Donors want to be seen, heard, valued.

Storytelling for Fundraisers Tom Ahern August 16, 2018 AFP Canada South Tell stories. Simple, right? 1 2 Donors want to be seen, heard, valued. Source: Jenny Mitchell 1,153 sent out 66 responses (5.72%) $9,055 raised 3 4 30,000+ new donors for a community hospital SML 5 Direct Mail www.aherncomm.com 6 1

DEFAULT DM OPENING: I m writing to you today because... 7 Direct Mail 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 8 Direct ask Direct ask Direct ask Direct ask Direct Mail 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 9 Direct ask 16 asks in 2 pages... NOT a record Direct Mail 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 10 Direct ask What s my SMIT? SMIT = Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you today 11 12 2

the key motivator for giving is not need, but opportunity. The Golden Mantra of marketing The right offer in front of the right person at the right time... 13 14 4 elements of a good offer The problem is easy to understand. The solution is easy to understand. The cost is a good deal. There s urgency to solve the problem now. Steven Screen, Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, November 2015 SMIT: The Mississippi River needs your help to fight its way back to pre-industrial health. 15 16 YOU LOOK BEFORE YOU READ 17 18 3

The P.S. is the real 1st paragraph of the letter. Dr. Siegfried Vögele Direct Mail www.aherncomm.com 19 Direct Mail 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 20 November 17th, 2014 was the day my whole world changed. It was the day that my middle child, 8 year old Maiysn, passed away from cancer. As our family gathered to say their goodbyes, my husband and I laid beside him and we watched him take his last breath here on this earth. When you lose a child, whatever the circumstance, it rocks your whole world. It's not the way life is supposed to be. Parents are not supposed to bury their children. SMIT? SMIT? NO P.S. SMIT? SMIT? After Maiysn passed away I was extremely lost. I had lots of support from my husband, family and friends but no one can truly understand what it's like to lose a child. I was struggling. Struggling to get out of bed, struggling to function and remember things, and even struggling to breathe sometimes. I needed help. I needed someone to listen to my story without judgment. Someone to validate the way I was feeling. I was directed to the Bereavement Program at the Canadian Mental Health Association and my whole world began to change. There I met my Bereavement Counsellor, Colleen. She listened, she comforted and she told me I was not alone in the way I was feeling. After she came into my life I truly believe that's when I started to heal. I felt like the fog was being lifted, if even a little bit. Reading ease: 76 Grade level: 6th 21 22 November 17th, 2014 was the day my whole world changed. It was the day that my middle child, 8 year old Maiysn, passed away from cancer. As our family gathered to say their goodbyes, my husband and I laid beside him and we watched him take his last breath here on this earth. When you lose a child, whatever the circumstance, it rocks your whole world. It's not the way life is supposed to be. The STORY CYCLE Parents are not supposed to bury their children. 23 24 4

The virtuous circle, emotionally... Donor comms 101 Digital or print: BOTH Appeals, thanks, & newsletters work together. You ask. You thank. You report. You ask. You thank. You report. You ask. You thank. You report. 25 26 ASKING does not operate in isolation. It is part of a system. The real gold hides inside your thanks and reporting. The part the charity cares about The part the donor cares about The virtuous circle... Appeals, thanks, & newsletters work together. You ask. You thank. You report. You ask. You thank. You report. You ask. You thank. You report. 27 28 Your thanks and your newsletters are your HUGS! Source: @FundraiserBeth 29 30 5

Mike Duerksen: Things you cannot say enough times to a donor: Thank you. It s such a special gift. Thank you. The world needs more people like you. Thank you for caring. Thank you for your kind generosity. Thank you. You ve made a difference. Gratitude Report for the Alzheimer s Society Nova Scotia; created by Agents of Good 31 32 NOT an annual report. BEGINNING Gratitude Report for the Alzheimer s Society Nova Scotia; created by Agents of Good 33 Gratitude Report for the Alzheimer s Society Nova Scotia; created by Agents of Good 34 Agents of Good 35 Agents of Good 36 6

I liked, well, everything about her. Our life was busy and joyful. It still is, but in a different way since Alzheimer s joined our family....we were stunned when she was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer s she was only 57! It is such a good feeling to reach out for help and have someone see you, pay attention to you and know where you are at. BEGINNING You are part of this story. Thanks to you... Agents of Good 37 Agents of Good MIDDLE 38 MIDDLE Agents of Good 39 Agents of Good 40 Your CASE FOR SUPPORT Story END, HAPPIER BECAUSE OF DONORS Agents of Good 41 42 7

Why? THE 3 BIG QUESTIONS So, what do you folks do? 1 and Why us? What are we doing that s so uniquely wonderful that the world should want more of it support our plans? 43 44 So, what do you folks do? 1 and Why us? What are we doing that s so uniquely wonderful that the world should want more of it support our new plans? In North America, 39% of community college students graduate on average At Bow Valley College, the graduation rate is 77% or better 45 46 Neuroscience says Coming across new information triggers a chemical reaction that makes us feel good, which in turns causes us to seek out even more of it. Source: Wall Street Journal article by Lee Gomes, on USC neuroscientist, Dr. Irving Biederman; published March 12, 2008 Make a promise 47 48 8

2 Why now? What s the big hurry? What changed? Why is this URGENT? 49 50 2 Why now? What s the big hurry? What changed? Why is this URGENT? Can Community Colleges Save the Economy? Time magazine, 2009 51 52 3 Why you, the donor, might care? 53 54 9

Is 22 pages enough? You build success backwards 56 55 If you can t explain it in 50 words, you won t explain it in 500 either. 30 words 57 58 SHOW, don t tell Before/after micro stories 59 Source: Charity: Water, 2017, via Adrian Salmon 60 10

Little stories are easy to remember... When she entered our 3rd grade, she couldn t spell cat. Not sure why you matter? Pretend your organization, project, program, idea, mission or vision disappeared tonight. At the end of the year, she could spell Tchaikovsky. So, what did you folks do that mattered a lot? 61 62 US~NOW~YOU NOW~YOU~US YOU~US~NOW US! NOW! YOU! IN ANY ORDER 63 64 Your ME? Story Mom was wrong. Research shows that even when people perceive that flattery is insincere, that flattery can still leave a lasting and positive impression of the flatterer. 65 66 11

How most nonprofits talk Donor-WHATEVER: We did this. We did that. We were amazing. Oh, by the way, thanks. This way raises more money faster Donor-CENTRIC: With your help, all these amazing things happened. And without your help, they won t. 67 68 She is not YOUR donor. You are one of her charities Sources: Mark Phillips, Harvey McKinnon, Penelope Burk? Donors are staggeringly ignorant of the causes they support. -- Richard Radcliffe 69 70 DONORS MAY BE IGNORANT, but what they DO have in abundance are their own personal values, interests, beliefs, connections, experiences, upbringing, lost loves, secret passions, regrets, fears, angers, hopes, and built-in empathy [except for psychopaths]... Your FIGHT Story 71 72 12

The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions. Neurologist Donald Calne Create an enemy. Us [the tribe] vs. them [the enemy]. Seth Godin:...build a tribe, [people] who want to hear from [you] because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about... 73 74 Me? vision enemy hero served hero defeats enemy Source: Stephen Pidgeon and Tangible 75! 76 After Trump s first 100 days in office, nonprofit evaluator, Charity Navigator, reported a huge increase in donations to progressive groups including the ACLU (up 8,000%), Southern Poverty Law Center (up 1,400%) and Planned Parenthood (up 1,000%) along with the American Refugee Committee and Environmental Defense Fund. Ben Paynter in Fast Company, 12/28/17 Giving is not about a calculation of what you are buying, Yale economics professor, Dean Karlan, proved. It is about participating in a fight. The New York Times March 9, 2008 77 78 13

Served Enemy ENEMY SERVED Hero Vision HERO VISION Source: Pareto, Sept. 2015 79 80 SERVED SERVED HERO VISION ENEMY 81 1 of 4 82 Your ANCHORING Story Website visitors spend 84% of their time above the fold Source: Ann Wylie, from Nielsen Norman, 2018 83 84 14

What you put first matters. Agents of Good 85 Source: Leah Eustace 86 Go to Greenpeace online. What s the first thing you see? Current Greenpeace supporters: 2.8 million worldwide, in 50 countries GREENPEACE KNOWS WHAT IT WANTS MOST. DO YOU? 87 88 Your EMOTIONAL Story Common emotional triggers used by fundraising copywriters: Anger Duty Exclusivity Fear Flattery Greed Guilt Hope Salvation 89 90 15

A DONATE button is not enough Now implies some urgency; not much, but at least a little Don t just ask me to DO something. Open the door is great. It gives the donor an important job to do. Boys & Girls Clubs of Maury County Ask me to FEEL something. 91 92 Don t be afraid to show the ugly. Negative emotions are linked to survival and are much stronger. Source: NYU neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux, in Emotionomics 93 94 Gifts via the newsletter: $106 MILLION (2012) 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 95 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 96 16

Sell the threat...... and make the donor responsible for the solution (= your programs). 97 98 Your B Story 99 100 Telling Selling Your Story Jerold Panas (1928-2018) 101 102 17

Make it bigger. 103 104 A campaign case talks about the vision, the destination, where you want to go next and soon. You re at A. What s your B? 105 106 B B 107 108 18

B Insiders suffer from the curse of knowledge. And it IS a curse in fundraising. 109 110 All fundraising copy should sound like someone talking. -- George Smith, Tiny Essentials of Writing for Fundraising Make your donor the real hero of the story And shift the burden for achieving success onto their shoulders 111 112 Your NEED FOR DONORS Story People enjoy giving. They just don t know if you need their help. 113 2017 Tom Ahern www.aherncomm.com 114 19

RU telling half the story? If there are no problems to solve, donors have nothing to do. Your donor newsletter goes here Source: John Haydon, April 2018 115 116 Calendar 2007 = 21,107 donors Calendar 2008 = 21,994 Calendar 2009 = 21,261 Calendar 2010 = 21,887 No need, no enemy Calendar 2011 = 21,846 Calendar 2012 = 21,017 Calendar 2013 = 19,872 Calendar 2014 = 17,508 Calendar 2015 = 16,893 Calendar 2016 = 15,484 117 118 THEY GAVE TO BATTLE HUMAN CRUELTY. ANIMAL RESCUE WAS NICE, BUT NOT THE REASON THEY GAVE. 119 120 20

Calendar 2007 = 21,107 donors Calendar 2008 = 21,994 Calendar 2009 = 21,261 Calendar 2010 = 21,887 Calendar 2011 = 21,846 Calendar 2012 = 21,017 Calendar 2013 = 19,872 Calendar 2014 = 17,508 Calendar 2015 = 16,893 Calendar 2016 = 15,484 Calendar 2017 = 16,549 Donor newsletter completely overhauled LUNCH! 121 122 My free I subscribe! how-to e-newsletter www.aherncomm.com 123 21