Nonprofits Share ‘Giving Season’ Ideas to Boost Donations

Nonprofits shared different ways their organizations are working to increase donations for the upcoming Giving Season and Giving Tuesday in the third of our series of “Couch Conversations” — a Zoom event hosted by Connect360.  Nonprofit marketing and communications professionals participated in an open forum to talk about strategies for making up for lost donations from cancelled events and galas.  Highlights from the event include:

• Phone calls to donors are important.   Most organizations are finding donors are home, they are bored with the pandemic’s isolation and like being able to talk with someone.  One-on-one calls have been a highly successful way to engage and increase donations.   Calls should also include former donors as one organization reported being able to bring a good number back to the fold. 
• A word heard frequently was “pivot.”  Majority of the organizations said they have changed their messaging because of COVID.  They are being forthcoming with donors about how the pandemic has hindered fundraising events – the honesty has resonated with donors and lead to increased donations.
• As one organization put it, all eyes are on this year’s Giving Season, and Giving Tuesday in particular. One organization said they used to put all their marketing efforts into December, their biggest giving month, but now have expanded to start as early as October to shore up success.
• On the donation page, offer the suggestion for a small increase in the donation amount – instead of $100 would they consider $105?   Another organization has found success by making it attractive to give a Legacy Donation.
• One organization found a very small investment in a Facebook campaign (under $500) with audience targeting yielded donations many times that amount.

We welcome you to attend our next Zoom “Couch Convo” on Wednesday, October 21^st at 2 p.m. ET.   Conversation will center on how to market and communicate with donors in 2021, considering a COVID and (most likely) Post-COVID world.

To register:    http://c360m.com/register/