Are you looking to improve your communications with donors? Knowing how to communicate with your donor base is integral to ensuring the success of any nonprofit organization. Listed below are some tips for improving the way you communicate with donors:

• Identify what goals are important to fulfill with the help of nonprofit communications planning. This can guide your communication efforts and keep you on track.
• Create a timeline of communications for the various segments of donors. You should be drafting a plan that clearly states what you want to accomplish and when (or if necessary, what you want to say) and who you want to contact.
• Recognize and track where are your donors receiving nonprofit information. If you are using several different media, such as email, Facebook, Instagram, etc., to reach your donors, it makes sense to establish a plan that includes specific channels that you plan to use, such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Take inventory of the communications efforts that are being conducted to reach out to donors and understand how those communications are performing. This will help identify opportunities for communication that will benefit your organization.
• If you want to reach new donors, try using customized communications to encourage them to give again. If someone has a gift to give, try sending a personalized message to that person in order to show that they care. It will help you to ensure that communication with each person who supports you is relevant and personal.
• Send first-time donors a personalized thank-you card. This gives you an opportunity to thank donors who have already given to you and to ask if they would consider giving to you in the future.
• Show appreciation to those who give regularly. By thanking those who give regularly, you strengthen the advocacy of these donors. The more you thank and communicate impact, the higher the chances are for donors to share this information with their network.
• Track and check-in with lapsed donors via the phone or mail. While many organizations write off lapsed donors, do not forget to do a personalized check-in with them about 3-4 times a year. If they were able to give to your organization in the past, this means that they believe in the mission of the organization. A personalized touch will show how much you value them beyond their donation.
• Use a multi-channel strategy to reach potential donors who are not on your mailing list. The possibilities for your organization to communicate with supporters are almost limitless, but with a multichannel approach, you can reach out to donors in multiple ways. If there are specific ways to engage donors, consider using one of the following channels: If someone has already given, this is a great opportunity to thank them and remind them to give again.
• Be personable and show genuine interest about the donor’s life. When communicating with donors, do not just go out of the way to highlight the successes of what you are trying to accomplish, but try to talk directly to the people who have helped you achieve those goals. Write down notes of the information they share about their life and check in on those items when you speak with them.

A tool like MyDonors is a great resource with the ability to store notes on donors. MyDonors is part of MyCommunity, which exists to build relationships and tools that equip organizations so that they can maximize their impact. Our suite of tools is designed to help organizations of all sizes focus on their mission without worrying about the logistics. We understand the importance of building strong relationships, so we provide the necessary tools to maximize impact and make a difference like our easy-to-use platforms MyDonors and MyVolunteers. Likewise, MyNonprofitCoach equips nonprofits with the training they need to be successful. Schedule a demo for any of our solutions here.

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Source: https://www.networkforgood.com/resource/9-best-practices-for-donor-communications/