fiscal year end targets part 2 - acquisition

So now that you have your loyal donors covered, how and what do we say to those folks who have not shown that loyalty to us as donors?

Step 1: Identify those who are connected. One of the biggest things that we can gain from the now completed transition to an electronic communication delivery system is the ability to quickly and easily identify who is interested. Through the vast majority of e-communication delivery systems, you now have the ability to identify at the very least, who is reading your communications. In many you can identify click through rates, and then track that prospect on into your web pages to identify areas and length of interest. Given any of this data, create a simple list of those folks whom you know have been engaging with you and prioritize if possible based upon clicks - the more interaction, the higher the value of the prospect.

Step 2: Create a case for support that either includes the fiscal year end as a meaningful component or ignore it altogether. In general, I lean toward the second - you care about your fiscal year, is there any reason that someone who is not a donor (or for that matter someone who is) would care about it?

Step 3: Share that case specifically with the folks who have levels of interaction and provide them with a direction - what do you want them to do, why, how and what impact will it have? You know that these folks have been interested in you and your message but that doesn't mean that they will all give. When folks do give, send them a personal thank you email from your own account. Recognize that they have stepped forward to help you.

Step 4: Go back to your loyals and ask them to help. Share the case for support and ask them to share it with their friends who have a connection. Maybe they don't pay attention to your messaging but they just might read and respond to it when it comes from their friend. If you want to get really ambitious you can create a contest for the loyals to see who can have the biggest impact. Take a page out of little league, make it an annual contest and provide a trophy to the winning person with a new name added every year at reunion - fun, cheap and motivating!