Return on Investment (ROI) remains a standard measure of IT projects:  How will your project impact revenue over time, and how much will it cost?  While this is likely meaningful to financial stakeholders, and often a requirement for formal budgeting requests, it is difficult to calculate and an imperfect science.  I’ve found that justifying an investment to the various stakeholders of a nonprofit’s budgeting committee or board requires more than a ROI calculation – sometimes much more, as there are many factors and assumptions that play into any major organizational decision.

Here are a few guidelines I offer organizations trying to justify an investment:

Enhanced mission delivery
Start here:  How will the project enable the organization to fulfill its mission (better / faster / more)?  Will a new system help feed more children?  Help you advocate more effectively for your cause?

While difficult to quantify, I’ve found that the alignment of a business case with the mission and values of an organization can be more meaningful than operational efficiencies, especially to those responsible for an organization’s strategy, mission delivery outcomes, and long-term impact.

Increased fundraising or other forms of revenue
How will the system or initiative enable top-line growth?  For instance, will a better system improve performance in certain programs?  Provide better understanding of and targeting of existing donors?   Enable new and more diverse types of fundraising?

Small increases in these variables across different programs within an organization will add up over time.  Also look for areas of leverage – for instance, enhancements to acquisition will improve  annual fund results in the near term, but also impact major giving identification and qualification over a number of years.

Reducing expenditures
Will your project reduce costs by eliminating inefficiencies or redundant systems?  Will the project simplify processes, with a direct impact on overhead and labor costs?

Don’t forget to count “shadow systems” such as the various spreadsheets, homegrown databases, and “back of the envelope” lists floating around the organization.  These informal systems involve very real (and quantifiable) development and maintenance costs, as well as present a significant sustainability risk during staff turnover.

Replacing costs
Will your initiative replace other costs?  For instance, by enabling the consolidation of smaller applications into an enterprise-class solution?

Often, enhancements to systems and processes reduce focus on administration and overhead, and can allow for the reallocation of resources more strategically.

Intangibles
Don’t forget the intangible benefits of your proposal.  While difficult to measure, improvements to constituent service, enhanced relationships, and increased transparency are meaningful to donors.  Alternatively, reducing risk exposure, enhancing brand equity, or motivating and retaining staff can be “make or break” considerations for key internal stakeholders.

A thoughtful business case should be based on data (wherever possible) and documented assumptions (for any ”unknowns” or “gray” areas), as well as take into consideration the time value of the investment.  While a significant effort, I’ve found the exercise of documenting these items will prove fruitful in the project’s definition and planning, not just the budgeting effort.

Business intelligence is nothing more than using data to make decisions. It does not require a complex data warehouse or a set of fancy business intelligence tools in order to be effective. In many instances a data warehouse does help to aid in complex reporting, but don’t assume that one is required to utilize business intelligence.

Reports, Reports, Reports…

While implementing Blackbaud solutions with customers, I routinely heard “I need X report and Y report, and it has to be replicated exactly how we have it today.” I would always ask why and what the report was used for. More often that not, the response was that the necessary data is on page 14 of the 40 page report and it’s only used on a monthly basis despite being run weekly and then that data is aggregated with data from five other reports to achieve the end result. Needless to say, this is not efficient.

Take the time now to evaluate your reports. Are they being used efficiently? Do they contain the data necessary to make decisions in a concise and logical manner? If not, figure out why. Ensure that your reports are able to answer the questions they are intended to answer and are not simply providing a fraction of that response.

Consuming the Intelligence

Business intelligence, while often delivered in the form of a report, can be delivered in a variety of mechanisms. In some instances, it can be a series of dashboards containing a snapshot of metrics. In other instances it can be a list of data used to initiate a follow up action.

Determine if your current business intelligence is being delivered in a way that is easy to consume and guide decision-making processes. If business intelligence cannot be used in a simplified manner, then it is unable to be used to aid in decisions.

The study reported traffic decreased across 18 of 19 nonprofit verticals, with Canadian organizations being the exception. (It should be noted, like other benchmark reports, nonprofits within the study vary from year-to-year.)

What’s the reason?

Well, of course, this is all just speculation. But some possibilities include:

• Email: Sharply declining nonprofit email click-through rates likely played a role.
• Elections: You might guess last year’s elections were a factor. However, the study didn’t find a negative relationship between political and charitable giving.
• Social: Constituents may be turning more to social media to interact with nonprofits, as the study’s authors point out.
• Mobile: With the rise of mobile devices, websites not optimized for mobile devices could have seen fewer return visitors.

What can nonprofits do?

First, you need to find out if your website traffic is decreasing. Benchmarks are helpful, but your data is what matters most.

Assuming you’re using Google Analytics*, here are 4 steps you can take:

1. Year-Over-Year Comparison
   

   Setup Google Analytics to do a year-over-year comparison. This allows you to evenly compare traffic from annual events, programs, etc., though you’ll still have one-off happenings each year.

   If you don’t have two years’ worth of data, compare quarters or months. But know seasonal events/activities could affect that comparison.
   

2. Examine Visits

   In Google Analytics, go to Audience > Overview to see whether your Visits have increased or decreased.
   

   You’ll also get a year-over-year comparison of traffic spikes. Below, we can see there was a large traffic spike in late August 2011 (orange line) that didn’t occur in 2012 (blue line). By identifying when traffic spikes occurred, you can start digging into the why.
   

   It could be that traffic came from an email campaign, important announcement or community event that only happened in 2011. This will get you thinking about ways to replicate that traffic.

3. Identify Traffic Sources in Decline
   

   Now, dig into which traffic sources specifically decreased. Was it search engine visits? Or visits from other websites?

   In Google Analytics, head to Traffic Sources > Overview. Hover over each pie chart section to compare whether Visits have decreased year-over-year from Search, Referral or Direct Traffic (Campaign Traffic might also be visible).

   

   Once you’ve identified which source(s) generated fewer website visits, continue digging to find out why.

4. Analyze Traffic Sources in Decline

   • Search Traffic

     If search traffic decreased, identify which search engine keywords generated fewer website visits (in GA: Traffic Sources > Sources > Search > Organic). Add “Landing Page” as a secondary dimension to identify the landing page that corresponds to a keyword.

     Below, we see it’s the volunteer page getting less search traffic. Now, we can review how well that page is optimized for this keyword and search engines.

     

     There’s also helpful info in Google Webmaster Tools, like seeing the click-through rate of keywords. It may be an indicator that you need a better meta description.

   • Referral Traffic

     Identify specific websites that are driving less traffic (in GA: Traffic Sources > Sources > Referrals). For referral websites with significant declines, think about why that might be. Was there a one-time partnership you had? Did they promote a one-time event or fundraiser?

     

     If not, dig deeper by clicking on the URL. You’ll see their web page that contains a link to you website. Visit that page. Is the link broken? Is it still there? What expectation are they setting?

     

   • Email Traffic
     

     Unless you’re consistently using Google Analytics’ URL Builder to build your email links, email traffic will be more difficult to track in GA. Recipients with desktop clients (Outlook) will appear as Direct Traffic, while those with web-based clients (Yahoo) will appear as Referral Traffic.

     So you might just use your own email reports to analyze declining email traffic. Look at when your click-through rates declined and for which types of messages.

This is really just the start – though an important one – when it comes to overcoming declining website traffic. In future months, I’ll continue to examine the topic. Please share your tips in the below comments.

*Note: It’s recommended to setup Google Analytics, even if you don’t know how to use it yet. When you learn how, you’ll have data waiting.

Cover Photo Credit: medicalhealthplus via Compfight cc

Students and group leaders attending these mission trips fundraise to cover their travel costs by asking friends and family for financial support. Before 2012, NEXT Worldwide mission trip participants conducted their fundraising through a combination of leading their supporters to an online designation form and by sending offline checks to their mission leaders. This required each leader to email each participant weekly in order to keep them informed about their fundraising progress.

Today, students like Ryan, joining NEXT Worldwide, use independent or third-party peer-to-peer fundraising to raise money for their travel and mission expenses which according to Janet Franks, NEXT Worldwide Mission Leader and Director of Information Technology, simplified the required fundraising process for mission participants as well as their leaders.

“We work with a very young demographic who often think that a stamp is as old-fashioned as a rotary phone,” Janet said. “By providing an online peer-to-peer fundraising platform we have exponentially enlarged their potential donor pool which often translates into more dollars raised.  Also, the online financial reporting not only gives our participants 24 hour access to their account information but has saved our staff more than 1,000 hours this past year on mind-numbing clerical tasks and frees us up to spend more time on our mission.”

I had the opportunity to speak with Janet and she shared some tips regarding how the organization coaches their mission trip participants:

• Meet With Mission Trip Participants
  While the online fundraising platform allows for interacting with participants in one place easier, NEXT Worldwide knows the importance of the offline relationship with their participants. Janet and other mission leaders meet with the participants to discuss trip logistics, and have a booklet prepared which includes trip information as well as how to register and fundraise using the online platform.
• Creating an Online Fundraising Page Is Required
  While those fundraising for their trips can send in checks and cash to the NEXT Worldwide office, every participant has a fundraising page. Participants are encouraged to customize that page and solicit gifts using the online tools made available through the Friends Asking Friends platform.
• Provide Centralized Fundraising Tools and Resources
  Inside their fundraising headquarters, participants have access to email templates to solicit gifts as well as to thank friends and family who have supported them. Participants are encouraged to use the social media integrated tools to post about their mission trip and their fundraising progress. With NEXT Worldwide’s participant demographic ranging from ages 15-25, encouraging the use of Facebook, Twitter, and texts becomes essential for participant’s fundraising success.Additionally, the organization provides easy access on their main webpage where participants can always access fundraising tips and documents such as a sample support letter that can be mailed to friends, family and teachers are also available.
• Make It Personal
  Participants are encouraged to make a list of potential supporters (friends, family, church staff, teachers, etc) and email or mail letters to those on the list to solicit their support. Upon returning, participants are encouraged to reach out to their supporters and tell stories about sharing the gospel, their new relationships, and other adventures. Janet said this is an important way to teach participants how to keep their personal supporters engaged as many of the students and young adults attend multiple mission trips and may be asking for fundraising support again in the future.
• Communicate Constantly
  After a participant’s created the fundraising page, make sure an automated confirmation email is sent reminding the participant of any required trip deposits, important dates, and a reference to their username and password to access their fundraising headquarters.Participants are always encouraged to personalize their fundraising page and utilize the tools located inside the participant’s fundraising headquarters.

While NEXT Worldwide has created a successful peer-to-peer fundraising program, Janet always sees opportunity for improvement. For example, while the organization does communicate with the participants via email, in the future Janet hopes to create a more consistent communication plan that would provide ongoing support as well as fundraising tips and tricks for her trip participants.

Peer-to-peer fundraising has become essential in allowing NEXT Worldwide accomplish their mission, and Janet believes that the online tools allow the organization to communicate in a way relative to their participant’s culture.

“If we expect to communicate God’s word to illiterate people, we don’t give them Bibles to read…we communicate in a way that is relevant to their situation and culture,” Janet said.  “So for us, in our technology driven society, we need to communicate in a way that is relevant to our culture if we desire people to participate and support the work that we are passionate about here at NEXT Worldwide…which is sharing the freedom found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Janet said there are all kinds of organizations such as NEXT Worldwide who are mobilizing people around the world for various types of important work such as church planting, relief work, medical support, education, community development, orphan care, and/or social justice projects.

“We all do this work because we have a burden for what we do and we need to leverage every possible advantage to see that this work is accomplished….and for us that includes peer-to-peer fundraising.”

For more on coaching fundraising participants consider these resources:

Robyn Mendez discusses leveraging a social media fundraising strategy in Social Fundraising: Expanding Beyond the Fundraising Event

Deepa Karani shares tips on Coaching Your First-Time Fundraiser’s Toward Success

*The original student’s name was changed to protect confidentiality.

I don’t know for sure, but I can show you how to answer that question for yourself using the good ol’ scientific method and Google Analytics. Yes, the same technique that ultimately brought us things like space shuttles and smartphones can help you increase your online donation rates (no beakers or Bunsen burners required).

1. Define your key metrics – Do you want to increase form conversion rates, or increase average gift size, increase the number of people signing up for sustaining gifts, or some other factor?
2. Gather information and resources – Benchmarks and tips are a great start. See what has worked for other organizations and see if it might apply to you. Check out (https://www.blackbaud.com/nonprofit-resources/onlinemarketingstudy)
3. Create your hypothesis (in the form of a new donation page)  – You might decide to try a giving catalog or simply add or adjust your online ask string. At this step you will create your alternate donation form experience, but there’s one more step before you make the change live! Just because the new experience looks nice or worked for another organization doesn’t mean it will be successful for you. (Even if you are sure it will be successful, don’t you want to quantify your brilliance to your boss or board?)
4. Test the hypothesis by performing an experiment and collecting data – Use Google Analytics Content experiments to test your new idea. You set up both form variations on your site with proper Google Analytics code and Google will automatically route some traffic to the new form and some traffic to the old form, giving you a side by side comparison. Here are Google’s instructions on how to set up content experiments.
5. Analyze the data – Once again, Google makes it easy. No need to revisit college statistics, Google will calculate your statistical significance and let you know when the experiment has collected enough data, showing you a summary of how your new form compares to the old form.
   

   Google Analytics content experiments

6. Draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis – Did a new technique work well? If so, how can you apply those changes to other donation forms or other areas of your website. What questions come up from your results? Remember, when you think of your new ideas as just hypothesis to test, you’re free to iterate and refine them until you achieve the results you are looking for.

FAQ

The example above doesn’t show donation amount. Can I track this in an experiment?

Yes, you can track donation amount if you have ecommerce tracking set up on Google Analytics.

How much should I change in an experiment?

Its best to change one element, but to make a large change in the element. For example, if you change the layout, add a photo, change your ask string, and remove the confirmation page, then you won’t know what element caused the results that you see. Scientists try to isolate one key variable to study. On the other hand, if you change an ask string by only $5, then the change might not be big enough to cause significant results. So a good rule or thumb is to make a bold change, but only make one type of change at a time. If you have a lot of ideas and enough traffic, you can put up 2-3 new variations. Be careful with more than that, as it might take too long to get enough data on each variation.

What if I make a bad hypothesis?

Remember in school hearing that the only dumb question was the one you don’t ask? It’s better to test than to make assumptions. If one form is seriously under-performing, then Google will show that to visitors less often, to minimize the effect. If you see anything concerning, you can always stop the test. And if you learn that a technique that worked for someone else doesn’t work for you, then that can give you a lot of insight into how your visitors & supporters might be different and what other ideas may work for you.

Legacy Gifts Also Honor and Memorialize

There’s another form of honorarium and memorial gift beyond the one we normally think of: Planned gifts, though I like the term legacy gifts better.  As information about deferred giving is easier and easier to acquire and easier and easier to consider, more people are learning that legacy gifts can also be a thoughtful way to remember or honor loved ones.

Earlier in the week, I did a not-so-exhaustive search of the Internet looking to see how many organizations promote planned gifts as ways to honor or memorialize another.  I was shocked to find exactly one example within my search results that specifically cited a planned gift arrangement as a memorial gift.  Go ahead and try it.  Here are the keywords that I used in the Yahoo search tool:

planned gifts honor memorial

Now scroll until you reach the 4^th page.  There!  In the middle of the list, you’ll see the link.

URL

Congratulations to Wesley Manor Retirement Community in Louisville, Kentucky.  If I had a prize to give out, you’d get it.  Check out how nicely and respectfully, they’ve linked legacy giving to memorializing.   Scroll down until you see the Planning a legacy section. You’ll also notice they’ve mentioned gifts of stocks, bonds and mutual funds to fund these meaningful gifts.

That’s not to say all is good, even for Wesley Manor.  It took me 30 minutes of reviewing links to land upon theirs and I was just about ready to give up hope of finding an example when I opened this one.  The issue is that there are many false links to planned gifts as memorial or tribute gifts.  Most search results show “planned giving” or “planned gifts” close to “honoring” and “memorial gifts” but that’s only because they are on adjacent pages on the organization’s website.

Make Your Web Pages Work for You

Through this exercise, frustration and small triumph, I’ve created a checklist that can get you started in the right direction:

1. If you contract with a third-party vendor for planned giving webpage services, talk to them.  Ask them to insert language or add a paragraph similar to Wesley Manor’s.
2. If you do your own webpages, talk to your webmaster and get on the calendar for regular updates and language changes that incorporate ideas such as this one, as well as discuss emerging vehicle types like beneficiary designation form gifts.
3. Surf the web looking to find your own planned giving web pages.  What do you see there?  Is your organization’s name in the header? Does the partial sentence under the header entice you to click?!  Is your language esoteric or easy to understand?  Submit changes to your webmaster that improve your language displayed.

As you surf the web notice how many pages you must navigate to:

• Find your planned giving pages among the search results
• Find your planned giving pages once you enter your own website
• See the link that memorial gifts, honorariums and planned gifts have to one another.

Here’s another idea: bring up the topic at your local planned giving council meeting or development colleagues gathering.  Spread the idea and work together to promote legacy giving as a way to memorialize and honor loved ones.

Legacy Gifts that Honor Might be Large

Throughout my 25 years experience as a planned gift professional, I noticed that charitable gift annuities taken out to honor or memorialize a loved one, friend or health-worker companion were often large; larger than the average annuity amount by far.   It was clear to me that this gift was always two-fold.  As a “Thank you” to the income recipient and as an additional “Thank you” to the organization.

It’s time to think about legacy gifts in a new way.  Will you take up the challenge to lead the effort?  I hope so!

Somehow, I became a grown up, and somehow I’m now in a position where I can look back and say “I’ve been doing this for 20 years…”  That’s kind of cool.  But what’s even more cool is that I continue to learn new things every day in this “real life.”  Shocker!  Who would have known that we would learn all these things after we got our degrees (I know, looking back, it seems funny that we could ever think otherwise.)

The reason I learn so much — and why the work world is such a cool place to be — is that it is filled with so many great people.  This is especially true for nonprofit organizations, which have always been a place where truly interesting, passionate people seek their “fortunes” (fortunes that are all about making change and doing good).

This excitement factor, this vibe that makes nonprofits such a compelling proposition for employment is more evident today than ever before.  I think that’s because the workforce has become so much more diverse, so much more rich in the engagement experience it offers.  People are seeking what my boss likes to call “careers with meaning.”  They want to make a living while doing good, and that’s what nonprofit life is all about.

Unquestionablly, Millennials are a big part of this.  The tech and media generation has grown up with hugely increased exposure to marketing and branding and that means hearing more about the role nonprofits play in society.  I know I was aware of a few nonprofits when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, but I wasn’t really clear on the fact that they made up a sector of any kind.  Now, that sector has become, according to Bloomberg, “the fastest-growing part of the U.S. economy…In the past decade, the number of nonprofit groups has grown by 25 percent to 1.6 million.  They now account for 5.4 percent of gross domestic product and 10 percent of jobs.”

The neat part is that students are actually setting their sights on the sector as a place to work, a place to have a career.  Some are opting to attend colleges that provide social good programs or degrees in philanthropy (like the  Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy) so they will be prepared for this path.  This is a pretty new thing – seeking to study nonprofit management or philanthropy in order to run an organization or be a fundraiser.  That is not something kids did when I was in college.  But this is a very positive change and a great way to channel youthful energy.

But I’m not just talking about Millennials.  I’m also talking about Boomers, who are seeking end-of-career jobs that help them use the many skills they developed throughout their lives.  Whether it’s because they simply don’t want to stop working or their retirement accounts took a bit of a hit, some Boomers are opting to stay employed, but working in a different setting.  They are devoting what could be time off to time driving nonprofits in a positive direction.

Of course, there are Generation Xers like me in the middle of all of this, but you get the point.  The work force is a cool place because of all the many different people who are commiting their skills to the collective good.

My father has always enjoyed what he called “multi-generational events,” where young kids, adults and seniors were able to connect and learn from each other.  In many ways, today’s workforce has become one of these events.  Sure, this can sometimes make things hard, when we don’t understand each others’ language or perspective.  But it’s the process of learning, that search for understanding that helps us all grow, helps us all be smarter and better in the end.

So celebrate the diversity of your workplace.  And if you seem to be the odd ball out, looking around and seeing everyone of the same age or category as you, make a point to change it up a bit.  Find some people to join your team who can bring in different knowledge, alternate views, wisdom in some new form.  The combination will make your nonprofit better and stronger.

Below are some tactics you may want to undertake to help engage with these future donors to your institution.

1.  Automatically enrolled in the alumni association.  Ensure they see the benefits of being a part of this elite group.  If you currently charge to be a part of the alumni association then offer complimentary membership for their first five years.  Document what being a member entitles them to so that when it comes time for them to pay that they see the benefit.  Offer discounted rates for attending alumni events where they currently reside – you will have higher attendance!
2. Alumni Board – ensure that a small group is being asked to join the board for their advice and perspective.  Identifying these individuals is quite easy by documenting those who were student leaders and those who are children of parents who donated to the school.  Come up with your own ways of identifying affinity based on your own institution.
3. Engaging with alumni during their time at school is critical.  Creating events around reunion where alumni and student interact in various scenarios is wonderful.  Engaging your alums to come and do special classes for your students provides duo benefit by increasing the affinity of those alums.  Provide special classes on preparing to work out in the world in their field of study are a definite plus.
4. Identify those young grads who would be willing to speak to possible future students of your school.  I am sure most schools engage students when prospective students come to campus to help ensure they attend your institution, but provide a list of those recently graduated is also essential.  This provides the prospective students two views – one of those currently in school and those who graduated within recent years.  Be sure to highlight those young grads in helping secure your future students!

Be creative when developing ways to engage with your young alumni. This will ensure they will be involved now and in the future!

In this episode…

- Allyson Kapin, co-author of Social Change Anytime Everywhere will join us to talk about her new book.

- Brendan Kinney, VP for Development & Marketing at Vermont Public Radio stops by to talk about #Fundchat.

- Marc Pitman, the Fundraising Coach, will be with us to discuss a variety of fundraising trends in the nonprofit sector.

If you missed episode #1, then you can listen to it here.

Guest post by Madeline Turner - Madeline has a passion for writing and believes the nonprofit sector keeps humanity accountable by constantly reminding us that we’re all in this together. When she’s not writing about nonprofits you can find her competing in public speaking contests and training to be a Spice Girl (wannabe). 

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I would be lying if I said it was simple; asking people for money rarely is. I still have to prep myself, make sure my ask is clear, and provide at least 3 proof points that all of my other options have been exhausted before asking my parents for money – AND THEY’RE MY PARENTS.  (Hey, I’m 24…I’m still working on this whole financial independence thing).

The point is people don’t just give hand-outs. Everyone needs to know why they’re giving and where their money is going. And donors are no different.

When it comes to donor acquisition, the concept is the same – donors want to know WHY they should donate to your cause and HOW their contribution will be used. We work hard for our money, so if we’re going to give it away – no matter the cause – we want to know who is benefitting. If you want more donors, your online donor acquisition strategy should include a little selling.

Here’s how.

Show the Value

Whether it’s a $10 donation or a $10,000 donation, donors need to know the impact their gift will have before they’ve decided to give. Online fundraising is no different. With all of the different missions and causes out there to support, new donor acquisition has become increasingly more competitive so it’s not enough to rely solely on a compelling mission or recognizable brand to continue to bring in new donors. You have to communicate the value of each and every donation.

Pregnancy Resources of Greater Portland’s online fundraising donation form clearly defines the value associated with various giving levels and by doing so has redefined the monetary contribution. Supporters are not just asked to donate, they’re asked to provide the materials needed for a woman to go through their Heart ministry, fund an ultrasound for an expectant mother, or cover the entire cost for a woman to go through their program.

This approach puts the focus on the value of the donation, rather than the donation itself.

Build the Vision

If your goal this year is to provide 500 more meals to the hungry, paint a picture of what that would look like and mean for those you serve, and then show how each dollar donated gets you closer to that goal. If you can make each and every supporter feel like an integral part of your “mission accomplished”, the more likely they will be to give and encourage their friends and families to give as well.

The use of a giving thermometer has typically been used for event based fundraising initiatives, but its ability to motivate giving and drive online fundraising results shouldn’t be quarantined to the peer to peer space.

When you give your supporters a vision of the end-goal and show how their contribution helps to bring that goal closer to reality, you offer instant gratification- and let’s be honest- we’re a society that runs on it. Think about how you could use these kinds of online fundraising tools to inspire more giving.

Prove the Impact

Creating a groundswell of support for your mission is unlikely unless supporters are able to see that their backing produces results. This is a time when people want to KNOW that change is actually happening, and even more so that they’re a part of that change. If your organization is focused on new donor acquisition, consider the ways you can communicate the influence of previous and current donors.

Charity: Water does an incredible job of proving the impact of their supporter base by providing several different ways to see their mission in action. They use Google Maps to show the global impact of their efforts and they also provide a Completion Report when a project is brought to fruition, so that donors and potential supporters can see the direct influence of their contributions.

And if you haven’t thought about how you can incorporate video into your online fundraising strategy, take a look at how Charity: Water uses video to prove impact. I’ve never seen more genuine smiles- and they’re smiling because of water, clean water, made possible because of each and every supporter’s donation.

Who doesn’t want to be a part of that? Support is contagious; you just have to create the buzz.

Closing Thought…

I’ve always heard “If you want something, ask for it”, but I’m not convinced this is the best advice. You can’t just ask; you have to prove that what you’re asking for is worthy of consideration. I say if you want something, start building. Show the value. Build a vision. Prove the impact. And then ask for it.

If you’re interested in what tools are available to take your donor acquisition strategy to the next level, take a look at these online donor acquisition tools.