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.

LemonTree and its data-driven fundraising solutions for the NFP industry ft. Niharika Singh

LemonTree and its data-driven fundraising solutions for the NFP industry ft. Niharika Singh

by | Sep 10, 2021 | Behind the scenes, Sustainable Fundraising

You work closely with the LemonTree team to grow and develop the LemonTree solutions. Why is this so important?

The product LemonTree has been a first mover of providing data-driven fundraising solutions in the industry. Even after seven years, it is still one of the most unique value propositions available to the market and has immense potential. Working with the LemonTree team has been fulfilling for me both in terms of personal and professional growth.

From a personal growth perspective, working with not-for-profit clients has opened my mind towards their philanthropic objectives. Interacting with the fundraising managers on a daily basis demonstrates the hard work they put in to make the world a better place.

In terms of professional growth, working on this product has encouraged me to wear many hats at the same time. Even though I was hired only to streamline the delivery of jobs, I have been given the opportunity to participate in product improvement, resource management, project management of the jobs, and support marketing initiatives of LemonTree. Such a vast experience with a steep learning curve is something I cherish and am grateful for. It has motivated me to wake up and thrive for the greater good of the product and hence, its members.

Therefore, it won’t be wrong to say that the growth of the product LemonTree has encouraged me to grow with it. The above mentioned are two of the many reasons which encourage me to constantly improve and develop the LemonTree solution and will always do.

– Niharika Singh, LemonTree Fulfilment Manager

When people are deciding to give for the first time, they aren’t yet our donors

When people are deciding to give for the first time, they aren’t yet our donors

by | Aug 19, 2021 | donor engagement, donor-centric, Sustainable Fundraising

At LemonTree, we believe that donor-centricity is the ongoing dedication to increasing the depth and breadth of your donor understanding. In doing so, you generate insights that can be used to tailor your communication and engagement efforts and demonstrate to your donors that they are at the heart of your entire organisation.

Why you ask? Well, essentially this builds trust and loyalty – the critical foundations of any lasting and sustainable relationship.

I recently read an interesting article from the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, which made a powerful observation:

“When people are deciding to give for the first time, they aren’t yet our donors. But they are a parent, a cancer survivor, a humanitarian, a moral person, a liberal, a patriot and so on. So the key to raising more money is to resonate with who the donors are, or rather that aspect of the self that is activated during their engagement with your organisation.”

Long ago the commercial world realised that the ‘customer is king’ and so adopted a customer-centric approach to their business strategy. Marketing teams work tirelessly to get inside the hearts and minds of their customers so they can position and promote their products and services in the right way, at the right time and with the right message to engage and nurture the customer and eventually make the sale.

A positive customer experience makes us feel something and – as humans – we are motivated to act based on how we feel. We tend to make decisions based on emotion, then find a way to justify that decision based on logic. This is why we choose to walk that little bit further to get our morning coffee, even though it costs 50c more…but the barista greets us by name, remembers our order, and takes the time to ask how our kids are getting on with that school project. We walk further and pay more because of the way the experience makes us feel; that’s what keeps us coming back. It makes us trust the barista; makes us loyal to the cafe and gives them a competitive advantage. 

In today’s challenging times with COVID-19, this entrenched loyalty – built up from years of providing a positive customer experience – is keeping many businesses alive, and for that, we applaud them and wish them every success.

To deliver the best customer experience and earn a sustained competitive advantage, businesses need to earn trust and build loyalty by adopting a customer-centric approach:

  1. Understanding what their customers want, need, like, dislike, hope, fear, and value at each stage of their life:
  2. Infusing these customer insights across all their business functions to help shape decisions.
  3. Creating a unique and ongoing value exchange for their customers.
  4. Engaging in open, honest, and transparent two-way conversations with their customers, across many different channels; and
  5. Empowering customers to interact with their brand on their own terms.

This same approach applies to not-for-profits looking to secure sustainable giving. You need to earn trust and build loyalty by adopting a donor-centric approach, and that starts by increasing the depth and breadth of your donor understanding.

So how can LemonTree help you understand your donors more and implement practical solutions to help you connect with your donors in a more meaningful and valuable way? We have a range of proven solutions for acquisition, growth, and conversion; used regularly by charities such as Cancer Council NSW, World Animal Protection, The Shepherd Centre, and many more!

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