Simon
Yo
Jen
Yo yo
Beate
where’s our lead yoyo
John
jesus you guys..
give me a sec here
Beate
it’s 17.31, john!
or x.31 i should say
farking time zones
John
ok ok
is this fucking thing on?
Beate
it’s your job to turn it on, John.
John
fuck
types “RECORD”
Beate
haha
John
good morning lobster friends.
Beate
good evening!
John
sorry I’m late. had a little trouble getting out of the tank this morning.
Jen
helloooo!
Jen
Hello
John
So apparently I’m hosting today’s gab… and recognizing that we are ONLY 2 WEEKS away from the all important valentines day -i thought we could talk about my favourite subject: DONORLOVE
❤️
Beate
valentines day
?
(sorry)
John
do you celebrate that in norway Beate?
Jen
Already a ?
John
or are the norweigans too short on time to celebrate it
Beate
well.. there’s a love/hate relationship going on with american holidays that the commercial sector tries to bring in in order to make money…
same with halloween
Simon
Wow that snuck up
Beate
and black friday
and cyber monday
and singles day???
etc.
John
so the norweigans really dislike everything
wow
ok – diving in
Beate
Not true. We like julebukk and jul and easter bunnies and shit
BUT – I am totally on board with donorlove ?
Simon
I’m laughing at the concept of Norwegian romance
Beate
Massive digression; This is SUCH AN ACCURATE portrayal of Norwegian relationships?
Jen
Off to a roaring start here
John
Back to topic. For context:
when we talk about the idea of donorlove – we are talking about A LOT more than just stewardship or gratitude
we define it like this:
You make your donor the hero.
You share amazing and inspiring stories.
You connect to your donors emotions and values.
You work diligently to allow your donors to fall – and stay – in love with you.
You ask for only one thing.
You always consider who (or what) is the right voice for your story.
You say thanks with passion.
#donorlove is all of the small things, all the time, over time.
there is some room for interpretation in there
but
you get the idea
we could spend all day talking about these things but – do we want to unpack just one or two?
Jen
Yes!
Beate
I think the most intersting but also annoying conversations I have about it, is around the thanking/reporting and what it costs
Everyone is on board with donorlove in theory. But then you see the bill. And you don’t necessarily see the direct income resulting.
And so the inevitable suggestions of not sendign all those letters come up
Which we know is bullshit. But we also struggle to prove it sometimes. I like being challenged on it though, forces me to hone my arguments and prove my case.
Simon
Are we too impatient to see the pay off?
Jen
and/or how are we measuring the payoff?
I just had that same conversation as part of a #donorloveforboards retreat. Stewardship is seen as a cost, but it’s more of a cost of doing business.
John
jesus – are these same people that impatient in real life???? “WHAT – you wont marry me after one date????”
Beate
Well, it’s pretty well established that dates can lead to marriage – it’s common sense for most people.
John
why is there such a disconnect between how we act in real life vs how we act or treat other humans via our work?
Beate
They see that in their own lives, so they don’t need proof
With donorlove, they have no experience of it (usually) and so it isn’t common sense to most people.
John
but in our work – you go out for one date with someone – then NEVER talk to tthem again… and instantly look for someone new to date
lol
Beate
yeah.
John
maybe the anaolgy doesnt work
Beate
I think it does, I just think it isn’t usually flipped on its head like taht.
When it is, people get it, no?
OF course – what the analogy is missing is that after a year, you go back to that first date and demand a new one and don’t understand why they say no??♀
John
lol. totally.
Jen
i think we can all relate to wanting to be seen and valued and appreciated… and we get pretty tangled up in the details of it and the process and the system, instead of just saying that what we want it to show people that we really see them
Beate
yessss
Plus, I don’t think we should undervalue the value of just doing it BECAUSE IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!
We all try to make the world a better place, that goes for the little things too.
John
exactly – not EVERYTHING has to have an instant ROI
Jen
In fact it’s the little things that make the world a better place!
Beate
Simon must be brewing on something cynical and snarky, he hasn’t spoken for five minutes!
John
I was going to say
Simon
In a perfect world not everything has to have an instant ROI, but in reality it usually does
No I’m multitasking and struggling
Beate
Oh. Now I’m the asshole.
Accidental asshole?
John
simon – what’s the instant ROI of us having this conversation?
Simon
Also I was thinking about dating and how some people do expect to see you again or want more action and you’re like er no I never want to see you again
Beate
haha
John
lol
Simon
There’s no instant ROI of us having this conversation…but none of us work for someone
We don’t have to report back to a CEO or a board or the media or donors
Beate
what’s your favorite donorlove stories?
Something you’ve done or had done to you?
John
mine always is how my friends at The Redwood – treat me as a donor
cosntantly sending me little love notes about my impact. or they are thinking of me… or sharing a stroy about something else i might care about
Jen
my fave donorlove story was the “first canadian snowfall” video from Rebecca Davies after we helped privately sponsor a refugee family…
Simon
I liked when that charity sent me tea bags
Beate
haha! because they’d researched you?
Simon
But really the best ‘donor love’ I get is from the private sector – buffer and dropchef and Nintendo
Beate
Probably because no one yells at a private company for spending money pleasing their customers, it’s just seen as good service and marketing as opposed to “wasteful spending” and overhead
?
Simon
Totally!
John
OUF…
is that really a thing?
Simon
It’s not seen as money taken out of the mouths of those in need. It’s seen as less profit
When in reality it’s probably more profit because it works
Beate
It really is weird how little of the plethora of data and evidence from the private sector is accepted as proof for donorlove!
Jen
And board members drive me nuts, because some are on our boards for their business success and then they join charity boards and recommend the opposite
Beate
Hahah! Yes!
Simon
So true Jen
Beate
Suddenly it’s all tightening belts and cost cutting
Simon
Really weird how the mindset changes
John
?
Beate
What happened to innovation and investment??
John
“innovation” our sector’s dirty word
can anything be done about it?
Beate
We can keep screaming about it until people respond? In fairness, I do feel like the pendulum is swinging the right way
it’s no longer just about mass marketing efficiency, but putting the individual back in the picture
Simon
call yourself a ‘social enterprise’ and all our problems are fixed
John
#truth
yes it’s more work. yes you need to be more emotionally invested.
Simon
Do you think it’s swinging the right way? I really have to say…and this is very negative…is I don’t think it’s really changing and I dont think it will ever really change
*mic drop in to bath*
Beate
Haha
yes, but I’m an optimist.
John
well..
Jen
I think there are some good changes…
I think boards and leadership are more genuinely open to donorlove and to storytelling… but it’s a long game
Beate
I think (and feel like I see evidence of) that we’ve gone through a decade or two where technology seemed like our saviour where we didn’t have to touch anything and everything was automated. And now I do see personal touches being brought back in more.
Maybe it’s just my bubble, but..
John
i like to think that there are some people around who DO understand this
i know there are.
Beate
We see evidence that’s hard to refute – Hurricane Franki at the UNICEF Italy office and his birthday calls and whatnot increasing retention what was it 2 or 3 times over?
John
it was a 30% increase in the revenue and a 50% increase in Life Time Value
Beate
Keep hammering those numbers, ultimately people must listen. Right? *she said hopefully*
John
AS PER USUAL
this is a massive topic
hard to close out
and for the record
for our clients who just follow the basic framework
we see similiar sorts of growth in their programs
Beate
??
John
so
John
as we tend to do
Beate
But I still say fuck valentines day.
John
we like to close out with
Simon
Every day is valentines day when you’re with me
John
a very “FUCK VALENTINES DAY” lobster fact
Beate
Hey, do you want to hear a funny/sad story before the lobster fact?
about valentines day
John
go for it
John
ive got my fact CUE’d UP
Simon
I am here for funny/sad
Jen
#teamfunnysad
Beate
When I was 18, my boyfriend travelled to Morocco to visit his somewhat estranged father around feb. 14th. And he said not to expect a call, because it would be too much hassle to write down my phone number
??
Turns out he was not the love of my life.
John
is that the story?
?
Simon
Hahaha
Men are shit
Jen
that’s ice cold
I’ve got a good one too
John
wait JEN!
let me get this fact in
Beate
Jen is going for the story
Jen
There was disappointment in the extended Love family when I wasn’t born on Valentine’s Day, but a few days later… #imagine
Beate
Oh my god. Would they have named you Valentine Love if you had been?
Valentina
John
oh jesus
ANYHOO
Beate
Val for short. It works
?
John
lobster fiction: that lobsters mate for life ACTUAL lobster fact: Instead of mating for life, a dominant male lobster mates with an entire harem of female lobsters. He mates with each female one at a time, in a series of serial flings that last about two weeks each.
Simon
Like Jen
Jen
Burn
Beate
Wait we’ve already done this fact
??
John
did we?
no
Beate
Yes!
John
did we?
Simon
You cant get enough of lobster fucking facts
John
fuck
im done
Beate
Season 1, ep 6
🦞 Ep. 1: Lobsters are thought to never stop growing and if they live long enough, they can reach up to 1m long!
🦞 Ep. 2: Lobsters apparantly pee out of their faces.
🦞 Ep. 3: Lobsters have tiny brains. Ballpoint pen-size!
[…]
John
can’t even fucking host properly.
??♂
Beate
Go do a quick google, we’ll wait
John
sigh.
Simon
Fucking hell John
Jen
2 weeks, a life… there’s a way to connect this to ROI and immediate returns…
Simon
I’d kick you out of the group but I’m no longer an admin
John
how about this: Lobsters eat voraciously after molting, and will often consume their own recently emptied shells. Eating the old shell replenishes lost calcium and hastens the hardening of the new shell.
Simon
Gross
Beate
It’s like a disco in here, road work outside
flashing lights
John
ok.. ok… everybody out. im turning off the lights.
Beate
yo