Your fundraising campaign is the best you’ve done in years.
You have beautiful photos, a compelling video and a clear message about how the funds raised will make a difference. And yet you aren’t getting donations and people aren’t signing up to fundraise.
I know how you feel because I’ve been there, and so I want to share the following three tips to help you increase your fundraising income today:
Ask the right people (a lot of them)
Find the people most likely to give to your campaign and figure out the best ways to get your message in front of them.
When I first started fundraising I didn’t realise that different campaigns and messages work on different types of people. I would simply create a campaign and hope it would succeed. But the more campaigns I ran, the more I learnt that you need to tailor the campaign messaging to the audience that will receive it.
Even if your campaign has already started, take some time to work out if you’ve targeted the right audience with the right message on the right channel/s. If not, adjust and adapt the messaging.
Also, create different segments of your audience and design specific messaging for each group. If you aren’t sure how, check out this post.
Ask frequently
Make sure you ask frequently and clearly direct people to where they can donate on your online giving page.
How many times have you shared the campaign via e-mail? If someone has opted in to hear more news about your organisation, they are the perfect profile person to receive a donation request. Don't be put off by the fact that 50% of emails go unopened. This should enclourage you to send more e-mails! Studies have shown that while supporters say they don’t want to get too many e-mails, they give more when asked more frequently.
However, be clever about how you ask. Don’t send the exact same e-mail three times and hope for different results. Supporters will see this as aggressive and are likely to be put off. Rather, craft three e-mails with the same ask put in three different ways, sending them out as a series. If your e-mail provider allows, exclude people who have already donated to the campaign from receiving future asks.
Ask with urgency
Have a goal, a deadline and a reason why you need someone to contribute now.
Make sure your ask motivates people to give when they see it. Answer the question, “Why should I give now?”
Here are a few ways you can create urgency in your campaign:
- Build the campaign around a timely theme or issue. For example, Stellenbosch University Alumni recently used the awareness around student hunger to raise funds for a food bank on campus.
- Participate in #GivingTuesday – a global day of giving fuelled by social media. Get the #GivingTuesday campaign starter pack for more tips on how to get going.
- The simplest way to create urgency is to set a target amount and deadline for your GivenGain fundraiser. Try to keep it 2-6 weeks in length. Enter a goal amount so your supporters can track your progress and be inspired to give as you get closer to your goal and end date.
Much success in your fundraising!
If you’ve got a cause you care about, I’m here to help you grow and fund it. My name is Wendy van Eyck and I am obsessed with teaching non-profit fundraisers and marketers with few resources, little time and high targets how to generate the funding they need to bring change to a community they care about. Find free resources and ideas at https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyvaneyck/.
Wendy van Eyck
Non-Profit Communications Expert
