How to Persuade Donors to Give Again

April 02, 2008

How to Persuade Donors to Give Again

Karen Osborne and her husband regularly make gifts to a N. Y. Easter Seals chapter so it can buy special equipment to help disabled children recover the ability to talk.

But with other financial obligations pressing on the couple, Ms. Osborne told an Easter Seals fund raiser that they were considering cutting back on some of their favorite causes.

A few weeks before the couple made the final decision about what causes it would drop from its annual donation list, the Easter Seals fund raiser called and reminded Ms. Osborne of the speech-therapy work the Osbornes’ gift had made possible. Then she asked Ms. Osborne to hold on for a minute and gave the phone to a child who spoke to her — and was able to do because of the speech therapy provided by the charity.

Such gestures are irresistible, Ms. Osborne says, but all too rare. “We say thanks and move on, send them a newsletter. This is not telling me my gift made a difference.”

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals this week, Ms. Osborne, who is a fund-raising consultant in White Plains, N.Y., recalled another moment that inspired her — and many others to give.

Ms. Osborne had donated $1,000 to Kids in Distress, a charity that helps abused children, so it could move into a new building.

After the charity was hit by multiple hurricanes, Ms. Osborne received an e-mail message from the charity. Instead of asking for money, she said, the message contained photos of children served by the organization and the following message: “Your building stood, it is safe. It achieved its purpose. Your kids are safe.”

That appeal, Ms. Osborne said, “raised so much money. Of course, I wrote another check.”

(To read more about what motivates a donor to give again, read an opinion article by Bob Levey, a Chronicle columnist.)

What techniques have you used to help your charity raise repeat donations?

— Holly Hall

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