By: Keisha Hartman

Like so many other things, fundraising in 2020 looks different – but what does that mean for your future campaigns? Your supporters are still looking for ways to engage and interact with your organization and it’s important to keep that connection going.

Today, we will be diving into a few ways your nonprofit can diversify your digital fundraising beyond in-person events and reimagine the future of online fundraising in the age of COVID-19 and beyond.

1) Launch a Giving Day with Matching Donor Challenges

You are likely familiar with the largest giving day movement #GivingTuesay. People from all over the world rally to raise funds and awareness for causes important to them on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. But there are many other giving days to consider participating in, from your regional or state efforts, like The Big Give San Antonio or by creating your own giving day amongst your chapters, affiliates, or departments.

If you don’t have a giving day on your organization’s calendar, this is a great time to add one in addition to Giving Tuesday.

Whichever day you choose to participate in, the key is to look for matching donors to create fundraising challenges to unlock more matching donor funds or prizes. The 24-hour challenge and matching donors create a sense of urgency to encourage friendly competition and to get your supporters involved.

Finding matching donors is easier than you think. Look at recent larger $1,000+ donors or corporate partners and reach out about applying their gift as a matching challenge.

Our client, The Greater Vancouver Food Bank raised over $309,000 in just 36 hours with a $50,000 matching challenge via Safeway. Every dollar raised was doubled for the first $50,000 donated and the organization found great success mobilizing their supporters to unlock this generous gift.

2)  Empower Your Supporters with DIY Fundraising Tools

We’ve previously discussed the importance of having a do-it-yourself fundraising site to empower your supporters and have them get involved and fundraise their way with encouragement provided by your team.

With many people staying closer to home because of the pandemic – now is a great time to incorporate DIY fundraising into your strategy. According to Blackbaud, “traditional in-person P2P programs have experienced declines since Spring 2020 while participation and fundraising for programs that allow supporters to fundraise on their own terms have experienced growth.”

Ramp up your coaching efforts by:

• Providing fundraisers with a toolkit
• Creating clubs based on fundraising level
• Launching Facebook groups exclusively for your fundraisers

Take a look at the DIY fundraising site we built for our client, Rady Children’s Hospital for their Miracle Makers program.

3) Launch a Facebook Birthday Campaign

Wish your constituents a happy birthday and invite them to celebrate with you by creating a Facebook fundraiser in your organization’s honor. Here’s how you can target your supporters based on their birthdays:

• Already collecting birthdays? Segment your email list with a group of upcoming birthdays within your supporters and send a birthday wish with an invitation to create a Facebook fundraiser or DIY fundraiser
• Create a survey campaign asking constituents to pledge their birthday and reach out to them a month before their birthday and ask them to start a Facebook fundraiser
• Use Facebook ads to target your followers and other audiences based on their birthday and ask them to celebrate their special day by starting a Facebook fundraiser

Here’s a Birthday Campaign Landing Page we built for our client, Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

4) Create a Symbolic Giving Catalog

Gift giving is going to look a bit different this holiday season with social distancing rules, remote workplaces and travel on the decline. This is where symbolic gift catalogs come into play!

A symbolic giving catalog allows your supporters to buy a gift for their friends, family, or co-workers and send a personalized note while giving back. We helped create Lurie Children’s Feel Good Gifts catalog tying their mission to each gift.

We recommend complimenting your virtual gifting catalog with a print edition, an email campaign, and paid Facebook and Instagram ads to help get the word out.

Need help putting together your symbolic giving catalogue? We can help you launch one for the upcoming holiday season.

5) Host a Virtual Event

With most in-person events cancelled or postponed, participants are still looking for ways to get involved and stay connected with your cause. Don’t just pivot to virtual, reimagine the whole experience for participants…what does a true virtual event look like? Brainstorm ideas and don’t be afraid to ask past participants or volunteers for their input. Some of our favorite components of hosting a virtual event include:

• Livestreaming capabilities via Facebook Live or Instagram Live
• Ramping up social media efforts and interacting with your followers
• Intensify your personal outreach – pick up the phone and have a conversation
• Connect participants with each other through Facebook groups or weekly Zoom meetings
• Sending captain kits with tools, tips, and a freebie based on fundraising levels

Our client, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles did an amazing job pivoting their annual Walk and Play L.A. into a pre-recorded virtual event with celebrity messages, musical acts, a group warm-up, and more! Every week leading up to the virtual event, a new activity or challenge video was released on Facebook for participants. The virtual walk ended up going over their fundraising goal and surpassed last year’s total!

6) Compliment Your Direct Mail Fundraising with an Integrated Digital Campaign

Leverage your direct mail pieces and integrate them with your digital campaign. Creating a cohesive campaign across all channels: direct mail, email, organic and paid social media, allows you to reach your constituents at all touch points. Go a step further and personalize your content based on acquisition and how your donors interact with your organization.

Many of our clients email us their direct mail pieces and we create digital campaigns that convert and help lift your DM response rate. We start by repurposing your DM copy for your email campaign, segmenting with different copy for your donor groups. We then add imagery, design your email stationery, add tracking links, a donate button, and test the user experience across various browsers and mobile sizes before launching.

From there, we design the ad creative for your paid Facebook and Instagram ads to compliment your email campaign and direct mail pieces. Some clients also have us build a custom, branded landing page depending on the campaign.

We Are Here For You!

As the year continues to unfold, it’s inevitable that plans will need to be adjusted. We hope this is a good framework to help your team start diversifying your digital fundraising beyond in-person events. If you need help pivoting or looking for ways to reimagine your fundraising campaigns – reach out to one of our senior consultants today.