14 Things Your Website Needs for Effective Fundraising in 2014

14 THINGS YOUR
FUNDRAISING NEEDS
IN 2014
Rich Dietz, Nonprofit R+D
Jamy Squillace, Abila, Inc.

Slides at www.slideshare.net/Abila/
© COPYRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2013 ABILA
2014

PRESENTERS


RICH DIETZ

Founder of Nonprofit R+D Technology Training for Nonprofit Professionals
Richard has over 20 years' experience working in
and with a wide variety of nonprofit, political, and
government organizations and holds a Masters in
Social Welfare (MSW) from UC Berkeley.
You can find Rich on his website
http://www.nonprofitrd.com
or tweeting @nonprofitrd.
@nonprofitrd
www.NonprofitRD.com/FB
www.NonprofitRD.com/IN
www.NonprofitRD.com/gplus

3

JAMY SQUILLACE
Director of Product Management - Abila
Responsible for Abila Fundraising 50, Abila
Fundraising Online, Abila Grant Management and
netFORUM Pro.
Jamy has 16 years experience in product planning
and management. Her goal is to create and evolve
solutions that fulfill customer desires and exceed
expectations.

4

AGENDA
• Introduction
• How to use this information
• 14 Things Your Fundraising Needs
• Website
• Communications
• Fundraising Campaigns
• Donor Loyalty
• Q&A
5

INTRODUCTION


MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslows_hierarchy_of_needs


ONLINE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Need a strong
Foundation


BEST PRACTICES? HOW TO USE?
A “best practice” = what works in your org
Its like a buffet
• Try and few things and see if you like them
• If it works, go back for more
• If not, try something else

Testing is the key,
• Much easier to do online


YOUR WEBSITE


1. MOST WANTED RESPONSE (MWR)
What do you want folks to do when they reach your site?
•
•
•

Who visits your site
What are they looking for
What do you need them to do

Too many choices = No action
•

Jam Study


1. MOST WANTED RESPONSE (MWR)

www.bestieswithtesties.org


2. PROMINENT DONATE BUTTON
Could be your MWR
Big, bold and easy to see
•

Don’t make supporters work for it

On Homepage and EVERY page
•

Every click loses conversions

•

Where’s the checkout?


2. PROMINENT DONATE BUTTON

www.coloncancerpreventionproject.org/

3. CAPTURE EMAIL
#1 way to raise money online…still
•

Email >> Landing Page

Opt-in box
•

Incentive to sign up

•

What’s in it for them?

Easiest way to connect and follow-up
•

7 touches – marketing principle

•

Follow up can be very effective – progress, success, more help


3. CAPTURE EMAIL

www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/


4. SIMPLE DONATION / REG PROCESS
47% of donors give up before they have made a donation because
the online journey is not intuitive and engaging
(http://www.nomensa.com/insights/creating-perfect-donation-experience)

Shorter is better
•

You can always ask more questions later

Strong single call to action
•

Remember the jam study

Form should be embedded on your website
•

At very least it should look like your website


4. SIMPLE DONATION/REG PROCESS

www.napervillehumanesociety.org


5. SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING BUTTONS
Allow supporters to spread the word
•

Let them share in the ways they want to share (options)

Social signals are key with Google now
Simple “Tell a Friend” Button
•

Add a strong call to action for them to do it


5. SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING BUTTONS

www.hcz.org


6. IMAGES AND VIDEO
Best way to tell a story
•

Much easier to create the emotional connection

•

Utilizes more senses

Most likely to be shared
•

5-10x more shared over text

•

More likely to “go viral”

50x easier to get page 1 with video
•

Forrester Research


6. IMAGES AND VIDEO

cej-oregon.org


COMMUNICATIONS


7. MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - #FAIL
Monthly newsletters no longer work
• Too much content, lost in the inbox
• Need shorter, engaging content
• Tell stories over multiple emails

Easy to digest / “Scanable”
Get the click

• Don’t put the whole article, click to read more
• Video will have the highest click-through rates (3-5x higher)

Single Call to Action in every email


8. WELCOME SERIES
Series of emails automatically sent

• New subscribers, new donors, new volunteers… get creative!
• Automated with your email provider (constant contact, mailchip)
• Allows them to get to know you better over time

Excellent Engagement

• 4x more opens, 5x more clicks – Experian Marketing Services

Ideal
•
•
•
•

Don’t ask for money again right away
Don’t bore them
DO tell them more about your work, staff, clients and especially…
Success stories


9. MOBILE
Need to work on this now …

• More email opens on mobile than desktop in early 2014
• 69% close or delete email if not mobile optimized
• 52% of users said a bad mobile experience made them less likely
to engage
• hubspot.com / litmus.com
• Check your stats

Website AND email need to be mobile optimized
•
•
•

What happens if they click through to your site?
Website redesign? Make it “responsive”
Email – use “mobile friendly” email templates


FUNDRAISING
CAMPAIGNS


10. MULTIPLE CAMPAIGNS
It’s no longer enough to run an End of Year campaign
and a Gala. You need to pepper your calendar with
multiple campaigns throughout the year.
More success with multiple, smaller campaigns for
specific purposes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Creates a sense of urgency
Shows donors where the dollars are going
Easier to show impact
Allows donors to fund projects they feel passionate about
Easier to test, track and make improvements
Lowers risk, increases ROI
Connect with all types of donors


11. STORYTELLING
Tell a Great Story
• Inspire them with your passion

• Individual stories are best
•
•

VS

People give to people
Emotion >> Rationality

• Make it timely
• Online Video is great way to do this

What donors want to hear about:
•
•
•
•

http://www.austinfoodbank.org/hunger-isunacceptable/

Organizational Impact (80%)
Success Stories (74%)
More details about the organization (71%)
Info on financial accountability (43%)

Community Philanthropy 2.0 survey


29

12. PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISING
“The process of empowering individuals and groups to raise funds
on your behalf”

Increases engagement and more effective
•
•

Creates community and deepens relationship
Response rates can be 100 times higher
•

Red Cross vs. Grandma

Great way to engage Millennials
•

71.7% of Millennial donors said they’d do it


13. EVENT FUNDRAISING
The planning, managing, and execution of an event designed to raise
money for a nonprofit organization.
•
•

Fundraising is the key
The purpose of the event is more important than
the type of event being held.

890%
EVENTS
You need this…
But spend your resources on
these.


DONOR LOYALTY


14. DONOR LOYALTY

• Definition:

• “The ongoing process of engaging with your donors so that they
contribute with donations and time to your organization over the
long term”.
• Also called – donor retention, donor engagement, donor
cultivation

• Key is to think about the “lifetime value” of your donors
• And then build relationships with those donors
• Maximizing lifetime value is something you do FOR donors
• Increase “use”

33

WHY IS DONOR LOYALTY IMPORTANT?
Easy way to stand out from the crowd
Vital for long-term health of your organization

• Much harder and more expensive to get first time donors
• 10% improvement in attrition can create a 200% increase in
projected value (Sargeant and Shang – Growing Philanthropy in
the United States – 2011)

Real life example – NJ Institute of Technology
• Lifetime value is not always obvious

34

STRATEGIES FOR DONOR LOYALTY
Thank you, thank you, thank you
• The power of “thanks”

• 21% of donors say they were never thanked
• 10% decrease in attrition, 200% increase in projected value

• Thank them multiple times throughout the year
• Create a thank you series (like the welcome series)

• Think of “next level” thank you strategies

• Calls, hand written notes, cards from the kids, etc.
• Stand out >> Increase donor loyalty

Welcome Series

• Increased engagement, increased retention

35

SUMMARY
1. Define Your Most Wanted Response
2. Have a Prominent Donate Button
3. Capture Email
4. Simplify Your Donation/Registration Process
5. Add Social Media Sharing Buttons
6. Use Images & Video
7. Improve Your “Monthly Newsletter”
8. Add a Welcome Series
9. Work on Mobile NOW
10. Add New, Smaller Campaigns to Your Campaign Schedule
11. Tell a Great Story
12. Get Your Donors Involved in Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
13. Add an Event
14. Increase Your Donor Loyalty

36

CONCLUSION
Don’t get overwhelmed by all of the strategies

Take action – Pick one or two ideas and implement
Only YOU can figure out what works for YOUR organization


NONPROFIT R+D - EMAIL LIST
Get updates about our upcoming
webinars and get our 5 part e-course:

www.NonprofitRD.com/of101e


Q&A
Contact Rich Dietz
www.NonprofitRD.com
rich@nonprofitrd.com

Contact Jamy Squillace
www.Abilia.com
jamy.squillace@abila.com


Download the Webcast Slides
www.slideshare.net/Abila/

Learn about Abila Fundraising Online
http://www.abila.com/solutions/fundraising-online

THANK YOU


14 Things Your Website Needs for Effective Fundraising in 2014

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