Good morning,
I would just like to add one point. The talk here is about emails and snail
mails which are all good tools, but the main tool to engage your donors and to
acquire new donors, add value, share your stories and raise funds is through
professional work with social networks and on line campaigns.
Happy to talk you through what is possible if this is of interest.
Warm regards,
Hannan.
[mail_hannan (8)]
From: frforum-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <frforum-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
Zvi Friedman
Sent: Sunday, 15 September 2019 21:39
To: Sarah Landman <sarah@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Dan Rosenstein <rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx>; Kate Hallgren
<kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx>; Fundraisers Forum <frforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; arnie draiman
<ajdraiman@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Fundraisers Forum] Re: frforum Digest V5 #61
Well stated Sarah. I agree with everything your wrote. I do, however, have a
question (or a series of short questions):
Have you ever donated to your school (the one with the "community" feel)?
If you did, was it a result of someone calling and asking for money?
If you have not given, have they ever called and asked?
The point is simple - we can talk about email and snail mail but we also need
direct contact and specific requests for money.
Zvi Friedman
----
zvifriedman@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:zvifriedman@xxxxxxxxx>
On Sun, Sep 15, 2019 at 11:11 AM Sarah Landman
<sarah@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:sarah@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Something bothers me about most of the responses here. A lot of what I am
reading is talking about whether snail mail is good or bad, and the same about
email. So often I find a real obstacle to good fundraising is too much fixation
on the content and not enough of the people with whom we are connecting.
From my perspective, the most important things to be asking around the
phenomenon of donor communications that are not achieving the engagement you'd
like are not which medium is better, but:
1. Whom are you engaging, and how do they interact with the kind of information
I'm sending them?
2. What value am I offering them?
Regarding #1, it is not a simple hard and fast rule of old donors = snail mail;
young donors = email. Ask yourself who is reading, why they're reading, when
they're reading, etc. For example, when I was a high school student, my school
would send print newsletters on a regular basis to all of the school families,
alumni, and donors. In my home, these newsletters would often get dumped on the
coffee table upon arrival, wouldn't get read immediately, but without fail, all
of us in my family would at some point throughout Shabbat pick it up and give
it a read. It was fun to see ourselves and friends in the pictures, recognize
names in the Mazal Tov section, show off when our accomplishments were
highlighted. Whenever I would walk into another house in my community, I'd see
their newsletter on a table somewhere in their house - not always front and
center, not always getting immediate attention, but always there and ready to
be seen and engaged with. And when my friends and I were showcased for our
academic achievements, you can be sure other school families who saw me would
comment, "I read about you in the newsletter!" - there was no doubt that it was
reaching its intended audience. Can I tell you how many dollars of donations
that converted to? No. Firstly, I can't because I wasn't privy to such
information, but secondly, because that's simply not how we should be
understanding the purpose of the newsletter. At some point while I was in
college, the school decided to switch to email newsletters. BAD IDEA. I get it
- they were trying to engage the younger generation; their long-time older
donors were continuing to donate but the 25-45 year olds who were sending more
of their second- and third-generation kids back to the school were not giving.
But the school wasn't thinking about how the people had been engaging with
their content, how it created a sense of community, and how email would work
entirely differently. The emails came and everyone I know - myself included -
deleted them. Just like when they would come in hard copy form, we simply
didn't have time to read through it all in the middle of a busy day, so we'd
leave it for another time. But eventually it would just pile with other junk
mail in our inboxes, and as just another line in a list on our screens, we
would delete it during periodic email purges. The print newsletter had vibrant
colors and attractive pictures of people we knew on the cover, so though it
would remain on the table for a week before getting read, it wouldn't make it
to the trash can with other junk mail. But with email that couldn't happen. I'm
not saying email doesn't work. Just like snail mail, it sometimes does and it
sometimes doesn't. First ask yourself whom you are targeting and how they will
most likely receive the medium.
#2 - Give people value. Why do we expect everyone to run to read our content
when it's only about tooting our horns? If we frame things around ourselves,
the organizations, we are doomed to failure. If we think about value for the
donors, we will be driven in the right direction in a number of ways. 1 - Very
simple - Looking for a light memento of the organization that doesn't report on
the organization's activity at all but merely gives them a reminder of you
every time they use it? Scrap the magnet idea and go for something that they'll
actually want to use, like a USB flash drive ("disk on key") or power bank with
the organization's logo on it. 2 - Make the newsletter all about the reader.
Use the word YOU as much as possible. Why did the donor donate to your
organization in the past? Was it to help your organization, or was it to give
THE DONOR a sense of meaning, taking part in an important cause? The latter. So
when reporting to them on what you've been doing, focus on showing them what
they've accomplished through their donations, NOT what you've been doing since
they last heard from you. Remember why everyone in the example above about my
school - donors or just engaged community members - liked reading the
newsletter? They were trained to know that if they read through it, they'd find
information about themselves. It is so much more enjoyable to read about
yourself than it is about some organization doing work without you. This was a
community-based school, building a sense of community among the audience. But
even when you're an organization in Israel speaking to donors far overseas,
when you remind them of their involvement, you give them so much value. "Thanks
to you, 200 families had food on their holiday tables" is so much more
satisfying to a reader than , "Last Pesach, we put food on the tables of 200
families."
Lastly, in response to the original email from Shmuel at Shapell's - have you
considered that perhaps in this case less is more? (Yes, I appreciate the irony
of such a statement after writing such a long-winded email myself...) Looking
at your list of emails that go out, I can imagine recipients' inboxes getting
filled up really quickly, leading them to delete without ever considering the
contents. If you kept it instead to a monthly update, with perhaps a weekly
shiur only sent to those who opt in, I could imagine that the recipients might
be more interested in opening. I would need to know your audience better to say
that confidently, but as I try to consider their experience, I imagine that
would make it far more manageable for them, making them more open to receive
the value you give them, rather than deleting it before they even get a chance
to discover it.
Congratulations for making it this far in my email! :)
Sarah
=============
Sarah Landman
Principal Consultant and Owner
[https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1EIF8J15k79DhBn4vPf4cUYcwU259sle5&revid=0B4CFRvO2cyO0d3BsY0ljZGRFcHR5T2JRQXZvYWxLSDZtM3FjPQ]
050-578-6742 / 917-993-9932
sarah@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:sarah@xxxxxxxxx>
=============
On Sun, Sep 15, 2019 at 3:03 PM Dan Rosenstein
<rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
My 2 cents. It’s very costly to NOT mail them. It’s hard to cement a virtual
relationship with donors.
Also if you send a gift maybe they will share it with their spouse and they
maintain the relationship.
Also if you are involved in planned giving that’s the older generation.
Also turning on a computer uses electricity..
There are services that could find many of the addresses for you. It’s worth
the small investment and reinvest the dividends.
On Sun, Sep 15, 2019 at 5:33 AM Kate Hallgren
<kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
ha! then I would have to give everyone a gift! LOL
On Sun, Sep 15, 2019 at 12:17 PM Dan Rosenstein
<rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Suggestion. Consider contacting them that you are sending a gift to all your
supporters and you noticed we don’t have your snail mail address.
On Sun, Sep 15, 2019 at 2:04 AM Kate Hallgren
<kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I was thinking about this and realized that a lot of nonprofits probably don't
have as many street addresses as they used to. We have street addresses for our
donors, but we have a much bigger audience that subscribes to our newsletters
which come out via email. We don't have their street addresses because when
they sign up, they only have to enter their email address. We could ask them
for their street address too, but most people are reluctant to do that and
don't want to be bothered with phone calls or getting stuff in the mail. The
only way we can reach them is via an email campaign.
On Fri, Sep 13, 2019 at 1:20 PM Dan Rosenstein
<rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:rabbirosenstein@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Well I understand the hesitancy to avoid direct mail. It’s cheaper, quicker and
less costly to email. And easier!
But different donors respond differently. And you have many more options when
physically mailing. An email may go to spam or an old email address.
With direct mail you can change packaging. You can get change of mailing
address. And the envelope might be sitting around when the donor has time to
focus on it as opposed to someone getting an email at an inconvenient time and
they don’t go back to refer to it. You can also mail physical gifts etc
Nevertheless, direct mail only works when done right. And it needs to be done
often.
The answer is a successful organization does BOTH. And does both well. Can not
rely on email alone and can’t only mail once a year. Both are crucial.
I’ve never used him, but Jerry is from what I hear a good partner in this
effort.
Shabbat shalom
Dan Rosenstein
Executive Director
The Hebron Fund
Hebronfund.org
On Fri, Sep 13, 2019 at 12:22 PM Kate Hallgren
<kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:kate@xxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I'm not convinced. I throw all direct mail right into the recycle bin. Many of
my friends do too. Maybe older generations will open direct mail. I doubt tthat
younger generations do and they will be our target population as they age.
Once people realize they are missing out on things, they will start reading
your emails. Make your emails short, attractive and easy to read. Write
something catchy in the subject line. I scan my shul's newsletter every week
just to see if anything special is going on, plus they include Shabbat times
which is nice for me and the Torah portion of the week.
I don't think there is a magic formula for getting people to open emails.
Videos and photos seem to help. Maybe try other communication channels like
Facebook and Twitter.
I don't know what is considered an average open rate for emails. Could be that
20% is pretty good.
Good luck!
On Mon, Sep 9, 2019, 17:31 arnie draiman
<ajdraiman@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:ajdraiman@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
one suggestion I can make is to think about "old school"
Direct Mail is back! if you want ideas even for upcoming rosh hashana
campaigns, contact gerry - he is someone i have worked with for 15+ years.
honest, trustworthy, and knows his stuff. the link to his pdf letter of
explanation, what he offers, and his contact info is here:
http://draimanconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Porath-USA-Fundraising-Letter.pdf
arnie draiman
050-515-6776
www.draimanconsulting.com<http://www.draimanconsulting.com>
On Mon, Sep 9, 2019, 16:24 FreeLists Mailing List Manager
<ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:ecartis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
frforum Digest Mon, 09 Sep 2019 Volume: 05 Issue: 061
In This Issue:
[Fundraisers Forum] email advice question
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Jablon, Shmuel" <sjablon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:sjablon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2019 16:24:07 +0300
Subject: [Fundraisers Forum] email advice question
Shalom to all!
Here's a practical question that I'm hoping some people can advise me on.
At Shapell's/Darche Noam (We are a 41 year old Yeshiva/Midrasha in
Yerushalayim for students in their 20's and 30's), we are trying to figure
out how to get more people to open our emails. Typically we have about a 20
percent open rate. And we often hear, “I didn’t know about....”
Right now we send:
1 a weekly ebulletin to alumni, donors and parents that includes links to
shiurim, Mazal Tov announcements, news and other announcements.
2 a weekly 5 minute video shiur
3. Any special announcements (eg- programs, Rabbis visiting specific
communities, urgent lifecycle items, the occasional request for funds).
We are able to segment by location, as well as category (alumni, donors,
Rabbis/mekarvim, etc)
There are weeks when people could get 3-4 emails from us.
Our overall list has about 5,000 people. About 25% live in Israel.
We do have separate WhatsApp groups for alumni in Yerushalayim and Bet
Shemesh, as well as for people who get a weekly WhatsApp shiur from the
Rosh Yeshiva.
I would love advice on how we can get more people to read/view what we
send.
Thanks
Shmuel Jablon
*Shapell's/Darch*é
*Noam*
02-545-0808
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------------------------------
End of frforum Digest V5 #61
****************************
--
Kate Hallgren
Director of External Relations
Palestinian Media Watch
Office: +972 2 625 4140<tel:+972%202-625-4140>
Mobile: +972 50 9874343
Website: http://www.palwatch.org<http://www.palwatch.org/>
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--
Kate Hallgren
Director of External Relations
Palestinian Media Watch
Office: +972 2 625 4140<tel:+972%202-625-4140>
Mobile: +972 50 9874343
Website: http://www.palwatch.org<http://www.palwatch.org/>
Follow PMW on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/PalestinianMediaWatch/