Fresh Look – Crowd Fundraising Trend
Crowd fundraising offers a huge new opportunity for nonprofits to acquire new donors and expand their base of support. Thus far it’s mostly been used for peer-to-peer campaigns, but one nonprofit recently employed it in a very clever new way.
Planning any special e-mail campaigns before the end of the fiscal year? This summer? If not, think about it. An e-campaign costs pennies on the dollar compared with print marketing. And the right message at the right time to the right market can empower your supporters to help you change the world.
Your success will be measured not by how many you send, but by how many get opened; then how many answer your call to action. Here are 10 basic tips to assure your email engages your audience. Oh, and I left an 11th tip out on purpose. It’s something that’s super important. If you think you know what it is, contact me with your guess. I’ll pick randomly from among the correct answers – the winner gets a 50-minute top-level review of their next e-appeal (a $200 value), at no cost.
This month’s SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you):
Remember in ‘The Graduate’ the one word piece of advice given to Dustin Hoffman? PLASTICS. That was seen to be the wave of the future (oh how long ago that seems, and how quickly something can turn from friend to foe…. but I digress).
Recently I gave another “P” word as my best piece of advice for nonprofit marketers and fundraisers. PERSONAL. I received a lot of feedback, so I’d like to revisit this word and flesh out its multiple meanings – and how getting personal can help you achieve your fundraising and marketing goals.
It’s a long way from “I like you” to the altar. Where is the ? Ask yourself if you’re trying too often to rush to the altar without an engagement. If you’re wondering why those folks who… “liked” you on … gave after being strong-armed by their friends… bought a silent auction item while first-time…
Philanthropy should not just be about big checks. We live in times of scarcity. How are you mobilizing your community in fresh and different ways? How are you building long-term capacity to sustain your organization? How are you creating stronger, deeper relationships with constituents? 1. Identify where your communities hang out.How? Lo for what groups…
The digital revolution has made it easier for each individual to beat – and march to – their own drum. This means we no longer lead the band (or, shall I say, brand). So if neither marketing nor development is wielding the baton, does it matter how they’re connected or separated? Yes! But the way…
Shall we join forces? Fundraising is not basketball, but it’s madness not to play as a team. I’ve spen with three nonprofits in the past several months that, rather than joining forces, have decoupled their marketing and development departments. I surmise they do this because marketing doesn’t understand development. Or development doesn’t understand marketing. Or…
Last month I began my 2012 series of monthly *SMITs (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you). The term comes from Tom Ahern of Ahern Communications. Thank you Tom! This month I’m channeling a wonderful two-part post from Karen Zapp’s Nonprofit Blog. Thank you Karen! Confession: this is all Karen; I’m just sharing. …
We’re six weeks into 2012, and our new year’s resolutions may be beginning to fade. For those on a June-July fiscal year, it’s planning time. What should we be thinking about when it comes to allocation of our energies and resources this year? First, let’s clear out some space. I’ve participated in many a planning…
The current zeitgeist is one of information overload, as highlighted in a recent article, Content Rivers and Information Gluttony. The availability of information is not the problem, however. We’ve been in overload at least since 1970, as described by futurist Alvin Toffler . Our inability to limit our choices is what gets us into trouble. …
A recent Forbes article described ‘5 Ways to Make a Killer First Impression ’ It’s not only prospective employers or on matches who form an instant opinion of you. It’s also true for prospective supporters. We should be dating our donors! Here are the suggested 5 ways to make a positive first impression, with implications…
When you see an “occupied” sign on a restroom these days, do you think of it differently? Personally, I picture folks camped inside with tents and generators and coing pots and placards. Whatever else the Occupy movement has accomplished, they’ve certainly changed the meaning of the word for all of us. It will never be…
Before the digital revolution, the philanthropic world was round. Today, the philanthropic world is flat. Paradoxically, despite increasing marketing efforts from nonprofits, giving in the round world was flat . In a flat philanthropic world, do we have the opportunity to change this? The new world order may finally force us to realize that we’ve…