Lightbulbs + mic drops from ICON 2024

Looking for bite-sized takeaways from AFP ICON in Toronto?

I’ve got ‘em.

🧁 I hope you find a sweet tidbit here for your fundraising.

💡From Tim Sarrantonio and Neon One, on monthy giving:

The average nonprofit’s recurring donor base has grown by at least 127% since 2018.

A recurring donor’s average retention rate is a mind-blowing 78%.

And they stay engaged an average of 8 years. And they’re super generous.

🤍 TIP: Make your monthly donors and monthly giving program a top priority this year. Don’t yet have one? It’s time!

🎤 From Harvey McKinnon’s session:

Donor loyalty isn’t about the donor being loyal to you.

It’s about you being loyal to the donor.

🤍 TIP: Look at how often, how personally, and how creatively you’re showing up for your donors. Then ID one thing you can do better for them this year.

💡 From Drs. Jen Shang and Adrian Sargeant:

You can use philanthropic psychology to grow giving with just one move:

Explore the “self words” + the “supporter words” your donors use to identify themselves – as people and as supporters of your cause. How do they describe they are + want to be? (Examples: compassionate, animal lover, loyal, mother, generous, survivor, thoughtful, volunteer, caring, ally.)

🤍 TIP: Use these words in your writing and your donor conversations. Feeling seen, known, and appreciated as their best self is a donor’ love potion.

🎤 From Josh Meyer of Bloomerang:

92% of volunteers will also DONATE to your nonprofit.

🤍 TIP: Start asking and stewarding them in both roles, as multi-generous supporters.

Use this Ultimate Volunteer Appreciation Guide to help.

💡 From my donor comms session with Rachel Muir and Julie Cooper:

Truth 💣 from Rachel: “Nobody wants to read your sh*t.”

People have a lot going on in their lives. They’re bombarded with information 24/7 from competing voices. Your organization is not automatically the center of their universe.

When you accept this, you gain empathy. You try harder to make your writing clear and emotionally compelling.

✍🏽 Write like you speak.

🤍 TIP: Give your copy the “Happy Hour Test” by reading it out loud. (Would you ever express yourself like this to a friend over happy hour? 🍸 For real.)

👀 Your readers are skimmers. Great Walls of Copy go to direct to trash.

🤍 TIP: Let your writing B R E A T H E. Use hard returns and white space more than feels comfortable.

🌟 If you need help acting on any of the above wisdom, I’m your girl. Please reach out and let’s chat about it.