Recent studies have revealed that, on average, over 88% of all funds in nonprofits come from just 12% of donors – the major donors. This means that most organizations rely on these major donors for revenue.
As we move closer to the New Year, it’s important to re-examine your relationship with your significant donors and take proactive measures to maximize the impact of your future fundraising efforts.
Here are four proven fundraising strategies to consider moving forward.
1. Ask Donors for Feedback
Feedback is essential when it comes to maintaining your donor base. It is essential to know how your donors feel about your work.
This helps you better understand what they need from your organization, whether they would like more of one thing and less of another, and what you can do to keep them coming back.
You can ask them about:
- their opinion on actions that your nonprofit has taken in the past;
- their expectations moving forward;
- how they’d like to be communicated with;
- what kind of updates they want to receive;
- anything relevant for them to remain committed.
There are many ways to solicit and collect feedback from existing and potential donors.
Email surveys, one-on-one Zoom calls, hosted donors focus groups, welcome email sequences – these are all effective methods that you should consider incorporating in your daily operations.
2. Actively Motivate Your Donors to Give
We couldn’t talk about fundraising strategies without mentioning this. Motivation is critical in fundraising. When donors can attach a clear reason for giving, they donate more and are more engaged overall.
The question is: what motivates people to give?
Of course, people are all different and have different reasons they may choose to donate or not. However, some tactics are generally very effective with a wide array of donors.
The first one is to create an emotional connection between the donor, your organization, and the cause you support. How do you do this? By telling the story of how your nonprofit started and how you’re changing the world for the better. This can be done by creating compelling videos, having personal interactions with donors, or storytelling in your marketing copy.
Another way to motivate donors is to be transparent and provide clear and concise information about the cause and how donations can help in various areas. People are more likely to give to a charity if they feel confident that their donation will make a real difference.
3. Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Event Planning
Event planning is one of those key fundraising strategies that every non-profit organization can benefit from. When done right, fundraising events can not only re-engage your significant donors and generate more revenue, but they can also attract new donors.
If you’re not planning your events ahead of time, you might be missing out on significant opportunities to raise funds and awareness for your cause.
Read Top 12 Fundraising Event Planning Tips You Need to Know
4. Make Your Donors Feel Valued
Making your donors feel valued is essential to keeping them engaged with your organization and can make the difference between a high and a low retention rate. Showing your donors how important they are to your organization can take many different forms.
One way is to dedicate time to consistently thank them for their generosity and share specific details about how their donation helped your cause. You can also send photos and personalize updates of your work with their contribution.
Another way is to treat your donors at your next event by booking premium entertainment. It’s a great way to increase the perceived value of your event and make donors feel rewarded and appreciated.
Discover More Fundraising Strategies to Consider in 2022 and beyond!
Ready to make next year your most successful year yet?
We hope that the ideas we shared in this article have inspired you to make donors the focus of your fundraising efforts. And if you’re looking for more inspiration, be sure to check out this article.
