Building an Integrated Online Fundraising Strategy

With the potential to reach a wide audience rapidly and cost-effectively, more and more nonprofit organizations are using online communications tools to connect with donors, members, volunteers and supporters.

At the Center for Nonprofit Success' New York Fundraising Summit earlier this month, I discussed the topic of online fundraising, and how to harness technology to build and maintain productive donor relationships.

An online fundraising program consists of much more than a "Donate Now" button on your Web site. An organization needs to be proactive in communications with donors and potential donors both online and offline. The most successful nonprofits maintain an integrated approach for fundraising. But with so many channels, trying to find the right balance is difficult.

Before an organization jumps on any new media bandwagon, it needs to focus first on some tried-and-true fundamentals — making sure it has a solid Web site and compelling e-mail program, and cultivating a strategy for acquiring new donors. After all those ducks are in a row, then it can begin to think about integrating with social media.

Here are key components to an effective integrated online fundraising strategy:

1. Online fundraising fundamentals
With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, and other channels emerging all the time, integration can be a daunting task for many nonprofit organizations that are already understaffed.

Yet nonprofit organizations need to stop, take a breath and look at the fundamentals. Before you start moving donors between channels, you need to test your Web site for usability. It is so important to have intuitive Web site navigation architecture. People online have very little patience and will quickly click the “back” button if they can’t find what they want. You have seconds to engage visitors before you lose them.

Make sure your donation forms are always one click away, and always reassure donors about the security of the form. Donors are getting savvier about security settings on donation pages. They look for security certificates (e.g., VeriSign), https vs. http and the lock icon. Some of those offline donors are still not comfortable donating online, so providing the option of a printable giving form alleviates those concerns. And don’t forget to include a source code on the form for your data entry team.

A key difference between online and offline channels is the approach to fundraising vs. cultivation. Many organizations send out eight to 12 offline donor appeals a year. Online, you need to make sure you balance your e-mail communications with donors. Everything does not and should not have an ask. Online communication allows organizations to create stewardship pieces, updating donors on how their gifts are making a difference. Don’t forget that in e-mail fundraising, “opt-outs” are forever!

2. Renewing your donors
It is important to remember there are key differences between donors who give through different channels. Online fundraising cannot live in a box by itself; organizations need to synchronize media, coordinate consistent messaging and tailor content to each appropriate medium. Recent studies show that if you have an e-mail address on file for a donor, it makes a positive difference in his or her giving.

Online giving is certainly tilted toward year-end giving with two-thirds of income raised in the final months and days of the year. The ability to create a sense of urgency lends itself to the immediacy of the online environment. Many organizations have found great success with online “matching gift” campaigns, which allow an organization to create an artificial deadline. The best results come when you synchronize your campaign with offline fundraising efforts (e.g., direct mail, telemarketing).

The ability to be nimble is a key component of an effective integrated strategy. Timing is everything when it comes to integrated fundraising. You can start a campaign on your Web site, send an e-mail about an urgent news item (e.g., natural disaster, food shortage) and follow up the campaign with a direct-mail piece. You can test messaging online with immediate results, and then roll out the winning results through other channels. Don’t forget about your homepage when you launch a new campaign. Many studies show offline donors check out your Web site before making a gift.

3. E-mail acquisition: Science and art
Now that we all know having an e-mail address for a donor makes a positive impact on his or her giving, how do we acquire more e-mail addresses? Every organization needs to start with its Web site. Make sure you have a prominent, eye-catching “callout” on every page. If you have the ability to segment based on interest or frequency, this will increase your conversion rate. Make sure you keep and send what you promised at the collection point.

A quick way to jump-start an e-mail program is doing an e-mail append. An append uses a third-party commercial vendor to find an e-mail address from a donor’s “land” address. Be aware that these donors aren’t as responsive as other online donors, but the cost is minimal — fast-tracking your integration goals.

There still is the slow and steady way of collecting e-mail addresses using offline methods (e.g., direct mail, telemarketing). The good news here is when a donor gives you his or her e-mail address, it’s usually for the primary account.

Finally, think about using search engine marketing to invite people to join your e-mail program or become donors. These are the pay-per-click text ads running on Google and Yahoo. Many organizations have found that these ads perform similarly to a direct-mail acquisition. There is an up-front investment, but the long-term value of the donor is looking very optimistic.

4. What about social networks and microblogging?
After you put together a cohesive integrated strategy and master fundraising schedule — and if you still have time and resources left over — find ways to push your message and brand out to these channels. Coordinate your campaigns and find appropriate times to engage these new and old constituents. If you haven’t already, create a Facebook page, and maybe have a volunteer help manage it. See if you can find a program staff person to post on Twitter (tweet) from the front lines. But at the end of the day, don’t forget who’s writing the checks and donating online. Social media is just the icing on the cake.

Paul Habig is executive vice president of SankyNet, an integrated fundraising and communications firm.