In this on-demand webinar, Brad Caruso, Partner, and Heather Campisi, Senior Marketing Manager, talk to you about fundraising, one of the most exciting topics in the not-for-profit industry. Now more than ever because of the new tax law change we have to reconsider our fundraising efforts.
5 Not-For-Profit FundraisingTips
1. Make sure your message is relevant and genuine!
With so many amazing missions, programs and services out there, it is hard to have your messages heard. You have great stories to tell. Make sure that you are sharing those stories and tapping into those who you might be helping.
2. Are your reaching your donor pools correctly?
There are so many generations out there each with a preferred style of communication. The communications should be directed toward the intended audience as they each may prefer to donate toward the cause differently.
3. Maximize your campaign by using the correct platforms and software.
Is there a free platform that works for you? Are your donors paying a small minimal fee at each transaction? Do you have a CRM system in place to track all or your donor information? For you as a not-for-profit, names, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses are important, as are the different demographics of your donors. These fields allow you to know your audience to further promote your campaigns – from year-end charitable planning messages to periodic updates and the annual gala. These are all great tools to target your campaign to really resonate with your audience.
4. Say Thank You.
Everyone wants to be thanked for giving back. Saying “thank you” results in people being more likely to donate more. Some donors even update their original donation to be more upon receiving a “thank you”.
5. Evaluate your campaign
Whether you look at each campaign individually or at the end of the year, make sure you look at it. Are things working? What is not working? How can you do things differently? Don’t be afraid to change. It’s okay to think outside the box and do things a little differently as you don’t know how that will help your revenue streams.
Looking at fundraising from the accounting side of things, changes need to be communicated throughout your organization and go through your internal controls checks. Be conscious of what changes are being made and how the changes flow through to your systems. Is it automated or a manual process? Is it the same level of control checks as if someone writes you a check? Are there restrictions on your website? How does that flow through to your books and records? You may want to reconsider whether you put a restriction through a donation or not. Lastly, your data analytics. What story does your data tell you and how can you use that to increase your donations and improve your campaigns.
We hope these 5 tips give you a starting point for your upcoming campaigns. Withum’s Not-for-Profit professionals are here to help in case you have questions or would like assistance going through the process, from internal control to campaigns, don’t hesitate to reach out by filling in the form below.
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