We recently sat down with Anne Murphy at the Oregon State University Foundation about 100% portfolio coverage: why it’s elusive, why it matters, and how to get there by the end of the year.
Anne gave us ten easy, effective ways to deepen relationships with every single prospect in your portfolio: the super-engaged ones, the hard-to-reach ones, the inherited ones, the slow-burning ones.
Because, put simply, reaching 100% of your portfolio is just the right thing to do!
So far in this series, we’ve covered what you should talk to your prospects about (and when), how to be a confident creator, how to be more organized, and how to always bring value.
This week, we’re talking about how to lean into the breakup.
Lean into the breakup.
We’re all about polite persistence at EverTrue. But, we’re not too big to admit – in love and in fundraising – there comes a time when you must move on.
With EverTrue, institutions like Western Kentucky University and Emory University have built out teams of Donor Experience Officers. (A whole separate, awesome topic – read more here.)
DXOs manage portfolios of 1,000 prospects, and they’ve learned that it takes an average of 6.6 touches to earn a meeting with a prospect. And it’s often the breakup email that gets a response from donors!
We are all about sending a breakup email to get clarity from your donors about whether they want you to keep in touch – or not. We wrote a breakup email template for you – you can download it in our DX Starter Kit.
If you’re not quite ready to breakup, consider reminding your prospects that an important deadline is coming up. Filter by everyone in your portfolio who hasn’t given to a matching challenge or a fundraising priority, and send them a “last chance” email.
Not using EverTrue yet?
Without EverTrue, you can still download our DX Starter Kit, which has some suggested text that you can use in your multi-step outreach to prospects, including a breakup email.
So… does reaching out to 100% of your portfolio really matter?
We’ve been exploring this question in this blog series. And, our data-driven conclusion is that yep, it does matter.
Reaching out to 10 prospects a week would equal 500 touches throughout the year. We’re talking about 2-4 hours of time each week.
Closing gifts matters. Building relationships with your prospects matters. For you, for your alums, and for the future of your institution.
With OR without EverTrue, you can (and should!) reach 100% portfolio coverage. Now get out there and get after it!
ICYMI: Here’s our full webinar featuring Anne Murphy, Mike Nagel, and Other Mike Nagel. Watch this terrific trio in action: