Fundraising online can be a powerful way to reach more donors, engage your supporters, and grow your impact. But it also requires a different set of skills, tools, and strategies than traditional fundraising. How do you teach your team to fundraise online effectively and confidently? Here are some tips to help you get started.
Before you dive into teaching your team how to fundraise online, you need to understand where you are now and where you want to go. Conduct a SWOT analysis of your online fundraising capacity, looking at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For example, you might have a strong email list, but a weak social media presence. Or you might have a great website, but a low conversion rate. Identify the gaps and areas for improvement, and set SMART goals for your online fundraising.
Source for correlation and review whether feedback and conversion equates to the correlation. If it doesn’t equate perform a deep dive in the portfolio holdings and check with strategy and process.
Online fundraising requires different tools than offline fundraising, such as donation platforms, email marketing software, social media channels, and analytics tools. You need to choose the right tools for your goals, budget, and audience, and make sure your team knows how to use them. Compare different options based on their features, costs, ease of use, and compatibility with your existing systems. Train your team on how to set up, manage, and optimize your online fundraising tools, and provide them with the necessary resources and support.
Online fundraising is not just about asking for money. It's about building relationships, telling stories, and creating value for your donors. You need to develop an online fundraising strategy that aligns with your mission, vision, and values, and that covers the following elements: your target audience, your value proposition, your messaging, your channels, your tactics, and your metrics. Teach your team how to craft compelling online fundraising campaigns that appeal to your audience's emotions, needs, and interests, and that inspire them to take action.
Online fundraising is constantly evolving, and you need to keep up with the latest trends, best practices, and innovations. Teach your team how to implement best practices for online fundraising, such as: segmenting your email list, personalizing your communications, optimizing your landing pages, testing different elements, integrating different channels, thanking your donors, and stewarding your relationships. Encourage your team to learn from others, experiment with new ideas, and measure your results.
Online fundraising is not a one-time event or a one-person job. It's a continuous process and a team effort. You need to foster a culture of online fundraising within your organization, where everyone understands the importance, benefits, and challenges of online fundraising, and where everyone contributes to its success. Teach your team how to collaborate, communicate, and coordinate your online fundraising activities, and how to celebrate your achievements and learn from your failures. Provide your team with regular feedback, recognition, and incentives, and create opportunities for learning and growth.
Always remember to GIVE BACK! Your customers will thank you, and you will be glad you did. Small gestures (as little as a sticker or digital file) can do a LONG way in making your donators feel appreciated. This type of bond building will help spread the word about your brand and encourage a open relationship between you and your customers, one that will leave them more willing to open their wallets.
Online fundraising is not a static activity. It's a dynamic and iterative one. You need to evaluate and improve your online fundraising performance on an ongoing basis, using data, feedback, and insights. Teach your team how to collect, analyze, and interpret your online fundraising data, using tools such as Google Analytics, email reports, social media insights, and surveys. Teach your team how to identify what works and what doesn't, and how to make data-driven decisions and adjustments. Teach your team how to set benchmarks, track progress, and report on outcomes.
Never forget that "people give to people who they know, like and trust." Also remember that many people say they gave simply because "someone asked me to." Online fundraising is ideal for peer-to-peer asks, but similarly it is not the place for cold call fundraising. Trust is essential.