The primary reason a donor will give to your organization is because someone asked them to.
That’s why peer-to-peer campaigns are so important. More people asking means more people giving.
But the message that your ambassadors send out to their friends and family can make a significant difference both in the number of ‘Yeses’ the ambassador receives AND the gift amount from those who do indeed say ‘Yes.’
When ambassadors include a little bit about their personal connection to your organization, you will drastically see increased conversations and higher donation amounts.
A little personal touch goes a very long way. Adding a personal connection transforms a simple transactional request into an emotional connection.
Ask your ambassadors to spend 10 minutes thinking or writing about their connection to your organization.
If it’s a parent of a child who goes to your school, that’s a great start, but ask the parent to dig deeper: why is the school so special to his/her child?
If your ambassadors have received services from your organization, ask them to articulate what life was like before they walked through your doors and how their lives got better once they did.
If you work in an impact that is simply close to the hearts of your ambassadors, ask them why? What do they love about the services you provide? Why is your mission so critical?
Once your ambassadors have organized their thoughts, they can extract snippets to include in personal messaging to their friends and family. They can even include a short story about a personal experience.
When ambassador emails and text messages feel like personal reach-outs and not mass mailings, that’s when they’ve struck gold. (The same is true, by the way, for emails and messages sent from your organization.) By infusing messages with heart, your ambassadors are building relationships, not just asking for money.