Annual Fund Communication Plan

Winston Churchill said “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” Large and lengthy work assignments can often be overwhelming. It is much more productive to use the energy that could be spent on worrying about a project for the preparation, planning and successful implementation. This is especially important when planning and writing a communication plan for the annual fund.

Annual funds are a major source of continual funding for nonprofit organizations. The annual fund provides an opportunity to connect on a regular basis throughout the year with donors and supporters (Daubert, 2009). Having a robust annual fund program also allows an organization to better identify donors who might have the interest and capacity to give major or planned gifts in the future.

It is easy for nonprofit organizations to think about communications for an annual fund campaign in a short, defined time period. For example, nonprofit organizations may often decide to create a letter for a direct mail campaign and send it out to the entire mailing list prior to the year-end holidays. However, looking at the communications in a broader, more strategic manner throughout the year will provide a better overall outcome for the organization. Especially since the methods of communications have increased over the years from simple phone-a-thons and direct mailings to now include email campaigns, cell phone and text giving, social networking opportunities including using videos and other interactive messages, special events, and data-mining to better target recipients of phone calls and direct mail pieces.

In the book Innovations in Annual Giving, Robert Burdenski identifies six key characteristics of the best annual giving programs. Burdenski states that good annual giving programs do the following: create and maintain a relationship with donors and prospective donors; nurture a giving culture; inspire a first gift; build donor loyalty; motivate donors to increase their annual gifts; and identify major gift prospects. Using these key characteristics in developing a communication plan for an annual fund will be important to insure the success of the annual campaign.

The first step in developing an annual fund communication plan is to know the previous annual fund history of the organization. Is this the first time that donations will be solicited from donors on a periodic basis? For most organizations, the answer to this questions is no. Therefore, it is important to collect the data from previous efforts to evaluate what has worked and what has not been as successful in the past. Key statistics to track will vary for each organization, but some standard useful statistics should include the number of donors, the number of asks, the total amount raised, the pledge fulfillment rate, the number of new donors, the number of returning donors and a brief summary of the annual fund appeal. It is also helpful to collect anecdotal stories about what worked well and what needs to be changed from those who worked on the previous annual campaigns.

Once this data is collected, the next step is to establish goals for the annual campaign. Basing goal-setting on previous performance data, the organizational strategic plan and other departmental goals and initiatives will help establish realistic goals. Goals are important as they can be used to help motivate the donors, volunteers and staff.

It is also important to identify any additional types of data that might be beneficial so that it can be collected for future annual campaigns. Perhaps good records and data are not available from previous annual campaigns. If that is the case, then identify what data would have been useful in planning the upcoming campaign. Identify how that data needs to be collected so that the next annual fund campaign can be based on having the key data available.

A key component in for the annual fund communication plan is to identify the various audiences and the corresponding methods of communication. For example, a non-profit organization may have current donors, previous/lapsed donors that have not recently made a donation, prospective donors, volunteers, board members, staff, clients and providers.

In developing the communication plan, it will be important to evaluate if it is necessary to alter the materials to recognize current and previous supporters so that they do not feel that they get the same appeal that potential donors receive (Greenfield, 2002). It may also be important to segment the appeals based on the giving history of the current donors. For example, you would not want to send out an appeal with the minimum donation amount of $25 to loyal donors who have consistently given $100 or more in prior years. It will also be important to identify the communication methods such as letters, postcards, phone calls, face-to-face solicitations, emails, social media appeals, special events, etc. that will be used for each key group. Setting up a table in a spreadsheet program will create a brief visual review and can be very helpful.

This table can also be useful in further developing the timeline/calendar for the annual appeal. Make sure to identify key dates and plan backwards. For example, if you want the holiday appeal to be in the mail by November 1, then determine how long it will take to be designed, proofed, revised, printed, addressed and mailed to meet that goal. Do not be surprised if you find that you need to start the holiday appeal in June. Also add dates for follow-up such as sending additional letters, emails or making phone calls at specific time intervals. Adding these dates to the timeline also allows other staff and volunteers to understand the steps necessary for each component of the annual campaign. It also allows for continuity in the event of an unexpected illness or staffing change.

Once the communication plan is created outlining each key audience, the methods of communication and the timelines, the next step is telling your story and making the request for support. It is very important to help the prospective donor understand the impact that they can make through their donation. Identifying stories and examples that can help educate the donor and motivate them to select your organization to support will be critical.

Select a few key messages points and repeat them often in the various communication methods that you choose to use during the annual fund campaign. For example, using the same story for a direct mail piece and then following up with two or three emails will help establish an impression for the donor vs. telling completely different stories. By developing the annual fund communication plan, it will enable you to plan more consistent messaging which will help to build confidence with your donors. You may also find that you are able to repurpose work so that sending out periodic emails is not as time-intensive as it may have been in the past.

While developing the annual fund communication plan, it will be important to identify other key dates and initiatives. This is important both within your organization as well as for external initiatives. Consulting organization calendars, talking with key staff and reviewing the strategic plan are some ways that you can ensure that you are not planning a significant annual fund appeal at the exact same time that the organization is rolling out a significant change. It is also important to consult community calendars, often posted by local nonprofit associations and/or the local chamber of commerce, to reduce the likelihood that you will start your appeal or have an annual fund event at the same time that a competing organization has posted plans.

Once you have completed your annual fund communication plan, it will be important to review it with the key stakeholders. This review can often help clarify any date or timing questions and may also provide some additional information that you can add to increase the success or your annual fund campaign. It is also useful so that other support departments have advance notice about the plan and timelines and can prepare to support the annual fund.

The communication plan should also include dates to pilot materials prior to launching them to the public. You could plan to do this during the stakeholders meeting, or include times to test materials on the communication plan calendar/timeline. By sharing the phone-a-thon scripts, direct mail pieces, email or other social media text, etc., you can get critical feedback that can be used to edit and revise these pieces. You can also use this as an opportunity to involve volunteers or current donors in helping an organization they already support be even more effective. Make sure that you recognize their ongoing support and use this also as an opportunity to thank them.

The annual fund communication plan should also include dates for evaluating progress towards achieving the identified goals. You may want to create weekly, monthly or quarterly goals so that you can monitor the performance on a timely basis. This allows for you to be more adaptable to make any necessary changes during the course of the year rather than running a report at the end of the annual fund campaign when there are no opportunities to make any revisions or modifications.

In conclusion, it may seem like yet another task to be completed, but taking the time to develop and write a comprehensive communications plan for the annual fund will benefit the organization in the long-run. Often staff and volunteers may worry or think about one isolated component of the annual fund such as the holiday mailing or the spring phone telethon, but by taking the time to think, plan and write out an annual fund communication plan, the organization can be much more systematic and coordinated in their communication and fundraising efforts.

In summary, the ten tips for writing an annual fund communication plan are:

1. Know the existing organizational data about previous annual fund campaigns.
2. Determine the organizational goals, as well as existing benchmarks for realistic goals.
3. Determine the measurements and how the data will be collected during the annual fund campaign.
4. Identify the various audiences and the methods for communicating with each audience.
5. Plan and establish timeline/calendar listing key dates, responsibilities and measurements.
6. Become a great storyteller to share the most compelling stories about the organization. Focus on selecting stories about people and programs that help people to increase the response rates.
7. Identify other key initiatives and timing for both the organization and within your community.
8. Have meeting with key stakeholders to review the communication plan.
9. Pilot test materials in advance to make any necessary revisions.
10. Periodically evaluate the progress and make any adjustments throughout the year.

The key to a successful annual giving program is “to create an ongoing, 365-day development program that regularly solicits repeatable, replaceable, predictable gifts from all your constituencies” according to Lisa Arnette, the Director of Development and External Relations at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Arnette said that the annual fund “is the beginning of the relationship between the organization and its first-time donors.”

Arnette explained that it is “six times more difficult to get a new donor than to renew an existing donor.” Part of the annual fund planning should include sending personal notes and making calls to thank donors, especially first-time donors.

She also suggested that a written annual fund plan should include dollar goals, activities and dates. By starting with a specific dollar goal, the organization can determine how much will be raised through various audiences and plan out the timeline and activities to achieve those goals.

Since the majority of money given to philanthropic organizations is from people, not organizations, Arnette states that the annual fund is vital for bringing in “as many gifts as possible from as many people as possible.”

Lisa A. Arnette, M.A., Organizational Communication, University of Texas at Austin, B.S. Speech Communication, University of Utah. Arnette is a seasoned nonprofit professional, working since 1990 in all areas of fund development and administration, including major and planned giving, grant writing, annual giving, special events, capital campaigns, leadership volunteer programs, and board development. She has worked in varying disciplines, including public television and radio, higher education, museums, secondary education, and international health. In late 2009, Arnette joined the staff of the Utah Museum of Fine Arts as Director of Development and External Relations. She is also an associate instructor for the University of Utah’s Professional Education Department.

References

Burdenski, R. A. (2003). Innovations in annual giving. Washington, DC: Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Daubert, E. J. (2009). The annual campaign. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Greenfield, J. M. (2002). Fundraising fundamentals: A guide to annual giving for professionals and volunteers. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Other Resources

Ahern Communications, Inc., http://www.aherncomm.com/

Brainy Quote, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/

Joyaux Associates, http://simonejoyaux.com/

Network for Good, http://networkforgood.com/

Wester, Lynne, http://donorrelationsguru.com/