Kayla Sanders “#ENCW”
Dear Christian Radio,
Easy Never Changed the World. Over the next few weeks, you are going to hear these words a lot from our team at PAR. For a while now, we’ve been typing #ENCW as we unpack hard tasks, embrace new ideas and navigate various difficult situations.
Our mission statement here at Positive Alternative Radio is to, “create and deliver experiences that inspire people to live passionately for Jesus Christ.” You can trust me that this statement is much more than just words for us. We truly attempt to use our mission statement as the filter for everything we do.
So, how are we living out our mission statement in Partner Services?
We are intentional about communicating to our donors their value. We send handwritten thank you notes for all gifts of $500 or more. Many times, we even follow that up with a thank you phone call. We send Easter cards, and Thanksgiving cards to our donors…they are family to us and we want to share in their celebration of these special days. We never ask for a donation with these cards – we simply want to communicate our appreciation. Many donors receive a birthday card each year. Yes, this takes time away from other tasks team members need to accomplish but we get that people are more important than our task lists.
We are prayerful that every letter, every email, every phone call will offer hope and encouragement. Our spring fundraiser letter focused around the theme “You Are Loved”. Such a simple phrase resonated so deeply with our donors; the letter reminding each reader that they are created in God’s image and how much He loves them. We lost count of the number of donors who asked for another copy of the letter, to share with a friend, or another insert for their fridge…it simply read “You Are Loved” with hands holding a red paper heart. (We have an awesome graphics designer by the way!) In truth, a white piece of paper with a generic reply card would have saved us a lot of time and money, would have raised funds for our fundraiser but our goal was to create an experience… to stir hearts and to provide a visual and lasting reminder of each person’s value.
We don’t shy away from BIG goals. Our fundraising goals this past spring were our biggest ever but we knew that when our listeners joined us in celebrating how God is working in and through their lives, and that we got to be a part of that, we could accomplish our goals – and we exceeded many of them! It’s truly powerful to listen to story after story of how God has used the music or messages from our stations to restore marriages, help someone wrestle through an addiction, assure people that they are not alone and that we care deeply for them.
We strive for excellence in how we care for our donors. Our donors have trusted us with their hard-earned money. We want to be wise in how we use their gifts and we also want to make sure we honor their wishes; accurately post their gift. Our team is trained on best practices for handling donations, donor’s personal information. We value their time so when they call us, we attempt to never put a donor on hold or transfer the call 3 or 4 times before they find the answer they were seeking. Each station has a Book of Knowledge that helps answer key questions about business sponsors, upcoming events, local ministry partners and crisis care.
I could go on but I value your time, also!
- How intentional and creative are you about thanking donors? …Beyond a monthly auto-generated thank you receipt.
- How challenging are your fundraising goals? If they are easily hit in three days, they probably aren’t big enough!
- How much trust is generated with your donors in the way your admin team handles their gifts, their time?
Remember, #ENCW!
Kayla Sanders is Director of Partner Services at Positive Alternative Radio in Blacksburg, VA. Contact her at ksanders@parfm.com