Your nonprofit may be doing excellent work, but it won’t be a real success if your fundraising skills are lacking. Depending on a few subscriptions to your advocacy newsletter and some regular donors won’t help either. What’s the point of starting a great organization if news of your work doesn’t reach the right people? There’s no downside to spreading the word about your success, but you have to find the right avenues through which to do so.
It can be challenging to market yourself amid global chaos and public health emergencies. Nevertheless, it’s never the wrong time to ask people to help out with a good cause. Even during a crisis like COVID-19, people in the United States are still generous with their philanthropic donations.
All you need to get those donations flowing is to have the ability to reach enough potential donors. You can do this efficiently with a solid marketing plan. Nonprofits can use TV advertising, spread the word on a streaming service, connect with corporations, and use P2P software for fundraising. If you’re having trouble with marketing ideas, read on for some great tips.
1. Find the right fundraising platform.
Do you have all the tools your nonprofit organization needs? Nonprofits need the right tools to effectively spread the message about what they do and how people can help out. An excellent way to start is to find the right software system to help set up your fundraising events. You can also try a subscription to a service that does all the work for you. Or, find a software platform made for nonprofits, like Engaging Networks.
Most nonprofit software systems add new features regularly so that you can make the most of their advocacy and fundraising tools. Ensure the new features are part of a basic plan or sign up for a premium plan that will allow you to use everything from the data management to email and P2P (peer to peer) services. If you’re still not sure that you need a particular software system, find out what they’ve done for other nonprofits.
These software systems help nonprofits with marketing automation, web browser and website tools, engagement tactics and enhancing their fundraising outreach. With this software you can engage more customers, improve your social media presence, and improve your fundraising tactics. Since it’s completely flexible, you don’t have to worry about another platform taking over your advocacy efforts or changing your message. With so many pros, there’s no real downside to signing up for one of them. In fact, it will allow youth focus on the good work your nonprofit was set up to do, instead of worrying about your web browser or engagement tactics.
2. Use streaming services.
Everything from live sports to advocacy is on a streaming service or live TV these days. So, whether you’re planning to live-stream a fundraising event or film original content for a TV show, this is a great idea. People consume hours of content on their smart TVs and mobile devices. Everyone’s favorite shows are on a TV service like Roku or Apple TV, or streaming services like HBO Go or Showtime. The best way to reach a wider audience is to skip the cable TV ads and go for commercials or video content on streaming services.
Make your content available for offline viewing, or partner with new channels to host your events. After all, even major TV channels now use live streaming to engage with more viewers. ESPN, FUBO, Sling, Peacock, and YouTube TV help sports fans live-stream sports worldwide. HBO, Hulu, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime live-stream concerts and events. Even local channels like CNN have live-stream options for people who prefer to use their laptop or don’t have a traditional cable subscription.
Signing up with a streaming service is the best way to market your nonprofit. Several streaming services have special video streaming services for businesses like nonprofits. So, you can record fundraising events or live stream a discussion about your nonprofit. The best streaming service will also allow you to show your nonprofit commercials before original shows on its platform. Advertising with a TV service is an excellent way to get the word out and expand your list of potential donors.
3. Find donors on social media.
Another great way to find donors is to spread the word online. Using TV and streaming your events is a great idea, but you should also consider a steady stream of online content so that people remember you. Set up social networking sites for your nonprofit and ensure you have engaging content on them regularly.
Your social media presence can help bring in new donors, encourage old donors to spend more money, and spread the word about what you do. Put up attractive images, engage with followers, and regularly update your profile. It’s also a good idea to follow online trends and comment on them. To make the best of your online presence, hire a social media marketing team to help you out.
4. Spread your success stories.
People need to know what nonprofits do and how their donations help. Letting donors know how you plan to use their money during fundraising events is the first step, but you also have to keep them updated about how it’s going. An excellent way to start is to write a weekly newsletter. Also, take your success stories online. If you have a web browser and a good internet connection, you can do this without a large salesforce.
For example, set up a website and regularly update it with stories about your success. If you have a social media team, ask them to update your social media sites as well. And don’t forget about the pros of email marketing. Ask for an email address with every donation and spread the word about your organization with regular email newsletters.
5. Form smart partnerships.
One way to ensure your fundraiser gets enough donors is to spread the message among the right people. You don’t only have to target people with deep pockets, but there’s no downside to adding enough of them to your list. You can start doing this by partnering with a firm or corporation to help you have record success with your advocacy campaign.
It’s a good idea to network to improve your fundraising lineup and supplement small donations with large corporate ones. Try to attend events hosted by other nonprofits, get in touch with entrepreneurs and industrialists who want to improve their advocacy image. You should also partner with the right organizations. For example, if your nonprofit supports animals, partner with Discovery since they own animal-focused channels like Animal Planet.
Nonprofits need to maintain the right image, so do your research to see if your partners support the same issues. Find out who sponsored a recent documentary similar to your cause, then check their reputation. Write a list for every potential partner with a list of all the pros and cons before you consider aligning with them.