Using 4 Online Tools to Inspire Volunteers and Donors, Part 1

The first step is knowing who to communicate with. In order to grow your donor database, you want to spend your time prospecting, and then reinforce why you should spend more time with your current donors and key influencers. These new tools have changed the game in moving people through the donor life cycle from prospect to donor to influencer, Mintz said. In traditional marketing, there is a funnel approach: You blast out acquisition messages to a large audience, convert some of them into donors and then keep some of those new donors for the long haul — a trickle-down effect. With engagement marketing via these online tools, it's more of a bottom-up approach, spending most of your time targeting your key influencers and repeat donors because they generate the most revenue for the organization — and can bring new donors on board for you.