Being visible is just no longer enough. It’s all about leveraging attention. Non-profit fundraising is never easy, but the reality that non-profits are raising support from a smaller pool of donors who are giving more, is a reality that can’t be ignored. While I don’t have answers, what I do know is cultivating new donors is as important as ever.
Open for innovation
Transforming Center has been a client for many years. What I appreciate most is their trust of our work and their willingness to experiment and take risks. Even though it has become increasingly challenging to raise general operating funds in a mid-year campaign, they have continued to do mailings that are designed to deepen their relationship with donors while asking for support. This year I proposed that we try to engage donor prospects by creating something that had value.
There is no shortage of bad news, so we created an oversized piece – a zine to be exact. My hope was that by offering it for a gift of any size, it would increase the number of first-time donors. The good news was that we exceeded our fundraising goal. The bad news was that the number of first-time donors remained flat, though the cost of printing a few hundred extra pieces is very cost efficient.
View more photos of the campaign in our portfolio.
Not satisfied with the win
Even though the fundraising goal was exceeded, I was disappointed with the results. We had hundreds of leftover mailings and new donors were flat. I suggested that we offer the zine for free to our prospect list. The cost of postage was a good investment, especially since they exceeded their goal. The client was a bit hesitant, but they trusted us. So instead of free with donation, I sent out one last email celebrating the success of the campaign and offering to mail for free.
Did you say free?
Since we had already marketed it as “free with donation” two times I was surprised by the response. Within twenty minutes we had almost 150 requests and reached 350 before the end of the same day. I built in some contingencies. I set a limit to submissions and then offered to email the zine if prospects emailed and asked for it. This ensured we would manage expectations. I could have easily just posted a PDF, but I knew a personal interaction would greatly increase the perceived value, build a stronger connection with a prospective donor and be a wonderful opportunity to receive feedback. We ended up emailing PDFs to another seventy people who were appreciative and one who wrote back and said that they would be willing to pay for a subscription if we were to produce this again!
Nexts steps
Instead of just meeting the goal we leveraged this communication to start relationships with hundreds of new prospective donors. We turned what felt a little flat (even if it exceeded the fundraising goal) into a huge win internally and externally. I am grateful for Transforming Center, their willingness to take risks, and in our mutual desire to create communication that builds relationships with donors.
Tired of the same results? Explore the opportunities that exist within your fundraising program. Connect with Jeffery James on LinkedIn, use our contact form or call Jeffery at 630.267.5009 ext 700.
