3 Tones: The Human Approach to Connecting With Donors

Nonprofit organizations need the right approach when talking to donors. You want to connect, and that happens best on the human level. It starts with listening. But then there are three reactions that can help a conversation go deeper—curious, confused, and concerned.

How can you know what’s driving donors unless you have a conversation? That’s the goal—have an honest conversation and build a relationship. It’s not rocket science, it’s just being human.

Three Tones to Build Connection

Here are three approaches your nonprofit can take in fundraising conversations with donors:

1. Curious

Convey genuine interest and understanding. Be curious about what the donor cares about. 

• Questions: Why do you support (or not support) our nonprofit? What motivates you? What inspires you to give? Are you more interested in donating or volunteering? You might be surprised at the answers.
• Next step: You can tailor your approach based on their responses. They might not care about your latest campaign but instead are driven by a personal connection. You might learn you’re wasting time with your talking points, but could pitch a different program that appeals to their personal connection.

2. Confused

Get the donor to clarify or expand. You don’t want to be insincere, but asking questions as if you’re confused can help a donor explain their position.

• Questions: I’m not sure I understand the issue—can you tell me why you feel that way? Is this a problem with our mission or our messaging? How do you think we could do a better job? You want to get the donor talking about what’s stopping them from donating or getting involved.
• Next step: When you better understand where a donor is coming from, you can make a better case for your nonprofit. This can be especially helpful when minor issues disrupt regular donations—maybe they’re getting too many mailers and are concerned about the environmental waste. Ultimately, there might be a deeper disconnect, and then you know it’s good to part ways.

3. Concerned

Show empathy and care for your donor’s struggles. You should care about your donors beyond their donations.

• Questions: Could we change your recurring donation so you can still support this cause but it better fits your current budget? Do you still want to volunteer in the future when things settle down? Is there any way we can help you manage that situation? Again, it’s about building a relationship, and when someone is struggling a good friend would try to help out.
• Next step: You’re trying to maintain that relationship. If a donor had a job change or is too busy to help out, maybe there’s another way they can support your cause. Or maybe they need to step back for a while, but could return in the future if you’re able to maintain that relationship.

Be Authentic

Above all else, it’s important to be authentic. These can be helpful ways to approach a conversation and draw someone out, but in the end it needs to be a real, human conversation. You never want to manipulate donors for the sake of connection. 

We're Here to Help Nonprofits

One of our core values is being human centered. When done right, fundraising shouldn’t feel like a slick marketing pitch—it should be mission in motion.

If you want to connect with donors, we can help. We’re always sharing practical tips and ideas to help nonprofit organizations, whether it's in our weekly Rally Coach texts or our podcast (we actually covered this topic in a recent episode).

You can get started with Rally now.