Walk in Your Donor's Shoes: Be Your Donor Day – Oct. 24th

I’ll never forget the advice that my colleague, Ettore Rossetti Director, Internet Marketing from Save the Children, offered during a panel I moderated at the NTC in 2011 on free agent fundraising    He said suggested going out and trying to raise money for your organization through a social network as an individual and learn how easy or hard it is — and fix those things are getting in the way of building a great relationship with donors and letting them fundraise on your organization’s behalf.
Do you know what it is like to be a donor to your nonprofit?  Is it an easy and fun experience or something filled with frustration?
Network for Good is launching its first ever Be Your Donor Day on October 24th to inspire nonprofits to play the role of their donors and rate how they are performing from the perspective of those supporters. The goal is to help nonprofits find and fix problems for their online donors ahead of giving season.
A third of total online giving happens in December alone, so now is the time to improve online appeals and the digital donation experience.  In addition, the top reason donors cite for ceasing their giving to a charity is how they were treated by the organization.  Donors are frustrated by difficult donation forms, lack of receipts and a dearth of information on the impact of their gifts.  It’s the most important time of year to remedy these kinds of mistakes.
Nonprofits: Before you send your next appeal, before you drive donors to your website and before you launch your year-end plans, you absolutely must set aside time to put yourself in your donor’s shoes to guarantee that your fundraising strategy will inspire them to give more.  October 24th is that day.
On October 24th, nonprofits should call their own phone numbers, try to make donations on their own sites and confirm what type of receipts and thank-yous they receive.
Network for Good has everything nonprofits need to be their donors for the day:
·         A checklist to review the donor experience
·         Year-end fundraising guides
·         Online fundraising tools
Nonprofits can participate by visiting the Be Your Donor Day site (http://www.networkforgood.org/beyourdonor/) and spreading the word to other organizations.
Here are some ways to participate:
Tweet about it: #BeYourDonor Day is 10/24! Join the fun w/ these donor-friendly tips + a fundraising checklist http://bit.ly/Tv0ub0 via @Network4Good
Share on Facebook: Network for Good declares October 24th as “Be Your Donor” Day. Download the Be Your Donor checklist and join other nonprofits in pledging to be donor-centric this year.  http://bit.ly/QnYYsu
Share on your blog: Have a piece of advice that is all about “being your donor”? Share it on your blog with a mention and link back to Be Your Donor Day (http://www.networkforgood.org/beyourdonor)
Join our Twitter chat: Be a part of the Be Your Donor Day conversation during our Twitter chat on Wednesday, October 24 at 1pm ET  Share your best tips and plans for donor-centric fundraising. hashtag: #beyourdonor  More info: http://bit.ly/RTZBcN