4 Tips for Turning Your Customers and Donors into Passionate Fans

If you haven’t heard of Change the World By How You Shop, you’re in for a real treat! LeeAnne McCoy has been a member of the Signify community since the early days, and I can testify that she and her ethical shopping guide are dedicated to helping people find products that they’ll not only love, but allow them to make a difference.

And in the course of researching brands to include in her guide, LeeAnne has had dozens of conversations with makers and founders, and has unique insight into why some brands can turn their customers and donors into passionate fans while others simply sell their goods.

I’ve asked her to share those differences with you in the hopes that you can also make the leap from store to sensation. Because when you can successfully turn customers into advocates, you’ll be able to take your mission to a whole new level and make a bigger impact.

A few months ago, one of Mercy House Global’s homes for teenage moms in Kenya burned to the ground. And in a passionate response to the tragedy, I watched the bars quickly fill up on their online fundraising campaign. Within a matter of hours, they raised thousands of dollars—enough to replace all the items lost in the fire including clothes, beds, and more for the young moms and their little ones.

And recently, Shelley, founder of Papillon, was visiting Haiti. She shared with her Facebook followers some of the medical needs of the artisans who work for her. Before she got on her flight home the next morning, she was able to tell her employees that people they had never met had donated enough to cover all their medical expenses. 

These kinds of stories are actually common for these two nonprofits. Not only do they quickly raise funds for their needs, but they also frequently sell out of newly released fair trade products. Why? 

They both have a very loyal following of customers and donors who are as passionate about their mission as they are. 

So, how can you turn your customers and donors into fans as loyal as those who follow Mercy House Global and Papillon? Below are four ways nonprofits and social enterprises turn followers into passionate fans.

1. Be Real

Lauren, owner of the small ethical online boutique Naupaka, is not afraid to admit her mistakes. As a one-woman-show, she sometimes sends out newsletters twice or sale notices on the wrong day and then sends a funny apology email with the correction.

Her transparency makes shopping from her online store feel like shopping at your local brick and mortar.

Shelley from Papillon is also very transparent about her challenges in running a nonprofit, as well as her relationships with her employees. She recently posted a live cell phone video on Facebook of the Papillon workshop in Haiti. Watching the banter, the smiles, and even those who ducked down because they were too shy to be on camera was like being there in person. This did far more to inspire support for Papillon than any professionally recorded video could have done.

Your supporters are inundated constantly with advertisements and requests for donations, but a sense of authenticity can make your requests stand out from the crowd. 

2. Be Personal

Because of the pandemic, connecting in person with your followers may not always be possible, but there are numerous ways to personally connect from a distance.

A handwritten note goes a long way. I treasure the many handwritten notes I have received from various social enterprises and artisans I support through Change the World by How You Shop. A personal email can have the same impact.

Facebook offers some great opportunities for connecting personally with your followers. Shop with a Mission has had to close the doors of their fair trade store in California all year because of COVID-19. However, they started weekly Facebook live shows where they laugh, tell jokes, host giveaways, and show off products. By watching the live shows, both local and out-of-state followers get to connect personally with the owners and employees.

Several other fair trade shops have utilized Facebook to introduce international artisans via live video. Others, like Mercy House Global, have created an “insiders” group which invites a small group of their fans to be a special part of their mission. Shelley from Papillon goes one step further and “friends” customers and donors on her personal Facebook page.

People are more likely to support organizations they have a personal connection to. Thus, the common joke about “Mom is my biggest fan.” Whatever method you employ, keep looking for ways to help your followers feel like they are personally invested in you and your mission. 

3. Be Specific

Recently, I purchased a basket from Eternal Threads, a nonprofit fair trade organization. Beautiful as the handwoven basket is, I bought it not just for its beauty or because I wanted to support a generic cause such as fighting poverty in Africa. I bought it because it was Rosemary’s basket. From following Eternal Threads, I had learned Rosemary’s story, how she lost both her parents and was raising her younger siblings and selling baskets to pay their school fees. I bought her basket to remind me to pray for Rosemary and because she inspires me. 

Even when you cannot share names or pictures, you can still be specific: 

Likewise, Papillon recently shared that one of their employees’ sons was HIV positive. Because of the stigma around HIV, they could not share names or pictures, but they shared enough details of the story to inspire many to donate.  

And when Mercy House Global started their fundraising campaign after the fire, they raised funds for specific needs, one at a time, such as mosquito nets, beds, and toddler clothes. Each individual need they posted was quickly provided for by donors who understood their mission, what was being asked of them, and what the result would be from their contribution.

4. Follow Up

Giving frequent updates on your supporters’ impact will strengthen their commitment to your mission. Papillon sends frequent updates to the donors who contributed to their employees’ medical needs. And Mercy House continues to send updates on the teen moms who lost their homes in the fire and the new homes they hope to purchase for them.

Eternal Threads, who sells Rosemary’s baskets, continues to share her story. Recently, her little brother was robbed and beaten on the way to work and his cell phone and bicycle were stolen. When they shared the need for donations to cover his medical care, it was simply one more chance to be part of an ongoing story.  The update and personal thank you from Rosemary they forwarded to donors ensured they would be quick to participate in the future as well.

Every little step you take towards having authentic, personal, specific, and ongoing communication with your followers will help build their relationship with you. And nurturing those relationships over time will turn customers and donors from occasional supporters into passionate fans who will be vital partners in accomplishing your mission.

It’s certainly worked for the organizations above. How will you make it work for you?

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LeeAnne McCoy is a mother of six young children and a piano teacher in Washington State. In her "spare time," she is also the creator of Change the World by the How You Shop, an online ethical shopping guide which makes it easy to find products from brands that go beyond ethical and fair trade to change lives around the world. Her mission is to support those brands by helping more people discover their products.

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

Create a Year-End Social Impact Report to Engage Donors and Customers

Can one person really change the world?

I think it depends on what you count.

Some people are only impressed by massive reputations, millions of dollars, big programs, and culture-changing ideas.

But as nonprofits and social impact companies started to release their year-end reports over the last few months, my favorite ones to read are the creative reports that:

• make tangible the intangible,

• highlight the small numbers that represent a change in heart or thought for a few people,

• share the seedlings of disruption that will shape a family's trajectory forever,

• tell the David versus Goliath stories,

• represent the optimistic beginnings of early-stage organizations,

• sound more relatable to me.

It's the idealist in me, but these reports represent hope and what could be.

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly in awe of the big nonprofits and social enterprises who make an impact that I could only dream of. But I think we often forget that everyone who tried to do something great had to start somewhere, usually with meager resources.

Even on a small scale, these reports are the testimony of how you've used your resources to do something worthy of your donor or customer’s investment in you—whether that be time, money, influence, or anything else. No matter how big or how little you feel your contributions are (and theirs in you), they deserve to hear the story of what you did together.

If you haven't done so already, I urge you create your own report—and I’ll talk you through it.

Why Do You Need a Year-End Report?

Here are a few reasons why having a year-end report benefits you and your nonprofit or social impact company.

• Help your community understand what you did with their resources, which might encourage them to give more.

• Show them where you're headed in the future, and how they can be a part of it.

• Tell stories of the real lives that were affected by your mission and the shared belief that things can be different (and better!).

• Reiterate their standing as an insider that will always be kept in the loop when you've been trying something new.

• Thank your current large donors, partners, and sponsors.

• Build trust in you, your work, and your vision for a new and improved future.

We are in need of more good news than ever before . . . and you are in a fantastic position to share it!

How to Easily Design Your Year-End Social Impact Report FOR FREE

Here’s what you need to know: Your social impact report doesn’t need to be fancy. It certainly can be, but don’t let that stop you from making it happen.

Canva

Canva is the (free) tool that I use to create pretty much anything visual on this website or my social media. There are thousands of free templates to utilize for pretty much every purpose, and it’s pretty easy to get up to speed. Canva lets anyone be a designer!

People Resources

If you have a limited budget but a pair of extra hands, put them to work! It could be an intern, volunteer, board member, or peer that you can barter with.

Yearly

Yearly is a tool I only recently discovered through a friend, but it looks user-friendly and like it could create a great social impact report.

Webpage

No eye for design or short on time? Simply add a new page to your website and list all the data there. Just try to compliment numbers with stories and information that bring the facts to life.

Marketing Your Social Impact Report

Once you’ve taken the time to create your year-end report, be sure to get the most mileage of it by promoting it everywhere you can.

• Website

• Social media

• Email newsletter

• Conversations with donors and customers

• Partner and sponsorship presentations

• Direct mail

• Speaking engagements and interviews

• And anywhere else at your disposal!

Pssst—You can also promote it more than once! For example, you could even promote it to new donors and customers as they begin to interact with you over the course of a year.

Examples of Year-End Social Impact Reports

After everything we’ve discussed above, would you like to see some impact reports from small nonprofits and social enterprises like you?

Atlanta Dream Center (now Frontline Response)*

This incredible organization has been doing good in Atlanta and beyond for a couple of decades now. So, they have some pretty great numbers to tout. However, one of the things I love about their social impact report is their vision for the future. At the end they show a photo and blueprint for their new headquarters as well as the budget they need for it. This allows their current donors to understand future needs and make the investment.

Gifts for Good

When you don’t have a designer on standby, you can follow Gifts for Good’s example and simply add a new page to your website with all the relevant stories and stats. A few of the creative stats they included were hours of employment, gallons of water save by using recycled materials, and chemo rides for cancer patients.

Refugee Coffee Co.*

My friends at Refuge got super creative in 2020 by telling their story through the lens of a fairy tale. If you have talented artists at your disposal, this is a fantastic way for their skills to intersect with your mission. You’ll see that they included cups of coffee served, hours of training, mentor/volunteer hours, and reiterated that their customers and donors helped them fight injustice.

Love Not Lost

My friend Ashley and her team at LNL had a heck of a year trying to help us all process grief in the midst of 2020. But they showed up in the ways that only they could, and loved on their community at a safe distance. Their report is a terrific example of what happens when you don’t make your goal. They were honest, upfront, and showed their donors and supporters their vision for 2021 with gusto! I know anyone who received this wasn’t disappointed—only proud to be a part of their community.

Kula Project

My friends at Mad+Dusty created this beautiful report, and the design was inspired by the founder’s quote about seeing the light and continuing to follow it. As you can see in this piece, they kept written content to a minimum but used the opportunity to show off the amazing photos of their work in action.

Goshen Homes

Another Mad+Dusty special, this one isn't quite an impact report, but it is still certainly a great model. Even without the beautiful design, you’ll see the testimonials scattered throughout that reinforce the importance of their work. And I love that it also shows you clear steps to getting involved.

Partners International

A huge kudos to Partners International for including a video with their annual report! It’s really the icing on the cake, and sets the stage for their work and impact. And for those who don’t like to write or don’t think you have much to say, note that their report doesn’t actually include a lot of words, but still does an excellent job of communicating what happened through powerful language and a beautiful layout. You’ll also notice that they include the donate button right after the report, which is another great move!

Conscious Capitalism

I love that this report starts off with the title, “A Pivot Toward the Future.” It’s hopeful, shows they are still standing strong after a hard year, and points to their work moving forward. I also like that they counted the attendees for their online gatherings as a stat. Finally, I love that they dedicated several pages to thanking their major partners, event donors, board of directors, and team. You can never thank people enough!

To The Market

This report stood out to me for several reasons. First, I love that they reinforced their work with stats about why their mission matters to the public at large. Second, they showed their growth very simply and in a straightforward way on page 5. (And yay for utilizing interns!) And, third, you’ll notice that their case studies are short and so is their social impact report. This is a terrific example of how you can communicate impact in a compact way.

Bi-Bett Corporation

Full disclosure—I wrote this report! Bi-Bett is a substance use treatment center in California, and they’ve been doing incredible work for over five decades. However, this was their first impact report so they wanted a hefty mix of stories, hard stats, creative stats, and showing their gratitude for everyone who contributes to their success. I loved the way we ended up quantifying some of the more emotional parts of their work such as safe nights spent in their care, observations by staff, days people felt supported, and people who turned their lives around. They have a lot to be proud of!

Signify’s 2020 Social Impact Report

I’m one person, so my stats are meager at best. But, again, that’s not the point and hopefully you’ve seen that by now. I show mine to you not to say, "Hey, look at what I did!" Instead, I show it to you in the hopes that you'll create your own and share it with your community.

I really do believe that one person can change the world—when you know what's important and what to count.

You're the one.
Get out there.
Create your impact.
Share it with the world.

PS: Have your own awesome year-end report to show off? Link to it in the comments!

* Past or present Signify client

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I’m Kristi Porter, and I help cause-focused organizations understand and execute effective marketing campaigns so they can move from stressed to strategic. Your resources may be limited, but your potential isn’t. Whether you’re a nonprofit, social enterprise, or small business who wants to give back, I’ll show you how to have a bigger impact.

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How to Woo Your Fans and Supporters

It’s the final week of our “business resolutions series,” and I hope you’re already making big progress on your goals this year! Before we dive into today’s topic, let’s recap, shall we? First, we talked about seven simple tools that build a strong small business foundation. Then, we talked about how to gain authority and trust at your organization through internal communication. To wrap up, we’ll discuss wooing your fans and supporters—and those who could be—through external communication.

You have to actually talk to the people who support you, right? Yes, of course, you do. However, too many small businesses that I speak with know that they should communicate with their customers and donors, but they don’t actually do it.

Marketing and communications usually gets shoved to the back burner, often because it’s just not prioritized. But to retain current fans and attract new ones, you’ve got to reach out. And to begin, you don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to get started.

So, while there are undoubtedly lots of ways to communicate with your customers, donors, and the people who could be, I’ll just highlight three areas that I think you should focus on for maximum impact.

Email Should Be Your Top Priority

Email, email, email. I can’t stress this enough. For talking to your previous and current customers and donors, this needs to be your top priority. Unless you’re sitting down over coffee with these lovely people, there’s no better way to communicate with your fans.

Don’t believe me? Think social media should be your numero uno? Did someone tell you email is dead? Consider two arguments.

First, how many companies, either for- or non-profit, do you readily give your email to? And how many more do you follow on social media? Yep, there’s no comparison. We’re all getting more and more stingy with our emails, so when someone willingly hands over their email, you should treat it as precious. You have a direct line to their hearts and minds.

Second, think about it this way: you own your email list. With social media, we’re all at the mercy of the ever-changing algorithms. The majority of our posts are filtered out, meaning only a fraction of the people that follow you see what you post. And even if you do get the hang of it, the algorithm will change again in a few months. Plus, we all know that some platforms are here today, but gone tomorrow. MySpace anyone? However, for better or worse, email has been our constant companion the last few decades.

As a marketer, this is frustrating, but as a human, I have to remember the “social” aspect of social media.

So, now that you’re thinking email might be a good idea, here are two ways to handle it:

1. If you don’t already have an opt-in on your website, you need to think about adding one. An opt-in is simply something you give your list in exchange for their email. Examples include e-courses, lists, e-books, insider access, coupons, and more. This tactic will help you build your list, drawing in potential customers and donors.

2. I’d like you to email your list at least once a month, and be consistent. We’re all creatures of the out of sight, out of mind variety, so you need to remind people that you’re still here and open for business. You may want to email them more frequently, which is sometimes recommended, but it sort of depends on your organization and other factors. Most people, though, send emails every couple of months, and only when they need something. Yuck! This is not the way to treat those precious emails and the people they represent. So, aim for monthly communication.

Social Media is Important, But Not Everything

People online are currently freaking out over the new Facebook changes that were recently announced, stating that content by companies will be less visible in news feeds. And, I agree, it’s a little scary. I also just dinged social media in the section above. But, no matter how you feel about social media (I have mixed feelings myself), it’s still important and necessary.

So, while I think you should focus on your email list, that won’t always help you reach those who don’t yet know about you. And you probably don’t want to email those who already love you every day and get a bunch of unsubscribes. Enter social media. It’s still an effective way to get your name out and keep it out there, but we’ll all have to try a little harder. But who has the time? This is why I switched to a social media scheduler.

While it’s true that posts sent by schedulers get less play than real-time, “native” posts (typed straight into the platform), for me, it was a matter of what would actually happen. I could have great intentions about getting on social media every day with new content, but the reality is that may not happen. I have too many other things to do, and so do you. This is why I went with a social media scheduling tool, and you can read all the details, as well as my review of 13 popular platforms, right here.

Definitely jump on social media and post in real time, interact with people, share pictures, and generally live it up when you can. But for those times you can’t, consider a scheduling tool. I’m glad to know that if my head is down, and I’m working on a writing project for a few days, my social media posts are still going out the door without me having to press any buttons. I’d rather have a few people seeing my posts than none at all.

Another social media option to consider is Facebook groups. There are millions of them out there, for everything under the sun. My suggestion would be to find a few that contain your target audience, and get active. Be helpful, make connections, and follow their rules for self-promotion. They definitely take time, but are a great and personalized way to build new relationships.

By the way, my friend Jennifer, who is a social media manager, will be talking all about these new Facebook changes, how to stay in front of your audience, and alternatives worth pursuing in my Facebook Group tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. EST. Join us!

Networking and Events Never Go Out of Style

We’ve covered a couple of online options, but you already know there’s no replacement for good, old fashioned face-to-face connection. So, it’s time to get outside your office and shake a few hands. This is still a terrific way to meet potential customers and donors, or even make deeper connections with those who already know and love you. (Bonus: It's also a great way to invest in yourself!)

For us introverts, this may or may not be a welcome suggestion. Me? I love being at home, but I also love attending events. But if you’re the kind of guy or gal who would rather have an email exchange than coffee with someone, then I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to push yourself for the good of your organization. #sorrynotsorry

You may choose to be an exhibitor, an attendee, or even a speaker, and all can be effective. You’ll likely need a combination over time. Obviously, you’ll get the most attention from a larger audience by speaking, but exhibiting and attending can allow you to have more meaningful and personal conversations.

But before you show up, I suggest doing a little event prep work:

1. Follow the event’s social media or hashtag to start making connections ahead of time.

2. Make sure your social profiles and website are updated.

3. Don’t forget to bring business cards or handouts about your org.

(You can read more about each of these items here.)

The important thing is to make the most of the event. Of course, you’re probably showing up to learn, but if you can snag a few more fans, even better! Oh, and in case you’re looking for some cool, cause-focused events to attend, check out this list by Cause Artist.

Read the other posts in this series:

• How to Gain Authority and Trust at Your Organization

• 7 Simple Tools That Build a Strong Small Business Foundation

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I'm Kristi Porter, and I started Signify to provide writing, consulting and strategy services to nonprofits and for-profit organizations with a social mission, primarily through copywriting, marketing, and business communications. I believe that cause-focused organizations like yours are the future of business. You're proof that companies can both make money and do good. And I'm here to help you get noticed and grow. When you succeed, we all win.

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