Learning how to fundraise can mean all of the difference to the success of your next campaign. To successfully and consistently fundraise for your nonprofit, you need a game plan. You may not have a ton of money to invest in creating an effective fundraising campaign. But there is plenty you can do with minimal cost and resources that will significantly boost your fundraising efforts.
Before you begin, consider a few key things about your efforts.
- Do you know who is most likely to donate to you? Could it be families, millennials, people you know, or those suffering from a specific problem? The key here is to know where your target audience is of most likely donors.
- Do you have a clear message? Your message needs to tell a story. Why are you raising these funds? What will they be used for? Why should someone donate to you instead of someone else? It’s important that your donation effort clearly outlines these elements.
Once you’ve taken the time to work out these details, you’ll need to ensure your donation campaign is organized and easy to use. To do that, there are three things you simply must have to increase donations.
#1: You Need a Simple Way to Accept Donations
Providing a simple way for people to donate is critically important. Make sure your organization is able to accept both offline and online donations. Today, donors are spending even more time online and on their mobile devices. If you want to boost donations, your nonprofit needs to reach people where they already are.
Plus, accepting online and mobile donations allows your nonprofit to offer more payment options to your donors.
For example, donors can:
- Make a one-time online donation or set up a recurring gift.
- Pay membership dues.
- Purchase fundraising products and merchandise.
- Register for fundraising events.
Your organization should look for a nonprofit payments partner with transparent fees, diverse payment options and the ability to quickly and easily get your organization set up with the latest payment technology.
#2: You Need Effective Social Media
To boost donations, you must get the word out about your cause and your efforts. A decade ago, most donations were done by direct mail or local charities. Standing outside a store to collect for a charity with donations of spare change was enough. Today, people donate online. If your nonprofit or other effort lacks a social media effort, it is truly missing out on donations. Here are some tips to make this as straightforward as possible.
- Create a blog or website that you will update with current information. Post links to this site on your social media pages.
- Create pages on social media sites to attract interest. Facebook is one of the strongest sites for donations.
- Connect with affiliated organizations on social media. Ask for people to share your page to gain attention.
- Complete the profile thoroughly. You’ll want to ensure your Facebook page tells the story so that people are encouraged to interact with you and donate to you.
- Keep it updated often. Daily updates are best during major campaign funding efforts. You’ll want to invest wisely in these efforts.
Donors want information. When you can provide them with information, facts, research, and a clear reason to invest, they will do so. Use photos and stories to make information come to life.
#3: Utilize an Email Campaign or Newsletter
Nonprofit organizations and even small time donation efforts should not see donations as a one-time offering. Rather, they should see it as an opening gift. When someone donates to you initially, encourage them to sign up with their email address to stay updated on your efforts. You can then use this email campaign to draw those people who have already shown an interest to come back to your website or donation pages to give more.
Providing accurate, detailed information is always important. When you want people to give to your efforts, you need to tell them why. Give them a reason to do so. Tell them how a donation can benefit them as well. In many ways, you’ll need to market your efforts much like you would a business. The key here is to bring people into the fold through education and a dedicated marketing effort.
