The fundraising landscape is always changing and forcing nonprofits to work even harder to keep up with what’s hot in the market. Keeping track of new trends can be a full-time job in its own right, and knowing how to change development plans can be a daunting task. Achieving success in this ever-changing landscape can seem impossible, but it’s not.
Sarah Hoddinott
More and more, charities are adding microcampaigns to their fundraising strategies. A microcampaign is any program conducted by an individual, over a short period of time, targeting a relatively small fundraising goal. It sounds simple, but it can be quite effective. As organizations realize the advantages peer-to-peer fundraising has over traditional charity-to-donor appeals, microcampaigns are beginning to form an integral part of the “isosceles donor triangle.” Considering the nuances of this type of fundraising, there are three key elements to making sure your microcampaign is as successful as it can possibly be. Make it personal Microfundraising has a major advantage over regular fundraising:
It wasn’t too long ago we were told that direct mail was going to be completely overtaken by the Internet; and as little as five years ago, nonprofit organizations’ Web sites and direct-mail materials reflected that message. Today, with the explosion of online groups and social networks, tactics to reach current and prospective donors are expanding yet again. While it may be fun to speculate about marketing trends, which methods are actually best to secure a nonprofit’s fundraising future? Donor outreach is not just a single-layer approach anymore; it’s about integrating new media with tried-and-true communications practices while being very careful to ask donors
