Run Your Next Dues Renewal Effort Like a Fundraising Campaign

Spark Consulting is out with another white paper -- this one on what associations can learn about relationship building, campaign management, and attracting Millennials from charitable fundraising organizations. It's another thought-provoking read for association CEOs. If you're interested, you can download "Steal Like a Fundraiser: Innovations in Cause-Oriented Fundraising for Associations" here. It's free and you don't even have to register for it.

For me, there was one big takeaway: Run your next dues renewal effort like a fundraising campaign.

Read how the white paper describes a typical fundraising campaign:

The brightly colored, eye-catching, image filled, multi-channel campaign has a consistent look and tone, and , perhaps most important, emotional feel. The communications tell stories, in which the prospective donor has the opportunity to be the hero and make a difference to something he cares deeply about. Different audiences receive appeals on different communications platforms. Major donors get personal calls or maybe even visits. Older donors get direct mail. Younger donors may be invited to text to give. Everyone gets email, and those messages are colorful and eye-catching, addressing the recipient by name and littered with opportunities to click: standard links, donate buttons, clickable images, clickable social links. Social media is an intrinsic part of the campaign, whether it's conversational posts from organization-branded accounts that are still allowed to have some personality, or working with influencers in the space to spread the campaign message, or using social ads and retargeting. When people click, they go directly to a simple landing page that immediately or almost immediately asks for three critical pieces of information: Who are you, how much do you want to give, and what's your credit card number? Results are tracked by communications vehicles and audience segment in real time so that resources can be quickly diverted from methods that aren't working well to methods that are. Donor thanks come quickly, personally, and sincerely, by multiple methods, and often with the opportunity to share information about the campaign with friends via social platforms or email.

Now, compare that to your last dues renewal effort. The white paper provides a typical association dues effort as a counterexample, and it, probably like yours, pales in comparison. Automated, impersonal reminders generated from association management software. Elaborate and complicated online payment procedures. Messages cluttered with dozens of other asks and requests for information. When you read the full description, you'll know exactly who the white paper is talking about.

If I were to bring just three innovations to my association's next dues renewal effort, I would focus on:

1. The communications tell stories, in which the prospective donor has the opportunity to be the hero and make a difference to something he cares deeply about. This would be an absolute revolution in how we currently do things. Rather than focusing on all the things the association does for the member, focus instead on the things the member can do because of their membership in the association. As the white paper cogently describes: "Associations exist because there are goals the members want to achieve or problems they want to solve that they either cannot do at all on their own or cannot do as efficiently and effectively." Find those goals, and describe them in a series colorful and emotional stories. And remember, the member, not the association, is the hero of those stories.

2. Different audiences receive appeals on different communications platforms. This is the one I'm most embarrassed to say we don't already do. We're a trade association where our member companies pay dues on a scale that increases with their sales volume. As a result, some members pay us a little and some members pay us a lot. More importantly, some members have been with us for decades and some members joined just last year. Both of these seem like important factors on which to adjust our reach-out procedures at dues renewal time. Imagine a world in which some members get email, some members get email and phone call, and some members get email and personal visit.

3. Donor thanks come quickly, personally, and sincerely, by multiple methods, and often with the opportunity to share information about the campaign with friends via social platforms or email. How many times have I done something online, and after doing it, I'm presented with an opportunity to Tweet, Facebook, or Instagram my action to everyone in my network? I just bought tickets for an awesome concert. I just donated to a fabulous charity. I just booked airline tickets to an exotic destination. Can't we imagine a scenario in which a loyal member might share the fact that they just renewed their membership in an incredible organization? Every association has at least some evangelists in its membership, and they can help you spread the word beyond your typical ability.

These are just three impactful ideas from this white paper. Give it a read and see what else you can find.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

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