4 Keys to Raise Money in Today’s Attention-Sucking Nonprofit Jungle

Photo of 4 keys

Wondering where fundraising is heading in our highly networked, overly saturated, noisy-as-all-get-out post-digital revolution world? A world that’s really a jungle, with so much competition for attention — for-profits, other nonprofits, socially conscious businesses, political campaigns, friends, and family?

Your mantra can no longer simply be about “creating awareness.”

Alas, attention is increasingly ephemeral.

The new nonprofit currency is not creating attention. It’s building loyalty.

You simply can’t afford to keep losing 8 out of 10 new donors. Which means it’s time to reframe how you do fundraising. It can’t be primarily about going after money. It has to be about giving, and receiving, love. If you do it the right way, money will follow as a natural outgrowth. [I’m going to talk about this more in an article focusing on “connection” next week.]

Today, I want to explore 4 keys to raising money in our revolutionized technological zeitgeist.

Of course, sometimes it’s easier said than done.

Bad News/Good News:

The fundraising environment is altered. Mostly due to technology.

Lots and lots of technology.

AI fuels both predictive models and automation. Software enables multiple, simultaneous email campaigns. New tools allow easy sharing and engagement on social media. High quality photography and video can be made with the ease of a smart phone. Multiple new places regularly emerge to find and connect with potential constituents.  And on and on and on… If you feel you’re being hit almost daily with a firehose of new technologies, you’re not alone.

Technology has made it possible to do things never before imaginable.

But… possible and probable are not the same thing.

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Silhoette of person with light sabers

May the Force Be With You: Underused Year-End Fundraising Tweak

Silhoette of person with light sabersWhat if I told you there’s a teensy little digital upsell that could skyrocket your year-end fundraising results?  Would that be of interest?

Darn rootin’-tootin’!

Okay. Here’s something you still have time to do. It has to do with your website, so consider looping in whoever is responsible for that part of your year-end marketing and fundraising strategy.

First, let’s look at a typical Donation Landing Page with a call to action via some compelling text, maybe a photo, and a big, bold “Donate” button. Hopefully you’ve optimized it for mobile too.  And, no matter what device your donor uses to access the page, they’re able to complete their gift with no more than two clicks.

Check, check, check, check and check.

You’re well on the way (or not quite) to getting some nice traction for your campaign.

But… don’t stop there!

Because you can significantly boost your results if you add one simple thing.

I like to think of it as “the force.”

It’s not a light saber, but it’s similarly luminous.

It’s called a…

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Texting from mobile phones

10 Reasons Your Nonprofit Needs to Be Texting

Texting from mobile phonesFrom time to time, I host guest posts from professionals with niche expertise. There are just some things others know a lot more about than do I, especially when it comes to technology. Today’s article is one of those, from someone who really understands the ins and outs of text messaging and fundraising. Here’s what he has to say.

Nonprofits today face many challenges.

You do too! You’re busy and overworked, and the prospect of adding a new channel to your plate is daunting. But what if texting is a strategy that can help your nonprofit overcome some of the problems causing you stress?

  • Are people not paying attention to your messaging? People read texts.
  • Are your email numbers declining? Text messaging stats are rising.
  • Do you need to make things simpler? Texting is as basic as it gets. 

You can future-proof your nonprofit by embracing text messaging. Everything is going mobile, and putting a strong texting strategy in place puts you at the center of the action.

Here are 10 reasons why your nonprofit should use text messaging:

1. It’s Where People Are

Watches, phones, tablets, and more—so many people have them, and not only do they have them, they take them everywhere. These little devices have invaded our lives.

  • 97% of American professionals are within 3 feet of their mobile devices 24 hours a day.
  • 89% check their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up.
  • 75% take their devices to the bathroom, sometimes even falling asleep with them.
  • 69% have texted someone in the same room as them.
  • People look at their phone 144 times a day.
  • 35% said if they could only have one, they’d rather keep their cell phone than their car!

People are on devices, so reach them on a device. After all, a classic marketing mantra is “if you want to reach people, go where they are.” And texting is the best way to do that:

Just look at the open rates: 90-95% for texting vs. 30-35% for email.

To do: Generally, more than half of web traffic is from mobile devices. In a mobile world, you need a mobile-first strategy. To persuade yourself and your leadership you should really prioritize this, take a look at your website’s analytics and compare mobile to desktop traffic. It’s time to reach people where they’re at.

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4 Strategies to Use LinkedIn to Give Nonprofit Donors a Reason to Connect

Two business people meeting

When You Can’t Get Up Close And Personal, How Do You Build Relationships With Folks Online?

 

Are you Linking In?

If not, it’s time to take a new look at this social platform to appreciate it for the beneficial research and relationship-building strategy it can be for you.

I find it to be a highly under-utilized tool when it comes to building your nonprofit brand, establishing authority and credibility, researching and recruiting new volunteers, donors and employees, and building stronger relationships with your current constituents.

Today we’re going to talk about how to use LinkedIn to uncover new donor prospects and build donor relationships.

Not too much. Just four no-nonsense strategies.

To begin, let’s look at two connection models:

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December

Last Minute Strategic Year-End Email Appeal Tips

DecemberStudies show one-fifth of all charitable giving happens in December. For some organizations (maybe yours?), it’s as much as one-third. Year-end fundraising is not chopped chicken liver!

While you absolutely should be using multiple fundraising channels to get best results, right now whatever you’ve got planned for offline is pretty much cooked. So your best bet for boosting year-end results is digital.

What do you have planned online between now and December 31st?

Did you know more than 20% of all online giving for the entire year occurs on the last two days of the calendar year? Among digital strategies, email rules. According to M+R’s Benchmarks Study, email was responsible for 15% of all online revenue for nonprofits.  For over a decade, the last week of the year – and particularly the last day of the year– have been huge for online fundraising.

To boost your year-end fundraising success, you need to craft an email offer your donor can’t refuse.

How will you best convey your offer?

In a nutshell, you need three things for any fundraising offer:

  1. Problem you’re addressing — made real and relevant to the prospective donor.
  2. Solution you’re proposing to address the problem – with your donor’s help.
  3. Ask showing how the donor can help– the specific purpose and amount of the gift you’re requesting.

It’s really that simple, but let’s get a little more into the weeds so you’ve a better idea how to execute these three offer components.

1. How to describe the problem.

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Ukraine in the palm of a hand

Don’t Be Out of Tune on Ukraine

Ukraine in the palm of a hand

The fate of the world is in all of our hands

 

It’s out of tune when you fail to even acknowledge that which is top of mind for you constituents.

At any point in time.

For the last couple of years it was Covid. All the time.

At various points it was also a range of issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion, justice, law and order, or the lack thereof, individual rights and freedoms and, of course climate, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and droughts.

Right now it’s helping Ukraine and its people.

Whenever people are suffering, for whatever reason, it has a huge impact on the human psyche.

And when it’s in the news, that suffering and impact is hugely amplified.

People want to stop the pain.

If you can help people do that, they will be grateful to you.

How Can You Help People Now?

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Sign: Amplify Your Voice

Digital Fundraising Revolution: Annual Benchmarks Study; Trending Behaviors

Sign: Amplify Your VoiceYou’ve no doubt become familiar by now with the term “digital revolution.” It’s something that’s been dawning on us, slowly but surely, over the past few decades, and particularly in the past ten years with the advent of social media. How far has your nonprofit come? Far enough?

It’s hard to believe, but a mere ten years ago so few nonprofits had jumped on the digital bandwagon I began blogging about it. I even wrote monthly for a national social media blog, becoming their guest nonprofit expert. It makes me chuckle now, because use of technology is by no means my sweet spot.  But I was just so troubled by the elephant in the room too few nonprofits were naming.

Today, most nonprofits have a digital strategy. Some are even going so far as to discontinue direct mail entirely. I don’t recommend this; still, it’s testimony to how far we’ve come in a short period.

NOTE: I find abandoning direct mail a bit extreme and precipitous. A classic “leaving money on the table” rookie mistake. Merely substituting an online for an offline channel ignores today’s reality. What’s that? It’s a multichannel world. Sure, it’s more work than in the past. Where you used to just have to communicate in one space, now you must show up in many. Yet there’s good news: layering your strategies can result in richer engagement than before, because you’re meeting folks where they are and reaching people you’d never have before reached. And donors cross channels! The lion’s share of philanthropy still comes from direct mail, but things are evolving. Online giving may be precipitated by offline fundraising strategies. Even if you engage in direct mail, you need to consider the convenience of your prospects and donors. What makes giving easy, convenient and likely for them? Simply sticking to online fundraising may narrow your chances for success. Did you know average email lifespan is 17 seconds vs. direct mail’s average of 17 days?  Also, did you know 31% of offline-only first-time donors are retained for over a year, versus 25% of online-only first-time donors? So you’re going to want to hedge your bets and not just fundraise in one place.

Okay, back to the revolution.

Nothing accelerated the transformation to digital like the past year.

Is your digital adoption of a transformational nature? Has it fundamentally altered how you do business? We’re at a transformation tipping point, and transformation doesn’t move backwards.

Going digital is now an in-your-face proposition that can’t be ignored.

I’m about to share some data with you to demonstrate how online engagement and revenue grew in 2020. But first I want to share some broad perspective strategic thinking on the subject.

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December 2020 calendar page

Last Minute Strategic Year-End Email Appeal Tips

December 2020 calendar pageYou are a philanthropy facilitator. Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to persuade people to act now, during the most giving time of the year.

Studies show nearly one-third of all charitable giving happens in December. While you absolutely should be using multiple fundraising channels to get best results, right now whatever you’ve got planned for offline is pretty much cooked. So your best bet for boosting year-end results is digital.

What do you have planned between now and December 31st?

Network for Good and True Sense Marketing found a third of all online giving occurs in December, and more than 20% of all online giving for the entire year occurs on the last two days of the calendar year. And, among digital strategies, email rules. According to M+R’s Benchmarks Study, email was responsible for 16% of all online revenue for nonprofits.

For at least the last decade, the last week of the year – and particularly the last day of the year– have been huge for online fundraising.

To boost your year-end fundraising success, you need to craft an email offer your donor can’t refuse.

How will you best convey your offer?

In a nutshell, you need three things for any fundraising offer:

  1. Problem you’re addressing — made real and relevant to the prospective donor.
  2. Solution you’re proposing to address the problem – with your donor’s help.
  3. Ask showing how the donor can help– the specific purpose and amount of the gift you’re requesting.

1. How to describe the problem.

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