7 Steps to a ‘Best in Show’ Tax Appeal

Of the 28,000 organisations in Australia, a great number will send an appeal at this time of year.  Read these SEVEN Must-Do actions to make sure your appeal isn’t collared by the clutter.

i. Lead the pack

Go early. Contact your supporters in April to make sure they have an opportunity to give to your cause before they are inundated with appeals.

Every organisation and its dog will mail, email, phone and visit their supporters in the coming weeks. And your most committed supporters are on multiple other databases. This means it’s highly likely that the supporters you are counting on to give this year, are about to be hounded by other NFPs. Sending a first wave early will give you the best chance to get noticed.

ii. Stand out from the crowd

This goes without saying – but I’ll say it anyway: make sure your appeal
is the best it can be. It should be the most impactful and emotionally engaging communication you send all year. It should have bite and bark. It should present an urgent need with a gut-wrenching story and a tangible solution.

iii. Don’t bark up the wrong trees

Segment and target your database effectively. Avoid contributing to the clutter by mailing people who haven’t given recently. This will also save you valuable resources.

iv. Follow-up with a Second Wave

Wave 2 – by mail, email or phone (or all three) – is a tactical tool to  a.) remind supporters who intend to give but haven’t yet and  b.) to give supporters another opportunity to donate. 

Your second wave communication might come between 2 and 4 weeks after the
first. One of the benefits of a multi-wave approach is that the second and third waves can be flexible. With flexible timing you have the opportunity to adjust the campaign. The date of send, audience selection, case for support and level of urgency can all be optimised to make the campaign more effective.

v. Get on the Dog & Bone

One of the key parts of your appeal strategy must be to utilise your senior leadership, staff and board to engage your most important supporters.

Tactics such as personal notes from the relationship manager, follow-up phone calls to ensure they received the appeal and face to face asks by the CEO will significantly lift the giving potential of your donor base.

vi. Third Wave of the Hunt

A third wave will follow-up only the most important supporters. These would usually comprise individuals who gave at the same time in previous years, but haven’t yet this year. Priority should be given to those who have given large Tax appeal gifts over a number of years.

As it’s the last two weeks of June, this phone call, email, letter or visit will be the most urgent of the Tax campaign.

It can also extend right up until June 30.  A final email on the evening of the last day of the financial year might be enough to motivate some stragglers to give. Your relationship managers, CEO (and board) can move further down their contact list and continue calling until close of business on the last day.

vii. Best in Show

Finally, don’t forget to provide your CEO, senior leadership, relationship managers and board with a list of people to be thanked personally – either face to face, or on the phone. This will begin as soon as you receive the first gifts and continue in July – until everyone who warrants a personal approach is thanked.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about your Tax appeal.