Series: Donor Recognition Program Design

Donor recognition activities can be private or public, temporary or permanent, and reside at the organization or with the donor. As always, it’s important that each activity aligns with your overall strategy, and that you adjust your tactics as needed. But in general, a strong donor recognition strategy is built on a few key tactics:

Mass communication (with personalization whenever possible)
Customized communications (such as individually crafted letters and phone calls)
Tours or meetings with leaders, researchers or service providers
Events (large or small)

Recognition Series, RecognitionAnne Manner-McLartyFebruary 21, 2020donor recognition, Communication, program designComment

Listening: An investigation into two-way communication with donors

The broadly stated goal in listening to donors or other constituents is to learn how they think – how they think about the institution as a whole, how they think about a recent decision or change, how they think about a specific event or piece of communication. Donor relations professionals are poised to take leadership in defining the methods, limitations, risks, and benefits inherent in creating two-way communication with donors.

Engagement, ProfessionalismAnne Manner-McLartyApril 17, 2019donor relations, CommunicationComment

What motivates donors to give?

There are two key questions that we all want to ask and they both point to donor motivation. The first is why did you give to us? The second is what will motivate you to give to us again? One can be asked, the other should never be asked. If we are to demonstrate understanding of our donors, there are some things we have to figure out without asking.

Pre- and post-event communication strategies to improve the donor experience

As we all well know, the experience surrounding an event starts long before the attendee arrives at the physical location. Events should be designed with the pre- and post-event communication strategies in mind and the experience of those components should be managed and branded with care.

Storytelling, Engagement, StewardshipAnne Manner-McLartyOctober 5, 2016Communication, Events, donor relations, strategic planComment