2021 has been a year of growth and learning for many nonprofit organizations and with the new year right around the corner, it’s time to start strategizing for 2022! There are many fundraising strategies your nonprofit can use for the upcoming year. Listed below is the first set in our series of successful fundraising strategies and tips.
Be strategic and personal in your solicitations. The person or organization sending out the message needs to include the why. Why they need a donation and what the organization will do with it. This email should be sent from their own email with a link to the donation form that goes directly to your organization. The best practice when you receive the gift is to call them and thank them for the gift.
If they are a new donor then you should ask permission to add them to your email list, newsletter, and any events. This makes the ask personal and will create more awareness for your organization, increase your donor database and raise more money. A personal touch fosters a relationship with your donors and makes them feel connected to your cause, encouraging them to interact with your organization even more.
Take the time to evaluate your donor data before you launch your fundraising campaigns in 2022. Make sure your organization data is clean, it doesn’t have duplicates, and you can use it to set up multiple campaigns based on history, review the donor’s background, and more. A best practice when asking for a larger donation is to review the donor’s background and giving history. By analyzing your donor database’s donor records, past giving, and donor analytics from 2021 and even 2020, you can create realistic goals that you could achieve in 2022.
What is donor retention and why is it important? Donor retention is the ability to turn donors into loyal supporters and have them repeatedly interact with your organization. This is a great way to measure the quality and effectiveness of your relationships with donors. An initial positive interaction encourages donors to make repeated gifts and continue to contribute to your nonprofit. The donors that continue to give are going to stay with your organization longer if the experience is positive and if they feel valued and they could possibly give more over a period of time.
The little things, like a phone call to a generous donor after a donation or a registration, personal thank you notes, putting a reminder about a birthday, etc., will help retain your donors. After all, everyone likes a little appreciation!
Let your donors know how their donation contributes to your organization. Send emails to donors thanking them for their donation and include a short message that shows what their donation goes towards. Whether the funds assist with a family in need, purchasing needed supplies, or building the organization. When you thank your donors and tell them how their donation will be used it acknowledges their donation to the organization making donors feel validated in their contributions.
Open communication with your donors is key to building a strong foundation for your nonprofit. We assume donors know everything about our organization but that’s not always the case. Communicate with your donors and keep them informed through your channels: email, social media, and the organization’s website.
Maintain all of your channels and keep them up to date with the latest news about any upcoming events, volunteering, and donation opportunities. You never know what opportunity will pique your donors’ interest and encourage them to interact with your organization.
Hold a virtual store like a virtual shopping mall where donors can bid or purchase different items from a website that you’ve created. This is a great virtual event you can set up and will last you all year. In your virtual shopping center, you can add new items and change the items listed in the store based on your preferences. Don’t forget to send emails to your donors letting them know you’ve added new items to your virtual store so they can stay on the lookout for anything that piques that interest.
If you are looking to hold an event that’s more interactive, then you can set up a hybrid event where donors can make bids on items in your virtual store. Donors will be able to interact with an auctioneer both live and virtually to place bids on the items. This is a great way to get the best of both worlds for your donors because people who are not comfortable with being live are still able to participate and vice versa. The virtual store is a year-round way to raise money and have continuous engagement.
There you have it, folks! The first set of our favorite fundraising strategies and tips for 2022. Read part two of our successful fundraising tips here.
In the meantime, if you would like to have a digital fundraising and donor relationship management consultation and demo to kickstart 2022, please click here: https://www.arreva.com/demo.