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

Donor Relationship Stage 6: Endear Me – ft. Cassandra Bailey from OzHarvest

Donor Relationship Stage 6: Endear Me – ft. Cassandra Bailey from OzHarvest

by | Dec 11, 2021 | Customer Journey, Donor Endearment, donor engagement, donor-centric, Donor-centricity, Sustainable Fundraising

Endear Me.

This is the rekindling stage. A time to focus on reminding your donors of why the relationship exists. What attracted you to each other in the first place and why you still belong together? Furthermore, it’s an opportunity to reflect on all you have accomplished together so far, through the impact that has been made from your relationship. How can you re-ignite the passion to continue your journey together?

For this stage of the donor relationship journey, we were joined by guest NFP speaker Cassandra Bailey; the resident Development Lead at OzHarvest.

 A bit about Cassandra:

15 years ago, Cassandra’s favourite philosopher, Peter Singer, changed her life. His work led her to a place where she wanted to help change the lives of others. Prior to that, Cassandra’s experience was in loyalty & memberships in the corporate world, working with the likes of Ticketek and hotels.com. Fast forward to now, with 10 years of experience in the not-for-profit industry under her belt, Cassandra would be described as a motivated, driven individual who is determined to improve the world we live in. She also has a love of process and automation and believes there is no limit to the technology we can implement to grow and diversify revenue streams and strengthen our relationships.

Cassandra is proud to have worked with World Animal Protection, Four Paws Australia, Sea Shepherd Australia, and now OzHarvest.

I grew in the fundraising sector with a strong supporter-centric focus, which has shaped a lot of how and why I approach my work now. One of my earlier mentors introduced me to a quote by Maya Angelou who was a wonderful poet and civil rights activist; “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – and that is how I approach fundraising, by giving people an opportunity to feel good about what they are doing. I focus on how it makes the donor feel and the impact it creates for our beneficiaries. For me, it is all about creating lasting relationships and genuine connections. So, today’s topic of endear me really resonates with the way I work.  

I believe it is important to talk with your audience, not at your audience. Creating a 2-way conversation, means giving back and not just taking. Donor recognition and gratitude are a must-have, not a nice-to-have. Delight, delight, delight and endear all the way!

Several years ago now, I had a wonderful volunteer at one of my earlier orgs. A vibrant and dedicated soul who was pushing 80 years old. When I left that organisation, she chose to come along with me to my new org. This volunteer used to write birthday cards, call donors to say thank you, reconnect with lapsed supporters and generally be our resident “endearer” who made each and every supporter feel special, connected to cause, and strengthened the sense of community and belonging. Now we can’t all be lucky enough to have such a treasure like this, but we can all learn from her. Whether it is leveraging our technology to make supporter journeys personal and customised or sticking to grassroots tactics and picking up the phone at every chance we get. It is important to plan and make time for these moments. Even if it can’t be every day, but perhaps scheduled twice a year to share gratitude and impact and keep those relationships alive. Our funding is a by-product of the relationships we make, a necessary by-product yes, but without these relationships, the bottom line runs dry.

(You can view the full session show notes from the Endear Me stage here).

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

(Ref. LemonTree – The Donor-centricity e-Book – Page 30).

Remember, trust and loyalty, are the building blocks of any long-lasting relationship.

If you’d like to hear more from the likes of Cassandra 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 luncheons, webinars, our LinkedIn community group, the chance to speak on behalf of your cause, and most importantly be involved in the donor-centric movement!

Thank you to Cassandra Bailey for sharing her knowledge on the Endear Me stage in the donor relationship journey.

Previously in this series:

 Next up in this series:

  • Renew Me – 2022
  • Win Me Back – 2022