Appeals are sent for many purposes, such as
| • | Costs of a new baby or adoption |
| • | Unexpected medical costs |
| • | A mission project you will participate in |
| • | Anew vehicle or some other household need. |
| • | Your organization’s periodic training conferences |
Many TntMPD users do not use the Appeal Tracking features because they do not understand the principles of appeal tracking or the steps to doing it. In comparison to the relative simplicity of most TntMPD features, Appeal Tracking is one of the more complex. However, once the basic steps are mastered, using Appeal Tracking is an almost effortless task.
Appeal tracking allows you to see a history of how your donors have responded to special appeals that you have sent in the past. Since you are already recording the letters you sent and the gifts that were received, using the appeal tracking feature is a very simple extra step.
Using appeal tracking in TntMPD also helps TntMPD separate regular gifts from special gifts. For example, let’s say a $50 monthly donor gives $10,000 to help you purchase a new vehicle. Without appeal tracking, this unusually large gift would throw off your pledge fulfillment records for up to two years!
Many missionaries send one or two “appeals” each year—an opportunity for their donors to give an extra gift. An appeal is often something tangible that donors can give to, aside from regular support. Many donors like to a part of specific projects.
Using appeal tracking can help you analyze the giving to these projects and do a better job of cultivating relationships as well as improving your ability to predict the results of future appeals.
Author's note: Over the years I have sent out appeals for our organization’s biennial staff training conference. My experience shows me that about 25-30 of my donors will respond to this, and provide about 1/3 to 1/2 of the funds that I need; this tells me I need to budget funds from our regular contributions to cover the other amounts.