Now that the New Year's celebrations have come to a close, you should already have a strategy in place to improve your organization's standing this year. You do have one, right?
Of course we do! Why else did you publish that previous post?
That's true. In any event, planning and executing strategies is important to running a nonprofit organization. That includes implementing constituent relationship management software that targets and nurtures your members. But you also have to pay attention to what's around you, especially when it comes to current or new development. Otherwise, you miss small things that lead to big events like that viral "Ice Bucket Challenge" that the ALS Association completed last summer.
Well, nobody saw that coming…
But they were based on trends that were developing at that point: A straightforward silly viral campaign to raise awareness.
Our strategy isn't about raising awareness, though. It's about raising funds.
Well, then, there are trends to look out for there as well. Consider donors: They made a roaring comeback in the last year, according to fundraising expert Gail Perry in her blog. Building up your relationship is now more important than getting more of them. They're becoming more trusting of you and your organization to use their donations for the aim of your organization. Their mentality has changed, however. They are far more cautious with their money. They don't like the idea of donating for the sake of giving so much as they want to make an investment that has a return.
Getting donors on your side is a big trend for 2015.
With this in mind, you have to play to their interests in that way. Be personable with your donors, and they will reward you. Nonprofit CRM software can help with this by creating profiles that you can refer to whenever sending emails or making phone calls to these people. The closer these people come to your organization, the more likely they are to see themselves as holding a stake in the organization. That will make them donate more. In addition, heed any calls for transparency. You should be able to clearly explain where donations are going in clear detail.
Of course, you shouldn't walk away from getting new donors outright. You can do a lot with that as well. One method is through crowdfunding, which has grown substantially in the last year.
Like what the Ice Bucket Challenge did?
You could say that. However, Social Velocity notes that as crowdfunding becomes a more viable option for many organizations, it's important to consider how it's being used, not if. Crowdfunding is a great idea if you need to inject money into a specific operation, say some new water pump in West Africa. However, it's not a constant source of revenue. People are often sending money for something to be completed when they crowdfund, not to keep the nonprofit running. You may use these opportunities, however, to bring more people into the fold as permanent donors. Done strategically, this system can bring in more people in the long run.