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By: Scott Kinser
If you do not have a fundraising check list for every year your nonprofit is in business, then you are missing out on growing the strength of your nonprofit, the relationships and your goals.
If you’re one of those people, tell no one around you and read this list now.
1) Pinpoint Where You Are Right Now
Roll up your sleeves and take a long, hard look at your results, both quantitative and qualitative.
Note: If you have no idea what they are, designing ways to measure success next year is a must.
Assess results against your benchmarks
Review YTD results, then compare to your benchmarks to see what’s working as hoped, and what’s not.
This is easiest with hard numbers, like those associated with online petition signing or registration, online giving, or other actions that you can directly track back to their source. More challenging is drawing insight from quantitative information such as client, volunteer or donor feedback, and stories from the field.
Identify meaningful trends
• What matches are working: Which target audience is responding to what campaigns, channels and messages?
• Who else should you be in touch with: Are there any surprise visitors—groups that you didn’t expect to be engaged with your org who’ve shown up this year?
• Who’s fallen off your radar but you need to be in touch to try to rekindle the relationship before it’s too late: Who was a loyal supporter in previous years but significantly less responsive this year?
2) Execute What You Can A.S.A.P. to Boost Results
Every connection you squeeze into right now allows you to deepen the relationship just a little more! So clarify your goal, think through what’s going to be top of mind for these folks and start reaching out right now.
Do more of what’s worked best, to engage your most loyal supporters while you have their attention.
Your trends analysis will also highlight the channels and messages that hit a (positive) nerve with each audience group, and these are the ones you’ll want to replicate in the remaining weeks this year. Use that info to shape some year-end-specific messages.
Go beyond online channels to share those messages. Although email is a timely and relatively low-cost way for targeted campaigns, print and social media campaigns can be great complements if resources allow. There is still time to get another postcard out the door, if it makes sense.
But first, get your website and staff ready to respond
Make sure that your website features:
• Recent stories about programs, including some programs introduced pre-2013 (to connect those folks who haven’t checked in much this year)
• A big donate button on every page, with a “phone in your gift” number
• A recently-tested online giving process
• Consistent messages and look-and-feel across your entire site, including the donation page. Avoid confusing donors by making it easy for them to be confident that they’re still on your site.
Prep your team to:
• Be confident in sharing year-end messages
• Be ready for a flood of last-minute requests for help and info
• Immediately share important feedback they get on any component of last-minute marketing, so you can course correct if necessary.
3) Nurture Your Relationships Now, to Build Support in the Following Year
Spend a few minutes, ideally one-on-one, with colleagues in your organization to thank them for their help in making marketing a success (even if their role is very indirect).
Thank your current supporters, of all stripes
That includes clients, board members, donors, volunteers, partners and others who help your organization move its mission forward. The more personal and relevant the better—make sure to segment your audiences (e.g. high-dollar donors, entry-level donors and prospects; or five-year or more volunteers, two- to five-year volunteers and new volunteers).
If the number of personal notes required is overwhelming, consider sending hand-signed custom holiday greeting cards to at least your Tier 1 network: Board members, loyal volunteers, donors (or at least some donors—returning, new, young or any other group that deserves special recognition). That personal (real!) signature makes all the difference.
We all want to know that our effort (be it money, time or attention) is valued. Don’t miss this natural opportunity to appreciate your supporters. And encourage colleagues, who many have slightly different networks, to do the same.
Reach out to rejuvenate relationships that have gone dark this year
You’re likely to find a group of former supporters (don’t limit it to donors) who have gone quiet in the last year or six months.
Now’s the time to nudge them out of hibernation, by thanking them for their prior support and sharing stories that showcase how your organization has moved your cause forward in the last year. Focus on established programs they’re likely to be familiar with rather than new funding or volunteer needs.
Select the channel that fits best with each sub-group’s habits and preferences, and—if you have the info—feature messages that have generated response in the past. I recommend a multi-part campaign (preferably multichannel, try a mix of email and direct mail, with a call thrown in if possible for high-value supporters).
4) Refine Your Marketing Plan Based on Your Current Year Learning
Or, if you don’t have one at all or it’s just in your head, create a first-time plan. Wherever you are in your marketing planning, you’ll find this right-things marketing plan template helpful.
Fine-tune your marketing goals and primary target audiences
Look at what’s changed within your organization and the environment in which you work. There is change whether you acknowledge it or not, so make sure you find it and adapt accordingly.
Remember to find a way to build the engagement of those “surprise visitors” you identified in your trends analysis. They’ve found their way to you on their own, which demonstrates persistence and the likelihood they’ll be back for more.
Set or refine ambitious but realistic benchmarks, and your methods of measuring where you are on the path to achieving them.
• If you didn’t set benchmarks for this year, use next years results to set quarterly benchmarks.
• If you’ve already drafted marketing benchmarks, update them to reflect your previous years trends.
Make your personal plan for next year NOW!!!!
Do you have measurable goals for your own professional development? If so, review them and see if you have made progress.
Either way, write down some ambitious yet realistic goals for yourself for next year. It’s the best way to move yourself forward.
Be honest with yourself about your performance, use it as fuel to go stronger now and beyond.