Patrick J Coleman is the CEO of GiveCentral. His expertise lies in stewardship, fundraising, electronic giving, and change enablement.
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With fall around the corner and the holiday season coming up, I think now is the perfect time for nonprofit organizations to gear up for fall and holiday fundraising. Marketing your cause is extremely important for any kind of fundraising campaign, and for this, it's important to have your "four P's” in place.
1. Product
Although you are likely not selling products such as clothes or shoes, it is important to realize that you do have a product that you’re offering. Pinpoint your product, and plan your campaign around it. Look at what you are delivering—is it school fees for needy children? Clothes and food for the homeless? What you are delivering through the funds collected becomes your product. Another way to go about this is to look at what you are offering to your donors. It could be a seamless transaction or the power to become a source of happiness. Analyze the core of your campaign and pick your product.
2. Price
Nonprofit organizations are known to accept any amount of donation. However, you can always bring your own twist to your campaign. When you have a good knowledge of your donors, you likely know how much they are capable of donating. It is okay to ask for a specific amount from your donors, especially the recurring donors. When you include a call-to-action button in your appeals, consider specifying an amount as well—you can even provide different options for the amount.
3. Promotion
Tap on different channels to promote and market your cause. Be it online, offline or paid advertising—make sure that you figure out what will work best for your nonprofit.
4. Place
Meet your donors where they are. If you are banking on social media to reach your audience, make sure that you have your donation link or action/donation button in place. Even on your website, make it easy for your audience to take action.
After setting your campaign goal and acquiring in-depth knowledge about your donors, it’s time to really plan your fall fundraising campaign. Here are a few tips that can help you achieve a better result.
Conduct a competitive analysis.
You need to know what is popular with your audience in order to capture their hearts and attention. Your nonprofit is not the only one gathering funds for a cause, so I advise you to be aware of the methods that other organizations are employing. Create a document for your analysis, and go through what others are doing in detail. Figure out the techniques that you think will work for your nonprofit and add your own element to them. For example, if you like the idea of mobile giving, you might consider incorporating text-to-give to make the process even more efficient.
Establish a stellar landing page.
With online and mobile giving as continuously growing trends, it is important that nonprofits pay attention to the donation landing page. From the homepage to your donation landing page, make sure that all your web pages are stellar and pleasing to the eyes. Here are some additional tips:
• Use visuals—images that tell a story about your cause.
• Make sure your website is easy to navigate.
• Never forget your call-to-action button, preferably in a larger size.
Segment your communication.
When it comes to fundraising for nonprofits, appeals and communication are never one-size-fits-all. Approach each set of your audience differently.
Segment your communication just like you have segmented your audience. Write a separate draft for each category—new donors, recurring donors, major donors, etc. And write a follow-up email for each category as well.
Perform trials.
Once you have your plan in place, do not execute it immediately. I suggest going through your plan multiple times and performing test runs. If you are hosting an online event for a fundraiser, run a trial on the platform at least three to four times before the actual event. Keep your technical team ready for any fixes or adjustments. The same goes for online giving—test your methods and techniques before implementing them.
As for ideas on fall and holiday fundraising, you can consider a few of these ideas that are fun and celebratory:
• Charity auctions, both offline and online
• Candle sales
• Gift wrapping services
• Holiday galas
• Movie screenings
• Offline or online concerts
The fall and holiday season is not a short stretch. Therefore, it is wise to have your plans ready to be implemented well in advance. Give yourself enough time to do a run-through; this can help ensure a better campaign result for your nonprofit organization. The point is to end the year with satisfaction so that the coming year beckons for even higher notes.
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