nonprofit solutions

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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2020 In Review: Looking Back & Looking Ahead

Isabel Reed

So that’s it, that’s a wrap on 2020.

This year was unexpected to say the least. The world was met with challenges and turbulence that tested our strength, perseverance, and community bonds. Looking back on this year with reflection, we’d like to shed one small light on things that went well and moments that gave us spirit.

You Rose to the Challenge

In 2020, we watched organizations extend their budgets, services, and/or of-the-moment missions to take care of their communities. Even while events were cancelled and volunteers were temporarily asked to stay home, organization leaders continued working toward the health and safety of their communities.

Facilities turned into food delivery pick up points and screening centers. Virtual volunteering opportunities quickly scaled to a “new normal”, as we all found ways to put ourselves and our resources to good use.

It was an honor to work with you all this year.

Strides Forward Together

Just a few months into the year, the team at VolunteerLocal began following your lead. We retired our preconceived plans for the year and leaned in to honest conversations with clients like you.

As needs changed in 2020, you told us exactly how. New feature requests surged this year as events rescheduled and nonprofit programs reassessed their needs and impacts.

As a result, new features were quickly introduced to our development road map, including: postponed event settings, no-contact check in, volunteer self-reported hours, volunteer qualifications, COVID-19 notices, and more.

We’re committed to continue rising to the occasion with you, building the technology you need to do your job well.

– Postponed event settings: Whether your event/program has been cancelled or rescheduled, VolunteerLocal can help you navigate those changes.

If volunteers were already registered for shifts prior to cancelling or rescheduling, head over to: Events -> Your Events -> Event Detail. Scroll to “Volunteer Profile Options”. Enter any text you like to the textbox, in order to inform and remind volunteers of the news. Finally, uncheck the box labeled “Display shift detail and demographic information on the volunteer profile page”. That way, volunteers will no longer see the shifts they had been registered for, so you do not need to remove each volunteer from each shift.

When you’re ready to launch your rescheduled event, setup will be speedy. Simply copy your old event, scheduling it for the new date. You’ll have the option to copy over as many or few details as you like: jobs, shifts, volunteers, confirmation settings, etc.

– No-contact check-in: Keep volunteers busy, track their hours, and avoid contact with shared surfaces.

At the start of the year, VolunteerLocal introduced the Check-In Kiosk, which allows volunteers to quickly check themselves in and out on-site.

A few months into the year, we shared techniques to make that process contact-less. First and foremost, if you continue to use a check in kiosk on-site, we recommend disinfecting the surface after each use. As an alternative, you can share the Kiosk URL and code to allow volunteers to check in and out from their own devices. (Checking in and out is also possible by downloading the free mobile app.)

– Volunteer Self-Reported Hours: With virtual volunteering on the rise, volunteers may now report their hours via their volunteer profile, anywhere with internet connection.

On the volunteer profile, volunteers may self-report the job they performed, the date, and the hours worked. These self-reported hours are available for admins to review, edit, approve, or deny.

– Volunteer Qualifications: This feature ensures that only qualified volunteers are able to view and sign up for certain jobs. Volunteers without those qualifications would not be able to view or sign up for those jobs.

This feature can be used for a variety of purposes, even regardless of the pandemic. However, we began to see organizations using this feature creatively, as a way to categorize volunteers into groups based on their COVID-19 risk factors. (For example: qualifying volunteers based on their age group.) This better protected volunteers from unknowingly signing up for jobs that would put them at higher risk of infection.

– COVID-19 Notices: As the months go on and COVID-19 familiarity (or fatigue) sets in, it is important to regularly remind volunteers of organization-wide safety protocols. As a result, we added a new option to the “Disclaimer” feature in VolunteerLocal.

Now, organizations can require volunteers to read and sign the COVID-19 notice every time they sign up for a shift. (Please note: we do not provide the content for this notice, as it will likely be different for each organization.)

The Year Ahead

Although there are likely more surprises in store for us in 2021, surely we will all face them with more readiness than before.

In regard to the technology you use to perform your daily jobs and duties, continue to consider VolunteerLocal as a partner in these efforts. Reach out to us anytime for support, solutioning, or even feature requests.

We’ve got exciting announcements in store for the year ahead, and we can’t wait to share them with you all. If you’d like to be one of the first to know, reach out to us anytime and we’ll add you and your colleagues to our newsletter.

Wishing a happy, healthy New Year from our team to yours. See you all in the New Year.

Warmly,

Isabel & VolunteerLocal Team

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4 Tools to Boost Your Next Crowdfunding Campaign

Lomesh Shah

In the midst of a global pandemic, it’s easy to get discouraged. Most of the world is stuck at home, and organizations are struggling to engage prospects and secure sufficient funding while keeping a safe social distance. Many donors are facing major economic hardship due to staff furloughs and for many nonprofits, the future is wildly uncertain.

If one thing’s for sure, it’s that nonprofits have to get creative if they want to keep serving their communities and successfully come out of the other side of this pandemic. After all, what sets successful nonprofit professionals apart is their determination in the face of adversity.

Crowdfunding is one of the most popular ways to reach today’s donors, and for good reason! These campaigns allow prospects to continue giving to your cause from the comfort of their own homes without putting their health at risk. Crowdfunding offers organizations like yours refuge in economically uncertain times, but only if you take the vital steps to set your campaign up for success.

As you ramp up planning for your next crowdfunding campaign, take every step possible to make the most of your fundraiser. Incorporate these four tools to take your efforts to the next level:

  1. An Effective Platform
  2. Photos and Videos
  3. Social Media
  4. Matching Gift Tools

It’s natural to feel hesitant about launching a fundraiser during the pandemic. After all, you don’t want to seem insensitive to supporters who may be facing tough financial circumstances right now. But crowdfunding can offer much-needed economic stability in challenging times. Many prospects are willing to step up to the plate; you just have to ask. 

Let’s dive into the top four tools that will help your crowdfunding campaign reach (and hopefully succeed!) its fundraising goals.

Crowdfunding Tool #1: An Effective Platform

A vital first step to any crowdfunding campaign is to select a platform. Otherwise, you won’t be able to share your story, promote the fundraiser, and collect supporters’ generous donations.

Not all fundraising platforms are created equal. If you want to maximize your revenue, you need to take the time to locate a crowdfunding website that suits your organization’s needs and is backed by sufficient tools. As you explore your options, encourage your team to keep an eye peeled for these core features:

  • Customization and visual appeal. Ensure your platform enables you to add your personal story and customize the visual appearance of your crowdfunding page. You should be able to incorporate your nonprofit’s color scheme, logo, and other familiar branding elements in order to make your campaign appear trustworthy to donors.
  • Mobile accessibility. Setting your campaign up for success means making it available to as many prospects as possible. With an ever-growing dependence on mobile technology, this means ensuring that your campaign is available on mobile devices. That way, anyone can absorb your story and donate when motivation strikes — no matter if they’re using a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
  • Secure payment processing. Ensure your platform comes equipped with safe payment processing tools. Otherwise, you risk deterring donors if the platform appears untrustworthy. You should be able to access your account and immediately accept donations. Be wary of how long the processing period is as well. Ideally, you should be able to withdraw donations within a week.

While there are plenty of features that can increase success, these three serve as a fantastic foundation for kickstarting your search. Once you’re equipped with a sufficient platform, you’ll be able to move forward with planning and executing your campaign.

Crowdfunding Tool #2: Photos and Videos

Multimedia has the power to supercharge your crowdfunding campaigns by helping prospects connect to your cause. In fact, research has found that campaigns with personal videos raise 105% more than those without them. This is because it adds a relatable face to your cause and keeps users on your campaign page for longer, ultimately leading them to donate. 

Effective videos and images get prospects invested in your campaign because they can physically see what they’re financing, rather than just reading about their potential impact. 

When creating your promotional materials, develop high-quality images and videos that resonate with prospects by keeping these two tips in mind:

  • Tell a story. Images and videos put your organization in a unique position to tell its story beyond what words can. Visual storytelling has the power to connect with prospects on an emotional level and motivate them to donate, so put a face to your campaign by sharing videos and pictures from your staff, board members, volunteers, and those impacted by your work.
  • Get the video length right. Go for short and impactful. As a general rule of thumb, keep your videos around 2.5 to 3 minutes. With short attention spans and plenty of other information to distract users, people tend to lose attentiveness and click away, so this provides enough time to get your message across without losing their interest. 

Fundly’s guide to crowdfunding explains that a crowdfunding campaign can’t survive on just words alone. You should create a schedule and post an image or video to social media and other marketing outlets either once a week or every few days. 

Making consistent, repeated asks in a multimedia manner helps to bring your cause to life, which can push prospects who are on the fence toward donating to your cause. Take sufficient time selecting emotionally-charged photos and creating impactful videos that accurately depict your cause. In the end, this extra effort will show in your campaign results.

Crowdfunding Tool #3: Social Media

Social media’s impact on the nonprofit community is undeniable, and crowdfunding is a prime example of its potential. In fact, the majority of crowdfunding donations tend to come from social platforms like Facebook and Twitter, so you’ll need to take the time to develop a comprehensive social media strategy in order to connect with your younger generation of supporters.

As described in Crowd101’s guide to crowdfunding, you can harness the power of social media by incorporating the following tips:

  • Embed your campaign directly onto your social media posts. The more convenient it is to donate, the more donations your campaign will receive. Embedding your campaign simplifies the donation process for anyone who stumbles across your profiles, so ensure your platform offers integrations like this.
  • Update multiple social media pages. Sharing your campaign across multiple platforms increases its visibility. While it’s time-consuming to send social media blasts manually, some platforms empower you to automatically update every platform at once or schedule posts for the future.

What’s more, you should encourage followers to share your campaign online, even if they’re unable to donate themselves. Social shares ultimately expand your crowdfunding campaign’s visibility by getting it in front of more prospects. Plus, this allows those who are unable to give to contribute to your campaign and feel like they’re making a difference.

Overall, you’ll want to develop your social media strategy and solidify a schedule before launching your campaign so you know exactly what needs to be posted and when. In turn, you’ll maximize your social impressions and donations.

Crowdfunding Tool #4: Matching Gift Tools

For nonprofits, matching gifts represent an incredible source of untapped potential. In fact, matching gift research indicates that 84% of donors are more likely to donate if their employer offers one of these programs. Plus, 1 in 3 surveyed donors indicates a propensity to make a larger gift if matching will be applied. 

In other words, these programs have the power to substantially boost your fundraising efforts, so long as you take the time to effectively promote them.

That being said, it’s a smart move to incorporate matching gifts into your campaign materials. First, iterate the availability of these programs, spelling out what they are and how they work. Then, take it a step further by telling them how to research their eligibility. Your best bet is to share access to a matching gift database where they can easily type in their employers’ names and be greeted with all available information regarding their program (e.g. eligibility requirements, forms, etc.).

Be sure to share this information in your announcement posts and your follow-up messaging to make as many people aware as possible. When donors have the potential to multiply their contributions without reaching back into their pockets, they’re very likely to do so. By making donors aware of these opportunities, you’ll increase the chance that you’ll get this bonus funding from your supporters (and maybe some initial donations that you wouldn’t otherwise receive).

So long as you devote sufficient time and effort, crowdfunding campaigns have the potential to substantially increase your funds and maximize your reach online. Not only do these campaigns enable you to engage your community in times of crisis, but they’re also highly effective for reaching larger audiences under normal circumstances.

In any case, make sure you start with an effective crowdfunding platform that prioritizes the donor experience and makes it easy to fully customize your campaign. Then, expand your efforts to adhere to best practices, such as incorporating multimedia, sharing your campaign on social media, and promoting matching gifts. In turn, you’ll create a highly-impactful campaign that stands out to supporters and garners donations. Good luck! 

About the Author: Lomesh Shah

As CEO of Fundly, Lomesh spends much of his time immersed in the nonprofit industry both as an industry leader, speaker, and in service to several organizations as a board member and volunteer. Outside of the industry, Lomesh is a technology junkie and will give anyone willing to listen an assessment of the latest trends in anything from espresso makers and mobile gadgets to electric cars and wind power.

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Remembering the Big Picture

Linh Ta

From the VolunteerLocal archives, an article in the spirit of raising spirits 🙂

As a volunteer coordinator, you’re juggling what feels like a million different tasks.

Your mind might be racing because you didn’t order enough t-shirts. Someone just told you they’ve got a food allergy and you’ll need to adjust the lunch menu. One of your volunteers just cancelled with less than 24-hours notice. With all of the things you’re working on, it’s easy to get preoccupied with the little details.

Take a breath.

Remember why you’re doing this important work.

At the end of the day, all of this energy is dedicated to making a difference in your community, in sometimes small and large ways. In this moment of desperation, I like to read quotes from leaders I admire, who navigated the weeds long enough to make change, and do good. I’ve transcribed a few of my favorites below. Enjoy.

“Do small things with great love.” -Mother Theresa

It’s easy to feel insignificant when there’s a mountain of work in front of you. But every task, every errand, every call you’re making is contributing to this cause. It’s important to remember that even those mundane tasks are critical to the long-term outcome that everyone on your team is working hard to realize. Each step you take, no matter how small, is a step forward for your community. 

You may not be the only one feeling overwhelmed – some of your volunteers may also be feeling the drain, too. The clean-up crew are wondering whether their work matters. Those taking drinks tickets are gazing at the long-line before them and thinking, what’s all this for?

Everything adds up, particularly the things we put care and love into. Let your volunteers know that whatever task they’re doing, it’s making an impact. Every individual contributes in a significant way towards increasing awareness, raising funds, bringing people together and making our cities and towns more cultural, vibrant and fun.

“To move forward you have to give back.” -Oprah Winfrey

Giving your time helps others, and it helps you. It’s easy to give our money, or donate our old belongings to a local thrift store – but to give our time? Our effort, hard work and (l)earned skills? These opportunities to give that part of ourselves enables us to connect with others and the mission. We can grow in meaningful ways.

“A lion chased me up a tree and I greatly enjoyed the view from the top.” -Confuscius

It’s that time of night when the spreadsheet in front of you is starting to blur. You have a giant detailed list of seemingly endless things to do. You’re tired, exasperated and just over it.

Step away from the glow of your computer screen and remember the big picture. There will always be challenges before you, and opportunities to overcome them, individually or with the collaboration of those you trust and can depend on to help see you through. If you find yourself at the top of that tree, take a look around. The view is unbelievable. 

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