marketing

Future-proof your fundraising: 3 ways to thrive long-term

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, legacy giving, marketing, monthly donors, planning , , , ,

Is your nonprofit poised for long-term growth? Check out these future-proof nonprofit fundraising strategies based on today’s top philanthropic trends.

By Patrick Schmitt

Achieving your mission takes time and resources. As a nonprofit professional, you know this all too well and likely implement all kinds of cost-saving and efficiency-boosting practices into your work.

But can you be more proactive and go beyond mitigation? Do your fundraising practices look forward and actively build a foundation for long-term success? Are you missing opportunities to engage with donors in new ways?

This often means investing in new forms of fundraising or making significant updates to existing practices. But for many small nonprofits, making these changes can feel less than feasible.

However, as we’re constantly reminded, we’re living in unpredictable times—economic turbulence, heightened political and social tensions, the rise of AI, changing donor habits and preferences – the list goes on. There’s no telling what the future may bring, but your nonprofit needs to be there to shine a light and help lead your community.

Let’s explore some forward-thinking and (perhaps surprisingly) accessible ways for small nonprofits to drive sustained success and reduce the need for constant cost-cutting and budget anxiety.

The three future-proof nonprofit fundraising strategies explained in this article:  projectable revenue streams, non-cash giving, and mid-level donor stewardship.

1. Build more projectable revenue sources.

Building a pipeline of future giving is massively helpful—it fuels your operations and growth and it’s predictable, allowing you to plan more effectively.

There are two key types of projectable future giving to keep in mind:

  • Deferred giving
  • Recurring giving

Deferred giving, also called planned or legacy giving, is often neglected by small shops but is increasingly understood as a game-changer for nonprofits of all sizes. It’s an especially smart choice now as we begin to see “the Great Wealth Transfer” unfold, with shifting demographic trends resulting in large amounts of saved assets being disbursed to heirs and beneficiaries. 

But planned giving is also very accessible—any donor, regardless of wealth, can easily create bequests. And since these gifts are given from assets rather than cash on hand, they give donors the chance to drive sustained impact without impacting day-to-day finances (while also tapping into tax benefits here and now). The FreeWill guide to planned giving programs covers the essential steps nonprofits of all sizes should take to get started.

You’re likely more familiar with the ins and outs of recurring giving, facilitated through recurring giving programs or membership programs. It’s easy to get started—simply add a recurring giving option to your donation form, create a new web page and other materials that explain why repeat gifts are so impactful for your mission, and begin promoting the option.

As always, anchor your messaging about new forms of giving with impact, and don’t be afraid to be transparent. As a growing nonprofit, your committed supporters will be motivated by messages that clearly explain why you’re prioritizing these initiatives to ensure your mission’s long-term future.

2. Take more (or your first) steps into the world of non-cash gifts.

Donor preferences are rapidly diversifying. Tax code changes, the state of the economy, and ever-increasing financialization and digitization all point to increased interest in non-cash gifts.

By tapping into these trends and offering more flexibility to donors, nonprofits have seen substantial long-term growth. One study found that nonprofits that accept non-cash gifts grow six times faster than those that don’t.

Key types of non-cash gifts that should be on nonprofits’ radar include:

  • Grants from donor-advised funds (DAFs). These philanthropic quasi-savings accounts allow donors to put away funds for future giving to be saved and grown.
  • Gifts of stock. This includes stock from public and private companies and mutual funds and is a savvy choice for donors looking to rebalance their portfolios and secure added tax benefits.
  • In-kind gifts. These are any non-financial gifts, including materials and equipment, real estate, cars, you name it. Donors may seek to offload unneeded tangible assets to secure tax benefits, and you never know who among your community may have something they’d like to donate.
  • Cryptocurrency donations. Steadily rising in popularity among younger and more diverse groups of donors, gifts of crypto are new but certainly worth exploring if you think your donor base may be a good match.

If you’re prioritizing non-cash giving for the first time, we recommend starting with DAFs simply because their growth in popularity and volume has been explosive. Payouts to nonprofits from DAFs grew a record 28.2% in 2021, hitting $45.74 billion. Nonprofits also received 32% more DAF grants and 56% more grant dollars in 2022 than in 2021.

However, DAF fundraising is notoriously opaque—the names of DAF account owners aren’t disclosed, and these accounts are managed by a wide range of organizations including banks, financial service providers, and community foundations. 

To get started, try a simple survey. Ask donors if they’ve heard of, have, or are interested in donor-advised funds, and use your findings as the basis for future outreach. Contact local community foundations to introduce your organization and ask if they sponsor DAFs so they might recommend you as a grantee to their account holders. Add DAF giving as a new section on your Ways to Give page.

3. Invest in your mid-level donors.

Mid-level donors, often defined as those who give between $1,000 and $10,000 a year, are the key to long-term growth due to their high levels of loyalty and engagement. These supporters also tie together many of the trends that we’re currently seeing play out for nonprofits. Check out these statistics from Seachange Strategies’ most recent Missing Middle Report:

  • 31% of mid-level donors have made a bequest and another 23% say they plan to make one in the future.
  • 20% have donor-advised funds (DAF) and another 8% are considering starting one.
  • The majority of these donors say that in the past two years, their giving stayed the same or even grew amid political and cultural polarization (94%), global instability (94%), and economic uncertainty (87%).

What steps does your nonprofit currently take to steward and retain these donors?

For many organizations, the answer is “not enough,” and that’s understandable—fostering relationships with the highest-impact donors and running broad campaigns naturally take center stage for busy teams. But consider these easy steps you can take to better engage with them.

Start by understanding who these donors are. Revisit your segmentation strategies and rethink your donor pyramid or pipeline frameworks. The report cited above highlights that mid-level donors generally don’t demonstrate the same characteristics as major donors, so they’re easily missed if your focus is elsewhere.

Identify this segment of donors for your nonprofit and reach out to express your gratitude for their past support. If you want to prioritize deferred, recurring, or non-cash giving, try focusing on this group first. Develop tailored messaging to drive engagement, make asks, and retain their support, whether that’s through joining a membership program, creating a bequest, signing up to volunteer, or another action that will push your mission forward in the long run.

To work toward your mission effectively and responsibly, you need to do more than just trim expenses and seek new ways to be efficient. You also must proactively look forward and build a solid runway for your organization to grow.

With all the trends discussed above, it’s an exciting time for growing nonprofits. Take stock of your current practices and donor preferences, and weigh your options. While there’s no one-size-fits-all growth strategy, there are tons of easy first steps you can take to find the perfect route for your unique organization.

Patrick Schmitt and fellow co-CEO Jenny Xia founded FreeWill at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2016. FreeWill’s charitable giving platform makes it easier for nonprofit fundraising teams to unlock transformational gifts, and to date has generated over $6.6 billion in new gift commitments for thousands of nonprofit organizations. Patrick hosts FreeWill’s popular webinar series, educating thousands of nonprofit fundraising professionals each month about planned and non-cash giving strategies.

Before FreeWill, Patrick was the Head of Innovation at Change.org, where he helped grow the organization to 100 million users in four years. Prior to that, he ran email marketing for President Obama and served as Campaign Director for MoveOn.org.

3 Tips for Marketing Your Organization on a Limited Budget

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, email, marketing, newsletter, social media, website , , , , , ,

Marketing your organization on a budget is easy when you know the right strategies and tools to use. Explore these top tips to step up your marketing strategy. 

By Olivia Mode-Cater

Picture this: your organization is about to host another fundraising event. You’ve assembled a fundraising team, booked a venue, and put together the perfect program agenda. Once it comes time to get the word out about your event, you quickly realize you don’t have that much money left in your budget to create promotional materials and decide to deprioritize marketing. However, this results in low attendance numbers, causing you to miss the mark on your fundraising goal. 

If this sounds like a situation your organization has been in before, you need to update your approach to marketing. Even if you’re strapped for cash, there are a variety of ways to get the word out about your events, campaigns, and current initiatives without spending a single dollar! 

In this article, we’ll go over three money-saving tips that you can use to market your organization and get the support you need: 

  • Keep your website content fresh
  • Generate quality social media content
  • Create compelling email newsletters 

Whether you’re a dance studio hoping to promote your donation form for your year-end campaign or a nonprofit that wants to market its monthly giving program, the right marketing strategies and tools can help. Let’s dig into the essentials.

Keep your website content fresh

Your website is a rich information hub that acts as the focal point of your digital presence, but are you harnessing its full potential? By updating your website regularly and using it to spotlight your upcoming events, campaigns, projects, and more, you can successfully expand your reach and bring in new audiences for your organization. 

Leverage these cost-effective strategies to shape your website into a powerful marketing tool: 

  • Create event and campaign landing pages: Dedicated landing pages can help you dive deep into the details of your upcoming events and spotlight why it’s worth your audience’s time to register, donate, or take another relevant action. Cover all the logistical details, including the date and time of your event or campaign, its purpose, and how to get involved. Be sure to embed your registration or donation form directly into your landing page to help drive conversions and streamline your users’ actions. 
  • Share testimonials: Testimonials can provide great social proof that drives prospective audience members to support your organization. Create a testimonials page that features varied quotes from community members explaining why they support your organization or are eager to receive your services. For example, a dance studio might collect testimonials from students, parents, and alumni to show the value in signing up for classes. Similarly, nonprofits can feature testimonials from beneficiaries, explaining how your organization has made a difference in their lives. 
  • Generate blog content: Consistent blog content can keep community members tapped into your organization and eager to sign up for your upcoming events. Write content regularly, such as posting every other week to communicate important updates about your organization. To help offload the burden of creating content, you can also ask your beneficiaries, volunteers, donors, or loyal customers to create content reflecting on their experiences. 

As you refresh your website and create new content, make sure to widely promote these links to your audience. For example, if you recently created an event landing page to spotlight your upcoming peer-to-peer fundraising event, you could summarize the purpose of this event in your email newsletter and include a link to your landing page for people to learn more and register. 

Keep in mind that taking a multichannel approach, such as sharing links on social media or through QR codes in your direct mail, can help you direct multiple audiences to your website and keep your organization at top of mind. 

You might also leverage a dedicated communication app so you can more easily reach your target audience and ensure you have their support for your upcoming project. There are many cost-effective marketing platforms available that have built-in communication tools, so do your research to find the best solution for your organization. While investing in a marketing solution might seem like a big expense upfront, you’ll be able to derive a high ROI from it year over year, ensuring your organization can make back its investment and more. 

Generate quality social media content

With audiences spending more time on social media than ever before, regularly posting social media content is an easy money-saving strategy to ensure your content gets in front of your target audience. However, spamming content about your upcoming event or campaign can have the opposite effect, turning prospective audiences away from your organization and decreasing your engagement levels. 

Instead, construct a quality and intentional social media strategy that is tailored to your audience and supports your marketing goals. Use these tips to get started: 

  • Share a variety of visuals: Posting the same type of content over and over can quickly bore your audience. Generate a variety of visuals, such as photos from your latest event or infographics that highlight your organization’s impact, to grab your followers’ attention. You could also tap into the power of video, which can help you convey important information in an easily digestible format. Double the Donation’s guide to fundraising videos recommends keeping your video short and sweet and ending in a firm call to action so audiences know how to get involved. 
  • Use catchy hashtags to expand your reach: Hashtags can open up your community to new audiences and boost brand visibility. For example, if you’re a dance studio hosting a dance-a-thon, you might use the hashtag #DancingForACause or #DancingForDollars to create interest. You can also feature your dance studio name or city in your hashtag to draw local audiences to your event, such as #YourCityDanceAThon or #YourStudioNameDanceAThon. When participants post about your event, encourage them to pair it with your dedicated hashtag. 
  • Consider hosting social media contests: A social media contest is a great way to rally your whole community around your organization while growing your reach. You might ask supporters or customers to post videos about why they support your organization, and then award the audience member with the greatest number of likes or comments with a prize. Pair a hashtag with your contest and ask audiences to tag your account in their post so people in their personal networks can learn more about your organization. 

As you share content on social media, track metrics, like impressions and likes, to assess your performance. You may have to make adjustments to your content to better appeal to your audiences and drive greater engagement levels. 

Create compelling email newsletters

Your email newsletter is the perfect place to remind people of your upcoming activities and include links to your website and social media accounts. To strengthen your email newsletters and maximize their value, use these best practices: 

  • Include an eye-catching subject line: Your audience receives anywhere from tens to hundreds of emails a day. To stand out from the crowd you’ll need to create a brief, yet compelling subject line that piques your subscribers’ interests. For example, a subject line like “Don’t Miss Out On Our Annual Halloween Fundraiser!” or “Register Tonight for the Event Of the Season!” summarizes the central purpose of the newsletter while drawing the reader in so they feel motivated to open your email. 
  • Break up your content with visuals: Make your email newsletters even more engaging by adding a variety of visuals, like photos, videos, and graphics. Ensure these elements are reasonably sized to create a positive user experience and avoid using too many visuals so your audience isn’t overwhelmed. 
  • Use clear calls to action: Firm calls to action direct your audience to their next step so they can easily complete it. Create call-to-action buttons that stand out from the rest of your newsletter content and ensure they are hyperlinked to the relevant resource, like your donation page or event registration form. You’ll also want to use succinct, clear language that creates a sense of immediacy. For instance, a call to action like “Donate by midnight to get your gifts matched!” gets to the point quickly while using time-bound language to spur action. 

DanceStudio-Pro’s guide to dance studio marketing also recommends using email to show appreciation to your audience. Once your supporters complete a target action like donating or registering for an event, automate a thank-you email conveying your gratitude for their continued support. This practice will help you develop strong relationships with your audience that will benefit your organization for years. 

Wrapping Up

Marketing your organization doesn’t have to cost your team an arm and a leg when you have the right tools and strategies! Assess your existing toolkit and make adjustments to your marketing plan as needed to optimize your promotional strategies. Keep in mind that adding an all-in-one marketing platform to your tech stack can streamline your approach and help you save money in the long run. 

Olivia Mode-Cater is an industry leader in dance education and dance entrepreneurship, having presented on these topics on a national and international level. Olivia’s work draws on her experiences as a veteran dance educator in all teaching settings: higher education, PK-12 schools, and studios. Olivia proudly joined the DanceStudio-Pro team in 2021 and now serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives.

Engage Your Donors With a Great Newsletter

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor-centered, email, marketing, newsletter, stories, writing , , , , , ,

In theory, a newsletter can be a great way to engage with your donors. In reality, that doesn’t often happen because most donor newsletters can be used as a cure for insomnia. They’re too long and filled with boring articles that brag about how wonderful the organization is.

The good news is you can create an engaging newsletter your donors will want to read. Here’s what you need to do.

Think about what your donors want

You need to include content that will interest your donors. Do you think your donors would rather read an article about your CEO receiving an award or one about Tina, a single mother who is having trouble making ends meet, but is grateful because thanks to your generous donors, she can get food for her family at the Westside Community food pantry? 

The answer should be obvious. Your donors want to hear about how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community.

If you’re a larger organization, you could create different newsletters for different programs or one specifically for monthly donors.

A print newsletter is a must

You may opt not to do a print newsletter because it’s expensive and takes too much time, but you’re making a mistake if many of your donors prefer print.

I think you’ll have more success if you can do both print and email newsletters. I recommend a short email newsletter once or twice a month and one to four print newsletters a year.

Donors are more likely to see any communication that comes in the mail, as opposed to the excessive volume of email most of us get.

Follow the Domain Formula, which was developed by the Domain fundraising group. A couple of things they recommend is to send your print newsletter only to donors and to put it in an envelope, not send it as a self-mailer.

They also recommend putting a donation envelope in your print newsletter. This is a proven way to raise additional revenue and you may be able to recoup your expenses.

You can also save money by creating a shorter print newsletter (maybe two pages instead of four) or only mailing it once or twice a year. You can print them in-house, as long as it looks professional.

Be sure you have a clean mailing list. If you can get rid of duplicate and undeliverable addresses, that’s another way to save a little money.

Remember, donors are more likely to read a print newsletter. But ask them what they like, and listen to what they say. If a majority of them prefer print, then you need to find a way to accommodate them.

Give some thought to your email newsletter

Your print and email newsletter are separate entities. Therefore, you shouldn’t email people a PDF of your print newsletter. Use an email service provider and a newsletter template to create the best experience for your readers.

Send your email newsletter to anyone who signed up for it and only to people who signed up to receive it. This can be both donors and non-donors. It could be a good cultivation tool for future donors. Give people ample opportunities to sign up for your email newsletter, but understand not everyone will want to receive it.

Use an engaging headline (not April newsletter) so you can stand out in your donor’s inbox and be sure people can read it on a mobile device.

Share your stories

Stories are the most important part of a nonprofit newsletter (print and email). Each newsletter needs to begin with a compelling story. If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell.

Client stories are best, but you could also do profiles of volunteers, board members, and donors. Focus on what drew them to your mission (more on that below).

Create a story bank that includes at least four client stories to use every year.

Don’t stray from your mission

A common article I see in many nonprofit newsletters is one about a foundation or major donor giving a large gift. This may be accompanied by a picture of someone holding a giant check. Of course, you should recognize these donors (and all donors), but why is this gift important? How will it help your clients/community?

For example – This generous $50,000 grant from the Westside Community Foundation will help us serve more students in our tutoring program. Many students have fallen behind since the pandemic started and are struggling to catch up.

Something else I see a lot is a profile of a new board member. Instead of focusing so much on their professional background, let your donors know what drew them to your organization. We welcome Jennifer Davis, Vice President of First National Bank, to our board. Jennifer has a brother with autism and is very passionate about finding ways for people with autism to live independent lives. 

Write to your donors

Write your newsletter in the second person, emphasizing you much more than we. Be personal and conversational. Say – You helped Tina feed her family or Because of donors like you, X number of families have been able to get healthy food every week. 

Leave out jargon and other language your donors won’t understand. Write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend.

I’m not a fan of the letter from the CEO because those tend to be organization-centered instead of donor-centered. If you feel you must include one of these, be sure to thank your donors.

Pour on the gratitude 

Never miss an opportunity to thank your donors. You couldn’t do your work without them. Every one of your newsletters needs to show gratitude and emphasize how much you appreciate your donors.

Make it easy to read (and scan)

Most of your donors aren’t going to read your newsletter word for word, especially your email newsletter. Include enticing headlines and email subject lines (if you don’t, your donors may not read it at all), at least a 12-point font, and lots of white space so your donors can easily scan your newsletter.

Stick to black type on a white background as much as possible. Colors are pretty, but not if it’s hindering your donor’s ability to read your newsletter. Photos can be a great way to add some color, as well as tell a story in an instant.

Use the inverted pyramid and put the most important story first (client story or profile), keeping in mind your donors may not get to all the articles.

Keep it short

Your print newsletter should be no more than four pages. Limit your monthly email newsletter to three articles. Some organizations send an email newsletter twice a month. Those should be even shorter – maybe just two articles. People have a lot going on and don’t want to be bombarded with too much information.

Shorter, more frequent updates, are often better.

Do the best you can, but do something

For some of you, putting together a newsletter may be too much to take on. You don’t have to do an actual newsletter, but you do need to keep your donors updated.

Do what you can, but be sure to update your donors at least once a month. You may find you have more success with shorter, more frequent email updates and postcards with an infographic a few times a year. You could also send a Donor Care Letter. 

Take time to create a great newsletter that will engage your donors.

Steps You Can Take to Ensure a Successful 2023

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, fundraising, marketing, monthly donors, thank you letters , , , , , , ,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice holiday and weren’t affected by severe weather and flight cancellations. My family rented a house on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland that wasn’t well suited for temperatures in the teens, but fortunately our return flight on Southwest took place after they were “back to normal.”

Now that the New Year is here do you wonder what’s ahead for us? The last three years have brought about so much change and uncertainty. Sometimes it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next. 

I’m sure your nonprofit continues to face challenges, but since the pandemic started many organizations were able to confront these challenges and make changes to the way they ran their programs and implemented their fundraising and communications. Some were successful and some weren’t.

If 2022 was not a successful year for your organization, you can work to make 2023 a better year. 

Here are some ways to ensure a more successful year.

Have a plan in place

You must have fundraising and communications/marketing plans. If you haven’t put together these plans yet, do that now! 

You know from past experience that you may need to make changes to your plans. In 2020, organizations that were able to make changes to a plan already in place were most successful.

Take a look back at 2022 to see what worked and what didn’t in your fundraising and communications/marketing. Incorporate what you’ve learned into your 2023 plans. 

Be sure your fundraising plan includes a diverse stream of revenue. Individual giving has proven to be successful. A lot of small donations can add up! Start or grow your monthly giving program (more on that below). Also, look into major and legacy giving. 

You can apply for grants and hold events, but those sometimes require more effort than its worth. Invest in strategies that make sense for your organization.

Revisit your fundraising and communications/marketing plans regularly and make changes as needed. Do this at least every two to three months.

Make sure that donor relations and donor retention are part of your fundraising plan. Those are key to your success.

Pay attention to your donor retention

Many donors have stepped up over the past three years to support nonprofit organizations. You don’t want to lose these valuable donors.

Donor retention should be a priority. You’ll have more success if you work to keep the donors you already have instead of focusing on getting new ones.

First, if you don’t already know it, figure out your retention rate. Do this after every fundraising campaign.

If it’s low, it’s something you can fix, usually with better communication. Donor retention is a huge problem for nonprofits. Your goal should be to have donors who support you for a long time.

It’s easier and less expensive to keep your current donors than to find new ones, so, once again, make donor retention a priority.

That said, you may have some new donors who saw a need and felt a connection to your cause. Don’t let these donors slip away either.

Ramp up your monthly giving program

Speaking of retention, the retention rate for monthly donors is 90%. These donors are dedicated to your nonprofit. 

I’m a huge fan of monthly giving. It’s always made sense, but it’s been especially crucial over the last three years. Organizations that had monthly giving programs saw a steady stream of revenue throughout the year. Donors who opt for monthly giving find it’s easier on their finances. Dedicated monthly donors have also stepped up and have given additional donations.

Work on starting or growing your monthly giving program so you can have a bunch of highly committed donors. A good way to start is to invite your current donors to become monthly donors.

Monthly donors are also potential major and legacy donors. Remember the importance of individual giving

Do a better job of communicating with your donors 

It’s time to say goodbye to boring, generic communication. Over the past three years, donors have seen real people with real problems in real time. They turned on the news and saw long lines at food pantries. They’ve witnessed a much-needed awareness of systemic racism in our society. They’re hearing stories about how families can barely make ends meet in the current economy.

It makes a difference if you can put things in human terms. Organizations that do this did a better job of connecting with their donors.

Don’t use jargon, such as at-risk and underserved. These terms are demeaning to your clients, especially if they’re people of color. Tell more stories and go easy on the statistics. If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell.

Better communication also means more frequent communication. Donors want to hear from you and they want to feel appreciated, too. Better, more frequent communication will help you raise more money. A communications calendar will help you with this. 

Keep relationships front and center

You may think the most important component of fundraising is raising money. While that’s important, so is building relationships with your donors. 

It’s hard to raise money year after year if you don’t build a good relationship with your donors. Every single interaction with your donors needs to focus on building relationships. That includes fundraising appeals. It’s possible to raise money and build relationships at the same time.

Good relationships with your donors will help you with retention.

Don’t forget about gratitude

A big part of building relationships is showing gratitude to your donors. Many nonprofits do a poor job with this. 

You need to start by sending a heartfelt thank you immediately after you receive a donation and then find ways to thank your donors throughout the year. Put together a thank you plan to help you with this.

Start the New Year off by making fundraising and communications/marketing plans, if you haven’t already done so. Prioritize donor retention, monthly giving, showing gratitude, and building relationships with your donors. This will help bring you more success in 2023.

Stay Connected With Your Donors by Creating a Communications Calendar

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, marketing, planning , , , ,

I like to emphasize the importance of keeping in touch with your donors throughout the year. I hope that’s a priority for you, too.

Your donors want to hear from you and don’t just want to be blasted with fundraising appeals. The good news is that better donor communication (thank yous and updates) can help you raise more money.

Ideally, you should communicate with your donors at least once or twice a month throughout the year. I know that might sound impossible, but it will be a whole lot easier if you put together a communications calendar (also known as an editorial calendar).

I like the term communications calendar because it emphasizes the importance of communicating with your donors and other supporters all year round.

Some of you may already have a communications calendar, which is great. Now is a good time to update yours for 2023 (it will be here before you know it). For the rest of you, here are some suggestions to help you get started. Even though it will take a little time to put together, it will be worth it in the end because you’ll be able to do a better job of communicating with your donors.

This is not just a job for your marketing department. All departments need to work together. Figure out what information you need to share and when you need to share it. You want a consistent stream of information – not three email messages in one day and nothing for three weeks.

As you put together your communications calendar, think about how you will use different channels and which audience(s) should receive your messages. You may only send direct mail a few times a year (and I hope you do use direct mail), but send an e-newsletter once a month and communicate by social media several times a week. You’ll often use several different channels when you send a fundraising appeal or promote an event.

Start big by looking at the entire year and then break it down by months and weeks. You’ll keep adding to your communications calendar throughout the year.

Your communications calendar is a fluid document and these past couple of years are a good example of how our world is constantly changing. We’re still in a period of uncertainty, so be prepared to keep things current.

Here are some categories you can use in your communications calendar. Some items will be time-sensitive and others won’t be.

Current events/News stories

At the beginning of 2020, most of us couldn’t predict the year we were about to have. There’s still so much going on. COVID is still a part of our lives, but now the bigger concern seems to be inflation and other economic issues. In 2022, we saw the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Who knows what next year will bring.

Many donors will expect you to address current situations. Keep them apprised of how all this is affecting your clients/community.

Updates

You need to keep your donors updated on how they’re helping you make a difference. Your print and e-newsletter should be included in your communications calendar. If you don’t do a newsletter, make a plan to share updates another way – maybe by postcard, email, and/or social media. Sometimes short updates are more effective.

Share your success and challenges, especially as we continue to navigate through the current climate.

Legislation

Advocacy alerts are a wonderful way to engage with your supporters. Be on the lookout for any federal or state legislation that’s relevant to your organization. Encourage people to contact their legislators about an issue or a bill. Then report back to them with any updates and thank them for getting involved.

Time of year

Is there something going on during a particular month that’s pertinent to your organization? Perhaps it’s homelessness or mental health awareness month.

Thanksgiving, the holidays, and winter can be a difficult time for some people. How can you weave that into an engaging story to share with your supporters? This will be another hard winter for many people.

Keep in mind your organization’s anniversary doesn’t mean much to your donors unless you can tie that in with how they’re helping you make a difference.

Fundraising and recruitment

Be sure to add your fundraising campaigns to your communications calendar. Obviously, these campaigns are important, but you also want to show gratitude and send updates during this time without inundating your donors with too many messages. Planning ahead will help you strike this balance.

If your organization has specific times it needs to recruit volunteers, add that to your calendar, as well. 

Thank your donors

Make this a priority! Find different ways to let your donors know how much you appreciate them. You can combine a thank you with an update. Do this at least once a month.

Events

Some organizations have started holding in-person events again. Some events are hybrid or just virtual. Besides your events, are there other events (virtual or in-person) in your community that would be of interest to your supporters? If so, you could share that on social media.

Ongoing content

If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell. Share a story at least once a month. Client stories (either in the first or third person) are best. Your stories need to be relevant to the ever-evolving current situations, so you may need to create some new ones.

You could also profile a board member, volunteer, donor, or staff member. Be sure to highlight what drew them to your organization.

Put together a story bank to help you with this.

Don’t stop communicating with your donors

As you hear about other relevant information, add it to your calendar, so you can stay connected with your donors/supporters throughout the year.

Here’s more information to help you create a communications/editorial calendar. A couple of these links also include templates.

Nonprofit Editorial Calendars

Free Editorial Calendar & Campaign Planning Documents

Get Organized With a Nonprofit Editorial Calendar

How to create and use a nonprofit editorial calendar

Google Grant Compliance: What You Need to Know

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, fundraising, marketing, website , , , ,

Complying with Google’s guidelines will help you maintain a healthy Ad Grant account. Here’s what any nonprofit needs to know about Google Grant compliance.

Google Grants have transformed the nonprofit marketing landscape. By meeting eligibility requirements, you can receive $10,000 every month to promote your cause through Google Ads. However, nonprofits must follow certain requirements to remain eligible.

Nonprofit fundraising professionals are likely familiar with the process of seeking grants and following compliance standards. Grantmaking organizations create standards to award money to nonprofits that will spend it in line with the program’s goals. Google Grants are no exception!

To keep your Google Grant account compliant, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the program’s rules, starting with why they were created.

Why Does Google Implement Compliance Requirements?

Every grantmaking organization, including Google, strives to fund responsible organizations and advance worthwhile missions. That’s why they require nonprofits to undergo an intricate vetting process and meet ongoing requirements.

For the Google Grants program, the primary purpose of compliance regulations is for nonprofits to create meaningful conversions, not just maximize ad spend.

When the program first launched, there weren’t many compliance rules. Instead of concentrating on connecting with likely prospects, nonprofits focused on spending as much as possible to increase search visibility. This led to nonprofits:

  • Advertising any content on their website, including pages that people wouldn’t find useful.
  • Targeting keywords that didn’t align with the searcher’s intent and brought unqualified prospects.

This decreased the program’s value and led to users encountering content they weren’t searching for. To counteract this, Google’s team created a list of compliance rules, requiring nonprofits to create meaningful ads for mission-centric topics.

A Rundown of Google’s Compliance Rules

To comply with Google’s regulations, you need to understand them. Getting Attention’s Google Grants eligibility guide explores them in-depth, but for now, here’s an overview of the program’s rules:

  • No single-word or generic keywords are permitted.
  • Keywords must have a quality score of at least three. 
  • Maintain a 5% click-through rate.
  • Have at least one conversion each month.
  • Include at least two ads per ad group and two ad groups per campaign. The official guidelines have indicated two ads per group in the past; however, Google has recently moved to RSAs and indicated that each ad group must have at least one RSA. This may replace the need for two ads in the future, but Google’s official guidelines haven’t changed.
  • Include at least two sitelink ad extensions (which link to additional landing pages within your ad).
  • Respond to the annual program survey.

Complying with these rules will also optimize your campaigns. For example, choosing high-quality keywords will display your ads to qualified prospects, while sitelink extensions will provide users with alternative ways to engage with your cause.

Tips for Complying with the Google Grant Rules

While it’s one thing to understand the program’s rules, it’s another thing to put them into practice. Let’s walk through ways to develop a healthy Google Grant account.

1. Set Meaningful Conversion Goals.

As mentioned above, Google requires nonprofits to have at least one conversion per month. A conversion is when a user completes an action that’s valuable to your nonprofit. 

While Google gives you free rein over your conversion goals, common ones include:

  • Online donations
  • Volunteer registrations
  • Event sign-ups
  • Newsletter sign-ups

The idea behind conversion goals is to ensure each ad serves a role in advancing your mission. So think about what will push your cause forward. 

For instance, an animal shelter might view adoption inquiry form submissions as meaningful. On the other hand, a community organization might track newsletter subscriptions. Also, remember different ad groups can track different conversions, so you’re not tied to one specific goal for the entire account.

2. Choose Valuable Keywords.

Another essential component of a healthy Google Grant account is keywords. Keywords should be relevant to your cause and connect you with people searching for content in line with what you’re promoting.

To comply with Google’s keyword standards, here’s what we recommend:

  • Leverage keyword research tools. As part of the program, you can access Google Keyword Planner. Brainstorm what prospects might search to find your organization. Put these terms into Keyword Planner to view estimated search traffic, how much you should bid, and keyword suggestions.
  • Check your keyword quality regularly. Google assigns a Quality Score to each keyword. A higher score means the ad and landing page are relevant to users searching that term. Regularly review your account and pause any underperforming keywords (i.e. those with a score below three).
  • Center each ad group around similar keywords. Focus each group on a specific theme and related keywords. For a wildlife sanctuary, one ad group might focus on generating volunteer registrations and include terms like “wildlife rescue volunteer opportunities” and “animal sanctuary volunteering.” Then, another ad group might focus on driving donations and target terms like “donate to wildlife rescue” and “animal sanctuary donations.”

Keyword research is critical for Google Grant compliance. Failure to choose relevant keywords can result in account suspension, so consistently revisit your performance.

3. Assign a Knowledgeable Google Grants Manager

Consider designating a specific person to manage your account, respond to performance data, and follow Google’s compliance standards. In addition to building relationships with monthly donors, that individual can reach new audiences as they refine your campaigns. 

However, many organizations don’t have the staff capacity to devote an internal team member’s time. Instead, they outsource the work to a Google Grants agency. Typically, a professional will manage the following areas related to compliance:

  • Keyword research. Backed by search engine marketing knowledge, an agency can pick keywords that meet Google’s quality standards.
  • Landing page optimization. Optimized landing pages will drive more campaign conversions. An agency will help pick and create promotable landing pages.
  • Valid conversion tracking. A professional agency will have experience with Google Analytics and can pick the right conversion goals for your nonprofit.

A professional’s expertise extends beyond basic Google Grant rules. They may also create ad copy and choose meaningful conversions.

Whether you assign someone internally or outsource the work, assigning a grant manager lays a foundation for maintaining Google Grant compliance. 

Google Grants empower nonprofits to share their stories online. Don’t waste this opportunity by not following compliance guidelines. Using the guidance we shared, you can start improving your strategies and getting more out of your grant every month.

Getting Attention contributed to the content of this post.

5 Data Hygiene Methods for Your Nonprofit

Ann Green Communications, database, donor relations, marketing , , ,

Is your nonprofit database starting to look like a library without a librarian? Use these 5 tips to clean it up and establish better hygiene practices. 

By Gabrielle Perham

Your nonprofit’s donor database is like a library. When a librarian is present, the library stays clean and orderly, with everything in the right place so visitors can quickly find what they’re looking for. Without a librarian, the system falls apart — you’ve got books everywhere, it takes visitors hours to find what they’re looking for, and no one’s getting the information they need!

The same thing can happen to your nonprofit’s donor database. If your nonprofit has operated for many years, you may have gone through different iterations of your data input procedures. Now, your database looks like a library with several different coding systems. If this sounds familiar, you’ll want to set aside time to do some cleaning and establish better data hygiene practices. 

As AccuData Integrated Marketing’s data hygiene guide explains, data hygiene is important for businesses because “dirty” data leads to inefficiencies in tracking leads, marketing missteps, and the inability to personalize outreach materials. The same concerns apply to nonprofits seeking to connect with supporters to increase engagement and boost donations. 

To clean up your nonprofit database, here are five data hygiene steps to take: 

  1. Conduct an audit of your nonprofit database. 
  2. Remove unnecessary or harmful information.
  3. Take a closer look at the data you have left. 
  4. Standardize processes for ongoing maintenance.
  5. Bring an expert on board to help. 

Conducting a little data cleaning now will put you on the road to better donor engagement. You’ll have greater confidence that you’re communicating with real people who are excited to hear your message. Let’s take a closer look at each step!

1. Conduct an audit of your nonprofit database.

To start the process of cleaning up your database, first assess the current state of your data. With an audit, you can conduct an official review of your database to understand which areas contain the highest number of inaccuracies, what information is missing, and where there are gaps in your data. Recharity’s guide to data hygiene best practices explains that an audit provides a “high-level overview of your database’s health.” 

To conduct a database audit:

  1. Identify problems you’re facing regarding data collection. What are the main issues your organization is facing that impede proper data collection? What are you looking to get out of the audit process? Identify these problems and goals up front so you can keep them in mind as you move through the rest of the audit process. 
  2. Pinpoint unhelpful information. Some of your data points (pieces of information) are probably inaccurate, outdated, or completely incorrect. Make note of these points because this information is more harmful than helpful. 
  3. Identify inconsistencies. Over the years, your team has probably gone through several different data input procedures, leading to different ways of uploading names, addresses, dates, and other types of information. Even if your process has stayed the same, there’s always the human error factor that can lead to variability. Use your audit to note any inconsistencies that have occurred. 
  4. Share the findings with your team. After the audit is complete, ensure all stakeholders (such as your board members and development director) are aware of the findings and on board with moving to the next steps of the data hygiene process. 

After reviewing your database from a bird’s-eye view, you’ll have a better idea of where you stand. This allows you to create a more accurate timeline and action plan for correcting irregularities and establishing better data procedures moving forward. Your nonprofit may even consider using an external source to audit your database, such as AlumniFinder’s free Data Quality Report, which provides a free analysis of the contact names, phone numbers, postal and email addresses, and dates of birth in your database.

2. Remove unnecessary or harmful information.

The audit process will reveal any information in your database that is irrelevant or extraneous. You don’t want to waste time and money sending marketing materials and messages to those who don’t want or aren’t able to engage with the information. Plus, you shouldn’t overload your database with useless information. 

Examples of these unusable data points include:

  • People on do not call lists: People who wish to opt out of telemarketing calls register with the National Do Not Call Registry. Businesses cannot call those who are listed on the registry. Nonprofits are generally exempt from these regulations, but if you partner with a commercial telemarketing company, you will have to comply with these guidelines. If this is the case for you, be sure to frequently scrub your call lists according to the registry. 
  • People on do not mail lists: Similarly, consumers who wish to not receive mail and emails from businesses can register with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) website, DMAchoice. If you work with a direct mail provider, keep an eye out for those who have registered for this service and respect their wishes. 
  • Minors: Remove names of minors (those under 18) from your database. If you conduct direct marketing to children, you can be fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 
  • Incarcerated individuals: Those who are currently within the prison system cannot respond to marketing materials. Remove the names of those currently held within federal and state prisons, county correctional facilities, and jails. 
  • Deceased persons: Remove any information about people who are now deceased. This helps prevent sending unwanted marketing materials to their family members. 

When you eliminate this extraneous information, you’re left with a database that contains only information about those who are interested in hearing from you and able to respond to your messages. If you don’t know exactly where to start on a process like this, data hygiene providers, such as AccuData Integrated Marketing, can assist you with removing these types of records from your database or suppressing them from your direct marketing efforts.

In future data-gathering efforts, remember that more data isn’t necessarily better. It’s more important to focus on gathering high-quality information that will help you get in touch with interested audience members. 

3. Take a closer look at the data you have left. 

After you’ve eliminated unwanted information, assess your remaining data with a magnifying glass. Getting the small details right could be the difference between conducting a successful marketing campaign or wasting your marketing dollars on sending materials with inaccurate names, physical addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses. 

In particular, it’s important to assess and correct the database errors you identified during the audit stage. Ensure your records are clean by:

  • Eliminating duplicate entries: Perhaps you accidentally recorded information on the same donor twice, inputting a slightly different spelling of their name. Or, maybe a certain donor changed their name, and now you have two separate entries for the same individual. Verify the correct entry and eliminate any copies that might have popped up over the years. 
  • Standardizing mailing addresses: For instance, are some addresses written out with the full spelling of “Street” while others just have the abbreviation “St.?” Do some addresses use the standard five-digit postal code, while others use the ZIP+4 code? Take this opportunity to standardize all mailing addresses.
  • Verifying email addresses: Scrub your email addresses to ensure all remaining addresses are real and active. This helps increase your email engagement rate and allows you to save time and resources by only sending newsletters and other messages to correct, active email addresses. 
  • Ensuring numbers and abbreviations are standardized: Besides just mailing addresses, you’ll want to make sure any numbers or abbreviations your team uses are standardized. This includes titles, ages, and any code words your team uses to categorize donors or prospects. 

Taking a fine-tooth comb to your data helps correct small inconsistencies that can add up to large issues. Your team will have more confidence in your marketing strategy moving forward. Remember, data hygiene companies can assist with these processes too.

Plus, this adjustment process will also give you an idea of areas where you can enhance your database. Using a process like data append, you can add missing information to donor records for a more complete picture of your donor base. This information may include adding accurate phone numbers, email addresses, employment status, net worth, or details about philanthropic involvement. 

For example, let’s say you’re looking to identify prospective major donors. You can use a data append to add information about a certain donor’s history of charitable giving to determine their affinity to give your cause and their ability to contribute a larger gift. This will give you a better idea of potential donors who are most likely to become major donors. 

As you can see, cleaning your data can open a new world of possibilities to enhance your marketing efforts and target a more specific audience. 

4. Standardize processes for ongoing maintenance.

To save yourself time and hassle in the future, it’s better to adopt continuous data hygiene practices than conduct occasional major cleanses. Set your team up for future success by creating an ongoing process for standardized data entry and maintenance. This includes: 

  • Standardizing data input practices. Outline the rules for team members to follow when they input new information into your nonprofit database. This includes procedures for inputting names, phone numbers, physical and email addresses, employment information, and all other relevant data points. 
  • Creating a data training process for staff members. Create a shared document that includes all the details team members need to use the database effectively. Review the process in a meeting or training seminar so everyone’s on the same page. 
  • Defining rules for handling errors. Mistakes are inevitable, but how will you correct them when they occur? Define this process and include it within your data input process documentation. 
  • Streamlining your donor-facing forms (like your newsletter sign-up page or online donation form) to only ask for essential information. This helps prevent the buildup of unnecessary or harmful data that clogs your database. By asking for only essential information, you can reduce the amount of extraneous information in your database. 

These regulations don’t have to be set in stone. Check in with your team and review your database frequently to ensure all new measures are effective and make adjustments as necessary. By creating a centralized, uniform process up front, you’ll have a strong framework from which to make changes or updates as needed. 

5. Bring an expert on board to help. 

Establishing good data hygiene practices can be challenging, especially if your database isn’t in good shape to start with. Whether you’re an in-house marketing specialist for a nonprofit or an external marketer who’s been hired by a nonprofit, you may not have all the expertise needed to take a deep dive into the data review process. 

If this is the case for you, it’s helpful to bring an expert on board to help you out. 

Professionals that specialize in data hygiene can help set your team up with a concrete plan for future data management practices. 

According to this blog post, database marketing specialists can assist with all of the processes above, plus provide services such as: 

  • Merge and purge: Identifying and combining or eliminating duplicate records in your database. 
  • File conversion: Converting files into useful formats according to your organization’s needs. 
  • A/B splits: Segmenting your data into groups to determine which marketing strategies are most effective. 
  • Parsing: Splitting up the elements of one record into separate fields in your database. 

These are all advanced services that take a deep dive into your database and configure it based on your needs. Beyond just data hygiene services, data marketing firms also conduct data enhancement, audience building, targeted digital marketing, and other long-term marketing efforts, leaving you with a stronger framework for future campaigns. 

By thoroughly cleaning your database and establishing standardized maintenance procedures, you can focus less on dealing with the effects of dirty data and more on making your marketing message stand out. Remember, a database marketing service provider might offer the push you need to carry out the data cleaning process more successfully. Good luck!

Gabrielle Perham is the Director of Marketing for AccuData Integrated Marketing. She joined the organization in 2017 and possesses more than 15 years of experience in strategic marketing, branding, communications, and digital marketing. She earned a B.S. in Marketing and an M.B.A in Marketing Management from the University of Tampa.

Personalization in Marketing: A Nonprofit’s Guide to Success

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, email, fundraising, marketing , , , ,

Personalization in your nonprofit’s marketing strategies is an important way to build relationships with your supporters to support long-term fundraising goals.

By Gerard Tonti

Personalized marketing is key for nonprofit success, especially when it comes to donor communications. Your supporters are much more likely to pay attention and feel appreciated when your nonprofit addresses them and their interests in your marketing initiatives. This helps build stronger relationships with them and maintain their support in the long-term.

Therefore, as you create your marketing plan, make sure your nonprofit effectively uses software to engage your audience and personalize outreach as much as possible. 

Here at Salsa, we work with all sorts of nonprofit organizations, helping them manage data that makes personalized marketing possible. We’ve found some of the most successful strategies to connect with supporters through data and effective marketing include: 

  1. Address your supporter by name. 
  2. Employ preferred marketing channels. 
  3. Launch a new donor marketing campaign. 
  4. Segment supporters by giving level. 
  5. Consider the geographic location of supporters. 
  6. Keep an eye on engagement metrics. 

The only way to completely personalize your marketing campaigns is to reach out to each supporter individually— every time. This is unrealistic and would use a lot of your organization’s resources and time. 

Therefore, nonprofits have devised techniques to personalize their messaging in a timely manner. Each of these strategies requires the use of an effective donor database solution. Keep this in mind as you’re exploring these techniques.

Now, let’s get started!

1. Address your supporter by name. 

This first tip might seem like a small detail, but it’s incredibly important to encourage your donors to actually read the messages you send to them. It’s a crucial step to establish a connection with your supporter, making it one of the foundations for effective communication. 

Consider your mail and email communications. Are you more likely to read a message with a salutation of “Dear valued donor” or “Dear [your name]”? Probably the latter! As an example, look at the two samples from nonprofit thank-you messages: 

Dear valued donor,

Thank you for your generous contribution to the buy-a-backpack campaign. Your gift is supporting the purchase of school supplies for hundreds of kids in the community. 

Compare that first message to the following: 

Dear Kiesha, 

Thank you for your generous contribution to the buy-a-backpack campaign. Your gift of $1,000 allowed us to buy new school supplies for 100 kids in the community. 

Using the supporter’s name in the introduction catches their attention and shows that the message is crafted for them rather than a mass audience. 

Other details included in the message were also designed to personally address the supporter’s action, including: 

  • Specifying the amount of the gift contributed
  • Communicating the impact of that specific contribution
  • Identifying the campaign that the supporter contributed to

By getting specific and using personal details in the messages you send supporters, you’re telling them the communication was crafted specifically for them. This establishes a more personal relationship over time. 

2. Use preferred marketing channels. 

There are a lot of different ways you can get in touch with your nonprofit’s supporters. However, your supporters probably check some communication channels more frequently than others. 

Using the channels your supporters pay the closest attention to is a great way to boost supporter engagement with your organization. 

How can you figure out which channels your supporters prefer? There are two primary ways: 

  1. Ask them. This is the easiest way to figure out your supporters’ preferences. Send them a survey and ask key questions about what messages they like the most and how they’d prefer to receive those messages. 
  2. Analyze marketing results. The other way you can discover your supporters’ preferences is by analyzing their past engagement metrics with various platforms. If you find that a supporter tends to open and click through your emails more often than other platforms, you should continue using email. 

Some of the channels you may consider analyzing and asking your supporters about include: 

  • Email
  • Direct mail
  • Phone calls
  • In-person meetings
  • Social media

After you’ve discovered the most effective and desired channels among your supporters, you can start integrating those channels into your marketing plan. 

Keep in mind, however, that the most effective way to communicate with supporters is through a multi-channel marketing approach. This means your organization will use a few separate channels to touch base with each of your supporters. For instance, you may use social media for frequent updates, direct mail to inform supporters about new campaigns, and phone calls to show your appreciation to donors after they contribute. 

3. Create a marketing campaign for new donors.

Many nonprofits tend to focus heavily on donor acquisition. In reality, it’s a good strategy to put more emphasis on retaining those supporters you already have. Retaining donors is a more cost-effective strategy with a higher chance of increasing your secured revenue. 

Specifically, the best way to increase your donor retention rate is to make sure your new donors feel welcomed and appreciated by your nonprofit. 

We suggest creating a new donor marketing campaign to accomplish this goal. An easy way to do this? Develop a drip campaign with information that will intrigue this audience. It looks like this: 

  • Develop templates and email drafts of information that new supporters will appreciate and engage with. Make sure these emails stand out and differ from one another. For example, you might send supporters a one-pager about the need for your mission, a summary of the upcoming events or virtual opportunities offered by your organization, and updates from your most recent program, all in separate emails.
  • Create a donor segment of new supporters. You can set up automatic emails to send to this group of supporters using effective marketing tools. Be careful not to send the messages too frequently as to not desensitize the supporters to seeing your name in their inbox, but send them frequently enough to keep you in the front of their minds. Once or twice a week should suffice. 
  • Provide the next step to drive engagement further for this group of supporters. For example, you might ask them to sign up for your newsletter, make a second gift, or register for your upcoming (virtual) event. Be sure to include this as an eye-catching call-to-action in your email communications. 

To make this possible, your nonprofit needs both fundraising and marketing software that will work well together. Salsa’s fundraising software offers an example of a solution that has features such as rich donor profiles and a seamless integration between fundraising and marketing to help nonprofits create these useful campaigns. 

4. Segment supporters by giving level. 

While you undoubtedly appreciate all of your supporters, some have a greater capacity to give and the ability to drive your mission further. 

That’s why as you personalize your communications, it’s important to recognize the donors with the greatest potential lifetime value so you can focus your efforts on developing a connection and relationship with them.

You can do this by segmenting your supporters by giving level (or prospective giving level if you’re using prospect research strategies).

Major donors and major prospects should have the most personalized interactions with your organization. You may go above and beyond with these supporters by: 

  • Setting up in-person or video meetings with them
  • Asking them for their opinions on your latest campaign
  • Giving advanced notice about major campaigns
  • Calling them more frequently with updates

Segmenting your donors by giving level gives your organization a better understanding of who your major prospects and donors are so you can specialize your outreach to them and make stronger connections.

5. Consider the geographic location of supporters. 

One characteristic that you should consider as you personalize your communications with supporters is where they live. This has been historically important for event planning as nonprofits send specialized invitations to their supporters who live in the area where an event will occur. 

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders, nonprofits have realized that geographic location is a less significant factor when hosting virtual fundraising events. Handbid’s virtual event guide explains how to host these and reiterates how they can unleash greater event potential by removing geographic restrictions to attendance. 

However, this doesn’t mean you should stop considering the geographic location of your supporters. 

Geographic location is important for communicating impact to your donors. For example, imagine you’re a donor contributing to a nonprofit that helps provide school supplies for kids. You might feel an even greater connection to this cause if you know your contributions are helping kids in your own community.

Drawing on the ties that supporters have to their own communities helps them feel like they’re truly making a difference that they can see in their everyday lives. 

6. Keep an eye on engagement metrics. 

After you’ve incorporated personalization strategies into your nonprofit’s marketing plan, be sure to keep an eye on the success metrics to see how they’re performing. Consider tracking the difference in the metrics before and after you implemented personalization strategies to ensure your communication is actually improving and you’re further engaging your audience. 

Some key performance metrics that you can keep an eye on include: 

  • Email open rates
  • Email click-through rates
  • Event attendance metrics
  • Survey response rates
  • Donor retention rates

As these metrics increase and improve, your fundraising efforts should also show signs of improvement. Keep an eye on all of your metrics in your nonprofit’s CRM software. If your donor database integrates seamlessly with your marketing and fundraising solutions (like Salsa’s Smart Engagement Technology), you should be able to easily track and measure success metrics. If you want to learn more about choosing and implementing software that makes this possible, check out this handy guide.  

Personalized marketing is key for your nonprofit’s increased donor engagement and retention strategies. It’s important to develop relationships and encourage a greater connection between donors and your organization. Use these six helpful strategies to get started with your organization’s personalized marketing. Good luck! 

Gerard Tonti is the Senior Creative Developer at Salsa Labs, the premier fundraising software company for growth-focused nonprofits. 

Gerard’s marketing focus on content creation, conversion optimization, and modern marketing technology helps him coach nonprofit development teams on digital fundraising best practices.

Email Newsletters: 5 Reasons to Stay in Touch with Donors

Ann Green Communications, donor-centered, email, marketing, newsletter , , , , ,

AP_Ann-Green-Nonprofit_Email-Newsletters-5-Reasons-to-Stay-in-Touch-with-Donors_hero

By John Killoran

Your email newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with supporters, but using extra tools and strategies can have a huge payoff! Check out the reasons why.

Like all nonprofits, your organization relies on the support of its donors and partners.You know that maintaining strong relationships year in and year out is essential to continually growing a stable base of support.

You already know, too, how to draft an effective email solicitation that attracts attention, gets to the point, and directly provides a way to give. But do you put this much thought and strategy into your email newsletters?

Think back to the earliest days of your organization. Starting a nonprofit requires consciously building a tight network of initial support to get your efforts off the ground. There’s no reason why actively developing strategies to keep everyone informed and involved shouldn’t still be a priority now that you’ve grown!

It becomes surprisingly easy to drift away from your founding mission when you don’t prioritize communication.That’s why email newsletters are such a crucial tool for nonprofits looking to stay focused, driven, and in touch with their stakeholders.

While every organization understands the need to stay in touch with donors and volunteers, they might not recognize all the interconnected reasons why focusing on your newsletter pays off in the long run. Crafting a perfect email newsletter gives your nonprofit the opportunity to:

  1. Promote all your digital giving outlets.
  2. Loop everyone in on your projects and goals.
  3. Boost overall donor and volunteer engagement.
  4. Connect all your campaigns and events.
  5. Build stronger relationships with donors.

Strengthening even one element of your email newsletters will boost their overall effect! By crafting more engaging strategies for your newsletters, you can make a serious long-term investment in your nonprofit’s ability to attract and retain committed supporters.

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1. Promote all your digital giving outlets.

Email newsletters are a perfect place to promote and explain new donation tools that your nonprofit adopts as its strategies evolve.

This doesn’t necessarily mean soliciting donations! You already conduct separate email campaigns to reach your fundraising goals. While you can certainly ask for donations in your newsletter, your recipients are presumably already committed to supporting your work.

Rather, focus on raising awareness and explaining new donation tools and platforms in the context of your next fundraising campaigns.

Check out Snowball’s rundown of PayPal alternatives for nonprofits for more information on how nonprofit-centric payment and donation platforms will catch your donors’ attention, help you pursue your goals, and conduct more engaging campaigns.

Consider how you could promote and explain these donation platforms in your newsletter:

  • Text-to-give tools to incorporate into your events
  • Mobile-optimized donation forms to boost mobile donations
  • Crowdfunding campaigns for specific goals or projects
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns leading up to major events

Plus, your email newsletter provides the perfect opportunity to learn more about your supporters’ preferred methods of communication and giving. Linking your recipients to a quick survey can have a major payoff for your mobile engagement levels by helping you refine your marketing and digital fundraising strategies.

AP_Ann-Green-Nonprofit_Email-Newsletters-5-Reasons-to-Stay-in-Touch-with-Donors_header2

2. Loop everyone in on your projects and goals.

Another reason to focus on your email newsletters is that keeping all your donors, volunteers, and stakeholders fully informed about your projects and goals is the first step to getting them excited and involved!

Use your newsletter to announce your next campaign or provide a sneak peek of your next major event. Give your readers the sense that they’ve received a special ‘inside scoop’ to build excitement and rally support. You might share updates on any of your projects, like:

  • Client success stories
  • Upcoming fundraising campaigns
  • New community initiatives
  • Advocacy projects and campaigns
  • Capital campaigns and major developmental goals
  • Grant writing projects and donor surveys
  • New partners and sponsorships

Aside from making it easier to get everyone involved, sharing regular updates is useful because it provides the opportunity to collect more feedback. Keeping everyone informed and engaged means you’ll be able to gather more information and insights to guide your plans.

How well do you know your donors? Simply asking for feedback on your projects or campaigns with a suggestion form in your newsletter can be a surprisingly effective method for guiding your marketing and fundraising strategies.

Plus, your most dedicated supporters will have plenty of ideas of how you could approach your goals. For instance, a longtime volunteer can likely share important insights as you develop a programming proposal for a grant application!

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3. Boost overall donor and volunteer engagement.

Keeping everyone aware of new ways to support your organization’s work and updated on upcoming projects will provide a natural boost to donor engagement. Your newsletter recipients will feel more involved, which will encourage them to get more involved!

This engagement boost will take several familiar forms:

  • Digital engagement. Keep your base of support updated on your online fundraising and social media campaigns to see an increase in digital interactions.
  • Volunteering. Use your newsletter to make volunteering easier. Promote upcoming projects, provide sign-up forms, and mention any incentives you’ll offer.
  • Financial support. Explain new campaigns and tools in your newsletter, giving your recipients a more intimate view of your goals and planning process.

Remember to take the opportunity in your email newsletter to provide some easy tools for recipients to further their engagement, too.

Corporate philanthropy search tools are a great example. Include a search tool that allows your supporters to search for their employers’ corporate philanthropy programs. Matching gifts and volunteer grants are the perfect way for supporters to boost their impact.

These programs are generally not used much, so some programs can be extremely generous. If your organization has an active volunteer program, check out the top volunteer grant companies from 360MatchPro for an idea of the extra funds you might be eligible to receive!

As a way to potentially address all of your supporters at once, your email newsletter is the best place to promote extra tools and options that can boost the impact of your supporters’ engagement with your work.

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4. Connect all your campaigns and events.

Actively connecting your various activities is a great way to grow engagement and make more effective solicitations when fundraising. Your email newsletter is the perfect place to put this strategy into practice!

Solicitations become more effective when supporters can clearly understand how all your events, activities, and campaigns fit together in pursuit of your mission.

Think about it: an online fundraising campaign that feels disjointed or disconnected from any of your nonprofit’s overarching goals isn’t particularly inspiring.

Rather, use your newsletter to clarify the connections! For example, here’s how you might explain and promote some campaign elements in your newsletter by framing them around the shared purpose of supporting an upcoming 5K:

  • A peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. Encourage recipients to donate, volunteer, and form teams as you raise pledges for the big race.
  • Your marketing campaign. As you promote the 5K online, ask your newsletter readers to share your posts and invitations on social media.
  • Merchandise promotion. Link to your online store, t-shirt crowdfunding campaign, or order form for your 5K shirts. Or explain how teams can design their own!
  • The grand finale event. Promote the big 5K in your newsletter, invite all your recipients, and provide important necessary information for participants and attendees.

In this example, all the cross-promotional effort and campaigning will result in a hugely successful event! Giving supporters multiple ways to get involved and using your newsletter to clearly explain how it all connects to support the 5K gives your entire network of support a clearer, more focused goal.

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5. Build stronger relationships with donors.

Finally, remember that the long-term benefit of focusing effort on your email newsletter is that it’s an effective tool for expressing gratitude to your supporters.

By thanking your donors and volunteers and showing how their support directly helps further your mission, you can reinforce those important relationships. Plus, you’ll be contributing to a healthy culture for your nonprofit, ensuring it can retain more and more satisfied donors.

There are a number of ways to use your email newsletter to build stronger relationships with supporters:

  • Provide updates and success stories on campaigns and projects.
  • Promote and thank your important community partners.
  • Recognize individuals who go above and beyond in supporting your work.
  • Invite your newsletter recipients to special thank-you events.
  • Share surveys and field suggestions to better refine your retention strategies.

Thanking your supporters means you’ll need to switch out of solicitation mode for a moment.

Building strong mutual relationships and genuinely expressing your gratitude does more in the long run for retaining valuable support than constantly soliciting more funds, even if your donors are consistently happy to support your campaigns.

A great way to make sure your messages of thanks in your newsletter stay effective is to focus on the language you use. Drop the fundraising jargon, and keep your tone warm and natural. After all, the support of these important partners is worth celebrating!

The most basic function of a nonprofit email newsletter is to share updates with your supporters and announce new projects, but incorporating some smart strategies and being aware of all the roles a newsletter can play will make them even more effective.

By using your email newsletter as a space to communicate, explain new donation tools, provide ways to boost engagement, and connect all your campaigns, you’ll strengthen your donor relations overall!

John Killoran

John Killoran is CEO of Snowball, an exciting new fundraising technology that makes it easy for people to donate in two clicks from text, email, web and social media sites.John pioneered SMTP payments and has been a major innovator in the mobile payments space for the past 5 years. When he is not running a company, he is cooking food for his family and telling his dogs to stop barking.

Stay in Touch Throughout the Year by Using a Communications Calendar

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, donor retention, donor-centered, marketing, planning , , , , , ,

37251899914_2155c24033_mDonor retention continues to be a problem and one of the reasons is poor communication. Nonprofits don’t communicate with their donors enough. Sometimes the only time we hear from organizations is when they’re asking for donations.

You must communicate with your donors at least once or twice a month throughout the year. If you’re getting stressed out wondering how you’re going to pull this off, then you need a communications calendar (also known as an editorial calendar).

I like the term communications calendar because it emphasizes the importance of communicating with your donors and other supporters all-year-round.

This is not just a job for your marketing department. All departments need to work together. Figure out what information you need to share and when to share it. You want a consistent stream of information – not three emails in one day and nothing for three weeks.

As you put together your communications calendar, think about how you will use different channels and which audience(s) should receive your messages. You may only send direct mail a few times a year, but send an e-newsletter once a month and communicate by social media several times a week. You’ll often use a number of different channels when you send a fundraising appeal or promote an event.

Start big by looking at the entire year and then break it down by months and weeks. You’ll keep adding to your communications calendar throughout the year.

While this post is primarily about setting up a communications calendar, you also have to share content your donors will be interested in. I’ll write more about that in future posts.

Here are some categories you can use in your communications calendar. Some items will be time sensitive and others won’t be.

Events

Does your organization hold any events? Besides your events, are there other events in your community that would be of interest to your supporters? This is a great thing to share on social media.

Legislation

Advocacy alerts are a wonderful way to engage with your supporters. Be on the lookout for any federal or state legislation that’s relevant to your organization. Encourage people to contact their legislators about an issue or a bill. Then report back to them with any updates, and thank them for getting involved.

Time of year

Is there something going on during a particular month that’s pertinent to your organization? Perhaps it’s homelessness or mental health awareness month.

Thanksgiving, the holidays, and winter can be a difficult time for some people. How can you weave that into a good story to share with your supporters?  In addition, think of creative ways to connect at other times of the year such as Valentine’s Day, spring, and back-to-school time.

News stories

There’s a lot going on in the news these days. You won’t be able to predict news stories in advance. However, if there’s a hot item in the news that’s relevant to the work you do, that could be something to share or use as an example of how you’re helping to make a difference for the people/community you serve.

Fundraising and recruitment

Be sure to add your fundraising appeals to your communications calendar. You want to highlight these and not inundate your donors with a lot of other information at that time.

If your organization has specific times it needs to recruit volunteers, add that to your calendar, as well.

Thank your donors

This is crucial! Find different ways to let your donors know how much you appreciate them. Do this at least once a month.

Ongoing content

If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell. Share a story at least once a month. Client success stories (either in the first or third person) are best. You could also profile a board member, volunteer, donor, or staff member. Be sure to highlight what drew them to your organization.

Create a story bank to help you with this.

Keep it up

As you hear about other relevant information, add it to your calendar so you can stay connected with your donors/supporters throughout the year.

Here is more information to help you create a communications/editorial calendar, along with a couple of templates.

How to Create a Nonprofit Editorial Calendar

The Power of a Donor Communications Calendar

Evergreen Editorial Calendar

Editorial Calendars – Resources for You