One Today

 

The Agitator beat us to it, but we think this is great too. 

It's Google's new One Today app for Android.

Why is it great? It's unlikely that it will ever raise big bucks for any of the featured organizations... and it isn't sustainable revenue at just one dollar a pop.

It's actually about habit.

One of our esteemed colleagues, an analyst at Target Analytics, has a theory that one reason we see shrinking donor pools these days is because we're no longer a church-going culture. And it doesn't have anything to do with religion, values or morals. It's about the passing of the offering plate each week - about people growing up surrounded by habitual giving - about it being a part of their lives.

This app has the potential to be a habit-developer for the next generation. And that's a good thing.

From an organizational point of view - that's really what great donor retention is - developing the habit of giving, fostered by the great communications and solicitation work you do year round.

Why brochures don't raise money

In a well-done brochure, the targeted words and carefully-chosen images tell a visible and compelling story that makes us all feel fantastic about what we do. So why are we still stuck with plain old fundraising letters and emails?

Great fundraising is fundamentally a person-to-person activity. One person asks another person for money.

A brochure isn't "from" anyone. And it isn't "to" anyone. While it may open a door, or spark some deeper feeling, it will rarely succeed in directly raising funds, because no one is actually doing the asking, which makes it easy to say no.

Great fundraising also allows the prospective donor to paint a picture in their own mind that resonates personally. 

A brochure is your story, not theirs. Perhaps your piece is filled with images of kids that remind them of the noisy kids down the block. Or perhaps it has stunning photos of bears and coyotes, but they love birds. You get the picture.

If they can't put themselves in your picture, they'll remain a rational observer rather than an engaged participant. While brochures can play an important role in branding and awareness-building, it can be risky to build actual revenue expectations around them.

Aim for growth

Growth is imperative to a healthy fundraising program. With budget planning in full swing at many organizations, the key question is -- what's the best way to get there, particularly if you're asked to do more with less?

Here are several ways to approach achieving growth: 

1) Test and launch new initiatives. This demands a strategy and plan, plus resources. Perhaps you can secure a small fund to test promising ideas. Or if you have an initiative in mind, you can move it forward by creating a scenario proposal that demonstrates how the investment has potential to pay off in greater net revenue or more donors.

2) Strengthen the tactics you currently have in place. All this takes is you, your team, and a willingness to explore the details of your program to find opportunity. An easy place to begin is by looking for proven practices and programs that don’t demand a cash infusion. Monthly sustained giving programs would fall into this category, as would the launch or expansion of an e-fundraising program. 

3) Improve your campaigns. Take a close look at your initiatives. Are your messages on target? Does the copy need to be refreshed? Is it compelling? Is it clear? Are your forms simple to understand? Are your gift ladders working? Can you eliminate something that's no longer effective and add something fresh to the mix? Find an organization or two with a great program, and ask them if they’ll share their work with you so you can explore what might make your own program even better.

4) Streamline costs to free up funds to invest in additional or improved initiatives. Can you simplify your mail packages, or print a larger quantity ahead of time, or re-bid your largest line items? Have you taken a look at the actual costs of your fundraising events? When the value of staff time is calculated in, you may find that you're using valuable resources that could be more wisely invested in bringing more donors to your organization.

A tight budget can be a challenge, but also an opportunity to make connections, gather information, and drill down into some positive change.

Marketing V. Fundraising

Traditional marketing aims to drill down to the essence of the brand, the campaign, the product. When it's done well, the disciplined repetition of look, feel, idea and offer, repeated over and over across time, generates results.

Fundraising is the opposite. It begins with the essence, but its messaging evolves more rapidly across time. When its done well, it finds as many different ways as possible to build that core essence into a multitude of compelling reasons to give. 

These approaches are decidedly not the same. Yet, great marketing gives fundraising a much better chance of success. And great fundraising makes the brand even stronger. 

Why. How. Now.

Three elements every effective fundraising initiative includes:

• Why support is important.

• How to make your gift. (This includes how much to give.)

• When to do it. NOW. 

Take a look at your fundraising materials. 

• Is your case for "why" compelling? 

• Is your description of "how" clear and concise? 

• Is your sense of "now" strong? Does it say "don't put that letter down?" Or "don't delete this email?" Or "keep watching this video?"

WHY. HOW. NOW. Check it out before you send your appeal into the world.

The question of absence

With an all-consuming office move just completed, we've been away from writing for a while, which got us thinking about that age-old adage, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Sadly, in the world of nonprofit organizations, absence simply makes you absent -- from minds, from conversations, from that sense of importance that's critical to drive engagement and support.

How connected are you to your supporters and prospects?

How often are you in front of them? What's your message? How does it look? How does it feel? What emotional benefits are you giving back to those who engage with you? 

Are you truly dedicated to connecting, or do you ask... receive... then fall back until it's time to ask again?

Presence is far more powerful than absence.

Little things matter

For many who seek your organization online, a google search is their first touch point. 

We did a quick spin through a bunch of organizations, and found that many (including ours) do nothing to enhance how their organization is listed. And you do have some control over that.

Here's some examples from those that have maximized their listing:
 
Mother Jones - Smart, Fearless Journalism
Planned Parenthood - Sexual & Reproductive Health - Sex Education
American Red Cross - Disaster Relief, CPR Certification, Donate Blood
Mercy Corps - Be the Change
Nature Conservancy - Protecting Nature, Preserving Life
Discovery Channel - Science, History, Space, Tech, Sharks, News...

Some are meant to inspire. Some are more practical. It's just a tiny touch, but every little touch helps build a larger brand and define a greater sense of purpose -- in this case before they even click through to your site.

Every little thing matters.