Digital Fundraising For Everyone!

A brief introduction to what digital fundraising means. The agenda of the session is divided into 4 areas:

1. Digital Fundraising from the beginning and a beginner’s checklist
2. Generational Trends in Digital Fundraising
3. A brief overview of CRM and Data
4. Key to Digital Fundraising Success

 

I) Digital Fundraising from the beginning and a beginner’s checklist

We look at what digital fundraising meant when it began, the rudimentary technology which was the internet and how it shaped the area of fundraising.

Digital fundraising has become increasingly important today – from providing increased accessibility and reach to real-time analytics and being efficient & cost-effective. We touch upon some of the important tools in digital fundraising like email, Facebook (other social media) and new tools such as mobile video and emerging tools like sophisticated usage of data and marketing automation which are defining the future of digital fundraising.

The Fundamental Digital Fundraising Checklist

• Do you leverage email for fundraising? a) have a way to collect and use them for fundraising and communication (EMS), b) do you know how to personalize emails from your system?
• Do you have a Facebook (or other social media) page for fundraising? a) do you know how to offer Facebook Fundraising to your supporters? b) do you know how to upload your email file to serve up fundraising ads? c) do you know how to create ‘lookalike’ audiences?
• Do you have a crowdfunding platform to give to those who want to raise money for you?
• Do you have a website destination that’s easy to understand how to fundraise for you?
• Do you have a cost-affordable way to use SMS text for communicating and raising money?
• Do you have community members who could be digital influencers driving fundraising and awareness for you?

II) Generational Trends in Digital Fundraising

In this segment, we look at the trends & behaviours of the different generations with regard to digital fundraising.

Generations covered:

Generation	Age range	Birth year	Giving Mindset
Civics	77+	Before 1946	Easily annoyed by the ask
Baby boomers	59-77	1946-1964	Like to prioritize their giving
Generation X	43-58	1965-1980	Hard to get their attention
Millennials	28-42	1981-1995	Like to direct their donations
Gen Z	Less than 27	After 1996	Want to be cultivated

 

Influence of social media:

Impact Area	What research says
Communication	29% of online donors say social media is the communication tool which inspires the most
Action-oriented	55% of individuals who engage on social media take action; 59% donate
Community	87% of those who donate via social media referral source, make their 2nd donation via social media referral
New platforms	75,000 donations were made by tiktok users on the platform in 2021
Campaigns	34% of nonprofits have done paid social media campaigns; 71% agree that social media is an effective tool for online fundraising

III) Overview of CRM (database) and Data

The foundational metrics of digital data that you should track are:

• Retention
• Reactivation
• Acquisition
• Average gift
• % response
• Lifetime value

IV) Key to Digital Fundraising Success

We look at some case studies of how other nonprofits have been able to effectively leverage digital fundraising.

1. Lead generation
2. Facebook targeting
3. Increasing contacts in the database
4. Lead generation using holiday messaging
5. Leveraging Lightbox in the website to raise donation
6. Email acquisition campaign

Learning outcomes:

• Basics of digital fundraising
• Tools of digital fundraising
• Generational trends
• Digital fundraising tactics
• Case studies
• How to read data
• Fundamentals of digital data metrics

Suggested level of audience:

• This session is for intermediate fundraisers.