By Erin O’Byrne, Work Wellness Coach and Vantage Point Knowledge Philanthropist 

Well-being at work is increasingly on the radar as humanity continues to navigate life after the pandemic. As the stressful strain of limited financial resources places even more demands on our human resources, psychological health & safety is at the forefront. As leaders in non-profits, you especially know the importance of taking care of your people. 

The Mental Health Commission set national standards for psychological health and safety a decade ago. You can read about the standard here. As a voluntary standard, some workplaces were early adopters, others dabbled, and some only started investing in the last few years based on the rising need. WorkSafe BC also helped make this priority through their education initiatives and by including elements in inspections for some industries these past few years. You can read more about their strategic initiatives here. 

While there are vast resources available to support psychological health and safety there is a lot to navigate and integrate successfully into your workplace and for all your volunteers. 

Often organizations and leaders are not sure where to start. 

As a mental health strategist and coach, I help organizations review, design and implement these standards successfully. Here are three tips to get you started: 

1. Get familiar with the 13 factors that lead to psychological health and safety. 

When you review this list what are the top two to three your organization does well?  

Where would change have the most impact?  

You can read more about each factor here. Recently indicators of inclusion, stress and trauma are included within these factors. 

• Organizational Culture 
• Psychological and Social Support 
• Clear Leadership & Expectations 
• Civility & Respect 
• Psychological Demands
• Growth & Development 
• Recognition & Reward 
• Involvement & Influence 
• Workload Management 
• Engagement 
• Balance 
• Psychological Protection 
• Protection of Physical Safety 

There are many opportunities for implementing the standard in your organization. The Mental Health Commission has put together a guide to support the process. You can read about it here. At first glance it is a lot of information. Pick one or two areas as part of your annual mental health strategy.  

2. Focus on leadership development

We know that for the most part people leave managers not companies. In a world that is constantly asking people to do more with less, we’ve got to prioritize conversations around wellness. This is tough since everyone’s threshold for stress is different as is our comfort in talking about it all.  

• As a leader do you truly understand how each of your team members are doing?  
• Do you have enough rapport where they feel safe to really share?  
• How about the collective capacity of your teams at any given time?  
• How comfortable are you talking about mental health stressors and challenges?  
• What do you do to proactively lead by example, to promote wellness?  

Considering these will help inform your action plans and leadership development needs. 

Along with soft skills, as a workplace culture you’ll want to look at policies, systems and processes, resources and training too. Your Employee Assistance Program and any wellness initiatives you offer go a lot further if behaviours of leaders and the structure of your organization can help foster an integrated and truly lived culture of care and support: proactively. After all, the wellness of your people makes for wellness in the community. Healthy organizations have a healthy impact on individuals and the collective.

3. Take action and share best practice

All workplaces seek to find their way to better and are at varied stages of this discovery. Mental health and wellness is vital. Share what works. Get ideas from other leaders. Keep talking. Need more ideas? Recent research from Deloitte highlights some helpful insights and action items. You can read more here.

Given these three tips, what’s your next step? 

Erin O’Byrne, Work Wellness Coach is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations take their wellness to the next level. workwellnesscoach.com

By Alina Emery, Volunteer Engagement Coordinator at Vantage Point

At Vantage Point, Knowledge Philanthropist (KP) is how we refer to our skilled volunteers. It is a term that spotlights the experience and value our KPs have to offer Vantage Point and its networking community. Our Knowledge Philanthropists share their lived experiences, expertise, and passions through a multitude of opportunities including facilitation, content creation and program enhancement, blog writing and sharing their knowledge as guests on our podcast, “From our Vantage Point”.  

Being the new Volunteer Engagement Coordinator for Vantage Point, I knew that the role would come with the great responsibility of not only getting to know our existing KPs and onboarding new ones, but really taking the time to get to know who they are as individuals: people with talent, passion, and the drive to give back. As a founder of a volunteer recruitment non-profit When I Becomes We, I understand the significance and value that volunteers bring to an organization. I hope to create deeper connections with Vantage Point KPs through our Knowledge Philanthropy model and really bring the focus back to them through collaboration, personalization and, at the forefront of it all, educating each other for the benefit of strengthening our non-profit sector.  

Our Knowledge Philanthropist model offers our experienced volunteers a unique opportunity to share their skills through facilitating trainings for non-profit leaders seeking to strengthen their organizations. These opportunities allow our KP Facilitators to dive deep with individuals and organizations teams to see where they are at now, and discover how they might improve or expand. The learning is not only a gratifying experience for our participants but our KPs too.  

The Knowledge Philanthropist model extends even further and offers our valued Digital Hosts the opportunity to support our facilitators by providing technical support and coordination for sessions. At the same time, these KPs are learning, networking, and supporting the session participants. They have an opportunity to learn from others, meet leaders in the sector, and put their tech skills to use. In a post-pandemic world, it is of incredible value to have our KP Digital Hosts fully support the tech portion of sessions so our KP Facilitators can deliver comfortably and confidently. 

As we have looked at the ways KPs can engage and participate with Vantage Point, a part of our mission is to collaborate with our Knowledge Philanthropists to find new and exciting opportunities for them to expand their involvement, and also brainstorm “out-of-the-box” ideas as to how volunteerism at Vantage Point can evolve. Our staff is committed to asking themselves when starting new projects, “how might a KP help support the success of this project?” to ensure that we prioritize a range of opportunities and offer our KPs, one of our most valuable stakeholders, the chance to get involved in internal projects. 

In addition to expanding the ways we engage our Knowledge Philanthropists, we hope that through the results of our BC Non-Profit Network Feasibility Study, we will be able to further extend our geographical reach and connect with more Knowledge Philanthropists outside of the lower mainland. This would include opportunities for session facilitation, digital hosting, speaking engagements and more. Follow our socials and newsletters to keep up to date with our progress and next steps from the study! 

This volunteer week, we hold gratitude for all our Knowledge Philanthropists that have contributed to Vantage Point’s 80 years in the sector. Should this be your first time encountering Vantage Point’s Knowledge Philanthropy model (or a nice reminder if you’re already involved), I’m always happy to set up a meeting to check in, brainstorm or talk through ideas our KPs have and to expand our thinking about volunteerism in non-profits. I’m just an email away!  

Happy Volunteer Week!  

Alina Emery
Volunteer Engagement Coordinator
aemery@thevantagepoint.ca

By Michael Ip MSocSc, RSW, Non-profit Strategist

It was a recent story from a non-profit community service center. The team in charge of education programs for married couples noticed that the program participants were mostly middle-aged couples and wanted to extend their reach to younger couples. They landed on Instagram as the main promotional channel to use. They thought this made perfect sense since Instagram users are typically younger.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. For the past few years, the teams have been using online forms for program enrollment, which means they have gathered a ton of user data in digital format. I spent some time sorting out the data and ran a simple Excel calculation to see if I could learn anything. What I found was surprising. The team serving parents, in fact, had previously reached out to several younger couples. My question was, why did they not then attend the programs? I raised this question to the two teams and together we came up with a conclusion that young couples with kids, who joined the parenting programs, were full-time mothers who could attend during the day while their kids were in school. However, they could not attend the marriage enrichment program with their spouses at night as they had no childcare resources to relieve them. The discussion shed light on the issue for the team and shifted their mindset. The promotional effort could reach out to young couples with kids, but they would not be able to attend the couple's program anyway. They needed to redefine their target audience for the couple's programs to people who were married without kids or those with access to childcare support. For those unable to afford childcare service, the team may have to work out alternatives for them to include them.

This story is not just about rethinking our target audience. It is about three important concepts of organizational change: digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation.

Digitization means converting our data into digital format.

Digitalization refers to using digital tools and platforms to make our operation more efficient.

As the team in my story above previously adopted online registration; they had already received users' profile in digital format. Then they could more easily use the data for the digital process of program registration and follow-up communication.

Digitalization enhances our filing systems and makes our work more efficient as users' data can be stored and retrieved in a breeze. However, that data remains underutilized until we dive in and use it to gain a better understanding of our work. We still rely on our personal impressions and assumptions until we take advantage of the data for a holistic profile.

Lacking a deeper understanding of their users through the data, the team had jumped to a premature conclusion deciding quickly to shift their resources to a new strategy.

Digital transformation can help organizations gain a better understanding of their users and adapt their programs to better serve their needs. Digital transformation is a mindset change in which we intentionally make use of data analysis as a significant input in ourdecision-making, strategic planning, and monitoring. Digital data is not only for making our filing system more efficient. It should be used to provide insight into our target communities, and the process and outcomes of their engagement journey.

By utilizing data analysis and adopting a digital mindset, we can make better decisions and provide more effective services to the non-profit communities we serve.

By Bryna Dilman, Fundraising Kit

Technology has revolutionized the way we live, work, and communicate, and the non-profit sector is no exception. Technology has the power to transform the way organizations operate and achieve their missions. By harnessing the power of technology and staying on top of technology trends, non-profits can increase their reach, streamline their operations, and grow their impact. 

In our latest podcast episode, Strengthening the Non-Profit Sector through Fund Development, with Bryna Dilman from Keela, she talked with our CEO, Zahra Esmail about how data-driven technology, and inclusive fundraising practices can help inform and transform the capacity building opportunities for non-profits. Their conversation explored the depths of how non-profits work, how they can come together, and where the responsibility for the sector lies.

Bryna is passionate about helping mission-focused organizations make a lasting difference in the world. She continues to pursue her vision of a more equitable and impactful non-profit sector, driven by data and tech. 

In this blog, Bryna shares more about her vision and passion for strengthening our sector through the power of technology:

Can Technology Transform the Non-profit Sector? 

Technology has already transformed the way non-profit organizations operate. Every area of a non-profit is impacted by technology, but adopting tech doesn’t mean that your organization needs to undergo a full digital transformation. It is equally important for non-profits to keep in mind that technology is intended to enhance the work being done by non-profits, not replace them. Human interaction will always play a critical role and technology should act as a sidekick, not the main star. The goal of tech options should be to relieve some of the administrative burdens that may be taking staff away from more important tasks such as strengthening relationships. With the right tools and strategies, technology can help non-profit organizations achieve greater impact and reach more people.

The COVID-19 pandemic only furthered the need for digital transformation and tech will play a huge role in the future success of non-profit organizations that are seeking to build their capacity, such as:

1. Streamlining operations: Tech tools and platforms can help automate administrative tasks, freeing up staff time to focus on more important tasks.
2. Improving communication: Technology allows non-profits to communicate more effectively with their supporters, volunteers, and staff, through social media, email, and messaging platforms.
3. Enhancing fundraising potential: Online fundraising platforms and donation pages have made it easier than ever for non-profit organizations to raise money and reach new donors.
4. Measuring impact: Reporting is a longstanding challenge within the non-profit sector, however there are tools available that can analyze data to generate quick, digestible reports that accurately track progress and measure impact. 

How Can Non-Profits Use Technology?

Non-profits can best use technology by focusing on the specific needs and goals of their organization, supporters and volunteers. 

When considering tech options, it's important to choose tools and platforms that address the unique needs of non-profit organizations. For example, non-profit software solutions like Keela offer a range of features designed to help manage operations more effectively, including donor management, fundraising tools, volunteer management, and CRM functionality. 

One of the most important pieces of technology for a non-profit organization is a CRM (customer relationship management) tool that will safely store and manage all people data. According to a survey conducted by the Non-profit Technology Network, non-profits that use a CRM have seen a 29% increase in their donations, and yet only 53% of non-profits are currently using a CRM. A proper CRM is the most important piece of technology for a non-profit as the data collected provides critical insights allowing non-profits to make important decisions. 

Technology has become increasingly important for non-profit capacity building in recent years and is a key component of day-to-day operations. With the right technology tools and strategies, non-profits can streamline operations and engage with their supporters more effectively. 

As the non-profit sector continues to evolve, technology will play an increasingly critical role, providing non-profits with the resources they need to succeed. By embracing technology and adopting the right tools and strategies, non-profits can achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and impact, and continue to drive positive social change.

--

This blog is brought to you by Fundraising KIT.

Fundraising KIT was built by a nonprofit leader to support the nonprofit community. Fundraising KIT’s data-driven toolkit helps nonprofits raise more for their cause. Integrating with leading nonprofit databases, KIT identifies supporters ready to give, segments donors for targeted communications, and tracks fundraising progress, all while saving time and resources in the quest to increase revenue.

By Meredith Gray, Fundraising Kit

The pandemic changed the way we do just about everything. From shopping to banking, the tasks that we used to venture out into the world to do are now all available to us without leaving our homes. This includes fundraising. While a strong digital fundraising component, such as donations pages, is critical to fundraising success, it’s important not to let your direct mail marketing strategy fall to the side. 

When we think about direct mail, we tend to think it’s only popular with older generations, but that way of thinking could be leaving money on the table. Yes, direct mail does see the highest return coming from donors over the age of 60, but when combined with other elements such as email marketing or social media, direct mail can resonate strongly with donors of all ages. 

So, how do you build your direct mail marketing strategy to raise as much as possible? This article is designed to help you do just that!

1. Nail Down Your Impact Messaging

Donors like to feel like they’re making a difference with their gift. Your job is to help them understand how they’re doing just that. Take a moment and put yourself in the mindset of your donor. Let’s say you received a piece of direct mail that told a brief storythen asked for a donation in the amount of your choosing. How much would you give? 

Now, imagine that piece of direct mail asked you to give just $10 more than what you had originally planned, BUT you knew exactly what that extra $10 would do for the cause you’re supporting. Would you hesitate in giving that extra $10?

Creating effective impact messaging is a team effort between your fundraising, marketing, and mission teams, but it starts with your fundraising metrics. Take a look at your last direct mail campaign and look for giving trends. If the majority of your donors gave $100 through your last campaign, consider creating an impact statement tied to a value of $110 or $120 to increase your average gift size.

2. Integrate Direct Mail with Other Channels

Remember when we mentioned that direct mail is most popular with older generations? The over-60 group may be most likely to respond directly to your appeal, but a multi-channel direct mail marketing strategy is the key to engaging donors of all ages.

Millennials and Gen Z are quickly becoming the monthly, major, and recurring donors of the future. So what if I told you that 84% of gen z’s that receive a piece of direct mail with a QR code will interact with it online? On top of that, 90% of millennials LOVE receiving mail and 57% of them act on direct mail offers from corporate brands.

The key to engaging younger donors is to make yourself known to them multiple times in several different ways. In fact, it can take 18-20 different touchpoints to reach a donor for the first time. Sending them a piece of direct mail is a great start, but it’s important to ensure that they are seeing your campaign in other places as well, such as through email and on social media.

3. Follow a digital-first approach

We’ve said it already, but we’ll say it again. Direct mail isn’t dead, but it is changing. With donors being 3x more likely to give online in response to a direct mail appeal over an email appeal, it’s clear that those little envelopes arriving in their mailboxes are making a difference.

By following a digital-first approach to your direct mail marketing strategy, not only are you offering donors multiple ways to give, but you may also save money. 

Now hold on, it’s not time to give up on those business reply envelopes just yet, but by diving a little deeper into your donor information, you can be a bit more strategic. 

Start by looking at your previous campaign and pulling out the people that mailed back the direct mail envelope, add in any other donors over the age of 60 and BOOM, there’s your shortlist for how many business reply envelopes you need! It’s still worth it to send mail to all donors, but adding in a QR code or link to donate online is likely a better fit for the majority of your prospects.

4. Segment, Segment, Segment

There isn’t a one-size fits all approach when it comes to asking for money. Donors want to feel like they are one of a kind, not one of many, and that all starts with segmentation.

But where to start? By geographic location? By donation history? The truth is, the answer to that will be different for every organization but we have a couple suggestions to help you out! 

1. By Past Donation Amount

Pull a list of all donors who have given to you through a campaign in the past and the amount they gave. This is a great way to create your segments and increase your overall campaign revenue. Tying this back to the impact statements, you can then segment donors by previous giving amount and develop a custom ask that is slightly higher than what they have given in the past!

2. By Giving Capacity

Sometimes giving history doesn’t give the full story on how much a donor is able to give. By using wealth screening tools, you can segment your donors by their giving capacity. Bundle this with a custom ask for that amount and you’re sure to increase your average gift size.

Pro tip: There are TONS of tools out there that can do this work for you at a reasonable investment, so make sure to research the best option is for your organization!

5. Think about Timing

Now, we don’t want to state the obvious, but with 30% of your donations arriving in December, year-end seems like a great choice to run your direct mail campaign.

Year-end is the perfect time to engage your donors and should definitely be part of your direct mail marketing strategy. Between bites of turkey and unwrapping gifts, the holiday spirit promotes generosity in your donors (plus the last chance to get a tax receipt isn’t a bad incentive either!).

Align the messaging and creative elements between your email marketing strategy, social media channels, direct mail efforts and telemarketing campaigns to ensure that your donors are seeing your campaign front and center on every platform they interact with! 

--

Optimizing your direct mail marketing strategy can do more than just raise money for your cause. It can also help improve the quality of your relationships with your  donors. Donors will always appreciate a personal, thoughtful approach to a solicitation. With direct mail, you can tick that box. There’s no better time than now to be thinking about your next direct mail campaign. Send out your campaign and watch the money start rolling in!

This blog is brought to you by Fundraising KIT.

Fundraising KIT was built by a nonprofit leader to support the nonprofit community. Fundraising KIT’s data-driven toolkit helps nonprofits raise more for their cause. Integrating with leading nonprofit databases, KIT identifies supporters ready to give, segments donors for targeted communications, and tracks fundraising progress, all while saving time and resources in the quest to increase revenue.

By Bryna Dilman, Fundraising Kit

As a fundraiser, have you ever felt there just aren’t enough hours in the day? Between prospect research, stewardship, marketing, and everything in between, you likely have a growing to-do list staring back at you leaving you wondering if there’s an easier way to raise funds for your organization. Good news - there is! 

As more nonprofits look to maximize their impact with fewer resources, automation is becoming a growing trend in fundraising. A powerful way to streamline your marketing efforts, automation saves valuable time and makes better use of your data. 

Using automation software is the easiest way to save time and money while reducing errors. And it’s starting to catch on: 48% of nonprofit organizations boosted their tech spending in 2019, and as new tools become available, that number is only increasing. If you’re looking for creative ways to automate your tasks to increase efficiency, you’ve come to the right place.

5 Ways that Automation Will Lead to Greater Fundraising Success

#1: Fundraising

When it comes to automating your fundraising strategies, thinking outside the box is the key to surpassing your revenue goals. With the right tools, identifying and segmenting the strongest prospects for your next campaign is easy and will certainly lead to the growth of your monthly and major giving revenue streams. 

With the help of data-driven tech options, you can build your fundraising strategy in a matter of minutes and quickly identify the areas in which automation will help your team save time and resources. Knowing how and when to make the ask, you can easily automate your donor outreach, meaning that you’re never leaving any high-value prospects on the back burner and your team has more time to make strong face-to-face connections.

#2: Stewardship

Frequent and impactful touchpoints with stakeholders is the key to retaining your donors. With it being 5x more cost effective to retain donors than recruit new ones, understanding the best ways to steward them and prevent donor lapse is critical to your organization’s growth.

Donors like to be thanked and to understand the impact of their gift, and there’s a good chance that the platform you are using has the ability to automate that work for you. Setting up your system to auto-send a thank you email each time a donor makes a gift, allows you to thank your donors quickly and effectively. You may even be able to set up the email with the tax receipt attached to it, meaning that your donor gets one email with everything they need to feel good about giving to your cause. 

In addition, never underestimate the power of your newsletter! Ensuring that your donors are represented in your newsletter mailing list provides automated, regular communications to them sharing the latest news on how your organization is investing their donor dollars.

#3: Reporting

Tracking and analyzing metrics allows you to make educated decisions and monitor your performance. It should come at no surprise that automation tools are ideal for pulling data from your records and building reports that will inform and direct your activities.

Setting up automated reports allows you to set key performance indicators (KPI) that are automatically updated as you send communications, receive donations, and acquire new donors. The ability to quickly and easily generate and view reports is a gamechanger, allowing you to see just how well your campaigns are doing at any time and adjust your strategy as needed.

#4: Marketing & Communications

A strong marketing and communication strategy directly ties back to how much money you are able to raise. More than 60% of nonprofits use a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to orchestrate communications with their supporters.

Having these tools is the first step, but the real magic happens when you optimize them to automate your marketing and communications as much as possible. 

Pre-scheduling emails is the most common use of these tools, and can save fundraisers a lot of time and energy at the busiest time in their fundraising season. By building and scheduling emails that will recruit, engage, and thank donors and fundraisers, your team will have more time to invest in building the relationships that will lead to your fundraising success.

#5: Social Media

Automation allows you to more strategically craft your approach to social media. By planning out your content calendar in advance, you can build and schedule posts using tools such as Hootsuite to ensure that you maintain an engaged follower base on your social channels. 

When social media automation is bundled with your email marketing strategy, you can expand your reach across all of your different communications platforms, making it a great tool to use for your next campaign. By scheduling posts that contain a consistent call to action as your campaign, it’s easy to go live on social at the same time that you schedule your email, meaning that your audience will see the same message in multiple places and are more likely to take the action you’re asking them to.

--

By looking for automation opportunities within your work, your nonprofit can evaluate your goals and ensure you have the right tools and technology for the job. Automation is just the beginning when it comes to all of the ways that Fundraising KIT can help you raise more money for your cause. Ready to unlock the full potential of your donors? Contact us to talk to a fundraising expert!

This blog is brought to you by Fundraising KIT.

Fundraising KIT was built by a nonprofit leader to support the nonprofit community. Fundraising KIT’s data-driven toolkit helps nonprofits raise more for their cause. Integrating with leading nonprofit databases, KIT identifies supporters ready to give, segments donors for targeted communications, and tracks fundraising progress, all while saving time and resources in the quest to increase revenue.

By Bryna Dilman, Fundraising Kit

The last two and a half years have motivated us all to think about the structure of our organizations and the need to develop resilient and sustainable fundraising strategies.

While change can be daunting, it can also be exciting! Staying on top of the latest fundraising trends helps your organization stay current and support your overall revenue growth. In this article, we share the top 5 fundraising trends of 2022, and why your nonprofit should consider adopting them to become a more dynamic, flexible and sustainable organization.

Trend #1: Flexible Giving and Participation Options

Over the past 2 years, our lives have become increasingly more digital. We communicate online, shop online, and donate online. Donors expect to be able to support your organization in various ways and from the comfort of their own homes.

Because of this digital movement, online giving grew by over 9% in 2021 on top of significant growth between 2020 and 2021. Now, there are less donors giving at in-person fundraising events, more nonprofits are putting an end to accepting offline cash and cheques for security reasons, and we are seeing more people embrace emerging online giving tools. Establishing online giving options provides donors with giving methods tailored to their needs and creates a more comfortable donor experience.

In addition, 92% of companies continued hosting virtual events even after physical events had resumed. This shows the comfortability we’ve gained around engaging with our favorite organizations from home. Whether it’s a donation campaign or a peer-to-peer event, providing supporters with flexible participation options lets them support your cause in the way that works best for them, making them more likely to engage with you again.

Trend #2: Focus on Donor Retention Strategies

Donor acquisition is an increasingly expensive endeavor, with the cost of bringing in a new donor often being double or even triple the amount of their initial donation. Donor retention is now necessary to simply break even on acquisition costs, much less generate sustainable revenue for your organization.

Many nonprofits report that more than half of donors only give once, leaving many with a loss on their initial investment in first-time donors. It’s much easier and more cost-effective to motivate individuals to give if they have already done so in the past. These donors know who you are, understand your mission and want to support you.

Fundraising technology makes it easier than ever to optimize stewardship techniques and improve the donor experience. Ensuring donors have easy access to stewardship materials, such as impact reports, allows them to understand how their donation was invested, provides credibility to your organization and makes them feel good about the impact they have made.

Additionally, it’s important to calculate your donor retention rate to understand the effectiveness of your retention strategies. Donor retention starts with building strong relationships with stakeholders so they feel appreciated and excited by the work your organization is doing. By nurturing authentic, long-term donor relationships, you can increase your donor retention and guarantee sustained fundraising success.

Trend #3: Strengthen Recurring Programs

Monthly giving programs provide nonprofits with predictable revenue while reducing the need for fundraisers to keep making individual appeals. Even better, monthly giving is becoming increasingly popular as 42% more revenue comes from monthly donors than one-time donors.

Because recurring giving is more financially impactful, easier to manage, and increasingly popular, fundraisers need to make it a priority. Additionally, monthly giving is a great way to connect with the next generation of donors. For example, a study found that 60% of millennials are interested in monthly giving. Even better, 49% of Gen X donors are already enrolled in a monthly giving program. Millennials and Gen X are the tech generation and typically already pay monthly rent and bills online, making them comfortable with a monthly giving program.

Fundraisers need the right tools for the job to identify and make appeals to their best monthly giving candidates. When you look at technology that provides likelihood to recur, your tech and tools can do your prospect research for you. Ensure you are analyzing donor giving histories and past interactions to determine which contacts in your database are most likely to become monthly recurring donors.

Recurring giving is an important revenue stream for organizations of any size. Just like the trends we see in FinTech to bring high-grade tools to smaller organizations, recurring donor management through fundraising technology allows any nonprofit to get more donations online. The technology is simple, and the impact of just a handful of recurring donations can mean sustainable income for years ahead without requiring additional resources.

Trend #4: Invest in Personalized Giving Experiences

Personalization is critical to long-lasting donor relationships. Donors are increasingly expecting personalized giving experiences. Through the use of the right segmentation tools, nonprofits have the opportunity to enhance the donor experience and increase donor retention and generosity. Interactions with supporters will need to be tailored according to their lifestyles, passions, and communication preferences.

Understanding that 59% of donors would give up to 10% more for a personalized experience means your nonprofit has the opportunity to raise more by getting personal with your stakeholders, which can easily be accomplished using the right tools.

Digital communication and engagement are crucial to providing a personalized donor experience. Targeted emails, social posts, and texts help keep supporters up-to-speed on important events, registration dates and the ongoing impact of your nonprofit.

When planning your communications strategy, be thoughtful of how often you reach out and the quality of your content. With the right tools, you can segment your contacts by their interests, giving histories, and more, creating unique and targeted donor experiences.

For some organizations, personalization may take the form of ramping up a text message campaign that updates donors on key projects and even offers text-to-donate opportunities. For others, it may mean that major donors receive more regular program updates. To find out what works for your organization, send out a donor survey to learn more about how your supporters want to be communicated with, what they want to hear about, and how they prefer to give. This information will help you develop your personalization strategy and help you surpass your revenue goals.

Trend #5: Explore Workplace Giving

When we think about engaging corporate businesses in fundraising, sponsorship is usually one of the first things that comes to mind. However, there is another way organizations can benefit from corporate philanthropy: employee giving.

As the great resignation and hybrid or remote working models continue to become a reality, many companies are looking for new ways to make their employees feel happy, supported and engaged. Many companies find that workplace giving programs are a great way to connect their teams with their colleagues and their community. Approximately $5 billion is raised through workplace giving annually, presenting a huge opportunity for nonprofits.

As you think about finding your perfect corporate partner, start by focusing on businesses in your local community. Companies are much more likely to support nonprofits that operate within the same area where their employees live and work. Next, visit their website to understand more about their corporate social responsibility practices. If you find that your organization aligns with their impact work, they might just promote you within their employee giving program or make a donation themselves.

In conclusion, nonprofits will continue to play a vital role in delivering services, strengthening communities, and supporting those in need. The nonprofit sector is diverse in size, type, donor base, and more. However, one thing brings this sector together, the need for sustainable and successful fundraising strategies.

--

By adopting these trends, your nonprofit can evaluate your goals and ensure you have the right tools and technology for the job, which is why Fundraising KIT thinks you should get up to speed on the top fundraising trends in 2022 and get ahead in 2023 so you can start raising more!

This blog is brought to you by Fundraising KIT.

Fundraising KIT was built by a nonprofit leader to support the nonprofit community. Fundraising KIT’s data-driven toolkit helps nonprofits raise more for their cause. Integrating with leading nonprofit databases, KIT identifies supporters ready to give, segments donors for targeted communications, and tracks fundraising progress, all while saving time and resources in the quest to increase revenue. Learn more.