Steven Screen, co-founder of the consultancy Better Fundraising, offers free weekly webinars on how to craft direct appeals that work. Attendees can submit email or mail appeals for Screen’s feedback.
During the hourlong live webinars, Screen aims to weed out common mistakes in nonprofit messages, explain why the errors hurt the appeals, and offer improvements.
For example, fundraisers at small nonprofits often write long-winded fundraising pitches, believing that donors give in response to details about the organization, Screen says. Others undersell their charity’s needs out of concern that donors withhold gifts when a request for contributions is too explicit. “One of the reasons I do Free Review Fridays and blog is to try to help small organizations understand that those are myths,” he says.
The webinars have a casual feel. Screen chooses about six appeals to review live, sharing images of the letters or emails and reading them aloud to the audience. His critiques touch on such things as branding, word choice, and the number of signatures on a letter. “Even while I’m giving critical feedback, [I] try to be kind and say, ‘Hey listen, none of these negative things that you’re worried about are going to happen,’ ” Screen says.
While Screen began offering the weekly webinars well before the pandemic began, many of the appeals he now reviews are communicating the increased needs for nonprofit services or how the Covid-19 crisis has heightened charities’ financial needs.
As many nonprofits scramble to shore up their financial reserves, the Chronicle asked Screen for advice on what makes a strong direct appeal, based on his review of an estimated 300 fundraising messages over the past year. Here are four tips:
Don’t worry about donor fatigue.
Right now, demands for many nonprofits’ services are increasing at the same time their revenue is decreasing. As a result, some fundraisers are concerned they could push away loyal donors by sending them appeals too often. But Screen says that concern is generally misplaced.
“I almost never worry about the number of communications, but I worry fervently about the relevancy of communications,” Screen says.
Rather than flood donors with general updates on the nonprofit’s work, he suggests fundraisers focus on how a donor’s gift can meet an immediate need for the charity or those it serves. For example, he says, a charity might ask donors to help fill a budget shortfall or cover the cost of a meal for someone who is hungry.
And keep it brief, he adds. Specifics are important, but try to keep the case concise. It’s likely that most supporters won’t read the whole appeal.
When donors don’t give to an appeal, it’s likely that the message just wasn’t persuasive, according to Screen. Even so, he can think of many examples of clients at small- and medium-size nonprofits who were quick to blame all fundraising shortfalls on donor fatigue. That’s an oversimplification, he says.
“It’s like you went fishing in the wrong river at the wrong time of the year with the wrong kind of lure, and you just concluded that fishing doesn’t work.”
Make your needs known.
Donors won’t be inspired to give to a charity that always paints a rosy picture of its work, according to Screen. If the nonprofit is already achieving its goals, donors may not think their gift would make a difference.
“Most nonprofits are unable to be vulnerable,” he says. “If you look at their direct-response fundraising, it will sound like everything is going great: ‘We are very busy. We’re helping so many people.’ ”
Scads of data like the number of beneficiaries served often read as “bragging” when what works is “giving credit away” to the donors who help the nonprofit meet its mission, says Screen. When fundraisers only highlight their charity’s achievements — and not its needs — they can alienate donors.
Recently, Screen was shocked to learn a nonprofit he’d given to in the past was closing its doors. He reviewed the email appeals the group had sent over the previous few months and couldn’t find any hints that it had been in financial trouble. Instead, he founds stories about the good work the group was doing, examples of the people it was helping, and requests for donations.
“That’s a recipe for hiding the need from donors. And in my experience, donors respond incredibly well to needs,” Screen says.
Stay visible.
During the 2008 financial crisis, some small nonprofits eased up on efforts to recruit new donors. Their thinking, Screen says, was: “Well, we can’t raise money right now. It would be insensitive.”
But as the economy recovered, these charities had a harder time getting their budgets back in the black, he says. He advises nonprofits not to repeat that mistake. Instead, they should keep communicating and reaching out to new donors, even during this uncertain time.
By Screen’s logic, the less donors hear from a charity, the less they think about that charity. Fundraisers at charities that reduce the frequency of their appeals shouldn’t be surprised when they see donors giving less. “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Screen says. “You didn’t ask them.”
As unemployment swells and the economy continues to contract, many fundraisers have low expectations for giving this year. Trying economic times underscore the need for fundraisers to send more and better appeals, Screen says.
“I think there is a coming slump in giving in some places,” he says. “You will have a better chance of keeping your donors if you are in front of them during this slump.”
Fundraisers may have to do twice the work they typically do to raise less money than they would in a good year, Screen adds.
Expect a challenge.
As donors focus more on their own financial needs, Screen advises fundraisers — especially those who don’t have experience raising money during a recession — to expect their jobs to get even more difficult.
“I suspect that donor generosity is going to be a little blunted, but it’s still going to come to the organizations that are in the arena, that are mailing, that are emailing, that are calling their major donors,” says Screen.
Especially for employees of small and midsize nonprofits, for whom fundraising is just one piece of their jobs, this challenge can feel overwhelming. Screen suggests prioritizing fundraising over other efforts.
For example, rather than write an email newsletter that few people will open, write a second fundraising appeal. Charities that don’t have the time or money to invest in more direct appeals could just focus on strengthening relationships with major donors.
“Nothing about this year is going to be easy,” Screen says. “Success is available. It’s just going to be harder.”
What do you think Screen’s advice? What would you add? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
