The recent feisty discussion on Frogloop about whether direct mail is dying or not raises some vital questions for every nonprofit fundraising professional to consider. Regardless of whether you believe direct mail is on its way out -- and many smart people seem to disagree with each other on this point – nearly everyone agrees that the role of online giving is only becoming more important over time.
Consider this. It took the…
• Telephone 38 years to reach 50 million users
• Television 13 years to reach 50 million users
• Internet 4 years to reach over 50 million users
Moreover, there are over 220 million U.S. Internet users, or 72.5% of our population, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. In 2006, 627 million people globally made a purchase online, and this number rose by 40% in only two years -- to 875 million. Tens of millions of people are doing business online. Websites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are among the top 10 most trafficked sites in the US.
Clearly the Internet has transformed how nonprofits communicate with their activists and donors. For now, direct mail fundraising -- especially when used in a multi-channel strategy -- continues to bring in the most revenue. But today’s “older” donors are gradually being replaced by the newer, younger donors of tomorrow – people who have grown up managing most of their lives online – and this includes getting involved with their favorite charities and donating money to the causes they believe in, online.
Back to fundraising for nonprofits…
Even in this weak economy, online fundraising by nonprofits is still growing. According to the just released 2009 eBenchmarks study by M&R Strategic Services and NTEN, most of the 32 groups featured in the study saw their online fundraising increase between 2007 and 2008. The total amount of money raised online increased by 26 percent from 2007 to 2008. The number of online gifts went up by an astounding 43 percent!
Clearly, smart nonprofit organizations are today redoubling their efforts to grow, engage and nurture their online lists, and developing their online fundraising strategy now. No organization wants to be left in the dark and scramble to play catch up later.
Here are some quick and easy tips to start building up your online lists.
1. Encourage your offline members to donate online so you can capture their email addresses. Offering incentives to donate online may help boost response rates.
2. Maximize email signup opportunities across your websites and social media channels. For example, integrate signup forms for web visitors to receive the latest news on XYZ issue near the website header and on every page of your website. You can also use social networking sites as a teaser to promote your campaigns with links back to your action pages.
3. Beef up the donate section of your website, and give users several options to donate money, including one-time donations, recurring donations, memorial giving, etc.
4. Use email appends to match your offline donors with their email addresses. There are many agencies including TowerData and FreshAddress that conduct email appends. The matching success rate is typically 10% to 20%. Prices vary widely, from about $0.12 - $0.60 per matched name.
5. Conduct paid recruitment campaigns -- including search engine keyword advertising and online lead acquisition campaigns – such as Care2 offers -- to build your lists quickly around newsworthy issues or microsite campaigns.
6. Earned media. Check out Frogloop’s article filled with the nuts and bolts of generating and tracking earned media.
Next week we will discuss how to successfully engage the new members you recruited to your online list and how to convert them into donors.
Do you have more tips to share about building nonprofits’ online lists? Please add your tips below!
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