Do you know your audiences?

Getting a handle on all of the different groups you may be reaching out to for fundraising purposes is essential for your fundraising communications planning.

When we facilitate audience conversations with clients, we think about three broad categories:

• Those who are internal to the organization

• Those who are external to the organization

• Those who are both internal and external

For example, here’s what a simple breakdown might look like for an academic medical center:

• Internal: staff, doctors, faculty

• External: people interested in your institution’s research

• Both: medical school alumni, grateful patients

Once you have identified broad categories, it’s time to start asking yourself some questions, such as:

• How are we currently communicating (frequency, messaging, channel) with each group, if at all?

• Are there groups that we should pay more or less attention to based on internal data or external trends?

• Have we thought through our case for giving from the perspective of each group?

• What are the segments within each group that I need to think about (e.g., recent alumni vs. those who graduated decades ago or areas of research interest)?

• Have we heard enough from each of these constituencies to understand what motivates them–or inhibits them–from connecting with our organization?
  

As you explore the answers, don’t forget to include both team members and donors in the process. Multiple perspectives will enhance the process and prevent you from making assumptions about why people engage with your institution.

Going through this process doesn’t mean you have to send 10 versions of a direct appeal (not that there’s anything wrong with that). But it will get you thinking about what you’re saying or writing from the point of view of not just a potential donor, but a specific potential donor with a specific relationship to your organization.

Robert Alford leading an audience identification exercise for a client.