How to Persuade New Donors to Join Your Nonprofit Mission
What makes us think a perfect stranger, who’s never given to our organization before, will choose to do so? It’s highly counter intuitive.
What makes us think a perfect stranger, who’s never given to our organization before, will choose to do so? It’s highly counter intuitive.
Does your nonprofit have an email newsletter?
I’d rather see you rock a blog, but let’s talk a bit about your newsletter. Since you already have one, you may as well make it better.
Otherwise, what’s the point?
[BTW: If you don’t have an e-newsletter, go read the article above about creating and rocking a blog. Also read this. A blog can serve the purpose of an e-newsletter, and do so in a more donor-centric, user-friendly fashion. IMHO]
Okay. Back to improving your newsletter.
The real point of a newsletter is to stay top of mind with your supporters.
Why?
Because you want to keep them, of course!
Just like with any relationship, if the only time someone hears from you is when you want something from them, they’re not likely to stick around.
Too often ‘Fundraising’ is made to sit in the corner while her step-sisters, ‘Content Marketing’ and ‘Online Communications’, get busy dressing up for the ball.
Poor ‘Fundraising.’
Her step-mother and step-sisters think raising awareness is more important than raising money.
They think all they have to do is look pretty, and they’ll naturally get chosen. Nobody wants to be bothered to include Cinderella (aka Fundraising) in the planning. After all, she’s “dirty.”
I’m a big believer in nonprofits borrowing from for-profit marketing research (they have more money to spend!). So I was excited to take a peek into the recently released 2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report commissioned by Social Media Examiner.
If you think for-profit marketing insights don’t apply to you, think again. You compete in the same space for audience attention!
Stop being satisfied with lagging behind your for-profit brethren. Get a head start on your social sector competition by reading the full 49-page report.
Don’t have time now? I’ve got you covered with this quick look at what’s happening in the world around you.
DetailsI cannot tell you how many times I begin a consultation with a small nonprofit, only to discover they have no real donor database.
They’re still using Excel or Filemaker or something that was developed for the program or finance department many moons ago.
I also find many nonprofits that do have a decent fundraising database, but they aren’t really using it to their advantage.
It’s the equivalent of having a 747; then using it to drive down the block to the corner store.
If you’re not exactly maximizing the resources you have, or if you simply don’t have the resources you need, it’s going to adversely affect your fundraising results.
We live in an era of ‘Big Data.’ Which means that understanding why data is important, what data is most meaningful to you, and how to prioritize data collection and evaluation strategies to help you reach your goals has never been more important.
If your fundraising and marketing strategy is not currently undergirded by data, I guarantee you’re missing opportunities, working inefficiently and leaving money on the table.
Could you use a bit of guidance?
Read on…
DetailsLast week I gave you my top priorities for nonprofit success in 2017: “Seven is Heaven.” I suggested you focus on each of these with written plans in the year ahead, and that you persist in improving your mastery in each area.
If you embrace these priorities, I’ve little doubt you’ll see greater success in generating the contributions your nonprofit needs to fulfill your mission this year — and in the years to come.
Last week, in Part 1, we covered the first four priority areas. Today we focus on the final three areas.
Details