NOZA's Craig Harris on Relationships with Donors

I recently got to interview NOZA CEO Craig Harris. He told me about how nonprofits can get the most out of the NOZA donor database, but we also talked a lot about fundraising strategy in general. Craig kept returning to two key points. First, if individual donors account for 83 percent of the money donated to nonprofits, then individuals and not foundations should be at the center of any organization's fundraising strategy. Second, communications with donors should be about building long-term relationships with them, not soliciting one-time gifts. The bottom line is that donors must be respected as partners in carrying out an organization's mission.

Anne Keenan at EchoDitto gives a great example of an organization that discouraged her from donating by treating her like an ATM. When she was presented with a large donate button moments after signing up for the MoveOn mailing list, "All of a sudden we’d skipped from flirting to something a little more intimate, and I felt icky and strangely violated." I think that the romance analogy is quite apt. By spending more time flirting with potential donors and less time trying to get into their wallets, you can send them the message that their wallets are worth the extra effort.

Always an advocate of treating donors with respect, Jeff at Donor Power Blog has issued a provocative challenge: offer donors a refund if they support a project that has already been fully funded. Jeff argues that no donor would have the gall to accept such a refund, but any donor would be pleasantly surprised by the offer. "Have I seen this done? No," Jeff says. "I've only seen accountants' heads explode at the thought of this idea."

By the way, don't forget to come back tomorrow for our special one-day NOZA promotion. If you'd like to see NOZA in action, check out the video of our recent webinar.

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