Try as we might to provide excellent service to all constituents, problems arise. When they do, the test of an organization’s mettle lies in how it responds – which often depends greatly upon who is the first to respond.

For many nonprofits, Annual Giving is the first stop in the customer service chain for donors with a question, comment or complaint. How do you view your time spent handling various problems, inquiries, revisions, etc.? Do you hope for as few as possible and endeavor to make it go away as quickly as you can? Or, do you take the time to listen to the concerns of the constituent and resolve their issues, rather than follow arbitrary rules that you recite back to them?

It’s essential that the staff assigned to customer service roles view these encounters as a chance to connect, rather than a burden that they must endure. It will make all the difference in how the constituent views your organization.

All nonprofits certainly need to be open to constituents about how their organization is operating, where the funds are being disbursed, and answer questions to the donors’ satisfaction. However, most people are concerned with what matters to them and don’t want to be bored with details that merely come across as irrelevant excuses. There is definitely such a thing as providing too much information.

Several examples of alienating constituents with data, policies and information:

• Prescott* had a donor whose name was misspelled in the (printed and mailed) annual report. Instead of ending with “I’m sorry” when speaking to this regular contributor or perhaps asking, “What can I do?” he elaborated on how they hired a new printer this year and continued by telling the donor of the missed printing deadlines, various proofings, delayed mailings, etc., in an effort to demonstrate their best efforts (and lay the blame elsewhere). None of this mattered to the donor and, frankly, in addition to being bored, she felt the organization appeared less professional for attempting to pass the buck.

• Randi* had a loyal donor who had signed on to have monthly charges made on her credit card, but there was a problem with both the amounts and the scheduling not being done on the designated day of the month. Randy’s nonprofit’s software didn’t interface very well with the vendor and fixing the mistake meant calling the donor and getting her credit card information all over again, rather than telling the vendor to make an adjustment. Attempting to clarify the situation only seemed to confuse the donor, who didn’t care about software issues. The donor began to wonder if her money was going to an organization that knew how to best spend it.

• Sebastian* dealt with a call from an unsatisfied donor by telling him that the problem was due to staffing difficulties that led to a temporary employee causing the problem in the first place, but that he would fix it. The donor felt that he was unprofessional to “gossip” about others in such a negative way, and also wondered how stable the organization must be, if the staff is turning over so rapidly or has so many temporary people who don’t understand their protocols.

• Tom* was refunding a donor who was mistakenly charged twice when contributing online. Rather than focusing on expressing gratitude for the gift, Tom spent most of his time explaining how the problem occurred. Apparently, their website often double charges if the [submit] button isn’t clicked just right. His repeated disparaging remarks of the website’s abilities ultimately led to combat the organization’s effort to get more online giving.

• Vanessa* fielded calls from several perturbed people after a mailing went out that mistakenly addressed “Mr. Smith” as still being addressed to his ex-spouse . . . at both of their current addresses. As Prescott did, Vanessa felt the need to explain and blame the mail vendor with each constituent, elaborating on the programming difficulties in the mail merge, etc. None of this detail mattered to those who called in. They simply wanted an assurance that it was fixed – and an apology.

Certainly, there are examples of constituents contacting an organization to say something positive as well, whether significant, or briefly in passing.

Do you make a point to acknowledge a note or comment included with a contribution that mentions a tribute gift, or a statement of why your organization is meaningful to the donor? Adding a personal response in the acknowledgement letter (or phone call) that shows you are listening to the donor’s needs and concerns will go a long way toward building an ongoing relationship.

Taking the time to address a constituent’s concern or problem can certainly make a favorable impression, but why wait until then? Making an extra effort to show supporters how valuable they are while things are going smoothly works wonders, too.

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong

Similar Posts:

Speak To Your Audience

How Do You Address Your Donors?

Doris* trained her new committee members to get comfortable speaking to donors by starting them talking on the phone. She wanted them to have repeat exposure for the practice, so she designed a thank-a-thon, and it was very successful!

After Doris’ committee spent time – together – that week, chatting with donors to express their gratitude for gifts already given, it was a much smaller step later that year to have them back when it was time to call other supporters and ask them to give or renew to the organization. By then, the committee members had more knowledge of the organization and its mission, so that they could converse, rather than sound scripted or fearful.

Eventually, the most talented of the volunteers moved up to join the board and accompanied her on donor visits. However, this was not only an excellent way to start them in training, but also to reach out and touch more donors than she possibly could herself – both by thanking them and later by soliciting them!

Ethan* also ended up holding an atypical phonathon . . . by accident. While he was discussing what event he and his committee could put on next season to attract donors, learn about his organization’s mission, and ultimately give to the cause, nobody could reach consensus on the type of event that would be best.

After several more suggestions, it became apparent that most people agreed on two things:

●      The committee members were very supportive of the mission and would encourage their friends and associates to attend, contribute, etc.
●      These were extremely busy, professional people, who had full calendars, and a high attendance at any one function seemed unlikely.

Some suggested conducting a non-event, which would pay respect to people’s lower budgets in a tight economy, but it was decided that losing the personal touch would hurt the bottom line.

During the week of the phonathon, Ethan not only invested in dinner and prizes for the committee members, but he backed up these efforts with an email appeal and a direct mail piece.

Similar to software used during a marathon by individual runners, each volunteer was given temporary accounts, so that they could either send “Thank You” or “Sorry I Missed You” emails to their contacts, and it integrated with the organization software – yet it bore the name of the recipient’s friend, [johnsmith@company.org]. Because the software was accessible and user-friendly, a great many (new) names and contact information were entered into the database during this event.

Direct mail follow up also brought in a good amount of donations after the event. Either after voicemail was reached, or the constituent replied, “Send me something in the mail,” a form was filled out (and data entered into the system) and mailed with a return envelope.

Ethan says it worked out so well, the committee has decided to repeat their peer-to-peer call-a-thon for the following year.

There are also non profits that have established annual (or ongoing) phonathon events, either with paid or volunteer workers. They call current and lapsed donors, as well as non donors, and consider phonathon simply just another part of their Annual Giving program.

Fiona* takes phonathon very seriously, and has made several changes to her event that have paid off well over the years.

“For one thing,” she says, “I noticed that getting the donor to commit on the phone with a credit card right now was crucial, rather than sending them information in the mail, and hoping they’d come through. Even if they intend to, people forget. Also, our average credit card gift on the phone is higher than the gifts by mail.”

Fiona was already giving incentives to the phonathon workers for gifts acquired at $X amount or above, but she changed the incentive plan to credit card gifts only, and saw a drastic difference – within a year, the percentage of gifts on credit card had doubled, as had overall income!

Some additional factors most likely helped, she believes. For example, Fiona paid close attention to the script, encouraging callers to ask, “WHICH credit card would you like to put this on?” instead of “Would you like to put this on your credit card?”

By the same token, when asking people to contribute, Fiona would have callers mention two suggested amounts, based on giving history, followed by “HOW MUCH would you be able to contribute?” rather than “Would you be able to contribute?”

Fiona also took care to have callers track and/or verify all contact information and follow up with a direct mail piece, either thanking people or allowing them to pay by mail. She took it a step further than simply sending a reply envelope, however, and included a trackable hyperlink, encouraging people to donate online. She had also researched and learned that her online gifts were larger than those by mail.

While the nature of phonathon has changed, and no two events are exactly the same, this event still has a place in many non profit organizations. It’s simply important to adapt it to your needs and schedule, rather than dismiss it with entirely negative connotations.

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong

“We really, really, really, REALLY need you to donate THIS year, because . . .”    

•    Our goal is –    
•    Our budget shortfall is –    
•    Our clients’ service needs have increased by –    
•    My raise/performance review/job depends on it    

(Ok, maybe you wouldn’t put that last item in your appeal, but if you craft it with that type of desperation on your mind, it can come across, nonetheless.)

It’s true that most organizations make the largest amount of their income during the last six to ten weeks of the year, so there is an urgent need to make these appeals particularly compelling – and successful.

Just as desperation doesn’t help the job candidate succeed during an interview, neither will it help the non profit woo a potential donor.  As with any sales pitch, we must always keep in mind:  How will the donor benefit by saying yes?  What do we have of interest that is an asset?

Keep in mind that also, like the job candidate, your organization is competing with many, many others for those year-end dollars.  It’s all the more crucial that you stand out from the crowd with a persuasive campaign.

What, then, can you do to accomplish all of this?  There are no guarantees, certainly, but several things can help tilt the odds in your favor – and these tactics apply throughout the year, not just in the final two months:

Identify Your Advocates/Evangelists

Who are the strongest supporters of your organization’s work and its mission?  Ideally, these people already sit on your board and committees, but perhaps they have recently sent in a note or email with a contribution, feedback to a newsletter article, or they post more frequently than others on your wall?

Determine those who stand out and ask them to tell their stories.  Promoting testimony of people who have been inspired, served, helped, etc. by your organization is one of the most meaningful ways of asking others to contribute in your appeals.  This can mean direct mail, photos, email, video and social media . . . or a combination of several.

Don’t Apologize For Soliciting

•    “I HATE to ask, but . . .”    
•    “You probably wouldn’t want to, but . . .”    

Do your appeals seem like this?  Is your ask located some place at the bottom – hiding – unlikely even to be noticed?

If you really are accomplishing the fabulous things that your evangelists are bragging about – and are proud to be a part of – then what you are offering is a chance for your supporters to help make MORE of that happen!  Why would you apologize for that?

Your appeal should have a tone of excitement, where you want to share the news and invite them to be a part of the magic!

Make Donating Easy

Once they’ve decided to give, make certain that it’s not a laborious process  to do so.  If the donor gives by mail, does the reply card fit in the envelope?  Does it list various ways to donate (online, credit card, check)?  Is the direct mail package encouraging online giving, to boost the average gift?

If the donor decides to give online, how convenient is the process?  How many clicks does the procedure take?  Does the donor feel that the online donation was philanthropic, or did it resemble a “shopping cart” transaction?

It’s important, of course, to make all donors feel welcome and eased through the donation process, but this is particularly true for new donors, who may never return if they believe that it is too cumbersome.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

EVERY gift, regardless of size, needs to be acknowledged in a timely manner.  If you don’t have an acknowledgment policy, create one.

Various organizations may have gifts of $A and lower receiving an email thank you, while gifts in the $B – $C range get a formal letter, and $D – $E are personally called, then $F and above have scheduled visits, and so on.  Whatever is appropriate for your organization may be different from another, but the policy is essential, so that all donors feel appreciated.

Be certain that your acknowledgment language includes not just how appreciative you are for the gift, but tangible examples of what their gift will help accomplish, or projects that your organization is working on currently, so your donors feel that they are an important part of your mission.

Applying these strategies isn’t foolproof, of course, but they are a means of taking you closer to the donor’s perspective and away from, “Well, what shall we try this year to make goal?”

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong

Most of us realize that acquisition – while necessary – is a painstaking process that takes quite a lot of time to pay off.  And this is when it’s done well.  The problem is, a lot of it isn’t done very well at all.  Many new donors, visitors, attendees, customers, volunteers, etc., are made to feel that they are definitely not part of the inner circle.  Perhaps, if they are willing to jump through enough hoops – or learn the secret handshake – they can someday join, but why bother?  They’ll just go someplace else more inviting.  That’s exactly what they end up doing, leaving the staff wondering why the response rate is so low.  Often, staff ends up doing more of the same, hoping to get a higher response rate.

Several examples of organizations missing the mark and erecting these roadblocks on our information superhighway:
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No Through Street

When I teach courses about online fund raising, I show examples of what not to do, including sites that:

•     Take up to 13 clicks to complete the sample transactions I demonstrate
•     Insist on my creating a login and password before I can donate (This includes my receiving several error messages: “No, someone else already has that user name,” “No, your user name/password is too short,” “Sorry, your user name and password can’t be the same,” etc.)
•      Ask if I am a new or current donor (Why doesn’t the organization know this?)
•     Require my entering a code number from a mailing, or answering “How did you hear about us?” questions  (It’s the organization’s job to track the gift, not the donor’s)
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Winding Road

I signed up for a listserve with a well known professional organization that was so mismanaged, over half of the messages sent were dozens of auto-responses to an initial message, stating “I’m out of the office until…”  Other members became incensed and confused as to how to get off of the list, since that policy was unclear, so a barrage of emails sent to the entire group followed that ranged from “Stop doing this!” to “Won’t somebody please fix these?” to “Unsubscribe me – NOW!”

A couple of more technical-minded members would try to occasionally post instructions on how to modify one’s settings so that the “Out of Office” emails would not show, or how to unsubscribe, etc.  They were lengthy and more difficult for the less tech-savvy inclined, and the ranting continued.

What started as a fairly large membership in a listserve that showed promised turned out to be a major source of frustration and an abysmal failure all around.  The few messages that did have worthwhile content weren’t read, due to the massive amounts of clutter in between.
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Wrong Way

I was reviewing various email subscriptions and found an interesting story.  The enewsletter lists the first couple sentences of the story, along with a link to read the rest.  Upon clicking the link, I was taken to a site that informed me, “We can not automatically determine your access. Please enter your email address and you will be sent an activation link for your subscription.”  (This is a free subscription.)

At first, I just went to the site and attempted to search for the story based on key words, but didn’t find it immediately, so I returned to the site and entered my email.  Instead of having the link/site opened for me as I expected, yet another step was added for me:

A link has been e-mailed to you.
It is important that you do not share your access link with anyone. Please file the e-mail message in a secure place.
Please note that if you use a web-based e-mail service such as Hotmail or Yahoo Mail, the e-mail may end up in your “Junk E-Mail” or “Bulk” mail folder, depending on your service and mail account settings. If you do not receive your reminder, please contact us.

I didn’t receive my state secret in my email box within the next few minutes, so I returned to the website and continued searching on key words.  This time I found the story – the title in my email was different than the title on their site!  It was clearly the same story upon further examination, however.  If I hadn’t want to read this particular author, I wouldn’t have bothered.  I see no point in returning in the future.  I subscribe to many, many other emails, and the author has her own blog I can visit.
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Road Narrows

My teenage daughter and her friends enjoy shopping for clothes together and photographing one another in various outfits in the dressing rooms.  I learned from them that in certain stores, they have to be diligent or even sneaky about this, as some staff frown upon this practice.  Of course, the girls still manage to take their pictures and post them on Facebook just the same – it simply takes a bit longer and some vigilance on their part at those locations.

Compare the policy of stores who assign staff the roles of dressing room police to Diesel, who has decided to acknowledge and embrace an existing practice, combine it with social media, and use it to its full advantage for further marketing their brand to their target market!  Which is more likely to acquire new customers?
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Detour Ahead, Please?

The web has provided us with many more tools to reach our constituents, but these examples demonstrate that simply putting our message(s) on the web is insufficient.  Customer service still must be combined effectively and efficiently with whatever medium we choose, so that we are best serving our clients’ needs – particularly the ones we have yet to meet.

What roadblocks – as a client, donor, volunteer – have you encountered that are most memorable to you?

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong

An important aspect in volunteer management – board, committee or basic volunteer – is getting other evangelists to act on your behalf . . . and this should include fund raising.  The greater one’s commitment to the cause, the greater their devotion should be not only to donate, but also to solicit.

It’s a common story I hear all too often:

•     My board/committee members expect me to do all the fund raising for the campaign/event
•     The Finance Committee Chair asks me what should go into her/his report each month
•     At every meeting, when the subject of our goal comes up, all eyes turn to me – nobody else has anything to say or contribute – even when asked.
•     It’s taken years just to get us close to 100% giving . . . I don’t see how I could move it up another notch to 100% soliciting . . .

Of course, ideally, this begins with board, committee and volunteer recruitment, but most of us inherit these and make the best with what we have.  There are a variety of options that can improve even the most difficult situations:

•     Job Descriptions  –  If your officers, board members, committee chairs and committee members don’t all have job descriptions, sit down NOW and write them!  These will no doubt be subject to editing and approval by several sets of eyes, but not only will the various individuals be accountable for something, you may find that they are quite relieved to have them outlined.  It will also help during future recruiting, having a one-sheet available, when the prospect asks, “What do I need to do?”  Fund raising will obviously be part of this description, along with donating at a level that is appropriate to their circumstances.  (Many grant applications specifically ask “What is the percentage of your board that donates?”)

•     Term Limits – Term limits is a good idea, so that people’s various talents can be rotated.  While this is a good tactic for moving dead weight off of a board or committee, that’s not its only purpose.  Even if all of your people are very talented, you constantly need to cultivate and groom new talent.  A fresh perspective is vital to keeping your organization or event innovative.

•     Orientation – ALL board/committee members should attend your orientation – new and old – so that they can meet one another and become acquainted.  While the new members are learning more about the history and mission of your organization or event in greater detail, everyone can bond over deciding upon your future goals.

•     Fund Raising Training – Specific training session(s) for soliciting should be scheduled separately from the orientation, for several reasons.  First of all, some people won’t feel the need, while others view asking people for money as the most despicable act that can be perpetrated.  Mostly what is behind this attitude is a combination of lack of skill and fear of solicitors themselves.  Give them greater skills, and the overall fear will diminish.  As people realize that there are many ways to ask for support – and that they are promoting something that they believe in – the last fear to be conquered isn’t really soliciting . . . it’s typically public speaking, which can be helped with practice, such as role playing.

•     Provide a Tangible Goal – Just as with donors, offer a reason or incentive to your volunteers for why they should do this.  If you’re telling a donor that “$100 will feed a child for ___ days” or “$250 will provide ___ hours of tutoring,” then translate this to your volunteers the same way:  “Reaching our goal of $___ raised per person, for a total of $___ will allow us to build the new _____ Burn Unit, where we can treat 1,200 patients a day.”

Keep in mind that if you don’t demand more from your current volunteers, not only are you preventing yourself from moving forward with the current individuals who refuse to act, but you are also warding off the potentially talented evangelists who support you but refuse to sit in do-nothing meetings.

Previously, I worked for an organization that cooperated with a soup kitchen, but they wouldn’t let me bring my pre-teen daughter, because there had been a problem in the past with a homeless child being identified by a schoolmate volunteer.  It embarrassed the child to be seen in the soup kitchen by a peer.  I understood, and although I wanted my daughter to see the end-users firsthand, instead we worked in one of the food pantries that prepared and delivered the food.

When we arrived, we learned that the volunteer who was bringing the main ingredient – the meat – was running late.  He ended up being over an hour late, while a dozen people waited, and in the meantime, it was discovered that we didn’t have enough of the tomato sauce base that would be required for the recipe as well.  I volunteered to go get it, and bought more than I was told, just in case.

We finally got started at our various stations, cooking, cutting, measuring, stirring, and so forth.  As some of us finished our first stations and moved to do other jobs or take a small break, I overheard one person tell a very off-color joke to another . . . in front of my 12 year-old, and was relieved when I saw the confused look on her face.  She didn’t understand the profanity just uttered in front of her.

Later, during clean up, one gentleman in charge was instructing people to cut the bottoms off of the very large (now empty) cans of sauce I’d purchased, along with all the other cans, to prepare them for recycling.  This puzzled me – and others – and I asked him why this was necessary.  He replied (totally seriously), “That’s how we did it in World War II.”  Uh huh.

Needless to say, that was my first – and last – time volunteering at that organization.  I was, however, a Girl Scout cookie manager for seven years.  There’s a saying: If you want something done, ask a busy person.  But be prepared to give them specific instructions and make the most of their time, or you won’t see them again.

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Keep the base of the pyramid strong