the art of listening
DESCRIPTION
This session will help you maximize the value of donor information to support your mission, measure the value of information, and teach you to recognize and capture precious data you've overlooked. Donors are your organization's most valuable asset. Without loyal supporters, your mission will be compromised at best or unachievable at worst. One sure-fire way to diminish the value of this asset is to treat donors like ATM machines by taking their money for granted without making efforts to show you care about who they are. You have the means to aim higher. Donors reveal something about themselves every time they interact with you. Are you showing that you're paying attention and hearing what they are saying? Take the time to know how they should be addressed, how they want to be contacted, and what they care about.TRANSCRIPT
The Art of Listening
Are you really leveraging what your donors are telling
you?
Chuck Longfield
Chuck Longfield Page #2 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Why care about data?
One of your greatest assets The lens through which you view your donors Impacts how your donors view your organization Effects your ability to allocate scarce resources
and grow the value of your asset
Chuck Longfield Page #3 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
One of Your Greatest Assets
Just as real as your endowment Generates millions annually Like other assets, requires maintenance Can be easily mismanaged
Chuck Longfield Page #4 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Recommendation #1- Monitor your data quality regularly
Identify 100 donors randomly, each year, and thoroughly review their data
- Incorrect data (typos, moved, married, dead)- Duplicate records- Missing information- Correct treatment (clubs, tracks, expire dates)
Chuck Longfield Page #5 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Your View of Your Supporters
You don’t know most donors personally Capture their rich interactions What are they really saying? Don’t be afraid to correct their data, e.g. “donor
since” or “list of gifts” What is valuable and what isn’t?
Chuck Longfield Page #6 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Recommendation #2– Use Richer Dataset in Selections Test different variables, e.g. matching gift Clean up messy data Create single passion variable Is a matching gift worth more than a web site
registration?
Chuck Longfield Page #7 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Your Donor’s View of Your Organization
“I just gave to them” “They spend all of my money sending me mail” “They can’t even spell my name right” Passionate donors may tolerate your missteps
but not all donors will
Chuck Longfield Page #8 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
The Cost of a Typo!Correct
Last NameMisspelledLast Name % Difference
Average Gift $39.13 $38.55 -1.5%Renewal Rate 51.1% 46.6% -8.8%
Average Gift $52.43 $46.16 -12.0%Renewal Rate 49.4% 41.9% -15.2%
Organization A
Organization B
Chuck Longfield Page #9 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Recommendation #3– Call All New Donors!
Are you really a new donor? Do we have your correct name & address? Why did you give to us? What would you like from our relationship? And say thank you!
Chuck Longfield Page #10 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Your Ability to Allocate Scarce Resources
Costs keep increasing Not all donors are created equal Invest in the donors with the greatest potential Look across all development activities
Chuck Longfield Page #11 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Recommendation #4– Look at Donor ROI
Lends itself to increased stewardship What was the “thank you” call worth? Did the campaign yield positive net results for all
donors?
Chuck Longfield Page #12 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Your Ability to Grow the Value of Your Asset
Cheaper to keep your existing donors Encourage your donors to contact you Encourage donors to volunteer time or
information about themselves Capture all donor data in one place
Chuck Longfield Page #13 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Recommendation #5– Create hurdles for donors to clear to qualify for further investments
Who returned the survey? Who came to the event? Who called the call center, visited the web site,
or matched their gift?
Chuck Longfield Page #14 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Recommendation #6 –Follow-up with all non-renewing members above $100 personally
Update records where necessary Determine reason for non-renewal Change business practices where necessary
Chuck Longfield Page #15 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
How to value a piece of data?
What is the value of an email address?
What does the email address enable, that generates value?
Chuck Longfield Page #16 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
What does an email address enable? Less expensive, electronic communication Better customer service (e.g. timely thank you’s) Faster receipt of funds? (e.g. pledge reminders) Identification of more affluent and educated
donors (who own computers?) Identification of more passionate donors
(who will share information about themselves) Unique identifier resulting in fewer duplicates
Chuck Longfield Page #17 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Data – What is it good for? Not all data are created equal What would you do differently? When is 1 + 1 = 3 (or more)? Pay attention to the source of the information Does it need to be transformed to be useful? Who else is using it? Should be using it? What is the data really telling me? When is enough, enough?
Chuck Longfield Page #18 © 2010 Blackbaud
2010 APGA Conference
Know the real value of your data Care for your data better Use your data more effectively
Take-aways