COVID-19 Crisis Alters Fundraising Tactics

As the coronavirus crisis alters the social and economic landscape for nonprofits, fundraising tactics will need to alter, too. In a recent NonProfit PRO post, two Orr Group fundraising agency executives suggest some quick tactical shifts. First of all, don't panic and cancel events, they advise, but reschedule or repurpose. If an event can be postponed, a nonprofit may be able to transfer tickets/table buyers to the future event instead of refunding, and can add touchpoints along the way. Or, the fundraiser can switch to a digital event, perhaps with livestreaming. Indeed, this is an opportunity to go digital in multiple targeted ways, starting with more social media ads, paid search ads and SEO efforts. For example, now is a good time for a digital forum, such as a virtual “fireside-chat” with a subject matter expert discussing COVID-19 impact on the mission. Or the nonprofit can pen an article to post on social media as well as e-mail to donors and prospects. And don't forget nondigital communications, such as direct mail and phone calls. The authors suggest building out a phone-call list of top funders, for example. Michael Wasserman, CEO of the stream fundraising platform Tiltify, uses another NonProfit PRO post to stress how the crisis should push fundraisers to boost social media use. The potential audience is huge: almost 80% of the population uses social media, with Facebook and YouTube having over 2 billion users per platform. Even newer sites like TikTok boast 500 million, Discord gets 250 million, and Twitch attracts 15 million daily visitors. Note that the Facebook Fundraisers tool has already raised over $2 billion. So charities that still use elementary fundraising pages with a simple donate button, some text and an image are missing big opportunities. He urges nonprofits to focus more on enticing content, such as video, which can leverage YouTube, the No. 2 search engine in the world with 2 billion registered users. Nonprofits should also consider livestreaming events for fundraising, he argues, to raise big sums in a few hours, citing the example of a group that raised in a week the amount it costs to run St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for a day, which is about $2.7 million. What about the impact of "social distancing" on traditional face-to-face connections with major donors? Suzanne Hilser-Wiles, president of philanthropic consulting firm Grenzebach, Glier and Associates, offers some tips in a recent piece in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Start by showing you care and reach out quickly to ask how the donor is faring and discuss how the nonprofit is responding. Enlist top executives to communicate plans; e-mail can quickly provide a direct but formal assurance, while social-media platforms offer a more human touch. Ad hoc “investor calls” may be appropriate for smaller donor groups. In messaging, highlight the nonprofit's expertise and how gifts support efforts relevant to the COVID-19 crisis. And don't abandon events; get creative with virtual format substitutes, such as a conference call or webinar. For more detail, see https://www.acculist.com/covid-19-crisis-alters-tactics-for-fundraising-success/

Nonprofits Upbeat on 2019 Fundraising Growth

The most recent survey of nonprofits and donors by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC), a coalition of professional fundraising associations, finds that 60% of respondents expect to raise more money this year than they did in 2018! That’s encouraging news for fundraisers as they head into their key year-end giving campaigns. Many fundraisers feared the new tax law would undercut giving, but the survey found that only a 17% minority reported a negative impact from tax changes, and only 16% of donors said they would change the amount or method of their gift this year because of tax changes. It is true that since nonprofits rely heavily on year-end giving, certain continuing tax trends prove challenging, such as bundling or bunching, in which donors provide multiyear support but give a large donation in just one tax year and then skip contributions in the following year or years. Still, only 30% of nonprofit respondents reported that some donors were bundling. Based on various reports of reduced giving, many nonprofits also were concerned about fundraising growth, yet the NRC online survey of individual donors in March of this year found 56% said they gave the same amount in 2018 as in 2017, 33% gave more, and only 11% gave less. As a result, 63% of fundraisers said their charities did raise more money in 2018 than the previous year. Overall, 73% said they met their 2018 fundraising goals. It’s no wonder most fundraisers (60%) are confident they will raiser even more in 2019. Not all charities participated equally in 2018 growth, of course. Charities with budgets of $3 million to $49 million reported the most fundraising increases in 2018 over 2017 levels. And environmental and animal charities in particular were most likely to meet 2018 fundraising goals. Melissa Brown, author of the report and manager of the NRC, stresses that the upbeat forecast for fundraising needs to be undergirded by targeted, relevant, engaging direct mail and e-mail contacts. Overall, the survey supports both the need for a multi-channel fundraising strategy of frequent contacts. On average, after the first gift, organizations send about 3 more appeals by mail, an average of 4 appeals by e-mail, and invitations to events, including stewardship/recognition activities. For a link to the full survey, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/most-nonprofits-upbeat-on-2019-fundraising-growth/

Arts Fundraising Study: Invest to Reap More

Any of AccuList’s performing arts marketing and museum/zoo marketing clients that fret over investing in fundraising efforts in 2019 should take a look at the recently released "DataArts Fundraising Report" from Southern Methodist University. Basically, the report concludes, arts and cultural organizations that make smart investments in fundraising reap more dollars, with individual donors a “vital source” of contributions. Looking at fundraising by 2,421 organizations across 11 different arts and cultural sectors between 2014 and 2017, the study found good news for many marketers even though the overall ROI on every dollar spent on fundraising declined from $8.80 in 2014 to $8.56 in 2017. This reflected issues in select sectors. Seven sectors—including performing arts companies, orchestras and operas—actually saw an increase in return on fundraising over the period. The biggest ROI gain, adjusting for inflation, was a 28.8% bump for community-based organizations. But gaining sectors were offset by ROI declines for art museums, dance companies and theaters. Another encouraging sign was an increase in the average individual donor contribution over the four-year period. For arts and cultural fundraising, size matters, but in an inverse fashion, the report found. Small- and medium-sized organizations increased the returns on their investments in fundraising over the four years, while larger organizations had steadily declining ROI. Individual donors are important for success, per the report, especially outside of the big metro areas where government support, foundations and corporate donors help foot expenses. But locations vary widely in terms of revenue successfully tapped. For example, New York organizations had the highest average number of corporate donors at 12 and also had the highest percentage of expenses covered by government support (9%). On the other hand, Chicago reaped the most from foundations, with 7% of expenses picked up by foundation support. For more report detail, go to https://www.acculistusa.com/arts-fundraising-study-invest-to-reap-more/