What charities can learn from my chiropractor
Since the spring, I’ve been seeing a chiropractor, prompted by neck pain and headaches. The improvement in just a few months has been amazing, but that’s not really what this newsletter is about.
If you’re a reader who knows me personally, you’ll probably know I run a fair bit. Back in October, I ran a marathon. Naturally, the chiropractor took an interest in my preparation for the marathon and it was something we talked about a lot. And yet, it was such a pleasant surprise to receive a card, in the post, congratulating me on the run.
The power of nice surprises
My chiropractor is the excellent Ellie Pennycook at Evolve in Winchester. Ellie had said ‘well done’ in person, at my first appointment after the marathon, so she didn’t need to send me a card.
Plus, ‘well done on your marathon’ cards aren’t a thing, so it was not something I expected.
That’s what made it such a pleasant surprise. It was both unnecessary and unexpected.
It was also completely one-sided, in that it was all about me! There was no ‘we’ in the card, with Ellie seeking some of the credit for her work in getting me to the start-line in good shape. And there was no ask, such as requesting that I leave a testimonial or recommend her services to friends and family.
It was a purely nice thing to do. A card to say ‘well done’ for something that means a lot to me.
Warm and fuzzy
This nice thing made me feel good. I felt good about my run, and I felt good about Ellie and the Evolve team for caring enough to send me a card about it.
The result of this boost of positive feelings is that even though the card contained no “call to action”, I’m now so much more inclined to a) keep paying for their services, and b) recommend them to friends and family.
As someone who works in the charity sector, it struck me that charities could take a similar approach with their donors.
Non-transactional connections
Fundraisers and supporter services teams already send loads of cards, letters and emails, to say nothing of appeals. That’s not unusual.
But what is unusual, is sending cards to supporters for something that has nothing to do with the charity - ‘Well done on your marathon!’ - or doesn’t ask for anything.
Understandably, most of our correspondence with donors is transactional in nature. It’s either a request for support, thanking them for their support, or an update on what their support made possible.
It’s rare for charities to make contact with donors and not make any reference to the work of the charity or the support of the donor.
Perhaps, that’s because we shouldn’t. There’s a strong argument to say that donors want us to be focussed on our charitable activities - the work they support - not trying to be their friend.
My counter-argument is that building non-transactional connections with donors could increase the amount of money raised and therefore help charities to do more charitable work.
Not just your Top 10%
Many fundraisers are already doing this, and I’m not saying anything new. If you spend enough time talking to your supporters you will get to know them and have conversations that aren’t solely about the charity.
That’s true of corporate fundraisers, community fundraisers, major giving fundraisers, and any fundraiser that spends time talking to people. My suspicion, however, is that the non-transactional conversations tend to happen most with the people that we know the best. And the people we know the best are probably the ones who give the most.
What I would like to know is, what would be the effect of having non-transactional, or unexpected conversations with supporters who are further down the Total Donations column?
I don’t have the answer, because I’m not in a position to test it (as a trusts fundraising specialist, opportunities for developing personal connections with donors are limited).
But I suspect the result would be a warm fuzzy boost leading to greater emotional connection between the donor and the charity.
It might not yield significantly greater donation amounts, as many people will already give as much as they feel able to. However, a greater emotional connection seems (to me) likely to:
Help convert one-offs to regular donors.
Improve appeal open rates.
Encourage legacies.
Increase event sign-ups.
Reduce attrition.
Testing, testing
To stress, I don’t know that this would work, and I’m not currently in a position to test the theory. But, if I was, I’d consider the following:
A/B/C testing with your Christmas cards
This is probably too late for this year, but if you’re thinking of sending Christmas cards to your donors, test different messages and see which proves most effective in the long term:
A: Merry Christmas; thank you for your support in 2023; here’s the difference you could make in 2024.
B: Merry Christmas, thank you for your support in 2023.
C: Merry Christmas.
It would be interesting to see if there’s a difference in how donors respond.
Remember the personal touch
People buy from people, so any opportunity to humanise our charities should be taken. Having normal human conversations with donors can help achieve this: Congratulations on your wedding; good luck in your new job; happy birthday.
It’s possible that GDPR rules out the storing of non-essential personal information, such as the name of a donor’s dog or where they went on holiday (you’ll have to check with your Data Controller on this). But this is the kind of information that can help build a personal connection between the fundraiser and the donor. If possible, remember it and use it.
Don’t just treat your Top 10%
Many charities are already in the habit of phoning up donors to say ‘Thank you’ and building those personal connections. Understandably, with limited resources, the donors who already give the most are going to get most of your attention.
This may be a missed opportunity as there could be donors in the remaining 90% who have the potential to become one of your top supporters - or at the very least sign up for your next event.
If doing a session of telephone calls to donors, include some from all across the database. Pick them at random and get in touch to say Hi. If you surprise them, they might just surprise you.
There is nothing new under the sun
If you’re reading this and thinking a) This is all obvious, we’ve been doing it for years, or b) We’ve tried this and it didn’t work, please please please let me know.
I’d be fascinated to see the results of your real-life testing. Yes, it would be gratifying to learn that my hunch is sound, but I think I’d actually be more interested to discover that it doesn’t work.
Please, get in touch and let me know your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you.