Comments on: Building Donor Loyalty http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/building-donor-loyalty/ Connect. Educate. Innovate. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:13:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mandi Moshay http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/building-donor-loyalty/comment-page-1/#comment-40101 Mandi Moshay Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:07:19 +0000 http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/?p=2775#comment-40101 For me this article is a great reminder of what we already know...fundraising is all about relationships. So often organizations fail to put the personal relationships of their volunteer leaders to good use. A new study commissioned by Campbell & Company and conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University indicates that the largest gifts are made when a donor is personally solicited by someone they know. Check out our blog for a link to that article: http://www.collinsgroup.com/blog/2009/10/15/there%e2%80%99s-never-been-a-better-time-to-ask/ For me this article is a great reminder of what we already know…fundraising is all about relationships. So often organizations fail to put the personal relationships of their volunteer leaders to good use. A new study commissioned by Campbell & Company and conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University indicates that the largest gifts are made when a donor is personally solicited by someone they know.

Check out our blog for a link to that article:
http://www.collinsgroup.com/blog/2009/10/15/there%e2%80%99s-never-been-a-better-time-to-ask/

]]> By: Jonah Halper http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/building-donor-loyalty/comment-page-1/#comment-40078 Jonah Halper Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:41:03 +0000 http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/?p=2775#comment-40078 "...charities need to measure donor perceptions of the quality of service provided to them. In doing this it is necessary to develop a measure that is properly tailored to the organization." This academic piece is exactly that. Academic. Although the concepts and value of measuring things like customer satisfaction, commitment etc. will help retention problems, it is not at all realistic in the org setting. Most orgs barely know how to conduct a simple marketing campaign to complement their fundraising efforts, nor savvy enough to even recognize the problem. As a fundraiser in the field, who prides himself on his marketing background I think it is more pragmatic in implementing proven systems that anticipate the communication breakdown leading to the loss of donors. Stay away from costly and time consuming research, focus groups, meetings etc. and simply go to proven methods (best practices from other orgs) that will help slow down the hemorrhaging of donors - even if it is not tailor made. It isn't a perfect solution, but it is one that will be implemented faster that a professor or consultant offering a plethora of research when most orgs are busy putting out fires. “…charities need to measure donor perceptions of the quality of service provided to them. In doing this it is necessary to develop a measure that is properly tailored to the organization.”

This academic piece is exactly that. Academic.

Although the concepts and value of measuring things like customer satisfaction, commitment etc. will help retention problems, it is not at all realistic in the org setting.

Most orgs barely know how to conduct a simple marketing campaign to complement their fundraising efforts, nor savvy enough to even recognize the problem.

As a fundraiser in the field, who prides himself on his marketing background I think it is more pragmatic in implementing proven systems that anticipate the communication breakdown leading to the loss of donors. Stay away from costly and time consuming research, focus groups, meetings etc. and simply go to proven methods (best practices from other orgs) that will help slow down the hemorrhaging of donors – even if it is not tailor made.

It isn’t a perfect solution, but it is one that will be implemented faster that a professor or consultant offering a plethora of research when most orgs are busy putting out fires.

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