Ep 175| 3 Simple Strategies to Grow Donor Relationships

So the other night, I sent my friend Brandy. He's across country a 30-second voice note while I was bold and laundry and I had something on the stove. Well, I will tell you by morning he sent back another voice note where he admitted he never thought about sending it and he felt a little bit nervous at first. Well, guess what? Day after day after day, many voice notes were sent. Many shared laughs and suddenly our friendship felt alive again. Fun raising. It's evolving the same way. Those donate before midnight emails, automated drip campaigns, heck, the conventional wisdom that we're told that we need to send a minimum of seven touch points. People are seen right through them and they're scrolling past and what will actually land this year and giving season and all the way into 2026 are tiny human touches. I call micro touches little moments that show donors are actually seen. So today I am showing you exactly that how to make those micro touches work for your nonprofit. The nonprofit podcast powered by donor bucks. Welcome back to the nonprofit podcast. I'm Brits Stalker, fundraising coach here at donor box. Each week we bring you practical actions, clear insights and inspiration to help you raise more reach further and build lasting impact. Today we're talking about micro touches, those tiny human first nudges that make someone pause, mince roll and think, "Woo, now that is worth my attention." And I want to precursor this. Most people aren't paying attention anymore. And so we have to find this compromise, right? Because as funraisers in real relationships, they don't fit into a 30 second sound bite. But this is where the opportunity lives because the first little touch points, the bread crumbs, tiny teasers that lead to the coffee chat, the site visit or the phone call, where you can add that color back in, that depth and the nuance. Now that's where your story actually comes alive. So let's talk about it. Attention is going to be the rarest currency in 2026. I will tell you, especially in December, everyone's inbox is drowning in ads where we're seeing a lot of influencer clips. You might see flash sales and all those last chance appeals. Well, how do you break through the noise? Micro touch points. They're small. They're human and they're real. Let me give you three examples that kind of illustrate this point. World Central Kitchen. I've been following them for a few years now. And what they're good at is they don't flood their supporters with a million different emails. They send micro bite size clips that show the humanity of what they're doing. So it might be a shift. He's stirring a massive pot in Gaza. He has swept, dripping down his face. He's feeding thousands of little kids. There's no narration needed. There's drones flying above. There's destruction. The image speaks for itself or an animal shelter that I'm coaching. They are fabulous. They send short boomerangs on Instagram and TikTok of a dog wagon. It's tail as it's adopted short, sweet and the donor sees exactly what they gifted each snippet short, broad, simple and they're deeply human and I'll tell you it works. We actually have data on this nonprofits that use storytelling retain 45% more of their donors versus 27% for those that don't. That's data from our dear friends at memory Fox. So the lesson here presents beats polish people want that human voice in their inboxes. Okay, before we get to the how of microtouches, I wanted to share a little cautionary tale so that you don't do it this year and giving season. Well, last December, I was serving on an advisory board here at a grassroots nonprofit. So we work with the few staff members at the organization. We're all juggling a million moving pieces and at the end of October, we realized, oh my goodness, wait, we have no plan in place for you and giving. We were so deep in our programming that we lost sight of hearing urine as a whole. So what do we do? Well, we sent three donate before midnight emails in two weeks. Yes, two weeks, three emails are poor supporters and this came from us. We've been around the block. We're taught and fundraising best practices. We even teach others on doing better and so here we are. We were guilty of it too. And what came of that revenue took a hit 20 down 20% unsubscribed spiked donors tuned out. It was brutal. And so the lesson here listeners, you don't win December by pushing and sounding louder or if your content being super polish, you win by being the most honest and human voice in someone's inbox. And this is exactly when I'm talking about the power of microtouches. What do they look like? What are they? Okay, so they are little nudges. They're tiny. But when you do them right, and they're not polished, there's no perfect graphics or perfect emails. And you're showing up as human as possible consistently. They're magic because they make your donors feel like they're actually seen like they matter. Here are three of my favorite ways to do this at your end. Things that actually work first a 30 second audio check in. I talked about this with my friend Brandy, right? I love this one because it's quick. It hits so differently. It breaks through the noise and a standard email or even a standard text or voice message. So why not record a little voice note right now from your desk? You might be in the warehouse or wherever you're at in the field. Hey, Donna. I'm out here and so and so. I just wanted to share. We just delivered right here in this moment. 50 meals went out today. Thank you so much for being a part of this. That tiny audio clip that makes your donors feel like they were right there with you in that moment. No filters, no marketing spin. Donors are craving at level of authenticity, the human connection. We have the research to back it up. Second, a handwritten postcard or note. Yes, I said it. Get a pen out, write a short heartfelt message because of you. Families have had warm meals this week. If we delayed five families would have X, Y and Z. Thank you for making this possible messy handwriting. Perfect. That's part of the charm. Get out that pen and paper. Write that dang hard handwritten postcard because in 2025 data shows tangible tactile touches like postcards and handwritten notes will increase your response rates by up to 20% compared to email. Again, why? Because in a digital world, it stands out. It screams that this came from a human who cares. And it's all about making that supporter feel seen. They're right there in the moment. They see themselves in the giving and they're appreciated. It goes a long way. The last microtouch point. Third, a behind the scenes snapshot. Do you have a candid photo of a volunteer in action this week doing something on a delivery day? Whatever raw and polished moment it is, even if it's a little chaotic or messy. Visual proof of impact creates an immediate and emotional connection. Your donors are going to respond to that. They're going to give again when they can see themselves in the story. They're going to feel like they're missing out and they want to be there in that moment with that volunteer too. This is exactly why microtouches paired with visual storytelling, whether it's a handwritten postcard, that audio clip or a static behind the scene snapshot, why storytelling and microtouches are so effective because they don't just close a loop. They open the door that will lead to that in-depth, to that nuance, to those colorful coffee meetings, to the site visits, to the phone calls, where you get to actually listen, have real-cannon conversations, and do that relationship building piece that will always stay relevant. That's where the magic happens. The place where casual donors are going to become your lifetime partners, and what I love most about microtouches is the effort is small. In many of my coaching sessions, I hear a lot of you are overwhelmed. This aligns precisely with everything you're needing right now, because the payoff is huge. You're not just adding hours to your week, you're making your year in giving, campaign, feel more personal, human and unstoppable. Okay. So the next question might be, now Brett, we've identified three microtouch points. Well, how do we lay them out? When do we send them? How do we string them together so that they feel natural and not salesier pushy? Think of microtourneys, and I tell this to my coaching clients, as kind of a step-by-step journey that moves a supporter from awareness to take another step, to being engaged, to some sort of action, without ever feeling like they're being sold to. And this right here, microtourneys, these fundraising principles, they're just as relevant today as ever, maybe even more so because donors are more distracted than ever. So let's visualize this. Your donor is a hiker. Okay. They're standing right at the beginning of the trailhead of a massive mountain. Your job as a guide. It's not to be a part of it. be there as a drill sergeant yelling at them, "Don't eat now, don't eat now!" But you're someone who's going to show them the path, pointing out little markers along the trail, making sure that they actually make it to the summit. And that summit, what is it? It's a meaningful gift. It's a deeper relationship. It's a supporter who feels like a co-creator in your mission. Here's a blueprint I love to use. It can be a breakdown version, but here's how it actually plays out in real life. Well number one, start with past support. This is your base camp. You need to let the hiker see exactly where they've been, what their past support has already made possible and the impact that they made. You need to tie their past support to something tangible in terms of an outcome. And it needs to be grounding and set the stage for the climb ahead. So you're going to start with tying their past support to a tangible outcome. That's the first one. The second one is you're going to zoom out to a pervasive problem and show the scale of the problem that you're trying to address. So picture the valley below, right? The hiker, your donor, they see the full scope of the climb. They see how massive it is and how it might impact others. The stats give urgency without overwhelming. And it's important here to narrate the story in a very broad level and balance it with a few statistics where what's at stake if your hiker or your donor delays? Okay. Now you're going to zoom back in. You're going to bring it down. You're going to humanize it. This is a single trail marker that sparks empathy that there's going to be a little ha moment. One human story makes the journey feel real, relatable and emotionally grounded. And we know this in 2025 research tells us that storytelling that zooms in on real people and that's very specific examples humanizes it makes it resonant drives higher engagement retention and even higher average give size. Okay. You've done all those three things. Now you're going to invite them to take some sort of soft step and not stop soft step, it's non-monetary related. That might be a poll, a petition. You might send them a link to register to one of your events and needs to be something tiny like pointing to the next part of the trail and asking, "Wanna take the first step with me?" It's going to, the purpose of that, yes, is going to build momentum and make your supporters feel included, not pressured. Then you're going to build trust. You're going to share another short story, a quick update or a chance for feedback. Think of it like handing your hiker a sturdy walking stick. You're just basically building that relationship where they feel more supported and part of the climb. You're going to deepen the relationship. Then, after all of these touch points in that journey is when you make the monetary request. It's when you're making that hard ask, not cold, not pushy. You are at the summit right now. This is your moment when your hiker is ready to plant their flag to give and to feel proud of the climb they made with you. Yes, the data backs us up donors who engage with multiple microtouch points before and ask is even made. Give up to three times more than donors who approach with a single big appeal. Embard them and you lose trust and engagement. If you layer those microtouches, those themes that I just talked about, that is going to be your secret weapon. Whew, that was a lot. If all of this is making you panic a little bit and you're like, "Brit, come on. Breathe." Donors in 2026, they don't just want to give. They want to participate. Think about an opportunity for co-creation. This is your chance to build community outside of your institution, your nonprofit. Why not invite them to share a short testimonial, vote on your program priorities, answer a simple question of like, what impact matters most to you this year? Or ask them to submit a 10-second video sharing where they give or a photo from one of their volunteer days. Again, why not tap into others to help you co-create content that you're going to need as part of these microjourneys? And the best part about this for organizations focused on equity, this is powerful because you're not just creating space for diverse voices and giving people a sense of true ownership and partnership. You're going to have campaign quantitative data that backs up this metric, including donor participation. And why does this all matter? Resilience and predictable giving. Because resilience, it equals sustainability. All of those microgifts, those tiny but intentional touches and inviting donors to co-create, their what build your predictable giving cushion when December chaos inevitably hits. And hey, your sanity matters too. December can be brutal. If all you got energy for is one thing, just send that one short story email, three sentences, no graphics done, one microtouch, that is good enough. Let's remove all the pressure. Honestly, if there's one takeaway from today's episode, it's this. Big impact doesn't come from big ask. It comes from small, human touches done consistently. Okay, so quick recap. For cheat sheet for content creation and mapping donor journeys right now, be the most human voice in the inbox. Lead with story, not stats. Use micro-ass to build trust. Invite your donors to co-create. And layer those microtouches so that they lead to deeper colorful conversations. Thanks for hanging out with me today. If this episode sparked ideas, share it. Leave us a review and hit subscribe. But for those of you hosting events, we're giving away a free donor box live kiosk to one lucky US nonprofit. That's a tablet, a stand plus a full year of service and a one on one onboarding call. All valued at $1,000. It's going to be perfect for all of your year in events or anytime you want cashless giving made easy. So just follow the link in the show notes or hop over to our donor box link to npage to enter. Competition closes September 18th, 2025. You don't want to wait. Thank you for being part of the nonprofit podcast community. Your work matters and we're honored to support it. If you've enjoyed this episode, share it, leave a review or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Until next time, take that first step and stay inspired. That warm feeling when you help someone, it's not just happiness. 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