BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPPORTERS Craig Wills, Community Fundraising

AIMS How Community supporters can be some of the most valuable donors for your organisation over their lifetime To show the value of building relationships and empowering supporters to fundraise through their networks To share our learnings of moving from a product led model to a strategy of long term relationship building with Community supporters

A TRADITIONAL MODEL OF COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING a lot of st a big staff team on the ground to deliver” “It is the Cinderella of Fundraising” “It is just unsolicited income” Marketing product / campaign / local event Supporter enquires to the charity We send fundraising pack We send good luck message Receive £ - we Send thank you

WHY ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS DIFFERENT? Community supporters at Anthony Nolan are individuals, families, friends and groups mostly raising funds in celebration or in memory of a loved one.

OUR RESPONSE We changed our way of working and moved away from marketing fundraising activities/ products and campaigns Re-focused our time on building relationships with Community supporters Started using Major donor techniques

MOTIVATION – ENGAGEMENT – INSPIRING OTHERS What do we know about one of our supporter groups, Barrow for Marrow: Supporter Group A member of the groups son had a successful transplant Raised over £50,000 Cycling Scouser Organised multiple fundraising activities Gained support through work They built relationships with celebrities for us Colleagues and friends set up a group and brand Created a large social media presence

ITS ALL ABOUT BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS Build rapport from the start Understand your donor’s motivation for supporting you Find out their long term goals and how they like to fundraise Match communication style with the fundraiser Offer the supporters different ways to help your charity based on their interests Always ask what else they might like to do to help – even non financial support

Supporter Journey Quarterly Impact updates based on a supporters area of interest in our work e.g. research Follow up next steps chat 1, 3,6 months post initial activity Face to face invitations i.e. visiting our laboratories and cultivation events Birthday or other significant date Communicati ons Welcome call Specific activity timed communications, calls, good luck, congratulations, timely thank you and impact of their follow up Tailored next steps and asks based on known interests Offer simple non financial engagement opportunities

FIRST RESPONSE Maximise £ raised Find out more about the supporter Build the relationship Suggest ideas Discuss their concerns Discuss their networks Suggest other ways to help Make an accurate assessment of value

YOUR SUPPORTERS Turn to the person next to you and take it in turns to discuss one supporter you are currently working with. Write down all the key things you know about them For example: Their motivation for supporting your charity Where they work Are they part of any local community groups

BRIGHTON ROTARY Chose us as charity of the year in 2014 – normally raise £5K Through building relationships we have involved their wider network in the work of Anthony Nolan They have raised £10K and we have been chosen for a second year

DIGITAL IS KEY

Cycling Scouser Andrew is a part of Barrow for Marrow Met several times proactively to build the relationship with Andy as an individual – he then chose us as the beneficiary of his next challenge idea He gave up his flat, car and took 6 months unpaid leave so he could cycle to Liverpool….From Shanghai, China! Their friend helped create a website and brand for the challenge CYCLINGscouser.com (see above) where he posts updates and videosCYCLINGscouser.com He smashed his target of £1K, we suggested he keep increasing it to match demand and keep momentum – hes now raised over £21,000 His network of friends back home talk to press and maintain momentum for his challenge – radio, social media, papers and we also post about it. Support for Andy from Jaguar Landrover is helping us break down barriers for future support Barrow target of £100K over the next 5 years

OUR TOP TIPS Build relationships with supporters and find out their motivation and what they want to achieve Pick up the phone lots and talk to people Find out about your supporters – their relationships / personal networks Invest in relationship building skills as a fundraising team Capturing and recording information about your supporters is vital to building relationships with supporters Always ask yourself what the next step in the relationship is for the supporter (this may not be fundraising related - offer them other ways to help like sharing a social media post)

RESULTS Our number of Community fundraising supporters grew by 20% to 1,400 in 14/15. These were all supporters who came to us – we do no cold marketing Average raised per Community supporter £899; 48 raised over £5k; Top 50 relationships raised 40% of the income

THE RESULTS £189k to £1 million net in 4 years and projected to be at £1.55 million by the end of this financial year 5:1 Return on investment

QUESTIONS £189k to £1 million net in 4 years Craig Fancy a coffee to chat all things Community? We would love to hear what you do and your learnings – please get in touch facebook.com/anthonynolan Join the stem cell register: