First off, if you haven’t read the first part of this post yet, I would go there. This shit will make a LOT more sense if you do.
I am adapting some of the tools from a book that I’m reading called “Make your Contacts Count” by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon.
For your reference, here’s the pretty picture I made about it.
So now, we’re talking about how to make an associate, after just being an acquaintance.
Associate
What’s the next step between acquaintance and associate?
Survey!
Send them an email and ask them to take an online survey about what they care about, what problems they have, etc.
Say thank you!
If they complete it, thank them again through email.
Send them your e-newsletter
Send them an e-newsletter telling them about all of the exciting things your nonprofit is doing, link to blog posts if you have them, or invite them to connect with you on twitter, if you have a twitter account.
Invite them to something.
Send them an invitation to a friendraiser you’re doing in a couple of weeks.
Actor
Conference call with program people
Ask them to join you on a conference call to talk with people doing the work at your nonprofit, maybe overseas, or maybe people in this country. Help them start to feel personally connected with your mission through giving them a chance to learn more about the people doing the work that they don’t have time to do.
Ask them to give of their time, or money
Ask them if they’d like to become more involved with your organization through volunteering, or donating.
SAY THANK YOU AGAIN!
If they donate, thank them promptly. Give them a shout out on your website, on twitter, on linkedin, and on your blog.
Advocate
Would they like you to speak at their workplace?
Call them up, ask if their workplace would be interested in having a speaker come and talk about what you do.
Follow up and say thank you
If yes, follow up right away and ask who you should speak with, and ask them if they can advocate for you, and also advocate with their work friends to donate a portion of each paycheck to your nonprofit automatically. (This is a wonderful way to get monthly and recurring donations that are unrestricted and will keep your nonprofit running for a long long time.)
Ally
Ask them if they would like to serve on your board
Then ask them if they would like to sit on your board, or ask a friend from their work to do so.
Ask for a major gift
Finally, ask them if they would like to become major donors with your nonprofit.
Thank them! give them things!
If they say yes, give them even more special things, perhaps a member-only night at your museum, perhaps a special cruise down the river, perhaps a certificate for their wall, perhaps some small token of your appreciation.
Planned Gifts
After a long while, continuing your thank yous, and followups, you may feel comfortable enough to ask for “The Most Thoughtful Gift” aka “The Bequest.” But that’s another post. About planned giving.
So you can see the amount of THANK YOUS and FOLLOWUPS in here is kind of nuts. But this is what it takes to build a relationship with someone, you have to thank them and make them see that they are important to you. That you really do care about their day, and what is going on with them, and why they give to you. Saying thank you is a show of respect. if you don’t respect someone, no way are you going to thank them. So imagine the message you’re sending when you don’t thank someone. YIKES.
Donors crave recognition and attention, most of all, AMIRITE?
Isn’t this an INSANE amount of work? But imagine if you could connect with each person at a speaking engagement this way. How can you make this happen?
Remember, it takes 5-7 touches to make people move through these stages into allies for your nonprofit. I hope, now that you’ve seen all of these touches, you realize how important it is to have a fundraising team at your nonprofit. This means volunteers if you’re a one-person shop.
I have just given you Stewardship 101. You’re welcome!
So, how can you apply this?
Where is a place you can speak this week?
Where is a place you can go to get corporate donations?
Have you got some volunteers you could reach out to and get to know a bit better?