“How do we get more donors?” is a question every nonprofit asks at some point. And for good reason. Research shows that individuals are the most important funding source for organizations, accounting for almost 70% of total contributions. But growing and engaging your donor base isn’t an effortless process. Most nonprofits use a combination of in-person events, physical outreach, and some form of digital presence to attract and build relationships with supporters. While these investments may work, organizations quickly realize the time and attention needed is unsustainable and engagement is less than desired.

In order to get off the fundraising hamster wheel, organizations should instead design repeatable marketing campaigns built on content that is valuable to potential donors, delivered through targeted digital campaigns and reinforced with ongoing communications to form lasting relationships.

To get started, let’s first discuss how to approach your marketing efforts, making sure they are donor-centric. 

Marketing Efforts Should Give First, Ask Second 

Effective marketing is about building relationships not spurring transactions. While getting new donations may be the ultimate goal, your marketing efforts should focus on starting a conversation with potential donors about what you do and why they should care. To start a relationship off on the right foot, remember it is always better to give than receive. When nonprofits shift their focus to serving rather than soliciting their donor base, it becomes easier to attract like-minded supporters and build lasting relationships.

Thankfully, providing something of value to potential donors doesn’t have to be complicated.  

3 Simple Steps to To Attract Donors Through Digital Content

A repeatable digital donor growth campaign rests on three key activities:

1. Creating a valuable resource for a community that aligns with your mission
2. Getting the resource into donors’ hands
3. Converting these new relationships into lasting support

Let’s explore each in more detail with a few examples of how nonprofits can put these into action.

1. Create the “Right” Lead Magnet

A digital resource that attracts new donors needs to have two elements to be authentic and succeed:

• Donor’s need or want it 
• Your nonprofit’s unique expertise and experience 

The overlap of these two elements creates a zone for donor multiplication where sympathetic supporters are naturally drawn toward helping your mission.

Source

To assess what your donors desire, you can map out a persona or identity or run a survey on your existing network and ask questions like:

• What topics would you like to learn more about?
• What problems are you facing that we can help you solve?
• What content would you be interested in subscribing to?

Additionally, tools like Google’s Keyword Planner can help confirm that there is demand for a particular topic.

On the other side, your nonprofit’s areas of expertise should be based on your mission statement and core beliefs about how to help your community.

The kind of information you decide to share can also help determine what format (for example, eBook, Quiz, or online course) makes the most sense for your situation.

To bring this to life, consider a few examples of nonprofits using this framework perfectly:

• A Recipe eBook for Jewish Holidays created by a Jewish foodbank
• An Online Safety Guide for Teens and Adults with Autism created by an Autism research center
• A Wildlife Quiz created by a nature conservation organization

All of these resources serve an audience that is naturally interested in the mission of each organization in order to start a conversation.These resources are evergreen, meaning they can be used over and over again.

2. Get the Content Into Donors’ Hands

Now that you’ve created an intriguing resource worthy of your donors’ attention, it’s time to make sure they see it!

Here is where digital advertising campaigns come into play.

While this can’t address every marketing channel or tactic your nonprofit might use, here are two options that work well for promoting lead magnets:

1. Google or Bing search ads: This is a good channel for nonprofits to consider especially if they take advantage of Google’s grant program or Microsoft’s Social Impact program to receive free advertising dollars.
2. Facebook lead ads: Lead ads are another great option because users don’t have to leave the platform to go to your website. This increases conversion and allows Facebook to track data and retarget similar donors.

Of course, if visitors are going to visit your website to download a resource, it helps to have a well-designed landing page. A good landing page conveys the value of your resource and convinces visitors to trade an email address in exchange for the information. Your relationship is starting!

3. Build Long-term Relationships

At this point in the subscriber-to-donor journey, we’ve started a conversation that we now need to nurture.

Delivering your resource shouldn’t be the end of the interaction, it should only be the beginning. Nonprofits can efficiently build long-term relationships with their community over email with targeted welcome series and ongoing drip campaigns. Email allows you to continue to serve your audience with more content over time and introduce your organization and its purpose more deeply.

As you share stories of change and create a clear vision of what your organization hopes to achieve, subscribers are likely to turn into lasting donors.

The Power of Digital Content: Scale

Serving rather than soliciting an audience is the better way to grow a sustainable donor base. And creating digital resources is a simple way of accomplishing this goal.

However, digital has one more benefit worth underlining: scale. With digital content, your nonprofit only needs to make a one-time investment. As long as you create resources addressing topics that are relevant year-round, you’ve created an asset that can attract donors for years to come.

In summary, nonprofits can create scalable marketing campaigns using digital content promoted through targeted campaigns and communications to attract new donors and ultimately build lasting relationships.

The post Attracting New Donors With Content That Serves (And Scales) appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

In his latest book, best-selling author Seth Godin tackles the question “What makes a great job?” He approaches this question with curiosity, humanity, and a modern day socioeconomic landscape. And naturally, research. Godin polled more than 10,000 people from 90+ countries to get to the answer that served as the framework for his book “The Song of Significance – A New Manifesto for Teams.” Godin asks “what makes a great job?” The responses did not involve salary, autonomy or time investment; but rather a universal theme of making a difference. People want their jobs to be opportunities to make a difference. To do something with significance. And to be treated with dignity and respect.

Nonprofit professionals may find Godin’s latest book a manifesto for their life’s work because they are true “difference-makers.” But his book delves deeper into workplace culture, roles, expectations and work product. He proposes looking back to pre-industrial times, breaking it all down and building it up again…differently. Imagine what it would look like to create a place where everyone is contributing their best self, creating possibility, exceeding expectations and doing work of significance. What would change? And how would you change?

“The Song of Significance” tackles questions to reset how employees and supervisors view, approach, measure and define work. Seth Godin joins “The Intentional Fundraiser” podcast with Tammy Zonker on May 28th to discuss the launch of his new book. We invite you to listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen Now

– – –
The Intentional Fundraiser, A Fundraising Transformed Original, is a weekly podcast for fundraisers where Tammy Zonker shares fundraising insights, strategies, and inspiration.
Special guests share new, focused, highly relevant interviews about the trends, best practices, and questions that matter most right now.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / Amazon / RSS

The post Do You Find Significance in Your Work? And Workplace? appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

As a nonprofit, you work tirelessly to raise funds, and it’s important to ensure that every dollar raised goes towards your mission. 

The shift towards online fundraising has opened up a world of opportunities for nonprofits, allowing you to reach potential donors from anywhere and at any time. This transition has also brought new risks that nonprofits should be aware of. Donation processing poses a significant risk to your nonprofit organization, both in terms of reputation and finances.

We’ll discuss the potential risks associated with donation processing and provide proactive measures you can take to safeguard your nonprofit’s funds.

Understanding Payment Processor Risks

No one wants to think about the “What if”. We get it. But this doesn’t have to be a place of anxiety. Understanding the potential risks will help you know what to look for when considering how you can safely process your donations. 

Here are four key risks that your nonprofit should safeguard against:

• Fraud: Nonprofits can be vulnerable to fraudulent transactions, where an individual uses a stolen credit card or other fraudulent means to make a donation. Some payment processors take proactive measures to prevent fraudulent charges. This can be helpful for nonprofits who don’t have the time or funds to be monitoring for fraud. 
• Data breaches: Payment processors store sensitive donor information, such as credit card numbers, which can be a target for hackers. In the event of a data breach, nonprofits can be held liable for any resulting damages or legal actions. It’s important to consider the security of both your payments processor and other fundraising tools, like your donor database. 
• Fees: Payment processors typically charge fees for their services. However, when these fees are inconsistent or include chargebacks — this can eat into your nonprofits funds very quickly. 
• Downtime: When choosing a payment processor you should consider potential downtime incidents. If you are in the middle of your Giving Tuesday online fundraising marathon, you don’t want to worry about your payments processor not working. Talk to your payments processor and ask about how they prepare for high volume fundraising times. 

We understand that nonprofits work tirelessly to raise funds for their cause, and it’s important to protect those funds from all potential risks. 

In a recent cautionary tale, nonprofit organization Queens Together encountered a scam known as the “credit card test attack.” Unfortunately, fraudsters took advantage of their payment processing system and racked up over $5,500 in transaction fees.

By sharing this story, we hope to encourage nonprofits to prioritize the security of their payment processing systems, taking steps to choose a system that helps protect from fraudulent activities and ensuring their resources are utilized for their causes.

Is your payments processor actively protecting your nonprofit from fraud, chargeback feeds and downtime? If not, there is a solution that will — learn more about Bloomerang Payments. 

Ensuring Your Nonprofit Funds are Protected

We all know that offering a payment method that allows for online and in-person payments via different methods is essential for nonprofit organizations. 

It’s crucial to review payment processors carefully to ensure that they meet your organization’s needs and protect against potential risks. Below are a few questions you can ask your payments solution to ensure your nonprofit funds are protected. 

Questions to Ask Your Payments Processor

• How do you proactively protect against fraud? What are our responsibilities to protect against fraud versus yours? Is this included in our payment processing rate or an additional charge?
• How often can we set up deposits and is this flexible to meet the needs of our business?  How quickly are deposits added to our bank account?
• Do you cover chargeback fees or does our nonprofit absorb the cost?
• What is the total cost of using your payment processing solution, including all fees and charges?
• Do you prepare for key fundraising times in the year like Giving Tuesday to ensure no downtime?
• What types of payment options do you offer? (i.e. ACH, credit card, and in-person payment options)
• Are you PCI Compliant, ensuring donor data is securely stored and processed?
• Do you handle disputes or issues with transactions?
• How do you reconcile and track charges and can we do this within our existing CRM solution?
• Was your solution designed with nonprofits in mind? Will updates and future product releases include features that make fundraising easier?

You know the importance of safeguarding your funds and that starts by understanding and mitigating payment processor risks. 

We are here to help your nonprofit thrive, and if you are considering a payments solution that is committed to protecting your nonprofit from fraud, chargeback fees, and a consistent donation experience — learn more about Bloomerang Payments today!

The post Raise More, Worry Less: How to Safeguard Your Nonprofit’s Funds appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

“Hero” is an admirable quality that tends to be tossed around all too loosely. I enjoy watching sports as much as anyone, but I think it is a stretch to describe professional athletes as sports heroes. “Hero” is a word that should be restricted to those who are genuinely courageous in taking significant risks to benefit others without the rewards of money and fame. First responders and essential workers who gave us a measure of normalcy during the pandemic come immediately to mind. And so do the unsung heroes who power the nonprofit sector.

Philanthropy is Fueled by Daily Acts of Heroism

As a fundraising trainer and consultant who’s had the privilege of working with hundreds of nonprofit leaders and their supporters, I can strongly make the case that the philanthropic sector is full of heroes. Nonprofit professionals, donors and volunteers put themselves on the front lines of service to others with their gifts of time, talent and treasure. Their actions touch, improve and save lives and empower the noble missions of our nation’s 1.5 million non-profit organizations.

10 Examples of Heroes in Action

Several perspectives illustrate that philanthropy is full of heroes who demonstrate courage each and every day to improve the world. Let’s consider ten of them.

1. I’ll start with an example that’s very close to my heart: fundraisers. Professional and volunteer nonprofit leaders who, without fear, hesitation or anxiety, ask for gifts of time and money to fuel the good works of the nonprofit sector. Too many times, I’ve seen business and community leaders who are fearless in virtually everything else they face, but are terrified to ask someone for a gift to their favorite nonprofits. They often say they fear rejection. There are no sure bets in fundraising, other than the only bad ask is the ask never made. Successful fundraisers recognize that they are not asking for themselves, but for grander purposes such as helping others who are struggling.

2. Donors also show courage in making their gifts of time and money. The stark reality is that it is extremely difficult to be a donor who is forced to choose not among the good and the bad, but among the good and the good. Even the wealthiest of donors have finite resources and cannot respond to all the requests received. Donors must conduct research, commit time to evaluate the impact of nonprofits, and ask timely questions about the return on their philanthropic investment.

3. Fundraisers must be courageous and adhere to the highest code of ethics. If they don’t, they will lose the trust of donor prospects and, along with it, their integrity. This may require the courage of both standing up to supervisors who make unethical demands and to donors who ask for favors that cross the fairness line in exchange for their gifts.

4. Nonprofit leaders need the courage to prioritize their finite resources and demonstrate fortitude with decision-making in matters of finance allocation, treasured staff support and volunteer time. These are difficult questions to wrestle with daily, but are done through the lens of which actions will best serve their missions and stakeholders.

5. Many times nonprofit leaders need the courage to step up and take risks to address new and formidable challenges. The pandemic is an all too recent and vivid reminder of organizations being pushed to the limit of how to deliver much-needed services to more beneficiaries and in new and different ways. Accepting the challenge of capital campaigns and other major gift initiatives also requires climbing out on limbs and accepting risks.

6. Funders demonstrated much-needed courage during the height of the pandemic and not only awarded more funding, but also gave recipient organizations much more flexibility in how to use their funds. Let’s hope that we will see more of this trust-based philanthropy providing flexibility on when and where it’s needed most, following the awesome leadership example of MacKenzie Scott.

7. America’s volunteers — an estimated 77.9 million adults (or 30% of the population) — give 5.8 billion hours to nonprofits and good causes. A huge number of nonprofits could not provide the services that they do without the incredible display of the volunteer spirit. In fact, the gift of time is more precious than money because, unlike money, it can never be replaced.

8. We have strong expectations for future heroes who embrace philanthropic living. Millennials and Gen-Zs are reshaping philanthropy and ushering in a new era of giving. A report by payment app Zelle found that nearly 75% of Millennials provided financial support to family, friends or nonprofits since the pandemic began — the highest rate among any generation polled. Younger generations of philanthropists are mobilizing rapidly to support causes they believe in, sharing these causes on social media and crowdfunding donations.

9. Let’s not leave the beneficiaries of philanthropy out of the loop. They are the ones at most risk. They are to receive credit for trusting in the nonprofit sector to provide much-needed help and partnering with nonprofits to use resources accordingly.

10. The final article of courage is an unflinching faith that the varied partners in philanthropy believe in one another. The infusion of a mind-numbing $485 billion in private gift money would not be possible without robust collaboration, cooperation and trust. Millions of people from all different socio-economic backgrounds come together to make a difference in every dimension of the quality of life.

Conclusion

If philanthropy is full of heroes, then indeed it is full of unsung heroes. The vast majority of board members, staff, volunteers and donors have names that may be unfamiliar to you. However, they share a deep, abiding passion for the missions of their respective organizations. Smiles of gratitude and personal impact stories fuel their incredible work ethic and devotion. America is truly blessed to be endowed with a philanthropic sector full of heroes.

The post Heroes Define Philanthropy appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

Grants can be a wonderful vehicle to fund a new program or expand an existing one; however, if your organization is new to the “grant world,” you may be unfamiliar with the work involved with both applying and managing grants. This checklist will help to recognize whether your organization should apply for grants now or focus on organizational growth to prepare for grant-seeking in the future.

The Before, During and After Organizational Considerations of Grants

Seeking grants from potential funding partners requires time and resources beyond the day-to- day operations of your organization. Let’s briefly discuss what resources are needed to pursue grant funding and if your organization is in a position to do so. In other words, let’s look at the readiness to apply for grants and readiness to manage grant projects.

Readiness to apply: In order to apply for a grant, you must have the skills and capacity to develop a competitive grant proposal. Is there a person on your team with the capabilities to create a solid proposal? On the other hand, if your organization doesn’t plan to do the grant writing internally, do you have the financial resources to hire a professional grant writer? A grant proposal can take on many forms and each one must be individually tailored.

Readiness to manage: In order to manage a grant project, you need to have a certain level of infrastructure in place. Nearly every department in the organization is affected by incorporating grant funds into a nonprofit because of the defined financial, data, and performance requirements, not to mention additional personnel to implement the new grant recipient program. Is that the case with your organization?

The checklist below can help you assess your organization’s readiness to both apply for grants and manage grant-funded initiatives.

Part 1. Assessing Readiness to Apply for Grants

1. Do you have a nonprofit status designation from the IRS [501(c)(3)]?

While not all, most grantmakers will require this designation for their grant recipients.

2. Do you have a well-defined mission statement?

Your mission statement and supporting language should clearly articulate why your organization exists and may include elements about the impact you expect to have on the population you serve.

3. Can you demonstrate financial stability?

Having up-to-date financial statements and organizational budgets for the current and previous fiscal years that demonstrate financial responsibility will show potential funders that you will be a good steward of new funds.

4. Do you engage in long-range planning and have a current strategic plan in place?

While many organizations are focused on their current year, it is important that your organization not only has plans for the future but also can show that you have prepared for it.

5. Do you have a strong track record?

It is important to have evidence of success in serving your target population. Remember that having nonprofit, corporate, or even governmental partners with expertise in serving your community is another way to demonstrate this.

6. Do you have a good reputation within the community?

Donors and funders tend to give their dollars to organizations that have credibility within their community and strong reputations. Share specific examples and data points that showcase your reputation and trust in the community.

7. Do you have strong leadership and an active and supportive board?

If your organization doesn’t have the leadership in place to successfully operate in a given year, it will be difficult to apply for grant funding.

8. Do you have fundable programs?

You want to show that your organization can further its mission by expanding successful existing programs or developing new ones you may have in the pipeline. It is important to have an idea of the costs associated with these programs.

Part 2. Assessing Readiness to Manage Grant Projects

9. Do you have staff to implement project activities?

Similar to having strong leadership, your organization also needs the people power required to implement a new or expanded program. (Some or all of the staffing needs may be part of a grant request.)

10. Can your accounting and human resources personnel add grant-related duties to their existing responsibilities?

It is important to be aware that some current internal personnel will be involved if the organization is awarded a grant, so you will want to ensure the added responsibilities will be manageable. Be sure to communicate and document expected responsibilities of team members.

11. Do you have an accounting system capable of tracking grant funds separately from other organizational funds?

In some cases, funders require that grant funds be tracked separately from other organizational finances (e.g., federal agencies).

12. Do you have data tracking capabilities to track grant activities and participant/client data?

This can take many forms, from spreadsheets developed by project staff to commercial software. Just be aware of what will be appropriate for your project or program based on the grant reporting requirements.

13. Do you have the evaluation expertise required to evaluate grant activities?

This is crucial, as being able to evaluate your progress and level of attainment of stated objectives is essential for all grant projects. Keep in mind, sometimes funds for the evaluation component will be included in your requested grant budget.

14. Do you have access to adequate facilities to deliver your grant activities?

If applicable to your project or program, ensure that needed facilities are available. This is an area where strategic partnerships can prove useful.

Being able to answer every item on this list is not a prerequisite to apply for a grant. However, this should give you an idea of the type of information your organization should be thinking about as you consider grants as vehicles to fund the creation of new programs and projects for the future. (Note: The first five items on the list are essential to apply for grants. The others are definitely a litmus test of where you are as an organization.)

If your organization does not meet many of these conditions, it may be wise to use this list to guide organizational development and increase your capacity to apply for grants and manage grant-funded projects. Implementing specific timelines for getting grant ready is highly recommended and will put your organization in a stronger position as you move forward with the grant-seeking process. In other words, pause and begin to make your case and assemble the support to become “grant ready”.To learn more about the grant research process and finding funding that your organization can apply for, a resource to consider is The Grant Hunt Simplified.

The post A Checklist To Determine If Your Organization Is “Grant Ready” appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.