fundraising

Fundraising Efficiently: 3 Ways to Improve Your Operations

Ann Green fundraising, major donors, planning, staff retention , , ,

Let’s take a look at three areas where nonprofits can drive increased fundraising efficiency: staff retention, donor qualification, and campaign planning.

By Chelsey Newmyer

What first comes to mind when you think about increasing your nonprofit’s fundraising efficiency?

Cutting expenses? Making bigger asks of more of your donors? Sending more emails and appeals to keep your mission on their minds?

These methods can work, but they shouldn’t be your first or only steps. 

Cutting expenses can soon become unsustainable. Asking more from larger segments of your donors will ultimately make your fundraising less efficient if you’re not asking the right donors. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time and potentially hurting relationships. Blasting your messages too frequently can also have the unintended consequence of making your audience tune you out.

The key to success lies in fundraising smarter, not just leaner or more aggressively, with an eye on the long-term sustainability of your strategies. Learning to do more with what you already have will grow your ability to drive impact into the future. 

Many nonprofits understand the value of sustainable fundraising streams like recurring giving programs, but how can you go further? What are some foundational ways to build efficiency into your efforts from the ground up? Let’s take a look at three fundamental ways to get started.

  1. Minimize employee churn.

To make the most of your resources, start by preserving them. Any organization’s most important resources are the people who keep it running.

The average employee turnover rate for nonprofits hovers around 19%, consistently higher than for-profit companies. It’s a common problem battled by organizations of all sizes. Churn is also costly for nonprofits and can create major hurdles to growth. There are several reasons why internal churn can be so harmful:

  • Churn creates new costs. Hiring new team members to replace those who leave takes time and money. Not to mention, there’s the opportunity cost to consider since new staff won’t operate as effectively right away.
  • Churn decreases overall engagement and morale, leading to worse outcomes across the organization.
  • Churn can harm your nonprofit’s relationships. Fundraising programs thrive on relationships with donors, businesses, and other partners. When experienced fundraisers leave, there’s a risk of losing all the valuable relationships they’ve built.

Altogether, these impacts can slow or derail your organization’s growth, making it harder to generate meaningful returns on your fundraising work. It can also become a harmful cycle if left unchecked, with remaining employees more likely to leave as well if they’re feeling burnt out from picking up the slack.

If fundraiser retention has been a challenge for your nonprofit, work to improve it before diving deeper into other fundraising efficiency improvements. Graham-Pelton’s guide to nonprofit staff retention outlines the essential elements of an effective strategy and 15 steps organizations can take to get started.

With a stable, engaged team ready to drive your mission forward, you’ll then be able to implement new changes that help them work more efficiently.

  1. Refine your donor qualification process.

Prioritization is a key part of efficient fundraising. For nonprofit fundraising teams, this means focusing on your donor qualification strategies.

Qualification is the process of prioritizing your major donors and prospects for outreach based on how likely they are to give at the current moment. It relies on sets of criteria that either qualify or disqualify a prospect for outreach, for example:

  • Qualified: Active donor, hasn’t been solicited in the last X months, proven giving capacity at the intended level, etc.
  • Disqualified: No proven giving capacity, lapsed donor, or was recently solicited and declined to give, etc.

Qualification is used specifically for major giving. Relationships with major donors need to be thoughtfully grown over time—which is a time-intensive process—hence the increased need to effectively prioritize outreach. When a major gift is secured, it can represent a significant return on the investment of that time. By focusing your efforts on where it’s most likely to drive impact, you’ll increase the overall ROI of your efforts without cutting costs or making bigger asks.

If your nonprofit hasn’t refreshed its approach to qualification (or doesn’t yet have one), there are a few immediate steps you can take. 

First, review your data to learn more about the donors who’ve given large or major gifts. Find trends in their characteristics and in the cultivation and solicitation strategies you used to ask them for gifts—use these trends to establish updated qualification criteria. Using these criteria, take a first pass at generating a new prospect list. 

From there, keep refining your approach as you talk to donors, ask for gifts, and learn more about them. Just be sure to consistently revisit your prioritized prospect list to ensure it’s as fresh as possible based on your most recent (and well-maintained) data. This efficient approach makes it possible to present fully customized appeals to your donors and boost your chances of securing a gift.

  1. Thoroughly plan ahead for your fundraising campaigns.

Like major gift fundraising, large-scale campaigns are time-intensive, but they can also deliver high ROIs.

Following capital campaign best practices can be incredibly efficient, despite these fundraising goals being among the highest your organization ever pursues. Focusing on major gifts and following a strategic order of solicitations allows you to pack a punch, securing large sums in a very targeted way.

But you’ll also need to ensure that your campaign plans are designed to be truly achievable. Goals need to strike the right balance of being ambitious but realistic. This will help maximize your ROI (while ensuring you’re not pursuing a goal that’s too high or leaving money on the table by aiming too low).

To set the perfect goal and minimize wasted time and effort during a major campaign, conduct a feasibility study early in the planning process. This can be done for any big initiative that will rely on major gifts, not just capital campaigns.

A feasibility study or planning study seeks the input of major donors, prospects, and stakeholders on your initial campaign plans and goals. Since these are the supporters who’ll ultimately help drive the campaign to success, the idea is to use their input to help shape your finalized goal and approach. It’s also a helpful way to secure early buy-in on your project by allowing key donors to become more closely involved.

If a large campaign is coming up for your organization, develop a case for support and begin mentioning the campaign to your donors so that it’s on their radar. Develop initial lists of who to include in your study and whose gifts would be essential for success based on your qualification process.

Once you’ve conducted a planning study and analyzed your findings, make adjustments to your plan as needed and move forward with your campaign. Look for ways to keep donors engaged with the project beyond just inviting them to a luncheon or grand finale gala. Have a plan in place early for thanking and recognizing donors. This will not only lead to a more successful campaign but also strengthen your relationships for more effective fundraising in the future.

Increasing your efficiency shouldn’t mean trimming your operations down to the bare essentials or stretching your donor relationships to their limits. 

Instead, look for ways to do more with what you already have. Across all areas of your work, including internal management processes, donor stewardship, and campaign planning, you can drive greater impact by preserving your time and prioritizing your work.

Chelsey Newmyer is a Senior Consultant at Graham-Pelton. An analytical problem solver, Chelsey uses a data-driven approach fostered by her engineering background to conduct multipronged annual giving campaigns, manage leadership-level prospects and volunteers, and enhance cross-departmental relationships.

How You Can Plan a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, fundraising, multichannel, year-end appeal , , ,

Year-end fundraising season is starting to get underway. I’m already seeing appeal letters in my mailbox and this is just the beginning.

Speaking of appeal letters, you should plan to send one by mail. I know email is easier and less expensive, but people respond better to mail and it’s well worth the investment. 

However, if you just send one fundraising letter and wait for the donations to come in, prepare to be disappointed. Your donors have a lot going on and may put your letter aside to handle later, and then never get to it.

Of course, you can also send email appeals, but you’ll need to plan to send more than one appeal due to the enormous volume of email people receive. Some donors will respond to the first appeal, but most are going to need a few reminders.

Your fundraising campaign will be more successful if you use a combination of mail, email, social media, and phone calls. Some donors may respond to your direct mail piece but will donate online. This is what I usually do. Others will see your email message but prefer to send a check. You could also include a text to give option.

You’ll have a lot of competition since you’re not the only organization seeking year-end donations. Most nonprofits rely on year-end for the bulk of their fundraising. Plus, donors may be overwhelmed with everything that’s going on in the world, but they still want to help.

This is why you need a multichannel fundraising campaign with a series of asks.

BEFORE YOU START

Clean up your mailing lists/database

If you haven’t already done this, clean up and organize your mailing lists/database. Do you have both postal and email addresses for all your donors? Be sure to segment your donors into different groups (current, monthly, etc), as well. Having good donor data is essential.

Make it easy to donate online

You need to have a donation page that’s engaging and easy to use on all platforms, including mobile. Test all links in email messages and social media posts. The last thing you want is a donor contacting you about a broken link or have to hunt around on your website for a link to your donation page.

When you’re ready to launch your campaign, include a blurb on your homepage that says your year-end campaign is underway. Make sure your donate button is in a prominent place.

Which channels do your donors use?

Don’t spend a lot of time on channels your donors aren’t using. Figure out in advance where you want to focus your efforts.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE AND STRATEGY

Come up with a schedule of when the appeals will go out. I’ve created a sample schedule below. Of course, you can adjust the time frame as needed and use this for campaigns at other times of the year. 

That said, I do recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner rather than later. Remember, you’re not the only game in town. If you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

Also, if you haven’t already done this, you could send your donors a warm-up letter or email before you launch your campaign.

October 25

Give your supporters a heads-up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end campaign is underway and they should receive a letter from you soon, provided you have their mailing address. Encourage them to donate online right now. This means your donation page needs to be in great shape.

Keep in mind the fact your year-end campaign is going on will matter to some donors and not to others. Use an enticing subject line such as  – How you can help local families put food on the table.  

Make sure it’s obvious your message is coming from your organization so you have a better chance of getting it opened. 

Week of October 30

Mail your appeal letters.

Week of November 6

Start sending follow-up reminders via email and social media. Weekly or regular reminders are a proven way to help you raise more money. If possible, don’t send reminders to people who have already donated. Otherwise, be sure to thank your recent donors. You can even phrase your reminders as more of a thank you or an update.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our year-end appeal. We’re well on our way to serving more families at the Eastside Community Food Pantry. This is crucial. We’re still seeing more people coming in because they’re having trouble affording groceries.

If you haven’t donated yet, please help us out today by visiting our website (include a link to your donation page) or sending us a check (provide address).

Week of November 13

Send another round of reminders. People get so much email now and may not have seen your earlier messages.

Week of November 20

November 23 is Thanksgiving in the U.S. I would recommend not sending a reminder this week and focus 100% on gratitude. Send your donors a Happy Thanksgiving message, preferably by mail, but an electronic message is fine. Your donors are going to be busy getting ready for turkey day and may not have time to donate that week, but would appreciate a heartfelt thank you from you.

For those of you outside of the U.S., this can also be an opportunity to show some donor appreciation. Even though you’re focused on year-end fundraising, you also need to communicate in other ways right now.

Week of November 27

November 28 is GivingTuesday so you could tie that into a reminder message. You may already have a campaign planned.

Your donors’ inboxes will be bursting at the seams on GivingTuesday and your messages can easily get lost in the chaos. Make your messages stand out and remember to show some gratitude, too. 

Also, not all of your donors will care that it’s GivingTuesday. Focus on how they can help you make a difference.

Make sure your reminders, as well as any GivingTuesday messages, don’t look like spam. And, keep it positive. Don’t make your donors feel bad because they haven’t donated yet.

Week of December 4

Start making reminder calls, along with sending electronic messages. If time is an issue, you could just call people who have donated before. That’s probably most effective. Leaving a voice mail message is fine. 

It’s a busy time of the year and your donors may need a gentle prompt.

The rest of December and beyond

Keep sending reminders throughout December. It’s tricky because you want to get your messages across without being annoying. This is another reason why you should only send reminders to people who haven’t donated yet.

Be sure to keep up with your donor communication (newsletter and other updates). Remember, you don’t want the only messages your donors receive to be fundraising appeals. December is also a great time to show some appreciation and send holiday greetings.

The end of December is the busiest time of this already busy fundraising season. Send a reminder email on December 29th, 30th, and 31st. This is also proven to be an effective strategy. And, it’s especially relevant if your fiscal year ends on December 31 or your donor wants to give before the end of the calendar year.

Even though you’re trying to raise money, don’t forget about building relationships, too. That’s just as important.

Look to see who hasn’t contributed yet. Concentrate on people who are most likely to donate, such as past donors. You may need to send another letter or a reminder postcard to donors who don’t use electronic communication. The more you can personalize it, the better.

You can continue following up in the New Year when donors aren’t as busy.

Once is not enough. Your fundraising campaign will be more successful with multiple asks and by using multiple channels. Good luck!

Why You Need to Segment Your Donors

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, donor engagement, donor retention, fundraising, thank you letters , , , , ,

I’ve been emphasizing the importance of personalizing your communication lately. One way to do that is to segment your donors.

Your donors are not the same. Some donors have given for at least five years (these donors should get a lot of attention). Some are monthly donors. Yet, nonprofit organizations fail to recognize that and send everyone the same messages. 

I often receive generic, one-size-fits-all communication from organizations that don’t acknowledge I’m a longtime donor or recognize that I’m a monthly donor. How do you think that makes me feel?

Another benefit of segmenting your donors is it can help you raise more money. If you’ve been struggling to meet your revenue goals, that may be why.

Unfortunately, if you’re not segmenting your donors into different groups, you’re missing opportunities here –  both to connect with your donors and to raise additional revenue. 

Isn’t it time for you to start segmenting your donors? If you’re already segmenting your donors, kudos to you!

You may be worried about how much time this will take. Plus, you don’t think your current CRM/database can handle it and it will cost too much to get a better one. 

In reality, it may cost you more not to segment. A good CRM/database is worth the investment. Segmenting your donors will help you with retention, which costs less than trying to find new donors. 

Your appeals and thank you letters will stand out if you can personalize them and not send everyone the same generic letter. You don’t need to create a 100 different types of letters, though. Four or five should be sufficient. 

Here are a few different types of donor groups to help get you started. Remember, investing in a good CRM/database will help you with this.

Current single gift donors

An appeal letter to current single gift donors (Monthly donors get their own appeal. More on that below.) must acknowledge their past support. You can segment donors by gift amount and use this opportunity to ask for an upgrade. Many organizations don’t do this, but it’s a good way to increase your revenue.

Your donors will be more receptive to upgrading their gifts if you’ve been doing a good job of thanking them and staying in touch throughout the year.

If these donors give again, they should get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter letting them know how much you appreciate their continued support. If they’ve upgraded their gift, be sure to acknowledge that, too. 

Potential/new single gift donors

If you’re sending an appeal to someone who’s never donated to your nonprofit before, what is your connection to them? Are they volunteers, event attendees, or people on a list you purchased?

The more you can establish a connection, the better chance you have of getting a donation.

The retention rate for first-time donors is terrible. One of the reasons is poor communication. You can help boost your retention rate by making your new donors feel special.

New donors should get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter welcoming them as donors. Invite them to connect with you in other ways such as signing up for your newsletter, following you on social media, and volunteering.

Then a week or so later, send them a welcome package by mail or email. Personalization is essential for new donors.

One of the biggest hurdles nonprofits face is ensuring first-time donors give a second time. If they keep giving after that, they’re showing their commitment to your organization. That’s why the second gift is called a golden donation. Don’t blow it by ignoring this.

New monthly donors

Brand new donors who opt for monthly or other recurring donations get the same special thank you treatment mentioned above. Welcome them to your family of monthly donors. 

Current monthly donors

Your current monthly donors must get their own appeal that recognizes them as monthly donors. In this appeal, you can either ask them to upgrade their gift or give an additional gift. 

When your donors give an additional gift or upgrade their monthly gift, they, of course, get an amazing thank you.

Current donors who become monthly donors

Your current donors who decide to become monthly donors are also showing their commitment to you. They get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter thanking them for their continued support and for joining your family of monthly donors. From now on they should get specialized appeals and other communication targeted to monthly donors. 

Segment as much as you can

While I’ve suggested a few ways you can segment, there are many more options. You can segment by gift amount and number of years someone has been a donor. You can segment volunteers, event attendees, and non-donors. You can also use segmentation in other types of communication, such as creating a special newsletter for monthly donors (or at the very least including a cover letter for monthly donors with your newsletter) and sending handwritten notes to people on their donor anniversary.

Segmenting your donors makes a difference

We continue to face an uncertain economy. It’s possible some donors may cut back on their giving. Don’t let them choose between organizations that communicate throughout the year with engaging personalized appeals, thank yous, and updates or organizations that just send generic, one-size-fits-all communication. People always appreciate a personal connection.

Spending some extra time segmenting your donors and personalizing your communication will be worth it if you can raise additional revenue and boost your retention rate.

How You Can Create a Better, More Personal Fundraising Appeal

Ann Green appeal letters, direct mail, donor retention, donor-centered, fundraising, writing , , , ,

Can you believe September is already here? Depending on where you live, you may or may not be getting that nice refreshing air September often brings. 

It also brings us to the start of the busiest time of the year for nonprofit organizations, especially if you’re doing a year-end appeal. 

If you’re falling short of your revenue goals, you may want to start your campaign earlier this year. Even if you’re not planning on launching your campaign until later in the fall, you should get started on your appeal now. Everything always takes longer than you think.

You need to create an appeal that will stand out and resonate with your donors. If you’ve been using the same boring, generic template for years, it’s time for something new. 

You need a letter that takes into account what’s going on in 2023. How are the everchanging current situations affecting your clients/community?

Your appeal also needs to be personal – both for your donors and when you write about your clients/community. 

Here are some ways you can create a better, more personal appeal. 

Your envelope matters

You may not think your envelope makes much of a difference, but it does. You need to get your donors to open your letter. If you can’t get them to do that, then all your hard work has gone to waste.

Make it look as personal as possible. Use something other than the standard #10 white business envelope and steer clear of a window envelope because that makes it look like a bill. Think about using an oversized or colored envelope. 

Perhaps you’d like to include a teaser on the outer envelope. Fundraising experts are mixed on whether this is a good idea. It makes it look less personal, but a good teaser can capture your donor’s attention. This doesn’t mean one that says 2023 Annual Appeal. That’s not inspiring. Instead, say something like – Find out how you can help kids learn to read.

A hand-addressed envelope will look more personal. If that isn’t feasible, print directly on the envelope. You could also use mailing labels. Use some nice stamps if you can.

Create an inviting piece of mail.

Share a compelling story

A good appeal letter should open with a compelling story. Focus on a person or family and not your organization. Your donors want to hear about the people they’ll be helping and it needs to be relevant to the current climate. 

Here’s an example – Melanie, a single mother with three kids, has gone through a lot over the past few years. It’s been hard to find work that pays enough and groceries are so expensive. 

But thanks to generous donors like you (or because of our generous donors if you’re writing to people who haven’t given before), she’s been able to get boxes of healthy food at the Eastside Community Food Pantry. At first, Melanie was embarrassed that she had to rely on a food pantry to feed her family, but she’s always treated with respect and dignity when she visits. 

We want to continue providing Melanie and other members of our community with healthy food when they need it.

You could also share a first-person story from a client/program recipient.

Include a photo

Include an engaging color photo in your letter or on your pledge form. Photos can tell a story in an instant.

Next comes the ask

Ask for a donation at the beginning of the next paragraph (after the story). Make sure it’s prominent and clear. Also, ask your current donors if they can give a little more right now. Don’t be afraid to ask your donors to upgrade their gifts. People want to help if they can.

Phrase your ask like this – We’re so grateful for your previous gift of $50. We’re continuing to see more people coming into the food pantry right now. Would you be able to help us out a little more this time with a gift of $75?

Asking for an upgrade can help you raise more money. Also, if you’ve been doing a good job of engaging your donors throughout the year (and I hope that’s the case), they shouldn’t mind if you ask for a larger gift. Including the amount of your donor’s previous gift is helpful since people don’t often remember what they gave before.

Be sure the ask is the only call to action in your appeal. Don’t distract people with information about an upcoming event or volunteering. Save that for a different message.

Be donor-centered, as well as community-centered

There’s been some dichotomy over the past few years between being donor-centered and being community-centered, but I think you can be both. What you don’t want is to be organization-centered.

Show your donors how they can help you make a difference for your clients/community and how much you appreciate their role in that. Make your donors feel good about supporting your nonprofit.

At the same time, respect your clients/community by not undermining them when you use terms like at-risk youth or underserved communities. They are people, after all.

Share your success and challenges

Highlight some of your accomplishments, but you can share challenges, too. 

Show how you plan to continue your work with your donor’s help. Remember to stay donor-centered and community-centered! 

Personalization is crucial

Don’t send everyone the same appeal. Try to send different letters to current donors, monthly donors, lapsed donors, people on your mailing list who haven’t donated yet, event attendees, volunteers, and friends of board members. 

The more you can segment, the better, but at the very least, you must do these two things.

Send a personalized appeal to current donors. They’re your best bet for getting donations. Let them know how much you appreciate their support. 

Also, send a specific appeal tailored to monthly donors, giving them the recognition they deserve. For your year-end appeal, I would thank them for all their generous support and ask them to give an additional gift. You can ask them to upgrade at a different time.

Don’t send a generic, one-size-fits-all appeal letter. Go the extra mile for your donors, so they’ll continue to support you.

Your appeal letter should also have a personal salutation (first names are best) and not be addressed to Dear Friend or Dear Valued Donor. How much do you value this relationship if you can’t even use a person’s name?

If this sounds like a lot of work, give yourself enough time to do it. This is important. Personalizing your letters can also help you raise more money.

Make it easy for your donors to give

Include a reply envelope with amounts to check off (this is also known as a bangtail envelope) or a reply envelope and a pledge form. Create donation tiers that show what each amount will fund. Do this on your donation page, too.

Some donors prefer to donate online. Direct them to a user-friendly donation page on your website. You could create a QR code for your letter and reply device. Make sure your donation page is mobile-friendly, too.

Offer a monthly or recurring giving option

Monthly gifts can generate more revenue, give you a steady source of income throughout the year, and improve donor retention. Encourage your donors to give $5, $10, or even $20 a month. This may be a more viable option for some of them. 

Be careful and don’t send an appeal to your current monthly donors that invites them to become monthly donors. That’s one reason why they need their own appeal.

Your letter must be easy to read (and scan)

Use short paragraphs and bulleted lists, along with bold or color for keywords, but keep it tasteful. Make it easy to read and scan. Most people won’t read your letter word for word. Use a simple font and at least a 12-point type.

Human attention spans are less than 10 seconds. But go figure, longer fundraising letters (four pages as opposed to two) have been shown to perform better, especially for prospective donors.

Resist the temptation to create a one-page letter. This often means cramming a bunch of tiny text on the page. With a longer letter, you’ll have more space to tell a story and repeat messages. You can also break up the text with a photo, testimonials, and short paragraphs. Printing on both sides of the page is fine, too.

Quality and readability are essential here. Make every word count. 

Think of your letter as a conversation with a friend

You can create a better, more personal appeal if you think of your letter as a conversation with a friend. That means not using jargon like at-risk youth and underserved communities. Be specific and use everyday language. Your goal should be for your reader to understand you.

Refer to your reader as you and use you a lot more than we.

Too many editors spoil the appeal

Your entire staff doesn’t need to be involved in writing your appeal. Generally, the more people you involve in writing your letter, the worse it becomes. Fundraising Consultant Tom Ahern refers to this as letter writing by committee.

Your best writer should craft it and then turn it over to your best editor. Whoever signs the letter (your Executive Director?) can take a quick look at it, but don’t send it to a committee.

If you don’t have someone on your staff who can write a good fundraising appeal, then hire a freelancer or consultant to do it.

Besides weakening the content, involving more people takes extra time.

Make a good lasting impression

Repeat your ask at the end of your appeal. Don’t forget to say please and thank you.

Be sure to add a PS. People often gravitate to the PS as they scan the letter, so include something that will capture their attention. It may be the only thing they look at. This is a good opportunity to summarize your appeal – Please make a donation today to help us feed more families in the community.

Get your pens out

Include a short handwritten note, if you can. Make it relevant to each donor, such as thanking someone for a previous donation or hoping a potential donor will support you. You could also stick on a handwritten Post-it note. Hand sign the letters in blue ink.

Nonprofit giving has declined recently and that may continue. This is why you need to spend some time writing a better, more personal appeal letter that will stand out and help bring you the donations you need. Good luck!

Image by Howard Lake

Using Donor Data to Personalize Your Text Donation Appeals

Ann Green database, donor retention, fundraising, monthly donors, text donations , , ,

Data can help inform your nonprofit’s approach to text-to-give and drive greater fundraising results. Use these tips to boost your text messaging strategy. 

 By Mike Snusz

In order for your nonprofit to effectively reach supporters via a text donation campaign, you will need to simulate an authentic, one-on-one communication experience. The best way to personalize your messages and create highly tailored donation appeals is to leverage donor data. 

A text donation campaign informed by donor data is more likely to inspire donors to act and bring in greater fundraising results. By segmenting your contact lists into subgroups based on data insights, your nonprofit can produce relevant text messages and donation requests that will resonate with supporters. 

Use these donor insights to support your nonprofit’s text-to-give strategies and drive a greater ROI: 

  • Donation frequency
  • Donation recency
  • Donation amount
  • Demographics
  • Level of involvement

To track these metrics and set your text-to-give campaign up for success, you’ll need the right tools. Tatango’s guide to nonprofit text messaging recommends looking for a text fundraising platform that will readily sync with your nonprofit’s CRM and provide your organization with real-time campaign analytics and performance tracking. This way each donor action will provide more information about their behavior and persona, allowing your nonprofit to leverage this data in the future for more targeted communications. 

Explore the following donor insights to make your text donation campaigns more engaging. 

Donation frequency

How often do your donors give to your organization? Do they give on a recurring basis? Annually? Monthly? Or, perhaps your organization has donors who used to donate regularly, but you haven’t received a contribution from them in a while. On the other hand, you may have one-time donors who never renewed their support.

With the help of your donor management software and text fundraising platform, track and use these data insights to inform how you frame your donation requests. Donation frequency can guide the type of segments your organization makes. For instance, you might create text donation segments that target:

  • Lapsed donors. Re-engage donors who you have not heard from in a while by reminding them why they should support your cause. Create a text donation segment that discusses upcoming projects and how your nonprofit is making a difference in its community. 
  • Monthly donors. Your monthly donors are already avid supporters of your cause, so you should go beyond sending a generic request to give to your organization. Instead, you can encourage these donors to increase their monthly giving amount. 
  • Recurring annual donors. Your nonprofit likely has donors who only give once a year. Create a separate segment to motivate these donors to sign up for monthly giving to maximize their impact and make a greater difference. 

As you send requests to these different subgroups, track any changes that take place in the frequency or amount of their donations. These insights will let you know whether your strategies are working or if you need to rework your content and segmentation strategies to better appeal to donors. 

Donation recency

Tracking donation recency can indicate whether donors are actively engaged in your fundraising efforts or if they need more prompting to reconnect with your organization. Plus, donation recency lets you know when it might be the right time to solicit another donation.

For example, suppose you have a donor who submitted a text-to-give donation to your organization last week. Your nonprofit is now hosting a text fundraiser to coincide with your upcoming fundraising gala. It would not be optimal to immediately ask this donor for another donation, as this can overwhelm your donor and make them feel more like a source of revenue and less like a valued supporter. 

Instead, you might choose to send a reminder in the middle of your text-to-give campaign. Make sure to consistently express donor appreciation and explain how the funds from this campaign will be used; this will help donors stay engaged and foster strong relationships. NXUnite’s guide to donor recognition suggests thanking donors as soon as they give to assure them that their important contributions have not been overlooked.  

Donation amount

Create segments based on your donor tiers so your donation requests are more likely to be met. For example, your nonprofit should create separate segments for your:

  • Small donors. 
  • Mid-level donors.
  • Major donors.

This way, the donation amount you’re requesting in your text messages is tailored to the individual and makes sense based on their past giving amount. For instance, if a supporter gives $100 every year, it would be unreasonable to try to upgrade their giving amount to $500. Instead, you might ask them to give $15 a month instead of a lump sum of $100, which would give your organization $180 a year.

Demographics

Demographic data, such as age and location, can make it easier to build relationships with donors. 

For example, a higher education institution may take advantage of this data while using text-to-give to raise scholarship money for current students. To better target its messages to alumni, the university might create a segment based on milestone anniversaries, such as former students’ 5-, 10-, or 15-year anniversary since their graduation. In this instance, age data can help the university leverage relevant milestones to build an emotional connection and encourage alumni to give. 

Continuing with this example of a college text-to-give fundraiser, the university could also create segments based on the locations of its alumni. For example, they might create a segment for alumni who still live near campus so they could invite them to sporting events and alumni gatherings year-round. Then, they could create a separate segment for alumni living outside of the local area and send reminders for major events that often bring alumni back to campus, such as homecoming. 

Level of involvement

Keep track of supporters who attend your events, volunteer at your programs, or get involved in other key ways. By doing so, you can create segments that are relevant to your supporters and send them information they would be interested in. 

For example, your nonprofit could create a segment for volunteers. Here, you can highlight your volunteer needs and explain how volunteers can further their involvement by giving. 

You can also break down this volunteer segment into supporters who frequently volunteer and supporters who used to volunteer but have not done so in a while. This is a great opportunity to re-engage lapsed volunteers with your cause, either by inviting them to volunteer again or to donate revenue in lieu of donating their time.

By tracking donor insights with the help of your CRM and text messaging platform, your organization can develop compelling text-to-give campaigns, leading to stronger relationships and more revenue for your cause. Do your research to find the best technology solutions that will meet your nonprofit’s unique needs and streamline the data collection and fundraising processes. This way, your nonprofit can save time and focus on generating text messages that inspire giving. 

Mike Snusz brings 19 years of digital fundraising experience to his role as Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango, a text messaging platform for nonprofits and political campaigns. Prior to Tatango, Mike spent 15 years at Blackbaud leading a team of digital consultants that helped nonprofits improve their online fundraising, monthly giving, email marketing, and peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike started his nonprofit career managing the Ride For Roswell from 2003 to 2005 in his hometown of Buffalo, NY. 

What is a Call-to-Action? A Quick Guide for Nonprofits

Ann Green Communications, donation page, donor engagement, fundraising, website , , , ,

A well-worded call-to-action (CTA) can encourage your nonprofit supporters to engage with your cause in a myriad of ways. Learn more about CTAs in this guide!

By Ira Horowitz

Your nonprofit exists because you’re seeking to enact positive change in your community, whether that means tutoring at-risk high school students, cleaning local beaches, or providing meals to unhoused people. 

However, you can’t do it alone—you need your supporters to help you make that positive change happen. This means you have to not only inspire your supporters by informing them about your cause and opportunities to get involved, but also explicitly ask them to take action. 

That’s where calls-to-action (CTAs) come in. By incorporating well-worded and carefully-designed CTAs into your marketing materials, you can encourage your supporters to take the necessary steps to put their passion for your cause into action, whether you want them to donate, volunteer, attend an event, or simply learn more about your organization. 

Let’s take a deep dive into the specifics of CTAs to help you get started! 

Calls-to-Action (CTAs): An Overview

A call-to-action (CTA) is a short statement or phrase that compels someone to take a specific action. Here are some examples of everyday situations in which we’re compelled to take action thanks to a CTA: 

  • In social media posts: “Follow us,” “Click the link in our bio,” “Comment below” 
  • In TV commercials: “Visit our store,” “See it in theaters this Friday,” “Talk to your doctor today about…” 
  • On mobile apps: “Download now,” “Try for free,” “Upgrade to premium” 
  • On billboards: “Call now for a free quote,” “Book your vacation now,” “Take the next exit to…” 
  • On websites: “Sign into your account,” “Find a store,” “Learn more about us” 
  • In emails: “Register for our upcoming event,” “Shop this exclusive sale,” “Learn more”  

Recognizing the everyday places where you’re called to action can help you determine how you can better leverage CTAs for your nonprofit. For example, as you get better at identifying CTAs, you might find you could do a better job of writing CTAs in your Google Ads copy, on your donation form, or in your spoken presentations. 

4 Forms CTAs Can Take Online

Depending on the medium they’re presented in, CTAs can take different forms. While you may include CTAs on physical marketing materials (such as posters or direct mailings) or tap into channels like TV or radio, your online assets (such as your website) will likely be where you focus on driving action and engagement among your community of supporters. 

Here are some of the most popular types of online CTAs to keep in mind: 

  • Buttons: A button CTA is a clickable button with CTA text on your website, such as “Donate now” or “Login to your account.” 
  • Text: Sometimes a CTA can easily be woven into website page copy, linking to a resource for taking action or simply inspiring action. Here’s an example: To learn more about our mission, visit our “About Us” page.” In this case, you could add a link to the words “visit our ‘About Us’ page.” 
  • Pop-up CTAs: Although website pop-ups are controversial, they can be effective when used sparingly. For example, you might use a pop-up on your website that has a CTA to encourage visitors who have been on the site for a certain amount of time to subscribe to your email newsletter. 
  • Image CTAs: Similar to button CTAs, image CTAs are images that have CTA text and a link to whatever action page you’re trying to get your website visitors to check out. 

It’s up to you to determine which type of CTA will work best in your online marketing materials. Start by deciding which action you want your supporters to take and how you want to communicate that action. 

For example, you might want to encourage website visitors to donate through your online donation page. To do so, you could include a button CTA on your website’s homepage that says “Give Now” and links to the donation page. On the donation page, you could feature an eye-catching image of your beneficiaries and a paragraph explaining why donations help make your work possible. Then, you could end the paragraph with one last inspiring call-to-action sentence that says, “Donate today to help us change more lives for the better.” 

While you don’t want to overwhelm your supporters with too many CTAs, having multiple touchpoints like this on the journey to a completed action can encourage potential supporters to follow through and make a move!

How to Create Effective CTAs

No matter the type of CTA you end up using, there are some universal best practices for making your CTAs as effective as possible: 

Use strategic wording.

Choose the words for your CTAs with care so you can catch your supporters’ attention. Start with an action verb like join, sign up, discover, explore, donate, give, register, or shop. You should also choose words that instill a sense of urgency in your audience such as now, today, limited time, or exclusive. 

Example: “Donate today to save more sea turtles” is a much more effective CTA than a generic “Donate.” 

Make it brief.

When creating a CTA, get to the point by using only a few words. This will help you clearly communicate what you need your supporters to do. Plus, keeping your CTAs short ensures that you leave no room for misunderstanding. 

Example: “Register today for our bikeathon on July 11” will likely encourage more event registrations than “We are hosting a bikeathon soon and hope to see you there as a participant or volunteer. Please visit our registration page to get started.”   

Make careful placement decisions.

Where you put your CTAs on your website matters. After all, you need to ensure that they stand out from your other content and resources so they’re easy to see and click on. 

Example: You decide to put your “Donate Now to End Cancer” button in your static menu at the top of your web pages instead of at the bottom so it’s always visible no matter where your visitors go on your website.  

Pay attention to the visual design.

According to Cornershop Creative, color and specific styling are essential to creating a great CTA. Your designs should be eye-catching and consistent with the branding and style of your website. 

Example: You create an image CTA to encourage more people to sign up to foster shelter animals. You use your organization’s brand colors—red, white, and purple—and include an image of a shelter animal that is currently part of your foster program. 

Test and optimize.

As you begin adding CTAs to your website and other marketing materials, it may be helpful to test out different versions. Try asking a small group of your team members to identify what wording, visual look, and placements they think will be most effective for encouraging people to act. You can formalize this process using A/B testing.

Additionally, on your website, pay attention to how well your CTAs help boost conversions on your most important action pages, like your donation page or event registration page. You can monitor conversions with Google Analytics and use the insights you gather to improve your CTAs.

3 Examples of Eye-Catching CTAs

Still need some inspiration for creating a great nonprofit CTA? Check out these three examples of CTAs your organization can emulate. 

1. American Cancer Society 

The CTAs on the American Cancer Society website are brief and clear, encouraging visitors to act quickly. 

The American Cancer Society homepage features a few CTAs without overwhelming its website visitors. Here are a couple of standout CTA moves that inspired us: 

  • The “Donate” button in the top right corner is bright red and features the image of a heart, which helps it stand out and emphasizes the difference a donation can make to those whose lives have been affected by cancer. 
  • The “Learn About Screening” CTA in the center of the screen is paired with an image of real people and language that encourages authenticity and getting a screening to stay healthy.

2. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The CTAs on the ASPCA website have bright colors, emotionally-evocative images, and prominent placement to help encourage action. 

ASPCA does an excellent job of making its CTA buttons stand out with bright orange coloring and bold white text. The text and pictures that accompany the buttons on its rotating banner image also pull at your heartstrings and encourage you to give. 

In particular, the phrase “63¢ a Day Can Help Her Survive” not only implores website visitors to contribute a donation but also highlights how easy it is to make a difference to an animal in need. 

3. Save the Children 

The CTA on the Save the Children homepage is brief and encourages urgent action. 

The Save the Children website reserves the color red for its most important website elements—its logo and CTA buttons, helping them stand out against a white and gray background. Here are a few other reasons we love their CTAs: 

  • The phrase “For many kids living in poverty, summer isn’t fair” is effective in evoking emotion in website visitors.
  • This main button CTA is paired with an image of a child, emphasizing the human aspect of the organization’s mission.
  • Save the Children uses the word “now” to instill urgency in its website visitors, encouraging them to give right away.

CTAs are small additions that can make a big difference for your nonprofit. Use these examples and tips to start creating (or fine-tuning) your organization’s CTAs and pulling in more support for your mission. 

And, if you need the help of an expert, invest in a web design partner that can help you with everything from designing your website to crafting CTAs and beyond! 

With 15 years of experience, Ira Horowitz is an expert in nonprofit online communications and online fundraising. His work has resulted in increased funds and resounding supporter engagement for hundreds of organizations.

Ira oversees Cornershop Creative’s project management team and works with clients to provide them with the best possible final product. He also manages all of their strategic engagements and helps guide nonprofits to determine their long-term strategy goals for online communications.

Don’t Wait Too Long to Start Planning Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, direct mail, donor-centered, fundraising, planning, stories, thank you letters, writing , , , , , , ,

It’s hard to think about fall when it’s been so hot in many parts of the United States and Europe, but September will be here before you know it.

Even though it might be sweltering outside, now is a good time to start planning your year-end fundraising campaign, hopefully in an air-conditioned space. If you’re behind in your revenue goals, you may want to launch it earlier than you have in the past. 

I’ve put together a checklist to help you get started. You can also use this for fundraising campaigns at other times of the year.

How much money do you need to raise?

You may have already set a goal for your year-end campaign in your 2023 fundraising plan (at least I hope you did) and maybe that has changed. 

You must determine how much money you need to raise before you start your campaign and raising as much as we can is not a goal.

Do you have a campaign plan?

Put together a plan for your campaign that includes a timeline, task list, and the different channels you’ll use. Make it as detailed as possible.

When do you want to launch your appeal? Plan on everything taking longer than you think it will, so earlier is better. Keep in mind you’ll be competing with many other organizations who are doing appeals. 

I strongly encourage you to mail an appeal letter. Direct mail appeals are more successful. You can also send an email appeal and follow up with email, as well. 

Maybe you want to send your appeal letters the first week in November. Maybe it’s better to send them in October. Whenever it is, make your goal to have the letters done at least a week before that. Work backwards to figure out how you can get to your proposed send date.

Also, how are you mailing your appeal? Do you use a mail house or get staff and volunteers together to stuff envelopes? Either way, plan ahead, so you’re not scrambling at the last minute.

Do you have a good story and photo to share?

If you’ve been using the same boring, generic appeal letter template for the last few years, it’s time for a refresh. It’s a good idea to revise your templates at least once a year. Our world has changed a lot in the last three years and you need to take that into account.

A good way to start is to create an engaging story for your appeal. Even though the public health emergency is over, COVID is still a part of our lives. Are your clients/community feeling the aftereffects of the pandemic? Are they facing economic challenges? Focus on them, not your organization. Each year is different and this is why you need new stories.  

You’ll want some good photos for your letter and donation page, too. Quotes from clients will also enhance your appeal.

How can your donors help you make a difference?

Your appeal letter should focus on a need and let your donors know how they can help you make a difference. You might want to start by creating a brief and an outline.

You may be seeing more people at your food pantry because of rising food costs and cuts in benefits. Maybe your clients are struggling to find affordable housing.

You can also highlight some of the accomplishments you’ve made recently and state what you would like to do in the coming year, although these are usually more appropriate for a newsletter or impact report. 

One way to frame this is to describe a situation such as this. You run a tutoring program in your community and work with students who are falling behind in school. You can describe how thanks to your generous donors, your one-to-one tutoring program has helped students get better grades and are now less likely to be held back a year. You want to keep that going and serve more students.

Remember to focus on your clients/community and don’t brag about your organization.

Are your mailing lists in good shape?

Make sure your mailing lists are up-to-date. Check for duplicate addresses and typos. Your donors don’t want to receive three letters at the same time or have their names misspelled. Take a little time to do some data hygiene. Give your email list some attention, too.

Also, now is a good time to segment your mailing lists – current donors, monthly donors, lapsed donors, event attendees, etc. This is so important. Your current donors are your best source of donations. You should have more success if you can personalize your appeal letters. Acknowledge if someone has donated in the past or is a monthly donor. Donors like it when you recognize them for who they are.

Do you have enough letterhead, envelopes, and stamps?

Don’t wait until September or October to check your supply of letterhead and envelopes. Make sure you have enough. 

Speaking of envelopes, something besides the standard white business envelope can improve your response rate. Think about using an oversized, colored, or embellished envelope. If that’s not possible, don’t use a window envelope because it resembles a bill. A general rule is you don’t want any of your direct mail pieces to look like a bill or junk mail.

Even though many people donate online, you want to make it easy for donors who prefer to mail a check. Include a pledge envelope or a return envelope and a preprinted form with the donor’s contact information and the amount of their last gift.

Stamps are more personal, so you might want to find some nice ones to use. 

Is it easy to donate online?

Be sure your donation page is user-friendly and consistent with your other fundraising materials. Using a branded donation page and not a third-party site is best. Highlight your year-end appeal on your homepage and include a prominent Donate Now button.

One way to ensure a good experience is to have someone on your staff or, even better, someone outside of your organization make a donation on your website. If they want to tear their hair out, you have some work to do.

Do you offer a monthly or recurring giving option?

I’m a huge fan of monthly giving. It’s a win-win for your organization. You can raise more money, boost your retention rate, receive a steady stream of revenue, and allow your donors to spread out their gifts.

If you don’t have a monthly giving program or have a small one, don’t wait any longer to start one or grow the one you have. Be sure to highlight it as a giving option.

Do you want to find a major funder who will give a matching gift?

One way to raise additional revenue is to find a major funder to match a portion or all of what you raise in your year-end appeal. If you want to go down this route, now would be a good time to reach out to these potential funders.

How will you thank your donors?

Spend as much time on your thank you letter/note as you do on your appeal letter and write them at the same time. And if it’s been a while since you’ve freshened up your thank you templates, you know what you need to do. It’s so important to thank your donors, and thank them well, as soon as you receive their gifts, so have a thank you letter/note ready to go.

Handwritten notes and phone calls are much better than a preprinted letter. Create or buy some thank you cards and start recruiting board members and volunteers to make thank you calls or write notes. 

You’ll want to put together a welcome plan for your new donors and that also needs to be ready to roll after the donations come in.

How will you keep up with your donor communication?

Even though you’ll be busy with your appeal, you want to ramp up your donor communication this fall. Keep engaging your donors and other supporters (who may become donors) by sharing updates and gratitude. Pour on the appreciation! 

Send at least one warm-up letter or email. You could create a thank you video or a video that gives a behind-the-scenes look at your organization. Maybe you could hold an open house or offer tours. Just don’t disappear until appeal time.

Yes, we’re still in a period of economic uncertainty. Some donors may not give as much or at all, but others will give more. They won’t give anything if you don’t ask.

There’s still plenty of time to go to the beach and get ice cream, but right now find that air-conditioned space and start planning your year-end campaign.

Best of luck!

Photo by CreditDebitPro

Rise Above Mediocrity With the 5 C’s of Good Nonprofit Communication

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, fundraising, thank you letters, writing , , , , ,

Unfortunately, a lot of nonprofit communication is not that great. Something that can help is the 5 C’s. Keep these in mind when you’re writing a fundraising appeal, thank you letter, update, or any type of donor communication.  

Is it Clear?

What is your intention? What message are you sending to your donors? Are you asking for a donation, thanking them, or sharing an update? 

Whatever it is, make sure your message is clear. If you have a call to action, that needs to be clear, as well. You also want to stick to one call to action. Don’t distract your donors with too many choices. If you ask them to make a donation, volunteer, and contact their legislators in the same message, you run the risk of them not doing any of those.

You want your message to produce results. Plain and simple, your fundraising appeal should entice someone to donate. Your thank you letter should thank your donors (no bragging or explaining what your organization does) and make them feel good about donating.

Use language your donors will understand (no jargon). Keep out terms like food insecurity and underserved communities. Just because something is clear to you, doesn’t mean it will be clear to others. 

Is it Concise?

Can you say more with less? Eliminate any unnecessary adverbs, adjectives, and filler. Make your point right away. Concise writing doesn’t mean you need to be terse or all your print communication has to be one page. Sometimes it will need to be longer, but the same rules apply. 

Nonprofit organizations like to pack a lot of information into their monthly/quarterly newsletters and impact reports, but many donors won’t read something if it looks like it will be too long. 

Shorter, more frequent communication is better. This applies to the example I gave above about not putting more than one call to action in a message. You’ll have better results if you send separate messages for each call to action.

Also, most people skim, so use short paragraphs and lots of white space, especially for electronic communication.

Make all your words count.

Is it Conversational?

Write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend and be personable. Use the second person – where you refer to your donors as you and your organization as we. Remember to use you much more than we. 

Avoid using jargon, cliches, multi-syllable words, and the passive voice. Is that the way you talk to your friends? I hope not.

You may think you’re impressing your donors by using jargon and big words, but most likely you’re confusing them or even worse, alienating them. Connect with your donors by using language they’ll understand.

Is it Compelling?

Is whatever you’re writing going to capture someone’s attention right away and keep them interested? The average human attention span is eight seconds, so the odds are stacked against you. If you can’t stand out, your donors are going to move on to something else.

Start with a good opening sentence. Leading with a question is often good. Stories are also great. 

Put a human face on your stories and keep statistics to a minimum. Start a fundraising appeal with an engaging story that leads to a call to action.

Are you establishing a connection?

Donors are drawn to your organization because they feel a connection to your cause. You also need to establish a connection with them. You can start by segmenting your donors by different types, such as new donors, current donors, and monthly donors. 

Get to know your donors better and give them content you know they’ll be interested in. Hint – it’s not bragging about your organization. They want to know how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community. They also want to feel appreciated. Focus on building and sustaining relationships.

Rise above mediocrity and keep these 5 C’s in mind to help ensure good communication with your donors.

How to Build Your Recurring Giving Program: 4 Tips

Ann Green donation page, donor engagement, fundraising, monthly donors, website , , , ,

Recurring donors can provide valuable sustainable revenue for your nonprofit. Tap into the vast potential of a recurring giving program with these four tips.

I’m a big fan of recurring giving. It’s a great way to both boost revenue and your retention rate. In this guest post, Philip Schmitz of CharityEngine lets you know how you can build your recurring giving program.

By Philip Schmitz 

Acquiring recurring donors for your nonprofit can revolutionize your fundraising progress, helping you efficiently and effectively achieve your goals. You’ll need to invest time and resources to attract new support for your mission, but chances are you already have untapped potential in your existing connections.

To help you secure a reliable source of funding with recurring gifts, we’ll walk through these four essential tips:

  1. Add a recurring giving option to your donation page.
  2. Market your recurring gifts program.
  3. Leverage your CRM to boost recurring giving.
  4. Report the impact of recurring donations.

From regular volunteers to small-level repeat donors, your organization already has people dedicated to driving your nonprofit’s impact. Give them the opportunity to invest in your cause for the long run by establishing a recurring giving program.

1. Add a recurring giving option to your donation page.

Your nonprofit’s donation page is the primary location for prospective donors to give in support of your mission. Therefore, it’s essential to design your online giving page with everything that supporters may need to maximize their contributions.

As you optimize your donation page for recurring gifts, consider the donor experience. Make it easy and convenient for them to participate. Your donation form should have a checkbox option that allows donors to turn their donations into monthly gifts. Additional ways to further optimize your donation page include:

  • Specifying the impact of each recurring gift amount. Inspire your supporters to take action by giving examples of how each recurring giving amount will contribute to your organization’s on-the-ground impact. This allows them to see how they can make a tangible difference in your cause. For example, an animal welfare nonprofit could write that $20 will provide a shelter dog’s meals for one month, while $50 will cover its medical treatments.
  • Allowing donors to manage their accounts. Offer your donors the flexibility to change their account profiles, recurring gift amounts, payment methods, and any other relevant information online. Your supporters will feel much more comfortable getting involved in your recurring giving program if they have the freedom to adjust their enrollment whenever they’d like.
  • Accepting multiple secure payment options. Facilitate recurring payments by having multiple payment options featured clearly on your nonprofit’s donation page. Donors should be able to pay for recurring gifts with their debit or credit cards, by direct deposit, or using mobile payment services like PayPal.
  • Ensuring your giving page is mobile-friendly. These days, much of the world’s online interactions occur on mobile devices. Whether they’re on the go or relaxing at home, make sure your potential donors can access a high-quality version of your donation page on their tablets or smartphones as well.

According to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, recurring donors contribute 42% more per year than one-time donors. Make the most of this valuable opportunity by setting up your online giving page to promote recurring giving.

2. Market your recurring giving program.

The success of your nonprofit’s recurring giving program depends on how well you spread the word. It’s crucial to not only make your supporters aware of this option, but also motivate them to become recurring donors. Send email updates to your existing donors with information on how to enroll in recurring giving, along with how these gifts will benefit your nonprofit.

To notify as many potential donors as possible, disperse your communications across multiple channels. Appeal to younger donors by creating memorable and engaging social media posts that promote your program. And, as you approach the end of the year, CharityEngine’s year-end giving guide recommends checking back in with your recurring donors and encouraging new enrollment during this popular giving time.

Go further with your marketing by creating a page on your website specifically for your recurring giving program. This will ensure that your supporters have a single, authoritative resource on all there is to know about the program, including the steps for opting in and who to contact with any additional questions.

Tie together all of your web pages and communications with consistent branding and visuals such as your organization’s colors, logo, and photos related to your mission. This way, prospective donors can feel confident that enrolling in the program will directly benefit your nonprofit.

3. Leverage your CRM to boost recurring giving.

Aside from having a CRM with billing software to automatically process recurring donations, use its capabilities for data-driven outreach. The more you understand your supporters, the better you can appeal to them to participate in your recurring giving program.

Segment your donors based on the information in their profiles and tailor your communications to those who may be most interested in becoming recurring donors. Look for repeat donors who tend to give relatively small amounts. They’d likely be receptive to automated monthly payments to support your cause. Some common ways to segment your donors include:

  • Giving history
  • Relevant interests
  • Past involvement with your nonprofit
  • Communication preferences

With these donor segments, you’ll be able to boost the effectiveness of your communications by sending messages that are more relevant to your individual supporters. They’ll feel more valued if you acknowledge their preferences and interests when reaching out about your recurring giving program. 

Furthermore, you can use the recurring gift data you collect in your organization’s CRM to personalize messages to your existing recurring donors as well. For instance, if they tend to give $15 a month, your next email to them could suggest that they increase their monthly gift to $20 a month to power your upcoming initiatives.

4. Report the impact of recurring donations.

The key to maintaining long-lasting support for your nonprofit is regularly updating and thanking your supporters. Even though their gifts are automated, your recurring donors still need to be recognized for their contributions each time they give. 

Be sure to have automatic follow-up emails in place to confirm and express gratitude for every recurring donation you receive. Remember to personalize each message with the donor’s name to show them that your organization values them as an individual. For additional ways to appreciate your recurring donors, consider the following ideas:

  • Mail handwritten thank-you cards at least once a year.
  • Host exclusive monthly donor appreciation events.
  • Spotlight longtime recurring donors as part of your nonprofit social media strategy.
  • Send small gifts of branded merchandise.

By communicating the impact of their contributions and the goals you’ve been able to achieve with their help, you’ll ensure that supporters stay enthusiastic about supporting your mission. Incorporate key data points into a powerful impact story to help them emotionally connect with the positive change they’re contributing toward.

Take advantage of your CRM’s capabilities to guide your communications about recurring giving and more. Your current donor profiles are incredibly useful for identifying ways to encourage further engagement from your supporters. Prioritize your donors’ interests to maximize your fundraising results. With a data-driven approach, you’ll be able to build an optimized recurring giving program that opens up a source of sustainable revenue for your nonprofit.

Philip Schmitz is the CEO and founder of cloud-services leader BIS Global, creators of the CharityEngine fundraising & communications technology platform. Founded in 1999, Phil has managed the vision and strategy for BIS’s suite of integrated business applications & hosting tools used by more than 400 businesses & non-profits.

Time for a Mid-Year Check In

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, planning , ,

It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through 2023, isn’t it? The midpoint of the year is always a good time to see if you’re meeting your fundraising and communications goals. For this post, I’m assuming your fiscal year is the same as the calendar year. If you’re on a different fiscal cycle, you can make the appropriate time adjustments.

In this continuous time of uncertainty, your fundraising may be down. Yes, we’re seeing inflation and a possible recession, but that doesn’t mean you should stop fundraising. Never stop fundraising! Donors will give if they can.

You may need to make some changes to your fundraising plan and other goals. And, if you never made a fundraising plan for this year, stop right there and put one together now and use it for the remainder of the year. Don’t fly blind.

Take a look at what’s working and what’s not. It will be different for every organization. If you’re doing okay, keep it up. If you’re falling short, figure out where you need to make changes.

If you’re relying too much on grants and events and those are not bringing in the revenue you need, focus more on individual giving. Many nonprofits raise the most money from individual giving. Here are a few other suggestions to help you stay on track this year.

Start or enhance your monthly giving program

Monthly giving is doable for all sizes of nonprofit organizations, even small ones. It’s a great way to raise more money, as well as your donor retention rate. Retention rates for monthly donors are much better than other retention rates. You’ll have a steady stream of income and it may be more feasible for your donors, especially if they’re feeling pinched financially.

If you don’t have a monthly giving program, start one now. To get more monthly donors, send a special targeted letter to current donors inviting them to become monthly donors. This is a good opportunity to upgrade smaller dollar donors, or any donors for that matter.

Also, do something special for your current monthly donors. Send them a thank you postcard or email. They’ve made a commitment to you, now make a commitment to them.

I’ve always been a big fan of monthly giving, even more so over the last few years. They are one of your most committed donor groups. 

Look into higher levels of giving

Another advantage of monthly giving is that these donors are more likely to become mid-level and major donors. Starting a major gift program will take time, but it’s doable even for small organizations. Look into starting one soon. Organizations with strong major gift programs tend to do better financially.

Ramp up your donor engagement

My last post was all about how you can engage with your donors this summer. The summer is usually a slower time for fundraising, but it’s a good time to show some donor appreciation and plan for fall.

Some donors will pull back on their giving, but that doesn’t mean ghosting them. Keep engaging with them to help ensure they’ll give again, if they can.

Make improvements to your donor communication

Look at metrics such as website visits and email open rates. I know these don’t always tell the whole story, but if you’re not seeing a lot of engagement, figure out why.

Often, it’s because your content isn’t great or it’s too long. Maybe it’s layout and design. You could also be targeting the wrong audience. Summer is a good time to make some changes.

It’s not too late, yet

If you’re falling short of your goals, you still have time to do better, but you have to make an effort.

Be sure to keep evaluating your progress for the rest of the year. Even if you’re doing okay now, circumstances can change. You may want to monitor your progress more frequently (once a month instead of once a quarter) so you can try to stay on track. You don’t want to get caught off guard. 

Keep monitoring your progress to help ensure a successful year.