X Recap: #AFPFC Boston

The really beautiful thing about fundraising conferences these days is that everyone tweets about them. Even if you couldn’t make it to Boston for this year’s AFP conference, you can still check out the action on X, including these 10 tweets. These are just from one day — X was exploding with fundraising wisdom!

Mid level donor programs: what else should you measure? Some great suggestions. #afpfc#fundraising@AFPIHQpic.twitter.com/IFOMtHPZkk

— Heather Corey, CFRE (@Hrcorey) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: did you know that a huge portion of the overall nonprofit industry’s revenue comes from mid-level donors? It’s true — and you should be measuring the metrics in the photo (and others!) to make sure that your mid-level donors are staying engaged.

Stewardship is the key to your next big gift. And don’t focus on the money, focus on the donor. #MohitPramanik#humanityfirst#afpfc

— Shanon Doolittle (@sldoolittle) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: caring for your donors will result in greater gifts… but you should take care that your cultivation of donors is done with donor retention in mind, not a barrage of additional asks. The gift is secondary to the donor.

Don’t ask donors communication preferences if you aren’t able to honour the response @rachelmuir#AFPFC

— Derek deLouche, CFRE (@DerekdeLouche) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: If you don’t have the resources to accommodate phone, email, direct mail, and social media communications, don’t give all of them as options for your donor. By all means, give your donors options for the ways they talk with you. But be sure you can follow up on your end of the bargain. Doing otherwise just makes you look bad.

Satisfaction is the number one predictor of donor loyalty, but we do nothing to measure it. Why? @rachelmuir#afpfc

— Arielle Brousse (@thewordunheard) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: We all know it’s more effective to retain donors than to try to find all new ones. But many nonprofit don’t measure their donors’ satisfaction… the one major indicator of whether or not a donor will support them in the future. It’s a metric that needs to stay top of mind.

Give the donor a job: X needs you. #copy101#afpfc

— Heather Eady (@hkarsch) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: How do you keep donor engaged with your organization between their first gift and the next gift they (hopefully) make in the future? Give them a job! Ask them to volunteer, to spread the word, to watch a video, to subscribe to a blog… anything that will make them feel involved and valued!

Don’t ignore staff, board, volunteers…include an appropriately messaged #monthlygiving form at orientation #AFPFC

— Aaron Heinsman (@aaron_fool) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: Trying to build a monthly giving program? Don’t forget to ask the people who are already supporting you in other ways. Your staff, board, and volunteers love you enough to support you with their time; chances are good that they’re willing to support you with their donations, too.

Most sustainer donor attrition happens in the first year. The gift is automated; the stewardship shouldn’t be. THANK THEM. #afpfc

— Arielle Brousse (@thewordunheard) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: If you’re dreaming of building a base of sustaining donors, don’t fall prey to the mindset that a donor will stay with you forever once they set up a recurring gift. They can automate their gifts, but you can’t automate the gratitude you should be showing them — put the same effort into stewarding them as you put into stewarding your other donors.

SAME FOR THANKING DONORS!!! Getting the gift is not the end point… #afpfc@waynero#truthbombpic.twitter.com/mQScyE0GhT

— Beth Ann Locke (@FundraiserBeth) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: The work isn’t done when you get the gift — getting the gift means that your work has just begun. Stewarding and cultivating your donors is a lot of work, but the support and the relationships are worth it.

Millennials can be your most generous donors but our capital is social not financial. We might not give much but we advocate more. #afpfc

— Matt Connell (@PorchswingNPOs) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: Nonprofits often seem to struggle between knowing that Millennial donors are important and knowing that, right now, mature and baby-boomer donors account for more fundraising revenue. What they don’t often consider is that, even though Millennials don’t control a majority of disposable income, they do have amazing social influence… and that can be just as valuable.

We have to show people that we know them. Seems simple but maybe one of the most impactful themes from the last few days! #afpfc

— Jennifer (@jenniferjane7) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: The number one way to keep your donors retain your donors and keep them engaged is to remind them that you know them. Make them feel like insiders, like partners in your mission, and like valued friends by showing them that you really understand them. Communicate with them based on their giving histories, the programs they love and support, and their history of involvement with your organization. The footwork might take a little extra time, but the payoff will be unreal.

#afpfc Donor Relations the Disney Way. hospitals: no one cares if you cure a million people of cancer: they care if you cure THEIR cancer.

— Susan Hayes-McQueen (@SHQxx) March 22, 2016

Takeaway: When you’re make appeals, remember that statistics are okay but individual stories are more powerful. Talking about thousands of individuals who are victims to human traffickers makes less of an impact than the story of one victim and her life; it’s hard to relate to statistics, but it’s easy to relate to a story. Write your marketing materials accordingly!