Summer [ EXPERT ] Hot Seat Series - Nonprofit Fundraising and Beyond
EVERYTHING impacts fundraising.
It sounds like an exaggeration, but experience has taught me it’s true.
Every time I sit down with a new client, I start with the same question that launched me on my journey in fundraising over a decade ago:
What keeps them from securing large donations from individuals?
Time and again, I see that it’s not any one thing. There’s no magic piece to the puzzle.
Does the composition of fundraising activities organizations do matter? Absolutely. But equally important are the things that keep organizations from raising larger donations and more revenue. Things like their approach to budgeting, stewardship, planning, or reporting impact.
Everything. Impacts. Fundraising.
But you see, that’s the problem. When everything is important, where do you start?
4 Big Questions
While every organization and executive director is unique, there are definitely questions that come up again and again. Big questions, like, “How should I be spending my time?” (Answer: Make that choice based on ROI.) Practical questions, like, “Will this activity lead to us securing larger gifts on a more regular basis?”
I’ve picked four questions that I get over and over again to elaborate on this month. I checked in with four professionals who specialize in this area to give their advice. Get their entire interviews here.
Here are the four questions:
Why doesn’t media attention automatically equal more donations?
How can I thank donors in a way they’ll love--without spending a ton of money?
How do I get people to my website and engage them once they’re there?
Do we really have to do an annual report?
Our advisors are Kelly Van Tuinen of VT Communication, JD Beebe, Co-Founder and CEO of ThankView, Timothy Haines at SymposiaLabs, and Megan Donahue, nonprofit writer.
Here we go . . .
1.) We’ve gotten big media attention--why aren’t we seeing more funding?
An NBA star retweeted you, you got a spot on the TODAY Show, or were featured in Oprah’s magazine. Surely now that you’ve hit the big time, the money will come pouring in, right?
Not necessarily.
Media attention is awesome, but it’s not fundraising magic. I was recently talking with Kelly Van Tuinen of VT Communications about this topic. Kelly is an expert at lots of things - she’s the perfect combination of Communications + PR + Strategy and works with organizations all over the country.
Kelly points to two big struggles nonprofits face when it comes to strategic communication.
Kelly says:
“First, oftentimes communications is ‘added on’ as part of someone’s job or tag-teamed by multiple people who are already overloaded!
Secondly, sometimes leadership is so passionate about the mission they believe the ‘cause’ sells itself and if donors could just hear a specific story the dollars will follow. But, it’s the opposite and their donor file never expands, setting them up for funding setbacks and struggling to reach financial goals.
Without intentionally looking at your communications strategy and planning out what happens and why, communications efforts end up being something else on someone’s plate — not an incredible tool to help to fund a mission.”
I see my clients facing this problem all the time. The monthly newsletter is left until the last minute, every month. Emails go out sporadically, without a real goal. Social media posts alternate between flurries and dry spells. None of it works together, and none of it seems to be leading the donors to take any action at all.
Kelly had some good advice for nonprofits getting started with strategic communications and PR. Here are her three tips:
1. PR is so much more than media relations—it’s all the ways an organization communicates with the public. Your communications strategy must include multiple, integrated tactics that support your mission. Media placements are one part of this mix. If an organization is featured on Good Morning America but directs viewers to a terrible website to donate, the placement doesn’t help you much.
2. PR is not a “one and done” activity; it's a continuous effort. There’s an old marketing adage called the “rule of seven,” which says consumers need to see or hear the brand’s message seven times before they begin to act on it. In today’s attention economy, this is even more important. Don't rely on a big PR hit every once in a while to draw attention to your nonprofit.
3. Good communication is more important now, more than ever! Though the country is beginning to reopen after COVID-19, we’ve relied on many different digital rhythms to stay connected which will stick around much longer than the pandemic. To keep your mission secure, nonprofit leaders must ramp up their communications and ensure multiple channels are in tip top shape, not just media relations.
🔥 🔥 🔥 If you want to download my 4 HOT SEAT interviews with Kelly and 3 other Nonprofit Experts in their entirety to learn how to get in “tip top shape,” go HERE
2.) How can I thank donors in a creative way that doesn’t break the bank, but keeps them engaged and giving again?
I have one rule when it comes to thanking.
And that rule is: EXCEED EXPECTATIONS.
I see so much money left on the table when donors aren’t thanked in an engaging way. How you thank your donor determines the size of the next gift they give. Period.
To learn more about this, I turned to JD Beebe, Co-Founder and CEO of ThankView, to show you an amazing digital-video product he created to customize the donor thanking and stewardship process. It’s not a stretch for me to say that every nonprofit should use this. (Nobody paid me to say that, I’m just a giant fan.)
When I asked JD about the number one stewardship issue facing nonprofits, here’s what he said:
“The #1 thing I see nonprofits struggling with is inaction. Whether because they're overthinking their stewardship strategy or simply don't have the processes in place to do it, a failure to start - and start small - is at the heart of the matter. As a point of fact - recently ThankView made donations to 42 different organizations. Only one - ONE - of them sent a follow up "thank you" that wasn't an auto-generated message with the receipt.
At ThankView, everything we do is designed to make the process of thanking someone sincerely with personalized video simple. Whether you just start off by sending more generic videos thanking your donor and sharing an impact story or if you want to personalize every single donor message, remember that 69% of all donations come from individuals in 2020 so showing your small donors and big donors alike that you care matters a ton.”
Here’s JD’s advice for nonprofits who want to start getting serious about stewardship:
“Here's the action plan: block off a few hours a week every week that's dedicated solely to thanking your donors. First-timers get something personalized; consistent donors get updates about their area of giving. Choose the medium that works for you - video, calls, handwritten notes - and start chipping away at it. Sharing gratitude has an amazing ROI because there's nothing else that can build trust and connection simply by telling someone that you sincerely care about them.”
🔥 🔥 🔥 If you want to download my 4 HOT SEAT interviews with JD and 3 other Nonprofit Experts in their entirety to learn how to get in “tip top shape,” go HERE
3.) How do I get people to my website? And once they are there, how do I get them to take action?
The concept of creating customized donor journeys is not a new one . . . but it’s never been more important.
You have the opportunity to take different profiles of supporters on a customized journey once they interact with you digitally. These types of strategies guide and lead a volunteer, donor, and supporter to their next best actions and gifts.
This was really dialed up for me when I spoke to Timothy Haines at SymposiaLabs when he was schooling me on how to optimize the website conversion journey for multiple marketing personas. He’s a digital marketing expert to say the least.
Timothy says:
“Many people don’t realize the power they have to grow their organizations in two main areas; by measuring the results of their digital data and then the opportunity they have to optimize the website conversion journey for multiple marketing personas. What I mean is, there is a great opportunity to take different profiles of supporters on a customized journey once they interact with you digitally. These types of strategies guide and lead a volunteer, donor, and supporter to ‘say yes’ and take action.”
Here’s Timothy’s top advice for nonprofits looking to customize their donor journeys:
1. Your CRM should save you time and money. To make this happen on a large scale, you first must invest time and money into a CRM that makes automated follow-up possible while also providing a better experience for both donors and those that your nonprofit serves.
2. An earned and paid content strategy is extremely valuable especially for target audiences that use the internet to find services and to make decisions.
3. Digital Marketing might not be your top priority and it is critical that you be realistic about what digital marketing can and can not accomplish.
My take away? Invest in a digital marketing strategy justified by actual data to get a true return on investment. And serve your donors by segmenting your constituency for maximum engagement.
🔥 🔥 🔥 If you want to download my 4 HOT SEAT interviews with Timothy and 3 other Nonprofit Experts in their entirety to learn how to get in “tip top shape,” go HERE
4.) Do I need to do an Annual Report? We never get any donations as a result of them anyway.
You want your donors to see you as a transparent partner, right? You want them to see how well you are spending their donation, right? And you want these same donors to give every year because they understand how well you’ve used their money, right?
You need two things to do that: a Form 990 and an Annual Report.
Your 990 is where you openly show your numbers. It helps you confidently speak to your growth and needs, because your words are backed up with data. You’ve got to know your numbers and get comfortable sitting down with the types of investment-level donors who want to have those deep financial discussions.
You have to file a Form 990, but your donors will understand even more when you publish an annual report. Form 990 is the data, and the Annual Report is where you tell your donors what it all means, and why it matters. They work together to give donors a complete picture of your work and finances. When you voluntarily and actively send your donors this information, you’re demonstrating that you’re trustworthy.
Don’t assume your donors understand how you’re funded or understand what you need financially. You need to explain it. An annual report is an excellent tool for that explanation.
One of the biggest challenges I hear from you is that donors donate to you one year and then you don’t hear from them the next year.
Here’s the thing . . . You have more control over this area than you might think.
The methodology I teach leads the donor to a yes and then helps you stay in control to lead them to that second gift in a comfortable and non-salesy way.
My colleague, writer and content strategist Megan Donahue, uses this same concept when writing pieces like Annual Reports.
Megan says:“Annual reports can quickly become boring and less-than-useful without two things: story and strategy. Your annual report should be interesting to read and work as part of your larger donor cultivation strategy. It should not be the equivalent to a "What I Did on Summer Vacation" essay, a list of numbers devoid of context, or a self-congratulatory holiday letter. Instead, the best annual reports are a collection of engaging stories about what donors helped accomplish.
It should be designed to give readers a specific experience that leads them toward specific actions. What do you want donors to do after they've read your annual report? How do you want them to feel? Where does your annual report fit into the extended conversation you're having with them?”
Here are Megan’s three top tips for nonprofits just getting started with annual reports:
1. An annual report isn't something that you can completely handoff to a consultant. If it's going to work with your larger fundraising strategy, you'll definitely need to be in conversation with the writer throughout the process. It's a collaboration.
2. There aren't any rules for how long your annual report must be, and it's likely a shorter one can meet your goals just as well, or better than a long one.
3. The whole process is so much easier once you start collecting potential stories and photos throughout the year, instead of trying to figure it all out after the year is over. Start a file today.
🔥 🔥 🔥 If you want to download my 4 HOT SEAT interviews with Megan and 3 other Nonprofit Experts in their entirety to learn how to get in “tip top shape,” go HERE
There’s Always More To Learn
I had a great time learning from my colleagues this month. If you’re on my email list, you know they had a lot more to say about each topic. Want the inside scoop? Join my list and download all four complete interviews, along with offers from each expert.
-Sherry
P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your nonprofit revenue:
1. Follow me on LinkedIn for content and resources first
I give away trade secrets and insider info every week - the same lessons I teach my clients about what they can do to start attracting larger dollars and generate more unrestricted money for your nonprofit.
2. Read my WHITEPAPER to see if your overall approach to financing your mission every year might be keeping you from growing.
Here you’ll learn THE BIG FUNDRAISING SECRET that keeps organizations from having the funds to achieve what’s in their strategic plans. Click here to get it.
3. Work with me to reimagine your overall approach to revenue generation
If you'd like to add 7+ figures of charitable revenue to your nonprofit, just send me an email at Sherry@QuamTaylor.com with the subject line “grow.” Tell me a little about your nonprofit and what you need to raise this year. I’ll get you the details! 🎯
