Recession Fundraising – Everything You Wanted To Know
We’ve now posted a series of articles under the umbrella of "recession fundraising." The series includes a comprehensive range of advice and spirited debate from The Agitator and other fundraising pros, as well as insights into how your colleagues view the situation and how they intend to respond in 2009.
We though it might be helpful to consolidate all of this information into one "reference" post for your easy access.
Here’s the lot of it, in chronological order, beginning November 7:
Fundraising Vital Signs 1 — this post reported results from our first pass at surveying how fundraisers assessed the situation at their own nonprofits.
Conscious Consumption — All About Value — showed how commercial marketers were positioning their offers in these tough times.
Roger then cited this excellent paper by Mal Warwick and Dan Doyle: Fundraising in Tough Times: A No Nonsense Guide.
Then we reported the 2nd round of results from our Fundraising Vital Signs survey. These results were discussed in our first Agitator Editors Telebriefing, which you can down load here, together with our own lists of "Fundraising Tips for Tough Times" that Roger and I put together.
Convio Vinay Bhagat argued that, now more than ever, was the time to strengthen your online fundraising presence.
And copywriting maven Jerry Huntsinger offered some "contrarian" advice for fundraising in the face of recession.
The Agitator launched a bit of a debate when AB Data fundraising consultant Jeff Malloch came forward with an important memo chastizing those who focused on cutting back on their direct mail budgets to save money, arguing that this would simply guarantee longer term fundraising under-performance for nonprofits that did so.
Erica O’Brien of Adams Hussey & Associates then weighed in with Direct Mail Is Not Dead … I think you can infer where she’s coming from!
Finally, drawing from our 3rd Fundraising Vital Signs survey, The Agitator offered this list of the steps your fundraising colleagues will be taking in 2009 to address the fundraising challenge head on.
If you can’t find something of value in this material to help you plan your fundraising strategy for 2009, we’ll confess to having failed you miserably!
Tom & Roger
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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