Sharing Your Nonprofit’s Story from Your Major Donor’s Point of View
by Betsy Steward
Fundraising calls on so much creativity! The poet William Plomer wrote that creativity is “the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” I agree — and it’s a talent that is essential to successful fundraising.
As fundraising professionals, when we talk with major donors, the key to building relationships is listening. By paying close attention when a donor talks, we can figure out which aspect of our nonprofit’s work resonates most with him or her. Then we need to tailor the way we tell the story of our work in a way that shines a light on that aspect, arousing the donor’s interest and compassion, and showing how the work we do fits into their philanthropic goals.
Sometimes it’s obvious — like the cancer survivor who wants to support cancer research — it’s not so hard to connect THOSE dots! But sometimes the connection may be hidden. That’s where creativity is so important. It’s the job of the fundraiser to connect the seemingly unconnected, and/or to highlight the aspects of our work that resonate most strongly with the donor.
Please don’t misunderstand! Of course I’m not recommending that you misrepresent in any way what your nonprofit does. But how you tell the story matters. Sharing your work from the donor’s point of view is critical to fundraising success.
Three Generous Donors, and How We Tailored Our Story
I’m reminded of three generous donors I worked with during my ten years as Director of Development at the Westchester Children’s Association (WCA). WCA advocates on behalf of children from infancy through age 25. Started in 1914, the organization addresses a wide variety of issues that can affect young people at every stage of their development.
One of our major donors, I’ll call her Mrs. X, in her nineties, was passionate about early childhood education, an issue WCA regularly addresses.
Another major donor, whom I’ll call Mrs. Y, was in her mid-seventies. In her youth, she had had a sister who committed suicide at 16. Consequently, Mrs. Y worried about the adolescent population. Her support was inspired by WCA’s long history of successfully working on behalf of teenagers.
Whenever we met with Mrs. X, my ED and I focused our conversation exclusively on early childhood education. And whenever we met with Mrs. Y, we talked about the impact we were having for teens. Both donors were aware that we worked on other challenges, but they weren’t interested in hearing about those efforts. So, when we talked with each of them, we limited our conversation to their favorite topic.
And then there was Mrs. Z, another of our elderly major donors, who cared deeply about the ex-convict population. She was very concerned about how a formerly incarcerated person rebuilds their life, and the bulk of her philanthropy went to a nonprofit focused on that issue.
Mrs. Z supported WCA largely because of her longtime dear friend, who was very involved with WCA for many decades. As I got to know Mrs. Z and learned about her compassion for ex-cons, we found the way to “connect the seemingly unconnected.” We suggested that we were actually focused on two ends of the same string: she was focused on helping those coming out of prison, and we were working to prevent people from going to prison in the first place. That concept resonated with her, and her gifts to WCA increased in both size and regularity after we shared that idea with her.
Major Donor Cultivation is Retail, not Wholesale
Our nonprofits benefit when we present our work to each major donor in the way that is most inspiring for him or her. Put your thinking cap on and customize your story! Determine what motivates each of your major donors to support your nonprofit’s work, and make sure that, when you talk with them, you’re telling the story from the perspective that means the most to them.
For me, the creativity required by major gift cultivation and solicitation is one of the reasons I enjoy fundraising so much. Exploring a story from different points of view is intriguing, and it’s gratifying when a donor’s eyes are opened to the potential impact in front of them. Creative story-telling is often the only way for that to happen.
Betsy Steward is an independent fundraising consultant. She advises clients on major donor solicitation, cultivation, and stewardship, as well as fundraising best practices, back-office organization, board presentations and writing to donors (appeal letters, emails, proposal letters, thank-you notes, etc.). She can be reached at BetsyVSteward@gmail.com.