How To Take Your Follow-Ups To The Next Level

Showing the donor the joy they create is what makes DonorSee so powerful, and keeps donors coming back! Follow-ups that thank, engage, and wow the donor will bring them back to give over and over. This blog will explain how to do just that. 

Thank The Donor By Name

To go above-and-beyond in your follow-ups, thank the donors by name. You can even thank them through the chat feature while the project is still being funded. You can also thank them individually using the mention @ feature in the comments. You can say something like: “Thank you @Cassie for your donation towards Sarah’s surgery. It's scheduled for next Wenesday. We will update you with her progress very soon!” Using the @ feature allows you to tag a specific donor - while not using it will send the update to everyone who has given to the project.

You also don’t have to just send thank you messages by text. You could go above and beyond for your donor’s and make an individual video thanking them by name as the project is in process. Here is an example from one of our partners, Veronika, who gave her donors a thank you message by text and video. While definitely not required, going above and beyond like this shows your donors how much you appreciate their giving.

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Show The Process

If the project takes multiple steps to complete, take the donor on that journey. This can be both through short and long processes. An example of a short process is this project from Prince Inglis, who posted a project for Tamara to receive a new artificial leg. He used the follow-up section to show her walking on the old leg, the new leg being made, and then finally her walking with the new leg. 

David Perteka’s school project is a good example of using follow-ups to document a longer process of project fulfillment. He shows them breaking ground on the school, the foundation being built, and his donors even got to meet the construction manager! Good follow-ups are crucial to maintaining momentum for a Large Project.

Engage The Donor In The Story

Exceptional follow-ups bring the donors to the scene of their giving. This means to get them as close as possible to being able to give the recipient the gift themselves. Help them to touch it - to experience it - and to feel like part of the joy they created. 

Here’s an example from Ngojea Kitinusa. In his follow-up video, he takes the donor through the shopping process all the way up to him giving the recipient the food and supplies. In this project, Georgina Hill completely surprises her volunteer. The joy on her face is infectious!

Communicate Regularly

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Supplies may take a while to arrive or, God forbid, the patient might not make it. When this happens it is still important to communicate to the donors what is going on. One of our partners, Winnie Kiunga, experienced a delay in a stove that she fundraised for. In her follow-up video she clearly explained to her donors why the stove was delayed, and when she planned on giving another follow-up. When it finally came, she did another update - with the stove and the cook! - closing the loop, but the donors were kept up-to-date.

Surprise The Donor

An awesome way to continue to engage with your donors is surprising them with a follow-up of a project that has already been followed-up on. This pings your previous donors back to your profile and most importantly establishes even more of a relationship with the donor and the recipient. Haley Westerkamp’s project for Monday is a great example of this. Her team did a follow up on her health 6 months after her original treatment. 

These are just a few of the basics! For more ideas like this, reach out to your Partner Coordinator.