Here are some great quick fundraising tips I picked up at Russ Reid’s 22nd Annual Missions Leadership & Development conference last week. The event took place in beautiful Newport Beach, CA (check out that sunset!).
I thoroughly enjoyed the event, and I hope you find the insights valuable…
Donors make planned gifts b/c they’re bought into your mission, not b/c of complicated brochures.
Cultivate board member relationships just as you would major donor relationships.
Build a successful board by creating authentic relationships with your members.
Be sure to affirm and celebrate the contributions your board members make.
If your nonprofit doesn’t have a strategic plan there’s still a 100% chance you’ll end up somewhere. But there’s at least a 50% chance it won’t be where you wanted to end up.
To build a strategic plan you’ve got to understand your organization’s mission and vision.
Good major gift officers are focused on the donor, not the organization.
If your branding doesn’t resonate with donors, it will kill your fundraising.
New 80/20 rule: Focus 80% of your investment on your best donors, but spend 20% cultivating the next generation of donors.
Fundraising trend: Giving by younger donors happens online, but is heavily influenced by offline drivers (television, radio, mail, etc.).
Digital fundraising doesn’t exist in a silo. Integration is critical for successful fundraising.
If your nonprofit website doesn’t make it easy to give, fix that before spending time/$ on social media, SEM or online display advertising.
Most nonprofits are mission out on thousands, if not millions of dollars because they don’t have digital best practices in place on their website.
Fundraising trend: Last 2 weeks of 2011 were stronger than the same two-week period in either 2009 or 2010.
Fundraising tip: Regardless of who wins the 2012 election, the last 7 weeks of the year should still be strong for fundraising.
Continue investing in acquisition even though it is tougher / more expensive than ever. The alternative is even more costly.
In 2011, only 22% of individuals said they’d consider giving to a NEW (to them) charity.
Fundraising prediction: Expect major gifts to pick back up in 2012. Be ready to take advantage of this.
Be donor centric, not channel centric in your fundraising efforts.
Successful nonprofit social media is a conversation, not a monologue.
Use video to connect donors to your organization’s mission and the clients you serve.