Raise more money by understanding your donor types

One great way to bore your audience is to repeatedly send the same email over and over again. (“Too many asks” is probably the number one reason your donors unsubscribe). But this is an easy problem to fix by developing different types of emails for different purposes. Here are seven email types you’ll want to have in your fundraising arsenal:

A keep in touch email for donors

Call it a newsletter if you must, but this is just an email to keep in touch with your donors. You don’t need to cram it full of articles but you do need to show your organization’s impact. We suggest keeping it very simple:

• A few sentences about what you accomplished this month
• A picture
• What’s coming up
• If you’re having trouble coming up with content here, start with what you’ve shared on social media or think about what you’d talk about in a donor meeting if someone asked for an update.

Why it’s worth the effort: it keeps you “top of mind” with your community of donors but also makes the case for renewing donations.

 

Thank you emails

Bad news, the automatic email from your online donation form is not a thank you. It should say thank you, but this email is a donation receipt. It’s a “thanks – we got it!” email. A real thank you email can also be automated but should be a heartfelt email thanking the donor for the gift and telling them they can expect a report on their impact. Some organizations choose to send these via snail mail, which is a good choice if you can get them out fast. (We like to do an email and a handwritten thank you).

We suggest the following elements for your thank you email:

• Sent from an individual person at the organization (for example, this email should come from Yolanda Jameson, not “The Children’s Museum”)
• Automatically sent to new donors within 24 hours of their donation
• Contain links to stories on your website
• Include at least one great picture
• Tell the donor what to expect “We’ll send you an update on this project” or “We’ll keep you updated on our success!”

Why it’s worth the effort: Data shows us that a powerful thank you is the main thing that drives donor retention.

 

A welcome series for new donors

The first time someone donates, what do you do? Add them to your email list and just include them the next time you send an email? What if you get someone’s email on December 1? Will their first interaction with you be a series of fundraising emails because it’s the end of the year?

A welcome series introduces new donors to your cause and gives them ways to be involved. The basic formula for a welcome series is three emails:

• The first email says thanks for signing up and might give an introduction to the organization and how to get involved by volunteering, donating, or sharing information with their social networks.
• The next email follows one day later and might give a little more information about a specific win. This is a great time to ask the person to give a little more information about themselves. What type of information do they want? Why did they want to get involved? This is actually a good time to mention any monthly giving program you have.
• The final email is about two days after that and gives your new subscribers something to do or look forward to.

Why it’s worth it: when someone makes their first donation it’s when they are the most excited and curious about you so it’s important to ignite their newfound passion. If you start aggressively asking them for money, you’ll lose them. If you don’t say anything to them, they’ll think you don’t care.

 

Emergency fundraising appeal

If we learned anything in 2020, it was that responding quickly to a crisis gets amazing results. We were inspired by many amazing non-profits pivot programs quickly to serve people in need. Your fundraising should be able to pivot as fast. An emergency fundraising appeal is for times when your organization has an increase in services, is responding to a local or national crisis, or might need last-minute help. While you can plan for the reason for needing an emergency appeal, you can plan ahead to be prepared when you do need one:

• Make sure your donor and email lists are regularly updated.
• Create an email outline using the prompt “I’m writing with an urgent request.”
• Draft a few subject lines to give you a starting point when you need to move fast.
• Create an emergency fundraising landing page for your website. Keep it simple so all you have to do is to update the language.

Why it’s worth the effort: Doing even a little bit of work now will help save you time when you need to move fast. Think about this as doing a favor for “future you.”

 

 

Donation series

We have seen many organizations double the amount of money they are raising just by moving from singular email campaigns into email series. The bottom line is if you send more emails, you’ll raise more money. So if your goal is to raise money at the end of the year, don’t just send an email that mimics your snail mail donation letter, spread your message out over a few weeks and deliver it in small chunks to your subscribers. Try to see if you can explore different reasons to give by brainstorming different types of ask in your next campaign:

• A storytelling email that tells a story of a person you’ve helped
• An impact email that highlights the data and stats of your organization
• A social proof email that highlights the support of others in a way that encourages someone to join in.
• A “bare minimum” email that sums everything with just a picture and a sentence.
• A text-only email from leadership that makes an ask directly and urgently.

Why it’s worth it: One, not everyone will see your first email. Two, sometimes people have to see something a bunch of times before they are persuaded. Three, people give for different reasons, and a series allows you to make your pitch from a variety of different angles.

 

 

Re-Engagement Email

Every so often, you may want to pull a list of people that haven’t opened your emails lately (like in the last year or the last 6 months). For this group, it may be time to set them free. But before you and remove them from your list, do the following steps:

• Look at the list to see if there are any major donors, volunteers, or board members on there. These engaged folks might not be receiving your emails, so it’s good to check in with them.
• Send this list a “re-engagement email” letting them know of some special things to get involved in. Maybe it’s a special invitation, a triple $ match, a newsworthy story, or an incredible story.
• For the ones that don’t interact with that email, send them one more email telling them (nicely) that since you haven’t heard from them, you are going to take them off your list. Unless that is, they want to stay on it, in which case they should let you know by clicking a button.

Why it’s worth it: keeping your list tidy, with people that want to hear from you will improve your success. Would you rather have a list of 10,000 with a 6% conversion rate? Or a list of 30,000 with a 2% conversion rate? It’s the same number of donors, but if you’re being charged by your email provider for the number of email addresses you have, it’s cheaper to carry 10,000.

 

 

 

A list-building email

An information source from your non-profit designed to attract new people to your email list.

Some examples might include: a health newsletter about caring for yourself or loved ones with a specific disease, a news email with top headlines in your issue area, an advocacy newsletter with action items for activists, a resource about “ten things to know before you adopt a dog,” or even information about public events for families. Think about what information you can give your audience that no one else can.

Why it’s worth it: adding new and interested people to your email list is the first step in building a relationship with them. This group of people can become your next group of dedicated volunteers, event attendees, and even donors.

Good ways to increase donations

The best kind of fundraising is the kind that consistently delivers, day after day. One of our favorite tactics to increase your fundraising effectiveness is working on your donation page. Not only can it increase the NUMBER of donations you get every year, but it can also increase the SIZE of those donations. 

Here are some of our favorite tips on creating effective donation pages: 

Make it donor friendly

It’s essential to make your donation page easy to navigate. Donor-friendly donation pages have an inspiring call to action, include straightforward giving options, have a responsive donation form, share information that builds trust, and include contact info. This WiredImpact article gives ten great examples of donor-friendly donation pages.

 

Make it simple

Once people are on your website, you want to make sure your donation form is simple to find and fill out. The fewer steps, clicks, and fields needed to complete a donation, the better. sgENGAGE further explains the most effective optimizations you can make for your donation forms.

 

Include a reason to give on the donation page

Don’t assume visitors on your donation page are already fully motivated to give. Including more specific language and providing an abundance of clarity on exactly how a donation will be used can lead to more gifts. This NextAfter article shares an example of a donation page that got a 68% increase in donations due to specificity and clarity.

 

Remove extra links

We dug up this Wired Impact article with simple suggestions on creating a better donation form, like removing any links that may direct potential donors away from your donation page. The number one thing you want people to do when visiting your donation form is to give. Removing any extra distractions will help make that happen.

 

Give your donation form personality 

Custom-branded donation pages make donors feel secure about making a gift which increases average gift size and the likelihood of a second gift. CauseVox provides some great examples of the best non-profit donation pages.

 

Optimize for mobile

This Mor Web article explains making your donation page mobile-optimized can result in more online donations. Design your donation page with mobile-responsive automation to ensure it’s easy to view on different screen sizes, easy to interact with and navigate from any device, and has a “donate” button clearly displayed at all times.  

 

Be strategic with donation tiers

Donation tiers provide donors with guidance for giving. Use between 4-6 tiers with the suggested dollar amount and a short description for each value. We recommend this CauseVox article for more insight on looking at your data to determine the value of your donation tiers. 

 

Create different types of donation pages

Don’t assume a single donation page is sufficient. Donors come with a variety of motivations. Align your pages with your donors’ motivations by utilizing general, campaign, and “instant” donation pages. This CXL article gives great examples and details of how to implement each type successfully.

 

For even more inspiration and help, check out these articles for examples of donation pages:

• 15 Donation Page Examples to Inspire Your Online Fundraising by Shahzad Saeed 
• 9 Donation Page Examples to Inspire You by Ines Alvergne
• What Makes for an Effective Online Donation Page? By Aine Creedon 
• 25 Amazing Donate Pages To Fire Up Your Fundraising by Sayana Izmailova
• 7 Donation Page Examples That Will Help You Raise More Online by Tina Jepson

 

Every time we review results from a fundraising campaign (I mean, EVERY SINGLE TIME) our clients realize how much more money they could have raised if they only had a bigger email list.

Don’t live your life filled with regret, check out these tips on how to build your non-profit organization’s email list.

Invite your social media followers

We like these tips from Cause Vox, especially the section on social media, that explains how you can encourage your audience to subscribe by updating your Instagram bio, making posts count, and taking advantage of Facebook features. Don’t forget your Youtube channel! Tip #15 in this Hubspot article suggests using hyperlinked “end cards” to your videos to encourage subscriptions to your channel via the user’s email address.

Offer something of clear value

What do your subscribers get from signing up for your email list? People are more likely to subscribe if you offer content that is worth their time. This article from Constant Contact gives great examples of different free resources you can use to create value in each email you send to your supporters. We love when organizations create quizzes that educate and entertain. This article from Nonprofit Marketing Guide shows examples of non-profit quizzes that worked.

Collect email addresses at events

Make sure to offer an easy and accessible way for people to sign up for your email list at all of your events. Tip #4 in this article from Capital Business shows some different options. And don’t forget to add attendees from virtual events to your mailing list. This resource from OptinMonster recommends using Google Hangouts for your webinar (it’s free) and asking people to register with their email addresses. If you have any printed materials (brochures, event flyers, business cards) include a QR Code linking to the opt-in page (check out these Aweber tips on using QR codes).

Ask subscribers to share

Call upon your current subscriber to spread the word about supporting your amazing cause. The fourth and fifth tips in this Get Fully Funded article give details on making it easy for your newsletter subscribers to share with their contacts and using your email signature as a promotional tool.

Cross-promote

If your organization is offering unique, rewarding content, other organizations will find your content valuable too. Tip #8 from this article from Classy gives the fabulous suggestion to find other organizations to partner with to promote each other’s information.

Try a little competition

Leverage the drive to be competitive amongst your supporters and host a photo contest, a “best slogan” contest, or whatever best suits your cause. Contest entries all come with an email address which can rapidly grow your list with people who care.  See more tips like this in this Nonprofit Tech for Good article.

January is the time to put the finishing touches on your fundraising plan and to think big about what your non-profit wants to achieve for the year. The simplest fundraising plan has the following parts:

Summary of your past fundraising results

How much came in last year as a result of your efforts? Usually, this is grouped by individual giving, foundation giving, board giving, corporate giving, and money raised by events. You can organize this in any way that makes sense to you. The main thing you want to understand is which strategies are working the best and which groups have the most potential.
For online giving, take a look at which emails yielded the best results and find out the sources of traffic to your donation page (available in google analytics). Compare your results to M+R Benchmarks and see where you are above average and where you need to improve.

Set fundraising goals for the upcoming year

For some organizations, the amount they need to raise is clearly tied to the strategic plan. For others, it can be less clear. Think about how much you need to raise to keep the program going at the same rate? What could the organization achieve if more was brought in? Looking at your past results, make projections on where you think the money will be coming from. Be sure to flag places where you project growth.
For online giving, set goals based on segments and campaigns – maybe you can increase monthly donors, increase the average gift size of new donors, increase the number of new donors, or increase your response rate to campaigns.

Detail the work the organization needs to do to achieve these goals

If you’re counting on renewing 50% of your individual donors, you know you will need resources (time, technology, content, events, volunteers, staff, board participation) specifically aimed at donor retention. Identify, specifically, where those resources will be used and if applicable, where you will draw the resources from.
For online giving, research any new technology you’ll need to reach your goals such as text-to-give or a peer-to-peer platform or investment in cleaning up your database.

Make your fundraising calendar

It is tempting to think of this as a big to-do list but it’s better to think about it as a map of opportunities to connect with your donors. Think about how your donors and potential donors are feeling and thinking throughout the year – what’s the opportunity to connect about your mission? If they are thinking about Valentine’s Day, maybe it’s a good time to think about donating to help save a life, spreading love to those in need, or donating blood. The point is to connect your mission to your donor’s life. The more you connect, the more you will raise. Also think through opportunities to build your list, thank existing donors, and introduce your organization to new people.
For online giving, outline a few pilot programs you might want to try or questions you have that can be answered through testing (for example, what’s the ideal timing to ask for a second gift? What percentage of donors prefer to give by monthly donations?)

Want to get more detailed in your planning? Check out these planning resources:

Wild Apricot has an article about How to Prepare a Nonprofit Fundraising Plan. We especially like the section on thinking through fundraising trends.
Get Fully Funded has a guide specifically for new non-profits. So if you yelled “but I don’t have any past results” when you started reading this article, check out this Fundraising Plan Template for New Nonprofits.

An easy and meaningful way to get the board involved in organization fundraising is by giving them the MOST fun part of our jobs – thanking donors!

But you don’t want to just let the Board go bananas with a bunch of donor contacts so it’s best to give them some guidelines (notice we didn’t say script) so they can connect with donors in a meaningful way.

The best place to start is by having a conversation with your board members about why thanking donors is meaningful to your organization. Try these two stats on for size:

• 23% of donors say that the quality of the thank you letter inspired them to give again (Source: 2017 Cone Communications CSR Study)
• Research has shown that first-time donors who receive a personal thank-you within 48 hours are four times more likely to give again. (Tom Ahern on the Candid blog)

Convinced? Have your board members peek at your most recent donor list to flag anyone they personally or professionally know (even just a little bit!) and then get them started with a few warm-up calls using the guidelines below.

Guidelines for donor thank you calls

Be very clear with your board members that this call is not to ask people for money but serves to build a relationship.

Open with a thank you

Start by saying your donor’s name and then introducing yourself.

“Hi Maria, this is Don Washington and I am calling to thank you.”

Pause for the person to say “for what” or to give them an opportunity to realize this is not a sales call.

“I’m on the Board of Directors at XXXX Organization and we are incredibly grateful for your gift, especially in a year like this one.”

Pause for the person to say you’re welcome

Gather information

“May I ask you what inspired you to give?”

Let the donor talk for as long as they want. Take a few notes if you can. Ask a follow-up question!

Thank them and open the door for more:

“Thank you for sharing that with me. Your gift is helping us do X, Y, and Z this year. Let us know if you’d like to get more involved by volunteering, attending an event, or anything else”

Let them know you’ll stay in touch

We’ll keep in touch with you by email, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

Extra credit for follow-up

Send a follow-up email thanking them again and giving the appropriate staff person’s contact info.

It is time to start planning your fundraising strategies so here are a few webinar recommendations to perfect your year-end approach and improve your results:

Get Your Board to Give Their Biggest Gifts and Help You Fundraise

This “Charity How To” webinar can help you get your board members enthusiastically involved in achieving fundraising goals. Learn how to create a board culture that embraces giving and fundraising, develop a board process that raises the level of board member donations, and develop a strategic plan for board member involvement. This 90-minute webinar, featuring Asking Matters President, Brian Saber, takes place Thursday, November 5th, at 1:00 PM EDT and costs $87.

Reserve Your Spot Here

Donor-Centered Fundraising – The Webinar Series

Cygnus Applied Research offers a three-part webinar series on building more generous donors, all based on Penelope Burk’s excellent research and data. Webinar #1 takes place Friday, November 6th, and will cover donor-centered gift acknowledgment. Webinar #2 takes place Friday, November 13th, and covers distributing your message to donors without bombarding them. The final webinar takes place Friday, November 20th, and will cover donor-centered recognition strategies to keep your donors loyal to your cause. Each webinar will be 75-minutes long and feature Cygnus Applied Research President, Penelope Burk. Cost is $335 (early-bird rate) or $375 (regular rate). 

Reserve Your Spot Here

How to Use Marketing Automation Tools to Boost Year-End Giving

This Classy webinar will teach you how to use marketing automation tools to bring in donations. Access this on-demand webinar to learn how to reach hyper-targeted audiences, automate emails through workflows to save time, and adjust marketing strategies based on attribution reporting results. Featured speakers include Classy, HubSpot, Haymakers of Hope Director, Mark Avery, and Lynton Growth Strategist, Roman Kniahynyckyj. The 54-minute webinar is free and available for you whenever you want, wherever you want.

Download the Webinar Here

 

How to Boost Your Planned Giving Program

This Chronicle of Philanthropy webinar highlights how to kick-off your planned-giving program. Check this out for tips on strengthening legacy giving, developing a planned-giving strategy, and framing conversations and messages in a way that will keep donors engaged in your work. Featured guest speakers include Lisa Sargent, Crystal Thompkins, and Debra Steinbuch. The 75-minute webinar takes place Thursday, October 22nd, at 2:00 PM EDT and the cost is $69 (early-bird rate) or $89 (regular rate).

Reserve your spot here

One of our very generous clients decided to “pay it forward” and donate some of their unused consulting hours to organizations that might need a little extra fundraising help this year.

Answer a few questions below, and we’ll pick five organizations to get a free fundraising plan for year-end. You’ll receive two strategy sessions with Good Ways Inc., a custom plan, and a campaign workbook. (But really we’ll customize our services to help you however we can!) We’re going to pick organizations we think we have the best chance of helping, so be clear on what you need most.

Deadline: October 18.

Also, spelling/grammar doesn’t count here, so our real gift to you might be that you can just fill out this form and not even have to proofread it. 🙂