If your nonprofit is looking for insight to increase its fundraising, Blackbaud's Benchmark Report provides some great data.
Email Still Matters
Even with yearly email list growth slowing down by 10% and strict laws in some countries like the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), email continues to be one of the most important tools for fundraising. However, when crafting successful email campaigns, there should be a focus on quality over quantity. Consider doing a hybrid of organic and paid email list growth through reputable networks like Care2, who runs this blog.
When nonprofits rise to the challenge and put together successful email marketing campaigns, email has proven to be incredibly effective at bringing in donations. Canadians saw a 15% increase in organic email reach during the last year when CASL was in place and they were one of the highest performers out of everyone that donates through email. In order to increase your online fundraising efforts, your organization needs to craft emails that people actually want to read and that gives them a compelling reason to contribute to your nonprofit. For some tips on how to increase email conversions, read this.
Relationships Are Key To Fundraising
Blackbaud reports that first-time giving decreased slightly from year to year with 1.3% less revenue coming from first-time donors. For disaster and international relief organizations, there was a 19% decrease in fundraising from first-time donors. However, this is not all bad news. This means that it's even more important for nonprofits to cultivate relationships with existing donors. 2016 showed an upward trend in repeat giving performance, up 8.63%. Sustained giving also increased for nonprofits with a double digit growth of 14.26% year over year. Nonprofits need to build a strong base of regular donors who will commit to donating more than once in order to maintain a steady source of income.
Passion For A Cause Can Turn Into Donations
During 2015 and 2016, there were many Supreme Court decisions and a presidential campaign that impacted fundraising for many organizations. Advocacy organizations in particular showed positive results with more people (6% growth) engaged in advocacy actions and more of these advocates contributing financially to the organization (4% growth in financial contributions). This shows a clear trend between passion for a cause and a desire to make financial contributions to an organization. Your nonprofit should be reaching out to people who you know already sympathizes with your mission in order to secure financial contributions and increase your fundraising. This can be as simple as reaching out to someone who signed your online petition, or volunteered for your nonprofit. For more suggestions on how to take advantage of an election year for your fundraising efforts, read Blackbaud’s 2016 report.
By keeping in mind some of Blackbaud’s key insights and taking steps to incorporate them into your online strategy, you can make sure you make the most of fundraising for 2017.
By keeping in mind some of Blackbaud’s key insights and taking steps to incorporate them into your online strategy, you can make sure you make the most of fundraising for 2017.
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