Richard Spencer, director, Commission on the Donor Experience Visit the CharityComms website to view slides from past events, see what events we have coming up and to check out what else we do: www.charitycomms.org.uk

3. Product first
Supporter first

7. • Getting the right people as fundraisers
• The role of trustee boards and senior
management
• A distinctive service culture
• Leadership
• Supporters as advocates
Language
Vulnerable people
Satisfaction, commitment
Thank you and welcome
The journey and emotion
Corporates, trusts, major
donors, legacies
Communicating the experience The donor’s view
The right people in place How it works
• Evidence of impact and
effectiveness
• Overhead, reserves and
investment
• Working with suppliers
• Media relations and the public
face of charities
• The difference between small and
large charities
• Communications with
individual donors
• Inspirational creativity
• Giving choices and
managing preferences

8. Today’s focus
1.Language
2.Satisfaction and commitment
3.Media relations

9. THE LANGUAGE PROJECT
Objective:
All charity communications with donors
• constructively enhance the donor experience
• strengthen the charity-donor relationship
What does that ‘look like’?
Donors happy to engage (talk, read, listen, …)
valued, interested, ethical uplift, impact/empowered,
part of team, re-affirmed self-image (e.g. priorities)
 All comms read/heard/watched
… not ignored, binned or cancelled
 All comms have positive impact on donor and relationship
 No comms cause complaint
… over frequency, content or form
 All comms wanted: no comms wasted

10. THE LANGUAGE PROJECT
How:
GATHERING KNOWLEDGE & NEEDS
Constructing a
database of
research, case
studies, examples
TESTING & DEVELOPING
Gap filling and
hypothesis testing
SHARING
Publishing and
promoting good
practice
recommendations

11. THE LANGUAGE PROJECT
Some findings so far:

12. THE LANGUAGE PROJECT
Some questions:
• Three beliefs about best practice
• What comms you’re testing, and how
• Your priorities – the burning comms questions
 High level stuff (accessibility, formality/familiarity, frequency…)
 Minutiae (‘Dear’/’Hi’, ‘I’/’we’, ‘give’/’help’/’save’…)
 Tricksy stuff (transparency, T&Cs/legal, opt-in clauses)

13. SPEAKING OUT
(a.k.a. media)

14. SPEAKING OUT
Relationships (mid-term)
Revenue (short-term)Reputation (long-term)
MEDIA
A subtle picture

15. SPEAKING OUT
Value
Values
FuturePresent
BELIEF RESPECT
COMMITMENTTRUST
Understanding reputation…

16. SPEAKING OUT
Value
Values
FuturePresent
Do we deliver?
Do we behave? Do we lead?
Do we inspire?
Managing reputation…
Understand real-world reputation drivers at an increasingly granular level.
Design a strategic pathway forward. Organise!

17. SPEAKING OUT
Early principles:
• Don’t exaggerate
• Don’t be complacent
• Don’t reinvent
• Do Understand that all audiences count and interconnect – (this is
about strategic public advocacy)
• Do Recognise that there are specific very predictable stories that
are ‘coming’ and plan for them
• Do be ambitious and true to our values
We really need:
Committed critics/experts
Data – to improve our best guess insight/modelling
Sharing of (shareable) comm’s plans
Specific storyline ideas - macro and micro

18. MEASUREMENT
The problem…

19. MEASUREMENT
What should we measure?

20. MEASUREMENT
• Steering group
• Get questions right
• Consultation
• Pull together
• Report
The plan

21. MEASUREMENT
Today
• What should we be measuring?
• Who is measuring it?
• Is anyone actioning anything on the back
of it?
• Steering group

22. www.donor-experience.com
@DonorExperience
If you would like to get more actively involved – or
simply want to be kept informed of progress – on these
or other projects across the Commission – then please
get in touch with:
• Richard Spencer – richard@donor-experience.com
• Andrea Macrae – andrea.macrae@brookes.ac.uk
• Tim Kitchin – tim@copperdigital.co.uk
• Roger Lawson – roger@rogerlawsonconsulting.com
• Georgia Bridgwood – gbridgwood@jionmq.org

23. Visit the CharityComms website
to view slides from past events,
see what events we have
coming up and to check out
what else we do:
www.charitycomms.org.uk

24. Audience strategy:
understanding and connecting
with stakeholders
Sponsored by
Conference
26 May 2016
London
#CCaudience
WiFi: RRPN1
Password: kmrhja12