I’ve written about this before. But since I continue to get questions, I’m writing about it again. Fundraisers wonder about the upsides and downsides in asking donors to cover credit card and other gift transaction fees. Hmmn… First, let me be upfront in letting you know my gut emotional response to doing this is “no.”…
DetailsYou may not think you have a “money left on the table” problem. But, bear with me. Because, in my experience, many, many nonprofits – perhaps most of them – have tables in waiting areas literally groaning under the weight of piles and piles and piles of unclaimed, unused money. You’ve done most of the…
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This is one of my all-time most popular posts. And since you’ve still got time to sprinkle a little magic into your year-end fundraising, I decided to share it again!
Consider each of these seven words a magic potion unto themselves.
The more of these words you use, the more powerful a spell your appeal will cast.
Each of these packs a bigger persuasive punch than you might imagine.
Let’s take a closer look at how this works.
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The absolute worst thing you can do the day after Giving Tuesday is nothing.
As tempting as it is to let out a sigh of relief that it’s over, resist that temptation.
It’s not time to relax yet.
Nothing comes of nothing.
And a huge part of your goal with Giving Tuesday should be to strengthen your bonds with donors.
That’s the real something you’re after.
It’s not just about the money you raise today.
Your goal with any fundraising strategy is to retain and, ultimately, upgrade these transactional donors. The name of the game in the business of sustainable fundraising is lifetime donor value. [Here’s a great book on the topic: Building Donor Loyalty: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Increasing Lifetime Value.]
Run towards, not away.
Like it or not, Giving Tuesday is a ‘special event.’ That means embracing both pre-planning and post event strategies. This, of course, is labor-intensive during a really busy time of year. Which is why I recommend #GratitudeTuesday as an alternative,than adding yet one more event to your to-do list. If you’re on board with a traditional #GT strategy however, youve likely put a fair amount of planning, resources and time into this event. This involves the attention of more than one staffer and/or volunteer. And it sucks time away from almost everything else in the week(s) leading up to it.
It can be a real drain.
Your job is to put a stopper in that drain so all your hard work doesn’t simply swirl down the drain and disappear. Would you work super hard to create a delicious soup you simmer over the stove for hours, maybe even days, and then take one little taste before you pour it out and start all over again with a new one? Endless work. And no one really gets to enjoy the meal.
DetailsWant to know something that constantly amazes me? When I give fundraising advice, people often tell me “Oh, Claire. That’s such common sense!” Indeed. Somehow, I’ve learned when we cross the thresholds of our organization we too often leave our common sense at the door. We make everything complicated than necessary, often burying ourselves…
DetailsActually, unless you’re an accomplished baker, this is easier than pie. Simply prepare to send 4 es the final week of the year. I know, it sounds daunting. But… it’s easy! In fact, you should be able to craft these 4 es in less time than it takes to bake a pie. And, they’re foolproof!…
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This year Giving Tuesday is December 2nd. So, soon.
If you’ve not done so already, now is a good time to think about whether or not you want to jump on the bandwagon and, if so, how. There is more than one way to slice this particular piece of pie. And, really, that’s what Giving Tuesday is – just one piece of your total annual fundraising strategy.
You don’t want to blow it out of proportion. But you probably don’t want to ignore it. Rather, plan ahead to put it into a context where it will complement your other year-end communications and fundraising strategies.
Let’s take a closer look.
What is Giving Tuesday?
I confess I’ve been a bit of an apologist for the “holiday.” I like to turn the tables by actually giving to donors, rather than asking them to give yet one more time during this busiest fundraising time of the year.
Plus, I often say if you want gifts, you must give them. What better time to do so than on giving Tuesday?
Of course, asking can also be a form of giving. So, I love appeals on this date that give people the option of giving money or supporting you in other ways (e.g., volunteering; in-kind donating; advocating, etc.).
It’s all philanthropy (aka “love of humanity”).
What 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’!
And it’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.
It’s called a “light box,” “splash page,” or “pop-up.”
Essentially it’s a window that pops, or splashes, or lights up the screen upon a certain trigger (on site entry or right before a user tries to exit the site). It generally stops visitors from interacting with the page until they consider completing a called-for action. I’m sure you’ve seen them, interacted with them and, most likely, been really annoyed by them in the past.
But the question you should ask is do they work?
Please don’t run your year-end campaigns based on the opinions of folks who aren’t professional fundraisers or marketers. There’s a reason why, despite the fact everyone seems to complain about them, pop-ups continue to be widely used on websites — nonprofit and otherwise. It’s because they actually work.
Here are some nonprofit case study examples:
They’ve shown as much as a 1,000% increases in email subscribers over a month of using pop-ups.
They significantly reduced landing page abandonment, generating a 44.2% increase in conversions when used as an exit pop-up for an emergency appeal.
They worked as an after-action pop-up for an advocacy alert, turning 15% of folks who took the action into monetary donors.
Let’s dig a little deeper
DetailsIn The Fundraising Story Is A Mirror, Not An Exhibit, Kevin Shulman of the Agitator-DonorVoice writes about how to tell a complete story. One that fully connects with donor emotion, and allows them to see, feel and enact their values. Rather than a narrative about the donor’s suffering, an effective story for fundraising purposes must…
DetailsYou likely collect a lot of data in your donor database, but is it really valuable to you? It’s not if you just let it sit there, rarely lo at it, and never run reports based on data that will help you with meaningful donor segmentation for appeals. And by that, I mean meaningful from…
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