May 20, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Some charities don’t do enough to hang on to their donors, says the Donor Power Blog written by Jeff Brooks, creative director at Merkle/Domain, an advertising and marketing agency that serves nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Brooks takes note of a study posted on a blog dedicated to customer service issues that explores reasons people cease doing business with a company. (Mr. Brooks simply says substitute “donor” for “customer” to make this information relevant for the charity world.)
Far and away the greatest reason a customer broke ties with a business–- 68 percent of the time — was because of “an attitude of indifference from someone representing the company.”
Mr. Brooks says for charities such indifference could be come in the form of late (or nonexistent) receipts, lousy thank-you letters, or a failure to report back with specifics on how a donation helped the cause.
“They’re the charity equivalent of the airline gate agent who shrugs off the fact that you aren’t getting home tonight,” Mr. Brooks says.
(Read The Chronicle of Philanthropy article that explores many of these issues.)
What can charities do to keep donors happy? Share your ideas by clicking on the comment link just below this posting.
