GUEST POST // How to Fulfill Donors’ Expectations in a Virtual Environment
By Andrew Berry of Donately
Regardless of their mission and size, nonprofits of all types share the same questions right now: how do we navigate this virtual environment and continue engaging with our donors? With COVID-19 impacting the philanthropic landscape on a daily basis, the answers to those questions have taken on new levels of complexity and importance. Growing a nonprofit in the current fundraising environment can be intimidating to even the most experienced fundraisers.
Right now, your development team needs to step up its efforts to continue fulfilling donors’ expectations and keep them involved in your mission.
Fortunately, the basic tenets of fundraising best practices remain the same, even in times of crisis. Do plenty of research, and understand what motivates your donors to support your cause. Then, create personalized, well-timed asks that inspire them to give.
However, the way you execute these strategies in a virtual environment differs. Digital engagement demands more preparation to account for the increased complexities.
Developing plenty of touchpoints will help your team connect with donors in meaningful ways that keep them involved. To help you create valuable engagement opportunities, implement these core strategies:
Increase communication quantity and quality.
Lean into technology for online engagement opportunities.
Convey the impact of donors’ generosity.
Your donors are the lifeblood of your organization. Their generosity supports your nonprofit’s longevity, empowering you to continue fulfilling your mission. Now is not the time to leave them high and dry. Ready to enhance your online fundraising strategy and fulfill donors’ expectations despite the distance? Let’s dive in.
1. Increase communication quantity and quality.
Ask any fundraising professional, and they’ll tell you that communication is one of the most crucial parts of donor engagement. In times of crisis, this is no different.
While it’s important to remain sensitive to the current environment, don’t cease communications altogether. In fact, you need to do the exact opposite; ramp up communications to keep key supporters informed during these rapidly-changing and unpredictable times. Let’s dive into two core components to consider: quantity and quality.
Communication Quantity
Start by analyzing how you contact donors. Your team should take a multichannel approach by choosing a combination of platforms to get your messages in front of more supporters. Be strategic instead of choosing as many platforms as possible, though. Here’s what AccuData's digital marketing guide advises nonprofit fundraisers who want to use this approach:
“A marketer going digital should discover the digital channels...that appeal most to their desired audience…Then, these multiple impressions push audience members to convert.”
What’s so great about digital communication is that you can go beyond traditional direct mail and phone outreach. Your list of options extends to platforms like social media, text messages, and your website.
Regardless of the combination you select, expanding to new platforms naturally increases the number of messages you’re sending, but don’t stop here. Your donors expect consistent updates on whatever platform they engage with, so build out a timeline to ensure you’re being consistent and fulfilling those expectations.
Plan the types of messages you want to share and when you want to share them, whether they’re program updates or donation requests. This will make things easier in the long run to ensure you’re communicating frequently enough.
Communication Quality
You’ll certainly want to increase the number of communications you send out, but the quality of your messages is just as crucial. Valuable messages are more likely to resonate with donors and drive them to remain connected to your cause despite the distance.
After you’ve determined which outlets you’ll use, refine your communications by keeping the following tips in mind:
Keep donors in the loop. Don’t paint an overly rosy picture of your situation. Be transparent regarding the challenges you’re facing, and explain any program or operational pivots. While discussing hurdles will give donors the opportunity to step up, communicating adjustments will make donors feel more confident that you’re a responsible steward of their contributions.
Ask for help. Even if they’re unable to donate right now, your donors may be able to help in other ways. Ask for advice, contacts, feedback, or examples of what they’ve seen other organizations doing. In most cases, all you have to do to receive assistance from your support base is ask for it. Plus, this makes them feel valued by your organization.
Regardless of your approach, the key to improving the quality of your communications is to keep donors at the forefront. Conversations should feel relational, not transactional. People give to people, after all.
By prioritizing quality and consistency in your outreach, you can effectively remain connected with donors and supply them with the information that’s most valuable to them.
2. Lean into technology for online engagement opportunities.
According to this list of top fundraising challenges, insufficient time and resources are the primary obstacles that development professionals face when it comes to fundraising. Maximizing every resource you use and every hour you spend is crucial for generating donations to fund your mission, especially in a remote environment. Thankfully, technology changes the name of the game.
Technology will power any online engagement opportunities you offer. Plus, online fundraising typically has lower overhead costs, allowing your team to stretch every dollar. Let’s dive into two core online opportunities that technology makes possible: online donations and virtual events.
An Online Donation Form
An eye-catching, navigable online donation page is a must-have for any digital fundraising endeavor. A form that’s disorganized, overwhelming, or difficult to complete defeats its own purpose: increasing donations.
Most online fundraising software comes equipped with form creation tools, but your team will need to put in extra time to make sure your software offers the exact functionality you need. Make sure you can customize every aspect of your form, including the fields, colors, and images. That way, you can accurately portray your cause and create a seamless donor experience.
Backed by the right software, you can develop a standout form where donors easily submit donations. Donately’s donation page guide dives into more than 30 ways to optimize your form, but here are two strategies that any nonprofit can (and should) implement:
Brand it to your organization. When your donation page reflects your brand, there won’t be any doubt that donors are giving to your organization. Use an eye-catching banner image that represents your cause and the community you serve to remind donors why they’re giving. Then, display your logo in a prominent location, like the upper lefthand corner of the page.
Feature recurring gifts. Fundraising studies have found that only 14% of nonprofits prompt donors to sign up for recurring gifts during the donation process. Even with the current volatile fundraising landscape, recurring gifts establish a predictable revenue stream. Donors will appreciate the convenience of giving regularly without filling out your form every month. Allow donors to easily opt into your recurring gift program with a simple checkbox on your donation form.
These are some of the most efficient ways to ensure maximum performance for any page or form. See how the right elements come together to create a well-designed page that drives donors through the process:
Notice how this example captures all of the essential elements simply. This sleek design helps drive users through the process, rather than overwhelming them with an oversaturated page.
The last thing you want to do is turn donors away with a poorly-designed donation page, or worse, not provide them with a way to donate digitally at all. Taking the time to build out your donation form will empower donors to give in just minutes, making it an enjoyable experience rather than a chore.
Virtual Events
Just because you’re operating in a remote environment doesn’t mean you have to cancel your events altogether; move them online. Technology allows donors to attend from wherever they are without breaking social distancing guidelines or risking their health. You can even shift annual events like galas and races online with the right tools.
Registration tools will allow you to collect and predict attendance, while live-streaming capabilities will add in that necessary face-to-face element that boosts engagement.
Different types of events necessitate different tools, though. And the specific events you host depend on what inspires your donors to attend. Two types of virtual events that will help any organization engage donors right now include:
Fundraiser events. As best explained by this guide, virtual fundraisers empower you to widen your audience by eliminating geographic barriers and gain insights into your campaign effectiveness. That page also dives into several online event suggestions to try out, a few of which include hosting a virtual 5K, an online auction, or a digital gala. Get creative and choose a fundraiser that suits your audience’s interests.
Donor appreciation events. Fundraisers can be incredibly effective but require a lot of bandwidth to organize. Consider putting together a donor appreciation event to develop relationships and express gratitude for ongoing support. This could be a live stream where you recap major progress toward your goals, or it could be something along the lines of a virtual tour of your facility.
Going virtual with your events is a fantastic opportunity to close the physical distance with donors, but being in a remote environment does typically require that you take additional steps to match the natural excitement of in-person get-togethers. After all, you don’t want your event to be one where everyone’s multitasking and not paying attention.
3. Convey the impact of donors’ generosity.
Especially as many donors are likely facing financial constraints, you need to convey the value of their monetary support, and the best way to do that is by tying their generous contributions to impact. As explained in re:Charity’s nonprofit fundraising strategy guide:
“More than ever before, donors are concerned with the impact of their donation more than anything else. Supporters want to see that there’s a reason they’re giving, and it’s because your organization is able to complete important work with that funding.”
To motivate donors to give, tell them what their contributions can achieve through specific examples. For instance, explain that a donation of $30 could purchase books for a student in your literacy program, or for an animal shelter, tell donors that a gift of $50 can help relocate one of your furry residents to their forever home. Explanations like these will help them visualize their impact and choose their donation amount.
After donors give, continue to share impact with timely updates. For instance, if they gave to a specific program, let them know about any major progress. Reporting back demonstrates transparency and that you’re spending in accordance with donors’ expectations.
Beyond outright telling them the facts, here are two ways nonprofits commonly express impact:
Testimonials. Sharing firsthand stories is an effective way to connect with donors and educate them about all the outstanding work your organization is doing with their contributions. Talk to your frontline staff, volunteers, or benefactors of your work. Schedule interviews if necessary to truly capture their story. Then, share these stories through email newsletters, your website, or social media.
Imagery. Don’t just tell donors about their impact; show them. Videos and images can take your explanations to the next level. If a donor funded the construction of a new facility for your team, share pictures of the progress along the way. Then, give a virtual tour of the completed building once construction wraps up.
Conveying impact in all stages of fundraising is essential for securing initial donations and encouraging supporters to stick around. Taking the time to connect fundraising dollars to impact makes it easier for potential donors to relate to your work.
Keep in mind that the nature of these appeals differs across organizations. There are endless factors that play into what a donor’s dollar does for a nonprofit. While you can certainly take cues from other organizations, make sure your appeals are unique to your organization to help your work stand out.
Remote engagement is one of the largest advancements ever. While it was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual engagement shows all the signs of being a permanent fixture in the nonprofit sector. Instead of being intimidated by this landscape, use this time to break the traditional fundraising model and experiment with modern tactics.
Start by refining your communication strategy. Then, venture into developing new online engagement opportunities to bridge the gap, and brainstorm various ways to convey the impact of contributions. By going the extra mile for your donors, you’ll effectively meet and exceed their expectations — even in the virtual environment. In turn, you’ll kickstart valuable relationships that will outlast the pandemic. Good luck!
This guest post was written by Andrew Berry.
Andrew is the head of marketing and customer success for Donately. After getting involved with nonprofits at a young age, he discovered a passion for helping the organizations that are making the world a better place. Knowing how vital online fundraising has become, his goal is to help nonprofits raise more money online each year! In his spare time, you will find him cooking up dinner, playing with his dog or cheering on Boston sports teams.
