Determining priorities in a resource-constrained office can be overwhelming.
In Part One of this article, I outlined the critical need to invest time, technology, and resources into an intentional digital fundraising program to ensure long-term stability and donor loyalty. But, for small to mid-sized organizations, knowing where to start can be difficult. Determining priorities in a resource-constrained office can be overwhelming. I’ve heard time and time again—not only from 150+ PBS stations but from hundreds of nonprofits over my two-decade career: “I don’t even know how to begin.”
Setting priorities with competing demands
- Executive Directors return from a conference and want to launch a texting program when you barely have an email cadence in place.
- Board members push for a major gala when you don’t even have the staff to cover a booth at a farmer’s market.
- I once had to provide leadership with a detailed and researched response to redirect their desire for a full-blown marketing campaign to promote AmazonSmile on Prime Day, which provided exactly 0.00036% of our overall revenue goal (with no donor information) and detracted staff time and resources from other more lucrative fundraising activities.
“Shiny object” syndrome can drive leadership to spin their wheels focusing on more advanced tactics, rather than bolstering fundraising foundations and building incrementally over time.
There are three phases to follow when launching a high-performing digital fundraising program. This crawl-walk-run model provides clear direction and an intentional growth strategy.
- The foundational stage focuses on four main areas: website, email, donation form, and social media. The website is often the start of a user journey, so the donate button and email signup must stand out and be easy to find. Ensure content is updated regularly, links are working, and the mission is abundantly evident. Invest time in strengthening email communications by improving content and monitoring performance. The donation form should be optimized for a swift and streamlined experience. This means ensuring the form works well on mobile; that extraneous fields are removed, and the confirmation page and email receipt convey deep gratitude. For social media (in addition to providing enticing and valuable content) create a consistent posting schedule and monitor engagement.
With these four elements in place, an organization could launch a basic fundraising campaign. Consider a week-long year-end effort in which a dedicated website landing page contains the details of the campaign including the goal, deadline, a few testimonials, and links to a customized donation form. Social media posts and email can point to either the landing page or the form and promote the progress to goal.
- Expanding to an intermediate level, the focus turns to: ad strategies, audience segmentation, automations, and messaging. Ads include paid social, search, or media partnerships with news sites, radio, or TV. Segmentation provides personalized communication to targeted audiences, whether in ads or emails. Automations include new donor or subscriber welcome series emails or scheduled social posts. Messaging is focused on improving value propositions, creating stories reflecting organizational impact, and articles demonstrating service to the community.
In the aforementioned year-end effort; ads, segmentation, automations, and intentional messaging can be layered into the initiative to boost visibility and increase participation.
- Finally, at an advanced level, we are implementing more of those shiny elements of digital fundraising and engagement. This can include: virtual events, livestreaming, and video elements. Advanced organizations might focus on texting, A/B testing or peer-to-peer campaigns. A robust volunteer ambassador program can not only help amplify news and campaign activities but can also act as third-party validators to build trust with new audiences. At the advanced level, we are also evaluating website SEO, accessibility, and incorporating AI or predictive analytics into our initiatives.
As campaigns are developed and build momentum, these advanced tactics can maximize revenue, and also contribute to significant acquisition, strong engagement, and high retention.
This framework provides the clarity needed for a practical and achievable program built on iteration. Bolstering the foundations of your digital elements offers a strong launching pad for growth and keeps your planning grounded in addressing the “first things first”. The additional building blocks allow you to align your internal resources appropriately and set realistic expectations with leadership and peers.
Chasing shiny objects becomes a thing of the past as you move forward with confidence and intention, one step at a time.
Jen Newmeyer, CFRE, is a digital fundraising strategist, speaker, trainer, and author helping nonprofits grow through integrated campaigns and online engagement. She is the Senior Director of Digital Fundraising Strategy at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), author of “Digital Fundraising Transformation: The Insider’s Guide to Revolutionize Your Strategy and Raise More,” and founder of CharityJen Consulting. With over two decades of experience, she blends strategy, creativity, and experimentation to help fundraisers break through barriers and drive results.
