In this episode, CBC turned its attention to World Vision Canada and how they recently notified their donors that their monthly gift will be upgraded from $35/month to $39/month due to increased costs, inflation, etc. All the donor had to do was contact World Vision and say they were ok with it or not.

But, here’s the part that CBC jumped on – if I, as a donor,  did nothing, they upgraded my gift automatically for me. I automatically “opted-in” by not responding.

This is a common and hated practice that banks, electricity and phone company’s take part in… but World Vision? One of Canada’s top charities?

I tweeted World Vision about it and not only was astounded by their answers but it was clear they didn’t see the problem – they still don’t.

Here is a selection of tweets as the evening progressed.

I’m not arguing that World Vision doesn’t do good work, or that they are justified in raising (ehm) their “rates”.

The issue is that great donor centered fundraising means that you allow your donors opt in to EVERYTHING. Every increases in donations, your communications, every point and type of contact. (I’m obviously not talking about acquisition.)

Just because I don’t call or mail or ask that I do not want it, doesn’t mean I’m optting in.

I hope that World Vision and every other charity who takes part in this practice gives their head a shake and reconsiders their “policy”.

I had a final laugh as someone tweeted me, repeatedly, finally asking what my problem was and who do I work for?

My answer: “Donors.”

Put their needs before yours regardless of your policies and justifications.

What do you think?

What’s that? What’s the Ruby pack? Ok. Let me back track a little.

The Ruby pack was a mailing we came up with for Ontario Nature a while ago. In a nutshell (if you aren’t looking at the old links), it was a mail piece from Ruby, the hummingbird. Ruby was mailing the lovely donors of Ontario Nature, explaining her challenging plight to get from Costa Rica to the Boreal Forest. She sent photo’s of herself, a map of her route and a heart-felt letter that would make you pound the desk at the injustice.

She even signed it with her own bird print.

And no, you could never do that.

A few other things you can’t do: you can’t have a cute little truck, whose mission in life, from the moment its battery was placed inside its engine, was to pick up food and deliver it to who needed it the most. You also can not have Marky the Marmot explain why his, and the survival of his family is so important and show donors how they can help make sure they don’t go extinct. Also off the table, Santa Claus promising to give up smoking for the donors of the Lung Association, or Santa describing the horrendous scene at the north pole of caribou wallowing in oil slicks and tankers running aground…

You can’t do any of those either. Sorry.

But…

You DO have a Ruby, Larry, Truck or Santa story in you. I promise.

It just takes some work and creativity to find it.

I often have heard the phrases, “Oh this is too juvenile for our donors.” “Our donors are too smart for this.” “Our donors like lots of figures and stats…” “Our donors don’t like…” “Our donors only respond to…”

Sorry. It’s all bull crap.

I have to tell you something and I (looks around cautiously) don’t want everyone to over hear it. Come closer…

Your donors like to be surprised. They like to laugh and be delighted. They like – no – LOVE the thrill of getting something they would have never expected from your organization…

I know. I can hear heads exploding all over the world as these words are read. But it’s the truth.

When was the last time a donor called you up laughing and smiling from an appeal they got from you?

Never?

Time to get to work.

For some additional reading on this, check out Gail Perry’s posts about it here and here. Also, have you seen any amazing appeals that surprised and delighted you? Please share them in the comments.

(sympathetic nods from readers)

Baking is fussy. I’m not.

But I do find a form of Zen in the precise measuring and finicky instructions. And last week I created the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie. All that’s left of the first delicious batch are crumbs and a craving to bake them again. In anticipation of my next batch, I’ve put together 8 ways that baking the perfect cookie is a lot like developing your fundraising strategy.

1. Plan Ahead. Perfect cookies start with real butter — and for best results, it must be at room temperature. Same with your eggs. The worst kind of fundraising projects are ones where you need to “get something out the door” which is the equivalent of microwaving your butter to soften it. Ugh.

2. Know Your Audience. My mother is fatally allergic to nuts. No almond Madelines for Agent Grann! As a donor, I am fatally allergic to premiums. If you live and die by mailing labels, have a plan for making sure your donors are engaged with your mission. Make no mistake – those donors are loyal to sugar, and you’re feeding their sweet tooth with your premiums. Make them loyal to your cause and they’ll be with you for the long haul.

3. Use Your Hands. Leave the razzle-dazzle gadgets in the drawer. Use a wooden spoon and your hands, the way your grandmother did. With your fundraising, there is a time and a place for razzle-dazzle gadgets, but when it comes to your donors, your mission, you — the inspired, engaged fundraiser — are the expert, not your agency or some talking head at a conference (or on a blog). When in doubt, test your thinking, or even better, ask your donors. Get your hands dirty. Roll up your sleeves and connect.

4. Insist on The Finest Ingredients. In my kitchen I use unbleached flour, organic eggs and pure vanilla extract. Same with your fundraising – why settle for ‘artificial’ or ‘imitation’? Go for authentic and fresh.

5. Secret Ingredient. My secret ingredient in perfect chewy chocolate chip cookies is coconut. Heavenly! Another woefully underused secret ingredient in baking is real Canadian maple syrup. Never underestimate the ‘surprise and delight’ factor as a way to make your donors feel special and cherished.

6. Timing is Everything. It is literally a matter of seconds where a cookie is perfect – not undercooked and not overcooked. They need to rest, on the baking sheet, for at least 2 minutes before they go on to the cooling rack. Timing is probably the most important factor in your fundraising – sure the right message to the right audience matters too – but if you ask before you thank, or send your holiday appeal on December 22^nd, you’re timing sucks and you’re headed for disaster.

7. Enjoy The Journey. Baking is not a destination, it is a journey. You can always tweak, adjust and perfect. This one is especially true with your fundraising database. We shudder when clients say “we’re finally going to get our database in order”.We applaud the initiative to whip it into shape, but you’re never “done” with effective database administration. So learn as you go, take breaks when you need them, and enjoy the ride.

8. Love. I bake for and with my kids. Our family rules are: first, you must eat one cookie when it is still warm; and second, you can have as many as you want the day they are baked. We share with our neighbours and friends. We tell stories and laugh while we bake. Creating the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie is more than just warm in your belly – baking with people you love creates a lifetime of memories. And always, always, lick the beaters. Give attention and respect to your donors. Promise to listen – and do it. And always, always, show you love them in as many ways as you can.

The change should start with your partnerships. The people, the agencies and suppliers you choose to work with every single day.

Time after time, we hear about promises being broken, projects being delayed, ego’s getting in the way, clients being over charged for crap work… This needs to stop – we all need to demand more.

My current angst resides with some of the outdated models of business that were brought over from the commercial world – and never really worked there either.

The model I speak of suggests that all knowledge exists within. It is set up so the main impetus for taking on new work is to pay for the fancy walls and bloated salaries of its people. Their model has everything to do with themselves and nothing to do about you. Except take your money.

I suggest that the new model should allow open collaboration, destruction of titles and self-importance, tough conversations, love and appreciation for the voices at the table and an ongoing willingness to try better and be open to change.

I’ve blogged before about the rubbishness of the RFP (Request for Proposal) process, another flawed model from the other sector. It’s so heavily flawed because it is such a monumental waste of time and effort and usually does not result in real change.

Let’s spend lots of time and effort to develop a long document that is full of fancy words, high expectations, half truths and empty phrases with the hope that everyone will write another long document full of fancy words, high expectations and fake promises and lovely binding. In duplicate please.

And for some reason, we play this game, over and over.

I’ve actually heard clients say, “this supplier, or this supplier, it doesn’t matter, pick the one we haven’t worked with before and lets see how it goes.”

The newly selected partner, gaining the new account and client, allow the senior people back to their fancy office caves and unleash the juniors to deal with the new meddling client who is just asking for the same thing that was done last time and demands a lot for their retainer dollars.

And so, month after month, the retainers get paid (usually), the presidents pat themselves on the back because they show a 5% increase in billings over the year past, the clients start to get bitter and they realize that by allowing their supplier to do the same thing they do for everyone else isn’t really making any real difference, and they feel ignored and soon enough, oh happy day, it will be time to RFP again.

Here’s the vision.

Work with passionate people who get happy/angry/sad-emotional about the work they do-and love it. Every second.

Collaborate with the best people and partners for a project that will give your donors everything they deserve.

Cut no corners due to budgets, technical ability or limitations or just plain ignorance. If you can’t do it right – then don’t do it.

Work hard and with fear. And with those who will catch you when you fail. And then…

Fail.

Do better.

Get rid of your title.

Think of your donor more. All the time.

Read more and change your opinions.

And finally, focus on working with partners and people who will make you better and help care for and nurture your donors better and more often.

Not one of them took the time to recognize that I was a monthly donor. That made me angry.

I am so engaged with their mission that I give them something every single month to do their good work. I figured they might take the time to recognize that before they ask me for a second gift in December.

So, right off the bat, I’m mad. But then, because I am committed to their mission, I read on. A big mistake.

Rather than tell me something compelling about their work, they told me I only had a few days to get a 2011 tax receipt! By the time I got this email from the fourth charity I give to monthly, I was in a rage.

Apart from the fact that the entire message is an insult to a monthly donor (I am confident they will bank my December payment!), it’s as compelling as a root canal.

Surely they are doing something which might compel me to think about another gift. Surely they need my help one last time in 2011 to advance our shared mission.

But no, my reason to give is that it’s my last time to get a 2011 tax receipt.

By now, I’m apoplectic! Research shows that even for major gifts and bequests, the fact that there is a tax advantage is far down the list of motivations for giving.

People like me give because we want to give back, want to heal a sick world, want to do the right thing for the right reason.

I better stop writing now. I’m on the verge of canceling all my monthly gifts and giving up on my attempt to contribute to a better world. But if I stop now, I’ll be OK.

My two new year’s resolutions for those who sent me this offensive, stupid email (all of whom are getting a personal copy of this rant addressed to the President or Executive Director), are these:

1. Don’t talk to me without recognizing I give monthly.

2. To rephrase Bambi: “If you can’t say something compelling, don’t say anything at all.”

Tweet

Sadie checks our mail every day. She’s four. Excuse me, four and a half.

Once a month she gets her Chirp Magazine. Big day. She gets, reads, re-reads and covets the postcards from my parents when they travel. That’s about it.

But she charges to the mailbox every day, chattering about our letters.

Today, she saw her name before I did.

“MUMMY! A letter for me!”

“Terrific! Who do you think it is from?”

Her bright eyes flickered to the top left corner. “S…A…N…T… OH MY GOD IT’S A LETTER FROM SANTA!”

She tore it open. She beamed.

“Look, he really wrote to me. Just ME!”

She jumped up on my lap.

It really is a charming letter. Starting with “What a delight it was to receive your wonderful letter. It really made my day.” Sadie was literally bouncing on my lap we read it.

We got to the end and we read the handwritten P.S. together. “P.S. I hope the weather is clear for our Christmas Eve flight!”

As a direct response fundraiser, this inspired me. And I’m sharing with you the top 5 highlights for all of us, from the outside in.

1. It has a handwritten name and address and a live stamp. Real, personal mail.
2. It says “Hello Sadie” and “Your friend, Santa”. Not “Dear Friend” and “From Hospital Foundation”. See our previous post.
3. Tell stories. Santa does. So should you.
4. It is special. Real direct mail can be special and precious. As your voice mail notification flashes, your unread texts accumulate, who can even count the Facebeook notifications anymore and your inbox overflows, revel in the touches of handwriting and human contact. It is meaningful and powerful.
5. Sadie poured her heart into her letter for Santa. And she feels like she can fly right now. When someone writes to you (or writes to you AND gives you money), write back. Santa’s timing is impeccable. Funny how that works.

And this one’s for you… From me to you, dear reader, this holiday season.

Believe in magic.

Dear “Foundation”…

Can I offer some friendly advice?

Next time you decide to send out an eblast can you:

- not send it as a jpg (which gets put into spam boxes, makes all of your links useless, make the piece very hard to read, makes the email size too big, doesn’t allow you to personalize, makes it look like you don’t know what you are doing for all the above reasons)

- send it from someone – “Foundation” is not someone. I have never met “Foundation”.

- talk to me – use words like “you” – a LOT.

- make sure I approved you to send me your email – if not – this really is considered spam even if you have taken into account my other suggestions.

- hire a professional writer to craft your message to your audience

- include opt out options

- send it to me – I’m not “Your Friend” – I’m “John”.

Cheers and Happy Holidays from the Agents of Good.

John

It’s not really that hard, yet so few charities do it well, or in some cases, not at all. There are some great sources out there for ways to thank you to your donors (here is a recent nonprofit carnival blog post about it via Pamela Grow) but today I want to show you a way one special charity is doing it.

Small Change Fund is a Toronto based organization that helps finance small grassroots projects in communities across the country. Fantastic!

Full disclosure, our pal Clare McDowall works there and we have done some work with them in the past year, but nonetheless, I was moved to give them a gift last year for a Toronto based cannery… amazing. Food security, rescue and delivery are very important – especially to this home chef. Then last month, our colleague Tania Little had posted a video that they had sent her thanking her for her ongoing support – and you know what? I wanted one too.

Take a look at this:

I decided to join their Be The Change fund and become a monthly donor – and sure enough – I was quickly rewarded by getting my very own, amazing video! How cool is that?

Here are two other videos they have created thanking their donors:

Simple, catchy, fun!

The point is, this isn’t rocket science and it doesn’t cost a million dollars (obviously) to make or produce – but done right, can have a magical effect.

I hope they can keep up with making them as people climb aboard and give their support – but keep this in mind as you think of new ways to thank your donors for their gift.

Have you seen other amazing, simple and creative ways of saying thanks to donors?

Joan is the one who has been volunteering with you for… like ever.

She comes into your building day after day, she has organized small committee’s, rallied the troops to make sure the little (and big) events come together, she brings her friends to help out when they can.

She lives and breathes you.

She doesn’t actually give much in terms of dollars. Sure – $10 here. Maybe $5 another time… She is the most dedicated fan of your cause and your charity that you don’t know.

Now Jane… Jane is a mom of three grown kids. She has worked hard her whole life and now spends her time doing crafts in preparation for the busy craft season around Christmas. She is also desperately trying to keep up with the flood of mail and telephone calls she gets.

She thinks she gives to about 30… maybe 35 charities a year with some regular occurrence. She’s not sure – she just knows that so many need help. They all need the help.

There are a few who she gives to monthly – she thinks… again not positive… so many…

In some cases she’s discovered a strange thing – that the best way to get a charity to stop bothering her, is to give them a donation. On the downside, it seems to bring even more knocking – or putting their labels in her mailbox.

She is one of the most caring of the people in this world that you don’t know.

Finally we have Mary. For the last 9 years, Mary has walked in your event.

Her Mom, Aunt and sister have all suffered from the cancer you intend to help cure. Every year, she tirelessly asks her friends, coworkers, neighbours and family for their support – last year raising an amazing $2,167 for you – but more importantly, for her mom, aunt and sister. She does it for them.

Yes, she got the t-shirt, the jacket, the coupons and brochure. But that’s about it. Aside from an email asking her to give a monthly gift because the work you do is so amazing.

She, in the last 9 years, has likely walked the circumference of this earth in support of the work you do – she has done more for you than you’ll never know.

They love you, like a mom loves their child. They want nothing but the best and no matter what you do, will always be there for you.

Forget everything you think you know about fundraising.

Put a call into Jane and gush some thanks, say hi and ask Joan about her thoughts while she serves the coffee and for God’s sake, don’t drop Mary into your direct mail acquisition stream.

Throw a century long celebration for Joan, Jane and Mary and repeat it when you are done. Care, love and nuture these wonderful people in every way you can – THAT’s fundraising.

The defence rests.