January 7, 2021
Launching a new campaign at the start of 2021? The fresh start of a new year can provide your organization with the opportunity to take stock of your donor engagement and outreach system. If you’re searching for new approaches to communicating with donors in 2021 that will strengthen donor relations, expand your donor pool, and bolster your funds check out these tips for engaging donors in the new year.
A big part of donor relations often comes down to your “ask” for donations. Donors know and understand this, but in order to keep your donor base feeling engaged and a part of your community, it’s essential to establish contact that goes beyond your typical ask for donations. A few ideas for communication with your donors that goes beyond the typical ask can include: bringing your donors closer to your cause with narrative story-telling, sending personalized gratitude messages for their end-of-year giving to engage them with your new year campaign, or informing donors about upcoming volunteer opportunities! Did you know that some companies will donate money to nonprofits of their employees’ choice for every hour their employees spend volunteering through volunteer grant programs? Let your donors know about this opportunity in your next social media campaign or email blast.
Peer-to-peer campaigns empower donors to get more directly involved with your organization’s mission than ever before by conducting fundraising themselves! In the internet age, crowdfunding has become one of the most popular ways for individuals to contribute to charitable causes. Peer-to-peer mobilizes the power of your donor base’s relationships to take your fundraising campaign to the next level!What are some of the best times to engage donors with a peer-to-peer campaign?
Donors are just like you in that they want to provide as much positive impact as possible without overextending their time and resources. Looking for a message to reach out to donors in the new year? Provide educational materials about new ways to give that your donors may not be aware of – this can inspire donors to contribute and bolster your org’s funds in the new year.Many donors are not aware of their eligibility status for matching gift programs; matching gifts are a form of corporate philanthropy in which companies financially match the individual donations their employees make to charitable organizations. Simply prompting donors with this information during the donation process or via email outreach and social media appeals can provide a powerful boost to a fundraising campaign, at no extra cost to donors. If you want to provide donors with guided next steps on how to match their gift after educating them about this incredible opportunity to double their donation, 360MatchPro by Double the Donation integrates seamlessly with GivingFuel platforms to prompt donors to check their matching gift eligibility and submit matching gift request forms to their company, all from within your online donation form.
Just because your organization wants to save time when conducting outreach, doesn’t mean you need to reduce your approach to one-size-fits-all. Donors have a sense for when communications and messages are tailored to them and when they’ve been sent a mass email.Incorporating automation to assist with your email outreach can ensure that your messages are personalized without creating extra hassle for your team.Donor management tools can assist your organization in tracking how your donors give, what events they attend, their payment methods, and other important ways in which they interact with your org. Knowledge is power and every data-fueled insight can bring you closer to your goals.
Social media is an essential part of any modern org’s communications plan, but how can you maximize the impact of your social media appeals? One way to make the most of your social media approach is to track your success online – stay up-to-date on your social media metrics by storing your org’s reach, clicks, and engagement on social. A little strategizing goes a long way when it comes to managing your social media approach! Entering a new year can be a great time to reflect on the systems and mechanisms through which you organize and conduct outreach and donor engagement. A smart approach incorporates tools that save your organization time and resources while preserving your organization’s unique voice. Get creative with donor engagement by applying these simple approaches and watch your connection with donors strengthen to start 2021 off strong.About Double the Donation: There’s an unnecessary gap between fundraising organizations and corporate giving programs, to the tune of $4-7 billion in unclaimed matching gift revenue annually. Double the Donation helps nonprofits and educational institutions increase fundraising from corporate matching gift and employee volunteer grant programs. Double the Donation maintains a database of employee matching gift and volunteer grant programs. With more than 20,000 entries in the database, Double the Donation presents match-eligible donors with their company’s specific program requirements, including a direct link to their company’s online matching gift submission portal or PDF download.
