A New Beginning?
A post by James V. Toscano
Memorial and honor gifts, the subject of a recent post, are kissing cousins to those hot responder gifts that arrive moments after catastrophe occurs.
Now we hear that the Red Cross, with a pool of about 500,000 such donors, will join analysts at the Wharton School to discover messaging and tools to increase response rates from this group, typically only 10% the next year.
Such donors are “the single biggest channel through which we can acquire new donors is in response to a disaster,” according to their senior director of market intelligence , although getting that repeat gift the next year remains a difficulty.
The major task for Wharton is to turn these folks into regular donors supporting the ARC’s core mission.
Getting The ARC Act Together
Certainly the American Red Cross has had its ups and downs in the last ten years. Beginning with September 11, 2001, when the world changed for everyone including the Red Cross, there were a number of egregious mistakes made in follow-up by that venerable organization, some still affecting pockets of our society.
Then came along Katrina and another series of early triumphs and devastating failures that added up to a loss of confidence and trust by some, with others still saluting that respected flag.
What some have characterized as predatory practices in the blood supply market along with misleading claims about where the blood donated goes, plus sloppy collection techniques, have weakened the reputation in the health care world.
Nevertheless, cleaning up in Haiti, restructuring, and new people promise a brighter future. ARC has been learning, what with mobile giving, new emphasis on service to a diverse population and efforts to improve its core services. However, the jury is still out.
Email From The ARC President
A case in point is the recent email I received from the ARC’s president asking me what I thought about their activities which are, in fact, important to me.
Just read the letter:
Dear Friend,
You’re at the heart of everything we do: sheltering disaster victims, equipping schools with emergency-ready radios, or giving caregiver trainings to families with injured veterans. You make it all happen.
Now, we want to hear from you and what’s most important to you about our work. Can you take two minutes and tell us which Red Cross activities are most important to you? We’d like your response by Friday, January 20.
Together, we accomplished so much in 2011. As a result, millions of families’ lives were saved or stabilized after tragic disasters. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Can you spare a few minutes now? We’re listening, and we want to know what’s important to you before Friday.
Thank you again for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Gail McGovern
President and CEO, American Red Cross
Donor Centeredness
There are eleven references to “you” and “your” in this brief letter. Unbelievable. And right on.
And they really want me to take a quiz to tell them what I value! Wow. Shades of Convio, but still sincere and well-meant. I couldn’t wait to tell them.
How could I refuse even though the quiz is prosaic and uninspiring. Just the facts, ma’am. Tell us what you value.
It was too good to last. In the same survey, before they even tabulated what I thought of their programs, they ask me for money for their programs, about which I could have given a negative response. The survey was a sham, a front for the old Red Cross and its bad habits.
As we all know, the whole world of development is becoming about “You.” More correctly, development offices are waking up to the fact that “you” has always been determining donations and now they are really understanding that fact.
It is a welcome sight for the ARC to finally catch up on donor-centeredness and, if sincere, it spells continued and increased success. Unless, of course, another of those surveys asking for money hits my email. Then it’s all over.
All of us should take heart from what is hopefully a turn-around and hope they now know that the donor will always be the important variable in the fundraising equation. And the donor’s feelings and opinions rule.
Copyright 2012 The Good Counsel, division of Toscano Advisors, LLC. May be duplicated with citation.