The Fundraising & Fun Raising Podcast

0:00Welcome to the fundraising and fundraising podcast. I'm your host Robert B. Moran. You're listening on WBCA 102.9 Boston Community Radio Station. And today we've got another full episode for you. We're going to be starting out by talking about donor retention versus donor acquisition. And then we'll talk about campaigns that exceed goals. And in the final segment, we're talking about humor and gratitude and the relationship between them. So to get us started, one of the things is this idea of donor retention versus donor acquisition. And what do I mean by that? Well, one of the things is that when a non-profit

1:07makes a contact with somebody and that person decides to become a donor because they're sold on the mission, they're sold on the vision that is presented to them, when they make that first donation, that would be donor acquisition. So it's acquiring the donor. It's adding them to the fold, so to speak. And with the donor acquisition, one of the things that is true, and this is true also in sales, I've also been in sales capacity several times in my career. Oftentimes, the focus is on getting new donors or getting new customers. And part of the reason for that is because the people are not in the organization, they're not connected. And there can be a real challenge, a real thrill about bringing somebody new in. And somebody knew that the donor development person has become aware of. And they decide to make it their focus. And many times, you know, the new donors

2:10are considered the lifeblood or the new money is the lifeblood of the organization. And it is true to a certain extent. But one of the things is, is that after they make that first donation, what happens to them? Now they're in the existing pool of donors. And if the development team is focused only on acquiring new people, the person who's been in the organization, it's made the donation, now can start to feel unappreciated or underappreciated or taken for granted. And just in terms of human nature, one of the things is that when the donor makes that realization or comes to that conclusion, a time, a timer starts in their mind. And they start to think, hmm, it's been six months since I heard from the organization. It's been a year,

3:15it's been a year and a half. And the more time that goes by, almost like a plant, right, it's not being watered, the vibrancy of the plant diminishes. And the life of the plant starts to wane away. And it can get pretty dire for that donor. They can start to feel like they're not appreciated and it can get to the point where they start to wilt. And if the wilting gets bad enough, they could get to the point where they cannot be revived. So the practice of not letting that happen is called donor retention. And what that is, it's basically looking at the amount of time that the organization has been in a relationship with the donor and to build in systematically touch points. And they can vary based on the desires of the donor. Some people might want more contact than others. That can be determined in the donor acquisition cycle. But is this somebody who

4:21is higher maintenance and really appreciates regular contact? What kind of contact do they appreciate? Many times in donor databases these days, it's possible to put that the person is maybe preferred to be reached by email rather than phone. Or some people might prefer phone call. If it's somebody who maybe has less people in life, they may enjoy the phone call from somebody that they're connected with via the mission of the nonprofit. Some people might prefer good, old-fashioned letters rather than being emailed or being called. They might like the fact of getting something physical from the organization as a way to remind them, yeah, I still matter to them that it wasn't just about the money, you know, in quotes. But it's really about the relationship. And one of the things too that, you know, in sales and in donor development, one of the things that's true is that it's a lot easier to maintain an existing donor or to maintain an existing customer in a corporate sense than it is to get a new person on board.

5:24So in terms of just practicality and efficiency, one of the things that's very helpful is to realize that, you know, the care and feeding, so to speak, of donors that are already in the fold can be less compared to getting somebody new in or getting a group of new people in. And what does that mean? It means that if there's less being spent in terms of time and energy and finances on getting new people in, it means there's more money for the organization to use for operations. And organizational efficiency can be seen in terms of how does the organization keep their overhead low? And one of the things that's considered overhead is donor acquisition and donor retention. So in terms of being good steward of the money and the funds that they non-profit's been entrusted with, donor retention can really be a smart way to go. So I'd mention before about the idea of having a profile of the donor, you know, their preference, you know, in terms of email or phone or a letter. Some people may prefer

6:29an in-person visit. And oftentimes what will do, what will happen, I should say, what will happen with a non-profit organization is they might tear the donors that they have, right? The bigger donors are in one tier, the middle donors, and then the donors who are the smaller and often the more numerous ones are the donors at the lower end of the donation scale. And what the organizational will do many times is because the in-person visit is more costly in terms of time and, you know, people power is they may just say, okay, well, if a person gives a certain amount or more, then they will get an in-person visit. And if they're in the middle, they might get, you know, an in-person visit but less frequently. And maybe the people at the lower end may only get emails or phone calls because it's a way to cost effectively stay in touch with the donor base. And I think the same thing is true of donor acquisition, right? That if it's somebody who is, you know, in a fishing sense, you know, like a big fish that the organization is really to catch,

7:33they might receive more in-person visits or more in-person attention while they're being groomed and brought into the organization than a lower level person. And those are things, again, I think to keep in mind, because again, the idea of organizational efficiency and using the money that the organization has been entrusted with wisely is one of the things that can be done. And I think the balance, you know, between donor acquisition and donor retention is an important thing to keep in mind. We'll be back in a few minutes after this break. We're going to segment two. I'm your host Robert B. Moran. You're listening to the Fund Raising and Fund Raising Podcast on WBCA 102.9 Boston Community Radio Station.

8:41What do all these and more have in common? They're all sites where you can stream and download the WBCA Radio Show Podcasts. WBCA 102.9 FM Boston is Boston's Community Radio Station. If you're a nonprofit organization, you can become a member of BNN Media and WBCA. Becoming a member allows you to submit radio and TV shows, as well as creating PSAs to be aired on WBCA and BNN. Becoming a member can help your organization network and provide resources to create content. If your nonprofit organization is interested in becoming a member, you can go to bnnmedia.org or email membership at bnnmedia.org.

9:55Welcome back to the Fund Raising and Fund Raising Podcast. I'm your host Robert B. Moran. You're listening on WBCA 102.9 FM Boston Community Radio Station. Right before the break, we went into the topic of donor retention versus donor acquisition. In this segment, we're going to be talking about something else. We're going to be talking about campaigns that exceed goals. Isn't that exciting to think about? A campaign that exceeds the goals. One of the things that I think that can happen in the organization is that sometimes we can set goals that are maybe too low, that maybe it would be appropriate to set a higher goal. But in the absence of that, we set a goal at a certain level and then what do we do?

10:59And I think one of the things that's exciting is the idea of having a campaign where you're trying to, in this case, fundraise and you're trying to raise a certain amount, but it's the base amount and the idea that we want to exceed the goal. Because I think that there's very much an uplift or an encouragement in the organization when the goal is reached and then it's exceeded. I know in my experience, for example, back in the day, watching fundraising telephones. So there were some telephones that would come out certain holidays that would always have a telephone and you would see something like a thermometer almost. And there was a thermometer marked with different dollar amounts. And as the host and as the team received the calls and the expert formed, it was exciting to watch the amount go up and up and up. And they would often have their goal for that telephone and seeing that goal and seeing them get closer is certainly exciting. But then oftentimes what will happen is there's

12:00like an uplift, right? There's an effect on the people that are watching the telephone as it gets closer, people get excited and they start to anticipate, oh, we're going to reach the goal, we're going to reach the goal. And I think that one of the things that will happen is that sometimes people will wait and they want to be part of the last minute group that puts the financial goal over the top. And when they put it over the top, then it's something that can really be meaningful to the people that are giving. But what happens is because many people are released more than a few people are waiting to be a part of that last final push that when they all start to get off the couch and go to the phone and call in and make their donation, is that can actually go up and over. And again, that idea of going up and over, there's a real sense of relief. I mean, I would feel that I would feel a sense of relief. Like, oh my gosh, you're trying to raise, you know, picking number $100,000 by the end of the long weekend. And oh, they've been working in slowly building, slowly building and watching and feeling the anticipation building and a lot of

13:05wondering, is this going to work or not? Are they going to reach the goal or not? But then again, as it gets closer and closer, there's more a sense of anticipation, expectation that they're going to do it, they're going to do it, they're going to reach it. But until they reach it, there's still that doubt because there's this idea, maybe it's not going to work. But then when the campaign reaches the goal, it oftentimes exceeds it. And again, this idea that exceeding the goal is oftentimes possible. And one of the things that'll happen many times, if you've heard of this, I would love to hear about it. But one of the things that'll happen is that sometimes people will want to multiply their gift. So for example, rather than giving, you know, round number $10,000, we'll say, hey, this is going to be a matching gift and anybody that gives in the next time frame, if you give a dollar, we're going to match it and give a dollar as well. So the 10,000, if it's matched, turns into 20,000 because it becomes an incentive for the other people that if they give now during this limited window, that it'll be doubled. And it's a great way to get some enthusiasm and excitement into the

14:09into the fundraising dynamic that's going on there with the people that are watching and the people that are listening. I think the other thing too is the idea of exceeding the goals. I think one of the things that's important to do is to not, for the organization to not sell itself short. Right. So for example, if they've been operating and they realize, well, if we forecast our budget out that we're going to need, you know, $80,000 for the next quarter, then sometimes they'll take a look and say, well, 80,000, that's what we need. Right? Not even thinking about, well, if we had 100 or 120 things would actually ease up a little bit and there would be less pressure, the less stress, less concern about, are we going to be able to keep operating and being willing to have a goal that is going to be big enough, you know, to be fully funded, right? To fully fund the mission. And I think that's something that can really aid the organization because if they set those lofty goals and they allow their imagination to be unbridled and allow themselves to even conceive

15:09of having ample funds, it can be a way to exceed the goal that they had maybe in mind at first. So just some, my thoughts about campaigns that exceed goals, we're going to come back with our third segment after this. One of the things we're going to be talking about when we come back is this idea of humor and gratitude and how they're related. You're listening to the Fundraising and Fundraising podcast here on WBCA 102.9 FM Boston's Community Radio Station. I'm your host, Robert B. Moran. Catch you on the other side of the break. If you're a nonprofit organization, you can become a member of BNN Media and WBCA.

16:16Becoming a member allows you to submit radio and TV shows, as well as creating PSAs to be aired on WBCA and BNN. Becoming a member can help your organization network and provide resources to create content. If your nonprofit organization is interested in becoming a member, you can go to bnnmedia.org or email membership at bnnmedia.org. For the latest updates on community media and events, follow us at www.facebook.com-slash-wbca-radio. Did you know that nonprofit organizations can submit PSAs or PSAs scripts to be aired on our station? You can submit a PSA that publicizes an event or service or requests volunteers for an event.

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18:39Welcome back to the Fundraising and Fundraising podcast on WBCA 102.9. Boston's community radio station. I'm your host Robert B. Moran coming back for segment 3. In segment 3, we're going to be talking about humor and gratitude in the relationship between them. So this is the Fundraising and Fundraising podcast. So humor is a central part of what we're doing and the message that we want to get out to the community. And one of the things is that humor can help us to laugh, right? It can help us to see things in a different light, maybe a light-hearted way. And I think one of the things that can really build into that is having a real, as they say, attitude of gratitude. And if we dig into that, what does that mean to have an attitude and gratitude? Well, definition-wise, gratitude means that we're grateful for something that we have received. So part of gratitude is looking outside of ourselves and asking, where do this good thing come from? In the case of an nonprofit, it could be donations that are given, right?

19:44Where do this money come from? Oh, somebody gave it to us. Where did these, you know, t-shirts come from? Oh, somebody donated them to the organization. Where did these cars come from that we are now able to either sell or refurbish or provide to the people that were serving? Oh, they were donated. And being aware of the fact that the good things in our life come from elsewhere is a real foundational thing in my opinion about how gratitude can be created and also how it can be cultivated. And one of the things that can happen is, as a person isn't feeling gratitude, they may have this idea that they're doing it all on their own, right? It's all as a result of their efforts, of their widths, of their skills. And that can be something that can make a person start to feel less grateful. And the other side of gratitude, in some cases, is entitlement. And if a person is feeling entitled, you know, the old idea of is the glass half fullers and half empty. I think the entitled person will tend to see that the glass is being half empty, that they were entitled to the

20:47full glass, but they only got half and they are not happy about the only getting half. Whereas in the other side, if we started from the glass being empty and the person now has half a glass, they can start to feel grateful that they had nothing and now they have half. And that's better than nothing. And one of the things, the idea that humor can be involved with this is the idea of seeing the connection, right? And seeing the fun and the humor in the fact that, oh, I didn't have this. I had no idea where I was going to come from. And now I have it. And just to laugh and to enjoy it with delight. And one of the things I know that when a person is talking to me, and either, I make a really good point to them, or they make a good point to me, because it registers and it resonates and it's so unexpected, but it's so on target, it just causes me to laugh or to chuckle. And I think that something else is that the idea of having essentially a grateful attitude or a grateful heart is something that can help a person to be more easily, easily see the humor or the joy

21:49in situations. And if we think about the important mission of nonprofits, being able to see the joy in situations and being grateful for what we do have, as supposed to being disappointed with what we don't have, is a real way to help the organization to function better. I think that sense of gratitude and humor can really lubricate an organization, can really help it to seem like it's more than it is and it can feel like it's more than it is. Oftentimes, when I was raising my children, and we had maybe a little, because we spread it around, because we had so many kids. Part of it was seeing the joy in what we did have and being able to share that and to enjoy not only what we had, but also enjoy the people that we're sharing it with. And I think that ability to share what we have with others is a great way to multiply the gratitude as well. There's an old saying that I like that a burden shared is half as heavy, and that a joy shared is doubled. So it's an easy way to double things. If we double the things we're enjoying, if we share, hey, good news with people,

22:53good things coming into our life, good achievements, good accomplishments, it can really be a way to help multiply that. And as we see the things multiplied rather than divided, I think they can be a real increase in the amount of gratitude that we feel as well. So to recap the three segments that we were listening to today, if you missed them, you can go back and listen on demand. The first segment was about donor retention versus donor acquisition, and the pluses and minuses focusing on each group of people. And then we talked about campaigns that exceed goals. How campaigns can limit themselves by having to small of a goal, but also the anticipation that can build with a big goal, and that that final push can oftentimes cause an organization to exceed what they had as their goal. And lastly in this final segment, we talked about humor and gratitude. And the connection between the two, that gratitude and attitude and the heart of gratitude is something that can really make a place enjoyable to be, and having a grateful heart can help us to see the humor in the things that we're going through

23:54and the things that we're hoping to accomplish. So I'm Robert B. Moran. I'm your host of the Fundraising and Fundraising Podcast. Grateful that you were here listening to us on one on 2.9 FM Boston's Community Radio Station. Thanks for tuning in.