Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016
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This document outlines 10 fundraising strategies for nonprofits in 2016 according to fundraising experts. The strategies are: 1) focus on relationships as they are key; 2) capture and tell your organization's impactful stories; 3) make donating easy; 4) tie fundraising asks to impact; 5) give donors ways to personalize their donation; 6) identify ambassador supporters; 7) create a monthly giving club; 8) try crowdfunding specific projects; 9) continuously build connections with donors; and 10) use data to showcase impact and stories. The webinar was presented by Susan McPherson, a nonprofit advisor and serial connector, to provide tips from successful fundraisers.
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Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016
- 1. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 1 Nonprofit Webinar Series The next generation of communications. UniVoIP welcomes you! Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016
- 2. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 Speakers Introduction Fundraising landscape Tips and examples Ideas and Q&A Webinar Agenda
- 3. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 Hi, I’m Susan (@susanmpc1). Founder of McPherson Strategies Serial connector Host of #CSRchat Advisor to startups & nonprofits Proud dog mom
- 4. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 How donors give has changed tremendously over the years. It’s not just checks. Today we have texts, crowdfunding platforms, website and social media buttons, and more.
- 5. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 But the “why” hasn’t changed all that much. Donors give when they feel moved, engaged and connected to a cause.
- 6. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 Today’s best fundraisers understand how technology has changed giving – but are also experts in human connection. Fundraisers are experts in human connection.
- 7. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 So, how can you succeed in fundraising in 2016? Here are 10 tips from the best fundraisers we know.
- 8. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #1: You never know where a connection can take you. Relationships are everything. .
- 9. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #2: Capture and tell your organization’s stories. Donors give when they feel moved, engaged and connected to a cause.
- 10. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 Ways to tell your story: Quotes from the people you help. Tumblrs and blog posts that feature individual experiences. Video, video, video. Snapchatting from on-the-ground operations. Photo journalism. Crowdsourced content from volunteers.
- 11. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #3: Make it easy to donate.
- 12. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 Things to consider: Is there one clear call to action on your homepage? Is the option to “donate” above the fold and emphasized above other actions? How challenging is it for people to fill out the form? Is there information you can leave off that’s not vital? How is the mobile experience? Is there an option to give a recurring donation?
- 13. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #4: Tie your asks to impact.
- 14. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #5: Give donors a way to make it their own.
- 15. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 How I celebrated my last birthday:
- 16. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #6: Identify your ambassadors.
- 17. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #7: Create a monthly giving club.
- 18. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #8: Try crowdfunding.
- 19. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 Things to consider: Focus on a specific project. Be realistic about your goal. Tell an awesome story. Plan ahead. Identify ambassadors. Offer compelling rewards.
- 20. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #9: Build the connection.
- 21. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #10: Use data to showcase your impact and tell your story.
- 22. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 22 Exclusive Phone Donation Program Empower. Enrich. Engage. Impact your community. Free VoIP Phones Event Sponsorships Limited time only l Call: 310.747.3232 Fundraising done RIGHT UniVoIP supports various fundraising efforts such as Telethons, Alumni events, Work-a-thon, Auction, Golf Tournaments and more.. Call 310.747.3232 or visit www.UniVoIP.org for more information. Free Cloud-based VoIP Phones: Advanced features: Application integration Auto attendant Mobility Conferencing Mass messaging Security Disaster avoidance And much more…
- 23. I Top 10 Fundraising Strategies to Power Your Nonprofit in 2016 #10: Use data to showcase your impact and tell your story. Questions? What are YOUR best fundraising successes? Thank you for participating! Susan McPherson susan@mcpstrategies.com @susanmcp1 Contact Susan! Webinar powered by
Editor's Notes
- -How technology has changed the giving landscape: no longer do people just write checks, or even go to a website to fill out a donation form. There are so many ways, platforms and opportunities to connect with and engage potential donors. It can be overwhelming, but it’s important for fundraisers to stay on top of these trends. We’re in the age where everyone can be a philanthropist – thanks to social media and easy, tech-based ways to give – anyone can donate at any time. It means consumers are bombarded with asks from every platform imaginable and from all sort of brands – this presents a challenge to nonprofits – but also an opportunity.
- While the format of how people give has changed, the why hasn’t really changed all that much. People act from the heart, not the head. They need to feel inspired, connected, etc. It’s that emotional touch. (INSERT personal anecdote of why you give to the nonprofits you give to –it’s because of those connections)
- While the format of how people give has changed, the why hasn’t really changed all that much. People act from the heart, not the head. They need to feel inspired, connected, etc. It’s that emotional touch. (INSERT personal anecdote of why you give to the nonprofits you give to –it’s because of those connections)
- While the format of how people give has changed, the why hasn’t really changed all that much. People act from the heart, not the head. They need to feel inspired, connected, etc. It’s that emotional touch. (INSERT personal anecdote of why you give to the nonprofits you give to –it’s because of those connections)
- Go out to as many relevant events as possible, host open houses, make sure you’re actually mingling when you go to conferences, etc. How many times have you gone to a conference or an event and been sitting next to someone and not introduced yourself? Or seen someone sitting and taken a seat a few chairs away to give them space? Don’t do that! Capitalize on every opportunity to meet someone and tell them about your organization. You may have seen that new research from Facebook - Each person in the world (at least among the 1.59 billion people active on Facebook) is connected to every other person by an average of three and a half other people. The more connections you personally make as a fundraiser, the more potential donors you’ll be able to reach in a meaningful way. ANECDOTES - Share examples of random people you’ve connected with at events/at dinners/etc. and how those relationships have lead to additional connections and helped nonprofits find new supporters.
- Donors do not want to hear about your organization and the programs you provide. They want to hear about the social impact that is made possible through their donations. Knowing and understanding impact is what makes donors feel like they are making a tangible difference in the world and are part of something much bigger than themselves. There are multiple ways to do this – and telling stories is the most powerful. Make sure anecdotes get captured – in whichever format makes sense for your organization. Focus on people, and how their lives have changed. This picture is from a Tumblr blog from Girls Who Code, an org that works with young girls to teach them computer coding skills. It’s really about showing supporters the people whose lives their touching.
- -Talk about these points.
- An online fundraising study found that the average nonprofit with a donation page within their website raised five times more than a nonprofit that sent donors to an external, unbranded donation site. At this point, most nonprofits have a “donate” page on their site, but many suffer from offering a poor user experience to potential donors. It should be incredibly easy for donors to make a donation when they see your homepage. You don’t want people turning away because there are too many lines to fill out in a form or because they can’t read the text on mobile.
- Talk through these points.
- Your donors are giving you money because they want you to use it to make the world better. Most donors will want to know how their donation is being used – specifically. Give concrete dollar amounts and what each contribution will enable your organization to do in the community you serve. This example on the left is from Fugees family, a nonprofit that’s focused on using soccer and education to help child survivors of war heal. Example on the right – from Adventure Project – empowers donors to be the ones saying where the funds should go. It really helps the giving feel more concrete. To boost the effectiveness of this approach, include compelling photos or videos showing these supplies being utilized.
- By adding a permanent fundraising option on your website, you can allow supporters to use their birthdays – athletic goals, weddings, milestones, or any other life events for that matter – as the perfect occasion to support your cause. And because your donor base will no doubt be celebrating birthdays and other life events all year round, you can create a consistent revenue stream, just from this one campaign initiative. Example above is from Nothing But Nets – birthday fundraisers are a great way to empower people to ask their communities to give. Just make sure it’s easy for donors to see this option on your site – and promote it through social media, newsletters, etc. You might also want to list the donors who have already donated their birthdays, etc. on the site or on social media to inspire others to do the same.
- . Speak about personal experience doing this and what it involved.
- . Just like brands hire mommy bloggers to spread the word about your product, you should look out for the people who have influence within potential donor communities and ask them if they’re willing to help be an ambassador. These are people who may have volunteered with you, donate frequently, share your content on social media, good friends of the organization, etc. The key is not just to ask these people for help vaguely but to give them the tools they need to help promote and get donations on an ongoing basis – think about creating an Ambassador Kit with social posts, how to host a fundraiser, the top 10 things you can do to support us, etc.
- . $500 may seem like a lot to ask your average donor, but what if you’re asking for less than $50/month? That’s less of a big ask – and it keeps the funds coming. Creating a “club” of insiders who give every month lets people feel like they’re supporting you on an ongoing basis and that they’re truly part of the organization. Be sure to communicate regularly with these people to make sure you’re telling them about the impact they’re creating. Adventure Project, shown on this slide, calls theirs “The Collective” and promises to share monthly stories of how The Collective’s donations are being used to impact someone’s lives. Be sure to have this option on your standard website donate form so people know they have this opportunity to be part of a community and create impact on a monthly basis.
- . In 2014, Forbes reported that 30% of the $5 billion raised through crowd funding over the course of a year went to social causes. That’s $1.5 billion. And the numbers continue to grow. Crowfunding is a huge opp – and you can use a range of platforms depending on what’s right for you. Crowdrise is a crowdfunding platform focused on empowering the fundraiser. They are going right to the source of the crowdfunding and empowering individuals that may or may not have ties to a nonprofit to start a campaign. They have a focus on endurance event fundraising, including a place to browse events, including the New York City Marathon and 2013 Spartan Races, and to fundraise for or give to those events. Indiegogo is a crowdfunding site for a variety of businesses and individuals, but also with a dedicated category to verified nonprofits looking to fund their campaigns. These campaigns would be considered grassroots, including disaster relief campaigns like that for Hurricane Sandy or the Restore the Shore campaign, which raised $1.04 million. CauseVox is a platform tailored for nonprofits and social good projects. . You can customize your donation page using one of the pre-made templates or by creating one of your own. Boasting the ability for non-profits to easily change the look of their fundraising page without a developer, CauseVox makes it easy to embed multimedia – like videos or Flickr slideshows – just by pasting a link. Perhaps one of the most buzzed about crowdfunding platforms, Kickstarter is a way to fund projects. It’s open to project-makers of any kind, but Kickstarter makes clear that it is about funding for projects, not charity or cause-related fundraising.
- . Talk through these points.
- People are going to decide to give when they’re engaged and believe in your brand. This doesn’t happen overnight. It requires ongoing, consistent points of engagement – both before and after they donate. You have to build the relationship over time – through these types of marketing channels: email campaigns – provide an update on the nonprofit’s latest developments and tell a specific story Thank you notes – send thank yous to your donors to tell them how their donation has helped. Social media engagement – upload pictures from on-the-ground work and tweet at your supporters thanking them for sharing your content, etc. Creating content and videos – the more content you have, the more you can draw supporters to your site and the more likely people are going to be to remember you the next time a conversation comes up. Events – host community events – possibly movie screenings, panels, etc. that offer value to your community and keep them connected to you Be clear on the messages you want to send – and send them frequently and strategically, since there’s a lot of noise to compete with.
- Showing is a far more compelling storytelling device than simply telling. Instead of merely telling your donors they’re making a difference, show them as concretely as you can – and use data, along with stories, to do it. Whether it’s on your home page, in a social media post or in a video – data is one of the most powerful ways to both get new donors and compel existing ones to continue giving. It’s both about showing your own impact and to help illustrate the problem you’re solving in the first place. Types of things you can show: how many jobs you’ve created, how many countries you work in, a percentage increase in economic growth, a percentage decreases for a specific illness, a number of people from your program who have gone on to graduate college for the first time. Of course, the specific data points will depend on your nonprofit, but it’s important for you to think about what type of data you want to collect ahead of time so you have the material and concrete examples you need to tell a compelling story of impact. Examples: Girls Who Code and on left She’s The First.
- Showing is a far more compelling storytelling device than simply telling. Instead of merely telling your donors they’re making a difference, show them as concretely as you can – and use data, along with stories, to do it. Whether it’s on your home page, in a social media post or in a video – data is one of the most powerful ways to both get new donors and compel existing ones to continue giving. It’s both about showing your own impact and to help illustrate the problem you’re solving in the first place. Types of things you can show: how many jobs you’ve created, how many countries you work in, a percentage increase in economic growth, a percentage decreases for a specific illness, a number of people from your program who have gone on to graduate college for the first time. Of course, the specific data points will depend on your nonprofit, but it’s important for you to think about what type of data you want to collect ahead of time so you have the material and concrete examples you need to tell a compelling story of impact. Examples: Girls Who Code and on left She’s The First.