We're so excited you've partnered with Harness to give your donors an easier, more gratifying & automated donation and stewardship experience (not to mention, one that saves YOU time)! 🙌
As with all new things, there will certainly be a handful of donors who are hesitant or resistant to the new system change (who likes change?) and to being asked to take a few minutes to create a new account/recreate their monthly gift through Harness.
Here's some insight into how to help your donors transition and an email template to get you started.
HOW TO THINK ABOUT & PRESENT IT
Our most successful partners have navigated this best by addressing concerns up-front with their donors, acknowledging that while it is a new giving page & system and will take 5 extra minutes out of their day to create an account, the benefits to them of doing this far outweigh the upfront cost.
We've found that how our partners communicate this change to their donors (whether with enthusiasm and an "it'll be worth it and join us as we grow & provide you a better experience" mindset or with dread and a "this is a challenge" mindset), that is how the majority of your donors will receive and respond to this change.
Here are the "perks" to your donor:
Takes less than 5 minutes to create an account & set up their new monthly gift
Instant email & text message confirmations of their gift (for users who opt-in to this communication method)
Exclusive text messages and impact updates
Personal Donor Dashboard access to make changes to their account & donations (including the ability to view & print their giving history - check it out)
DONOR TRANSITION EMAIL TEMPLATE
"We are so thankful to have your support here at [name of your organization]!
As we continue to grow to provide more and better services to the [clients] we serve, we are excited to also provide YOU a quicker, easier, mobile-friendly online giving experience and to offer you more instant updates on how your support is making an impact and give you more control over your giving!
By taking less than 5 minutes out of your day, you can now create a new account within our upgraded system and make your secure gift by clicking here [make "here" a hyperlink of one of your Harness fundraising pages].
We are unable to move your recurring donation information ourselves; we need you to this manually as we do not store your card info. Please take a moment to do so by [input date you prefer]. Once you have created your new monthly gift, [tell them what happens to their old gift - either they need to cancel it or you will].
Thank you for growing with us and allowing us the opportunity to better serve and support YOU who makes our work possible every day!
Questions? Please contact [organization contact name] at [organization number/email]."