technology

3 Ways to Enhance Donor Experiences with Digital Waivers

Ann Green donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, events, gratitude, technology, volunteers , , , , , ,

Leveraging data and making tweaks to donor-facing forms helps your nonprofit build stronger relationships. Learn how digital waivers improve donor experiences.

By Logan Lewis 

In 2023, donor retention was down significantly from the previous year. The number of new retained donors, or those who gave the previous year but never before, dropped by 18.7%. This trend goes hand in hand with lowered participation rates and a dip in the total number of donors supporting nonprofits.

In response to these patterns, nonprofits are advised to focus on stewarding existing supporters to build a strong base of loyal donors. This involves practices like frequently recognizing and showing gratitude to donors, creating multichannel fundraising and marketing campaigns, and improving the overall donor experience.

While boosting the quality of donors’ experiences can be easier said than done, making a small change like switching to digital waiver software can have significant, unexpected impacts. In this guide, we’ll explore how to use your waivers to build stronger relationships with your donors.

Offer accessible, convenient waivers.

Your nonprofit may use waivers for its volunteer opportunities or before fundraising events. These forms are designed to help protect your organization from costly potential legal issues.

However, traditional paper forms do have their drawbacks. Specifically, they are not sustainable, make it difficult to accommodate special needs, and can be cumbersome for supporters to complete on-site at events.

Fortunately, digital waivers provide a way to get around these issues. As Smartwaiver’s guide to creating a digital waiver explains, these waivers offer “increased accessibility through multiple language options and the ability to access waivers ahead of time, from anywhere.” This means supporters can access the waiver online through any device and complete it before the event. 

Online forms can be much easier for those with disabilities or other impairments to access and complete. For instance, digital documents can be read out loud to signees by screen readers, and visual elements like color contrast, screen brightness, and text size can easily be adjusted.

Create donor segments.

In addition to improving the waiver process itself, digital waivers provide easy access to important donor data. This data can be used to group donors based on shared characteristics, a process called donor segmentation. 

For example, you’ll have access to information like the donor’s birthdate, which tells you which generation they belong to. Or, you can track past waivers they’ve signed to see which types of events they usually attend, learning which projects they have an affinity for. 

These segments can be based on any factors that are useful to your nonprofit and its donor retention strategies. Common segment categories include demographics, psychographics, philanthropic history and behavior, and communication preferences. Segmenting your donors based on categories like these can be used to improve experiences with your organization in a variety of ways, including:

  • Tailoring marketing messages. Based on factors like supporters’ ages, communication preferences, and affinities for certain projects or causes, tailor the marketing messages you send to them. For example, if a supporter belongs to an older generation, you might opt to send them emails or direct mail rather than targeting them with text messages or social media ads. This increases the chance that they will engage with those messages and complete the desired action, such as donating or visiting your website.
  • Identifying loyal supporters. Make note of attendees and volunteers who also donate in addition to coming to events—these are likely your most fervent supporters. Create donor segments for these supporters to thank them for their support, provide exclusive updates, and offer early access to merchandise. Additionally, make sure to tailor your ask amounts based on these donors’ past contributions (i.e., don’t request a large donation for your year-end fundraiser when they’ve already donated their time and money throughout the year).
  • Recommending other ways to engage. With digital waivers, you can easily track an individual’s past involvement. For example, by searching a supporter’s name, you can view all of the events they’ve attended in the past and determine which projects, causes, and types of events they most enjoy. Create affinity groups for donors based on what they are passionate about, and send them messages inviting them to get involved in new ways that align with their interests.  

While every nonprofit looking to better engage and retain donors should segment and target its audience with tailored communications, this strategy is particularly important for organizations working with a limited budget. When you can reach and engage donors more effectively, you’ll have a higher return on your investment in marketing—in other words, you’ll earn more revenue per dollar spent on outreach.

Show gratitude to donors.

Demonstrating appreciation for your supporters’ involvement is one of the most important parts of donor stewardship. According to Double the Donation, strategies like mailing letters, calling donors, and even sending gifts are great ways to engage donors and show your gratitude. Additionally, taking the time to thank existing donors is much more cost-effective than recruiting large numbers of new supporters. 

The data from your digital waiver forms can help you customize each message, improving and personalizing the experience for recipients. For example, let’s say you want to thank supporters for attending and donating at a recent event. Reference each waiver to uncover helpful information such as:

  • Donors’ full names: Start your message on a personal note by greeting the recipient by name. “Dear Melissa” is much warmer than a boilerplate greeting like “Dear Donor.”
  • Contact information: Reach out to supporters through the contact information they provide on the form. Consider adding a field that asks them to identify their preferred communication method.
  • The event attended: Mention the specific event the volunteer participated in and highlight the impact that event had on your organization. After a beach clean-up day, for example, you might inform volunteers that the team was able to clean up 300 pounds of trash.
  • The role the supporter played: Ideally, you should have different forms for attendees and volunteers. Make sure to thank the recipient for their specific contributions, whether they attended or volunteered.
  • Donations made (if applicable): In addition to thanking the donor or volunteer for attending the event, show your gratitude for their financial support. Cross-check with your donation platform and reference the exact gift amount in your message. 
  • Feedback: Depending on which questions and fields you include on the waiver, supporters may have the opportunity to leave their thoughts about your organization, the event, or the waiver process. Be sure to address any feedback in communications to the supporter. 

Remember to consider the timing of these messages. Send initial thank-you messages for donations within 48 hours after the gift is made. Additionally, send “just because” messages throughout the year to stay at the top of donors’ minds. For example, you might send donors eCards or handwritten letters during the holiday season, on birthdays, or around the anniversary of their first donation.

To keep your nonprofit safe in times of economic uncertainty and falling donor participation, it’s critical to look after the donors you do have. Using digital waivers helps you unlock clues about donors’ preferences and passions so you can create convenient, personalized, and authentic experiences that make them want to continue supporting your mission. 

Logan Lewis is the Content Coordinator at Smartwaiver, the leading digital waiver service trusted by thousands of organizations around the world.

How Nonprofits Can Benefit from Remote Work

Ann Green Communications, planning, technology , ,

49833571136_54d28261f7_wThe nonprofit sector is experiencing an urgent need to conduct business from a remote location. The perks of this arrangement include preventing workers and volunteers from contracting illnesses, spending less money on overhead, having people across the world become involved in your organization, and more. However, it does take work to make your organization function in a digital world.

Communication is key

Just about everyone knows that communication is crucial to running a successful organization. However, a remote work environment can make this more challenging. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to be proactive and communicate with your team.

No matter the size of your organization, reaching out to all staff on a regular basis to check in is important. Setting up meetings with tools such as Zoom or Google Hangouts allows you to visually check in with staff and make sure they have what they need to complete their tasks, as well as holding them accountable for their work. This is also a great time to address triumphs and challenges in their day-to-day lives.

Encouraging employees to have casual conversations is also important in building an organizational culture. Instant messaging apps such as Slack or Discord provide a great outlet for employees to talk to one another in a more casual setting. These applications are also great for quick questions and a way for teams to talk throughout the day.

Follow Cybersecurity Best Practices

As a nonprofit, donors and those you serve depend on you to keep their personal information secure. Cybersecurity starts with your employees. It’s important to train everyone affiliated with your organization on cybersecurity best practices. This includes things such as how to identify a phishing email, the importance of using strong passwords, and what to do if they suspect a cyberattack.

It’s also very important to use the proper software. Provide organizational laptops, if you are able to, and require that employees only work on these devices. If this isn’t feasible, stress the importance of staff installing an antivirus program on whichever device they use. In addition, stress the importance of using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) if employees are working from a public Wi-Fi network, such as those at libraries and coffee shops if those are open.

If you are the victim of a cyberattack, it’s important to be upfront and honest with donors and the public. Having data backed up in another location will help you put everything back together quicker. However, when it comes to cybersecurity, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Work smarter, not harder

Creating an efficient workflow is important for every organization, but even more so for nonprofits. Technology like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can streamline many day-to-day tasks for your organization. A few examples would be emailing potential donors, donation processing, website chatbots, and tracking for tax and payroll purposes. These automated “bots” can be programmed from any location to perform any task for your organization, and can even make basic decisions on their own.

Automating tasks can help save you money on payroll and overhead, as well as making your organization active 24/7/365. This also frees up your workforce for tasks that require a human touch, such as connecting with donors and the public, creating strategy, and creating content for your nonprofit. In today’s world, this is technology that can be used by organizations of any size.

Be visible

In 2020, having a digital presence is more important than ever. This means having an easy-to-use and up-to-date website; being active on social media platforms; and reaching out to donors, other organizations, and the general public.

One great way to take advantage of online communication is communicating via video chat. Studies have shown that communicating visually is far more effective than audio-only communication. Reaching out to potential donors and volunteers via video is a great way to boost fundraising efforts. Thanking donors with a personalized video call is an excellent substitute for letting someone know you appreciate them if you can’t communicate in person.

Finally, in a sluggish economy, it’s especially important to communicate with the general public about what you’re doing and that you’re still active in the community. You can do this with frequent posting by email and on social media platforms, as well as encouraging staff to share updates on their own personal accounts.

In today’s unprecedented times, nonprofit organizations are some of the first to struggle. However, this does not mean that work needs to come to a standstill. Remote work and e-commerce are critically important today, and this trend will only continue in the future. Working to create a strong remote workplace will benefit your organization now, and in years to come.