Acquisition

Behavioral economics is a hot topic these days, and you’ve probably come across its application in a variety of everyday situations — from choice architecture prompting you to select healthier food in the canteen, to altered defaults which help you to save for your retirement, to social norms encouraging you to reduce your energy bills. In this article, we look at various research findings and insights around charitable giving, and list five different ways in which a charity might be able to increase donations.

It takes 10 touches to move someone through the buying process. Why don't we look at donor prospect lists the same way?

With the onset of new and emerging technologies in the fundraising arena, today’s fundraisers have many channels by which to acquire new donors. The question is: Which are the best?

Good “prospecting,” as the professional development officers say, is much more like a well-guided trek with an experienced guide than a treasure hunt. Unfortunately, you’d never know it if you simply observed how many nonprofits go about seeking new supporters.

For far too many charitable organizations, discovering new potential supporters and bringing them in to the fold is the proverbial treasure hunt. Look under every rock, travel down every path.

Gaining new donors has never been about “everyone” and “everywhere.”

There are three key tipping points for nonprofits that help organizations move from surviving to thriving — three key changes that organizations make when they are ready to really supercharge their fundraising efforts.  Here’s what nonprofits do when they are ready for a fundraising breakthrough … and what your organization can do if you are ready to supercharge your fundraising: 1. Focus 80 percent on individual giving. 2. Replace your current prospecting plan with a program focused on referrals. 3. Invest more in your development program.

I believe that donors are customers of your organization. The premise that donors are customers offers some interesting insights into how we think about and approach our fundraising efforts.

Donors, even ones that give in non-monetary ways, are contributing something to your organization in exchange for the “good feeling” they get by donating or the “social equity” your organization provides the community. They are “buying into” the outcomes of your organization. They are customers because there is an exchange between the donor and your organization.

New donors are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations. However, the challenge of finding, engaging and retaining them has only increased. Given all of this, we need to be thinking carefully about how we acquire donors and what we do to get them excited about our missions in order to retain them. This holds true for both traditional older donors and the younger ones who all organizations have been tasked with finding, but it’s particularly true with younger donors.

The sad fact is that the direct-mail highway is littered with packages that failed to live up to their initial test results.

It was a well-known speaker in the fundraising industry. The speaker's assertion: Donor retention has gotten so bad, we should just stop acquiring new donors and focus all our energy on retention. I wouldn't really bother bringing it up if it were just one boneheaded idea from one industry expert who hasn't done the homework. But I keep encountering this "Stop Acquiring New Donors Meme." People are saying that all over the place. I wonder how many fundraisers have actually taken this horrific bit of advice.

This year, the FSV advisors tackled the issues every-sized organization and mission need to know to thrive well into the next decades.