The Update Email + Social Post
Last Saturday, I had the honor of presenting at Dressember’s board retreat about…you guessed it: FUNDRAISING.
Like a lot of leaders, founders, and fundraisers - this group of board members were not jumping out of their seats to raise money. So, we talked about it.
Specifically, I wanted to teach them how to use The Inside Out Method as well as the outreach tactic that has resulted in a 100% response rate every single time I’ve used it.
Then, sort of on the fly, I taught them something so simple that I barely recognized it as a strategy. I’m calling it: The Update Method.
Chances are that during a board membership tenure, your crew has asked for donations to their personal and professional network to support your nonprofit. Maybe the last (and often common) time was during the end of the last year?
Great!
Since asking folks for money and hopefully thanking them - has your board updated their supporters on the impact of the gift(s) received? If the answer is “no”, you are going to want to read on.
Just like in fundraising - it doesn’t feel good to only communicate when you want or need something. That’s why The Update Method is so powerful. It’s for the in-between asking seasons where board members can just share. It’s the ultimate bumble brag too.
My favorite platforms to do The Update Method are: LinkedIn + email.
Why LinkedIn? First, it’s a professional network where folks are dying for content that is uplifting, relevant, and inspiring.
In addition, just this week my friend and fellow Rolodex member (and LinkedIn expert!) Tania Bhattacharyya told me that less than 3% of users on LinkedIn create original content. That means: there is a boat load of opportunity.
Next, besides the wide reach that users are getting on LinkedIn, when someone interacts with the post, it pushes out to their entire network. Even if you aren’t connected. It’s the spider-web effect in action.
Finally, of all the social media platforms, LinkedIn has some serious lurkers which means that even if they aren’t interacting with your post, it doesn't mean that they haven’t read it.
You already know how I feel about email - I love it! Email is a great, free tool that is super normal for friends to send to one another. That makes it a classic tool for board members to tell friends and family about an update with your organization.
So encourage your board members to fire up their Gmail and compose a new message. To start, they can send a note to everyone who gave a recent (in the last 12 months) gift from their network.
Need some inspo for an update? Here are some ideas:
Did your organization tell a story during your end-of-year campaign? What is the update on how that person/animal/place is doing?
Has your organization collected new data recently that proves your work is making an impact?
Do you have a leadership or staff change?
Has your organization launched a new program?
Has your organization received some new funding that will allow you to do something new, different or more of the good you are already doing?
Is there a person/animal/place within your organization that has gone through some transformation (remember, we tell stories of transformation)?
Want an example?
As you might have seen, I’m a big fan of the work they are doing over at Tender. For the past two years, I have reached out to my personal network to raise money to support the single mamas in Atlanta who are in need of financial gap assistance.
Recently, Tender had some big news that will be a game changer for their nonprofit organization.
Check out this LinkedIn post I wrote and read this email (see below) I sent out to share the news, but most importantly update my network on the impact their donations are making several months later.
