The most frequent topic at Agitator editorial meetings in recent weeks has centered on the question “What does this pandemic mean for the future of fundraising?” More specifically, what should we be doing to help organizations prepare for what all of us here believe will be a long, slow, multi-year recovery that could have us pining for the Great Recession.

Sure, there are plenty of groups who are doing quite well right now. We see those success stories touted on blogs and across Twitterland. But,it would be pure Polyannya to ignore the stories of those nonprofits now in desperate shape because of cancelled events…those who relied on too few donors–donors who’ve fallen on hard times…those who couldn’t reach their donors…or those who, no matter how hard they tried, simply couldn’t raise enough funds to meet the extraordinary demands placed on them by the pandemic.

Regardless of today’s successes and failures there’s no question that fundraising is going to get a lot tougher.  More difficult and challenging as the initial blush of donor enthusiasm and fiscal stimulus wears off…as longer-term economic recovery sets in and as the number of donors dwindle.

Thus, the question we tackled is what additional steps organizations should take to compete successfully in  a market of fewer donors likely to be holding on more tenaciously to fewer resources, while being chased by an increasing number of nonprofits desperate for funds.

As we marked up the virtual white board it became clear that the steps organizations should take to prepare for a tough future are the very steps they should have taken before the pandemic to protect and advance their fundraising.  The key to success during/Post Covid is the same as Pre-Covid.  We should be spending less time listing out and pontificating on what makes or will make the world different and more on what makes it the same pre/post Covid.

Let me explain.

Answers to 2 Key Questions Should Guide Your Future

For the past several years we’ve reported on the research and pilot projects being conducted by DonorVoice in the quest to identify real fundraising game changers,

Bottomline: If an organization asks and answers (and acts on the answers) these two questions the commitment, loyalty and value of its donors is markedly increased–often as much as 25%.  The two questions:

1. Why do their donors donate?
2. And is it the same answer for every donor?

Answering these two questions should be the basis, the foundation for all fundraising strategies.

These are not new or magical questions.  The problem has been in getting an accurate answer that can be applied in a day-to-day practical way.

Many fundraisers believe they can find the answers in their CRM. Wrong.  All they’ll find there is outcome data, to the ’cause’ of the donor’s giving. Equally mistaken is the belief’ that focus groups and surveys will do the trick.  Wrong again.  All the surveys and focus groups in the world won’t provide valid “why” answers if they lack valid, reliable measurement (the vast majority does).  And even with valid measurement that process only provides a partial answer because it doesn’t directly and mathematically link to the individual donors giving behavior.

What’s needed is a way to connect the individual donor’s “why” to that donor’s giving behavior –and put it into the CRM for easy, practical use.

With the pandemic serving as an accelerant we agreed we should put the following Donor Research Proposal before Agitator readers:

• DonorVoice will conduct a comprehensive study involving multi-faceted, drivers of giving behavior measured in a survey combined with giving data.  The survey measures include,
  • Commitment – the sector’s best measure of attitudinal loyalty to the brand
  • Identity – sense of self and serving as potential connection to mission
  • Personality – The Big Five, these are key to many of our attitudes and behaviors and necessary to optimize messaging
  • Motivation Type – based on Self-Determination Theory
  • Experiences – ratings on how well touchpoints are doing their intended job

• The research will be led by experts in each area: Kevin Schulman, Survey design and Modeling; Kiki Koutmeridou, PhD, in Behavioral Science and Stefano DiDomenico Ph.D. in Motivation and Personality.
• Each participating organization will receive a private briefing to show you how to get under the hood of your CRM and apply the research insights.

Here’re the unique opportunities to learn….

…the personality breakdown of your donors;

….whether your new donors have the right or wrong motivation to continue their giving;

….How these answer differ by donor identity;

…Global trends to compare against.

 Invitation to Participate

Organization from around the world are invited to participate.  Because there is limited space available DonorVoice is looking for one to two organizations per vertical  per country:

• Faith Based
• International Relief
• Animal Welfare
• Environmental
• Health
• Social Services
• Colleges/Universities

To Get Involved You’ll Need…

• A minimum of 20,000 donors with addressable email (can be a mix of one-time/cash and regular/sustainer to hit the 20,000).
• Giving data (specifications available upon acceptance).

How to Sign Up

Get in touch with Kevin at kschulman@thedonorvoice.com to express interest and with any questions or comments.  DonorVoice is asking those accepted into the study to pay $950 (USD) as a participation fee to partially offset the direct costs of the study.

Roger

P.S. For our Australian readers, please contact the DonorVoice, local partner, The Fundraising Agency, who will make sure you get maximum value from pilot participation.  You can contact either founder, Clarke Vincent or Andrew Martin.