Social Media Minute: Recent Reader Feedback

Here is some feedback from our social-media sites, blogs and article comments sections from the past few months.

“The 8 Basics of Donor Retention”
Navigating Off the Napkin blog, July 2
By Angie Moore

Angie, at Operation Smile, we live and breath #8. We have an internal philosophy that is articulated and shared with our constituents as our “Donor First Commitment” (below). We message this commitment along with how to reach our Donor Services team in our new donor “Welcome Kit,” on our acknowledgements and even on our mid and major gift (pledge) forms. This commitment requires focus and attention on numbers 1-7 listed above — they all tie together!

Operation Smile — Our Donor First Commitment: The immediate, life-changing surgeries we provide to children in remote locations around the world could not happen without our donors who generously contribute their hard-earned resources and time to our cause. We thank you for your compassion. In return for your support, we are committed to you. We are committed to serving you, our donors, volunteers and advocates with the same exceptional care that Operation Smile provides to children and their families around the world.
— Jann Schultz,
AVP Donor Services, Operation Smile

“I’m Ticked Off!”
Navigating Off the Napkin blog, May 14
By Angie Moore

Couldn’t agree more, Angie. There is far too much focus on process. Evaluating each vehicle irrespective of the whole program and performance thereof is just another example of [why] fundraising programs continue to struggle in so many organizations.
— Larry C. Johnson

Larry, you say it well. We must make sure the people who enjoy measuring the success of these programs and passing judgement (and budget) over them understand the bottom line is THE metric.
— Angie Moore

Fantastic article, Angie. You are spot on. Some really great organizations were disparaged. Perhaps donors won’t read that article, but other media organizations might, thus perpetuating the wrong message. We all need to be better advocates for our sector. (But your focus group findings are very encouraging!)
— Chris Ragusa