Gotta Serve Somebody: The Bob Dylan Guide to Effective Donor Communication Reprinted from Dimensions By Willis Turner willis@huntsinger-jeffer.com

There used to be a computer game that you could ask any question, and the answer would always be a line from a Bob Dylan song. I don’t know that this is necessarily a good way to run your life, but when it comes to looking for more effective ways to communicate with donors and prospects, who better to turn to for inspiration than the spokesman for a generation?

So, in that spirit, here are six Dylan-inspired guidelines to help you talk more effectively to those who support your vital work:

1.  With God on Our Side – Toiling in the day-to-day world of appeals, acquisitions, and renewals, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture, and to think that you are simply in the business of fundraising.

But that’s not true. You are in the business of changing the world for the better. Of making God’s world a better place. That’s how your donors see you and they are correct to think that way.

Remember: when a prospect sends you a gift (even if she’s simply “buying” a front or back end premium) she’s focused on your mission and how her gift will help carry on your noble work.

So never let her forget that you – and she – are working on the side of the angels. Tell her in no uncertain terms that, through her gift you’ll be helping to lift people out of Desolation Row and carry them through the Gates of Eden.

2. “How does it feel?” Fundraising is an emotional enterprise. You’re asking people to give you their hard-earned money, and the only thing you’re giving them in return (besides some mailing labels or a little trinket) is a good feeling. So that good feeling had better be strong and lasting.

If you don’t want your donor to be Like a Rolling Stone, you need to be her emotional anchor. Talk about your mission and the importance of your donor’s gift. Make sure you always emphasize the side of your work that touches the heart.

Remind her that, through her gift, she is lighting the spark of hope in a frightened child’s eyes; that she is bringing a grateful smile to a young mother’s face; that she is lifting the burden of fear from a weary and homeless veteran. And say that, “If Not For You” this important work might not get done.

Keeping your donor Emotionally Yours requires both a stick and a carrot. Donors are captivated by stories of hardship and injustice. But they are motivated by your rallying cry. It’s your call to action that makes them feel needed; that makes them feel they are part of something big and important.

In your communications, give donors the bad news about the challenges you face, and the promise of good things to come. So on the one hand, make sure your donor knows that...

3. A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall – if she doesn't help prevent it. Draw a stark and graphic picture of the problem you are attempting to solve.

Use statistics to show how serious the problem is (“tonight more than 34 million Americans will go to bed at risk of hunger”), and then put a human face on the numbers (“but statistics don’t mean anything to four year old Brian. All he knows is that his tummy feels empty.”)

Make sure she understands that the situation is urgent. Remind her that people in her community are hungry and homeless right now. They can’t wait for help.

It’s important that your donor feel needed and important. But she must not feel helpless. So even as you’re laying out the problem with compelling and heart-rending stories, tell your donor too, what it’s going to be like…

4. When The Ship Comes In. This is one of the great call-to-action songs. The last verse of this song goes, in part: “Oh, the foes will rise / with the sleep still in their eyes / ...and they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’ / and like Pharaoh’s tribe they’ll be drowned in the tide / and like Goliath they’ll be conquered.”  

Makes you want to go right out and sign up for the valiant fight, doesn’t it? That’s exactly the kind of fiery hope and optimism you want to instill in your donor.

So tell her that, through her gift she can change the world. Explain that you have a workable plan – a proven program to stop the hard rain from falling – or at least provide Shelter From the Storm to those caught in the downpour. And that you have the resources to make that plan work – if she will only help.

Inspire confidence by highlighting your past successes. (“With the generous help of caring people like you, we have rescued more than 75,000 children from the heartbreak of hunger…”) Don’t hide your lamp under a bushel. Your victories give you credibility and give your donor reasons to believe her gift really will make a difference.

5. It Ain’t Me, Babe – it’s you. Or at least it should be. Here’s a simple exercise to help keep your letters donor-centric:

Take a look at a few of your recent fundraising appeals and count the number of times words like "I", "Me", "We", "Us" and "Our" appear. Then count the number of times the letter says "You" and "Your". Make sure the focus of your message is on the donor and her ability to help those in need.

Position yourself as the instrument, not the end. Make sure your donor knows that she is the one making the difference. Make sure she feels that you are just carrying out her wish to be part of building a better world.

6. “ Please tell her thanks a lot.” Nothing gratifies like gratitude. And nothing sets the stage for a future gift more effectively than to let someone know how much you appreciate the one you just got.

Make sure you have a program to acknowledge every single gift, and that your acknowledgement makes it easy for your donor to send a second gift, while she’s still excited about you and your good work.

Things Have Changed in the world of non-profit fundraising. Competition for donor dollars is at an all time high.

So don’t leave your fundraising results to a Simple Twist of Fate. Break out those old Bob Dylan albums and listen for some inspiration...it’s not just Blowin’ in the Wind.

©2002 Huntsinger & Jeffer, Richmond, VA 
Willis Turner is a senior writer at Huntsinger & Jeffer in Richmond, VA.
You can e-mail him at willis@huntsinger-jeffer.com