{"id":447,"date":"2021-02-21T21:29:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/fmi\/?p=447"},"modified":"2021-06-21T14:19:11","modified_gmt":"2021-06-21T14:19:11","slug":"step-four-fostering-effective-communication-with-donors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/?p=447","title":{"rendered":"Step Four: Fostering Effective Communication With Donors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/fmi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/aba836e9-1d11-48a9-88aa-1bf0c7511621.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/fmi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/aba836e9-1d11-48a9-88aa-1bf0c7511621.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/aba836e9-1d11-48a9-88aa-1bf0c7511621.png 600w, https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/aba836e9-1d11-48a9-88aa-1bf0c7511621-300x100.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step Four: Fostering Effective Communication with Donors<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/2d8dcf7e6bac\/how-to-find-your-next-big-donor?fbclid=IwAR25Gqa_IopVpLVLdNT6MrMvj_OOrxYRxUB41UJ7Lle9NHLD4WupXEsCFX8\" target=\"_blank\">steps 2<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/d2f5f5e245cc\/family-day-remember-you-cant-do-it-alone-it-helps-to-have-connections?fbclid=IwAR2ftts2JNrd-uj3JMn4lqwJ-4VHsE2hZ-7nRWmWveu5su0jG2DAR5R2pRE\" target=\"_blank\">3<\/a>, we talked about&nbsp;cultivating relationships&nbsp;and building connections with prospective&nbsp;donors. Unfortunately, all of this can quickly&nbsp;fall apart if effective&nbsp;communication isn\u2019t established.&nbsp;Step 4 is focused on donor&nbsp;communication and how implementing strong&nbsp;communication in&nbsp;your process can improve commitment and motivate individuals to&nbsp;consider making a major or planned gift by showing them both the&nbsp;immediate and long-term impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>What\u2019s the best way to communicate with donors?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When deciding whether to donate, people primarily make their decision to support a&nbsp;campaign based on the person who is soliciting their support. Others will judge the&nbsp;campaign\u2019s worthiness based on the contents of campaign communications materials&nbsp;and activities. As such, you should draw up various campaign materials that help you&nbsp;properly communicate with donors.&nbsp;Below, we list a variety of documents that keep your target audiences updated about&nbsp;any new developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>\u00a0The Case for Support<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve never heard of a Case for Support, you\u2019re not alone. While brochures and&nbsp;websites are fairly common, fewer people have heard of a Case for Support unless&nbsp;they\u2019ve worked in this space previously. Let\u2019s jump into an explanation, so you can truly&nbsp;understand why it\u2019s so essential that your organization has one.&nbsp;The Case for Support is a living document that tells the reader the story about your&nbsp;organization, why it exists, and who it serves. It is built around the framework of your&nbsp;vision, mission, and need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Strategic Plan<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Strategic Plan addresses the direction for the organization based on the feedback&nbsp;from stakeholders. It is a critical document and allows stakeholders the opportunity to&nbsp;share and discuss the strengths, opportunities, threats, and weaknesses. This keeps&nbsp;everyone on the same page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Fundraising program website<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A fundraising website is a starting point for communication. Today, it\u2019s arguably the first&nbsp;place that anyone would go to learn about your organization and provides countless&nbsp;avenues for you to connect with prospective donors. If you want to create an email<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Letters<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Donation letters are a common tool that charities use to entice prospective supports to&nbsp;donate. These don\u2019t often have the depth that a typical brochure would. Instead, they\u2019re&nbsp;short and address a specific need that your organization is trying to meet. They also&nbsp;typically include a written ask for a donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Brochures<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve all been handed brochures at one time or another. These are short and sweet&nbsp;ways to walk us through any given topic. They take your cause and break it down into a&nbsp;condensed format that any prospective donor can easily understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u00a0<strong>Proposals<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These materials help to explain your fundraising program to your donor and encourage&nbsp;their investment in your charity\u2019s cause through a major or planned gift. Don&#8217;t write a proposal unless your donor asks for one. Develop a proposal together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Final thoughts<\/strong><\/em><br>You may be thinking, \u201cWhat about a simple phone call or email?\u201d and yes, those do&nbsp;have a time and place in donor conversations as well. However, the communication&nbsp;methods we listed above are common effective ways that you can put your best foot&nbsp;forward with prospects and come out of the interaction successfully.&nbsp;For more on Step 4 (or any of the 7), check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/documentcloud.adobe.com\/link\/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:036ce11e-92c9-43ec-bd58-1c8427d2a76f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">7 Step Power Donor Solution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Happy Fundraising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/fmi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/5ca68495-0c4e-4938-88f7-a9f5614094b7.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"251\" src=\"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/fmi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/5ca68495-0c4e-4938-88f7-a9f5614094b7.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-450\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Step Four: Fostering Effective Communication with Donors In&nbsp;steps 2&nbsp;and&nbsp;3, we talked about&nbsp;cultivating relationships&nbsp;and building connections with prospective&nbsp;donors. Unfortunately, all of this can quickly&nbsp;fall apart if effective&nbsp;communication isn\u2019t established.&nbsp;Step 4 is focused on donor&nbsp;communication and how implementing strong&nbsp;communication in&nbsp;your process can improve commitment and motivate individuals to&nbsp;consider making a major or planned gift by showing them &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/?p=447\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Step Four: Fostering Effective Communication With Donors<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":524,"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447\/revisions\/524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundingmatters.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}