As we start a new year, here’s a tip that I guarantee will make your donors happy. Tell them what you accomplished in 2010! Our friends at the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society did just that with a terrific email video they sent to supporters as a Holiday greeting in December.
Celebrate your accomplishments
This simple one-minute video starts out by saying “This Holiday Season CPAWS wants to share with you our 2010 achievements.” It goes on to list a handful of accomplishments, like suspending the grizzly bear hunt in Alberta, re-routing hydro lines, protecting First Nations waters in BC and limiting clear-cutting in Nova Scotia. There are seven victories in all.
This is such a simple thing – yet so few of us do it well.
Donors have been telling us the same thing in focus groups for years. “Before they ask us for another donation, why don’t they tell us what they did with the last one?”
What donors want – for you, from you
Your donors want you to succeed. And they want to know when you succeed.
So why not do everyone a huge favour? Take an hour right now and sit down to make a list of your organization’s accomplishments. The list doesn’t have to be long – even three or four accomplishments are impressive.
Then, figure out how you’re going to tell your donors the good news. You could send an e-blast like CPAWS did, include an insert with your next newsletter or write about them in your thank-you letters for the first quarter of this year.
How you do it doesn’t matter as much as getting around to doing it.
Your donors will love you for it.
This article originally appeared at Canadian Fundraising and Philanthropy eNews.
