keep and inspire your donors with stories

Keep  and  Inspire  Your  Donors  With  Stories  

12/11/14  1pm  Eastern  

The  presentation  will  begin  shortly.

Before  We  Get  Started3

This  presentation  is  being  recorded!  

The  recording  and  slides  will  be  emailed  to  you    later  this  afternoon.  

Please  chat  in  any  questions  for  our  guest.    We  will  answer  them  in  the  formal  Q&A  session    

at  the  end  of  the  presentation.

3

MY STORY   President  of  TheStorytellingNonprofit.com  Co-­‐Founder  of  Stewardship  School    Has  raised  $10  million  and  counBng    Speaker:  AssociaBon  of  Fundraising  Professionals,  AssociaBon  of  Donor  RelaBons  Professionals,  Council  for  Advancement  and  Support  of  EducaBon,  Net  Squared  and  BBCON      Clients:  A  Rocha  Canada,  Wagner  Hills  Farm  Society,  Hope  for  the  NaBons,  Union  Gospel  Mission,  Cancer  Care  ConnecBon,  BC  Children’s  Hospital  FoundaBon  

AGENDA  

•  Why stewardship matters

•  Good versus great donor stewardship

•  3 tactics for using stories

•  Tips for telling great stories

•  Answers to your questions  

DISCUSSION  

What’s your role at your non-profit?

Is donor retention at problem for your organization?  

DONOR RETENTION  

“The sector average for donor retention is 41% and the average for donor attrition is 59%  

FINDING SOLUTIONS  

Demonstrates impact + accountability  

Practice of gratitude  

Shows donors that you care  

WAVAW  2010 – 2011 Fiscal Year Revenue $41,000 2013 – 2014 Fiscal Year Revenue $181,000 How? Monthly thank-a-thons Handwritten notes More touch points without an ask

They focused on taking care of their donors!

NASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION  

NASHVILLE RESCUE MISSION  

GOOD STEWARDSHIP  

The Organization  Thanks a donor

Acknowledges their giving

Explains what kind of impact the gift had

GREAT STEWARDSHIP  

The Organization  Makes donors feel something

Lets donors know that you care about them

Has a personality

The donor is the hero

HOW DO STORIES FIT IN TO ALL OF THIS?  

WHAT IS STORYTELLING  

Storytelling is the process of combining facts and narrative in order to communicate a message and an

emotion to a target audience.  

WHY STORIES  

Creates context for your audience  

Emotionally connect donors to their impact  

GOOD STORIES  

Has a hero  

Incorporates visual aspects  

Talks about a conflict, which is ultimately solved  

GREAT STORIES  

The donor is the hero  

Takes the audience into account  

Ends with a vision and call to action  

TIPS FOR THANK YOU LETTERS  

Be as donor-centric as possible Use different perspectives to say thank you and to tell the story Tell a shorten version of the story Demonstrate a bigger vision to keep donors engaged

TIPS FOR NEWSLETTERS  

Send newsletters regularly Tell a more in-depth story, if space allows for it Incorporate pictures or tell donors where they can view digital versions of the story Remind donors of the bigger picture

TIPS FOR EMAIL  

Keep is short and sweet Create a great subject line that conveys gratitude Use email as a tool to drive traffic to other digital content Make sure the content highlights impact

DISCUSSION  

What’s one idea that you want to try?

Questions?

THANK YOU! vanessa@thestorytellingprofit.com

@vanessaechase

www.thestorytellingprofit.com

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