Encourage donors to increase donations and engagement
As we mentioned in earlier in the series, according to a survey of nonprofits in 2014, for every $100 in new donations these organizations lost $95 in lapsed or reduced donations. We’ve looked at ways to better retain our current donors and renew lapsed donors, but how do you increase engagement and donations over time?
After clearing the initial hurdle of acquiring a new donor, an organization must make continual effort to engage these individuals and encourage more donations. Organizations now have the ability to utilize new technologies to develop stronger relationships with their donors. Here are some ways for you to increase donations and engagement in 2015:
Use data to be strategic
Every time someone makes a donation make sure to gather and store as much data as possible on that donation. What time of the year was it? Was it because of a specific campaign? Are they connected to other donors? (eg. family members) Was it a memorial or tribute? Was it around their birthday or another holiday? Once you have all this information, you can then use it to better time and craft your future communications with them. You can use past donation amounts to ensure you send requests that are in line with what they feel comfortable donating. You can time the request so that it happens when they are most likely to give, based on their previous behaviour. You can mention specific events such as their birthday or holiday they celebrated with a donation in the past to encourage them to donate again. By tailoring your communication to the specific individual, you show them that they matter.
Treat likes, followers, and social media engagements like gold
In the social age, nonprofits should place high value on engagement through sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter etc. Simple thank you messages to new followers and likers, acknowledgement of shares and retweets, and personal messages are various ways you can increase donor engagement, while showing appreciation and gratitude to your donors.
Thanks (again)
Not only is calling donors and thanking them a great way of retaining them, but it can also make them give more! Penelope Burke reports that 84% of donors that received punctual thank you calls said that they would definitely or probably give a larger gift in the future. Obvious, but powerful; say thank you and increase your donations.
Show recent donation outcomes
One of the best ways to encourage donors to engage and donate again is to show how they’ve contributed. Tell them what their current donations have done and also what future donations and larger contributions could help you accomplish in the future. Experts say, that by showing positive outcomes and your appreciation, donors will be more likely to come back and remain engaged with the organization.
Are you mobile?
As the number of people using mobile devices continues to rise, you must begin to cater your donor engagement efforts towards this portable platform. You can cater to these mobile users by developing mobile-sites or creating donation forms that can be easily accessed and filled in on phones and tablets. After creating forms that work well with iPhones, Androids, & BlackBerrys, you will increase your organization’s accessibility and should see a noticeable boost in online fundraising performance.
Make an “Attention Grabber”
If you can successfully attract people to your website, congratulations! It is quite the feat. However, online visits don’t equal dollars. To turn these visitors into donors you must compel them to do so. How? Feature and highlight a “Donate Now” button on your homepage and use strong imagery that ties into and emphasizes the need of donations. In doing so, you can provoke online viewers to support and engage in your mission.
Simplify the donation process
Over complication of the online donation process can lead to the quick demise of a nonprofit organization. On the other hand, simplification can positively impact engagement and donations. Take a no frills approach; no promotions, search box, navigation panes, and columns. A simple, mobile friendly, donation form with the lowest possible amount of fields will have users focused on one thing: donating. That’s the point of a donation form, isn’t it? This minimalist approach will provide immediate benefit to your organization by speeding up the entire donation process. After ridding your donation form of all unnecessary functionality, your team will be jumping for joy as all of the new donations flow in from your streamlined process.
Although there have been decreases in donation numbers for nonprofits, it’s not an uphill battle! There are many things organizations can do to react to these growing issues and increase donor engagement and retention. By continuing to innovate and look for ingenious ways to engage and retain, nonprofits will still be able to gain the necessary funding to support their missions in the future.
Nicola Dickinson helped build Altus Dynamics, feels that the best is yet to come. A believer in the nonprofit sector, Nicola won’t stop her drive for Altus to not only be a great place to work but an important partner to growing nonprofit organizations.
Today, you can find Nicola listening to customers, supporting the employees in their professional development and leading the sales team to break new barriers in ERP and CRM for Nonprofits. If you catch Nicola in the hallway she’ll take any opportunity to share why ‘Together for the Greater Good’ is truly Altus Dynamics’s purpose – working together as a team and with our customers all for the greater good.
Nicola, a busy mother of two, has a long history of volunteer experience from Kidney Foundation Door to Door campaigns, start up triathlons for cancer research and her latest volunteer experience in mentoring young entrepreneurs at Futurepreneur. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter.
