We know it's really difficult for colleagues to read, digest and act upon all the "asks" of your charity. More importantly, you don't want to add to their workload. Tribute Funds are a tool which, if your colleagues embrace and understand, will reap benefits in terms of donations and keeping connected with supporters, but also give a message of comfort to your supporters at a sad time and difficult time.
Here are some great internal communication tips to help promote and get Tribute Fund buy-in from colleagues:
Find out how aware of Tribute Funds your colleagues currently are:
Take feedback from your colleagues from different levels and departments about their knowledge of Tribute Funds to understand how aware they are of your scheme. In addition, ask them questions such as:
By ensuring colleagues know where to find Tribute Fund information, they will be able to talk to supporters confidently about this.
Make sure that Tribute Funds are included as part of your charity's goals
With the growth of in-memoriam donations high on most charity's agendas, embedding Tribute Funds as part of the in-memoriam strategy will help ensure colleagues understand that increasing the number of Tribute Funds is also a way of increasing in-memoriam donations and therefore helping to reach targets.
Select Champions - Could they host a "Morning Show" for you?
With less and less time for people to read the intranet and respond to emails, see if you can select influential people (including Senior Leaders and colleagues from your Fundraising and Supporter Care Teams) to promote the benefits to the organisation of having a successful Tribute Fund Scheme.
Why not create a 45 minute morning show run by Senior Management discussing organisational performance and new initiatives, maybe giving shout-outs to individuals and ask a Tribute Fund Champion to give a message about Tribute Funds at the same time? By encouraging questions and discussions, good promotional ideas can also be explored by all the attendees, encouraging further buy-in.
Let colleagues know they play an important part in the success of your Tribute Fund Scheme
Make sure everyone on your team knows their purpose of why they need to be aware of your Tribute Fund scheme. Ensuring they have the knowledge will also eliminate that fear of asking for help or discussing Tribute Funds with supporters.
To find out more information about MuchLoved’s bespoke Tribute Fund Platform, and tips about how to get the most out of your scheme, please get in touch by emailing us support@muchloved.com or calling the office on 01494 722818.
