Annual giving is the cornerstone to any nonprofit fundraising effort.
And while some organizations think of annual giving as a way to raise money for their operational expenses and other projects and causes, I’m about to let you in on a secret:
It’s not.
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I am so inspired!
I recently learned about Van Jones’ virtual reality experiment, Day of Empathy via this video (thank you, thank you, thank you to Nancy Schwartz for writing about this on her Getting Attention nonprofit marketing blog: OMG Experiment to Connect & Activate (Dream Corps Case Study). The idea is to use virtual reality to build empathy (i.e., to help people walk in the shoes of others) in order to motivate action.
The idea of using virtual reality to build empathy on a communal scale is brilliant!
And it ties back to Darwin’s theory of survival.
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People love to S-T-R-E-T-C-H their dollars.
This is the basic psychology underlying “BOGO” (Buy One; Get One free) and “2 for the price of 1” sales. For a variety of reasons, we’re crazy about getting a good deal!
If I get more for my money, that’s smart.
It’s frugal to find ways to leverage our family’s spending.
I like to use my money in the most effective way I can.
It’s easy to apply these desires – to be smart, frugal and effective — to the creation of compelling fundraising offers.
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Donor-centered fundraising is not about money.Huh? If that first sentence has you scratching your head, it’s time to take a moment.
I know. You’re thinking this is just semantics. You’re thinking that, of course, fundraising is about money. You’re thinking we can pretend it’s about something else but, seriously, we need money to fulfill our missions. I know what you’re thinking.
I want you to stop thinking that way. Because it’s getting in the way of you raising more (ahem) money. So… close your eyes. Breathe. Clear your mind. Ready? Okay… now…
DetailsImagine you’re baking a cake. You put in the flour, eggs, milk, and sugar, whip it all together, and put it in the oven for an hour. But, when the timer dings and you open the oven door, you find that instead of one perfect cake, you have two!
This situation is physically impossible (unless you’re a wizard or a magician), but it’s a good illustration for how matching gift programs can benefit your nonprofit.
When donors take advantage of their employers’ matching gift programs, they essentially double the amount of money that they give to your organization. Two cakes (I mean, donations!) for the price of one!
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Thinking about doing a “non-event” event where no one has to attend? It sounds great on the face of it. After all, Penelope Burk’s research revealed that many donors reported they like to receive invitations to events; they just prefer not to attend them. Win/win?
Not so much. It depends why you’re hosting the event in the first place. If it’s your only method of fundraising for the entire year, then fine. Go right ahead. Whether folks attend or not doesn’t much matter. You’ve made your single annual ask, received your gift and you’re done. All you wanted was money. Once. Right? Hold on!
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A super star!
Seriously, that’s what you are. But you may be wondering why I ask.
What’s in a name?
Recently, veteran fundraiser Jerrold Panas weighed in on the subject of development titles. He noted he prefers “Charitable Gift Planner,” “Chariable Gift Counselor,” and “Director of Donor Services” to the most often used “Director of Planned Gifts.” He also champions “Vice President for Philanthropy” over “Vice President for Development (or Advancement).”
This reminded me of a time when my boss and I went round and round on this subject. It was a good 15 years or so ago. We knew “director of development” was not exactly a transparent title [try looking up the definition of “development” and you’ll see what I mean].
“Development,” by itself, has little to do with philanthropy.
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In Part 1 of this article I encouraged you to make this the year you begin to study psychology and apply it more to your integrated development (marketing and fundraising) strategy. I shared with you an infographic developed by marketing strategist Gregory Ciotti that some of the psychology underlying human behavior. Because there’s a lot for nonprofits to learn and apply, I’m taking you through them one by one. Today let’s complete the Top 10 list.
Today’s focus is on donor retention, as our year-long “Dive the Five” virtual course continues! In fact, you can use the principles you learn here for donor acquisition as well. In for-profit parlance, we’ll be discussing how to “convert customers.” In non-profit parlance it’s all about turning prospects into donors and donors into repeat donors.
I encourage you to make this the year you begin to study psychology and apply it more to your integrated development (marketing and fundraising) strategy.
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Content is the heart of your successful fundraising strategy.
If you don’t sell it, you won’t connect with your audience.
And if you don’t connect with your audience, you haven’t got a snowball’s chance in you know where to persuade folks to give to you to further your mission.
This is where learning to become a master storyteller comes in.
I know you’ve heard this before. Storytelling is the meme du jour.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay real attention.