Personalize your fall fundraising letters with LGL
There is no doubt this fall is a stressful time for fundraisers. The economy is tough (are we up or down today?), and the competition seems to be one step ahead. So what can you do to make a difference in your fall campaign?
One thing is to take your time when you sit down to sign those letters to your most steadfast donors. Don’t rush through the stack of letters, wishing you could remember more about those folks. Give yourself a break and tap into the knowledge you already have in your Little Green Light account.
- First, I assume you have already segmented your list and are looking at a stack of letters that are personalized to say “Dear Suzie” (not the ones at the mail house).
- Second, I assume you put that list together using Little Green Light and can call it up again any time you want. (How else will you know how the mailing did?)
- Third, I’m guessing you’ve had a lot of coffee because signing (and stuffing) feels like an all-nighter no matter what time of day it is.
Now that the easy stuff is over, find the list (appeal, etc.) in LGL and when you’re looking at it, hit the Export button. You can do this in a variety of ways, but I recommend hitting the Summary Profile PDF export and giving it a name you can connect to the mailing. Go to the Export screen and download the PDF.
Every page of the PDF contains the key information you have on your donors, gift history, class year, year their children graduated, who they know/are related to, etc. It is up to you whether you print it or look through it on screen. If the order of the letters isn’t exactly the same, the on-screen version might be best because you can search the large PDF easily (CTRL-F on PC, COMMAND-F on Mac in most readers).
Already sent those letters? Not to worry, look through the profiles anyway. I suspect you’ll be moved to see how loyal some of the donors have been. If you are, send them a follow-up note (the more emails I get the more I cherish that handwritten note!); even a highly personal email stands out in a crowded inbox.