Connecting or Engagement?

The distinction between engagement and connecting is significant. We have all been to a concert where you liked it but were not wowed.  In contrast have you been to a concert where you couldn't wait to purchase tickets to see the act again? Which one of those connected with you? Each of them technically engaged you.

The idea of engagement has its roots in stewarding our donors on our terms. In many ways is just more of the same type of thinking that brought us the retention rates that our industry experiences today.

Livingston Taylor teaches at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has also written a book on the art of building an audience. It is these principles that would serve the nonprofit community well to understand in order to build an emotionally engaged donor base.

Connecting with people in an emotional way that has them wanting more is not achieved through a

statistical number of communications or by a multichannel delivery system. An emotional connection can only be achieved through both the understanding of the individual you're looking to connect with and a delivery that reveals your authentic self.

One of the secrets to dramatically growing your donor retention rates is directly connected to your ability to build an emotionally engaged audience. Take a few moments and enjoy these works of art on how to connect with and build an audience.