Guest Blogger

4 Ways Millennials Impact the Nonprofit Workforce

Ross Hendrickson

Born from approximately 1981 to 1996, Millennials are primarily between ages 24 and 39. While popular media often refer to all young people as Millennials, it’s important to discern that this generation of individuals is now entering or fully integrated into the workforce. 

The Millennial generation differs greatly from those who came before, Gen X and who came after, Gen Z. As your organization considers the role that young professionals can play in the staffing or contributions made to your organization, it’s important to understand the qualities and characteristics that make this generation unique.


When you understand the unique aspects of this group, you can make educated decisions about how to make your nonprofit an attractive place to work and volunteer, as well as motivate those who currently work for your mission. 

That being said, here are the top four characteristics of the Millennial generation and how those characteristics impact their influence in the nonprofit workforce: 

  1. Millennials engage more with causes and missions rather than institutions. 
  2. They see contributions of time and action as significantly important. 
  3. This generation is technologically apt and connected. 
  4. Culture tends to be incredibly important to the millennial generation. 

As you expand your team with new staff members and volunteers, be sure you take into account the motivations and characteristics of each individual. Remain transparent in your approach to get everyone involved and up to date with your strategy. This is attractive to both your Millennial team members and other generations. 

Ready to dive a little deeper into the characteristics of Millennials and how your organization can make them feel welcome and productive? Let’s get started. 

1. Millennials Engage With Causes Over Institutions

According to the Millennial Impact Report, the Millennial generation engages more and has allegiance to a mission or a cause rather than an organization itself. This means that this generation of volunteers and staff will feel dedicated to your mission, but not necessarily to your organization. If another organization has the same mission, they wouldn’t mind switching their allegiance. 

This quality in Millennials is key to understanding what will attract them to work with and contribute to the organization, but also what will make them stay and work with you long-term. 

If you’re working with many Millennials at your organization, make sure to: 

  • Write out a complete, descriptive, and detailed mission statement that will capture their attention. This is what draws them into working with you and clearly explains what your organization is working to accomplish. 
  • Include this mission statement on marketing documents and job descriptions. As you’re attracting younger generations to work with your organization, place your mission statement front and center for them to see. 
  • Center your strategic plan around the impact and philanthropic goals of the organization. Because Millennials are passionate about your cause, tying organizational actions to the impact they’ll have on the mission will engage and further motivate these individuals. Bloomerang’s strategic planning guide explains that your goal should never just be to “raise money.” Rather, you’re working to achieve a specific philanthropic initiative with a specific amount of money that you need to raise.

If your organization finds yourself in an uncertain or unsteady environment and want to make sure your team of staff members, specifically Millennial staff, stay focused on what’s important, you may consider switching to an organic strategic planning model. 

This model is used to solidify your team’s understanding of your philanthropic mission and identify individuals’ strengths in order to best put those strengths together to serve the mission. This keeps the focus on the mission itself rather than on your organization. 

2. They see contributions of time and action as significantly important. 

Contrary to corporate businesses, nonprofit organizations don’t rely solely on their staff members to get things done for the organization. They also heavily depend on volunteers to fill in the gaps for events, office duties, and other administrative tasks.

This is a great strategy! Many small to mid-sized nonprofits may not have the funding to expand their team to fulfill each and every need during peak events or giving seasons. Volunteers help engage supporters, achieve philanthropic goals, and save organization funding. 

It’s important to note, especially if your nonprofit wants to attract Millennial volunteers, that this generation sees contributions of time and action as just as important as donations. 

Bloomerang pulled some statistics from the Millennial Impact Report, featured in this article and the graph below: 

As you can see, Millennial cause engagement is fairly equally divided between volunteering, donating, and advocacy participation. This group of individuals believes they can make an impact on the world through many means. This differs from the mindset that donations are the most impactful way to give to a nonprofit organization. Millennials find their contribution of time and energy just as important. 

Therefore, your nonprofit should show ample appreciation for volunteers, get the most from volunteer programs, and come up with creative opportunities. For instance, consider the following strategies:

  • Promote volunteer grant opportunities. Double the Donation’s volunteer grant guide explains that many companies offer a financial match to nonprofits when their employees volunteer a certain number of hours. Informing volunteers about this opportunity and encouraging them to look up their own eligibility will help make your volunteer hours go further. 
  • Create creative volunteer opportunities for supporters. Younger Millennials are still getting their foot in the door with their careers. Finding opportunities for them to expand their resumes and develop valuable skills while helping an organization they love is a great incentive for this group of volunteers. 

Many nonprofits have a bad habit of putting more emphasis on contributions of money rather than contributions of time. However, the Millennial generation considers both to be critical to achieving your mission. Therefore, treating volunteering as important and valuable within your organization will only help you engage more supporters. 

3. This generation is technologically apt and connected. 

It’s probably not a surprise to hear that Millennials are good with technology. You’ve probably read somewhere about how the use of social media and technology are key to engaging Millennials and Gen Z. However, this is not the only consideration when it comes to Millennials and technology. 

Your nonprofit probably uses a variety of software solutions for your internal affairs. This article explains some of the different types of technology that nonprofits invest in, such as donor and volunteer management, fundraising, prospect research, event management, grant, and auction software solutions. 

When it comes to your nonprofit’s staff members, you’ll probably find that your Millennial workforce will better understand how to engage others using technology. 

Your Millennial staff members grew up in the midst of a technological boom. They’ve seen the evolution of technology and learned to adapt to these changes from a young age. Therefore, they’re more likely to quickly understand how each of these software solutions work and the potential they have to help your organization succeed. They can identify how you can strategically use these solutions to best engage your audience. 

For instance, consider the following: 

  • Your marketing software may have the functionality to post to various social media sites. Having grown up in the age of social media, your Millennials can accurately and effectively craft messages ideal for each of the different social media platforms, choosing detailed images for Instagram, writing content for Facebook, and crafting short witty Tweets. 
  • Effective fundraising software offers different ways of giving and various campaign types. Millennials in your workforce may have insight into what type of campaign will best appeal to the audience (especially if that audience is other Millennials). You may use a text-to-give campaign during events, a standard donation page for giving days, and a peer-to-peer campaign leading up to various activities. 

The Millennial generation has seen the advancement of technology throughout their lives. They can attest to how it is best used because they have grown up watching expert markers at work! Asking for Millennial staff input about your use of technology can help you better strategize and understand how to maximize its use. 

4. Culture tends to be incredibly important to the millennial generation. 

The Baby Boomer Generation was well-known for being driven by money and prosperity. The quality of their work was directly influenced by financial compensation. However, Millennials take more into consideration than simply a paycheck. For instance, company and organization culture is of vital importance to retaining your Millennial workforce. 

While money is still an important factor to motivate Millennials in your workforce, a holistic approach to compensation will take into consideration the benefits and culture in which they work, which are both highly valued by this generation. 

When you’re deciding on a nonprofit compensation package for employees, make sure to take a total rewards compensation approach. This type of approach takes into consideration the following factors: 

  • Direct compensation
  • Benefits like PTO, health insurance, dental, 401(K) matching, etc. 
  • Performance management styles
  • Work-life balance
  • Organization culture

Millennials are more likely to respond well to a well-rounded compensation approach rather than simply being motivated by the money. 

Therefore, your organization should consider how you’re developing a team culture among your employees to keep your Millennial staff members motivated. Try planning team activities for your nonprofit staff to do together like a book club (about your mission!), setting team goals and providing incentives to reach those goals, and planning outings to do together (like company holiday parties). 

If you have volunteers who also work with your organization regularly, consider inviting them along to some of these team activities! This way, when it comes time to hire new staff members, you’ve already set expectations and have access to a pool of potential employees who understand how the organization works. 

The Millennial generation has unique motivations and approaches to their work and to nonprofits. Understanding how they differ from previous generations will help your nonprofit ensure your Millennial workforce is motivated and retained over the years. Good luck! 

About the Author:

Ross Hendrickson is a co-founder and the CEO of Bloomerang. Prior to co-founding Bloomerang, he served as Product Manager for Bostech Corporation and later Avectra. Ross serves on the Horizon Council, the young professionals leadership council of the Indianapolis-based nonprofit Conner Prairie’s He graduated with a B.S. in Economics & Engineering Science from Vanderbilt University.

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5 Ways to Engage Your Community in Times of Crisis

Laura Bucher

This blog post was brought to you by our friends and partners at DonorPerfect. For the full article and more information click here.

Small businesses have been hit hard by COVID-19’s impact on the economy. Fortunately, there are nonprofit organizations like Federal Hill Main Street, whose mission is to create vibrant and thriving communities. Pre-COVID, they’d fundraise through community events like dining events and jazz concerts to keep residents and visitors engaged and revenue flowing. Now, they’ve had to shift their focus and their fundraising strategy to help keep their cherished local businesses afloat and residents fed.

In Baltimore’s Federal Hill district, Cathy Rosenbaum has been their lifeline, and everyone seems to know her by name. She genuinely loves her city and wants to see the community work together to keep the district flourishing. That’s why she’s taken on the role of Executive Director at Federal Hill Main Street.

Despite being a two-person operation, Federal Hill Main Street managed to align their community of donors around common goals as they pushed through the pandemic.

In times of need, joining forces with your community members can see you through and make you even stronger. Follow Cathy’s lead with these steps to gain their support and expand the reach of your fundraising.

Connect with Your Community Using These 5 Tips

#1. Introduce Yourself

Cathy follows local businesses and organizations in Federal Hill on social media and looks out for newcomers in an effort to establish relationships among them so that they can support and promote one another. She explains, “My experience is that when you introduce yourself to someone, they’re more than eager to find out how our nonprofit supports the local businesses and community and how they can get involved and keep abreast of what is happening in our neighborhood. We do a lot of communication by email, and we also promote businesses through social media, as well.”

More recently, Cathy wanted to establish a monthly giving program to which the community could contribute so that Federal Hill Main Street could better predict its cash flow. When COVID-19 hit, Cathy put this goal on pause and instead did what she could to support them, including providing up-to-date information about grant and loan opportunities and other important information for local businesses. She hopes to establish a donor base of residents and has purchased a marketing list of those living in her zip code to get started. But first, she’ll do what she does best: introduce herself. She shares, “I’m not going to [solicit donations] right now, but I do want to develop a connection with [residents] first by sending emails that explain what we’re doing and get them engaged.”

#2. Give Your Constituents a Voice

A true leader, Cathy takes time to listen to the concerns of the community she serves. She attends local community organization meetings, like her neighborhood and business associations to provide updates about what Federal Hill Main Street has planned and invites feedback from attendees about what they’d like to see accomplished.

Additionally, Cathy has been hosting regular video conference calls with business owners and neighborhood organizations to discuss what they need in order to be successful, especially now as businesses begin to reopen.

Cathy shares, “It’s very empowering when people start to feel like you listen, and you take action based on what you’ve heard. Not everyone’s going to get everything they want, but giving them a platform to provide input and express concerns is only going to help all of you because you’re going to make a better decision, you’re going to feel engaged, and you’re going to get more buy-in if you can do it that way.”

Before Cathy’s involvement, there was very minimal communication between businesses, and building those relationships has made a difference. Now the business owners along with residents are planning volunteer events together. Cathy says, “It’s all about the relationships. That’s fundraising 101, I know, but it’s true.”

#3. Collaborate with Other Organizations

When Cathy noticed a local church’s Facebook post about a food drive they were hosting, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to work together. Cathy immediately reached out to introduce herself and to connect the church with local restaurants to feed their community.

Their food drive “Common Table” set out to feed seniors and those on the frontlines of the pandemic by also supporting local businesses. With donations raised, Cathy was able to bulk order and deliver 300 meals per week from local restaurants. In the process, Cathy provided a platform for the restaurants to promote themselves and receive more revenue. On Federal Hill Main Street’s social media pages and website, Cathy listed the names of each participating restaurant and encouraged donors to tip them generously and safely through a virtual tip jar.

#4. Lean on Those Who Will Support You

Baltimore’s Federal Hill businesses trust that they’re in good hands with Cathy, but even Cathy could use a hand at times.

When Cathy landed the opportunity to partner with the church for the Common Table food drive, she was still in the onboarding process with DonorPerfect and it was a Friday. With Easter Sunday the same weekend, Cathy felt pressure to expedite DonorPerfect’s implementation so that she could begin fundraising as soon as the food drive would be announced at the church’s Easter Sunday service.

Having used DonorPerfect at three nonprofits before Federal Hill (twice convincing her team to switch from another platform to DonorPerfect), Cathy knew that she could rely on the DonorPerfect Team to get Federal Hill Main Street set up in time.

Cathy explains, “I called them in a panic saying, ‘Help, we’re just getting ready to start this [campaign]. We haven’t anything ready yet!’ And they bent over backwards. We were talking after hours and through the weekend. They went above and beyond, times ten. They didn’t have to do any of that. I was just so happy because I was really eager to get [the online form and payment processing] going, and they just helped me push it through.”

#5. Stay Connected

Once you’ve established a relationship with new donors, it’s crucial that you keep them engaged with all the good you’re up to. For fill-in-the-blank templates to help you creatively announce your upcoming fundraising opportunities and a timeline advising how frequently you should email them, check out The New Donor Welcome Series Email Template Kit.

The DonorPerfect Team thanks Cathy for trusting us to support her fundraising efforts and for going the extra mile to uplift her community through the COVID-19 crisis. We wish her and Federal Hill Main Street the best of luck as they revitalize this historic Baltimore community.

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Detailed Guide to Your Nonprofit’s Audience Persona

Donorbox

Once you start a nonprofit organization, you need to develop a marketing strategy that works best. Knowing your target audience helps to create content based on its specifics.

The audience of a nonprofit is diverse. Every group – clients, donors, staff, volunteers, media, the local community – requires an individual approach.

This article provides step-by-step instruction of creating an audience persona – one of the key tools for better understanding each segment of your target audience.

Let’s Differ Audience Persona from Target Audience

  • Target audience

For nonprofits, it’s, on the one hand, socially vulnerable categories of the population who get the assistance of your organization. On the other hand, it’s those members of the society who support the organization in achieving its goals (donors, volunteers, staff members).

For the most effective implementation of goals, you need to segment your donors and audiences.

The target audience is divided into primary and secondary.

The primary target audience is people on whom the organization has a direct impact. And at the same time, your nonprofit’s activities depend on their actions, opinions, and needs.

A secondary target audience is a group of people that affects the primary audience. In turn, the opinions and activities of the secondary audience can cause the primary audience to take note of your information, change their attitude or behavior towards it.

Defining your target audience is describing it in detail, highlighting its characteristic features (age, gender, location, interests).

  • Audience persona 

It’s a documented portrait of the perfect representative of your target audience. A persona does not rely on one specific person. This is a collective image that reflects the majority of the target audience.

Building an audience persona involves a comprehensive study of donors, volunteers, clients, employees, and other representatives of the target audience, depending on the goals of the organization.

Unlike the target audience, which is described by socio-demographic, psychographic, behavioral characteristics, a persona is more focused on the needs, motivations, expectations of the audience. This is an individualized model that the organization focuses on when creating content.

Benefits of Building Audience Personas

Understanding a persona can improve the situation with your target audience. This is the first step towards creating an effective marketing strategy.

To make this tool work, the elaboration of a persona must be as detailed as possible. This will allow you to understand the motivation, needs, expectations, and interests of your target audience. Which, in turn, is essential for building long-term cooperation.

Gender, age, demographic indicators of your donors and clients are the simplest level of understanding of the audience. The next significant step is developing personas, which gives you a much more complete image of the audience’s life cycle and its interest in your work.

Modeling a persona takes place for each segment of your target audience. Getting started, you can focus on developing 3 primary audience personas – for donors, clients, and volunteers/staff.

Four Steps to Build Personas

  1. Make Research

Your existing donors, volunteers, clients, and co-workers are a great source of information that you need.

Interview them. It’s diligent but interesting and important work. The more data you collect at this stage the more detailed and useful image of personas you will end up with.

Go to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter. These platforms are a great source of what’s essential for your audience. Minding it provides you with the opportunity to address on a more personal level.

Mind every piece of information, see how total strangers turn into real people with their worldview and activities, families and friends, interests, and preferences.

Why is the research work important? Because one way or another, their life circumstances are the reason for having the will to support your organization.

At this stage, you have to create a profile for each donor/client/etc. containing the following categories:

  • Demographics (age, gender, location, education, employment, marital status, and other info that’s essential for the type of your nonprofit).
  • Goals and values (primary and secondary goals, fears connected with goals, main values).
  • How you can help (what your nonprofit does to help people achieve their goals and fight their fears).
  • What differs your donor/client/volunteer from representatives of the same social stratum.

Use Internet surveys (such as Survey Monkey and Google forms) to reach a bigger audience.

Also make use of web analytics services (Google Analytics, MailChimp, SimilarWeb, Facebook Analytics, Facebook Audience Insights (if you have a business profile)) to find out the characteristics and interests of your online audience

  1. Analyze and Integrate

Since a persona is a generalized image of a potential or real audience, the next step of developing it is analyzing data to find patterns and define types of people you can combine in one.

The types you highlight may differ from your expectations. And this is a good indicator. It defines the quality of your research work.

  1. Create a Profile and Get Acquainted

Make profiles for each of your audience personas, add pics and characteristics. Examine them. Introduce personas to your staff.

Getting acquainted with the desires and needs of your audience leads you to the understanding of what truly is valuable and important for your potential or real clients and donors.

Does your audience look different now? What strategies are you going to use to engage their attention? How are you going to address each persona?

  1. Repeat

Building an audience persona is not a one-time action. It isn’t something you do once and for all.

First, watch if there are any changes in the interaction with the audience. Are they preferable ones? What can be improved?

Then start building secondary personas. Make research and create an image.

Finally, get assured you are aware of changes. From time to time, check the needs, preferences, and goals of your audience. Your organization is developing, involving more and more new people. Therefore, it is important to stay in touch with them and adapt to their features when needed.

Mind Negative Personas

A negative persona is an important component of the audience’s portraiture. It’s impossible not to have one.

Negative personas reveal target groups on which spending resources is least beneficial. It’s just not your audience. It’s rational to be aware of them to include in your marketing strategy.

As well as you did with audience personas, determine the characteristics of negative personas, and create their profiles with a detailed description.

Summary

  • An audience persona is a useful tool for effective work with the target audience.
  • Identifying a persona requires a careful study of your stakeholders.
  • Use online services to research the audience of your web resources.
  • Make profiles of primary, secondary, and negative personas.
  • Repeat research to supplement and adjust profiles.

This guide was brought to you by DonorBox.

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Inspiration From Fellow Fundraisers: Crowdfunding Through the COVID-19 Crisis

Laura Bucher

This guest blog post was brought to you by DonorPerfect. Read the full article here.

Feeding Long Island’s residents and raising awareness about hunger for nearly thirty years, Island Harvest Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization on Long Island. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the team at Island Harvest Food Bank knew that it was up to them to rally residents to combat the ever-growing need for food.

Island Harvest staff members needed to act fast and temporarily modify their business model to meet Long Island residents’ immediate need for food support. Their traditional model of generating and distributing donated food was not sustainable in the new climate, so they pivoted to a purchase-based model to feed as many families as they could right away. The hunger just couldn’t wait.

Island Harvest initially ordered $250,000 of specially designed meal boxes to distribute to families, seniors, veterans, and the immunocompromised who couldn’t leave their homes. When the time was right, Development Manager Ryan Haugstatter created a crowdfunding campaign with an initial goal of $250,000. To the delight of their entire organization, a community of 103 crowdfunding fundraisers joined with nearly 6,000 online contributors to raise an overall total of $955,712 in web-based donations (and counting!) in a matter of just three months!

7 Actions for Nonprofit Crowdfunding Success

You too can leverage crowdfunding to find similar success. Here are seven actions Island Harvest took to empower their community to support them through one of their greatest challenges.

Start with a small goal. Then build on it.

The team at Island Harvest set out with a clear and manageable goal of raising $250,000 to support the organization’s immediate response to their community’s hunger emergency. Ryan warns that setting the bar too high may discourage those who are unable to give large amounts from donating. He suggests, “Start smaller, and when you reach that particular goal increase it if you find the need is still there. Just explain where you can, the reason you’re upping your goal.”

Each time you increase your goal, you have another chance to promote your mission. In addition to spotlighting your crowdfunding campaign via social media and email, Ryan suggests updating your organization’s crowdfunding page, “What we do is we change the verbiage on the crowdfunding site, and we always make sure that we’re reflecting that the money that was raised is just as important as what we’re trying to raise right now. In our outreach, we always spoke about the need to raise funds with the need to support the organization’s mission and programs.”

Over the course of their campaign, Island Harvest adjusted their goal four times, from $250k to $500k to $750k to $1 million to $1.5 million. With the promotion of new, increased goals, Island Harvest even gained some repeat donors, coming back to give for their fifth time! The growing needs of Long Island’s residents required a continued appeal for the community’s help.

Be transparent about how you allocate crowdfunding dollars.

At Island Harvest, more than 94% of expended resources go directly to programs and services that support more than 300,000 Long Islanders facing hunger.

Knowing this builds contributors’ confidence in the organization. Ryan recommends that other nonprofits share this information with their constituents and be clear about what donors’ dollars are funding. “Twenty-five dollars was the amount that was able to purchase one family meal pack, which feeds a family for three to four days. I think also by breaking it down and letting [constituents] know what amount will go towards the purchase of these family meal packs, that also played a part in how much people were willing to give.”

Empower people to support you however they can.

Crowdfunding was an effective way for Island Harvest to fundraise because it enabled their entire community to participate in some way. Even if individuals were unable to donate money or could only contribute a small amount, they could feel connected to the mission by creating a peer-to-peer fundraising page to share with their network to raise money on the organization’s behalf.

Ryan explains, “Even if you can only give $5 but were able to create your own crowdfunding page and put it on your social media channels, that is just as much support as giving us $5. This can actually turn a $5 contribution into a much larger gift through multiple gifts from the crowdfunding effort. Because really, the advocacy and letting people know about the work that we do and our mission, that is what has also served as a motivator for others to give.”

Recruit corporate fundraisers.

Corporations are a great place to start when aiming to quickly build a network of fundraisers. Many businesses have corporate social responsibility programs that encourage their employees to give back to their community. This strategy is especially beneficial because employees can double their donation through their employer’s matching gift program. And in the workplace, we all know there are lots of opportunities for friendly competition for a good cause.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Island Harvest didn’t want to immediately reach out to individuals, knowing that many of them may have lost their jobs. Instead, they reached out to corporations and local businesses they knew were still operating and successfully gained their partnership.

Invite news coverage and creativity.

Island Harvest established a relationship with the NY Metro and Long Island’s media outlets with the help of their public relations consultant who tuned local media into all the wonderful work that Island Harvest is doing. If you aren’t currently in communication with your local news networks, reach out because they are often looking for stories about social good, especially during these trying times. Even without an established connection, Island Harvest’s individual fundraisers found ways to contact local news stations to reach a larger audience with their individual fundraising pages.

A former employee of Island Harvest made headlines when she raised 1,000 lbs of food and $500 on behalf of Island Harvest in honor of her birthday. She placed boxes at the end of her driveway to collect food and monetary donations, inviting friends and neighbors to stop by. A parade of cars lined the street to support her cause.

Another individual inspired others to give and to stay healthy from home. He reached his goal of $5,000 by committing to 5,000 push-ups in 24 hours. Staying tuned in to their crowdfunders’ creative fundraising strategies gave Island Harvest the opportunity to pitch to local reporters and share their fundraisers’ awesome promotional ideas on their social media feeds.

Involve your board and executive team.

Your board members and executives are likely well-connected in your community and can serve as effective solicitors of major donors. Ryan suggests leveraging their stewardship skills by encouraging them to support your crowdfunding campaign. He explains, “We asked [the board] to contribute towards [the campaign], and additionally, we encouraged them to create their own crowdfunding pages and just reach out to their own network that they found appropriate to reach out to.” Ryan suggests encouraging board members, friends, and staff to use their own social media platforms, as well, to share special stories about the work of the organization, program goals, and funding needs.

Ryan also recommends hosting discussions with your supporters through virtual meetings to update them on your organization’s progress. He shares, “Our CEO and president scheduled several virtual meetings with top contributors to give updates and reports on our work. Also, our crowdfunding fundraisers were established to encourage others to create their own crowdfunding pages. We reached out to a targeted list of higher level contributors to participate and expanded it when we could accommodate additional participants.”

Island Harvest gained more fundraisers and strengthened the passion for fundraising in existing crowdfunders by hosting these meetings. Ryan attributes this success to the president’s ability to share about the organization’s past progress in a way that inspires their donors. Maintaining contact with supporters to report on your established programs, the need at hand, and how successful you’ve been thus far motivates them to get involved in all the good you’re doing.

Watch the power of crowdfunding go to work.

When you give your network the tools they need to fundraise on your behalf, you enable your supporters to be your ambassadors. Passionate about your mission and bringing their own stories to the table, fundraisers can rally their networks on a very personal level and reach a much broader audience. Ryan shares, “We started to see so many more individuals creating crowdfunding pages and having their friends and colleagues reaching out – even securing support from across America – to donate to their [pages]. It was really, really powerful. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Ryan believes that fundraisers were drawn by the ability to create their own pages because they could:

  • Easily set up their own crowdfunding project
  • See their name in a list of fundraisers on Island Harvest’s main crowdfunding page
  • Create their own page with a personal story and goal
  • Watch Island Harvest’s progress bar, along with their own, and know that they were a part of something important

Ryan explains, “I think it encourages contributors to help us when they see the goal. Every time they put even $5 or $10 in, they get to see the bar increase and be able to have their name on [the page] with a little note, it makes them feel even more important to the mission. That’s why I love the feature of the crowdfunding page on DonorPerfect.”

Ready to Get Started with Crowdfunding?

Here’s how to get started, step-by-step.

Thank you to Ryan Haugstatter and Island Harvest Food Bank for sharing with us this inspiring story of how they brought their community together and for answering the call when their most impacted residents needed them most through COVID-19. We wish the team and their fundraisers our very best as they push forward to see their community through the crisis.

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Marketing for Good: Community Partnerships for Small Nonprofits

Alex Johnson

By Alex Johnson, Founder of Breakout Productions and Fantasy Sports-Con.

Most nonprofits, not just small ones, have similar challenges with less than adequate marketing budgets to promote their mission. The average nonprofit only spends close to 5 percent of its total revenue on marketing, while small businesses spend at least 10-12 percent. This can make it difficult for nonprofits to get their message out, fundraise, promote events, and find new volunteers. So, what can you do to increase your marketing efforts without having the budget to do so?  

One thing local businesses struggle with is separating themselves from the competition. Why work with company A versus company B if they sell a similar product or service at a similar price? Customer Service? Somehow, they each are the ‘best’ in their industry. Family owned? If that mattered, then Amazon and Walmart wouldn’t be destroying mom & pop shops nationwide. With the increased awareness around social issues, businesses that are not only doing good in their community, but talking about it, see more success than those that don’t. Marketing for Good has been gaining traction over the last several years and is now a pivotal part of businesses’ overall marketing strategy. You’ve likely already seen it done on a national level. Pro sports leagues, shoe brands, and tech companies are spending mega dollars supporting national movements like Black Lives Matter, women and LBGTQ rights, and health-related causes like cancer research. 

So, what is Marketing for Good? Instead of a company promoting only their product or service, they promote local causes and charities in their community with their marketing budget. Local nonprofits can partner with local businesses and ‘piggyback’ on their marketing efforts via social media, traditional advertising like radio or tv, and even community events like festivals or parades. Not only do smaller nonprofits get a big bump in awareness, but also get in front of new audiences via marketing channels they likely could not have afforded previously. These can come in the form of radio spots promoting the needs or mission of a nonprofit supported by local businesses, social media ads promoting a nonprofit fundraiser with local businesses as sponsors, or even sharing booth space at a community event paid for by a local business. 

Finding these local partners is easier than you think. Start writing down which local businesses you see or hear advertise on the radio and TV. At your next community event make a point to go talk to the businesses that have booths or sponsor in some way. Go to your local media groups to share with them what you’re working on and how businesses can get involved. Their sales teams can then pitch current advertisers about supporting your nonprofit in future campaigns. 

Marketing for Good is so important for our local communities and for our culture as a whole. Instead of just being bombarded with traditional ads for the newest car, phone, sandwich, or how much we can save on insurance, we can see what is being done in our local community to better the lives of those less fortunate. Businesses are not just doing this on their own, so it’s up to nonprofits to bring the idea to them and start building strong community partnerships. Marketing for Good benefits everyone involved, particularly nonprofits and the community.

Bio:

Breakout Productions is a full-service sales and events consulting company that believes every relationship has value. Founded originally to produce the first ever fan-focused fantasy sports convention, Fantasy Sports-Con, Breakout Productions has evolved to support business and event growth during the recent challenges facing the country. Business development, sales training, and strategic partnerships are often core challenges organizations struggle with while they increase their marketing and lead generation capabilities. Breakout Productions helps capitalize on those new leads to generate more revenue with its experienced team and vast professional network.

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Wisdom of the Crowd: 5 Things Nonprofit Organizations Wish They Knew 3 Months Ago

Stephanie Kanak

Thank you to DonorPerfect for sharing this article with our community! Read the original article here.

If you had a time machine and could go back to before coronavirus (COVID-19) impacted the world, how would you prepare? What would you do differently? We surveyed over 700 nonprofits to find out what advice they’d give themselves and others about fundraising in the new normal. Here’s what they told us:

1. Set Up Better Data Collection Standards and Regularly Audit Them

Many nonprofit organizations have made the transition to working remotely due to COVID-19 health concerns. They depend on the quality of the data collected in their donor management system. Duplicate addresses, missing data, and outdated contact preferences can hinder your ability to connect with your donors. Like you, many of your constituents are also working from home, using their personal cell phones and email addresses. Are you reaching these donors effectively, or are you frustrated because you’re unable to contact a percentage of your donor base? The bottom line: if you can’t reach your donors, you can’t solicit them. If you haven’t done so already, update your procedures to collect contact methods and donor information that will facilitate virtual fundraising. The good news is that DonorPerfect’s flexibility allows you to easily customize your system to collect and organize your data to fit your organization’s needs best.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how NPOs told us they are making the most of the data in their DonorPerfect system to fundraise during COVID-19:

“Our strategy is to build a strong relationship with individual donors through our DP database, learn about their giving patterns, and establish appeals related to those patterns.”

“Make a plan to segment your constituent base and decide who from your organization will make personal contact with your constituents.”

ACTION ITEM:

What data collection improvements can your nonprofit make to improve virtual fundraising?

2. Take a Balanced Approach With Your Revenue Streams and Include Digital Fundraising

Many nonprofits rely heavily on in-person fundraising. The organizations we surveyed said they’re now focusing on a more balanced approach that includes a mix of in-person, virtual and digital fundraising components.

Virtual Fundraising and In-Person Events Can Co-Exist

Future events, for example, may include in-person opportunities, like a 5K run, but also provide avenues for anyone who wants to participate by offering a virtual component, such as a virtual 5K where participants run on their own between specific dates. The key is to find ways to engage with off-site participants so that they feel like they are part of the event. This might include sending t-shirts and other event goodies to participants as well as “virtual-only” type Zoom kickoffs or online challenges.

PRO TIP:
Thinking about hosting a virtual event? See how this NPO moved their fundraising event online.

Work with Existing Partners In New Ways

Don’t be afraid to reach out to event sponsors, grant funders and major donors to see if they’d be willing to work with you on how unspent funds are allocated, such as event table sponsorships. Many of the nonprofits we surveyed did that with great success. They were surprised that these partners still wanted to help and were okay with re-allocating those funds to other program needs, such as moving event table fees to sponsor online auctions.

Build A Multichannel Donor Strategy

A balanced fundraising strategy also includes a plan for multichannel donor engagement. Your supporters often engage with your organization using more than one channel. They give online through your website and emails. They like and share your social media posts. They attend your fundraising events and sign up for volunteer opportunities. Pair your website, emails, and social media campaigns with a variety of ways for donors to support your cause that is quick and easy, not only for your donors to engage but also for you to manage.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how NPOs told us that they are adapting their fundraising efforts to be more balanced during and after COVID-19:

“Get digital! Although this has been a big hit to our traditional operations, it has granted us the opportunity to strengthen our communications work! Look for ways to grow in the meantime!”

“We’re establishing a strong social media following and developing a reliable digital marketing plan that ties donors to online giving platforms like our website.”

“Changing your narrative. If fundraising via events, instead find creative ways to continue to raise funds virtually.”

“We have been successful with pleas explaining our loss of revenue due to canceled fundraising and adoption events. We solicited sponsors for our biggest event and were able to raise almost as much as we netted in the past.”

“We looked at all of our current grant and major donors, and, if there were funds unspent from each of their gifts, we asked if we could redirect it to our COVID-19 response. Everyone has agreed.”

ACTION ITEM:

How balanced are your revenue streams? Could your organization have a better mix of in-person, virtual, and digital fundraising components?

3. Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Good Technical Support Team

Now, more than ever, your donor management software is a lifeline to maintain good donor relationships. If it’s not working, or you are struggling with how to do something within the software, you want an experienced support team that’s there for you. DonorPerfect has the best support in the industry. Not only are they incredibly knowledgeable, but they were working remotely immediately as soon as the crisis hit. The transition was seamless. As a result, the nonprofits we serve were running remotely and ready to meet the challenges they faced.

SURVEY SAYS:

The NPO’s we surveyed told us that reliable IT support was crucial to getting their nonprofits up and running as the cornonavirus pandemic began.

“Have up-to-date IT infrastructure to enable secure remote work for employees. As long as they can continue doing their jobs, it gives the organization the best chance to get their message out and, hopefully, continue to raise funds.”

“I have never had a better tech support experience in the CRM industry. Every chat, call, or email is responded to almost immediately, with courtesy, professionalism, and best of all, knowledgeable solutions.”

ACTION ITEM:

Transitioning to remote work and virtual fundraising can be a challenge. Get the support you need from this list of resources to help nonprofits during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

4. Have a Solid Donor Stewardship Plan in Place

How do you engage with supporters so that they become more invested in your organization’s work? If you don’t have a plan in place for thanking, communicating, and interacting with donors regularly, it will be more challenging to get them to respond during a crisis. Many organizations we surveyed saw the value of having a solid donor stewardship plan in place and are concentrating their efforts to pay more attention to this in the future. Here are two areas in your donor stewardship plan to focus on in the next few months:

Communications

Plan specific touch points to communicate with donors regularly, and not just once a year when you send tax letters. This will engage your donors and involve them in your organization’s work. Focus on creating personalized (segmented) communications that update donors on the impact of the campaign they’ve supported.

Engagement

Brainstorm ways to get donors actively involved with your organization through events, surveys, and volunteer opportunities.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s what NPOs told us about their renewed focus on a strong donor stewardship plan:

“Be flexible on everything except the value of stewardship; it’s important to provide stewardship more than ever.”

“Much comes down to the relationship groundwork laid in the years before events like this. Even so, continue to meet the needs of your donors first. Reach out to them, check on them regularly. Let them know what you are doing to face the financial difficulties, and thank them for their efforts in getting you this far. Be honest about your needs. Be transparent.”

“Focus first on non-fundraising messages – we are here and doing ok, how are you? what can we do to help you? Then build upon those good messages before asking for money”

“Find creative ways to thank your donors. We had yard signs made and delivered them to donors. We also called and thanked every donor.”

ACTION ITEM:

Do you have a plan to thank, communicate, and interact with donors on a regular basis? What touch points will you put in place to engage donors? Follow these tips to connect with donors and gain the confidence to fundraise in today’s environment.

5. Investing in Yourself Pays Big Dividends Down The Road

When you’re busy working towards fulfilling your nonprofit’s mission, it can be easy to forgo the time needed to invest in “auxiliary” tasks that build your skills and fuel your mission. Many of the nonprofits we surveyed regretted not taking time to pursue training, practice using tech tools, or sharpen other skills that help them be more productive. These were skills that would have made the transition after COVID-19 began much smoother. Moving forward, they plan to refocus those efforts and commit to the importance of investing in yourself.

PRO TIP:
Take advantage of the free training that DonorPerfect offers. Our Foundational Series is a collection of 15 free, live webinars that takes you through basic and intermediate functions in DonorPerfect.

SURVEY SAYS:

Here’s how the organizations that we surveyed are re-prioritizing their time in ways they didn’t before:

“Use this time to build a strong foundation and to do research. To prep for anything you might have in the future (events, or transitions).”

“Turn your worries into fueling your creativity. Now is the time to try new things, and if it doesn’t work, at least you tried. Listen to ALL members of your team and overall organization. Again, get creative and just GO! I think donors will appreciate at least the effort, even if they can’t give.”

“Appeal to your supporters. Remember, you are TRYING to work from home in a crisis. Cut yourself some slack. Now’s the time to be creative and remember your mission.”

“You have to re-create your fundraising plan and adjust it to our new reality and environment. Participate in webinars for education and support from other fundraisers.”

“Learn what your niche is and how you can continue to provide services and programs within the restraints. don’t wait for the crisis to be over.”

“Never waste a good crisis; figure out what you can do that will help in the future. How can you get an ROI in the digital literacy skills we are all developing?”

ACTION ITEM:

What new skills have you learned through your experiences in the last three months? What new skills do you want to cultivate?

BONUS: The Brighter Side of the COVID-19 Crisis

One surprising thing that came out of the COVID-19 crisis for many nonprofits was how much their donor community loves them and wants to support their efforts. Constituents facing substantial economic challenges are coming forward to rally behind the missions of the organizations they love and admire. Not only are they providing financial support, but they are stepping up with creative and resourceful ways to volunteer and collect in-kind donations for program areas. People want to know how to make a difference right now. Make it clear how they can help and demonstrate the critical impact it has.

SURVEY SAYS:

NPOs repeatedly shared with us how their constituents were generously supporting their missions above and beyond what they anticipated:

“Remain calm. Some people will think fundraising for anything other than pandemic relief is crass. They are wrong, and your mission-aligned donors will understand.”

“People will still give! They are sitting at home wondering how they can help from afar, and donating is still an option! Use your social media and email campaigns wisely. Everyone is glued to a screen right now, so give them the opportunity to use it for good and donate.”

“Donors want to give; they just need to know WHAT for and HOW. Keep your communications open with your community.”

“Continue to ask for donor support. They are engaged and looking for ways to help. They want to hear from you to know your needs and how they can help meet them. Be thoughtful in your messaging, but be transparent and honest.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over whether or not to ask – let the donor decide. However, be authentic about what your need is. Don’t overstate it, or you’ll lose credibility. All your targets will be off – that’s okay. We’ll all feel the impact next year too. It will take time to get back to where you were – take time to celebrate the little wins along the way.”

ACTION ITEM:

Should you move forward with your planned fundraisers or change course? If you’re feeling stuck, do this ONE thing to keep funds flowing into your nonprofit today.

The Last Word

Of all the survey responses we received, this sentiment was probably the most important:

“It’s tough! We are all in this together. It’s ok to be stressed!”

Thank you to all the nonprofit organizations that responded to our survey and took the time to provide us feedback and encouragement. We are in awe of all that you do for the communities you serve and are honored to partner with you every day, especially now during this difficult time. It is truly inspiring to watch the creative and inventive ways with which you’ve approached this crisis. When we’re on the other side of COVID-19, we have no doubt that this industry will be stronger and better than ever. So go out there and keep doing what you do the best. You’ve got this!

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How to Turn a Giving Day into a Volunteer Recruitment Engine

Tim Sarrantonio

During #GivingTuesdayNow, Neon One helped power giving events that helped 15,369 people pledge 515,778 volunteer hours in their communities. That is a lot of generosity! Yet how can your organization take the momentum that comes from a giving day and turn that into year round energy for your new volunteers.

Let’s unpack the three key steps you can take to engage new volunteers that you’ve recruited from a community giving event. 

Welcome Them

Your organization should treat your new volunteers the same way you should be treating new donors – with an enthusiastic embrace. Creating a series of communications and programs that help energize your new volunteers will go a long way in keeping them with your organization for a long time. Here’s a few ideas on how to kickstart this for your organization:

  • Host a virtual celebration of these new volunteers, updating them on the success you had with the giving event itself
  • Create an onboarding email series that is triggered by their start date with your organization
  • Give them a gift from your organization – it can be as simple as a sticker of your organization’s logo that they can put on their laptop

Personalized Training

Studies show that up to ⅓ of volunteers stop supporting their organization after one year, so ensuring that they feel supported as early as possible is key to maintaining the energy that comes from a giving day. There are a few simple yet effective strategies your organization can put into place to ensure long term success with your volunteers:

Report Back

Just like donors want to know the impact of their contributions, volunteers are going to want to understand how the work they’re doing is creating a positive impact in the mission that they are supporting. Here’s a few ways that your organization can create a feedback loop that keeps volunteers engaged and potentially turns them into donors as well. 

  • Create a dedicated newsletter for volunteers that spotlights the work that individuals and groups are doing as well as telling stories about the programs they are supporting
  • Carve out a section in your annual report that is specific to the work that volunteers are doing, intentionally spotlighting a volunteer that you recruited from your successful giving day
  • Create a retrospective one year later about the volunteers you recruited on your giving event and include them in any promotion you do for the giving event in the next year, including interviewing them on a live stream

By employing these strategies and tactics, your organization will be able to turn the energy created from the moment of a giving event into momentum that powers your volunteer team for the rest of the year and into the future.

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