10 Creative Strategies to Cut Through the Clutter

These days, downgrades are nothing to look down on. After all, a downgraded donor is a renewed donor. And it’s almost always less expensive to renew a donor or reinstate a donor, even at a lower level, than it is to acquire a brand-new one.

Remove barriers to giving by lowering them:

• Test lower ask formulas with problem segments.
• Test discounted membership (and don’t be shy about working this into your messaging).
• Test economical premium offers.
• Explore mobile giving to promote a cheap, fast and easy way for problem segments to contribute.

8. Solicit via e-mail in the last week of the year at least twice and definitely on Dec. 31 (or Dec. 29 or Dec. 30).
There are a lot of reports affirming a massive spike in online giving at the end of the year (just like in offline giving). Convio reported last year that donors giving through its system in 2008 made 13.2 times more gifts on Dec. 31 than the daily average for the rest of the year, and that the charities raised 22.5 times more money on Dec. 31 than they did on an average day. In the last week of 2008, the average gift size was 57 percent larger than the weekly average for the rest of the year.