contract length). The challenge in the coming year is understanding the prescriptive actions we can take better. Giving days help create an experiential moment to interact with the charity, but it can’t be about asking them to give more – it should be about retaining them. When we do a survey with our cash donors, if the question is asked about what they’d prefer to see (stats versus stories), the majority want to see the stats – but we know this doesn’t work and that the stories drive donation. Sitting here today, there are more questions than answers and a recognition of how important the next phase is for us.”

Now that you’ve got donors on board for 3 – 4 years, how do you engage the Renew Me experience? How do you actually go about it?

“You want the end in mind at the beginning, but the end in mind now is to prolong the end. Looking for opportunities to engage with donors in new ways – the floods have presented this opportunity. There is no silver bullet… This should be about constantly considering and reconsidering the ways that we drive engagement with our established donors. It might be other ways we can tell the stories, such as lunch and learning sessions.”

How would you rate your organisation at each stage of the road map to donor-centricity? Click here to take our 2-minute quiz!

Thank you to Tara Tan for sharing her knowledge on the Renew Me stage in the donor relationship journey –  you can view the full session show notes from the Renew Me stage here.

If you’d like to hear more from the likes of Tara and your fundraising peers, we invite you to join the LemonTree Donor-centric Collective; a community built for fundraisers. The community attracts 1000+ fundraisers across Australia, ranging from small to large NFP’s and guess what…its completely FREE! Enjoy member-only access to community webinars, the chance to speak on behalf of your cause, and most importantly be involved in the donor-centric movement!

Previously in this series:

Next up in this series:

  • Win Me Back – 2022
Have you moved to a new CRM and everything is not as it should be?

Have you moved to a new CRM and everything is not as it should be?

by | Mar 9, 2022 | Sustainable Fundraising

As an Australian NFP, you’re likely well-aware of the need to manage your donors in a way that is cost-effective, and sustainable. A CRM system, but more so, the underlying strategy and cost-effective way of managing your assets, is often seen as the solution.

The success rate for a CRM migration is widely reported, and ranges from somewhere between 18% and 69%. Said otherwise, implementing CRM successfully is something between a fair bet and a strategic disaster. For better or for worse, over the last few years, a trend of perpetual CRM migration has emerged in the Australian NFP industry, with our numbers suggesting that at any time, up to 1 in 3 charities are planning or executing a CRM re-platform project.

Does this sound like you? Leave a comment below and let us know how you’re feeling about this!

With CRM vendor’s promoting promising results, this seems like a great idea. However, what is often neglected before, during, and after the migration is the integrity of your data. A CRM is only as good as the data that sits behind it and if your data is not in good shape (poor structure, duplication, incorrect contact details), it will result in your CRM not performing to it’s potential. This is not good news for the recipients of your marketing campaigns – your donors – and is the last thing you need in the current climate is to annoy and potentially lose donors.

The solution?

Marketsoft – the engine which powers LemonTree – has 34 years of experience helping both commercial and charity sectors ensure their data is of the highest quality before, during, and after CRM implementations.
There are three components we consider:

  • CRM Migration – ensuring the donor information that lands in your new CRM is cleansed and structured for success.
  • CRM Management – maintaining your view of donor as well as connecting it to the systems which drive donor value.
  • CRM Execution – adopting a mindset of continual improvement in the way that CRM is acted upon.

Marketsoft, sits at the cross-section of marketing, digital, and IT, having worked alongside the likes of American Express, 3M, Adobe, NSW Government, and many more over the last 3 decades. Marketsoft have taken these learnings and helped charities such as Jewish House, Dementia Australia, and Royal Hospital for Women, solve strategic and organisational challenges; allowing them to leverage and improve their donor data.

If you’d like to build value for both your donors and your cause, Hamish Martin, can help you learn more about Marketsofts CRM solutions! 

E: hamish.martin@marketsoft.com.au

Marketsoft is a proud member of:

Learn more – www.marketsoft.com.au

Good News for Charity Mail

Good News for Charity Mail

by | Mar 1, 2022 | Sustainable Fundraising

FIA has worked collaboratively with Australia Post over many years, advocating for the needs of the charitable fundraising sector and have been successful in helping to achieve temporary rebates for qualified Charity Mail campaigns to support fundraising organisations. The rebates were provided to assist charities with their fundraising, lowering costs and encouraging them to undertake additional mailing activity to help supplement income from fundraising activities which have been impacted by COVID-19. 

Recognising the financial challenges charities are still facing, Australia Post will provide a postage rebate of 10% on any incremental Charity Mail activity undertaken from 1 April to 30 June 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. The 10% rebate applies to the incremental Charity Mail volume achieved from 1 April to 30 June 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, adjusted for:

any Charity Mail volume shortfall that occurs in the following quarter ie, 1 July to 30 September 2022 compared to 2021 and any applicable credit claims in those periods.

The rebate is only available where Charity Mail volumes have been lodged on the charity’s own charge account both last year and this year.

Charities wanting to be considered for this initiative need to apply by 31 May 2022 by sending an application to charitymailchanges@auspost.com.au  

On behalf of the entire sector, FIA appreciates the ongoing support of Australia Post.

Original source – https://fia.org.au/good-news-for-charity-mail/

Good news indeed and well done to FIA for their continued discussions with Australia Post.

It may be a small saving, however every 10% counts. Most fundraisers would experience when preparing forecasts and ROI calculations for direct mail, particularly for acquisition, the numbers and business case can be challenging, so these incremental cost savings are all important.

We are seeing that diversification of fundraising channels and activities is a common strategy across many charities, so again when comparing ROI across the channels and activities, every 10% counts to keep as many of these open as a viable opportunity.

If only I knew this when I started my fundraising journey

If only I knew this when I started my fundraising journey

by | Feb 18, 2022 | Education, Sustainable Fundraising

Stepping into the fundraising sector can be daunting. If you’re like the majority, you’ll be asking questions like – what are the right skills to have? How do I progress my career?

Finding answers to these questions isn’t easy, so we’ve put together an expert panel of diverse fundraisers to help us get clear on the things we need to know to kick-start a successful fundraising career.

Our experts will be recalling what they wish they knew when they started their fundraising journeys so we can benefit from their learnings. They’ll share their best pieces of advice that we can put into practice immediately.

Whether you have just joined the sector or you’re a seasoned fundraiser, come and join us for this Q&A Panel Session where our four speakers will share their advice and discuss all the things they wish they knew when they started their fundraising journey.

Register quickly to secure your spot, places are extremely limited.

 

Date: Wednesday 16 March 2022

Time: 8.00am – 10.00am AEDT

Venue: LemonTree Fundraising

Level 4, 48 Chandos Street, St Leonards NSW 2065 

Cost:

Member $40.00
Non Member $50.00

Registrations will remain open until Monday 14 March, 5.00pm AEDT

REGISTER HERE

Original source – Fundraising Institute Australia – Event Info NSW