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 Is your nonprofit organization communicating impact? Do donors know where their contributions are going and how they are making a difference? It is important to communicate the impact of your donors' contributions, so they are informed of where their money is going and will, therefore, be more likely to continue giving and increase their contribution in the future.
Communicating impact is a must when it comes to maintaining donors and building relationships with your donors. People want to know where their contributions are going and how those contributions are making an impact. It is important to use every opportunity to communicate impact; whether you include a slip of paper in a thank-you note that has statistics about how contributions have helped someone, or include a story about someone that was impacted on your Web site, make sure to use every communication method you can to communicate impact to your donors.
Demonstrating how your organization handles contributions, and the availability of financial information and records, reinforces for donors your organization's trust & accountability. Linking your 990 form on your Web site, listing your financial officer's information in your annual report, and providing information on how funds are spent with your thank you to donors, are examples of communicating impact through trust & accountability.
When communicating impact, it is important to include SST (Statistics, Stories, and Trust & Accountability). We use the abbreviation "SST" as a simple, easy way to remember all three. Our research has shown that donors need SST to be able to understand how their contribution makes a difference. Using all three is essential, as some people prefer statistics, some prefer stories, and some prefer trust & accountability.
Goodwill Industries International, Inc. has a great example of communicating impact, and using SST to communicate impact, on their Web site. On the sidebar of their giving page, they have a calculator called "Calculate The Impact of Your Donation," in which anyone visiting their Web site can enter in the items they plan on donating, to figure out the impact of their donation. For example, if you donated one TV, four pots/pans, and one coat, you would provide 1.4 hours of job search support for someone. This part of the calculator uses statistics to communicate impact.
Underneath the numbers portion of the calculator, there is a link to stories. In this portion of the calculator, you can click on a link to read about how your contribution would personally impact someone similar to the individual highlighted in the story.
While trust & accountability isn't demonstrated in the calculator portion of Goodwill Industries International, Inc.'s Web site, it is demonstrated on the giving page where the calculator is located. They have the name and e-mail address posted for their Director of Resource Development, so that donors can contact her directly with any questions they may have. By including direct contact information, your donors will feel a sense of trust and your Director of Resource Development will be able to build relationships with your donors. We would encourage your nonprofit organization to take it a step further, and include your Director of Resource Development's picture next to the direct contact information. This will allow your donors to put a face to the name and make a connection of who is dealing with their contributions.
Once you begin to communicate impact and incorporate SST into all of your materials, your nonprofit organization will want to measure and understand donors' expectations and find out if they are satisfied. For instance, you will want to find out if you are using the right communication methods to reach your donors and if they are receiving the information. Our research has found that the percentage of donors who say the nonprofit organization they donate to is exceeding their expectations in communicating impact is correlated to the percentage of donors who increase their contribution to that nonprofit organization. So by understanding donors' expectations, and creating the ideal donor experience, your nonprofit organization will not only have satisfied donors, but will also see an increase in contributions.
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