9/27/2013 #bbcon 1

Appealing Codes

(Using Appeal Codes in The Raiser’s Edge)

PRESENTED BY MELISSA S. GRAVES

@MELISSASGRAVES

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TWEET ABOUT YOUR SESSION

#APPEALING

#FUNDRAISING

#BBCON

@MELISSASGRAVES

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• This is supposed to be an advanced session. I will to start with some basic

concepts to be sure we are all on the same page but if you are unfamiliar

with Appeals and Packages I may or may not be able to slow down to

cover basic concepts in more detail due to the limited amount of time.

• This session is not going to cover solicitation methods, segmentation,

appeal strategy, etc. We are simply covering how to record and report on

appeals in Raiser’s Edge. (i.e. How to analyze whatever strategy you are

using)

• This session is going to cover Appeals and Packages as they are designed

to work in the Raiser’s Edge. Many people use Appeals and Packages in

other ways which do not exactly “work” with the design in RE. I will cover

some of those “alternatives” and discuss pro’s and cons in a limited

amount of time but I will primarily focus on the way in which the design in

RE works best to allow for fully functional analysis and reporting.

• If I have not convinced you by the end of the session and you want to

“debate” any of my concepts, please hold your thoughts until the RE Geek

Forum at 3:00 on Monday in Potomac D!

FAIR WARNING:

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The Basics:

• What is an Appeal?

• What is a Package?

• Where are Appeals/Packages recorded?

What works best and why:

• The Ideal Scenario

• When does the “Ideal” not happen

• Appeal Reporting

• Other Appeal Issues

• Q & A

AGENDA

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THE BASICS:

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• According to the “RE Campaigns, Funds and Appeals Data Entry

Guide” (available on blackbaud.com) “An appeal is a solicitation that

brings in your gifts. Solicitations can include Auctions, direct mailings

and phonathons.”

• I would further say an appeal is an OUTGOING solicitation to a

constituent or group of constituents in which a response in the form of

a payment is expected or possible. It should be specific and dated

whenever possible.

• Examples of appeals Pathfinder is using this Fall:

- September 2013 Low End Donor Renewal

- September 2013 Middle Donor Renewal

- September 2013 Colorado Fundraiser

- October 2013 Michigan Cultivation Event

- October 2013 Major Donor Renewal

- October 2013 Pathways Newsletter

- December 2013 Annual Report

WHAT IS AN APPEAL?

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• There may be some appeals which I call “rolling appeals” that are

undated and can stay open year after year. Examples would be:

- Unsolicited

- Unknown

- Personal Ask

- Tribute Gift

- Staff Gift

- Website Home Page

WHAT IS AN APPEAL?

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• A package is a subset of your mailing. It is a group of constituents who

have some common thread and are receiving the same exact

solicitation (same letter language, design, ask, etc.)

• Packages are best used in three ways:

- To define groups of appeal recipients who are getting different approaches –

either as a test or as an approach that differs between groups. i.e. lapsed

donors getting one letter and current donors getting another.

- To define groups of appeal recipients who are getting the same approach but

for whom you want to track response rates. i.e. current donors and lapsed

donors getting the same letter but you want to see who responds better,

what each groups average gift size is, etc.

- To code different lists of people in “source” codes such as those purchased

or rented for acquisitions to track which lists perform better.

- One mailing may have a combination of these kinds of packages.

• Not all appeals need to have packages. If your appeal is the same for

all recipients and there is no need or no way to track subsets, then no

packages are necessary.

WHAT IS A PACKAGE?

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Appeals and packages can be found in many places around RE.

• First, they are found in records – appeals are records and each appeal

can have defined packages set up.

WHERE ARE APPEALS AND PACKAGES?

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• Second, the appeal/package records can be linked to a constituent.

This is done as a record of who received that appeal/package and

when.

WHERE ARE APPEALS AND PACKAGES?

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• Last, the appeal/package records can be linked to a gift. This is done

to indicate that the constituent is responding to the appeal/package

with said gift.

WHERE ARE APPEALS AND PACKAGES?

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WHAT WORKS BEST AND WHY

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Appeals and packages added to the constituent and

to the gift are related. Using them consistently and as

designed by Blackbaud should, in the end, give you

tons of data on the behavior and desires of your

constituents and eliminate any “questionable data”.

So what does the “ideal” look like?

IDEAL SCENARIO

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Ideal scenario:

- You create an appeal record in RE with multiple packages that represents a

specific mailing being sent.

- You mail the solicitation to a group of constituents. The mailing reply slips

are customized and coded with the specific appeal ID and package ID (or a

barcode representing these).

- As the mailing is sent, you record on each constituent record (appeals tab)

the appeal and package sent to each constituent.

- As gifts are entered the appeal ID and package ID on the reply slip returned

with the gift are added to the gift record (either manually or using the

barcode)

- As you add these gifts, the “total given” for that appeal/package combo on

the constituent’s Appeals tab is updated with that amount.

- Appeal reports (with our without package detail) as well as gift queries for

this appeal will now include this gift.

Sounds ideal, right?

IDEAL SCENARIO

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• Reply slips do not get printed with the specific appeal and package

groups that the donor was in (or barcode).

- This is necessary for you to be able to properly “credit” the gift to the proper

codes. Gift processor should not be “looking up” which appeal and package

a donor last received.

• Not adding the appeal and package to the constituent appeals tab.

- This is so easy to do using Mail – Quick letters and/or via Import.

• Appeal is created as “Annual Fund Appeal FY13 (AFA FY13)” and is

added to the constituent record multiple times with different dates

representing each mailing you send.

- The “amount given” represents that entire appeal – not each send. So if you

mail 4 times using the same appeal code and get one response out of the

four for $25 – ALL FOUR appeals will have a total given of $25 which to the

novice user (or even an advanced one) would look like the donor gave $100.

- To see how much was given to each specific send – each one needs to be a

separate appeal.

WHEN DOES THIS IDEAL NOT HAPPEN?

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ONE APPEAL – ADDED MULTIPLE TIMES

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• Adding a different Appeal and Package on the gift than what was put

on the Constituent Record

- Happens most often when you use Packages to describe an INCOMING

option and not what was OUTGOING (such as event ticket levels, auction

responses, raffle ticket purchases, etc.)

- Total Given field will not update on the appeals tab unless BOTH the appeal

and package match.

WHEN DOES THIS IDEAL NOT HAPPEN?

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PACKAGE ON ASSIGNED APPEAL –

NO PACKAGE ON GIFT

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• Details are not completely added to the appeal record

- Including number solicited on each and every package (and the main one

adding up to the number on each package) is critical to report on your

response rates, etc.

- Costs and Goals added will give you just awesome reporting.

WHEN DOES THIS IDEAL NOT HAPPEN?

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AWESOME REPORTING

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• If a constituent holds on to an appeal card and submits it nine months

later with a check in a new fiscal year, what appeal do you put on the

gift?

- I do not believe in the concept of inactivating appeals and using an “older

appeal” code or worse, add the more recent appeal that you sent them on the

gift.

- This is IMPORTANT data. Why would you mess with it? Why use something

general like old appeal and not specify which appeal when you actually KNOW

it?

- You know the donor opened that older appeal and was inspired enough by that

mailing to keep the reply device. You do not even know if they even opened the

more recent appeal. You do not know if it “appealed” to them or motivated

them.

- You are tracking appeals to know which of them work, which of them cause a

response. Don’t mess with this data.

I advocate for keeping the appeals open and active as long as you are likely to

receive responses. If a random response comes in after the fact, re-activate the

appeal again to use on the gift, then inactivate it again.

OTHER APPEAL STUFF

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• If a constituent responds to an appeal and wants to make their gift

recurring, what appeal goes on that “recurring gift”? What about

subsequent payments on the recurring gift?

- You can not inactivate an appeal that needs to be used on a recurring gift

every month/quarter/year. If a constituent gives for years and years from the

same recurring gift, do you keep open that same recurring gift or do you

eventually use an appeal of “recurring gift” instead?

- When the end of the fiscal year comes do you need to change the

campaign/appeal? If so, why?

- If you ask the donor to increase how much they give monthly what happens

then?

My stance has still not changed. This is IMPORTANT data. To know that an

appeal in 1995 was so good at attracting die hard recurring gift donors that are

STILL giving today – IMPORTANT to know.

Leave that appeal active until the last donor stops giving.

OTHER APPEAL STUFF

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• Anyone disagree with me?

• Specific analysis you are trying to do and need help?

QUESTIONS?

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TWEET ABOUT YOUR SESSION

#APPEALING

#FUNDRAISING

#BBCON

@MELISSASGRAVES