Valentine’s Day is here once again. Although many people have a love/hate relationship with this holiday, it is a great reminder for nonprofits to strengthen their relationships with their target audiences. Nonprofits wouldn’t survive without their donors and volunteers, so make sure you show them some love this Valentine’s Day and year-round by focusing on these four tips:
1. Get to know them
It never hurts to get to know your audience better, and with some help from tools like SurveyMonkey, this is free and simple to do. You can create a short survey in minutes to find out how much people know about what your nonprofit does, how they want to be communicated with and how often, what motivates them to support your work, what volunteer opportunities they are interested in, and more. Keep these surveys short and consider offering an incentive to people who respond, such as a t-shirt from your organization or a discount on an upcoming event. These survey answers will prove useful in numerous ways.
2. Make Conversation
Communication holds the key to any successful relationship. From your survey, you now know what your donors and supporters are interested in hearing about, how they want to hear from you, and how often. Newsletters and social media are great touch points for your members, donors, and volunteers. These channels can provide engaging updates on what’s happening in your industry, what events are coming up, and more. Facebook groups are also a great way to communicate with your supporters and build a community that cares about your mission. For example, the New England Aquarium has a Facebook group for its young professionals group The Tide where members can get news about events and engage with one another.
3. Ask them out
Invite your fans and donors to get involved so they can feel more engaged with your organization. Now that you know who your audience is and what they’re interested in from your survey, you can create and invite them to personalized volunteer opportunities. If millennials make up a large part of your audience or donor base, consider having a young professionals event or volunteer opportunity so they can connect with your nonprofit and other like-minded people. For example, Playworks, a national nonprofit that promotes access to safe and healthy play, hosts annual corporate kickball events to raise money and awareness for their work in schools. For many of your nonprofit’s constituents, finding peers who feel similarly about your nonprofit will ultimately strengthen their relationship with your organization’s work.
4. Follow up
Nobody likes being ghosted! After an event, it is crucial to thank everyone who attended. Thank your volunteers for lending their time to support your nonprofit, and thank donors for their contributions. Again, your survey results will tell you what channel to use to communicate your gratitude. Ask event attendees and volunteers to give feedback about their experiences so they feel valued and heard.
With these tips, your nonprofit will take its relationship status to the next level with its fans, volunteers, and donors. Happy Valentine’s Day!
