The Power of Gamified Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising

One of the top things any nonprofit has to do is connect with their audience. But, something to keep in mind is that most of the population are millennials and Gen Zers. As a result, the traditional approaches to engaging with supporters need to be tweaked by default as younger generations communicate differently. For instance, one method that works well for that audience is to gamify your fundraising and marketing. 

We know that millennial and Gen Z generations are digital generations. The younger the person, the higher the chance that they prefer digital (e.g., nonprofit texting) instead of in-person chats. One approach that digital and social media platforms have taken in everything from learning a language to productivity tools is to gamify these tools. Moreover, when organizations gamify learning and training to almost everything, they get a pop of engagement. 

Digital Marketing for Nonprofit Success

If you're in the digital marketing space, marketers constantly talk about meeting people where they are — and it's in the digital space. Further, younger supporters are more open and ready to champion your cause if you connect with them in ways that appeal to them (e.g., gamifying content and outreach). Your next question might be why it makes sense to do it and how your nonprofit can do it. Worry not. Keep reading. 

1. Breaking Down Barriers with Gamification

As a nonprofit leader or fundraising professional, you know there's a lot of content in the digital world. You realize your supporters take in countless messages and appeals for their attention every day. As a result, gamifying your content is an impressive way to break through and cut through the noise. Why? The answer is simple. 

Gamifying your content adds fun and is peppered with competition for millennials and Gen Zers, and these are things they're used to with other platforms and brands. It's not common, however, with nonprofits so it's a chance to stand out and create positive habit-forming experiences.

2. Connecting With Younger Supporters

Younger generations are known for their passion and interest in social causes. But they engage differently than others. This is fine. Everything continuously changes. 

Aside from their collective desire to do good for others, one of the top reasons is that they want to share experiences and have fun doing it in the digital space. Believe it or not, there are several fresh and innovative ways that your nonprofit can connect with younger supporters through gamification. 

Key Strategies for Implementation

Before we explore some ways to gamify nonprofit content, let's start with the 50,000-foot level to understand the essential strategies you need to keep in mind no matter what you do.

1. Know Your Audience

For starters, it's crucial to know your audience. Sure, that's obvious, but it's something that some nonprofits may need to realize fully. For one, if you have information (i.e., birthdays), you can segment your database to pull out people under 40 who may be more open and apt to enjoy gamified content. For instance, you can create video-game challenges; in that case, younger generations might like to engage with them. Some ideas include content that's completed against the clock or digital team challenges. 

2. Leverage Social Media Platforms

You know you have to be on social media platforms to spread awareness and engage with younger audiences. Well, even older supporters are on social media. The trick, however, is to know which platform makes the most sense for gamification. 

While Facebook has long been used as a social platform to grow nonprofit audiences, the ones you'll likely find who want to engage with gamified content are Instagram and TikTok. Therefore, it’s essential to master those platforms to spread the word about gamified content. 

3. Collaborate With Influencers

Finally, another key strategy is to partner with influencers. When you partner with influencers, your nonprofit aligns with people who can leverage their followers to support a good cause. Moreover, as you create gamified content, these influencers will help the nonprofit get more awareness beyond the organization's social media followers. For example, if you find an influencer with even a few thousand followers, you could get a few thousand new followers by targeting the right audience with the right followers. 

Examples of Successful Gamified Nonprofit Campaigns

So now that we know the reasons why gamifying nonprofit marketing and fundraising is essential, let's explore some ideas any nonprofit can implement to bring a twist that will grab people’s attention. 

1. Charity Runs With a Digital Twist

Nonprofit runs are not only for health-related organizations. Any nonprofit can create or participate in a charity run in any community. We know that most people want to be healthy or get healthy, and one of the ways to do it is to run or walk. 

Well, one approach to gamifying content is to invite your nonprofit supporters to do virtual runs or walks, get sponsorships for running or walking 50 miles, for example, and track their progress through an app, like Donorbox or Charity Miles. 

2. Digital Fundraising Challenges

These aforementioned platforms can also be used for other fundraising challenges. For instance, you can create mini-campaigns via digital scavenger hunts with targeted goals and a specific timeframe. Platforms, such as Scavify, are intended for team-building but could be applied to fundraising challenges. A fundraising campaign can include user-generated content, such as photos, surveys and quizzes, that volunteer fundraisers can promote to help them achieve a fundraising challenge and win against other fundraising teams. 

3. Interactive Online Competitions

Another fundraising approach that gamifies it is to create online competitions. For example, you can create a photography or art contest, ask people to submit their content, and have others vote and share. Platforms like Drimify allow you to create engaging surveys, voting galleries, and instant win games for nonprofits. These digital strategies offer fresh and innovative ways to get younger generations to support a good cause in ways that connect with them and appeal to how they prefer to consume content. 

In sum, by integrating these strategies into their outreach efforts, nonprofits can increase awareness for their cause and raise more funds.

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.