It’s been a common motto for the DRG Group throughout 2020 (and into 2021): It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine. We even have the t-shirts! But when your donors are facing life-threatening disasters and insurmountable challenges and you don’t reach out to check in on them—everything is not fine.
If you’ve tuned in to any of Lynne’s virtual happy hour Q&A’s on Facebook Live, you already know she drops knowledge bombs and honest advice every single week—for free. This week, we want to share a story from one of our most recent Q&A’s where Lynne called on donor relations professionals to do better.
Lynne is not only the Donor Relations Guru, she’s also a donor to several organizations across the globe. When her home state of Texas was ravaged by winter weather that caused power outages, food and water shortages, and dangerously low temperatures, most organizations acted as if nothing was happening. A few even sent her solicitations (gasp!) in the midst of one of the worst crises in her state’s history. Only two organizations checked in on her. Two. (Shout out to Wake Forest University and the University of Houston!)
We have to care more.
It doesn’t take much—you have the donor data, send those who may be impacted a short email or text message checking in and letting your donors know your thoughts are with them. It’s easy to implement and costs nearly nothing—and trust us when we say your donors are paying attention.
Within 24-hours of sharing her story, Lynne received this email from someone on the Development team at Kansas City University:
“Thanks so much for the Facebook live chat yesterday. During the middle of this I made our administration aware that we needed to send something to our Texas alumni ASAP. As you can see below, we got this done and sent out today!
Thanks for the mentioning this. We now have a protocol set in place that an email will go out to affected areas after a national/state emergency declaration.
Thanks again for challenging and reminding us of what we should be doing!”
Thank you to our friends at Kansas City University for listening, and more than that, acting when called upon to show up for your donors. We love that this is now protocol for KCU moving forward. This is what change looks like, and this is why we do what we do—to help you provide a better experience for your donors.
We hope more of you will tune in to these Live Q&A’s—hosted every other Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET. Sometimes listening is our most valuable asset. Thank you for tuning in, for listening, for answering the call to do better for your donors, and for all the amazing work you do.
What is one piece of advice you've taken and implemented at your shop? We'd love for you to continue inspiring us in the comments below!
Cheers,
The DRG Group
