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3 More Strategies + 6 New Tips To Boost Generosity
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PART 3
In Part 1 we looked at results from the recent Generosity Commission Report and how it’s important for you to shift your culture to meet the current moment. In Part 2 we got specific with 3 of 6 concrete strategies you can employ to meaningfully speak to the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s constituencies, while also meeting your own. Today we’ll finish the 3-part series with a look at strategies 4 – 6.
Let’s get specific: 3 more strategies + 6 new tips to boost generosity
In the past, you may have considered some of these strategies someone else’s job. Maybe you relied on your database manager, digital fundraising specialist, or volunteer coordinator. Yet all of these strategies are fundamentally important if you want to be a successful fundraiser. You can no longer ignore or “back burner” them. If you need help doing these things – and of course you do! – it’s part of your job to advocate for the resources you need. Let’s take a look at these three key strategies.
4. Segmentation and personalization – Drill baby drill!
Stop sending one size fits all messages. The wrong message to the right people? The right message to the wrong people? Both are crimes. Stop doing what you did 10 years ago. Today, you must segment donors by their passions, not by how much money they give. Technology facilitates much greater drilling down today, and you’re in danger of malpractice if you don’t use some of the new tools available. People are different, but in predictable ways. We know a lot more about psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics than we did in the past, and the more you incorporate science into your marketing, the more your supporters will feel your messaging resonates with them. This is accomplished by using what donors show and tell you to uncover their identities, rather than simply grouping traits into broad-brush personas (e.g., soccer moms; Harley riders) that tend not to accurately describe anyone in the group. One easy way to get more of this information is to find out how donors self-identify using a survey. Then, record this information so you can use it.
TIP 7: Even if you’re small, you can use artificial intelligence (AI) to target and enhance your messaging. Most of the donor databases and CRMs today incorporate AI to an extent, and you can purchase add-ons from companies like Momentum for major gift fundraising or DonorSearch AI for predictive modeling. AI facilitates radical connection in a manner most directly aligned with individual identities, interests, and preferences.
TIP 8: Since fewer folks in any demographic write checks, stop making checks your primary mode of payment. It’s not going to feel very personal to me if I never pay by check and you keep offering me that as my only easy option. If sending direct mail, include a QR code that goes to a landing page with multiple giving options. Add a variety of giving wallets to your payment options (e.g., Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay, Stripe, PayPal and direct DAF giving). Find some user-friendly interfaces here.
5. Hands-on engagement – Towards emotional state of mind
How about making “engagement opportunities” one of your core fundraising and marketing strategies? I’m not talking about so-called engagement metrics like “clicks,” “likes,” and “follows” (what the Agitator-DonorVoice gurus call the empty calories of fundraising/marketing). I’m talking about something more fulfilling for your constituents, such as specific acts that involve emotional commitment. The Generosity Commission Report suggests incentivizing participation by “offering perks such as service hours or free promotional items to engage younger generations who may be motivated by immediate, tangible rewards.” Consider how to bring people together, virtually or on site. Put this into a written plan, with goals, objectives, and who/what/when/where/how strategies and tactics.
TIP 9: Make it easy for people to participate on their terms. One of the findings of the Generosity Commission study showed that people want complete control over when and how to fit volunteering into their lives, which often isn’t possible with the volunteer opportunities they find. If you don’t have evening or weekend volunteer opportunities, consider them. They may feel like “make work” to you, but remember these activities are not just for your client beneficiaries. Begin thinking of donors as beneficiaries too. Remember the rising tide that raises all boats.
TIP 10: Consider creating activities that engage people’s passions: Cool memes or videos they’ll want to share with their networks; surveys; online quizzes; petitions and advocacy initiatives; conference calls; networking events, volunteer activities and more. Get creative, offer plenty of options (remember, different strokes for different folks) and think about incorporating joy into the process!
6. Grateful, multi-channel impact reporting
It’s time to tweak the “ask, thank, report, repeat” formula to add in a lot more reporting across the myriad media channels your constituents use. One thank you and a single annual report is not enough. Even adding impact stories to your newsletter is not enough. People have the attention spans of goldfish these days (under 8 seconds), so you need to cast your net far and wide. Multiple times. Multiple places.
TIP 11: Once you’ve found out the media channels your supporters favor, develop a written impact reporting plan that shares content across these platforms. Invest in creating more visuals (a picture is worth a thousand words) including short videos showing the tangible impact of your work in action (it’s fine to make them on your own smart phone). Leverage your influencers to boost trust. People often respond better when someone else toots your horn. They don’t have to be household-name celebrities. When I worked at a food bank, we asked mommy bloggers and food bloggers to share our content across social media. You can look to local religious leaders, school principals, mayors, neighborhood advocates, and the like. The end goal of all this reporting is creating increased human connection to your movement, whatever it may be.
TIP 12: Highlight the emotional aspect of your impact by telling simple, compelling stories; don’t just recite a bunch of statistics. Humans are wired for stories. In fact, your organization exists because of stories—stories of problems you’re working to solve, plus stories of donors helping you solve them. The best stories you can tell are those that lead from your collective community’s values.
A final word about giving trends and your role
Remember, a trend means something is shifting, either as a general inclination or movement, or in a statistically noticeable way. It’s a type of bending in a new direction, and if you want to adapt to the trend you need to be able to bend as well.
Unless you’ve been studiously adapting to changing times over the past decade, status quo fundraising and marketing is not going to set you up for success in the year, and decade, to come. Now is the time to re-evaluate your primary fundraising strategies.
Why is this important?
The Report notes: “Because nonprofit organizations are, and have been for at least a century, the bedrock of American civil society, providing important services and public goods that the government and the market either have not provided or will not provide.”
The raison d’etre of the social benefit sector is philanthropy (defined as “love of humanity”). 88% of nonprofits have budgets under $500,000. These smaller nonprofits rely considerably on individual contributions (as opposed to support from foundations or corporations). Because of this reliance, nonprofits of all sizes (not just larger, better-resourced organizations) need better ways to approach diverse potential constituencies.
Capacity building campaigns to create more love all around should become commonplace. To bring organizations to the next level requires investment, and the case for providing nonprofits with the resources and tools they need to survive and thrive in today’s marketplace should be shouted from the rooftops.
Want to reverse the generosity decline?
Start shouting!
How to Write a Fundraising Plan in 2 Steps!
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