Fundraising setbacks can happen to anyone, especially under challenging economic conditions. In general, fundraising dollars, donor participation, and retention rates decreased in 2023. Further, specific donor segments, like major donors, that held strong in 2022 suffered significant dips in retention.
Clearly, nonprofits everywhere are facing fundraising challenges. But there are strategies your organization can use to keep donors engaged and level up your fundraisers. In this guide, we’ll explore how to make changes that bring in reliable funding and engage more donors.
Let’s get started!
1. Start a monthly giving program.
Monthly giving, recurring giving, and subscription giving are some of the best ways to get dependable funding for your nonprofit. Double the Donation defines recurring giving as “when a donor opts to make regular donations to a nonprofit each month.” For instance, one of your donors might pledge to give $15 each month, resulting in $180 over 12 months.
You can frame your monthly program in different ways to get your donors involved. For example, some organizations create membership clubs for monthly donors. These donors then receive exclusive updates, invitations to special events, and dedicated newsletters. These donors become part of a community.
Others might welcome new recurring donors with gifts like branded merchandise.
See here for a screenshot of monthly giving program incentives from NWF (detailed in the text below).
For example, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) offers these items and incentives to new monthly donors:
- A subscription to its magazine
- Gifts
- A discount on merchandise
- Invitations to events
NWF also breaks down the impact of monthly donations to illustrate the tangible outcomes of donors’ support.
Keep in mind that you can also offer “gifts” to monthly donors that align closely with your cause but don’t cost you anything. For example, maybe your organization is a sports-related organization like a soccer league for disadvantaged kids. Monthly donations could earn donors prime seating, VIP parking, and early entry to games.
Finally, remember that gifts are not necessary to convince a donor to start giving monthly. Especially if your nonprofit has always used mission-focused approaches. You can engage your donors with virtual tours and insider updates, free and very enticing! Monthly donors invest in your mission so make them feel a part of it.
2. Use effective fundraising tools.
Nonprofits may also struggle with staff burnout and productivity during fundraisers. Recurring giving programs help relieve burnout because of that sustainable revenue you can count on, but other tasks could still be burdening your staff.
Fundraising tools can give staff members more time and bandwidth to develop creative fundraising strategies, work with major donors, and address program needs. Look for fundraising software that:
- Automates repetitive tasks. Without a robust fundraising tool, your staff may have to send donation receipts, thank-you messages, and donation reminders manually. Seek out software that allows you to automate each of these tasks to free up staff time. Use automations (for example of welcome messages), where necessary but make sure that you give them a personal look and feel before finalizing.
- Tracks your data. Look for tools that record metrics like your revenue, total donors, and progress toward goals. This data reveals information about your donors (e.g., their preferred donation method) and keeps your records up to date. You can even go as far as gamifying campaigns with fundraising thermometers and leaderboards that depict your progress.
- Offers any specialized tools you need. You may need tools with specialized functionalities for some campaigns or events. For example, if you hold a silent auction, you’ll need tools like a mobile bidding app and a virtual auction catalog.
Effective technology can also streamline processes for your supporters. In turn, they’ll have positive experiences that keep them coming back. This is why 99Pledges’ guide to read-a-thon fundraisers recommends, for example, that organizations hosting read-a-thons use software with a reading log tool. Participants can easily record their progress online rather than print, keep track of, and submit a paper log.
No matter what type of fundraiser you’re holding, no matter the channel you’re using, look for technology that will streamline the process for your staff and donors.
3. Spread awareness of matching gifts.
Did you know that there are ways for your donors to boost their impact without spending more? One of the most common ways to do this is with matching gifts.
Matching gift programs are a form of corporate philanthropy in which companies match the donations their employees make to a charitable cause. If an employee donates $50 to your organization and their employer matches it, you’ll receive a total of $100. Typically, the matching gift process looks something like this:
- The donor gives to your organization.
- The supporter determines whether the donation is eligible for a match. Most companies match donations to 501(c)(3) organizations, educational institutions like K-12 schools and universities, environmental groups, and more.
- The donor submits a matching gift request to their employer.
- The company reviews the request and makes a matched donation to the nonprofit on behalf of the donor.
Unfortunately, many donors are unaware that matching gift programs exist. To receive more matching gifts, you’ll need to promote the opportunity to your supporters. Encourage them to seek out information about their company’s matching gift programs, add reminders to your donation form, and share the steps listed above with donors.
4. Leverage your data.
Using the data your nonprofit already has is a great way to enhance your fundraising efforts. This data allows you to learn more about your donors, their preferences, and why they support your cause. It can also help you evaluate strategies you’ve used in the past.
If you leverage Google Ads, you can measure success with metrics like click-through and conversion rates. These metrics show how many people clicked on them or completed an action, respectively. Or, you might launch an A/B test. These tests involve creating similar messages with one key difference (e.g., one uses urgency while the other uses storytelling). Then, you share them with different segments of your audience. Check the results of each ad to determine which strategy resonated most with donors.
Keep in mind that your data insights are only as valuable as the data itself—in other words, you need to ensure your dataset is accurate and up-to-date. Routine data hygiene practices, such as correcting errors, removing duplicate data, standardizing data entry, and appending missing data, will help you keep your data clean. Of course, having the right tools helps!
These strategies will bring more than just funding to your organization. They provide stability through diverse, reliable revenue streams. Over time, you’ll build a steady foundation of support that you can count on even when times are tough
