How Nonprofits Can Raise More Money: 6 Trends To Watch

1. MOBILE MATTERS

We’ve been saying it for years, and it’s truer now more than ever — everything you do with fundraising and donor engagement needs to be oriented towards the mobile experience. Simply put, it’s time to fix your emails, website pages, videos, donation pages, and anything you do online so that it can be done on a small screen. There is a direct correlation between donor engagement and mobile responsiveness, especially in situations where you’re creating urgency and rapid response.

2. MONTHLY GIVING HAS EMERGED

Studies that I have seen recently from Blackbaud and Classy, which track giving trends over thousands of nonprofits, show that monthly giving is now the fastest growing segment of giving. For many donors, it’s easier to make a gift if it can be spread out across twelve months of the year. Donors who make monthly gifts are more likely to support your organization for a longer period of time.

If you don’t currently have a monthly giving program, it’s time to get started. Or maybe your current program needs some retooling.

3. GROWING YOUR LIST IS YOUR DONOR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY

There has never been a better time to engage supporters and grow your list. Cultural, social, and political issues are exploding in the Trump era. This is the perfect time to focus on signing people up via email, social media, and any other channels at your disposal. Create an “acquisition team” to sharpen your efforts at list building.

4. INVEST IN SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media continues to be a fertile ground for nonprofit fundraising and engagement. Even though many nonprofits haven’t seen direct evidence of fundraising response, social platforms can help build visibility and engagement with donors, fans, and volunteers.

5. FOCUS ON FACEBOOK

Facebook has emerged as a critical tool for nonprofits to grow their donor engagement. Take advantage of Facebook Live to create visibility for your cause. If you have videos, this is the platform to post them on for maximum sharing. Experiment with Custom Audience advertising campaigns, which allow you to direct ads to your donors with email addresses.

6. USE PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISING AND CROWDFUNDING

Asking your supporters and volunteers to raise money from their friends and family is the oldest fundraising tradition. It continues to grow in size and sophistication, especially as digital platforms mature.