If you weren’t able to join us for Penelope Burk’s February 1st Workshop, Communication is the Ask: How to Raise More Money Using Donor-Centered Communications, you missed a really great program. Some of the feedback we received from participants on what they took away from the program follows.
- It made me start thinking about how to creatively write thank you letters and agendas. My agenda is just like the one she put up that has absolutely no meaning.
- I’ll certainly take a look at our thank you letters and revamp them, review our website and make some changes relating to donors, and think more about how and when we communicate to donors and other constituents.
- Penelope’s advice will help us move from a mass mailing approach to a more “donor-centered” one.
- I am just starting to get involved with fund raising and learned so much from this presentation. I had a real fear and was experiencing a lot of anxiety about “asking” for money, but I feel I am better prepared now. I have a much greater understanding of the process and some concrete steps to take to get started.
- It helps us define tasks for our communications plan. I’ve already revamped our donor acknowledgement letter.
- She provided me with some great ideas – personalizing hank you notes, ensuring our website’s donation page is just as graphically appealing as our site, not overloading donors with information, etc.
- The best advice she gave was after most of the audience had left – it was to make a personal call at the top of the day and one at the end of the day. To cultivate a relationship, one needs to develop a personal connection at some level. A variety of “touches”, in person or by phone always is recognized as making the effort.
- Try to think about the use of acquisition tactics vs. renewal tactics.
- The first thing we will do is rewrite our thank you letters!
- The content was relevant, fact based, and actionable. Plus, she provided us with the tools we need to go back and convince other board and staff that these were good ideas.
- We will try her simple rule to “make the bottom line the first line” of the communication.
- I plan to call every donor. Thank you letters are being revised now. Gathering measurable results to share with donors.
- The information will help me plan who, how, when to ask. How to properly thank donors. How to move from acquisition of donors where we were kind of stuck, to cultivating donors and moving them through the donor cycle. I still don’t relish the thought of fund raising, but it seems more doable. I don’t feel quite so overwhelmed by the process.
- That vibrator story set the tone – what an enjoyable presentation.
*Members Only: to access the handout from the workshop, log in and go to the Member Resources page of the web site.
