Finishing our 9 MOST COMMON DONATION PAGE MISTAKES that nonprofits are currently making on their websites and offering solutions for those 9 mistakes on our #SummerLearningSeries today!
Come back Next week for some new excitement at BlockbusterFundraising!
Category: Stewardship
Is Your Donation Page Frustrating Your Donors? Mistake #7 Not Making Monthly Giving Front & Center
A blog I read and admire struck a chord. Here are 9 Donation Page Mistakes you need to be certain you’re not making (the link to the blog is below). Today we explore Mistake #7 (Not Making Monthly Giving Front & Center) and how to fix it!
#SummerLearningSeries #BlockbusterFundraising #JoyOlsonGroup #Nonprofit #Fundraising
http://www.futurefundraisingnow.com/future-fundraising/2017/06/9-ways-you-might-be-chasing-donors-away-from-your-donation-pages.html
Is Your Donation Page Frustrating Your Donors? Mistake #5 Not Being Mobile Responsive
A blog I read and admire struck a chord with this short blog. Here are 9 Donation Page Mistakes you need to be certain you’re not making (the link to the blog is below). Today we explore Mistake #5 (Not Being Mobile Responsive) and how to fix it!
#SummerLearningSeries #BlockbusterFundraising #JoyOlsonGroup #Nonprofit #Fundraising
Is Your Donation Page Frustrating Your Donors? – Mistake #2 Asking For Too Much Information
A blog I read and admire struck a chord with this short blog. Here are 9 Donation Page Mistakes you need to be certain you’re not making (the link to the blog is below). Today we explore Mistake #2 (Asking For Too Much Information) and how to fix it!
#SUMMERLEARNINGSERIES
Are You Celebrating Your Donors?
Time to CELELBRATE! Celebrate Your DONORS and Celebrate Donor Milestones!
Got really inspired by Donor Relations Guru’s blog, “Celebrating Donor Milestones-Reasons to Ring the Bell” and you’re gonna love these inspired ideas! And better than that, so will your donors! Celebrate with me and watch now!
MONTHLY GIVING TECHNIQUES THAT ARE WORKING IN 2017
Develop a great monthly giving program
A monthly giving program can really help your organization. We know that on average 40% of giving from individuals occurs in December. Wouldn’t it be great to spread some of those gifts out over the whole year? Transitioning some of your donors to monthly gifts is the perfect way to do that.
Here are some ideas for how to convince your donors to give monthly.
What to ask for
Setting your monthly giving amount at the appropriate amount is an essential first step. Start with your average online gift amount then take 15-20% of that for your baseline. If your average online gift is $100, set a baseline recurring gift of $15/month and up from there. This is a great starting point for new donors, but for current donors who may be giving more you will want to edit your ask to be specific to their giving level.
Learn from your current monthly donors
If you have a group of monthly donors they can give you great insight into what works and what doesn’t. Call them and ask them for their opinion and thank them for being monthly donors. Find out why they give monthly. What do they have in common? You can use these ideas to reach out to other monthly donors.
Seven groups to target
Here are seven groups of people who are likely to be attracted to the idea of a monthly gift.
• One time donors who give less than $200 each year
• Donors who give more than three times a year
• Young supporters
• Volunteers
• Donors who have given in the past but not last year
• Event attendees
• Former board members
Questions to ask your team
Before you start your monthly giving program, ask your team these questions:
• What do we want to accomplish through monthly giving?
• What does that mean to our programs and our mission?
• What is the result of achieving our goal?
Answering this question will help your donors understand your mission in your monthly giving program and better talk to your donors about why this is important.
Lapsed Donor Love Letters to Lure & Reel Them Back
We’re focused on the Lapsed Donors and today focus on best lapsed-letter communications to win your donors back and rebuild those wonderful relationships!
WHY MONTHLY GIVING IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY NOW
Develop a great monthly giving program
A monthly giving program can really help your organization. We know that on average 40% of giving from individuals occurs in December. Wouldn’t it be great to spread some of those gifts out over the whole year? Transitioning some of your donors to monthly gifts is the perfect way to do that.
Here are some ideas for how to convince your donors to give monthly.
What to ask for:
Setting your monthly giving amount at the appropriate amount is an essential first step. Start with your average online gift amount then take 15-20% of that for your baseline. If your average online gift is $100, set a baseline recurring gift of $15/month and up from there. This is a great starting point for new donors, but for current donors who may be giving more you will want to edit your ask to be specific to their giving level.
Learn from your current monthly donors:
If you have a group of monthly donors they can give you great insight into what works and what doesn’t. Call them and ask them for their opinion and thank them for being monthly donors. Find out why they give monthly. What do they have in common? You can use these ideas to reach out to other monthly donors.
Seven groups to target:
Here are seven groups of people who are likely to be attracted to the idea of a monthly gift.
• One time donors who give less than $200 each year
• Donors who give more than three times a year
• Young supporters
• Volunteers
• Donors who have given in the past but not last year
• Event attendees
• Former board members
Questions to ask your team
Before you start your monthly giving program, ask your team these questions:
• What do we want to accomplish through monthly giving?
• What does that mean to our programs and our mission?
• What is the result of achieving our goal?
Answering these questions will help your donors understand your mission in your monthly giving program and help you to better talk to your donors about the impact and good their monthly gift will exert.
Developments Starring Role
“The skills of a good development director are much the same as those of a good sales manager. It is the job of an organization’s development director to inspire his or her salespersons—the volunteer solicitors—and arm them with all the tools they need to be successful.
At the same time development directors must be able to run a tight ship and bring a sense of control, perspective, and order to the process of raising money.
Good development directors are donor-driven, rather than institution-driven.
They function as the donors’ voice within the organization, bringing donor cares and concerns to staff and trustees. Yet they must remain conscious and protective of the integrity and purpose of the organization. They are in the best position to say no to a request which asks too much of the organization and undermines its mission.” Read entire blog:
DONOR SEGMENTATION SUCCESS
Donor Segmentation for maximum fundraising results
First things first: What is segmentation?
Segmentation is the act of dividing your donors into groups based on specific criteria. It is critical that you are able to segment your donors. A donor database with CRM (customer relationship management) technology will help you do this.
So how should you segment your donors?
There are hundreds of ways you can segment your donors: by zip code, gift size, age, and even (if you’ve kept very careful data) what day of the week they have made a donation.
Here are some of the most useful methods of donor segmentation.
AFFILIATION AND INTEREST
Segment on how your donors are affiliated based on your mission, organizational structure and community involvement. Which programs and causes is this donor interested in? This will tell you what to focus on in your appeal letter to get the best results.
ENTITY TYPE
What type of entity is this donor? This type of segmentation is critical in creating a strategic plan and forecasting so you can plan for gifts coming from individuals, corporations, government and foundations.
GIVING CHANNEL
How is your donor making their gift? You want to make sure you are offering your donors the opportunity to make a gift in the manner that is most convenient for them. Know when to use mail and when to use email or social media
GIVING LEVEL
Segmenting by the annual giving level will help you know what gift amount you should be suggesting to your donor. Make sure you are ethical and courteous but you must also be careful not to insult or disrespect the donor’s ability or capacity. Remember it is imperative not to ask for too much or too little
GIVING STATUS
Another important segment to look for is giving status. An appeal to a new donor should have a different focus and message than one to a lapsed donors. Retained donors can be segmented too – ones who have increased gifts, decreased gifts, or stayed the same.
Final thoughts
Segmentation gives you creative, intentional ways to engage your donors. It helps you craft your message in a way that your donor will find appealing and personalized. And we all know that the more your donor feels cared for and connected, the more likely they are to make another donation for your cause!
Build Online Donor Relationships Now!
Online donor stewardship has never been more important in these competitive nonprofit times. John Haydon recently wrote some great tips for fundraisers that I think you will appreciate as much as I did.
Retention is the 2017 Game Plan
Keep Your Donors!
Did you know that 8 out of 10 of your New Donors will not give another gift?
There is a lot of good work you can do now to reverse a drooping retention rate!
And here’s more Retention Info: https://bloomerang.co/blog/new-study-shows-donor-retention-rates-are-in-decline/