happy donors

Don’t get me started on what industrial agriculture and mega-processing is doing to our food and health.   Read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and keep investigating this matter.  That said …

I’m an avid customer of my local farmer’s market, on email distribution for a couple of the farmers, who I can advance order from, and for the market organization overall, that sends me little newsletters about what’s fresh this week.

Last week I get an email from my West End Farmers Market, asking me to vote for them for the  America’s Favorite Farmers Market(tm) contest.  The subject line:  We need your help!  They say they’re already ranked high and ask me to help them be #1 in Virginia.

That’s the “vote” part of this.  I say “cool” and click through to vote for West End.

Then the “Survey” part:  On the vote page I’m asked to write a brief statement about why this is my favorite market.  “Cool” says I again, I love shopping this market twice a week, love the people etc and write a glowing review.

When I click to submit my vote and survey, I’m delivered to the “Fundraising” page — a very straightforward gift form asking for a donation.  This page still has the Favorite Market contest branding but tells you upfront that the ask is for something called the American Farmland Trust.   The default gift is set at $50, with a $35 minimum and a call-out that I’ll be sent a canvas shopping bag as thanks for any gift of $35 or more.

I was not familiar with American Farmland Trust.  But here I was a fully qualified prospect for them.  I was on an email file because of engagement with my local farmers market.   I was further primed by the opportunity to make my commitment concrete by writing a testimonial.   I was put in a position to really engage in the mission of the market … and by close association with American Farmland Trust.  And then I was presented with a specific ask, plus a premium offer.

This is great direct marketing!    The ask site could have done a better job of selling the organization and its mission.  But it worked fine because it had good navigation to the American Farmland Trust website, which was chock full of credibility points … been in operation for thirty years, very current news items, clear explanation of their multiple missions which start with protecting farmland from encroaching development but extend to environmental issue and, my key shared passion:  the whole farm-to-table movement.

How could you use “vote” in your communications?  Your favorite yoga class at the YMCA?    A favorite among any aspects of your mission.

Then ask donors this one question “survey”:  Why is this your favorite?

You’ve then primed this already engaged donor for the ask.

Not incidentally, I live in Richmond Virginia, which has five farmers markets that I know about, maybe more.  West End was #3 in Virginia last I looked, with more than 200 votes.   Look at results nationwide and you’ll see that this is all a marketing/fundraising endeavor.  I know about large and popular markets far and wide, Brooklyn NY to Brigham City UT, that have plenty of customers and fans.  These markets just aren’t yet on board with marketing.

Oh, and I did give American Farmland Trust $50 and will pay attention to their efforts moving forward.

My son is raising money through something called “Kickstarter” whereby people donate in mostly small amounts toward a time-limit target.  If he doesn’t raise enough money, your credit/debit card is not charged.

An interesting way to engage, test for interest, and raise money all at once.

Check it out and give him a Kick if you like.

Google makes so much available to those of us who have websites.  It’s just so hard for some of us to find or figure out.

Ok, it’s hard for ME to find or figure out.  But here’s one I recently came across:

Google Adwords: Keyword Tool

Go there and key in your url, and google is kind enough to tell you what key words your site contains, who out there is bidding on exposure to words on your site, and more.

Look at the “About this data” dropdown.  Lots of cool info here.  Now, how to use it? …

I look at “A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites” from time to time, particularly articles about web content.  Good stuff.

A recent article applies to fundraisers as well as all — Infrequently Asked Questions of FAQs.  Author R. Stephen Gracey starts with the assertion that he hates FAQs, but what he hates most is clearly misuse of FAQs, inserting sales pitches in answer for a worst case.

Other points are more useful to the ethical.  Example:  If your FAQ answers questions that the rest of your site should answer, you may have a broader content problem.

Good point on several levels.  People go to FAQs when they are confused, don’t understand terminology, don’t know quite what’s up.  Your site’s foundations should address all this, no?  If you’re delivering content well, you don’t need FAQs at all.

I’d take that as a starting point for fundraisers.  Did you set up a FAQ almost automatically when building your site?   That might indicate that you’re site’s pretty old.  Or amateur.  But consider what that means for content delivery throughout.   FAQs are the last resort, not the first.

Surfing around a few major nonprofits, I find very few FAQs.  Where I find them, they’re pretty deep in the site, related usually to some fairly arcane subtopic.

An example:  World Wildlife has a FAQ about traditional Chinese medicine, including implications for wildlife conservation.  Ok, I might have a few questions.  But even here the FAQ is really just a convenient format.  I don’t believe these are frequently asked.  This is just to old Q&A format for delivering information.  Not a FAQ at all.  But in so doing, it isn’t a misuse of FAQs, just a misnomer calling it a FAQ.

Anyway — Does your site have a FAQ?  Are these questions truly asked frequently, by people telephoning in questions?   Is this important content that should be served up to visitors, rather than deposited only for FAQ lovers or the desperate?   Worth a thought.