Getting Your Board Onboard for Online Fundraising Success

Making your case
When trying to get your board onboard with online fundraising, you need to speak in terms that are relevant to today.

• Current economy. With declining revenue from both individual and major donors, now is the time to regroup and prepare for the future upturn. The best offense is a good defence. Now might not be the most appropriate time to pursue multiple asks, but it is a good time to communicate more frequently with your supporters with relevant messages. The idea is to build mind share and loyalty with existing donors so they think of helping you when they start to feel more financially secure. E-mail is a cost-effective way for your organization to deliver messages about your projects and demonstrate your ongoing need for support.
• Decline of direct mail. Donors’ preferences are changing, which means that direct mail continues to decline both in terms of dollars raised and the acquisition of new donors. The younger generation has a clear preference for online giving, and also uses new online fundraising techniques such as peer-to-peer fundraising to raise money on behalf of an organization. Baby boomers aren’t far behind. They are more likely to be multichannel donors who are comfortable giving both online and through the mail. An effort to move this latter group toward giving exclusively online would help decrease your organization’s costs and give you quicker access to donations.

There is no time for complacency when it comes to online communications. If you want to keep up with your peers, then you’ll need to take the plunge. After you’re up to speed on the benefits of investing in online communications, you can create a proof of concept, explore solutions that you could recommend and prepare an explanation of how this strategic initiative will benefit your organization in critical areas, especially fundraising.