CONSERVATIVES NEED NEW LEADERS Continued #4...
I thought I wrapped up the topic “Conservatives Need New Leaders” in last week’s post. However, I have just a few more thoughts to add.
As I said earlier blog posts, the question is not “How do I grow my organization larger, acquire more donors or votes, raise more money?”—but WHO will do it?
“The harvest is plentiful; the laborers are few.”
My heritage is 100% Cajun. My maternal grandfather operated a “mom n’ pop” grocery store in south Louisiana. When children came to the store with their parents shopping list, they would usually ask for a lagniappe (lan-yap). That’s French for “I’d like something a little extra” and usually the child was looking for a piece of candy. So, here’s my lagniappe for those who are focused on raising money.
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Determine the LTV (lifetime value) of the $10-99 donors separate from the $100+ donors.
My heritage is 100% Cajun. My maternal grandfather operated a “mom n’ pop” grocery store in south Louisiana. When children came to the store with their parents shopping list, they would usually ask for a lagniappe (lan-yap). That’s French for “I’d like something a little extra” and usually the child was looking for a piece of candy. So, here’s my lagniappe for those who are focused on raising money.
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The LTV of the under $100 donors will be north of 1,000% of the investment to acquire them, plus there is a huge need to educate and activate them to save America.
The Heritage Foundation says that 75% of the billions of dollars they have raised started with a $100 or less contribution from a postal mailing.
- Determine the LTV of $100+ donors separate from the $10-99 donors. Whatever you’re spending to acquire a $100+ donor is almost certainly not enough.
- The investment to acquire a $100+ donor should be recovered within 6 months or less.
- The number one benefit from fundraising (postal, email, digital ads) is not for the money that is returned. Of course that’s important, but long term that’s about 10% of the benefit.
Remember:
- The organizations that make a significant impact on public policy are large and they play the long game.
- Dan Kennedy, “WHOEVER CAN SPEND THE MOST MONEY TO ACQUIRE A CUSTOMER [DONOR] WINS.”
- Dan Sullivan’s book, WHO NOT HOW. Don’t worry about HOW to grow your organization’s donors, income, subscribers, supporters, etc., but WHO will do it.
