Why I Write Naughty Valentines

Every year for Valentine’s Day, I send out letters to lapsed donors that my staff has titled my “naughty valentines.”  Maybe this is a funny time to send out donation requests, but from my experience, it works well.  First of all, let me explain why I send these out…..

Re-connecting with lapsed donors (some people call them LYBUNTS- donors that gave last year but unfortunately not this) is an important piece to your fundraising strategy.  These donors are already aware of your mission and have supported it in the past- financially.  If you look at acquisition costs for new donors to a nonprofit, it far exceeds costs of connecting with someone that has previous knowledge of what you do.  The touchy part is that you don’t know WHY these donors stopped giving.  It could be a whole variety of reasons, but it doesn’t hurt to try to reconnect with them and gauge their continued interest in the work you do. 

Why do I choose to send them out around Valentine’s Day?  There are a few reasons…one, I simply like Valentine’s Day and think you can do lots of cute things with hearts in your stationary!  More importantly though, you have passed the end of the calendar year heavy giving season.  If these lapsed donors didn’t give during that time and haven’t for at least a year, the time is right to make the ask.   I like to send them at the first of February- close enough to Valentine’s Day without sending them too late and risking that they get to their destination after the actual holiday. 

Ok, so we’ve established why you should send these out and when to send them out.  Now, what actually goes in to writing a naughty valentine?  Here are some of the main components:

·         Thank the donor for their past support of your organization

·         Explain that you miss their support

·         BREIFLY talk about some of the work you are currently doing and its impact

·         Ask them if they will JOIN you again with a financial gift

A key here is to keep this ask very brief.  Include the points listed above, but this letter should be absolutely no more than 1 page, and I would say that is on the long side.  Remember that you don’t have to go in depth giving background and explaining what your organization does; this donor group already knows all of this.  Showcase your impact and get them excited about contributing to this again.

Overall, writing a naughty valentine (or any type of lapsed donor letter) is a fairly cheap, easy way to grow your current donor pool.  Give it a try- you might just LOVE this fundraising strategy!   

One note: not all of these donors are going to contribute again.  Just get that in your head to start.  If you can get even a few, great work!  You have successfully reconnected with these supporters and hopefully they will continue to give gifts, as long as you are able to keep them engaged in your work.