Nonprofit Software

Capital Campaign Marketing 101: Crash Course for Nonprofits

Andrea Kihlstedt

Every ten years or so, organizations often find themselves needing to make significant investments that allow them to grow their fundraising capacity and operate more effectively. Especially amid today’s challenges, the ability to serve more constituents and reliably raise support efficiently could be game-changing for your nonprofit’s mission.

For many nonprofits, capital campaigns are the answer. These major undertakings are complex, intensive, and high-stakes, but the payoff from a well-planned and -executed capital campaign can be immense.

One of the most critical aspects of capital campaigns is relationship-building. Connecting with donors, volunteers, and partners in meaningful ways is essential for success at every stage of your campaign. This means that communication, messaging, and marketing have extremely important roles to play at different points in your strategy.

For instance, once you’ve completed a capital campaign feasibility study and have outlined concrete plans, you’ll need to spend the majority of your campaign focusing heavily on personalized outreach to your prospective major donors. However, broader marketing strategies will be essential in the later kickoff and public stages of your campaign. 

If your organization has never conducted a capital campaign before, it can be difficult to know exactly how these marketing strategies should differ from your typical approach when promoting fundraising campaigns and events. We’ve got you covered with this crash course. We’ll discuss these essentials:

  • The Team
  • The Timeline
  • The Materials
  • The Tools

For the best results (and fewest headaches), these elements all need careful attention long before your campaign reaches its public stage. Having a clear understanding of what you’ll need ahead of time will help ensure you’re ready to connect with your broader community and show them how their help will take your campaign over the finish line.

The Team

As you get started planning a campaign, go ahead and form a dedicated marketing committee. This team should consist of board members, staff, and volunteers. Although many of your broader marketing efforts won’t come into play until the last stages of your campaign, your team will need ample time to prepare. 

Clearly designate what this committee’s responsibilities will be, and delegate tasks to specific individuals whenever possible. Outline in advance the different points at which they’ll need to work closely with other campaign teams, like getting sign-off from the steering committee on major strategic decisions or collaborating with the kickoff committee to promote your virtual kickoff event. 

With these guidelines in place, you’ll then need to actively prepare and equip your marketing team with the right tools and strategies for the job. For example, consider these core areas where they’ll need initial guidance and support:

  • Templates and style guides. We’ll walk through specific types of marketing materials you’ll need below, but it pays to put some thought into them early in the process. This gives you plenty of time to refine the templates, visual branding, and core messaging of your public phase marketing long before it’s time to roll them out.
  • Tech guidance. Make sure your marketing team is familiar with the different tools they’ll need to promote your campaign effectively. For instance, does everyone (or at least one point person) know how to create segmented mailing lists in your CRM? Think about the tech-related tasks on their plate and provide training and documentation as needed.
  • Meeting etiquette and cadences. How exactly will your different teams and committees interact? Set some standards early about meeting etiquette, drafting agendas, and follow-up processes. Then, clearly document and communicate these protocols to your various teams to start them off on the right foot.

Capital campaigns are complicated and long (often lasting upwards of two years), so it definitely pays to take an organized approach. Although many of your marketing efforts won’t ramp up until your campaign’s later phases, your marketing team will still need time to refine their strategies and prepare relevant materials. Give them a head start by clearly outlining their responsibilities and providing additional guidance! 

The Timeline

With your marketing committee formed and initial guidelines and responsibilities in place, you’ll then need to ensure they actually understand the bigger picture of your campaign. 

If this is your organization’s first capital campaign, it’ll be useful to start with the basics. This Capital Campaign Toolkit guide walks through the seven core phases of successful campaigns:

  1. Pre-campaign planning
  2. The feasibility study
  3. Campaign planning
  4. The quiet phase
  5. Kick-off 
  6. The public phase
  7. Post-campaign activities

Once everyone has a solid grasp on the overall trajectory of your campaign and its timeline, it’ll be helpful to put some thought into the exact roles that each committee or team will play during the different stages. For your marketing team, these roles might be broken down like this:

  • Planning Phase – Preparing marketing materials and outlining marketing strategies
  • Public Phase – Creating and sharing relevant materials needed for discussions with prospects, including the campaign’s website or project renderings
  • Kick-Off – Promoting your campaign’s kick-off festivities to a broader audience of smaller donors and the community as a whole
  • Public Phase – Using the prepared materials to market your campaign to the entire community using social media, email, your website, and any other relevant outlets that are part of your overarching digital strategy

This is a fairly basic example, but the main idea is that more preparation and clearly outlined guidance are always better than less. Try taking an extremely detailed approach, listing out the specific activities, milestones, and KPI goals that need to be accomplished at each stage. This level of detail will give your marketing team solid footing and a concrete plan of action to continually refer to and refine as needed.

The Materials

As mentioned above, you’ll need a wide variety of marketing materials ready to roll out at different stages of your capital campaign. Preparing many of them in advance is definitely a smart move and can prevent backlogs and logistical confusion between teams once the campaign is fully underway.  

Common types of marketing collateral that you’ll need during a capital campaign include:

  • A case for support document. While your actual case for support is a much broader concept than a single brochure, having a visually-appealing document that distills your argument into its essentials can be very helpful. This Capital Campaign Toolkit overview walks through the critical questions that your own case for support must answer before it can be translated into a brochure or packet. 
  • Campaign logo and style guide. Your capital campaign will likely have its own unique brand and theme separate from your nonprofit’s main brand. Start gathering these resources and guidelines in one central location for easy reference during the campaign.
  • Donor discussion guide. This resource likely won’t be donor-facing, but giving your development team an organized document that details your campaign’s case for support, goals, and relevant contextual details can be invaluable during their conversations with prospects.
  • Renderings and other design collateral. If your capital campaign is funding a physical project, like a new building or renovations, professional renderings will show your prospects and the broader community exactly what their support is going towards.
  • A dedicated campaign website. Create a microsite (or even just a dedicated page on your main website) to host all relevant materials for your capital campaign. This can be an extremely effective way to anchor all of your digital marketing strategies and gives you a central location to point supporters towards during the public phase.
  • Email and social media templates. Having ready-made templates for announcements, event invitations, and fundraising appeals can save your team a ton of time during the broader last stages of your campaign. Create a library of these resources in advance, and be sure to link them to the most appropriate landing pages on your campaign’s site.
  • Training materials for volunteers. Chances are some (if not most) of your team will be working on a capital campaign for the very first time. If you’re recruiting dedicated volunteers to help with any aspects of your campaign, you’ll need to set them up for success. Although not directly related to marketing, you should still take the time to gather or create relevant training materials as needed.

Compiling and creating materials like these before you need them will be a smart move. Take time during the campaign planning process to outline the types of marketing and communication resources that you’ll want, and have your marketing committee start crafting them right away.

Pro tip: It’s a common misconception that capital campaigns need to rely on glossy brochures from the very start. You’ll definitely want to prepare these types of materials in advance to ensure you’ll have them on hand when the time comes. However, don’t start heavily using them until the later stages of your campaign. Your conversations with prospective major donors should be highly personal and one-on-one, not handled by a brochure alone!

The Tools

We’ve already touched on the importance of technology and web design for modern capital campaigns, but it’s worth diving into more deeply. In today’s digital age, a variety of tech tools are needed for effectively marketing a capital campaign during its public phase. These include:

  • A dedicated website builder tool, also called a content management system (CMS). Your organization likely already uses a professional-grade CMS to manage its main website, so see how easily you can create new campaign pages or microsites.
  • A database or constituent relationship management (CRM) platform to receive incoming engagement data and generate segmented mailing lists. Your database will also be an essential tool for your development or fundraising team, so make sure it’s in good shape before the campaign begins.
  • Email design and scheduling tools for streamlining your email marketing efforts. Free platforms like Mailchimp are a popular choice for smaller organizations, but your CRM may also include built-in email tools.
  • Social media profiles to promote your campaign to the public and direct readers towards your campaign’s main page or site. If you don’t yet have dedicated profiles for your nonprofit on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, now is the time to set them up!
  • Design software for creating digital and physical marketing materials. The Adobe suite of design tools is a reliable choice, but there are other free options online that may work for your organization, as well.
  • Google Grants for free advertising to promote your mission and campaign. Just be sure to study up on these opportunities and then apply for them well in advance of your campaign’s public phase.

Even beyond marketing tools, you’ll need to ensure your nonprofit is well-equipped to handle various aspects of your capital campaign in an organized way. For example, explore prospect research tools and volunteer management software if you don’t yet have reliable systems in place. 

Revenue-boosting tools like corporate philanthropy databases can be a great idea as well! The right options can help you secure matching gifts for individual donations and volunteered time, laying the foundation for larger corporate sponsorships in the future. Plus, you may even choose to promote matching gift opportunities as part of your public phase marketing. In that case, giving donors an easy way to check their eligibility will be essential.

Although broad marketing efforts won’t come into play until the later stages of your capital campaign, it definitely pays to be prepared. An organized team, coherent timeline, library of marketing collateral, and the right tools for the job will all be critical pieces of the puzzle when it’s time to start spreading the word about your campaign to the larger community.

Step-by-Step Campaign Checklist & Guide

This intuitive guide breaks down each step of your campaign, and the timeline allows you to visualize your whole campaign from start to finish! Download this free campaign checklist now!

Amy Eisenstein, ACFRE, and Andrea Kihlstedt are co-founders of the Capital Campaign Toolkit, a virtual support system for nonprofit leaders to run successful campaigns. The Toolkit provides all the tools, templates, and guidance you need — without breaking the bank.

About the Author: Andrea Kihlstedt

Andrea Kihlstedt is a Co-Founder of the Capital Campaign Toolkit.  She is the author of Capital Campaigns: Strategies that Work, now in its 4th edition, as well as How to Raise $1 Million (or More) in 10 Bite Sized Steps, in addition to other books. Andrea has been leading successful capital campaigns for more than 30 years. To learn how the Capital Campaign Toolkit can support you through a capital campaign, visit capitalcampaigntoolkit.com. 

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Integration Announcement: VolunteerLocal Chooses Double the Donation for Integrated Volunteer Grant Solution

Guest Blogger

A warm thanks to Julia Beltran and our integration partners at Double The Donation for this guest post!

Double the Donation is proud to debut its integrated partnership with VolunteerLocal, one of the most powerful volunteer management platforms. This duo has come together to offer 360MatchPro to nonprofits, event planners and volunteer coordinators of all types through its seamless integration.

“Our volunteer grant integration with 360MatchPro will take the mystery out of volunteer grant submissions,” said Brian Hemesath, Founder of VolunteerLocal. “Volunteer coordinators can expect a simple way to contact eligible supporters and encourage them to submit their grants – leading to more funds for qualifying organizations.”

Through this new and innovative solution, organizations can now use 360MatchPro to identify volunteer grant-eligible supporters and guide them to their employer’s volunteer grant guidelines and submission steps directly after a volunteer shift. This technology helps organizations take advantage of corporate volunteer grant programs, which are offered by 40% of Fortune 500 companies.

“VolunteerLocal offers a range of features that are essential to an effective volunteer management strategy, and we are so excited to add volunteer grant outreach to their platform.” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “This robust solution will help organizations everywhere take advantage of corporate volunteer grant opportunities.”

While volunteer grant opportunities are significant, many organizations miss out on these funds because of a lack of donor awareness and outreach. This solution can now educate supporters and help organizations take advantage of this revenue stream.

“Our organization is so excited to integrate 360MatchPro with our VolunteerLocal account,” said Lin Lu, Web Developer at AnitaB.org. “We now have a simple way to tailor volunteer grant outreach to eligible supporters. This valuable integration will help us raise more without any extra effort.”

With around 63 million Americans volunteering each year, the value of volunteerism is worth an estimated $175 billion annually. Using 360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal, organizations can educate their supporters and guide them to submit a volunteer grant application.

Start raising more from volunteer grants!

Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Volunteer Grants!

The 360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal integration process is simple, allowing your organization to quickly enhance your volunteer grant fundraising initiatives. To get started, just enter your API keys within your VolunteerLocal account to activate the integration, and then add the 360MatchPro search field to your event or application forms.

This process allows your volunteers to enter their employer information as they sign up for a volunteer shift. The search tool provides suggestions as the user types, ensuring the volunteer enters their correct employer. This tool even takes spelling errors, parent companies, and subsidiary companies into account. 360MatchPro then automatically checks to see if this volunteer could be eligible for a volunteer grant through their employer’s corporate philanthropy program. This means your supporters can identify themselves as volunteer grant-eligible simply by entering employment information during their natural sign up process.

VolunteerLocal sign up form

Your organization can then sync this information into 360MatchPro to kickoff automated outreach streams. These messages are completely customizable, and they allow your supporters to learn more about their volunteer grant programs alongside actionable instructions to submit a volunteer grant request. Using 360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal, you can learn valuable volunteer insights and encourage your supporters to submit volunteer grant requests, leading to greater revenue for your organization without any unnecessary effort!

Drive More Volunteer Grant Submissions to Completion with 360MatchPro!

Drive More Volunteer Grant Submissions to Completion with 360MatchPro!

360MatchPro and VolunteerLocal use their innovative solution to fuel support for your organization.

With these features, you can:

  • Identify more volunteer grant revenue opportunities: 360MatchPro enables you to automatically collect volunteer grant eligibility from supporters using email domains, within donation forms, on confirmation screens, or by email. The more volunteer grant opportunities 360MatchPro discovers and shares with donors, the more volunteer grant requests your donors will successfully submit.
  • Drive more grant requests to completion, from form submission to corporate payment: Direct supporters to their volunteer grant submission process after their volunteer shift is complete. Then, provide the right information to the right supporters at the right time with custom emails based on eligibility. Target follow-ups drive more completed submissions than ever before, bringing exponentially more volunteer grant checks from companies through your door.
  • Reallocate your time from routine follow-up to your top opportunities: Your time is valuable, so why spend it chasing volunteer grants? Let 360MatchPro automate your volunteer grant outreach while flagging your highest-value opportunities, allowing your team to personalize follow-ups to the most valuable volunteer grant-eligible supporters. Rest easy knowing that 360MatchPro can handle the rest.

Ready to learn more or get started? Schedule a personalized demo to see how 360MatchPro can fit your organization’s needs and drive donations through company gift matching.

About VolunteerLocal: VolunteerLocal is a user-friendly volunteer management platform used by nonprofits, event planners and volunteer coordinators of all types. This powerful software is designed to help your organization schedule volunteers, recruit groups, collect supporter data and more to ensure your volunteer management system is both efficient and effective. Interested in learning more? Check out their website.

About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift and volunteer grant fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.

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4 Ways to Effectively Use Your Nonprofit CRM

Guest Blogger

Your organization’s constituent relationship management software (CRM) is the backbone of your fundraising and outreach efforts. Without it, you’d lack crucial data that will help drive your mission forward and make the most considerable impact possible on your community. After all, your CRM is the nonprofit database that stores all essential contact information, engagement data, and fundraising analytics. 

Once you’ve chosen your CRM software, you’ll want to make the most of the tools it provides. At Lumaverse, we’ve seen how a nonprofit’s donor database is used to efficiently engage members, volunteers, and donors to inspire action. Based on our direct experience with mission-based organizations, we’ve put together a guide to help nonprofit professionals make the most of their resources. Don’t strategize your efforts based on assumption; instead, use the data you already have.

Here’s how you can accomplish this with a few easy considerations:

  • Make sense of your data.
  • Contact your supporter base effectively.
  • Optimize your pre-existing software. 
  • Develop stronger donor relationships.

With these essential items in mind, you’ll get the most out of your CRM software investment. Let’s jump in!

Make sense of your data.

If your database contains a sizable amount of supporter data to sift through, consider a CRM that offers machine learning capabilities so you can make the most sense of your data. This way, you’re able to pull insights and put them into action for various growth strategies. 

You can make the most of your fundraising CRM information by walking through the donor’s journey and using the data to help identify major donor prospects. Let’s take a closer look at each of those.

Look into your donor’s journey.

When thinking through your average donor’s giving journey, your data tells a story. First, your donor will initiate contact with your organization online. This can be through your website, social media, or even an email. In terms of physical outreach, be sure you’re keeping track of which direct mail recipients are seeking out your online presence.

After they interact with your site or social media profiles, they’ll choose whether or not they’ll donate. You’ll be able to use your data to see where they navigate when deciding their next move. Use this information to consider which touchpoints are crucial during this process for your donors.

Finally, analyze how they are giving. Are potential donors using your online payment tool or choosing to mail in their donation envelope after finding out more information from your site?

Understanding where your donors stand at each step of the journey is crucial. At the very least, you’ll be able to track their time spent and navigation from when they first interact with your organization to when they donate or not.

Identify potential major donors.

A crucial aspect of your CRM is making inferences based on your donors’ giving history data. Your team can take into account all of the contributions made to your cause by donor profiles. This way, you’re able to ask for different donation amounts based on what they’re most likely to give. In terms of fundraising, this helps you:

  • Avoid missing out on funds by making a larger ask.
  • Not overwhelm donors with big asks when they’re more likely to contribute smaller amounts.
  • Increase your donor conversion rates overall.

Your outreach strategies will take on more personalized approaches by acknowledging the critical differences in your donor network. Not only will you get the most out of your asks, but you’re also likely to discover prospective major donors you didn’t realize existed, which can make a significant impact on your fundraising! After all, around 88% of all nonprofit funds come from about 12% of donors, those being your major donors.

By taking the time to understand the data you’ve worked hard to capture, your outreach and fundraising efforts will be smarter than ever before.  

Contact your supporter base effectively.

As we mentioned above, your data gives your team insight into your network’s outreach preferences. The information you retain in your CRM gives you details that can be leveraged when refining your communication strategy. If you feel like you can’t draw enough conclusions from your data, be sure to ask the right questions on your donation and volunteer forms or surveys in the future, such as:

  • How they prefer to be contacted.
  • Which outreach efforts have led to their contributions.
  • How they like to give: by donating, volunteering, etc.

Imagine your team needs to ask supporters to spend their time helping out at your next walkathon. You’ll want to sift through your CRM to find contacts who have previously worked with your organization at your past events. Whether they participated or volunteered, it’s your best bet for finding the right people to help. 

Then, you’ll take this segment of people and determine which prefer direct mail appeals over digital outreach. This practice can help increase your outreach ROI and help you contact the right people at the right time.

Optimize your pre-existing software. 

Consider how your nonprofit database software works with the rest of your tech stack for optimal results. When you initially choose your software, it should seamlessly integrate with the other tools your nonprofit already uses. Consider whether your team already uses the following software, and check to make sure they work well with your CRM to optimize your efforts all around:

  • Fundraising software- Because one of your main goals is to optimize your fundraising, you want a CRM that captures data from your fundraising software. Be sure the one you choose tactfully organizes your data and is easily accessible.
  • Volunteer management- Be sure to capture your volunteers’ information and sync it with your CRM so you can make inferences such as those mentioned above. Use these contacts for your future fundraising efforts.
  • Event registration tools- Those who attend your events, in the physical or digital setting, have exposure to your efforts and already care enough to learn about your mission. Be sure your CRM captures the information of those who register to participate in any type of event you host.
  • Outreach technology- Your communications are a massive part of your success as an organization. Ensure that your CRM works well with the programs you’re using to reach supporters. This can include direct mail, social media, email blasts, newsletters, and more. Again, if these two tools integrate seamlessly, your team can eventually automate your communications based on recipient engagement data.

When you’ve connected your existing software with your CRM, you can easily collect data and make inferences accordingly. To accomplish this, all you have to do is assess your existing software and find the right CRM for your organization.

Develop stronger donor relationships.

Finally, your nonprofit CRM can strengthen your donor relationships, which are the most crucial connections your organization has. While your supporters are already backing your cause, you can use your donor data to take your relationships to the next level. This is especially crucial during times when your organization can’t engage with them face-to-face.

It may seem overwhelming at first to leverage data when reaching out to each of your supporters. Still, there are a few best practices to consider when using your CRM data to strengthen your donor relationships. Here are a few tips to get started:

  • Offer support during trying times. We’ve seen giving fluctuate during COVID-19 as the economy stabilizes throughout the changes. Because we experience trying times so often, be sure to show donors that you care about their well-being. This outreach is crucial to deepening your relationships with them and conveying genuine gratitude. To illustrate further appreciation for your donors and what they may be going through, check out Lumaverse’s effective volunteer appreciation ideas. 
  • Provide them with opportunities to get involved. Getting your supporters engaged with your efforts of all kinds develops healthy and multifaceted relationships. Encourage them to interact with your organization further by inviting them to events, providing volunteer opportunities, and hosting webinars where you talk about your work.

Giving your supporters more ways to get involved just furthers your relationship with them. The more they contribute their time and money, the more they resonate with your mission and want to see it succeed.

  • Initiate conversation with your donors. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your donors via text, email, or phone call. Merely opening the door to having a conversation with your supporters helps them feel connected and heard. In this outreach, you can ask about their experiences with your organization, talk about events, or ask how they’re doing. Be sure to use information from your CRM for talking points.
  • Ask them for their input. Donors can give your team a fresh perspective on how you’re doing as an organization. After all, they support your cause because they care about your work. Be sure to ask for your supporters’ opinions to improve your events, outreach, and everything in between. This is effective for strengthening your relationships with donors because they’re able to have a say.
  • Thank your donors. Most importantly, thank your supporters. They’re the reason why your organization can achieve its goals and drive your mission forward. For ideas about how to show your appreciation, explore this comprehensive guide, which dives into several suggestions that’ll help you overcome the distance. Just make sure the approach you take aligns with your donors’ preferences by double-checking their data in your CRM.

However, you engage donors, be sure to use information from your CRM to personalize your communications. Then, follow up and update their donor profile with how they interact with your outreach of any kind. You’ll be able to build out donor profiles with information about input, engagements, and interests. Being intentional about your data organization will ultimately guide your organization toward more meaningful relationships that will last. 

There are a multitude of ways your CRM can benefit your organization. When used effectively, the information that your database houses can lead to a more substantial support base, and above all, it can guide your outreach and fundraising efforts so that you are strategizing based on hard data versus assumptions. 

Now that you know how to leverage your CRM for good, put your data to use and optimize your nonprofit’s strategies. Good luck!

About the Author: Mike Barros

Mike Barros is the President and CEO of Lumaverse Technologies. Before joining the Lumaverse, Mike was the President of Education Brands at Community Brands, the CEO of Diamond Mind, and the Chief Revenue Officer at JackBe. He resides in the DC-Metro area. 

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How to Create Effective Virtual Volunteer Training Courses

Guest Blogger

 When you think of volunteer training, you may think of printed handouts, PowerPoint slides, and a litany of procedures and regulations. While the exact nature of each volunteer onboarding program depends on the work of the nonprofit and the tasks at hand, this kind of training can get a bad rap for being tedious. 

This is true even when the information shared is critical for effective, organized, and safe volunteer labor. Plus, on top of the responsibility-related details, you also want new volunteers to understand the mission of your organization and how the work they’re doing makes a tangible difference. This is a tall order for “normal” times, let alone in the circumstances of 2021. How can your nonprofit accomplish all of these goals in an engaging way even when the volunteer landscape has been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Many organizations have had to close their doors to volunteers completely or drastically cut down on the number of individuals who are able to serve. For volunteers who are over the age of 65 or have underlying medical conditions, even socially-distanced involvement opportunities are not safe or feasible.

When possible, many nonprofits have implemented new virtual volunteer programs so that supporters can contribute from the comfort of their own homes. But with a new type of volunteering comes a new need for virtual training materials that help supporters understand and retain essential information. 

At Skyepack, we design engaging digital course materials for organizations and educators who want to create the best experience possible for their learners. To help you optimize your virtual volunteer training program, we’ve compiled a few key strategies: 

  1. Consider the goals of your volunteer training program.
  2. Analyze differences between in-person and virtual training.
  3. Choose an engaging course delivery platform.
  4. Iterate and improve the course over time.

Your volunteers are essential to the progress and productivity of your organization. Make sure they have the tools and knowledge they need to succeed—even virtually—by offering a training program catered to their needs. 

Consider the goals of your volunteer training program.

Broadly, the goal of your training program is to empower new volunteers to contribute effectively to your organization. On the most basic level, you want each individual to be equipped to fulfill their responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed or confused. However, you should also consider how your training program can support the long-term sustainability of your organization.

Volunteer onboarding is the first step in what will hopefully be a long relationship with each volunteer. In order to build that foundation, you need to start off with a good first impression. After all, if you invest in engagement from the start, you’ll have more commitment from volunteers and ultimately, higher retention rates.

To design a volunteer training program that will drive long-term support, you need to carefully tailor the course to the needs of your volunteers and your organization. As you analyze the overall goals of your volunteer training program, keep the following questions in mind:

  • Is it one-time or ongoing? Consider whether the training program is exclusively part of the onboarding process or whether it is a resource volunteers will continue to find valuable over time.
  • What information do you need to include? Be sure to cover a brief history of your organization and mission as well as the details of the volunteer responsibilities.
  • How long should the course take? The length of the course will vary depending on the skill of the volunteer work—individuals training to quality test audiobooks will need more training than people in a nursing home pen pal program.
  • Will all volunteers complete the course in its entirety? Assess whether there are skills, procedures, or concepts that will only be applicable to a certain group.

This list is not exhaustive and won’t cover the specifics of every organization, but it should jump-start your thinking about which needs you must address.

Finally, don’t limit yourself to a one-size-fits-all approach. You may consider having separate sections of the course for new and returning volunteers. For longtime volunteers, be sure to include any updates that are virtual-specific as well as general information about hours tracking, sign-ups, and corporate volunteer grant programs.

Analyze differences between in-person and virtual training.

The foundation of your virtual volunteer training course will be similar to what you covered in person. After all, the core of your mission and your organization hasn’t changed! 

However, you must also consider how to reframe your volunteer experience for the virtual world. This applies both to the volunteer activities themselves and to the training program. 

For the volunteer tasks, take into account the changes you’ve made since you pivoted to the virtual sphere. Be sure to update any training documents that are only relevant to in-person volunteering. 

A course design specialist can help you update existing material, curate new high-quality resources from external sources, and create new documentation where needed. For instance, if you’re adopting a new tech platform to handle remote volunteer activities, you may need a walk-through of the specific processes each individual will need to know.

From an educational perspective, you’ll also need to consider how volunteers will be able to address questions that arise. While an online course is a powerful tool for instruction, it can be more challenging to detect misunderstandings and confusion when volunteers aren’t in the room together. You’ll want to create a way for volunteers to connect with each other virtually in order to foster a sense of community and provide a space for questions. A private Facebook group can work well to meet this need.

Choose an engaging course delivery platform.

As you determine which training course platform to add to your nonprofit’s tech stack, be sure to look for a service that is tuned in to the rapidly-evolving nature of digital course materials. 

With the increased prevalence of online learning, there are many hot topics in the world of instructional design trends. Course designers and instructors are finding new ways to use technology to facilitate effective learning experiences even outside of a traditional classroom.

While not every trend will make sense in  the context of volunteer training, you should consider implementing innovations such as:

  • Mobile learning. More and more web traffic originates from smartphones, so your training course should be mobile-friendly. Then, volunteers will have convenient access to key information while on the go.
  • Interactive learning. Make sure your course offers interactive elements like quizzes, drag and drop activities, and comprehension questions.
  • Social learning. Collaboration and discussion can enhance the learning experience and allow volunteers to immerse themselves more deeply in the content.
  • Video. Today’s online courses use a variety of multimedia content, but in our streaming-focused society, video is one of the biggest players to consider.

These features will ensure volunteers can engage and interact with your content rather than simply skimming through the material. Your volunteers likely process information in different ways—such as through sight, sound, practice, or interaction. Offering a variety of content delivery and engagement options will increase the efficacy of the training. 

Iterate and improve the course over time.

To engage and retain volunteers, they need to feel recognized, listened to, and empowered to make a difference. As a volunteer coordinator, you know these elements are key indicators for whether a volunteer will return time and time again. To keep volunteers coming back, Lumaverse’s guide to volunteer appreciation recommends stewarding your volunteers with just as much effort and intention as you would your donors. Part of this gratitude and appreciation should involve asking your volunteers for honest feedback about their experiences volunteering with your organization. 

Among other volunteer management areas to gather input on, be sure to include your training program in any survey you send out. Collect qualitative feedback on which parts of your course are most effective (and which could use some work), as well as which elements volunteers found the most engaging and entertaining. You should consider both the format and content of the course to get a comprehensive picture.  

You also may be able to gather quantitative data from your course delivery platform to see which topics were the most challenging, or which activities seemed most effective. Taken together, these data sets will help you make improvements for the next cohort of volunteers going through training.

With this in mind, it’s best to follow a course development process that isn’t a one-and-done approach. By following a cyclical framework like Skyepack’s Agile instructional design model, you can prioritize the needs of your volunteers at every stage of the process, even after the course is launched. 

Soon, we’ll be able to resume in-person volunteer activities like sorting donations, serving food, and building homes. In the meantime, virtual volunteering can still enable your supporters to give back and engage with your organization. 

To make these virtual opportunities as effective as possible, be sure to equip volunteers with an interactive and informative training program. A positive onboarding experience will pave the way towards a long and mutually beneficial volunteer engagement.

About the Author: Brady Kalb, CEO

Brady is a “reformed engineer turned entrepreneur”. After engineering gigs at two Fortune 100 companies, Brady left the corporate world to pursue a business degree and seek out new challenges. Brady’s passion for education stems from his desire to “always be learning” and find innovative solutions to difficult problems. Brady enjoys family outings to the park, explaining the answers of “Life, the Universe, and Everything” to his daughters, and reading just about anything (favorites are classics, popular fiction, and biographies).

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4 Important Donor Data Practices to Bring into 2021

Guest Blogger

This past year has shaken up the efforts of even the most experienced fundraisers. No one could have expected a global pandemic and the resulting mass social distancing guidelines, let alone their effect on how nonprofits connect with supporters and solicit donations. 

With most face-to-face interactions paused, nonprofit leaders had to modernize their fundraising efforts and communicate with supporters in creative digital ways. Virtual events have now become the norm, and there’s been a major shift of organizations moving to remote work. 

Because of digital advancements like these, nonprofits also saw an increased dependence on management tools and communication tech, as well as the data they produce and collect. As we prepare for 2021, it’s important to remember this: Taking a data-based approach is invaluable and is the best way for nonprofits to reach their supporters in meaningful ways and further their fundraising goals.

Using data to back up your nonprofit strategies and donor engagements has been a reliable method of growing organizations for a while now. Since most of your nonprofit engagements are currently limited to digital communications and other virtual tools, you likely have more data available to you than ever before. 

This guide will walk you through some of the most important donor data practices you should follow, especially as you head into this new year. You’ll be exploring the following tips:

  1. Ensure your donation forms collect key information.
  2. Use your donor data to create targeted marketing content.
  3. Regularly analyze your donor data.
  4. Take necessary steps to protect your donor data.

Donor data is valuable when the methods to obtain it are organized and accurate. This will likely rely on the tools you use, so investing in a dependable online donation tool and nonprofit payment processor is key. Ready to learn more? Let’s begin.

1. Ensure your donation forms collect key information.

To build an arsenal of rich and valuable donor data, you will need a donation form that asks for that information. This seems like a basic tip, but ensuring your donation forms are optimized and collecting the right information is the first step to getting your donor data in tip-top shape. 

The donor data that your organization considers relevant will depend on your unique mission, goals, and engagements. For instance, if your organization often hosts ticketed events, a relevant field that you’ll want to include is ticket amount and ticket type. In general, the key information you want your donation form to collect will include:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Email address/Phone number
  • Donation amount
  • Payment information

Pulled from iATS Payments guide to donation form best practices, here’s an example form that asks for the essentials:

Make sure your online donation form is integrated with your donor database. This way, all of your critical supporter information is directed to centralized and comprehensive donor profiles. Having an integrated nonprofit tech solution is crucial for many reasons, especially to ensure that your data is accurate and can be used for any engagement, like in your marketing efforts.

2. Use your donor data to create targeted marketing.

Now that your donation form is collecting the right donor data, let’s discuss how you can use it. A best practice that you should definitely continue in 2021 is using donor data to create targeted marketing campaigns and content. 

According to AccuData’s data marketing guide, “the main benefit of data marketing is the specificity the strategy offers, improving your ROI and the overall success of campaigns.” In simple terms, using data to inform your marketing strategy allows you to focus on high potential supporters as well as create content that is most likely to increase engagement. But how do you do so?

First, look at your donor and fundraising database. Take note of any key spikes in engagement and if a particular marketing campaign caused it. This gives you a clear idea of successful past strategies and what might work again. 

You can also use your donor data to learn more about your nonprofit audience. For instance, see if there are any common metrics that your donors share. This could be something like age, location, past engagement type, and more. Then, segment your supporters by these common metrics and create personas for them. This gives you a concrete “target” for any marketing strategies and content that you create. 

Let’s use an example: Segment your major donors in your nonprofit database. You might define these supporters as those that donate over $10,000 each year. These individuals respond most positively to personal phone calls and hand-written letters. Using this persona information, draft targeted messages and main points to cover during phone conversations,

This targeted information along with a fundraising appeal will inspire the supporter to give again more so than a generalized email asking for a gift. This way, the recipient is reminded of how much their previous contribution was valued, enticing them to be a part of this high-impact group and give again.

3. Regularly analyze your donor data.

A huge benefit of collecting donor data is its ability to help you improve future processes and optimize nonprofit strategies. That’s why it’s essential that you regularly analyze your donor data. 

Using your donor database, compile key reports on relevant metrics and fundraising data in order to track a campaign’s process. This might depend on the type of database you use, but many of them will compile these types of reports for you. For instance, after your organization hosts an event, you should compile reports and analyze key data points from it. Include metrics like many attendees there are, how many of those attendees made an additional gift, and so on. 

A good practice to keep is compiling a nonprofit annual report. Not only should you compile data for your team to analyze, but pulling key information into an annual report allows you to distribute insights to your supporters as well. This will summarize your organization’s progress for the year and present it in a visually pleasing and digestible format for supporters and other stakeholders of your mission. This shows them your progress, as well as the goals that you will tackle in the new year.

4. Take necessary steps to protect your donor data.

As your nonprofit expands and takes on additional software solutions, you are able to collect more information through online interactions with supporters. However, this increased transfer of information could also increase your vulnerability to hackers and fraud if you’re not careful.

When someone gives to your organization, they’re submitting sensitive information and financial details all in the name of supporting your cause. They’re putting a lot of trust in your organization. Show that you value this trust and work to keep it by taking the necessary steps to protect donor data. 

The top area of concern is likely your online payment tool. It’s critical that you invest in a payment processor that:

  • Is PCI compliant
  • Has data portability
  • Offers 24/7 security assistance
  • Has experience with nonprofits

Along with the above, your payment provider should incorporate additional fraud protection tools. Taking some insight from this article on online fraud protection for nonprofits, some common fraud protection tools are an address verification system (AVS), bank identification number (BIN) blocking, and a card verification code requirement (CVV2).

Wrapping Up

Donor data is a valuable resource that all nonprofits and fundraisers should be taking advantage of. Not only does it make your tools and internal processes more efficient and streamlined, but it can also definitely aid your fundraising efforts and donor engagement strategies. As you compile additional donor data, make sure you’re keeping it safe so that you maintain the trust of your supporters and can continue growing, especially as we head into a new year. Good luck!

About the Author: Matt Dunne

Driven by his desire to support numerous charitable causes in his home country of Ireland, Matt joined the iATS Payments Team in March 2016 to leverage his entrepreneurial experience in support of the non-profit industry. He empowers partner organizations to provide impartial, accurate and valuable payments information and knowledge to the Nonprofit community.

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