3 Online Fundraising Communications Best Practices

During a Care2 webinar, "Lessons From Campaign 2010: Innovations in Online Fundraising and Organizing From the Mid-term Elections," Taryn Rosenkranz, director of marketing and new media for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, gave more online fundraising and communications tips beyond just the do's and don'ts.

Here are three more best practices Rosenkranz provided in her presentation.

E-mail
"There is no right amount of e-mails," Rosenkranz said. "It's about the right timing of e-mail."

She gave the example of a three-part e-mail campaign. First, you want to send an e-mail that explains the urgent situation, which has to have a goal and a deadline, and it has to have a transaction, i.e., "You have X amount of days before next week's event," or "I need to raise X amount of dollars by Friday for … " Rosenkranz said.

In the second push, you thank the donors who did donate, and update those who haven't on who has donated and why it's important they donate too. The third e-mail closes out the goal, Rosenkranz said, telling recipients what your organization is doing with the money raised and again thanking them.

"Many times people forget to thank donors or never close the deal. Even if they didn't give, tell them what other people's contributions did to keep them engaged and interested and show the impact giving has," she said.

Newsletters
Rosenkranz suggested each organization has an e-mail newsletter because newsletters are often viewed as trusted sources of information. Beyond that, a newsletter offers fundraisers another opportunity for a two-way conversation, soliciting ideas and feedback in the newsletter and with the mailing list. Also, it gives donors the impression that they're part of the campaign, keeping updated and even having a say.

Segmentation
"You should speak differently to people who have given before and those who haven't," Rosenkranz said. "Speak differently to different segments, different giving levels, different audiences."

She suggested versioning your messages, i.e., tweaking the message so the core theme stays the same but the language reflects the audience. There are plenty of low-cost tools to use for segmentation and targeting.

"From a fundraising perspective, if you take a high-dollar donor and ask them for $5, you'll probably get a lower gift than they normally give. Be specific with your ask, just like you would on a direct-mail piece," she said. "There's a lot to be learned from traditional channels. We don't have to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

"The most successful campaigns and the most successful ways to raise money online keep in the traditional fundraising techniques," Rosenkranz added.