Whether you’re with a seasoned nonprofit with a solid donor base, or a new organization working on building support, there is always room for growth. This week’s blog will be focused on examples of effective online giving campaigns to maximize your organization’s impact.
Most have heard of organizations like National Public Radio (NPR) or United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). These organizations have been very effective in gaining donor support and in turn, have been able to make significant public impact. Together nearly $400,000,000.00 is donated annually, so the hundred million dollar question is: How are these guys doing it and how can you emulate their approach?
Get Emotional!
One method that has proven to be very effective and is demonstrated on nearly every successful organization’s donation page, is the ability to evoke an emotional response in the donor. They create situations in which the donor feels compelled to give and get involved in the cause, whatever it may be. For example, if you visit http://www.unicef.org, one of the first things that you’ll notice is an image and a link like the one pictured. Regular donors and visitors alike are certain to feel something in response. The fact that the image has a call to action and tells YOU that your help is necessary, inspires you to do just that – help. Another measure proven to be effective is to share your organization’s success stories. Showing donors tangible results from their support inspires them to continue supporting. Creating pages detailing what their funds were able to accomplish and including pictures are a great way to accomplish this and greatly decrease donor attrition rates.
Verbiage is everything!
Everyone knows that it’s not what you say, but how you say it. The manner in which you seek out potential supporters can make or break a campaign. People are constantly hounded to spend every dollar they have on various forms of consumerism and it is the difficult task that you, the nonprofit, have to convince them of the worthiness of your cause. One organization who does well in this area is National Public Radio. Take a look at their introductory paragraph on the “Individual Giving” page, which can be visited at: http://www.npr.org/about-npr/187533209/major-gifts
“NPR and NPR Member Stations are thankful for support from the many people across the country who count on and care about the news and programming we provide. Gifts of all sizes from our growing audience on-air and online help us fulfill our mission “to create a more informed public-one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding of events, ideas and cultures.”
This proposal for the donor to support them sounds a little better than, “Please Donate” and “Thank you for your Donation.” As simple and even obvious as it sounds, stating that “gifts of all sizes help us fulfill our mission” is a wildly effective tactic. The fact is, a donor who may not have the means to make a large donation can still feel as though their funds are appreciated and put to good use. On the flip side, a donor who has greater discretionary funds sees this from the opposite perspective. Seeing “Donate what you can” or “Gifts of all sizes” inspires more affluent donors to make that extra commitment, and you as the nonprofit to realize full potential.
Please continue to follow us in the coming weeks as we continue to outline and point out tips to help your organization maximize its impact potential.
Source Credit:
www.melissadata.com/lookups/np.asp
www.unicef.org
www.npr.org
www.topnonprofits.com/lists/best-nonprofits-on-the-web