Continuous advances in fundraising strategies allow nonprofit professionals to more easily connect with donors to gain support for their missions. DonationMatch CEO and co-founder Renee Zau was joined by Julia Beltran of Double the Donation, Brian Lacy of NPOInfo, and Sarah TeDesco of DonorSearch for NXUnite’s “Upping Your Fundraising Game: New Tactics to Add to Your Roster” to discuss innovative fundraising practices for the current nonprofit landscape.
Speakers shared insights and actionable fundraising tactics from their experiences working in the mission-driven sphere.
Topics the panelists discussed were:
Importance of new approaches
The panelists began by discussing the value of implementing new approaches to fundraising. DonationMatch’s Renee Zau observed that novel tactics are especially necessary because of COVID; nonprofits must manage their virtual presence more diligently to be more easily found.
Renee advocated for evaluating your website and tools each year. As new technologies and strategies emerge, updating your digital strategy will allow you to reach people most effectively and lessen your workload. As Renee noted, digital outreach is often the easiest way for you to contact donors, as well as the most convenient way for donors to receive information.
One method Renee suggested for finding new tactics was to attend other organizations’ events. Participating in other nonprofits’ fundraising can often help you discover ideas for ways to improve your own practices.
Evaluating areas for improvement
Asking your audience what methods resonate with them will allow you to be consistent with popular tactics and stay updated on areas for growth. Double the Donation’s Julia Beltran emphasized the value of data-driven changes. Assessing your fundraising process before making changes will allow you to focus your efforts on areas that require the most attention.
Julia suggested starting your evaluation by looking at your tech stack. This is an opportunity to assess what you can automate and measure using your existing technology. Fundraising metrics from your software platforms can help you evaluate which strategies are most effective and what you can change.
You can use information already available to you before kicking off a new initiative. For example, Julia noted that most email marketing platforms provide open and click rate statistics. You don’t need additional email software to collect this information, and you can use the data to inform a marketing campaign.
Making an impact with limited resources
Limited access to resources may serve as a barrier to overhauling fundraising tactics. For organizations facing this obstacle, Renee advocated for leveraging corporate partnerships, whose benefits could include a broader audience for educating others about your mission, funding, potential new individual donors, marketing support, volunteering as teambuilidng, collection drives, and donated products and services of the company.
Many businesses have a variety of resources and reasons of their own for wanting to partner with you. Ensure that all the ways to participate in and support your organization are clearly shown on your website.
To find corporate partners, Renee suggested that nonprofits look at other organizations in similar fields and see which companies they partner with. However, be aware that corporations may be exclusive in their support.
When this is the case, nonprofits can assess the demographics of their own supporters and build a case for partnering with you, too. With data about who you can help partners reach, nonprofits can appeal to marketing departments by demonstrating that engaging with you would give the company access to a target audience through a win-win partnership..
Conclusion
Adopting new strategies allows nonprofits to maximize the return on their fundraising efforts. In response to challenges like COVID and financial constraints, organizations can implement innovative fundraising strategies to continue to effectively raise money and advance your mission.