Nonprofits Can Weather Pandemic's Donor Impact

Nonprofit fundraising faces a novel crisis as the novel coronavirus pandemic shuts down business-as-usual across America and threatens recession. Based on fundraising experience in previous crises, such as 9/11 and the 2008 recession, AccuList urges nonprofits not to cut back on fundraising efforts during this critical period. Indeed, since event fundraising is likely to be cancelled or postponed, now may be the time to shift resources into high-response workhorses like direct mail. And for some causes directly impacted by pandemic issues (humanitarian appeals such as food banks, homeless shelters, elder care, emergency health and medical supplies), fundraising messages may be especially resonant and effective now. Yes, philanthropy has trended at 1.5% to 2.5% of GDP annually since 1978, and it’s pretty clear GDP (and thus fundraising) is going to take a hit in 2020. But as a NonProfit Pro magazine article by Craig Depole, president of direct-response fundraising agency Newport ONE, warns, organizations that pulled back and stopped soliciting after 9/11 and the 2008 recession took years to recover from their losses, "while organizations that continued to solicit their donors with messages of need and impact emerged stronger and healthier." Depole’s NonProfitPro article goes on to outline a number of steps to make fundraising outreach more successful during a national crisis: 1) Double-down on stewardship of donors (more thank-you phone calls, impact reporting, staff engagement); 2) Keep talking with donors and share compelling stories, with humanitarian charities especially able to cite the transformational impact of donations; 3) Acknowledge the fears of donors who are watching stock portfolios decline and engage with them as partners rather than ATMs; 4) Review messaging for relevance, clarity and appropriate tone; and 5) Have alternative plans ready to go, say in case your mail shop or creative team is quarantined, or you need to substitute for promotional supplies from China. As a Network for Good blog post by Kimberly O'Donnell stresses, "In uncertain times, one thing is certain with fundraising—the more you plan, the better off you will be. Successful fundraising during a recession is two-pronged: 1) Focus hard on donor engagement and retention, and 2) Use intelligent prospecting techniques to recruit new followers and supporters." A poll of fundraising agencies by The Nonprofit Alliance similarly offers cogent responses to how agencies are preparing nonprofit clients for the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. One respondent advises, "As this unfolds, my advice will likely be the same as to every other major disruption, including 9/11: 1) Acknowledge the crisis and state how the organization is helping solve it; 2) Stay the course, (and) don’t cut back on acquisition and renewal efforts." For more see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/how-nonprofit-fundraising-can-weather-pandemic-impacts/

Brain Science, Industry Data Boost Mail Fundraising

As digital channels expand donor influence, some nonprofit marketers may wonder about direct mail's role as a fundraising workhorse. Both neuroscience and marketing data underscore why it's essential to keep mail in harness. Technology may be changing rapidly, but the human brain hasn’t changed in about 500,000+ years, and mail marketers have a brain advantage, notes a recent NonProfit PRO article by Christopher Foster, vice president of business development at Modern Postcard. Neuroscience has found direct mail taps two basic parts of the brain: the cerebral cortex and the amygdala-hippocampus pairing. The cerebral cortex is where we process information and weigh the pros and cons of decisions. Unlike truncated digital messaging, direct mail can engage this part of the brain by describing benefits and citing objective reasons for donor dollars. Plus, research consistently shows people trust print/direct mail information more than digital info. Of course, recall and emotion are key drivers, and the amygdala and hippocampus, combining long-term memory with emotional response, favor direct mail over digital, too. In fact, research shows direct mail is 35% stronger than social media and 49% stronger than e-mail when it comes to long-term memory encoding, and 33% stronger than e-mail and social media in engagement. Next consider recent marketing data. The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) 2018 direct mail response rates were 9% for a house list and 5% for a prospect list, way higher than any other channels (such as e-mail, social media and paid search at 1%). As a result, mail's median ROI is also higher than most digital channels. Direct mail, of course, works even better integrated into an omnichannel campaign, where it actually spurs digital results; for example, studies show donors are three times more likely to give online in response to a direct mail appeal than to an e-appeal. Plus, direct mail drives donor retention; 70% of donors have restarted a relationship because of direct mail, per DMA data. And direct mail is efficient at retention; the Association of Fundraising Professionals reports direct mail costs $0.25 for every $1 from recurring donors. However, direct mail's fundraising success is certainly not a given. Another NonProfit PRO article by Jen Linck, chief marketing officer for Corporate Giving Connection, cites some basic strategies: list segmentation and targeting to avoid sending costly mail to bad leads; creative that captures attention and spurs opens, such as dimensional mail or large-sized envelopes; and the inclusion of added value, say via special offers or promotional gifts. Finally, since direct mail works best when it is integrated into an omnichannel campaign, incorporate digital technology with QR codes, short links or text keywords for use across channels. Plus, link donors to a branded, campaign-specific landing page, since 38% more donations happen with branded, campaign-specific landing pages. For more, see our blog post at https://www.acculist.com/brain-science-industry-data-bolster-direct-mail-fundraising/

Honoring Channel Preference Wins Donors

Donor control of communications channels is important for efficient fundraising contends DonorVoice's The Agitator in a recent blog post. Fundraisers fret over opt-out rates in their efforts to grow donor files. Yet failing to learn and honor channel preference not only leads to higher opt-out rates but to wasteful marketing as well, notes the post. People who opt out of telemarketing or e-mail channels are unlikely to give through that channel, so the resulting file reduction is actually a savings, cutting spending that annoys rather than produces. Plus sending e-mails to people who routinely don't open them lowers overall e-mail deliverability, reducing e-mails that might get through to those who do want them, for another real but hidden cost. Giving channel control to donors can produce more quality file growth. DonorVoice has done two different tests of what causes people to opt in, and both show that donor communications control is the single biggest factor in whether someone will want to learn more from a nonprofit. Plus, another recent study by DonorVoice and the DMA Nonprofit Federation found that allowing donors control of their communications makes them more likely to donate, and that donors who provide and receive a communications preference tend to be more valuable donors. For example, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare coded people who requested less mail and sent them half as many appeals as those who stated no preference. Those donors who requested and received half as many contacts actually gave more than the group that didn’t express a preference, per the DonorVoice article. Catholic Relief Services also found that donors who requested a specific mail preference gave 6 to 8 times more per year, notes the same blog post. Despite the growth of online giving, channel preferences continue to favor direct mail. In fact, 73% of consumers say they prefer mail for brand communications, and that includes nonprofits, and 62% like checking the mail, per Epsilon research. Plus, direct mail donors have higher retention rates; 31% of first-time offline donors are retained compared with 25% of new online donors, according to Blackbaud. For more, see our blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/honoring-channel-preference-delivers-fundraising-wins/

2017 Trends Offer Good News for Fundraisers

While 2017 is starting as a year of uncertainty, especially in politics, a recent CauseVox post by staff writer Tina Jepson spotlights 10 fundraising trends that offer good news and opportunities for nonprofit marketers in 2017. Donation forecasts are upbeat for individual, corporate and recurring giving, Jepson shares. Philanthropy Outlook 2016 & 2017 predicts that an increase in individual and household income will help to boost fundraising efforts for nonprofits, charities, and NGOs by as much as 3.8% in 2017. Plus, with Gross Domestic Product and business savings on the rise, total corporate giving is predicted to rise by 4.7% in 2017. And monthly giving, which accounts for 17% of online revenue, also will continue increasing per the 2016 M+R Benchmarks report. At the same time, donor retention rates are at the highest rate since 2008 at 45.9%, and nonprofits and charities clearly should make retention a marketing priority to capitalize on this powerful fundraising engine, Jepson notes. Another positive for fundraisers is the growth in donor data as digital interactions—websites, e-mail, social media and now the Internet of Things (IoT)—combine with traditional channels such as direct mail to generate a wealth of information about existing and potential donors. So a key goal for 2017 is to gather, analyze and use actionable data effectively. Meanwhile, on social and mobile marketing fronts, nonprofits face challenges as well as opportunities. Social media platforms, including Facebook, now are promoting organic content prioritizing audience friends and family over nonprofit messages so that effective social media marketing will need to rely more on purchased ads and targeting of key demographics. And any nonprofit that hasn't invested in mobile optimization of websites and e-mails is missing a key donation source: Mobile giving makes up 17% of all online giving now and is projected to rise further in 2017. For suggestions on maximizing the fundraising impact of each trend, see our complete post at http://www.acculistusa.com/positive-2017-fundraising-trends-create-opportunities/