What’s Wrong with “Ask > Thank > Report > Repeat”

My pal Steven Screen is one of the best fundraising copywriters in the U.S. Seriously! He and his friend Jeff Brooks have a great podcast called Fundraising Is Beautiful. You might want to check it out.
One of the things they like to promote is their rule of thumb for effective fundraising:

Ask > Thank > Report > Repeat

I like this concept. It’s smart! We all know that too many nonprofits just “”Ask > Ask > Ask.  So, “Ask > Thank > Report > Repeat” is much better. But I think it’s missing one very important additional element— ENGAGEMENT! Therefore, I think the following works better:

Engage > Ask > Thank > Report > Repeat

Valuable engagement opportunities will involve your supporters on a deep, emotional level. 
Here are just a few ideas to show you what I mean. You can provide:

• Offers to get involved (such as a chance to volunteer)
• Offers to participate in events (such as walks, rides, golf outings, galas)
• Offers to take a tour (of a hospital, for instance)
• Offers to watch a video
• Offers to download an eBook or infographic
• Offers to send a letter to Congress (for advocacy)
• Offers that give supporters a chance to tell their story (so they can explain why they care)
• Offers that give supporters a chance to give you their feedback (via a donor survey)
• Offers that give supporters a chance to meet you, your staff, your volunteers, or your leadership (face-to-face, via a webinar or a Google Hangout)
• And others offers…  the list is endless

Sadly, most fundraising is absent meaningful engagement because it’s time-consuming.
But, nowadays you can leverage technology to provide fantastic one-to-many engagements. Without engagement, your relationship with your supporters will focus more on the transaction. Engagement will bring the transactional nature of donating up a level— to a serious, emotional relationship.
What do you think?

Recommendation:

LIKE THIS BLOG POST? PLEASE SHARE IT AND/OR SUBSCRIBE

Click to tweet!