Here’s the cliff notes version just in case.
1. Don't ask your donors to solve huge problems; ask them to solve solvable problems.
2. Overdo it. Be too dramatic. Too emotional. Too strong. It's a lot easier to tone it down than it is to pump up weak and underdone copy.
- Jeff Brooks, True Sense Marketing
3. If you want my money, touch my heart. Learn what I struggle with and what makes me move. Walk a mile in my shoes.
4. Don’t crowd your e-mail with content. Send one email with one “ask.”
- Jocelyn Harmon, Care2
5. Organize a volunteer online thank you corps. Donors get a simple training and are then assigned new donors to personally thank on behalf of the cause.
6. Organize a crowd-sourced appeal. Invite donors to participate in drafting the "perfect fundraising appeal."
7. Track lifetime giving and recognize donors who reach various thresholds, in terms of money and time. Someone who gives $1,000 over 5 years is still a $1,000 donor in my book.
- Mark Rovner, Sea Change Strategies
8. Recipe for Success: Host a monthly giving drive offering various packages, each presented as a recipe to fund some component of overall operations or a specific program. Present each package in recipe format.
- Nancy Schwartz, Getting Attention
9. Take a month to engage existing supporters in conversations about why they give to you. Use their responses to develop messages you can use with prospects – they’re more likely to speak the donor's language than your organization's jargon.
10. Make a list of the organizations you consider either peers or competitors. Get all the people you usually need buy-in from together, then surf the organizations’ websites together. Ask the question, how would a donor experience this? Talk about what they're doing that you can learn from, and what you're doing that outshines them – both will help you grow, change, or stay the same more strategically.
- Sarah Durham, Big Duck
Need more fundraising ideas? Check out the rest of the tips in the “How to Raise A lot More Money Now” guide.
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