Julia C. Campbell and I were clearly separated at birth, and I’ve told her as much. Because I tend to agree – in spades – with everything she writes. [Plus, her middle name is Claire, so what further proof is needed?] Her recent article, 6 Ways Nonprofits Are Getting On Fundraising All Wrong, is no…
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Because I’ll bet you it’s not embracing two key elements essential to raising awareness and getting folks to engage with you in 2014 and beyond.
What’s that? (1) Content marketing. (2) Social media. For real.
Let me explain.
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You’ve probably heard this advice before. “Make your donors your heroes.” It’s a lot easier said than done.
As Jeff Brooks opined in You and your donors: Who’s the sidekick?, too often we get it backwards and tell donors how awesome we are; then we ask “How’d you like to be my sidekick?” Rather, we should think of ourselves as their sidekick.
One nonprofit director who truly understands this is Julia Wilson, E.D. of One Justice. [A former client of mine, I keep my eye on them like a proud Mama hen watching her little baby chick fly boldly off on her own). After their most recent, highly successful fundraising event, Julia wrote to me saying:
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This end of July (can you believe it?) Clairity Click-it brings a lot of great tips about how to plan ahead to take your fundraising to new heights next year. We start with resources, move on to thinking about measuring success, and then end with three core programs every development program should have in place: Donor Retention, Annual Fund and Major Gifts. You’ve got just about a month to get your ducks in order before prime fundraising season begins. To your success!
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Or… What Your Donors Won’t Tell You about Your Nonprofit Messaging.
At first blush, tepid tapioca and gooey hot chocolate might appear to have nothing whatsoever to do with securing vital resources to further your mission. Blush again.
Blush hard. Think of all the good things you could accomplish were you to more effectively master the art and science of fundraising. Feel the warm pink tinge beginning to creep up your neck as you embrace the errors of your ways over the past year. Or two. Or 10. Or even more.
Are you still doing things like it was 1985? 2000? 2008? If so, you should probably be embarrassed. Because I know very few organizations who are succeeding today using yesterday’s strategies.
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Last week, in part 1 of this post, I encouraged you to begin blogging if you’re not doing so already. And, if you are, to do so effectively. Make your blog the hub of your content marketing. It will simplify your life in so many ways, and become the anchor for your marketing communications…
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If you’ve been reading Clairification you know by now that I’m a huge blog booster for nonprofits. If you don’t have a blog yet, you should get one. Pronto! Yup, I think they’re that important. And don’t tell me you don’t have the bandwidth. You absolutely do. You just have to rethink your modus operandi.…
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Do you have a mature social media operation, or are you just a baby? Or a teen? Babies babble. Teens make it all about themselves. Are you simply using Twitter to babble? Facebook to say “look at me?” Or have you embraced a more full-grown strategy? The best place to start, and the fastest way to get there, is with a blog.
They’ve been around the longest, and they’re pretty tried-and-true.
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[I am responding to Andrea Kihlstedt’s Open Letter to me, Is The Donor Pyramid Really Dead, in the Guidestar blog. She was responding to my recent posts on the death of the Donor Pyramid in Fundraising Success Magazine: R.I.P. Donor Pyramid? and Maximize Social Business Blog How Social Media Toppled the Donor Pyramid – What that Means for Nonprofits.]
First, let me say this is a great dialogue to be having. The donor pyramid is a sacred dinosaur, and it’s good to challenge old assumptions from time to time. After all, the dinosaurs had a very good run, but even they became extinct.
Andrea says “no, the pyramid is alive and well,” making the case that (especially in capital campaigns) not all donors are equal. She also finds use for the pyramid in other campaigns, noting a Kickstarter campaign she recently worked on in which the biggest gifts came from donors who were approached face-to-face rather than via online strategies.
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I happen to currently be working with a number of nonprofits who are seeking to hire the perfect development officer. It’s got me thinking about what to look for in a candidate, and how to best assess someone’s likely ability to perform the job as you need them to perform it.
Of course, this will vary from organization to organization. But if you’re seeking someone to fill a one-person or two-person development shop, there is remarkable similarity in the performance habits (practice) and innate qualities (psychology) that will spell success.
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