Are You Treating Your Cats Like Dogs?

I love dogs. Who wouldn't? They're fun, happy, and above all, loyal. It doesn't take much to earn a dogs love... a scratch behind the ear in just the right spot, a tossed tennis ball, or dropped bits of food of any sort will do the trick. Dogs are easy.

I love dogs, but I prefer cats. Cats are seen as aloof. Cats can be fickle. Cats demand respect. Some people say that cats are incapable of love. I feel sorry for those people. Earning a cats love is much more rewarding than the easy affection that flows from dogs.

But this is a nonprofit blog, not an animal blog, so let's talk about your donors. Are you treating them like dogs or like cats?

There was a time when most of our donors were more like dogs. If you fed them once, they were yours for life. You could depend on tossing a stick, and having them come back to drop a check at your feet almost every time. At least, it seems like it was that easy.

Whether or not it was ever really that simple, times have changed. Donor loyalty is not something you can assume, or just press the right buttons to activate. Each donation must be earned. The donors preferences must be honored.

A few examples:

• Information Preferences: Most donors today want better information. Some may want better financial understanding, but many want to know about your impact. And that's not just the usual roundup of total numbers served, like the old McDonald's signs, but getting down to the who and how their dollar is helping.
• Method Preferences: Yes, some of your old dogs may still depend on your direct mail piece. Other donors may prefer responding to an email. Still others are looking for you on Facebook. It's not one or the other, it's as many channels as you can effectively manage.
• Campaign Preferences: Related to each of the points above, but your annual campaign for your total budget is not going to appeal to many of your cats. They may want to be a part of a specific project, with well-defined objectives and clear budgets, and they may be looking for this campaign on crowdfunding websites.

Does all this mean that I'm saying we're now the dogs, chasing sticks, jumping through hoops, and begging for treats? Heck no! I'm talking about mutual respect, with donors and nonprofit professionals working together to better our communities.

Being responsive, learning about our donors' preferences, and paying attention to subtle changes in what works (and what doesn't) keeps us on top of our game, and more effective at our work. It keeps us nimble. Like a cat.

The pictures on this page are of a couple of my neighbors, Emma and Rocky, visiting on my front porch.

Rocky - the pup - is sweet and lovable, and will play with any living, breathing thing on the street. We don't generally feed the neighbor's pets, but on this day he was choking on a bone he'd dug out of somebody's trash, and the only way to get it away from him was to tempt him with a bowl of left-over chicken. Rocky's great, but he's a bit of an idiot.

Emma - the kitty - is different. Emma is very particular about which humans she associates with, but when I come home from work, she runs across the street to see me. That is, if she's not already waiting on the railing. I have never fed her; she does not stay in our house. All she gets here is love and respect. Emma is my best friend on the block, and the only neighbor I truly and fully trust.

The Irregularity of Regular Giving

We love our regular donors. As nonprofit professionals, we just love to look over our donor rolls and know that there's a good percentage of those listed who will give again and again, year after year, and all we have to do is send them a nice annual letter. Maybe there's even a few of those donors who have trusted us enough to let us charge a small amount to their credit card every month without even asking. Man, do we love them! But don't get too complacent.

With each successive generation, giving is changing. New technologies play a roll in that, but so do overall trends in society and culture. Changing economic realities affect not only the amounts given, but the level of scrutiny and revue a donor puts an ask through. The loss of trust in institutions along with increased access to a world of information are changing the types of asks donors respond to.

There is a growing body of research into these generational differences. The Next Generation of American Giving by Convio, Edge Research, and Sea Change Strategies (2010 - download here) breaks donor groups down by the Matures (born before 1945), Boomers (1946-1964), Gen X (1965-1980), and Gen Y (1981-1991). One of the problems that becomes evident in this study is that most of our accepted knowledge and best practices around fundraising were designed to appeal to the Matures, who now account for only 21% of donors. Gen X outnumbers them at 25% of donors, with Gen Y (19%) coming up right behind (and growing). Boomers are the largest cohort at 35%, but are outnumbered when you consider Gens X and Y together.

Among the differences in donor attitude between these groups are the way in which donors give. 77% of Matures send checks through the mail, while only 26% of Gen Y donors have. Meanwhile, 14% of Gen Y donors and 13% of Gen X have donated by text, while only 2% of Matures have done so.

As to the type of requests younger donors respond to, the 2010 Millennial Impact Report by Achieve and Johnson, Grossnickle, and Associates (download here) found that more than half of respondents were likely to respond to a specific request, while less than 8% were likely to respond to a general request (such as an annual appeal). This feeling was repeated in their 2012 survey which identified "not knowing how my gift will make a difference" as Millennial's biggest pet peeve.

Younger donors are also less likely to take your word for it that your organization is doing great work. They need to be able to know who the end beneficiaries are, and what impact their donation will make. They do, however, trust their peers: 74.6% said they would give if asked by a family member and 62.8% would give if asked by a friend.

Younger donors are not just more responsive to appeals from friends and family; they are also more willing to take part and help spread the word about your organization once they are on board. 19% of Gen Y and 14% of Gen X donors are willing to promote their chosen charities online compared to only 9% of Boomers and 5% of Matures.

So, what does all this have to do with regular, annual giving?

The bad news is that donor engagement is going to require more work going forward. The good news is that this engagement will be more meaningful and keep you focused on your mission.

In a world where you cannot rely on your annual holiday letter (delivered via USPS) to generate a flow of checks, your organization will need to engage across multiple channels, and communicate consistently throughout the year.

Your focus also has to shift to be more future oriented. Rather than looking back at the good work you've done, asks will need to be forward looking and explain how the next donation will be used. These asks will need to demonstrate impact and explain exactly who will benefit. You will need to experiment with new tools and trust your current supporters to make the pitch to new potential donors.

In a sense, the traditional annual campaign ("Remember us? We do great things, and you always support us: Time to send your check.") is dead. And, frankly, it's about time.

In this new world, every ask is a first ask. Yes, it will take more work than just updating last year's letter. But it will be relevant, it will be inspiring, and it will be empowering. In the end, it will make us better fundraisers and advocates for our causes.

And, if we do it right, it will keep donors coming back to us, year after year.

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NOTE: The day after I posted this blog, the Millennial Impact Project released their 2013 report. Among the findings, the respondents said, "they were turned off when a nonprofit's Web site had not been updated recently." 60% wanted information and success stories about the people served by their donation. While 52% would be interested in making monthly gifts, 70% said they would be willing to raise money for an organization they cared about, and 64% have raised money in a fundraising walk or race. The full report can be downloaded here.

Vote With Your Mission!

A new initiative from the California Association of Nonprofits (aka CalNonprofits) is the Vote With Your Mission virtual campaign. CalNonprofit's goal is to have 100% of eligible California nonprofit staff and volunteers (including board members) vote in the June and November elections. According to Jan Masaoka, Executive Director of CalNonprofits, "All of us have come to work and volunteer in nonprofits because we have ideals about changing the world. Whatever those ideals are, use your vote to further them."

I couldn't agree more with the motivation and purpose behind this campaign, and find it sad to realize that folks in the nonprofit sector are not already participating 100% in all elections - in California and beyond. Every day, our staffs see first hand the direct results of political decisions, from increased homelessness to decreased funding for the arts. We see the results of over-crowded classrooms and a poverty-level minimum wage. To not speak out when we must, and vote when we can, is to contribute to the very problems our missions seek to redress.

"But is it legal?" some of you may be thinking. Yes, it is, and CalNonprofits has conveniently included a legal FAQ on the Vote With Your Mission website. All nonprofits may engage in nonpartisan, get-out-the-vote activities. Check the FAQ (or talk to the lawyer on your board) for more detailed guidelines when it comes to ballot measures and issues.

So, what does an organization have to do to participate in the campaign? First of all, sign up at the CalNonprofits website so they know you're on board. Then select from the recommended activities, such as asking all staff, board members, volunteers, and constituents to vote, providing on-site nonpartisan voter registration materials, adding "voting in every election" to your board member responsibilities agreement, or (my favorite) granting two hours of paid staff time to vote on Election Day.

If you're involved with a California nonprofit, I hope you'll sign on at the Vote With Your Mission home page. If you're outside California, I hope you'll still encourage all of your staff, board, volunteers, and constituents to vote with your mission.