Using Direct Mail to Generate Interest in Planned Giving

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In the age of bloated inboxes and prevalent online scams, direct mail stands out to donors—making it a highly beneficial communication channel for nonprofits. Not only does receiving a letter surprise donors and give them a tangible reminder of your organization, but direct mail also helps you connect with supporters across generational divides.

This is especially true for some of your most influential donor prospects: those interested in planned giving. Planned giving donors are at the top of the donor pyramid, representing their immense potential to impact your mission. By cultivating these supporters with direct mail, your nonprofit can generate interest and ultimately secure more planned gifts.

In this guide, we’ll explore a few tips for using direct mail to engage, cultivate, and inspire donors to participate in planned giving.

1. Include visuals that showcase the impact of legacy gifts.

The number one reason donors make planned gifts is that they have a strong affinity for a cause and want to make an impact on it. To tap into this motivation, your direct mail campaigns must prioritize demonstrating impact. Make it clear just how much a legacy gift can do for your organization’s mission through your direct mail copy and visuals.

The right visuals will get your message across more quickly and effectively than words alone, helping you touch the hearts of prospective planned givers. Think photos of smiling beneficiaries, compelling infographics and data visualizations, and other images that highlight the positive outcomes of your work. When you combine these visuals with heartfelt copy, you can drive home the message that your nonprofit and planned givers can achieve amazing results together.

To choose the right visuals, segment your donors based on the aspects of your cause they’re most passionate about. Look to their giving and involvement histories to clarify each individual’s unique charitable interests. Then, include specific visuals and stories that will resonate with each group.

Ensure that every visual you include in your direct mail:

  • Has a clear purpose (such as demonstrating impact).
  • Represents the diversity of your community, including both beneficiaries and supporters.
  • Aligns with the visual style of your letter, postcard, or brochure.
  • Aligns with your nonprofit’s and planned giving program’s branding.
  • Evokes positive emotions like empowerment, hope, and pride.
  • Is referenced or alluded to in the appeal copy itself.

Additionally, make sure that any small visual elements, such as icons, emojis, or other graphics, are tasteful and match the rest of the appeal. If you’re not sure how to choose the best visuals for your planned giving appeals or communicate your nonprofit’s impact effectively, consider working with a communications consultant who can provide professional expertise.

2. Send a brochure with clear information about how planned giving works.

Not every donor has heard of planned giving before, and many don’t know what it means or how planned gifts work. This makes providing informational materials a crucial part of planned gift marketing and cultivation. One of the best ways to do so is with a physical brochure.

Direct mail brochures can include more information (and visuals!) than a one-page letter and serve as a resource donors can refer to again and again. To be effective, however, they must include all the information and resources donors need to take the next step. This typically means providing:

  • The types of planned gifts you accept and what they mean. NXUnite by Nexus Marketing explains that common types of legacy gifts include bequests, retirement plans, life insurance, charitable gift annuities, and retained life estates. Your organization might also include charitable remainder trusts, QCDs, and more.
  • Benefits of planned giving for donors. Highlight the personal impact donors can make on your cause, their control over the funds’ usage, tax benefits, and the extensive recognition planned gift donors will receive from your organization.
  • Links or QR codes to informational pages on your website. For supporters interested in learning more, direct them to your website so they can explore opportunities at their own pace.
  • Impact data about what you’ve been able to do with planned gifts before. Include charts, graphs, and tangible results demonstrating planned gifts’ long-term impact.
  • Donor testimonials emphasizing how rewarding it is to make a planned gift. Collect a few quotes from current planned giving donors about why they decided to participate in planned giving and what it means to them.
  • The contact details of your planned giving officer. Include your planned giving officer’s email address or phone number so interested donors can reach out directly with any questions.

Throughout the brochure, remember to use accessible, donor-focused language. Avoid getting too technical or in the weeds about planned gifts. Instead, put yourself in the donor’s shoes and prioritize the information that will spark their interest.

3. Provide an easy-to-use pledge card.

Often, the next step for planned giving prospects isn’t to email your planned gifts officer or talk to their financial advisor right away. Simply expressing their interest in planned giving is a great way to begin the process.

Make it easy for donors to take this step by providing pledge cards and return envelopes in your appeals. You can even include these cards with other standard fundraising appeals, just as you might mention matching gifts or other opportunities to increase impact at the end of a letter. Pledge cards should be pre-addressed and stamped so all donors have to do is write their name and check a box to indicate their interest.

You might include a few options on your card with a checkbox next to each one, such as:

  • Please send me more information about [specific type of planned gift].
  • I would like to speak to someone about legacy giving opportunities.
  • I’ve already included [your nonprofit’s name] in my will.

Once you receive one of these cards back from a donor, contact them to discuss their interest (or get details about the planned gift they’ve already made, if applicable). Additionally, Meyer Partners’ direct mail guide recommends following up with a handwritten thank-you note to each donor. This small token of appreciation shows that you value the donor’s interest in your cause, even if they’re not ready to make a planned gift yet.

Whether you’re launching a dedicated planned gift fundraising campaign or just promoting legacy gifts in your year-end appeals, these tips will help you cultivate and inspire prospects. Pair direct mail with other strategic outreach through email, phone calls, and in-person conversations for a well-rounded approach.

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5 Nonprofit Marketing Tools You Don’t Want to Overlook

Marketing brings your nonprofit’s mission to a wide audience, helping you earn valuable donations, spread awareness of your cause, and build long-lasting supporter relationships. Most nonprofits seek to achieve this through email marketing, text messages, social media ads, and the occasional phone call.

However, marketing research shows nonprofits are sending more emails for fewer positive outcomes and struggle to make up their return on investment for social media ads. That doesn’t mean abandoning these channels but instead looking for new marketing tools to expand your strategy.

In this guide, we’ll explore five marketing tools for nonprofits that your organization might be overlooking!

1. Google Ads

When it comes to digital ads, nonprofits should look for platforms with large audiences, sophisticated targeting tools, and reduced costs for nonprofits. With these factors in mind, Google Ads are pretty unbeatable.

Nonprofits that enroll in the Google Ad Grants program earn $10,000 in monthly credits to spend on Google Ads. Many nonprofits in the Google Ad Grants program struggle to hit this spending target, meaning your organization can likely advertise on Google for free.

But first, make sure your nonprofit is eligible. Getting Attention’s guide to applying for the Google Grant outlines the basic qualification guidelines:

The eligibility requirements for the Google Ad Grant, written out below.

  • Eligible.Organizations that are registered as nonprofits in their country (in the U.S., this means being a 501(c)(3) organization), have a functional website, follow proper web security measures, and agree to the Google Grant’s program policies are eligible.
  • Ineligible. Government entities, healthcare organizations, and schools are ineligible for the Google Ad Grant. However, the fundraising branches of hospitals and schools may be eligible, depending on their organization’s structure.

To start the application process, your nonprofit will need to make a Google for Nonprofits account. This should be a simple process as long as your organization is a registered nonprofit and owns its website domain.

Next, evaluate your website to pinpoint opportunities for improvement. Not only does Google require applicants to have websites with valuable and original content, but Google Ads will only succeed if they link to valuable landing pages. Consider what pages you want to promote and get to work improving them before submitting your Google Ad Grant application!

2. Search Engine Optimization

In addition to Google Ads, you can make your content easy to find by following search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. These strategies improve the chances your content will rank on search engine results pages (SERPs) and be shown to users searching relevant keywords.

A few SEO tips include:

  • Using keywords strategically.SEO revolves around keywords, so ensure your content targets a few valuable keywords. Avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of needlessly repeating a keyword. Instead, use keywords carefully, such as in page titles, headers, and where natural in body text.
  • Produce valuable content. Search engines want to show users high-quality content. By doing so, they can persuade audiences to continue using their search engine and clicking on top results. As such, ensure your content is original, relevant to your target audience, and reflects your organization’s unique perspective.
  • Make your pages crawlable. On the technical side, make your content as easy for search engines to crawl as possible. “Crawling” is the process of scanning a web page to assess its content. Broken links and long redirect chains make crawling more difficult. If you have a Google Search Console account, you can submit your content for indexing, speeding up the crawling process.

For any search-based marketing strategies, such as SEO and Google Ads, ensure you have a strong understanding of your audience and their search habits. This will enable you to target keywords your supporters are likely searching for.

3. Influencer Marketing

Online influencers command massive audiences, with popular creators boasting millions of followers, subscribers, or viewers depending on their platform of choice. Even smaller creators with an audience of a few thousand can help nonprofits spread their mission.

When working with influencers, a few factors to consider include:

  • Your goal. Why does your nonprofit want to work with an influencer? Is it to promote a year-end giving campaign, drive donations for a new project, or spread awareness about your mission to a new audience? Knowing what you hope to get out of your influencer partnership will guide you toward strong candidates. For example, YouTube and Twitch live streamers have the capacity to host fundraisers on your behalf, whereas an Instagram influencer may be more attuned to spreading awareness or directing traffic to your website.
  • Audience interests. Assess the influencer’s audience to ensure they will likely be receptive to your cause. For example, an influencer famous for posting pictures of their cute dogs likely has an audience that will respond especially well to animal-related causes but may be lukewarm on other issues.
  • Audience size. Influencer audiences range in size from nano-influencers with only about 1K-10K followers to mega-influencers with over 1 million followers. While larger audiences have more resources, it may be more difficult to contact influencers above a certain size.

Influencer tiers, starting from 1k followers to 1 million+

Remember, even small influencers with passionate audiences can make a big difference. Just be clear about your expectations and be grateful for their help to make the partnership valuable for both parties.

4. Personalization

Supporters want to give to causes they feel connected to. As such, nonprofits should engage in direct marketing fundraising, which is a type of fundraising where messages are addressed to a specific donor. For example, an email addressed to your name is direct marketing, whereas a general call for donations on social media is indirect marketing.

Direct marketing leverages personalization to build strong, one-on-one connections with donors. Use your donor database to track information about individual donors so you can address them by name and reference their past contributions in your communications with them.

Additionally, segment your audience into groups based on your marketing strategy. For example, you might group donors by age and send donors who are around retirement age information on your planned giving program, young donors details about your volunteer program, and middle-aged donors invites to family-friendly events.

Essentially, segmentation helps your messages resonate with various audiences, while personalization ensures each individual message is relevant to its recipient.

5. Cause Marketing

If your nonprofit has ever worked with corporate sponsors before (or is considering doing so for the first time), look for partners willing to do a cause marketing campaign.

Cause marketing is a type of corporate philanthropy wherein businesses promote and contribute to a good cause, usually by donating a portion of sales for a specific product to a nonprofit. For instance, 360MatchPro shares several cause marketing examples:

  • Ross Dress for Less. Ross runs two annual cause marketing campaigns to help local Boys & Girls Clubs. First, cashiers are directed to ask customers if they would like to make a donation during checkout, often by rounding up their sales total to the nearest dollar. The other is Ross’s “Help Local Kids Learn” fundraiser, in which Ross locations set up in-store information booths with activities related to childhood education.
  • Patagonia. Patagonia’s 1% for the Planet program ensures 1% of sales are donated to Patagonia’s nonprofit partners. Patagonia also promotes various causes and ongoing campaigns on its website.
  • Pringles. To spread awareness for men’s mental health, Pringles partners with the nonprofit Movember and launches a special line of Pringles cans that feature a QR code to Movember’s website. Through this link, visitors can access mental health resources and donate.

These businesses each take different approaches to cause marketing, and the exact details of your cause marketing campaign will need to be worked out with your corporate partner. Consider their interests, as well as your nonprofit’s.

For example, do you want to raise awareness, earn donations, or expand your volunteer program? As for your corporate partner, they are probably looking for a reputation boost and a campaign that’s easy and cost-efficient to put together. For one business, that might involve launching a new product line, whereas another might create a special marketing campaign to promote the partnership.

Marketing tools, channels, and strategies arm your nonprofit with the tools it needs to reach new audiences and solidify its connection to current supporters. Start expanding your marketing toolkit by looking into these channels and deciding if they’re right for your organization.

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Creating Compelling Year-End Appeals: 4 Best Practices

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Year-end is an extremely important time for nonprofits due to the elevated generosity of the season. After all, 17-20% of the average nonprofit’s revenue is raised in December alone. That’s why a lot of nonprofits host dedicated year-end giving campaigns, complete with engaging fundraising events, online marketing blasts, and more.

To maximize the success of your fundraising, you must craft engaging, compelling appeals to your supporters for gifts. With so many nonprofits vying for their attention during this season, it’s only natural that you want your appeals to stand out to meet your year-end giving goals.

In this guide, we’ll discuss four best practices your nonprofit should adopt to craft compelling year-end appeals that will inspire your supporters to give. Let’s take a look at how you can make this year-end season your most successful yet!

1. Start as early as possible.

Although year-end giving campaigns are executed in the last few months of the year, that doesn’t mean you should start crafting your campaign strategy and fundraising appeals during that time. Here’s an example of a year-end planning calendar from OneCause:

An example of a year-end planning calendar from OneCause, also described in text below.

  • Summer and fall: Start planning your campaigns by mapping out timelines, nailing down event details, and preparing your marketing strategies.
  • October: Build excitement for your year-end campaigns and get the ball rolling early by promoting your upcoming events and sending key information to your audiences.
  • November: Focus your campaigns on GivingTuesday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday to boost visibility for your efforts.
  • December: Focus on the holidays and leverage them to inspire generosity. Tap into the altruistic message of this month to capture your audience’s interest.
  • Spring: Steward relationships with supporters, new and old, by creating multiple touchpoints. Thank them for their year-end gifts and explain what they helped your nonprofit achieve.

Plan out what your year-end marketing and appeals will look like as early as possible. Use the data collected from previous year-end campaigns to help you determine what themes and messages are most effective for your audience. For example, if your nonprofit serves the local Indian community, you might highlight Diwali in your early year-end appeals and host a community event to help them celebrate.

2. Personalize appeals.

If you’re notorious among your friends for disliking animals and loving plants, would they have more success asking you to take care of their pet dog or potted monstera during their week-long vacation?

To secure the donations your nonprofit needs to power its mission, your appeals must reach the right people, at the right time, with the right messaging. If they don’t, your supporters won’t feel compelled to take action and may even disengage from your organization entirely.

The best way to ensure that your messages resonate is by customizing your appeals to each audience group. Separate your audience into different groups, also known as segments. Here are a few examples of common nonprofit segments:

  • One-time donors
  • Recurring donors
  • Mid-level donors
  • Major donors
  • Legacy or planned donors
  • Volunteers
  • Staff members

Identify the key characteristics, interests, motivations, and past giving behavior of these groups with the data stored in your nonprofit constituent relationship management (CRM) system. Use this information as the foundation for personalizing your appeals.

Let’s take volunteers, for example. As they regularly donate their time and efforts to support your organization, it’s clear that they’re loyal to your cause and want to help your mission as best they can. In your appeals, thank your volunteers for the support they’ve already given to your nonprofit. Then, frame your ask as an additional way they can make a difference for your organization and highlight where your year-end funds are going. Make sure to be specific! Finally, direct them to your donation page so they can make their gift.

3. Secure emotional buy-in with storytelling.

Adding storytelling elements to your nonprofit’s year-end appeals enables you to secure emotional buy-in, boost interest, and ultimately increase donations. Not convinced? Let’s look at this example of two approaches to discussing an animal shelter’s impact:

  • Recently, we nursed a sick cat back to health and gave him basic behavioral training. Now, he can go to a family that needs a pet.
  • When Chester first came to us, he was malnourished and untrusting of humans. Over our time together, we’ve helped him gain three pounds to reach a healthy weight. With lots of socialization and behavioral training, he’s regained his confidence. Now, Chester’s ready to find a loving family to be his forever home!

Ultimately, both approaches provide the same information. However, the latter takes a narrative-driven angle that keeps the reader engaged and helps them connect emotionally with the impact the nonprofit has made. That’s the power of storytelling—and you can leverage it for your year-end appeals!

According to UpMetrics, these are the key elements of nonprofit storytelling:

  • Character: the who or what the narrative is centered around, usually a person, animal, or place
  • Setting: where your story takes place
  • Plot: the sequence of events that takes place
  • Conflict: the obstacle(s) your character faces in the story
  • Resolution: the final outcome of the narrative

Think back on your year, including the projects you’ve funded, the campaigns you’ve pushed forward, the events you’ve hosted, and the beneficiaries you’ve helped. In all these moments, select a few of the most compelling ones to feature in your year-end appeals. Communicate them using the storytelling elements above to demonstrate your impact to donors and highlight how giving to your organization is a worthwhile investment.

4. Create a sense of urgency.

Leverage the time-sensitive nature of your year-end fundraising goals to create a sense of urgency within your appeals. This is a highly effective tactic, as it encourages your donors to act quickly or even at that moment. When your supporters put off or delay making their gifts, you risk them forgetting to make it entirely. Having an urgent year-end appeal helps you secure their gifts, effectively boosting your fundraising revenue.

Here are a few ways you can create a sense of urgency within your year-end appeals:

  • Time-sensitive language: Use time-sensitive language to emphasize the urgency of your appeal. Highlight how much time supporters have to donate and use vocabulary associated with immediacy, such as “now” or “today.” For example, you might say: “Donate now to help us meet our fundraising goals!”
  • Countdown imagery: Include countdown imagery in your messaging and on your website. For example, have a countdown clock next to a fundraising thermometer that displays how close you are to your goals. Supporters who see this visual will feel compelled to donate to fill up your thermometer.
  • Strong, clear calls to action: Make it clear what action you want your donors to take through clear, succinct calls to action. Additionally, if supporters need to navigate to your donation page or campaign page to make a gift, include those links in your messages for a streamlined process.
  • Remind supporters about tax deductions: For donors who itemize their taxes and look to minimize their tax burden, a reminder about the deadline to donate to claim the deduction on that year’s taxes can spur extra gifts.

Send your messages through multiple channels to maximize the number of donors who see your urgent appeals and increase conversions. Your website, email newsletters, and social media posts are great places to start, as they allow you to connect with loyal supporters and potential new ones.

Year-end is not just a time for fundraising—it’s also a prime opportunity for you to strengthen new and existing donor relationships. With the right year-end appeals, you’ll boost donations for your mission and help your audience connect more deeply with your cause, resulting in more support in the future!

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8 Technology Tips for Boosting Nonprofit Event Registrations

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Innovations in technology have presented nonprofits with new opportunities to boost event registrations and engagement. By harnessing the power of various digital tools and platforms, your nonprofit can streamline its registration process, expand its reach, and ultimately increase event attendance. 

In this guide, we’ll explore several strategies for using technology to secure more registrations and set your next event up for success.

1. Optimize Your Event Website

Your event website is often the first point of contact for interested attendees, so it’s essential to make a strong impression. Several ways to do so include:

  • Making your website mobile-responsive: With a significant portion of users accessing websites through smartphones and tablets, a mobile-friendly design is no longer optional. A responsive website adjusts seamlessly to different screen sizes, providing a smooth browsing experience, whether on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
  • Incorporating attention-grabbing calls to action (CTAs): Your CTA buttons should be prominently displayed and easy to find. Use direct and compelling language to encourage visitors to take immediate action, whether that’s registering, learning more about the event, or sharing it with their network.
  • Sharing clear and concise event information: Highlight the value of attending, along with key details such as the date, time, location, and main attractions of your event. Accompany this information with high-quality images and videos from past events to give potential attendees a better idea of what to expect. 

As with any of your nonprofit’s content, make sure your event page is branded to your organization. By featuring your logo and colors consistently, you can build trust and increase brand recognition among current and potential supporters.

2. Leverage the Power of Email Marketing Automation

Email marketing remains one of the most effective tools for promoting events, especially when automated to deliver targeted messages at the right time. Here’s how to maximize its impact:

  • Personalized Invitations: Go beyond just using the recipient’s name. Tailor your content based on their previous interactions with your organization. For instance, if they attended a similar event in the past, mention it and highlight what’s new or improved this time.
  • Drip Campaigns: Develop a series of automated emails that gradually provide more information and incentives to potential attendees. These could include reminders of the event date, highlights of key speakers, and testimonials from past events.
  • Audience Segmentation: Divide your email list into segments based on criteria like past attendance, interests, or donation history. This allows for more targeted messaging, increasing the relevance and effectiveness of your emails.

In addition to these strategies, consistently track your email performance. Monitor open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to gain insights into what’s working and make necessary adjustments to refine your strategy for future events.

3. Expand Your Reach with Social Media Platforms

Social media makes it easy for your nonprofit to reach a wide audience when promoting your events. To tap into the full potential of these platforms, consider:

  • Creating event pages on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to centralize information and foster community engagement. These pages allow you to post updates, share multimedia content, and interact directly with potential attendees. Encourage RSVPs, comments, and shares to increase visibility.
  • Leveraging hashtags by developing a unique, memorable one for your event and using it consistently across all posts. Encourage followers to use the hashtag when sharing event-related content, building a sense of community and enhancing discoverability.
  • Running ad campaigns on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to reach new audiences. By targeting specific demographics, interests, or locations, you can create ads that connect with the most relevant potential attendees.

Keep your audience engaged by regularly sharing updates, behind-the-scenes content, and teasers leading up to the event. Hosting live Q&A sessions or virtual previews can spark further interest among your audience and address any questions they may have.

4. Streamline the Registration Process

Having a smooth and convenient registration process can significantly enhance the user experience and reduce drop-offs. Offer multiple payment options, such as credit cards, PayPal, and digital wallets, to accommodate various preferences and increase the likelihood of completed registrations.

Incentivize early sign-ups with group registration options and early bird discounts. Group discounts encourage organizations or friends to attend together, while early bird pricing creates a sense of urgency to register.

Leverage event registration tools that integrate with your constituent relationship management system (CRM) to easily track and manage attendee data for more efficient follow-up. After registration, send instant confirmation emails with essential event information such as venue details and schedules to prepare attendees for an engaging experience.

5. Enhance Convenience with QR Codes

QR codes provide a simple yet effective way to improve various aspects of your event, from registration to on-site navigation. Attendees can easily scan these codes with a smartphone to instantly access digital content related to your event.

Include QR codes on all your printed promotional materials, such as flyers, posters, and brochures. Scanning the code can take potential attendees directly to your registration page, making it easier for them to sign up on the spot.

At the event itself, use QR codes to facilitate a contactless check-in process. Attendees can scan their codes at the entrance to quickly confirm their registration and gain entry, reducing wait times.

You can also use QR codes to provide easy access to important event information, such as schedules, maps, and speaker bios. Display these codes throughout the venue to help attendees navigate the event and stay informed.

6. Provide Instant Support with Chatbots

Incorporating chatbots into your event website can significantly enhance the user experience by providing instant support and answering common questions. You can program chatbots to handle a wide range of inquiries, from providing details about the event schedule to assisting with the registration process. This 24/7 availability ensures that potential attendees can get the information they need, even outside of your staff’s regular hours.

A well-designed chatbot can guide visitors through the entire registration process, answering any questions that arise and helping to resolve any issues that might prevent them from completing their registration. This level of support can lead to higher conversion rates and a more positive overall experience for your attendees.

Additionally, chatbots can collect valuable data on user inquiries, which can help you identify common pain points or areas where your website content might need improvement. This feedback loop allows you to continually refine your approach and enhance the user experience over time.

7. Expand Your Audience with Virtual or Hybrid Events

Planning virtual or hybrid events can significantly expand your reach, allowing you to engage with audiences who might not be able to attend in person.

Livestreaming key sessions or activities is a great way to include remote attendees in your event. You can use Zoom, YouTube, or dedicated virtual event platforms to broadcast your event to a global audience. Ensure that your virtual attendees have access to the same high-quality content as those attending in person, with opportunities for direct interaction and engagement.

Hybrid events, which combine in-person and virtual elements, offer the best of both worlds. Attendees can choose the format that best suits their needs, whether it’s joining in person for the full experience or participating virtually from anywhere in the world. Hybrid events also provide flexibility in case of unexpected circumstances, such as travel restrictions or health concerns.

Look for virtual event platforms that offer features like breakout rooms and live chat functions to create a rich and engaging experience for all attendees. This not only increases participation but also provides additional opportunities for sponsors to connect with a wider audience.

8. Engage and Motivate with Gamification

Gamification is a creative way to boost engagement and drive registrations by adding interactive, game-like elements to the registration process. Here are some effective strategies:

  • Early Registration Rewards: Offer incentives such as discounts, exclusive content, or VIP experiences for those who register early. These rewards create urgency and motivate quicker sign-ups.
  • Referral Programs: Encourage current registrants to refer others by offering incentives for each new attendee they bring in. This not only increases registrations but also fosters a sense of community among participants.
  • Points System: Implement a points system where attendees earn points for actions like sharing event content on social media, participating in pre-event challenges, or attending webinars. They can then redeem these points for rewards or use them to unlock special experiences at the event.

By incorporating these gamification strategies, you can make the registration process more engaging and rewarding, leading to higher attendance and a more connected community.

By embracing these technology strategies, your nonprofit can boost its event registrations and plan more successful, impactful events. From optimizing your online presence to leveraging the latest in digital engagement tools, these approaches can help you reach a wider audience, streamline your processes, and ultimately further your organization’s mission.

While technology offers powerful tools to enhance your event, it’s essential to remember that the true heart of your event lies in your nonprofit’s mission and the community you serve. Use these digital strategies to amplify your message and grow your nonprofit’s event registrations.

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Effective Donor Segmentation Strategies to Drive Revenue

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Giving trends in the nonprofit sector are reflecting larger economic patterns. While the total revenue raised on GivingTuesday 2023 showed a small increase compared to 2022, the number of donors dropped by 10%. This and other similar trends could be cause for concern as your donors and development team alike contend with inflation and concerns about the future of the economy.

Although they aren’t favorable, these findings shouldn’t cause your organization to panic. Instead, focus on preparing for whatever the future holds by protecting and diversifying your revenue streams. One way to do this is by strengthening and personalizing your digital marketing efforts to appeal to your supporters’ unique giving motivations, boosting donations.

We’ll explore some of the top strategies you can use to inspire more support for your cause using segmentation—but first, let’s cover the basics of this process.

Donor Segmentation Basics

GivingDNA’s guide to donor segmentation defines the term as “a strategy that nonprofits use to separate a donor base into smaller subgroups based on shared traits and characteristics.” Segmenting donors helps you break down your full donor database into more manageable subgroups.

By uncovering distinct preferences and interests through external data insights, you can create segments based on those details that will help you develop more targeted, tailored communications. These groups, or segments, can be based on a variety of characteristics. Some of the most common categories include:

  • Demographic data like age, gender, geographic location, income, and more.
  • Psychographic data, which denotes information about the donors’ lifestyles, interests, hobbies, and values.
  • Giving behavior like gift size, frequency, and recency.
  • Communication preferences, such as preferred communication channels, frequency, and content formats.
  • Engagement history, which reflects donors’ interactions with your communications, attendance at events, volunteer hours, and more.

These categories simply provide a starting point for your nonprofit. Depending on your unique needs, goals, and projects, you might experiment with more niche or specific segments.

4 Ways to Inspire Donations Using Donor Segmentation

Start with an RFM analysis.

An RFM analysis segments your donors based on the recency, frequency, and monetary value of their donations. This type of analysis can help your nonprofit identify the donors who are most likely to give. This way, you’ll gain a baseline understanding of your donor base and be able to allocate your marketing resources efficiently.

Here is a breakdown of each component of the RFM model:

  • Recency: This refers to the amount of time that has passed since the supporter’s last donation. For example, perhaps they made an online gift two months ago after being inspired by your email marketing campaign.
  • Frequency: This metric indicates the number of times a donor gives, usually within the last 36 months or so, representing how often they donate. Some may only give once a year or less, while members of your sustainer program donate each month.
  • Monetary value: This tracks the amount of money a donor contributes to your cause. The best way to calculate this value is to find the donor’s median gift size over a certain time period, either five years or whenever you acquired the donor.

From here, score donors based on each of these components and then filter them into the appropriate segments. For example, let’s say you have a donor who gave three months ago, donates twice per year, and usually gives slightly more than your organization-wide average gift amount. This donor would have a high RFM score and should be placed in a segment for donors who are likely to donate in response to your marketing efforts.

While RFM analyses can be a great place to start, they only provide limited insight. These analyses can help you forecast how donors will respond to your appeals, but they are purely based on past behaviors. Additionally, the RFM model excludes many other important dimensions of donor behavior, particularly why they give.

Examine interests and psychographic characteristics.

Given the limitations of the RFM model, you’ll also need to learn why donors choose to support your cause. When you’ve uncovered their deeper motivations and personal connections to the issue, you can infer which stories, strategies, and appeals would be most effective in your marketing campaigns.

For example, let’s say a healthcare organization that researches multiple sclerosis (MS) and provides services to those battling the disease wants to dig deeper into why donors support the cause. Here is how this organization could use common psychographic traits to segment and appeal to donors:

  • Lifestyle: There is a wide variety of lifestyle factors to consider, such as donors’ opinions, attitudes, social class, and personality. For example, are they adventurous risk-takers or conservative and family-oriented? The healthcare organization decides to segment donors based on their activity level and shares appeals that highlight the importance of mobility in quality of life to those who like to exercise and get outside.
  • Hobbies and interests: This includes the things that donors like to spend doing in their free time, such as golfing, hiking, cooking, creative writing, or volunteering. The nonprofit creates a segment of donors who are passionate about nutrition and healthy, home-cooked meals. Then, it shares educational resources about nutrition, promotes tickets to a healthy cooking workshop, and invites supporters to participate in a recipe contest.
  • Values and beliefs: Understanding donors’ values and belief systems will help you appeal to their sense of purpose. For instance, our example nonprofit could find that many of its donors believe strongly in equality and social justice. In this case, the organization could target the segment with appeals that highlight how its work and research work to address healthcare disparities and provide desperately needed services to those with MS.

For most people, their values, beliefs, and interests are deeply ingrained in who they are. So, you’ll be able to rely on insights from these segments for much longer than other traits that are subject to change (e.g., income), which can help you run profitable fundraising initiatives long into the future.

Track donor lifecycles.

Your donors pass through several distinct phases or “seasons” in their interactions with your nonprofit. Together, these phases make up the donor lifecycle, a process that encapsulates donors’ journey from discovering your nonprofit and donating for the first time to upgrading their support.

Understanding where donors fall in this lifecycle is crucial for properly welcoming new supporters, creating donor stewardship strategies, cultivating major donors, and motivating lapsed donors to re-engage. For example, let’s say you create segments for first-time donors, multi-year donors, and those who haven’t given in the last year. Here is how your communication strategies might differ for each segment:

  • First-time donors: Start with a heartfelt thank-you, then aim to welcome these donors and educate them about your cause. Share a welcome email series or mail them a packet with materials they need to get to know your organization. Inform them of other ways to get involved to encourage them to engage more deeply. Carefully track data about this segment’s preferences and responses to messages to improve your recruitment efforts.
  • Multi-year, active donors: During this phase, focus on stewarding your relationships with donors with the eventual goal of an upgrade. Keep your nonprofit on their minds by frequently communicating with them through their preferred channels. Make sure these messages also consider the other traits we’ve discussed. For example, invite them to fundraising events happening in their local area or share about initiatives that appeal to their special interests.
  • Donors at risk of lapsing: These donors haven’t engaged with your nonprofit in a while—it’s up to you to determine why that is and inspire them to come back! Try sharing a survey asking them why they no longer support your organization to pinpoint weak points in your strategy. This segment likely won’t respond to demands for donations. Instead, start with smaller, more doable asks (e.g., reading a blog post about a specific beneficiary). Ask them to come back, whether they are attending an event, volunteering, or donating.

Knowing where your donors are in their journey not only boosts retention and revenue—it also shows them that you notice and care when they make that first gift or haven’t engaged in a while. They’ll feel valued for their individual efforts to support your work and seen as more than just a dollar sign.

Create donor personas.

Donor personas are profiles of fictional people who represent your target audience(s). Personas are designed to encapsulate the main traits and motivations of each donor segment, giving you a clear image of who those supporters are and what pushes them to take action.

For example, here’s a donor persona for a fictional donor named Clara Thompson:

Sample donor persona (interpreted in text below).

Based on this persona, your team could extrapolate insights about the segment’s preferences. For example, someone like Clara who travels often, leads a busy life, and is passionate about technology would likely respond best to digital communications that make it quick and easy to donate. However, you may have another segment of retired seniors who would rather receive monthly updates via direct mail.

Referencing your entire donor database is important—this shows you organization-wide patterns you might otherwise miss. However, donor segmentation is an invaluable tool that will only become more important as hyper-personalized marketing becomes the norm. Applying these segmentation strategies to your marketing campaigns will give you the knowledge and ability to target donors with messages that feel made for them.

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5 Tips for Engaging Supporters with Short Text Messages

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As a nonprofit professional, you know that every donor counts. That’s why you employ a variety of strategies, from email newsletters to fundraising events, to keep them invested in your mission. Donors give to your organization because they’re passionate and believe in your cause. However, retaining them can be challenging. According to Bloomerang, the average donor retention rate for nonprofits hovers around 45%.

To nurture authentic, lasting relationships with your donors, you need to leverage a channel that’s built for personal, one-on-one communication: text messaging. In fact, according to Tatango, over 20% of donations come from text messages and nonprofits earn an average of $5 for every $1 spent on text messaging.

If your nonprofit is ready to make the most of this innovative and impactful channel, use these tips to construct your strategy.

1. Choose comprehensive nonprofit text messaging software.

To get and stay in touch with your nonprofit’s community, you need to equip your team with the tools it needs to send regular, effective messages. That’s where nonprofit text messaging software comes in. When used as part of an omnichannel campaign, nonprofits can see an increased return on investment across all channels.

To find a solution that fits your nonprofit’s needs, look out for these key features:

  • A2P (Application to Person) messaging. Once supporters have opted into receiving text messages from your nonprofit, use A2P messaging to send mass texts that can reach everyone in your contact list at once. This way, you can ensure that you’re not leaving any important audience members out of your communications.
  • Text-to-donate. Using your text platform, you should be able to create a custom keyword that donors can text to make a gift. They’ll then receive a link to your donation form, which they can conveniently fill out on their mobile device.
  • Secure sending. Donors need to know that their privacy and data are protected. When choosing the right nonprofit text messaging software, ask questions about the security of the platform. Your best bet is to find a platform that is SOC-2 compliant, the highest level of security.
  • Segmentation. Send only the most relevant messages to your supporters through segmentation. Group them by factors such as location, past donation history, or event attendance to make each recipient feel valued and strengthen your connection with them. 
  • A/B testing. Your supporters will tell you how they want your organization to communicate with them. All you have to do is listen. Your text platform should allow you to use A/B testing in your campaigns to learn more about supporters’ preferences.

After you’ve found a suitable solution for your nonprofit, put together a subscriber list, ensuring that you receive prior consent to remain compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

2. Personalize each text message.

When donors receive text messages from your nonprofit, they want to feel as though you’re addressing them individually, not as a generic source of revenue. While your text messages should be short, you should still tailor them to the recipient.

Segment your subscriber list and reference relevant details from your database when sending messages, such as:

  • Preferred name
  • Location
  • Engagement history
  • Past giving
  • Programs or areas of interest

Use your platform to schedule text messages at times when your supporters are most likely to see them, such as afternoons or on weekends. By monitoring opt-outs, unsubscribes, open rates, click rates, and other key metrics, you can learn the right cadence and frequency for texting your supporters.

 3. Incorporate attention-grabbing visual content.

Your nonprofit’s supporters get involved because they want to play a role in your impact on the community. Incorporate images, videos, and GIFs in your text messages to help them visualize their impact and retain their support.

For example, you could make your text content more eye-catching by including:

  • Images of beneficiaries
  • Snapshots of your volunteers hard at work
  • Emojis relevant to your mission
  • Infographics that illustrate the importance of your cause

Make donors feel empowered to join in on the difference you’re making by sharing uplifting, inspiring visual content and highlighting the role they can play in it all.

4. Include only one call to action per message.

Your nonprofit’s text messages should be short and simple. This means that you shouldn’t overwhelm your audience with too many calls to action (CTAs) per message.

Follow these best practices to inspire your recipients to take action:

  • Only include one CTA per text message.
  • Add a sense of urgency to your CTAs.
  • Share a link to a relevant landing page.

Whether you’re encouraging supporters to make a donation or sign up to volunteer, be sure that your page is mobile-friendly so they can take action directly from their phones.

5. Share a variety of engagement opportunities.

When you text your friends or family members, chances are you’re not sending them the same type of message over and over again. The same applies to your nonprofit’s text messages.

Keep your communications lively and interesting by sharing a variety of engagement opportunities, such as:

  • Signing up to volunteer.
  • Registering for an upcoming fundraising event.
  • Becoming a peer-to-peer fundraising participant.
  • Joining a social media community.

According to Double the Donation, 47% of donors also support nonprofit causes through online raffles or sweepstakes, 45% purchase from an online store benefiting a nonprofit, and 24% give through online auctions. The more opportunities you put in front of your supporters, the more likely they are to engage in the ways that best appeal to them.

Throughout your nonprofit text messaging campaign, keep an eye on metrics such as your open rate and click-through rate to measure the effectiveness of your approach and adjust your tactics as needed. Over time, you’ll be able to share news, inspire action, and retain more donors through text messaging.

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Microinteractions 101: A Guide for Nonprofit Marketers

Your nonprofit’s website is one of its most impactful digital marketing tools. It’s the hub for all important information about your organization and allows your supporters to get involved in a multitude of ways.

However, making your website stand out from the crowd can be a tough feat. It’s the little things that make the best nonprofit websites rise above the rest—like microinteractions.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through what microinteractions are, the benefits of including them on your website, and tips for creating them so you can take your nonprofit website to the next level.

What are microinteractions?

According to Kanopi, microinteractions are “the small moments and design elements that users experience on your website that engage them more deeply.” Though they may be subtle features, microinteractions can have a huge impact on user experience.

To give you an idea of what microinteractions look like, here are a few examples:

  • A donation progress bar that updates in real time
  • Donation buttons that change color or size when users hover over them
  • Thank-you animations that appear after users donate or sign up for an event
  • Personalized greetings for returning visitors
  • Branded loading animations, such as a cat crawling across the screen for an animal shelter’s website

The more interactive of an experience your supporters have, the longer they’ll stay on your website to check out all it has to offer. That’s what makes microinteractions so important—these elements create a dynamic online experience, leaving a positive impression on visitors.

An Example of Microinteractions in Action

While every nonprofit website is different, it can be helpful to draw inspiration from other sites that have successfully implemented microinteractions. Take a look at Rice University’s virtual tour website. This site has a variety of microinteractions, including a rocket ship that moves when you hover over it.A screenshot of the microinteractions on Rice University's virtual tour website

While this is a small animation, it excites users who may be interested in the school and encourages them to explore all that Rice University has to offer. Think about how your nonprofit can add small features like this to its own most important pages to build anticipation and increase engagement on your site.

Benefits of Microinteractions

Now that you have a better understanding of what microinteractions are, you may be wondering why these small features are so beneficial for nonprofit websites. The advantages your organization will receive from implementing microinteractions include:

  • Increased engagement. Microinteractions make your website more exciting and interactive for users, encouraging them to engage with your content more deeply.
  • Improved user experience. Not only do microinteractions make your website more engaging, but they also make it easier to navigate your site. By highlighting important landing pages and directing users to take action, they’ll know exactly what to do and where to go on your website.
  • Enhanced emotional connection. Microinteractions that draw attention to impact stories, feature mission-related animations or illustrations, or surprise users can evoke emotions and enable them to better remember your site and cause. For example, a children’s healthcare organization may add animations to its success stories page, helping users remember each child’s story and form an emotional connection to the nonprofit’s mission.
  • Better retention. When users have an engaging, intuitive, and memorable experience on your site, they’re more likely to stick around. Therefore, microinteractions help promote user retention, and once they’ve become supporters of your cause, donor and volunteer retention as well.

By adding these understated but unique design elements to your website, you can provide a positive user experience, leading to higher engagement and long-lasting supporter relationships.

Tips for Creating Successful Microinteractions

To unlock the benefits of microinteractions, you’ll have to strategize about how and where you can add them to your website to make it more engaging and exciting for users. Before you dive into your microinteractions strategy, keep the following tips in mind:

  • Focus on your goals. Microinteractions aren’t just design elements; they’re tools you can use to shape user behavior on your site. Each microinteraction should help your organization achieve one of its broader goals. For instance, if your nonprofit is trying to increase online donations, animating your donation button would align with your objective. Alternatively, an organization looking to enhance supporter stewardship may add a personalized greeting that welcomes users back to their site.
  • Keep it simple. When it comes to microinteractions, less is more. They should feel like a natural part of your website that doesn’t distract from the actual content of each page. Since microinteractions are intended to enhance the user experience, ensure the features you add to your site don’t require users to go out of their way or become overcomplicated to interact with. Consider testing your microinteractions beforehand to confirm they’re intuitive.
  • Explore your CMS’s capabilities. To facilitate microinteractions on your site, get to know the options your content management system (CMS) offers. Different themes or plugins may lend themselves to different animations. For example, WordPress plugins like ACF allow you to better customize your site and create microinteractions, such as showing different content to new and returning users to enhance user experience.
  • Choose an appropriate web page format. If you’re building a new page on your site that you’d like to add microinteractions to, choose a web page format that allows you to easily incorporate microinteractions. The Nonprofits Source web design guide explains that responsive and dynamic layouts offer a positive user experience and allow you to add interactive elements, lending themselves well to microinteractions.
  • Collect feedback. Determine your microinteractions’ effectiveness by directly asking your supporters. While you may not point out the specific techniques you used to engage users, you may send them a survey asking about their overall experience on your website and whether anything in particular stood out to them. You may also use website analytics to figure out which microinteractions receive the most engagement.

Remember that the microinteractions that work for other nonprofit websites may not be suited for yours. Customize the microinteractions on your site to your organization’s specific goals, web tools, and users for the best results.

Make your nonprofit’s website shine with microinteractions. They’ll not only create a positive experience for users but also make your organization stand out in their minds, helping you increase donor retention and build strong supporter relationships.

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Top 4 Digital Marketing Tips to Grow Your Small Business

In the digital age, your small business’s customers are bound to search online to discover the next great restaurant, learn more about the trendy new cafe in town, or peruse Google reviews of local dog boarding facilities. Studies show that 75% of these customers will visit the local stores they research within 24 hours.

This statistic reveals just how important it is for small businesses like yours to have an established, easy-to-find online presence. In this guide, we’ll explore some of the top strategies your organization can use to level up its digital marketing efforts:

When it comes to marketing, data is king. Let’s begin by exploring how (and why) your business should use its data to understand customers and inform its campaign efforts.

Leverage your data.

To leverage customer data, you first need to collect and store it. Track information about your customers, marketing efforts, finances, and website traffic. Each of these points informs some aspect of your marketing strategy, whether it’s the communication channels you use or the content of your promotional messages.

For example, let’s say a dog grooming business wants to upgrade its digital marketing and online presence. The company already uses Gingr’s pet business software, which offers useful features like detailed pre-check-in forms, online bookings, report cards for pet parents, and loyalty rewards. But there is more to these capabilities than meets the eye—they also help the business learn more about customers’ preferences and behaviors.

The grooming business can use this data to identify booking patterns, which communication channels customers use most (e.g., did they opt into text or email notifications?), and how most customers learn about the business. For more granular data about what promotions resonate with your customers, consider sharing surveys with customers, A/B testing various marketing messages, and analyzing engagement from past campaigns.

Align with audience preferences.

Once your business has collected customer data, it’s time to analyze the information and translate insights into actionable next steps. Almost every piece of information you gather about your customers can be used to create personalized marketing campaigns that deeply engage them.

Some of the most common preferences you can track to tailor communications include:

  • Communication channels: Do your customers prefer longer marketing emails or short and snappy text messages? Determine which channels they use most often and share messages through them to ensure customers see them.
  • Message timing: Audiences may engage with their preferred channels or be more likely to respond to marketing messages during a certain time. For example, perhaps a customer scrolls their email looking for coupons each Saturday morning.
  • Message frequency: This describes how often customers prefer to receive messages from businesses. Understanding this preference will help you hit the sweet spot between sending so few messages that customers forget about you and so many that they get annoyed.
  • Content format: Determine whether customers would rather see text-based content, photos, graphics, videos, or audio communications. For example, a quick ad on a local radio station may be most effective for busy, on-the-go customers.

Remember to tailor the content of the message as well. Greet customers by name when possible, and consider referencing the last purchase or recommending a product they might like based on past behaviors. This shows that you understand them and want to provide the best experience possible.

Optimize your website.

According to Allegiance Group, a polished website that appears in the top results of search engine results pages helps organizations look more trustworthy and credible. But to achieve a website that converts customers, your business will need to ensure its site:

  • Meets accessibility standards outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
  • Is easy for users to navigate (e.g., include a menu bar at the top containing links to landing pages like your product list, pricing, social media accounts, blog, etc.).
  • Has valuable, original content that meets users’ search intent.
  • Has a unique, straightforward domain and web address, like your company name, to make it easy for customers to find your website.

Keep in mind that many of your marketing messages will lead back to your website, so it needs to function as a central information hub for customers.

Invest in local marketing.

Local marketing simply targets customers within the areas near your business. Usually, this marketing extends to a certain radius (e.g., 50 miles) outside your company’s physical location(s). These marketing messages should be tailored to the values and preferences of the local area and strengthen your ties to the community.

Here are some of the best ways to optimize your marketing efforts for your local area:

  • Appear in local media. Your customers are likely interested in and trust local newspapers, magazines, blogs, radio stations, and TV channels. Purchase ads in these publications and communication channels to spread awareness of your business and build credibility as a trusted piece of the local economy.
  • Tag your location on social media. Most social media platforms allow you to tag a specific location in your posts. Add a tag with your business’s address to each of your posts so that when potential customers see a photo of your product or service they know where to go. Additionally, add your address to your profile—if you have multiple locations, indicate which town each is based in.
  • Incorporate SEO for local terms. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your company’s visibility on search engines. This is typically done by having a functional, accessible website with valuable content that targets keywords related to your product or service. To attract a local audience, incorporate keywords like your town or region into the website copy. For instance, an ice cream parlor’s homepage title could read, “[State Name]’s #1 Vintage Ice Cream Parlor.”
  • Add location-specific terms to Google Ads. Google Ads are the advertisements that appear at the top of the search results page. If your business uses Google Ads, make sure to signal that you are located in your customers’ area by including your local phone number, town or area name, and any other useful indicators (e.g., Voted [City]’s Best Pizza).

Additionally, your business can become a prominent member of the community and build its reputation by engaging with nonprofits and social causes. For example, a dog daycare business could provide free daycare services to shelter dogs to give them a change of scenery and new playmates. You could also sponsor nonprofit events, start corporate giving initiatives like matching gift programs, and participate in corporate volunteerism.

As you plan your digital marketing campaign, always remember to center your audience so you can reach, engage, and motivate them to support your company with your communications.

These digital marketing strategies will help your small business expand its reach and revenue, developing a sustainable base of loyal customers. Plus, success online could result in lucrative e-commerce opportunities, allowing you to extend your business to people across the globe.

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