"As a donor to charity, what do we nonprofits do that irritates you? What’s caused you to stop giving to a charity?" Marc Pitman asked the tough questions on LinkedIn, a social-networking
site with a business/professional focus where the demographic is likely to be a
close match for many nonprofits’ donors. And the answers are very educational...
Telemarketing annoyances are very high on the list of pet peeves,
not surprisingly. All the complaints that go along with commercial telephone solicitations, in fact, seem to apply equally to nonprofits. Just because you've got a good cause -- that doesn't mean the
"intrusion" is any less, or the donor any more willing to give out
their credit card information over the phone.
As well as the question of what it costs a nonprofit to hire
a telemarketing company, there are strong objections to “boiler room” operations
with computer-dialled calls, recorded messages, or someone who simply
reads from a script; cold calls; inconvenient (dinner hour) calls;
high-pressure tactics and “guilt-tripping”; and the list goes on.
- “If you don’t know me and you’re asking for my money, at least give
me the dignity of my surname. If you don’t KNOW my surname, why are you
calling me?”
- “Give me choices for how I want to be solicited. Maybe on-line is my preference; maybe mail. Never by phone. “
- “Since it is clear that the charities keep records of donors in
databases, use that information to respectfully care for your donors,
just as a customer service operation uses a CRM application to care for
its customers.”
The issue of accountability comes up in many forms, not
surprisingly. Multiple mailings, high-cost mailings with unwanted
“bonus gifts,” multiple appeals from various levels (local,
state/provincial, national) of the same organization, and so on, come
up repeatedly in the donors’ comments — and there is a strong objection
to the selling or sharing of mailing lists.
- “Don’t send me junk in the mail like address labels, notepads and
pennies. I have an understanding of the costs of printing and mailing
and including these items with a solicitation letter makes me wonder
exactly how much of my donation will be used for the core mission of
the non-profit.”
- “If I have responded to your ANNUAL appeal, then why are you spending my donation on sending me monthly appeals?”
- “Too bad — if only they’d used their customer/donor relationship
software to the full extent, they’d still get her annual donation.”
Regardless of the method of contact and solicitation, donor fatigue
is clearly reflected in comments like this:
- “Nothing more annoying then the ‘thank you for your generous gift —
you are the best!’ letter that immediately transitions into a ‘please
give more now’.”
The feedback isn’t all negative, however. Among the 50-plus
responses to date, there are some fine accolades for organizations
that are “doing it right,” and clear statements of what individual donors expect and appreciate from the nonprofits to whom they
give money.
Meanwhile, the responses to Marc’s question are still coming in...
If you’re a donor, why not add your own pet peeves to the LinkedIn list? And if you manage a nonprofit organization, you’ll find it well
worth your time to read carefully through those comments. Donors are
coming out to tell you exactly what it will take to bring them onboard
— and it could be the most valuable information you’ll collect this week.