Fundraising In A Digital Media Age

- Be sure to check out our offer to donate time on slide 35

If you’re old enough, you might remember a time when a pair of pliers was the remote control

If the channel dial wore out on your grandmother’s old RCA or Zenith TV console, the pliers probably gave the box

several more years of life

But,

what’s this got to do with fundraising?

Well, in today’s digital media age

everything

about donor behavior has changed

The pliers metaphor is synonymous with today’s fundraising when you compare a traditional appeal letter to a digital media

campaign

A little like your grandfather’s

Oldsmobile- sorry GM!

Bill Gates challenging Elon Musk & Ryan

Seacrest during the ALS Ice Bucket

Challenge

When you think about it,

when was the last time one of your donors or prospects

photocopied your mailer and distributed it to ten friends

(Maybe never?)

And, while it may be a stretch to think you could raise over $100 million from your next viral campaign,

there are replicable principles you can follow to mirror the attributes that

were done in this now famous campaign

In fact,

there are six specific attributes

that should be part of your digital media fundraising plan

But first there’s a trick;

one must recognize when fundraising with digital media

traditional methods and tactics

do not apply

Since donor behavior and expectations has changed

use the following as your strategic starting points

Continue for explanation!

1. Authorship2. Humanize3. Change “the angle” of the dialogue4. Cross-media 5. Capture6. Nurture

Annual Promotions Calendar

1. Authors

Foundations usually rely on institutional messaging

the authors must be changed-

Have beneficiaries, benefactors, volunteers, event participants, care

givers and students and alumni get in on the act

What they have to say

is usually more interesting,

and sometimes it’s way more interesting

2. Humanize

Humanizing content (in digital media)

is susceptible to achieving far greater results

than what a letter from the president could ever hope to do

(If you are like most foundations, you probably have tons of opportunities to humanize content)

3. Change the Angle of the Dialogue

Part of the secret sauceresides in developing interactions

To do this the foundation must “change the angle of the dialogue”

The concept of “changing the angle of the dialogue”

is not self-evident,

but we have dozens of ideas on how this can be done

We’ll illustrate a few towards the end of this deck

4. Cross Media

These replicable principles are the same as what’s being done in the

private sector with “inbound marketing”

These methods should be executed across the full band of

your cross media marketing efforts

Except for perhaps the very oldest of your donor base,

“donor age” is no longer a barrierto innovating your

digital fundraising strategic plan

5. Capture 6. Nurture

The precepts explained here extend to include

capturing and nurturing

But these two activities suggest there’s another phase to donor development

besides getting the donation…

Many potential donors can first be acquired

And they can be subsequently nurtured…

This was 100% true of the ALS campaign-

Many people participated, even though only a percentage of them donated

Because of the human element, there are few industry verticals

that can benefit from

capture and nurture practices

as much as nonprofits, healthcare foundations and alumni-development initiatives

If you change the angle of the conversation,

humanize the content,

and allow “we the people” to get involved in content creation-

magical things can happen

Here’s a few abstract examples of how some of these principles can be

applied

If you host events, it’s a great time to ask participants and volunteers to advocate on your behalf- use mobile to both build a new database, as well as giving advocates an easy process to share your brand, mission and message

If you have Gen Y and Gen Z volunteers, create contests to see who can acquire the

most shares

Make the shares meaningful. Getting a “thumbs up” does very little for the

foundation.Therefore, use mission specific links as part of the

sharing.

Whether it’s a digital native (such as a youth volunteer) or your traditional direct mail letter you should encourage online interactions while giving me choices

I may not be ready to donate at this time, but I may be open to being nurtured by your cause. Increase your odds, get me to know, like and trust you…

If I’m a lapsed donor, disengaged alumnus,or if I should be a friend of the foundation,

do something different to get me re-engaged…

Please don’t try to capture me the same old way and expect a different result

If you have seniors in your midst, there’s a ton of ways you can teach old dogs new

tricksThey are way more digitally savvy than what foundation

officers sometimes give them credit for

Do you know the “Humans of NY” approach-

it’s a classic

Did you see The Chronicle of Philanthropy recent statistic: 72% of Millennials would share your

message if you gave them the opportunity

Here’s a great idea for your existing donors and friends:

Establish a “Digital Ambassadors Program”

See the next slide for a quick sketch

Email or Direct Mail

If these suggestions seem like they’re just a little “too digital” for your comfort zone,

remember these two pieces of information:

It was about 5 years ago that the fastest growing population of new Facebook registrants was the 50

& over crowd

Today, the fastest growing population of Smartphone users are people 50 years and older in affluent

households

Do you have board members that are well connected?

Are they susceptible to being taught viral tactics?

“Spheres of Influence” Their communities Their groups and events Employees or associates Social media connections Maybe they know people with

tons of connections Celebrity relationships Their LinkedIn connections Other channels ________?

If your foundation is a worthwhile cause, we will be happy to donate some of our time

and expertise…

You may not reach “Ice Bucket Brigade” levels, but you sure can replicate the

principles they applied

Click on the URL on the next page to apply

Tell Us A Little Bit About Your Foundation

Click below, or type into your browser-http://svy.mk/1I6r0Tn