Remember: real, flesh and bone people are at the end of your campaigns and all fundraising marketing activities. That’s why authenticity is critical when promoting social causes. Approaching major donors means giving them a name, a face, and a purpose. Chances are your best supporters are already in your list. That is why most NPOs solicit a group of donors that could affect their organization immensely. These are your fundraisers. You need to target this group to maximize their already proven desire to give. They’re your biggest advocates! Analyze your campaigns, identify donors who give annually and at more significant amounts. Define and specify their trends for giving and their involvement in the nonprofit community. Check who are the donors who’re capable of doing more and put them into your prospect pipeline. Another essential aspect is analyzing your donation program. Approaches that attract small donations rarely translate into large ones. The main reason is that they lack time to build trust between you and your supporter. To cultivate significant contributions is very similar to developing a friendship: it requires sensibility. These bonds relationships with 2-way communication. Good friends know how to communicate and enjoy helping each other. With that in mind, finding supporters suited to this type of relationship requires following the fundraising cycle: Identification: This stage is where you’ll spot individuals in existing lists and campaign results. You could also reach out into the community to identify philanthropists and benefactors. Qualification: Qualify your leads regarding their mission goals, and ensure they have shown a willingness to give and support your cause, have previous nonprofit involvement, and a frequency of donating. Nurturing: Invite a prospect to a tour on your organization, to an event or a social gathering. Tailor the experience to their specific interests, and provide them first-hand access to see your work. Solicitation: This is a real balancing act. Experienced Development Officers will rely on the organic process of nurturing. If the previous step well performed, you might not need to ask at all. Maintenance: It’s an ongoing process. It’s important to show your donors that you appreciate their help and the impact it will have on your organization. The main goal is to bring them closer to your mission. However, friendships take time to solidify. Most NPOs report an 18 – 24 month period for significant donations. The secret here is to demonstrate that you can be trusted and relied upon. For nonprofits focused on growth, significant donations are the only difference between causes that fail and those that thrive. Even though they’re less frequent and require more investment, their high value can be life-changing.
So next time, make sure to keep your donors’ hearts front and center, and your communications in optimal shape because it just takes one person to be the difference between changing a neighborhood, a state or helping the world.
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