The Pentera Blog
Create a Bank of Donor Quotes and Keep Using Them
So you publish in your newsletter an inspirational donor story—one you produced or one Pentera wrote for you. Hopefully it inspires other donors, though sometimes that impact is not evident for a while. Is that the end of it?
It doesn't have to be. Many of the nonprofits Pentera works with are selecting the best quote (or two) from each donor story and using them as ongoing blurbs in postcards and future newsletters. Donor quotes work great on the cover of a postcard; in a newsletter you can put a short quote in a box next to the donor's picture.
Donor blurbs are particularly effective when the quote is about the gift type being described in the postcard or newsletter. That way an inspirational donor story can have an ongoing influence indefinitely—kind of like a planned gift!
Here are three examples of real quotes used in blurb format by charities Pentera works with:
- "We have included (XYZ) in our estate plans to help ensure XYZ's future for our children and grandchildren. It was simple to name XYZ as a beneficiary of our IRA."
- "Setting up gift annuities with XYZ is one of the best things I ever did. In this economy it really makes sense."
- "One simple way to ignite the flow of giving and receiving is to be in XYZ's endowment. I created an endowed scholarship ... and I receive tax savings and income for life."
It's really quite simple to create a bank of quotes for future use. A spreadsheet is a great way to organize them by gift type; then you can just cut and paste into the spreadsheet your favorite quote from each donor story.
If a donor is hesitant to do a full-blown donor story, you can ask for a quote instead and add it to your blurb bank. There is no question that prospective donors are influenced by donors who explain their gifts and why they chose to make them. You can bank on that!
