Unleashing my inner Daily Mail reader
Clearly it's that time of the month
Unleashing my inner Daily Mail reader
by Caroline Danks
Picture description: a person reading a newspaper
Deep in the pandemic days (4 years ago now, as if you needed reminding), I twice donated to individual fundraising challenges posted by colleagues on LinkedIn.
They weren’t people I knew well. But I liked the tone of the posts and the invitation to support the cause. I enjoy the spontaneity of being able to respond as and when my emotions are stirred to do so, and will often make gifts following appeals made on social media for personal fundraising challenges.
I donated a tenner to each.
Since then, have received around a minimum of two mailings every year from each of the charities I supported.
In the most recent mailing, there was:
a 4 page letter
a 2 sided glossy leaflet
a calendar (!)
two blank greetings cards with envelopes
a double sided A4 donation form
Now, I know more than most about the need to invest in fundraising and that retaining and engaging existing donors is much more cost-effective than trying to find new ones.
But a line has been crossed.
The practice of rinsing donors through aggressive Direct Mail campaigns should have died off in 2015, when the press lost their shit and the Fundraising Regulator was created.
It’s no longer effective, costs more than it raises and perpetuates largely untrue myths about the charity sector within the wider public.
Alongside the ROI now being well into minus figures, the content was in my view, coercive and used outdated and unethical tactics to generate donations.
When we know better…
I worry that if I were a vulnerable person, these mailings could have made me feel:
Panicky about or personally responsible for the people described in the letter;
Like a very small gift would be capable of fixing the problem;
Guilty about the beautiful but unsolicited greetings cards which arrived with the request (which I hadn’t paid for, but which clearly cost money).
Many of us who once used intentionally persuasive tactics (we’ve all been to one of those writing workshops right?) have now stopped this practice, recognising that those who employ such means have to take a degree of responsibility for the outcome.
But clearly, some people haven’t got the memo.
Philanthropy should be instigated by an individual for the primary reason that they’re passionate about the cause they want to support. Not because they felt duped or coerced into a donation.
It’s not just me (and every Daily Mail reader ever…)
In her book Philanthropy Revolution, Lisa Greer also has feelings on this topic:
“It makes me sad to think of the money wasted and the landfill impacted by the hundreds of envelopes I get…The response rates on snail mail solicitations are in steady decline, and while snail mail is certainly appropriate for donors who have identified it as preference, most of us would rather see you spend your money elsewhere.”
It's not just the wastage, the guilt-tripping and the negative ROI, but the laziness too.
The mailing in question thanked me for my ‘continued support’.
What continued support?
I’d been a one-off donor. There was literally no continuation!
The high levels of brand awareness in the public consciousness of charities of this size means that other equally annoyed recipients of such mail are likely to feel this way about ALL charities, because this is their only experience of them.
Gimmicks and gifts
These tell me that you don’t believe that your work (or your copywriting) is enough on its own and that you need to buy my support with things I never asked for.
If you don’t believe that, then why should I?
I know it’s horribly competitive out there at the moment but there are more innovative, less extractive ways to invite a person to join your movement.
Ok, rant over - now for some practical suggestions.
Me and my big ideas
Here are some ideas to consider if you want to freshen up your fundraising (whilst pissing fewer people off in the process):
Firstly I want to say that doing things differently when you’re under pressure to meet your targets is hard.
I get it.
But just because something works (does it even?), it doesn’t mean its right.
As a fundraiser (and donor) of many years and someone who knows a bit about how the sector ticks, please know that the following suggestions are given to you in the spirit of wanting us ALL to thrive and do better.
Fundraisers are sick of competing for ever diminishing resources and feeling like we’re in an Anthony Hopkins / Ramsay Bolton Rome-inspired TV show (IYKYK).
A rising tide and all.
1. Use the fricking tags on your CRM
God I’m sweary today. #notsorry
Making a one-off gift is not consent for you to mail me for years and years afterwards.
Even if I have consented, a failure on my part to respond over multiple years, should be a signifier that I’m not a good prospect.
Please tag me as such.
If your database is sooo huge that effective segmentation is overwhelming (and it really shouldn’t be for large charities with significant resources), then err on the side of conservatism and go intentionally extra small with your direct mail activities, by writing only to those who as Lisa suggests, have indicated that it’s their preference.
Charities are held to different moral standards compared with other types of organisation. These crappy practices could negatively influence the reputations of all charities, large and small. Although larger charities can weather the storms of yet another negative mainstream press diatribe, smaller organisations are less likely to be able to. And it doesn’t feel fair.
2. Celebrate one off gifts
Regular giving is, has been and will forever be the Holy Grail.
Understandably so.
But can we find a place to recognise, celebrate (and appropriately tag) one off donations too?
Some of us a commitment phobes. We’re not sure who we are yet and are enjoying testing different donor personas or trying on different charities for size.
Some of us support charities because we benefit directly from their work.
But sometimes, we just want to sponsor our friend Paul and his family as they take on the indignity of an inflatable 5km for the local children’s hospice.
If you can find out the reasons behind a first donation to ascertain whether or not I’m a likely prospect for a repeat or regular gift all the better – saves you time in guessing and getting it wrong.
3. Replace persuading with inviting
Halt the narrative of negativity, time limited tragedy and persuasiveness.
This doesn’t mean you can’t share stories about the impact of your work or cast a powerful vision for a better world (these are to be encouraged). And no-one wants a terrible situation sugar coated or sanitsed.
Honesty reigns.
What we need to stop doing, is making recipients of fundraising appeals (especially unsolicited ones) feel personally responsible for the savage situations which charities’ beneficiaries find themselves in*.
Gently invite people to be a part of the solutions you’re proposing.
Be clear about how people can help but don’t be desperate, grasping or inauthentic in your writing (and remember, only thank someone for their ‘continued support’ if they have in fact, continually supported you).
*I think. But maybe I’m wrong here - what do you think? Should we shout at people and be upfront with where individuals are culpable? Or is this likely to close down dialogue?
4. Use email and be (very) discerning in your cold approaches
Snail mail should no longer be the default. Look at what the data says. Cold (and lapsed!) solicitations are so seldom successful.
My primary take away from Open’s review of 104 Christmas 2023 campaigns was that the most successful channel was warm email, followed by warm mail, followed by cold mail.
Combine cold approaches with declining response rates to Direct Mail and you have a very scant business case (and please, please, if you have a legit business case for cold / lapsed direct mail, do email me and tell me why it’s a good idea – I’m not an IG practitioner and am keen to learn more).
Learn the difference between lapsed and cold and the difference between a lapsed one time donor and a lapsed regular donor.
5. Challenge yourself (and colleagues if you’re feeling brave)
If you believe that the only way to solicit a donation is by sending freebies with an appeal letter, then ask yourself why.
Is it because fundraising is really competitive and you’re just trying to give yourself an edge?
I get it, completely.
But in a world where the UK’s largest charities increased income by 4% and the smallest saw their income decrease by the same amount, there’s a possibility that the money isn’t necessarily flowing to those doing the best work. It’s flowing to those with a monopoly in the market.
Meaning that there are charities out there that are receiving money for projects in spite of the fact that they’re probably not the best people to be doing the job.
The truth is that some charities (not all) are self serving have lost sight of the reason they were set up in the first place.
They justify their existence on the premise that ‘we’ve been here for a long time’ and whilst no-one is challenging the importance of their role in providing employment, chances are, people who rely on their services, are not getting the best possible outcomes.
So have this brave conversation with yourself if you can.
Interrogate your charity’s annual reports to determine if you believe the money is being well spent.
Consider whether the culture is supportive and inclusive for all (because if it isn’t for staff, then it sure as hell won’t be for those you’re trying to serve).
Think about the way in which the work gets done. Is it efficient? Does it meet people’s needs in the nest possible way (as far as you an discern?).
Thank you for bearing with me on what has been quite a rant.
You’ll be glad to know there’s a much more uplifting part 2 coming later this week, where I share with you the antidote aka ‘literally the most perfect fundraising appeal ever’ (wish me luck in coming up with a better title…).