Fundraising Imperatives: Mastering the Constituent Experience

Most nonprofit executives understand that digital is still an emerging field within the sector, but they also know it is bringing newfound opportunities to their organizations. However, these are accompanied by very specific and meaningful threats to the charitable sector at large—perhaps the greatest lies in organizations’ inability to nimbly respond to changes in consumer trends and demands.

It’s all changing at an exponential rate. The overall fundraising landscape is evolving, including the demographics, attitudes and behaviors of the giving consumer and the way in which consumers want to engage. Consumers now expect and are demanding that, like the commercial sector, nonprofits meet them where they are and deliver a consistent experience across the entire organizational enterprise.

There is a strong correlation between the pace of change in the sector and the evolving role digital plays in the nonprofit sector. Digital media has created a layer of complexity that most nonprofits are ill-equipped to manage, which not only limits its potential use, but also creates a much wider gap between consumer expectations and an organization’s ability to meet those demands.

These changes are forcing nonprofit leaders to find ways to quickly integrate digital into their overall constituent strategy; the successful ones understand that this requires the dismantling of long-standing barriers and organizational silos that prevent the development of a fully integrated and constituent-based approach to fundraising. They recognize the need to create and execute a seamless path for the consumer, regardless of the consumer’s initial point of entry or engagement. The foundational objective of this approach is providing a more relevant and personalized experience for the constituent that is closely aligned with their affinity to the organization.

The collection, utilization and analysis of more dynamic data makes it much easier to align an organization’s digital strategy with more traditional marketing, communications and fundraising strategies. In fact, it’s through digital addressability and advanced technology that fundraisers now have a sharper view of their prospect or constituent (i.e., customer), including data on the affinity to the cause or organization, and specific areas of interests and/or preferences. The ability to capture and utilize identifiable engagements and interactions across diverse media and devices equips fundraisers with a single and more holistic view of the constituent, enabling them to create more personalized experiences that can be integrated throughout every phase of the constituent’s journey with the organization—from awareness (top funnel) to conversion (bottom funnel).