Moving Forward
“Where do we go from here?”
A great question. Everyone is asking it.
Focus on what you can control and pray for what you cannot.
Your vision is still the same. Use it to guide you through uncertainty. Be brave. Know who you are, for in doing so gives you access to tremendous power. You are a child of God. You are not alone. Moving forward, keep all these things in mind.
You must be true to who you are. God will bring like-minded people to your organization. These are people who want to accomplish the same thing as you.
Who are you trying to reach?
Your message is most effective when prospective donors see it more often. There is a fundraising principle, frequency over reach. Will you reach 100% of the people and persuade them 10% of the way? Or will you reach 10% of the people and persuade them 100% of the way?
The cost is the same. Having a robust list strategy ensures you are reaching the best prospects with your message.
The future of fundraising is bright.
Technology is eliminating barriers to giving. A person is more likely to donate if their experience is clear, concise, and effective with multiple channel options to give through.
Getting the most out of Your digital offering
Digital must be centric to all fundraising. From after- to forethought in your planning. This is the only way to stay ahead of the innovation curve. With the elimination of paper checks, thinking digital first becomes most important.
Converting people from social media platforms into financial contributors is realizing strong results. Direct people to your website where fundraising content can be found.
Your website needs to address three questions:
Who Do You Want to Come to the Website?
What Do You Want them to Do?
How are You Going to Measure Success?
More donor engagement equals more donor loyalty. The Donor Pyramid is still viable. Focus your time and resources on levels with the highest rate of return.
Not all donors are the same. Understanding this truth will help you unlock the Donor Pyramid’s treasure.
Back to the basics: 5 principles of fundraising
Show the need
2. Show what you are doing about the need
3. Invite the donor to help you solve the problem
4. Create urgency
5. If no action, what does the future look like.
Moving forward, stay focused on realizing your mission and vision. God will take care of everything else.
By Todd Baker
Baker is Vice President and Senior Strategist with Milwaukee Direct Marketing. He is the author of the popular blog book, OrgMarketing.com, which is required reading for UCLA’s Digital Fundraising Course, which Baker teaches as part of the university’s Certification Program in Fundraising. He writes the Fundraiser Confidential series for Fundraising Success Magazine and he is also known for the Baker’s Dozen fundraising series for the Nonprofit Times. Baker is also a contributing author to one of the bestselling nonprofit Internet books of all time, Nonprofit Internet Strategies and is also the author of Champions of Philanthropy. He is a former member of the Association Fundraising Professionals Board of Directors for Washington State. Baker spent more than 13 years with World Vision.