Improving Donor Engagement Online

Improving Donor Engagement Online
Richard Dietz, Nonprofit R+D

Consultants have all the answers…
Nope, not really
Great at coming up with “Best Practices”
Only way to know if it works for YOUR organization is to test
Always be looking for what is working

Myth #6
(From the last webinar on Online Fundraising Myths)
The Only Real Way to Measure Fundraising Success is the Amount of Money Raised

Myth - Success Equals $ Raised
Think of the business world
“Sales funnel” = “Donor funnel”
Online donor >> Major Donor
“Raising Friends” is another measure
Engagement >> Peer to Peer fundraising >> Funnel
Friend of a friend could be major donor
Engagement is yet another measure
7 touches before giving - get them involved

What are “Engaged Donors”
Engaged Donors are those who are taking ACTIONS
Donate
Attend events
Volunteer
Recruit new donors
Engaged Donors are those who are a part of your “Community”
Interacting and communicating WITH your organization
Interacting and communicating with others ABOUT your organization (online and offline)
Building a relationship

Why do you want “Engaged Donors”?
More cost-effective to renew a donor than find a new donors
Engaged donors extend your organization’s reach into the world
Engaged donors do more:
More frequent donations, larger donations
Take more actions
Tell more people about your organization
Peer to Peer fundraising

How to Tell if Your Donors Are “Engaged”
They are taking actions
Back to the definition of an engaged donor
Social Media
Increased mentions
Increased fans / followers
Increased traffic to website
From social media, emails, etc.

Ideas to Nurture Engagement Online

Mind the Gap
The “Engagement Gap”
The gap between a first time donor and an “engaged donor”
What do you do with your first time donors?
Need multiple ways / methods to get involved
Need a graduated offering of actions
Start simple (forward this email)
Move on to more involved actions (peer to peer fundraising)

ASK!
1) Ask them to do small favors
Tell a friend, forward email, sign petition, comment on blog, volunteer
Every simple action will deepen the engagement and bond
2) Ask them what they want / need / care about
Easy way to engage and get them to do a small favor
The results will allow you to tailor content to what they care about

Events
In person and online events
In person - Gala, meetups, etc.
Online - webinars, online chats, Tweets, etc.
Get to know them on a personal level
Deepen the bond and cultivate those major donors
Smaller niche events
Eg. Women’s Caucus or Austin Chapter
Easier for individuals to connect

Listen / Connect with Influencers
Always remember that engagement is a conversation
Don’t just listen on your site, go where the conversations are already taking place
Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Largest growth on Facebook is 35+ year olds, with the 55+ crowd growing at 922%
Join the conversations in an authentic way
Accept and respond to criticism
Identify Influencers and engage them separately
Provide extra support to help them spread the word

Give Them the Content They Want
Community Philanthropy 2.0 survey, donors (30-49) want to hear about:
Organizational Impact (80%)
Success Stories (74%)
More details about the organization (71%)
Info on financial accountability (43%)
Segment and tailor your content
Examples - Obama and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Make it easy to pass it on
Tell-A-Friend / Forward This Page

Make It Easy
Make it easy to stay in touch
Capture emails, blog updates, RSS feeds
Make it easy to spread the word
Tell-A-Friend / Email this Page
Social Media Icons
Make it easy to interact
Blog commenting
Online forums
Facebook and Twitter widgets on website

Nurturing Engagement in New Versus Established Donors

Nurturing New Donors
Welcome Email(s)
1st 30 days is key - Research in retail sector
Higher open rates, click-throughs, and actions
Special invitations to events / opportunities
“Since you are a new donor…..”
Give updates on how their donations are helping
Give specific examples / Use emotion
Ask them to tell others
Tell-A-Friend scripts, social media, etc.

Nurturing Established Donors
Identify your most passionate donors and give them additional support
Need to identify them (CRM, Sage Fundraising Online, etc.)
Help them to spread the word
Segment and speak directly to them
Online tools make this much easier
Separate emails for your top supporters
Special Recognition
Events for repeat donors only (VIP’s)
Recognize at live events and in print
Name tags / Badges in community / Article in newsletter

Tools to Engage Donors
Constituent Relationship Management (CRM)
Tell-A-Friend / Send this article
Google alerts
Social media icons
Sage Fundraising Online

Conclusion
Donor engagement can lead to many good outcomes
Only YOU can figure out what works for YOUR organization
Check out the new online tools like Sage Fundraising Online

Question and Answer
Register for the next webcast in the series:Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
http://bit.ly/apHuSp
Contact Richard Dietz:
richard@nonprofitrd.com
512-850-6501
Contact Sage:
www.sagenonprofit.com
800-811-0961

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Improving Donor Engagement Online

by Sage Nonprofit Solutions on Jul 07, 2010

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Improving Donor Engagement Online — Presentation Transcript