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Welcome to Fall (Catch-Up Edition), Ep #28

Ben Johnson
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Episode 28

With Benjamin Johnson & Matt Hussey

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As leaves begin to change and the weather begins to cool, Matt and Ben want to help listeners get ready for the Fall fundraising season. On this episode, the guys take some time to catch up while also discussing the best language to frame fundraising appeals, why donors give, and why they don’t. Start the season off right with another great episode of Frontier FM!

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

  • Catch-up time: sports, politics, and everything in between [0:18]

  • Using surveys to re-engage a disconnected audience [12:27]

  • Modifying appeals to match current events [14:45]

  • Framing appeals to clearly communicate the message [17:15]

  • Why donors give (and why they don’t) [21:22]

  • Creating a frictionless donation form [23:33]

  • Should accreditations be a permanent fixture in your footer? [27:13]


Make donors feel understood

Donors consistently give to organizations that make them feel understood. They want to know that their money is going to a place that “gets” them. The best way to get that message across is to adopt a strategy of “reminding versus informing” when writing fundraising appeals. Sure, there are certainly times when donors need new information, but too much information can be counter-intuitive. Don’t complicate the message with unnecessary info. It’s great that an organization’s office is fully stocked with cleaning supplies to help protect against COVID, but how does that help a potential donor connect with an appeal? It doesn’t. Focus on universal truths that connect readers with the cause so that they want to be a part of it. 

Communicate, clearly!

One of the major reasons why donors do not give to a charity is a lack of communication. Either they didn’t feel their donation was needed by the organization or they didn’t hear from the organization at all. The former is frustrating, but the latter is completely unnecessary. Michael Scott once quoted Wayne Gretzky by saying “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. Take the shot! Develop a strategy that involves consistent communication with your donor base. From there, make sure fundraising appeals clearly communicate the organization's needs while staying connected to the donor through empathy and community.

Remove giving barriers

There’s nothing worse than for a donor to feel inspired to give, but not be able to because the process was complicated. The cause will not get the funds it needs and the potential donor often feels like they did something good for trying to give, but the charity got in its own way. A great way to remove online giving barriers is to visually prioritize what matters most in the giving process. If 95% of online donors give with their credit/debit card then that is what needs to be front and center. Don’t visually complicate the process by giving equal priority to every other payment option. Smaller links for less used options like checks will help the majority of donors give with ease.

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