Heading into end-of-year fundraising season? Here is what the research says

Melissa Wall • September 26, 2014
Cultivate a positive relationship between your annual report disclosure your charitable giving tactics.

What does this mean, exactly?

Tell your donors and potential donors what you’re doing and how good you are at it. Annual reports, performance data and infographics should be attractive and easily accessible on your website. According to the latest research, disclosing financial information is less vital to securing charitable donations.

Don’t forget to stay in touch with current donors and reach out to former donors.

Retention takes effort, good communication and dedicated stewardship. Not only does donor retention cost less than acquiring new donors, but forming a donor relationship will increase the amount donated over time as the donor becomes more dedicated to the organization and its work. Also, organizations reporting high levels of retention also have high levels of retention of small-amount donors. Consider different strategies for retaining donors at various levels.

Facebook may not be a place to fundraise for your organization, but it is a hub for interacting with your supporters.

Multiple studies have shown that people do not want to be solicited through social media, but when your supporters (donors, volunteers, etc.) share your message with their social networks, it is more successful at bringing in donations. This effect can be enhanced to a degree by incentivizing the donor in some way to share their donation experience on their Facebook wall or through direct messages to friends (Castillo, Petrie, & Wardell, 2014).

There is little research discussing the effectiveness of different fundraising methods, so begin evaluating your own programs.

Most often, organizations use performance indicators such as donated revenue and number of new or returning donors. Think of exploring one of the following at your organization:
  • Frequency of donations
  • Market share of donors within the sector
  • Marketing cost per donor
  • Donor relationship with the organization

Melissa Wall is Achieve’s Graduate Research Intern. She is currently studying nonprofit management and philanthropic studies at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

Sources:

Barber, P., & Levis, B. (2013). Donor Retention Matters. Notes, 8(70), 70-60.

Castillo, M., Petrie, R., & Wardell, C. (2014). Fundraising through online social networks: A field experiment on peer-to-peer solicitation. Journal of Public Economics, 114, 29-35.

Najev Čačija, L. (2013). Fundraising in the context of nonprofit strategic marketing: Toward a conceptual model. Management-Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, (1 (18), 59-78.

Saxton, G. D., Neely, D. G., & Guo, C. (2014). Web disclosure and the market for charitable contributions. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 33(2), 127-144.

Waddingham, J. (2013). The future of Facebook fundraising. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 18(3), 187-191.

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