As an NPO, it’s not enough to just have supporters. Donors are necessary, of course, but they’ve got to be more than that if you want your NPO to grow in the long-term: they’ve got to be fundraising superstars, as well.
Unfortunately, lots of NPOs struggle with learning how to encourage their donors to fundraise on their behalf. The good news is that it’s not as difficult as it might sound.
Here’s what you need to know about fundraising for your NPO, and how to get your donors to lend a helping hand.
Fundraising for Your NPO 101: 6 Ways to Get Supporters to Fundraise for You
Fundraising for your NPO is faster and more productive when you can get your donors to join in on the effort. Luckily, these six tips are a great place to start, and can provide an excellent roadmap for donor fundraising going forward:
1. Teach Them How
First things first – you need to teach your supporters how to fundraise for your NPO. Lots of people want to help you achieve your financial goals, but have no prior experience with fundraising and feel thoroughly daunted by the task.
Because of this, they’re going to need a bit of help to get started.
To this end, providing some fundraising education to get your donors started down the right path. As you build your educational material, don’t forget to include some information on how donors can use social media to raise funds for your cause.
According to the Global NGO Online Technology Report, Millennials today are most inspired to give by social media. As such, donors who use social media to raise awareness have the potential to be highly effective for your organization, and it’s not a tactic you should be overlooking.
If you have an experienced fundraiser on your team, have them create some content or hold free “fundraising basics” strategy sessions that break down the process of starting, conducting, and managing fundraisers.
2. Offer Rewards for Fundraising Levels
Employ the theory of reciprocity: encourage your donors to raise more by rewarding them for what they do raise. While there are many ways to do this, one of the easiest to implement and most effective is to offer rewards for donors who reach certain fundraising levels.
These rewards could be gift cards, a published profile on your website, or anything else you see fit. While the rewards don’t have to be massive, offering them is a great way to encourage donors to get in the fray and sort out the missing pieces in their fundraising strategies.
3. Encourage Donors to Start a Team
There’s strength in numbers, and this is as true for fundraising as it is everything else. In addition to the fact that teams raise more money for your organizations, they also make the act of fundraising more fun and competitive, which has the potential to produce outstanding results.
If your donors are having trouble getting in touch with one another, maintain a list of current and previous donors and make it available to supporters who are interested in holding a fundraiser on your behalf.
4. Hold Contests
This tip goes hand-in-hand with encouraging donors to start teams and providing rewards for certain fundraising levels.
Contests, like team dynamics, offer a sense of excitement and competition that can provide enough “oomph” to get donors over a hump. With this in mind, create contests designed to reward fundraising activity and encourage participants to keep pushing toward the goal.
5. Create Samples of Everything
If you want donors to participate in your fundraising efforts, it’s essential to offer ongoing education. This means creating samples of everything and distributing them, so interested donors have easy access to reference materials whenever they’re needed.
Provide samples of fundraising emails, tweets, Facebook posts, phone scripts, and anything else that will be helpful or teach donors to fundraise more effectively.
6. Share Success Stories
Keep motivation levels high by sharing success stories about donors who have worked on your behalf for fundraising efforts. There are dozens of ways to do this, although many NPOs choose to feature these stories in email newsletters or monthly blog posts.
No matter what you do, ensure these posts are personalized, compelling, and filled with input from the donor you’re featuring. Posts like this serve as essential confidence metrics and help encourage others to get onboard with your efforts.
Better Fundraising for Your NPO Starts Here
While you can fundraise all day long for your NPO, you’ll have better results if your donors become advocates willing to fundraise on your behalf. Not only does this serve the essential purpose of transforming donors into active participants, but it also drives larger funds for your organization and promotes a deeper sense of involvement for the communities that support you.
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