When was the last time your organization asked a foundation, corporate, or individual donor for feedback on why you didn’t get their funds? How often do they provide that feedback?
Krista Donaldson, CEO of D-Rev: Design Revolution wrote an insightful blog post on LinkedIn that discusses need for funders to explain why they can’t fulfill their requests. Donaldson mentions that D-Rev asks for feedback as often possible.
Feedback can be a challenge for foundations, corporations, or individuals to provide. Oftentimes funders don’t have the staffing resources to explain each rejection individually. At times, a funder might not provide feedback because they don’t want to provide critical feedback. It is important for all nonprofits to ask, even though the majority of these requests will not be answered.
The feedback that potential funders can provide is critical for long-term growth and ensuring that your nonprofit is properly evaluating potential opportunities. This week we wrote a blog post about the importance of focusing on the why. Knowing why you received a gift or why you were rejected is an important evaluation tool. This information can help you write better grants, proposals, or ask letters. It can help identify areas of improvement and opportunity for further discussion.
Ask for feedback as often as possible. The feedback you receive will strengthen your next outreach to a foundation, corporate sponsor, or major donor.
Below are other links for the week. Check out our Tumblr for additional links and news.
- Did you know that giving is a chemical reaction? The Nonprofit Times discusses the emotional appeal and the impact it has on a donor.
- LinkedIn now allows users to share photos, presentations and documents from their homepage. This is great news for nonprofits that are active with organization updates on LinkedIn.
- The Chronicle of Philanthropy outlines several suggested responses to help with challenging or tepid potential donors.
Justin (he, him) is a Principal and Co-Founder of Social Change Consulting. He has over fifteen years of nonprofit experience, with expertise in online fundraising, digital communications, and data management. Justin helps organizations connect their communication strategy to their income development needs. When he’s not on the clock, Justin is exploring Berlin, running, listening to too many podcasts, and drinking too much coffee.