What can you do when you’re just starting out, without a large donor base and no funding for acquisition?
That was the situation I found myself in my first nonprofit fundraising job, working for an agency with a dying donor base. The organization had spent (a lot) on acquisition for the preceding five years, with little to show for it (if you don’t know what you’re doing, your local mail house can easily take advantage of you) and they weren’t willing to spend one cent more.
I worked on a segmented mailing to our house file. And then the returns began pouring in. That’s when I put together what I call my ‘pass it on’ packet. The pack basically consisted of a hastily assembled welcome kit with 3-5 additional appeals enclosed, along with a gently phrased request to ‘pass it on’ to like-minded friends, family and neighbors.
The ‘pass it on’ pack resulted in quite a few new donors. And many of our current donors called to request more packs.
So, a few weeks ago, when I needed a plumber (quickly) for a garbage disposal leak, I turned to my community Facebook group and got a number of recommendations. The plumber arrived the next morning and made the necessary repairs.
Look what landed in my mailbox today. A hand-addressed envelope, containing a thank you card, along with two business cards and a request to ‘refer us to someone who may need our services.’ The next time someone says “I need a plumber,” I know who I’ll recommend.
Just as it pays to leverage your existing customer base, it pays to leverage your existing donors.
Check out Knock Knock – the new face of donor recruitment. And think about how you can be empowering your existing donors.
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I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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