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
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
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
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
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
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
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