Effective Communication with Donors

The Internet is a very busy place. So how does a nonprofit stand out from the Internet crowd and make a splash?  By effectively communicating with donors and potential donors 24/7.

Let’s take an example. Car donation. There are a gazillion car donation programs out there. How do you get the potential car donor to donate specifically to YOUR car donation program, let’s say Kars For Kids. The answer is to use every means possible to reach and engage individuals that share the aims of this nonprofit which is all about educating and mentoring children.

The vehicles used by a nonprofit for communication with potential donors is important but probably not as important as the message conveyed. By all means, make use of snail mail, email, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, but make sure you say what it is that grabs attention in this crowded competitive public sphere.  A simple way to grab attention is to put yourself inside the donor’s head, and then read or view your materials from that perspective. You want to make sure you answer the following donor-specific questions:

1.       Why me?

2.       What for?

3.       Why now?

4.       Who says?

Review all materials with these four questions in mind before you send them out into the world. Watch for shortcomings. Address them.

And do it for all materials you send out, using the same reviews process. Getting into the donor’s head is easy if you know the demographic who share your goals and you ask all the right questions.  Knowing the demographic, of course, is a crucial element in crafting your message.

People with the potential to become donors or volunteers in your nonprofit:

·         Share your mission

·         Believe that your nonprofit is a stable one

·         Feel included, and have a sense they are valued by your organization

·         Respect the leaders and founders of your nonprofit

 It’s important to note that donors don’t give out of a sense of guilt or obligation or because they’ve received from you some glossy promotional materials. They also do not give solely to get a tax deduction. None of these factors favor your nonprofit over the competition. It’s the extra bit of oomph you put into communicating and engaging with your public that woos them to give to you instead of to the other guy.

It’s about making them feel a part of what you do: making them feel important. And let’s face it—you couldn’t do it without them. Now go forth and make them feel it. 

Woodie Cars

Most of us just love cars. Shiny new cars and old vintage cars are just some of the cars that tug at our hearts and keep people looking at the Kars for Kids garage page in hopes of seeing some rare find. Perhaps one of the most pleasurable and exotic cars we can still occasionally see on the road is the woodie, a beloved American car with wood incorporated into its body.

The very earliest cars were made of wood. So it was not exactly a surprise when a car incorporating wood into its design became a runaway hit. That would be the Ford Mercury woodie station wagon.

Bragging Rights

Produced during the 1930’s and 1940’s, the woodie came with prestige and bragging rights. It was one of the most, if not the most expensive model in the Ford line from year to year. The funny thing was, the car was high maintenance and had all sorts of foibles but everyone still wanted one, still coveted that woodie above all other cars.

Ford was the industry leader for sales of cars with wooden bodies. But the manufacturer kept production of these beauties to a very limited number, owing to the smaller demand for this gorgeous but impractical vehicle. The demand was mostly among the higher echelons of society: movie studio moguls, resorts, country squires. Of course, in those days, no one called these cars “woodies.”

Woodies being made of wood swell and shrink with the weather. As a result, the cars make a lot of noise as the glue and screws holding the body together shift during contraction and expansion of the wood. Also, think of the wooden hull of a boat and how much maintenance it needs and you begin to get an idea of how much effort a woodie owner must put into cosseting his moving acquisition. The owner’s manuals always included a recommendation for annual stripping and refinishing.

The Woodie Narrative

Of course, that makes no difference to a country squire or a movie mogul. They can afford to hire people to do that sort of thing for them. The annual refinishing was all a part of what made the woodie and the narrative that went with it, something special.

Henry Ford had a thing about making his enterprises totally self-sufficient. To that end he purchased rubber plantations and ore mines to produce materials for his cars. In deciding to create the woodie, he bought huge tracts of forest reserves in 1920, on Iron Mountain in the Upper Michigan Peninsula, located around 500 miles northwest of Detroit. There he grew stands of maple, gum, birch, and basswood, all for the purpose of building Model T floorboards and body frames. In addition to growing the trees, he had his own people cutting timber, ran his own sawmill, and cut and created wooden body parts on location.

Ford didn’t like waste and could always find a purpose for everything. The leftover wood pieces and even the sawdust from the mill were not disposed of but were used to create Ford Charcoal Briquettes. There’s a lot you could say about Ford, who was a known anti-Semite, for instance, but one thing for sure: he had the green ethos down pat, way before anyone else was concerned with recycling and making good use of all resources. He might not have cared much about the environment, but he appreciated that everything had a purpose.

12 Tips for Weathering Summer Storms

It’s hard to remember a time when there have been so many momentous storms one after the other bringing so much devastation in their midst. The good news is that people pull together and help each other at times like these—think the great coat giveaway by the car donation charity Kars For Kids after Hurricane Sandy. The bad news is that people lose their homes and sometimes their lives in these monumental weather events.

In some respects, you can’t really prepare for a storm. The theory is much different than the reality which can change the course of one’s life in the blink of an eye. At the same time, it can’t hurt to learn what we can about protecting ourselves and our loved ones, whenever the opportunity presents. You never know when a piece of information you learned from an article on the Internet or heard from someone is going to come in handy. Rather than think of this kind of information as “GIGO” (garbage in, garbage out), assume that some of it will stick in your mind and be there when you need it.

Summer vacation is about to begin and we all like to spend lots of time out of doors. But with summer comes summer storms, and with those storms comes lightning. Here are some tips to help you stay safe and out of the eye of the storm.

1.       Hearing is believing. A little known fact is that lightning can strike within 10 miles of a thunderclap. That means that if you can hear thunder, you’re within striking distance. If you can manage it, stay indoors.

2.       Get the forecast. Whether you listen to a recorded weather forecast by phone, watch the forecast on television, or follow a weather website on the Internet, always pay attention to the weather forecast. If a storm is predicted, think about canceling or perhaps postponing your plans.

3.       Have a plan. Going out? Think about where you can go find safe shelter in case of a thunderstorm.

4.       Keep a close watch. Pay attention to the weather while on outings of any kind. If you see a storm brewing, find a safe place to hang out for the duration.

5.       React to thunder. Was that a thunderclap you heard? Get thee to a building. A nice strong one with serious infrastructure. None available? Hunker down in a vehicle with a nice firm top (not a soft-top convertible, natch?).

6.       Avoid trees and other tall objects. So you’ve got the worst luck ever and you’re nowhere near shelter when the storm hits. Don’t seek shelter under a tree or other tall object. Those are just the kinds of things that lightning adores striking. Better to stay on open ground.

7.       Keep your distance from appliances. Don’t make contact with appliances or computers that are plugged into electric sockets.

8.       Stay dry. Don’t go near anything with plumbing, for instance showers, tubs, sinks, and darest we say it? Toilets.

9.       Go cordless. Mom was right. Don’t talk on corded phones during a storm.

10.   Keep away from windows and doors. They make good entry ports. ‘Nuff said.

11.   Wait awhile. Has the storm abated? Wait another half an hour before you venture out of doors, just to be sure it’s all over.

12.   When lightning strikes. If in spite of your precautions, someone gets struck by lightning, do not fear to help—touching the person carries no danger (there’s no electric current left in the body). Some lightning victims need CPR. In other cases, the lightning victim may need defibrillation. The best thing to do is to call 911 immediately.