If you’re NOT tired and stressed out this busy holiday week, please share your secret with the rest of us.
As I write this, there are unwrapped gifts and bits of wrapping paper on my living room floor, cookie ingredients spilled in the kitchen, and spruce needles everywhere. I’m tired, fighting a cold, and trying to figure out how to check everything off of my mile-long checklist. And this is getting posted much later than I had hoped.
Your checklist is long, too, I know. So let’s keep this short and to the point.
Let’s keep in mind that all of the generous folks who support our organizations also have holiday stress and all kinds of other things going on.
We’re communicating with people, not ATMs.
The catchy headline promised “Two Quick Things” to get your donor’s attention, and here they are…
1. Make a quick, low budget video and post it everywhere.
Go to the break room during the morning slump when everyone’s refilling their coffee mugs. Get them to stand together, point your phone at them, and capture them saying, “Thank you. You’re amazing!”
Then, go around and ask people to say their first name, and their favorite part about your organization’s mission, or one thing about someone your organization helped.
You can give your coworkers a heads up a day before you plan to make the video, and ask them to wear festive hats, ugly Christmas sweaters, things with your organization’s logo emblazoned on them.
Easier – give everyone a printed page to hold up during the video. Print individual letters to spell out words, large imprints of your logo, pictures of people you have helped. (Get written permission first!)
If you have time and it’s appropriate for the people you serve, get someone your organization is helping to appear in your video. Be sure to get written permission and tell the person or people exactly how you will be using the video.
Put it out there: It’s not the quality of the video that breaks it though the noise on social media, it’s the traction it gets. Ask your staff, Board, committee members, family, friends, neighbors, and strangers in line at the grocery store to LIKE, SHARE, and COMMENT.
Video tips
- Short is good. Try to keep it to 3 minutes or less.
- Low tech is ok, but please use a tripod to stabilize your camera or phone while shooting it.
2. Email Your Top PYBUNTS
Pull a list of your 20 – or more – top Past Year But Unfortunately Not This (PYBUNT) donors, and send each of them a personalized email.
Start with a basic template and customize it for each person. You can even mail merge it, as long as you get the fields juuust right.
Grab your FREE copy of my Easy Year-End Email Template
easy-year-end-email-templateDownload
You can tag-team this with others in your organization. Ask your executive director to send two emails. Ask a program staffer or volunteer to send some.
You still have time to take advantage of my December FREEBIE offer – a 30 minute phone consultation. Pick your time slot here.
