For many institutions, the end of June brings the end of the fiscal year. Up to this point, many schools have sent hundreds or thousands of pledge acknowledgements and reminders asking alumni, parents, and friends to fulfill their original commitments. In some cases, these pledges date back to the fall of last year. But how much is too much when it comes to pledge reminders? In other words, can you send out too many and end up hurting alumni relations and stewardship? Since summertime is the period when these questions should be answered, let’s give it a shot.
30/60/90 Day Reminders is Standard
The vast majority of institutions send just three reminders after their original next day pledge acknowledgment has been mailed. These schools have deduced through trial and error (and some just following industry standard) that sending more than three reminders actually does more harm than good…or at least there isn’t a lot of upside after 90 days. I have no statistics to back this up, but I would say about 75% of the schools I work with follow this method. Monthly reminders for 30/60/90 days is fairly tame when it comes to pledge fulfillment. Not many alumni will become upset and call the school complaining of harassment. And most budgets can handle three reminders for the typical number of unfulfilled pledges. Some programs will shorten the length of time between reminders to 15/30/45 days but still only send out three. I see no issues with this method if it works for your institution. It just tends to increase the number of reminder drops you’ll do during the course of the year (adding administrative time), though you’ll likely be sending fewer letters/cards at a time.
When More is Actually Less
I worked with an institution many years ago that send out monthly reminders until the pledge was paid, writing it off only after the books were officially closed at the end of the fiscal year. This meant that if you made your pledge in September, and the fiscal year ended in June, you would receive 9 reminders in addition to the next day pledge card. Now, I’m a fundraiser that believes in commitment. When a prospect gives your caller a definite yes during the conversation, then we should fully expect that pledge to come back. But in my opinion, receiving 10 cards (plus reminder calls or e-mails) asking you to fulfill the gift might be a bit too much. Think about it this way- how many different ways can you ask them to fulfill? At what point does the message become lost and the correspondence you are sending becomes counterproductive? Believe me; it pains me greatly to write off pledges. But considering the inefficiency of that many cards going unanswered, combined with the perception of harassment, it becomes apparent to me that at some point we must recognize that we are doing long-term damage in those instances. Think about it this way- they had enough loyalty to pledge to you once. Are you willing to lose their support forever over a $50 gift?
One Final Piece Before the End of the Fiscal Year
Many schools use May (or the month prior to the end of their fiscal year) as one final opportunity to get all pledges in the door. They’ll send out a sweeping fiscal year ending reminder to everyone who has not submitted their pledge to that point. I think this is a good idea, but realistically those fall pledges are much less likely to fulfill than what we hope for- especially in rough economic times. But in the end, the return on sending out one final card is probably worth it. Just don’t get your expectations too high.
The Bottom Line on Writing off Unfulfilled Pledges
So what is the correct number of reminders? And how patient should an institution be when it comes to pledge fulfillment? I tend to think pragmatically when it comes to this issue, balancing between alumni relations and dollars in the door. Thinking long-term, I want to foster good alumni relations and help them feel good about the giving process. This means my pieces (no matter the fulfillment strategy) need to be creative and innovative. I avoid the look of an invoice or bill, as it generally makes the donor feel less enthusiastic about sending back the money. The goal is to help the donor visualize their investment at work. Any personalization or additional education you can provide during this process should also help improve donor retention the following year.
Overall, I typically recommend following a traditional 30/60/90 day reminder schedule, using both e-mails and paper. I also like making reminder phone calls at 120 days, really pushing to secure the gift on credit card when we call back. Finally, I do like the final piece at the end of the fiscal year as one additional opportunity to fulfill. I may alter these plans if we’re behind in pledge fulfillment, but for the most part I offer this as industry standard-best practice. Of course, a phonathon manager’s job is made much easier when 30% or more of the pledges taken are on credit card, so don’t forget about the best way to avoid writing off pledges- get them in early!
As always ,your comments are welcome.
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