Two ways to build a strong donor community
Investing resources into building a community results in more donations
A strong donor community is essential to creating successful fundraisers and a sustainable organization. Being part of any community means that its members are emotionally invested in the group and any cause it may work towards. While it may sound simple, achieving this important goal is easier said than done.
It is no secret to say that most people are just too busy to be consistently involved; there are dozens of other causes asking for their attention and donations. However, we are here to say the investment is worth it. Not only will your organization see a massive increase in member involvement, but emotionally-invested people are often more driven to give more financial assistance.
When it comes to creating a strong donor community for your members, it is easy to look at events as the best option. Who doesn’t love a good group dinner or pancake breakfast? While events are incredibly successful for building a community, they require a lot of thought and effort to work effectively. Here are two major tips to build a donor community that you may not have considered before.
Communication is key
Without communication in any form, we would never be able to form bonds with our community members. Whether it be written letters, email updates, in-person conversations, or even a simple text, it is absolutely vital to keep a constant line of communication amongst your community.
Now we all may know that communication itself is important, but what some people fail to consider is that it is just as imperative to consider what message is included as part of your communications. Here are some tips for having the most effective and bond-building conversations.
Share consistent and detailed updates. This may seem like an obvious topic of communications, but let’s dig into this a little deeper. Let’s look at the words “consistent and detailed”. While it is very common for organizations to share updates about what is going on within their walls, it is much less common to share those updates in a consistent format that is easy for members to follow as well as in a detailed manner that shows transparency and inclusiveness. By communicating consistently on a schedule, members know where and when to expect your next message to come and won’t have to be left guessing when they will hear the next update. Additionally, detailed updates show to potential donors that you are inclusive and transparent to your membership, and, as a result, it builds a foundation of trust among your members. And what is one important aspect to building a community? Trust!
Ask for advice. This suggestion might sound less than exciting, but it’s arguably the most underrated method for encouraging donors to develop a deeper connection to your mission. As the saying goes, “ask for money, get advice. Ask for advice, get paid twice.” When you ask members for their opinions and insights—about anything from your upcoming renovation plans to ideas for recruiting the best undergraduate members—you are making donors part of the team and giving them a deeper sense of ownership in the organization’s success. As a result, all members are able to work together to make decisions for their group in a communal environment.
Get personal. This topic seems to be a bit vague, but we did that on purpose. There are many ways to define what “get personal” could mean in this situation, and here are a few. First off, make sure you are communicating to your members as individuals, not just as a group. Address them on a first name basis; nobody gets a sense of community from an organization that addresses them as “Dear donor” in every email. Talk to them one-on-one, and ask them about themself. Communities are much more successful when people know things about each other outside of “How was your day?” and “The weather is nice today.” Get personal, and get to know each other!
People care about people
Our last point of “getting personal” is a great segment into our next tip – people care about people. People often care about the other members of their organization. After all, you both are investing your time and money into the same cause! This human desire to interact with other people can be used to create a sense of community for any group. Let us explain.
People want to know people. Every member of your organization has a story and, together, those stories make up the fabric of your group. By including the stories of your members in your communications, readers are able to get to know other members that they may not have met before. This knowledge of their story creates an emotional bond that is crucial for all members of a community to feel.
People want people to know them. People not only want to know the stories of other members, but they also often want to share their own story. Without this, members may feel out of the loop or excluded from other members who may not know them. This means you should give members multiple opportunities to communicate with other members. Ask them to share their story for your next communication. Create a forum for people to speak freely to others. If your cause is something they really care about, they will almost always want to share their story behind why they give you their support.
People want to hear from people. This idea goes back to our point earlier, and we cannot emphasize it enough. Get personal! Don’t let your automated email program send all your email communications with little to no personalization. You cannot solely rely on your instagram posts and canva templates to draw in support from your community members. Call your members, text them, or send them a postcard. Whatever you choose to do, just know that technology cannot do all your communications for you.
The takeaway?
Now we may have started this whole conversation by telling you that building a strong donor community will get you more donations. And that is still absolutely true! But in order to get more donations through the path of building a community, you must show that you care about your members first. If all you care about is talking about how to get more money, this may not be the best blog for you. However, if you want to build relationships to form a community around your cause, it will always lead to more support in the future. Once your community is strong, the donations of time and money will follow as a given. (That means you don’t need to revisit any blog on how to convince them to give you more money!)
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