Re-Release: 7 Ways to Stand Out with Your Donors

Jeff Schreifels

Your donors find so much joy and fulfillment in giving. It’s what taps into their heart and passion for making a difference in the world. And, most likely, your donors have more than one interest, which means they may be giving to several causes that are important to them. And they’re likely getting outreach from all of those organizations. If you want to break through the noise and get your donors to actually engage with you, there are several things to keep in mind.

Jeff Schreifels

Today, we’re sharing a re-release of one of my all time favorite episodes, from the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast. I love this one, because when Richard and I recorded it, it had been about a year since the pandemic started. And people were so desperate for some kind of personal connection. And that’s really what should always be driving your donor communications: authentic outreach with a goal to build those meaningful connections. I hope this is a useful guide for you as we move into the summer fundraising season.

Recorded

Welcome to the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast from Veritus Group featuring Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels. Twice a month, we bring you the latest and best thinking about major gift fundraising, so you can develop authentic relationships with your major donors. Here are your hosts, Richard and Jeff.

Jeff Schreifels

Welcome again to the podcast today. I’m Jeff Schreifels, and of course, I have Richard Perry with me. And Richard, I should point out, we’ve been doing our podcast for over a year now with you in Asheville, North Carolina, and me in Philadelphia. And I think we’ve been able to kind of pull this off.

Richard Perry

We have, we have.

Jeff Schreifels

But I mean, I really do miss being together. And now that… but hey, we’ve now got our vaccination shots. I think we should do it soon.

Richard Perry

I know. Isn’t it great to get those shots? My goodness. I hope everybody that’s listening has been able to get one, or at least is on some kind of a list. Even though it feels like we’re in the same room, it’s a lot more fun when we’re literally in the same room. Now it gives us an excuse to get out of our house.

Jeff Schreifels

Exactly. Okay, this is going to be fun today, because we’re going to talk about the seven ways to stand out with your donors.

Richard Perry

Yeah, not only will this be a really fun discussion, I also think it’s going to be important, Jeff. And here’s why. You know, when you think about it, when we first start working with thousands of major gift officers, you and I and our team, you know, we’ve worked with over the years… when we first start out with them, most of them are failing their organizations and donors. And by failing, we mean things just aren’t working properly. The revenue is not coming in. The ratios aren’t right, and all that kind of thing. Now, I’m not putting the blame on them, so please hear me. It’s just that they’re not serving their donors properly. I mean, they don’t know how to stand out among the crowd, because they haven’t had the proper training on what to do. I mean, that’s the bottom line.

Jeff Schreifels

I totally agree. And what’s great for our listener today, is that we’re going to take all those years and all that work we’ve done with those thousands of frontline fundraisers, and pass on to you on how you can properly cultivate your donor, and stand out in your donor’s mind and heart. And get them to actually engage with you.

Richard Perry

That’s right. And so what Jeff and I have done is come up with seven ways you can stand out to your donor, so that whenever your donor thinks about your organization, there is nothing but really positive feelings from that donor about not only the mission, but how they’re treated as a human being and how they’re relating to you.

Jeff Schreifels

This is so important, because, I mean, let’s just be honest, there are probably five to six other organizations that are in a relationship of some type with your donor at the same level as your organization. I mean, we forget that because a lot of times we think, “Well, this donor is just passionate about our cause.”

Richard Perry

Just loves us, nobody else.

Jeff Schreifels

Right! But we know that’s not true. Plus, there’s probably another 10 or so that are trying to get to know your donor. There’s all this communication, noise, information that’s hitting your donor all the time. And that’s just on their philanthropy; they’ve got a life, too, right? So there’s a lot going on. Alright, so let’s get into this, Richard. What is the first way for our listener to stand out with a donor?

Richard Perry

Well, the first one, and this is an important value to you and me, the first one is to be authentic. Be real. Be yourself. I mean, this… if there’s anything that I’ve learned over all these years I’ve been living, is the piece that comes into your spirit, into your heart, into your world, when you’re with somebody that’s telling you the truth, that’s being the truth, that really is who they say they are, and whose activities with you are true; and they’re dependable. I mean, Jeff, you know how this whole thing about authenticity is so important to us, not only in our relationship, but our relationship with our significant others, and our relationship in business, as well.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah. It is absolutely essential. And, you know, when you think about this major gift work, or mid-level and planned giving work, you’re… the beauty of all of this is that we get to work directly with donors, one on one. But that’s a big responsibility, too, because we’re supposed to be developing relationships. And if you think about all the good relationships you’ve had with people, it’s because you’ve been able to be authentic, and be vulnerable with the person. And that allows the other person to be authentic, tell the truth, and be real with you. And this is just so essential. But yet, it’s so difficult, it seems because we’ve run into so many major gift officers who don’t have this part down. Or don’t think it’s important.

Richard Perry

Yeah, when you think about the whole thing about authenticity… I mean, I was thinking about this the other day, Jeff. When I have a tendency not to be authentic, why am I doing that? And the reason is, because I am adopting behavior that I think is going to keep me safe with the other person. In other words, I’ll get in trouble if I’m authentic, so I cover up and I do some other behavior. And you do that with a donor, and that’s just like death; well it’s death in any kind of relationship.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah.

Richard Perry

The interesting thing is, if you just ignore that little voice that says, “You know, you’re gonna get in trouble if you say that, or you’re gonna go down that track,” if you ignore that little voice, and you’re just authentic, it’s amazing what comes back from the other person and from the donor. It’s a sense of real trust. I mean, it’s an unbelievable experience. So this first one about being authentic is very, very critical.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah, and unfortunately, if you are authentic and real, you will stand out. And I say that, unfortunately, because I don’t think most people are real and authentic with donors. Okay, well, let’s go to the next one. This one’s related. And this one is very simply, and we’ve kind of already talked about it a bit, but it’s simply to tell the truth. We’ve heard so many horror stories from donors, where, you know, they’ll give a gift and something happens at the organization where they don’t actually use the gift as intended, and then they never get back to the donor to actually tell them because they’re afraid. And so then the donors like, “I’m never giving to this organization again; I can’t trust them.”

Richard Perry

Yeah. And the offense wasn’t that something changed at the organization. The offense was not telling them. That’s what bothered the donor. And you think about that, personally, Jeff. I mean, you and I, I mean, we tell each other the truth. And we practice that in our significant relationships and with our employees.

Jeff Schreifels

Yes.

Richard Perry

And, you know, the times we’ve held each other accountable on that have been very important, like, “Well, what’s the truth?”

Jeff Schreifels

Exactly.

Richard Perry

And it’s a wonderful thing to have with donors.

Jeff Schreifels

All right. So tell the truth. So important.

Richard Perry

Yeah, it is. And the next one, I think, is to be a great listener and to be perceptive.

Jeff Schreifels

Huge.

Richard Perry

So the thing that’s a problem in mid, and major, and planned gifts, and this whole fundraising thing, is that oftentimes we’re after the money, right? And so therefore, our whole drive is to do our agenda and get the money, which actually causes deafness. I mean, it actually causes you to be deaf because you can’t hear, you can’t be in a position to listen. That’s what the donor is saying, because you’ve got to get your hands on that money.

Jeff Schreifels

Right. Good point.

Richard Perry

So that’s a big one.

Jeff Schreifels

Gosh, if we could listen better, just think of how we would be better major gift fundraisers. I mean, we would be able to hear the donor’s passions and interests; be able to understand why; and create… be that bridge that we’re supposed to be between the need and the donor’s desires. I mean, we would be so much better at it, if we could just listen and not come with our agenda or our thoughts. And just be present with a donor.

Richard Perry

I know. The donor actually wants a true partner. Somebody that will actually listen to them, and walk with them on doing good on the planet. And that’s why they’ve chosen you as an organization, because they believe that they can get what they want to get done through you. And being a good partner is listening well.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah. Well, kind of related to that is the next one, which is: ask good questions… like Oprah would. Now, did you see that interview that she did?

Richard Perry

Oh, with Harry and Meghan? Yeah, that was something.

Jeff Schreifels

I mean, I wasn’t going to watch it. Because I’m not really into that whole thing. But my daughter, Katie, she’s not a sports person at all, but she texted me. She goes, “Dad, are you going to watch this?” And I’m like, “Ah, I don’t know.” She’s like, “No, Dad, this is my Super Bowl.” I’m like, “Okay, I guess I better watch it.” And I’m so glad I did. Because she was amazing to watch; how she asked those questions, listened, and then responded directly to how Meghan or Harry responded. You know, like, you could tell she was right in there with them. She was vulnerable, she was curious, empathetic, and compassionate all at the same time.

Richard Perry

Yeah, I mean, regardless of what you think of the topic, that whole business of Harry and Meghan, and the Royals, and all that, regardless of what you think about that, the form and style of asking good questions in that interview was really something. I mean, it’s really something to behold.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah. And it made me think while she’s doing this, I’m like, “Gosh, this is just a great lesson for frontline fundraisers on how they should be able to talk with their donors. And their donors, if they could hear the questions from the major gift officer like Oprah was doing, they themselves would give so much more over to the major gift officer. They would know, the major gift officer would get so much honesty, stories, understanding what the passions and interests of the donor are, and why they have them. I mean, she made them feel comfortable to be vulnerable.

Richard Perry

I know. It was good. Okay, here’s the fifth way to stand out to your donors: build your strategic plan for the donor with specific touch points that show the donor that you know her. Now you remember when we had Frank Munford on?

Richard Perry

And I just love that story, because he noticed his donor loved dolphins, because he saw them all over the guy’s office. Then Frank is on the plane and he reads an article about dolphins, rips it out of the magazine, and sends it to the donor. I mean, now, the donor is like his best friend.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah!

Jeff Schreifels

I know. Right?

Richard Perry

So he noticed, you know, a touch point that showed, “Okay, this guy really loves dolphins.” And so as you’re listening to Jeff and me today, what you know about the donor along those lines, where if you sent them some material or some content, they would say to you, “Oh, that person knows me.” That’s what’s important.

Jeff Schreifels

And it’s powerful. I mean, you might think, “Oh, this dolphin thing is kind of silly.” But it’s not. This is something that the donor cared about. Frank, he’s, you know, a month later is flying on a plane, sees this article, and thinks, because he’s smart, “Hey, that donor would love this.” And sends it. I mean, it’s a simple act that he did. But it was huge for the donor. And now I mean, every time he calls, he gets an appointment in front of them.

Richard Perry

Yep, it’s a done deal.

Jeff Schreifels

That one little thing.

Richard Perry

Yup. So touch points that show the donor that you know the donor are very important, if they’re built into your plan. But you’ve got to know them first, which requires listening, asking questions, all the stuff we’ve already talked about. Very important.

Jeff Schreifels

Now, this one is an absolute, this one that I’m going to say. It is, report on the impact of a gift and make it as personal as possible.

Richard Perry

Exactly. I mean, this whole thing about reporting on impact. I mean, Jeff, we’ve said it a million times. The major reason a donor goes away is that they didn’t know their gift made a difference. This is just critical in major gifts.

Jeff Schreifels

It’s essential. And it’s the number one reason why donors go away. We didn’t tell them how their gift made a difference. This reminds me of our story of our friend, Bob, who’s a CEO of a medium-sized non-profit, not huge. And he was having breakfast one day with a donor at a diner, when we used to be able to do that. And so, as he’s having breakfast, he notices another one of his donors at the same diner. So when he’s finished with having breakfast, he pays and he goes over to the donor and says, “Hey, how’s it going? I haven’t seen you in a while. It’s great to see you.” And he kind of notices, you know, this donor is a little different towards him; he’s just not his normal self with him.

Richard Perry

Right.

Jeff Schreifels

And so Bob, you know, says, “Hey, is everything okay?” And the donor, he’s kind of like, “Well, I didn’t want to say anything. But you know, a few months ago, I gave you a pretty significant gift. And I never heard back. What happened?” He said, “I got a thank you letter in the mail. But I never heard back. What happened with that gift?” And Bob was like, “Oh, my gosh, I didn’t even know about this.” So he goes back to the office. Finds out that they received it; they got it around holiday time. So there’s all kinds of stuff going on. And someone said, “Yeah, we were supposed to do this and get back, but…” Basically, they just dropped the ball. And Bob was like, “We’ve got to figure out… we’ve got to send him an impact report, and talk about what’s going on.”

Jeff Schreifels

So he called back the donor, and he said, “I’m just really sorry, you know, I found out you know, we dropped the ball. And I feel really, really bad about it.” And the donor says to Bob, he said, “Bob, I don’t want you to feel too bad. Because when I sent you that $25,000 check,” (which was huge for them, $25,000), “I also sent seven other organizations $25,000 at the same time.”

Richard Perry

That’s a sum of money, isn’t it?

Jeff Schreifels

$200,000, right, on total. But eight total organizations. And he said, “Only one organization of the eight wrote back to me and told me how my gift made a difference. So you’re not alone.” And Bob was like, “Oh, my gosh! What? Who was it?” And he said, “The one organization that reported back to me was this small food pantry in West Virginia, run by an 80-year-old woman. And she wrote this donor an eight-page, handwritten note explaining exactly what she did with his $25,000.

Richard Perry

Yeah.

Jeff Schreifels

So he, you know what happened. The next year, he gave the whole $200,000 to this food pantry.

Richard Perry

See, there it is.

Jeff Schreifels

Yeah.

Richard Perry

I mean, every time I hear that story, I am just so floored by the fact that this simple equation about reporting on an impact and making it personal is so critical. Okay, so here’s the final one: the way to stand out is to thank your donor properly.

Jeff Schreifels

Huge!! That’s huge!

Richard Perry

I mean, it’s huge. I have one story of a lost check. It was about a $40,000 check, maybe $35,000, that sat in the drawer of a finance person who forgot about it.

Richard Perry

And that’s one where, you know, the relationship went south. You remember the story of the organization that the finance people didn’t want to hire more receivers during the Christmas season, so they didn’t?

Jeff Schreifels

Oh, no.

Jeff Schreifels

Oh, yeah.

Richard Perry

So they had this whole stack of envelopes. I mean, probably 800 to 1,000 envelopes that had gifts in them, that they took the money out and banked it, but they didn’t actually process the donor thank-you for two months. Two months! And the attrition on those donors was just unbelievable.

Jeff Schreifels

Well, yeah.

Richard Perry

And you juxtapose that against the donor that was giving at the $10,000 level, and was really communicated with well by the major gift officer about what the program was doing, what the project was, got involved in it, got involved in the details, and was so excited that they gave $4 million. This whole thing about thanking the donor is not only respectful and honoring to the donor, but it’s a very critical piece in maintaining donor giving and upgrading the donor. And you can see why. So that’s the final way to actually stand out to your donors: to thank them properly.

Jeff Schreifels

Wow. Okay. Well, this was good stuff.

Richard Perry

Yeah.

Jeff Schreifels

And, Richard, I think we can guarantee that if you do these seven things with a donor, you will definitely stand out.

Richard Perry

You will definitely stand out. Because people aren’t doing them well.

Jeff Schreifels

No, they’re not. I mean, these are simple things.

Richard Perry

They are very simple.

Jeff Schreifels

They take effort, but it’s not like you have to have some grand strategy or anything. This is just seven strong ways to stand out and cultivate and serve your donor well. And if you do this, you’ll develop strong relationships with it. I mean, we’ve seen it happen over and over again.

Jeff Schreifels

All right. Well, hey, we’ve got a free resource for you today. Go to veritusgroup.net and find our resources tab. And under White Papers, you’ll see “Transporting Your Donor to the Scene.” This is a great white paper that will help you connect with your donor and make an indelible impression. Another great way to stand out. So go to veritusgroup.net, and find “Transporting Your Donor to the Scene.” And, thanks for joining us today and we’ll see you next time.

Richard Perry

See you later. Thank you.

Recorded

Thank you for joining us for the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast from Veritus Group. Richard and Jeff also write an ongoing blog that you can subscribe to for free at veritusgroup.net. Please join us again next time.