Photo courtesy of newfilm.dk
In this special series, we’ll take a brief look at various different fearless inspirations from the past week or so. Whether it’s a fearless young changemaker who is taking risks, a new publication that expresses bold and innovative ideas, or an organization that is promoting change and that is not afraid to fail forward—we want to shine a spotlight on them and their work in the hope that it will spark a new movement to Be Fearless.
As Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation says, “The old way of doing things is simply no longer effective in this new world. It’s time for us all to take risks on new ideas, approaches, and initiatives. It’s time for us to be bold, to act with urgency, and to resist the tendency to let caution be our guide. It’s time for us to Be Fearless.” Will you join us?
Nonprofit Online Fundraising Tips for Organizations
In this week’s Fearless Friday post, we hear from Ritu Sharma, an expert in social media for nonprofits, on fundraising for nonprofits. As we enter the holiday and end-of-year season, fundraising appeals from nonprofits become even more critical for organizations. The three tactics she highlights are great ideas to get started, and we hope this is a conversation starter for other fearless fundraising ideas that you have and will share with others!
Of the $317 billion donated to nonprofits by individuals, currently about 15 percent is transacted online, but it’s growing at a whopping 35 to 55 percent a year. With Facebook now boasting more than one billion active users and the “value” of a like now established as $217/year for a nonprofit, social media is clearly playing an increasingly important role in helping causes secure the support they need to maximize impact.
We all wish we could raise more money online, but are there a select few tried and true ways for making that happen without investing tons of time or money, both of which are in short supply at just about every nonprofit? Thankfully, the answer is a clear yes!
Whether you’re raising money through your website, Facebook, and/or a social fundraising platform, there are three simple things you can play with to optimize your online fundraising efforts— special thanks to the 100+ presenters who shared these actionable tips with the 3,500+ nonprofits who have attended our Social Media for Nonprofits conferences throughout the country (up next: Seattle 11/5 & New Delhi 12/5).
Here goes:
1 - Make your Donate Button Shine!
When the online fundraising service, Network for Good, changed its donate button’s color from gray to red, donations immediately went up by 30 percent. Sometimes, it’s just that easy, so run a little experiment and systematically change your button’s font, color, and size to see what combination gets you the best results.
2 - Default Levels are Key
It’s usually important to give potential online donors default donation levels (i.e. $25, $50, $100, $250, and other/fill in the blank) to guide their generosity. But just like with the other tips, embrace data vs. gut- take the time to play around with these levels and see what maximizes dollars in the door. Every once in a while, deleting these completely can work, although that’s very much the exception to the rule, so if you don’t have any levels, integrate them into your efforts ASAP! Also, be sure to plug a monthly sustainer program to generate revenue you can count on throughout the year.
3 – Map Donations to Impact
Sally Struthers had at least one thing right: giving changes lives. But the key is helping potential supporters understand the incremental impact their contribution will have on your efforts. As Kay Sprinkel Grace says, “people don’t give to you, they give through you.” So help make their gift concrete: for instance, a $100 donation may feed five children in a particular war torn region, a mere $50 purchases life-saving medication for 60 pregnant women in Africa, etc. Every default donation level must have a specific impact associated with it, but toy around with how you operationalize your impact to gauge what moves people to dig a bit deeper.
We hope you decide to take advantage of these simple yet powerful tips and that you’ll join us at any of the upcoming Social Media for Nonprofits conferences around the world for more insights, tips, and tools— follow us on Facebook or Twitter for details.
Have you tried any of these tactics? Do you have any fearless fundraising ideas that build off of these to share?
Ritu Sharma serves as Co-Founder and Executive Director of Social Media for Nonprofits. Under her leadership the world’s only series dedicated to social media for social good has earned a 92% approval rating from over 2,500 nonprofit leaders across the country. She is a public speaker, consultant, and event planner and heads up programming, marketing, and event logistics for the series. Previously, she produced Our Social Times and Influence People’s North American Social Media Marketing and Monitoring conference series and started a web development and social media business, which leveraged an international team of programmers and designers across India, Romania, and the US.