The end of the first quarter marks a time when non-profits begin to realize a noticeable decline in donations as many donors tend to give at the end of the year during the holidays. By March, non-profits start to feel pinched by their budgets and must depend on successive appeals to current donors while engaging and attracting new donors.
So it’s during this time of year when crafting well strategized tactical communication pieces such as fundraising letters, email campaigns, advocacy appeals, and social media engagement is most important to a year-round fundraising strategy.
The infographic below was recently released as part of the 6th annual eNonprofit Benchmarks Study and highlights the types of communications strategies that are most effective in digital and online fundraising.
As emphasized in the infographic, advocacy emails generated the greatest response. When we managed the online media blitz for the Lambi Fund of Haiti, a US-based non-profit organization that does incredible work for the people of Haiti, our strategy was on conversation marketing and advocacy appeals. We emphasized this strategy during high times of crisis in Haiti like the multiple hurricanes in 2009 and the devastating earthquake in 2010. As a result of our online fundraising strategy, the organization saw a 400% increase in traffic to its website in just one quarter and $200,000 more raised in online donations over the same time last year.
Key takeaways from the infographic:
- Advocacy emails yield a greater response over fundraising emails and newsletters. Tip: Don’t only make a monetary ask. Keep supporters engaged by making a call to action. Inform them of key legislation being passed that may be for or against your cause. Tie in your cause to a national trending news to keep your messages relevant and timely.
- 3.6 is the average number of monthly emails being sent per subscriber. How many emails is your non-profit sending on a monthly basis? My guess is that it’s less than the average and probably only one monthly email if that.
- Online giving grew by 20% over a year ago. How is your non-profit executing your digital strategies to capture online donors?
