April 2022
In our work with Lost Tribe Esports, they have expanded our knowledge in how we communicate with our donors through digital media and of course email.
I wanted to highlight one simple strategic step that you may already know but we have found it important and helpful.
It’s simple- the subject line of your email message to a donor or a group of donors.
Lost Tribe monitors each of their many email messages as they share compelling stories, meaningful achievements and most important how their donor’s gift impacts what they do.
They also monitor who opens their email, time of day and how long the email stays opened. In essence, are donors opening and reading the information that they are sharing?
Often the subject line is the link that quickly engages the donor to read further. Let me share a few that you may be using and if not try them out.
For example:
Because of you
Each of you
You made this happen
We need your impressions of
Thank you
If you have others that you know have inspired your donors to jump in, please share them with me.
Guess what? Older donors still count!
A recent seminar presented by Free Will shared some very interesting data about the significant giving that is being seen by older baby boomers and the silent or mature generation.
Silent Generation: Born 1928 to 1945 (76 to 93) ● Baby Boomers: Born 1946 to 1964 (57 to 75) ● The 65-and-older population grew by over a third (34.2% or 13,787,044) during the past decade according to the 2020 Census, to about 52 million.
Together, Boomers and Silents make up 61% of all contributions ● They prefer giving to well-known, respected organizations — 45% of Boomer donors research an org before making a gift ● Nearly 40% of both generations.
Even before COVID, 73% of 65+ Americans were regular internet users ○ 68% of Boomers and 40% of Silents owned a smartphone in 2019 ● Since the spread of COVID, internet & phone usage has shot up among all cohorts ● These generations increasingly use social media to connect with friends and family.
Older donors are also now going online to make major & planned gifts ● Online giving has increased by 42% in the last 3 years, and the average age of a donor is 65 ● A 2018 study by Blackbaud showed that 54% of Boomers prefer to give via online channels vs 19% via direct mail ● And 34% of Boomers reported donating via newer channels in 2021.
Older generations are heavily invested in real estate, stocks, or IRAs (which often mirror the stock market) ● They’ve benefited greatly over the past couple years as the stock market and real estate rapidly increased ● Boomers owned 44% of real estate wealth in 2021 ● Older generations have never had so much wealth before in comparison to previous generations. And where that wealth is going is being decided now.
An estimated $68 trillion is going to be passed on from wealthy older generations over the next 25 years ● Older donors are deciding right now who will get their estates after they pass ● Most of this will go to Gen X & older Millennials — your next biggest donors ● But about $10 trillion is expected to go charities
Interested, see the full report, or give us a call.