Upbeat Fundraising News
Here’s a good round-up of end-of-year fundraising projections, courtesy of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
The Chron’s own polling indicates that nearly six in ten charities expect to raise more in 2011 than 2010, with 28% expecting less.
One out of five in survey said contributions are outpacing their 2010 donations by 20% or more. The Agitator hopes your nonprofit falls in that category … and if you do, please tell us and our readers how you did it!
The Chron article also reports projections from Network for Good, Convio and Atlas of Giving … all trending better than 2010.
Let’s hope that curve keeps rising in 2012!
Tom
3 responses to “Upbeat Fundraising News”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]
Read Full Answer
Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (âeveryoneâs giving todayâ), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]
Read Full Answer
When a subject line leads with the match (âYour gift matched!â), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]
Read Full Answer
Thereâs no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]
Read Full Answer
What youâre experiencing is very common. Resistance often isnât about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]
Read Full Answer
Thatâs a really thoughtful question, and youâre not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, weâve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]
Read Full Answer
We hired a new list broker that helped us increase sophistication in our list selection and analysis (minor improvement so far, but will reap its rewards soon), hired additional fundraising staff, and ECONOMY.
We are going to raise probably 75-80% more this year than we did last year, but it is because we are in crisis, unfortunately. Our students, parents, and teachers have literally been hitting the streets canvassing, attending outreach events, holding fundraisers, asking everyone they know to make a gift, etc. Our faithful donors have really stepped up, too. My challenge has been to keep up with it and keep communicating with everyone in the many different ways they wish to receive information (especially difficult for those who want postal mail communication because of the expense and the time).
We lost almost all of our government funding (public school funding). I’m so grateful that our donors, families, and the community are really stepping up to the need, but it can’t keep up with the loss of the tax dollars. I’m sure it is the same story everywhere. As we know, philanthropy never will never take the place of taxes.
I’m trying to see this as an opportunity. We are going gangbusters on the fundraising, getting people to commit to planned gifts, securing the top decision-makers to join the discussion about solutions, and gathering volunteers by the boatload, so why do I feel so tired? đ
Happy holidays!
For organizations looking to get the most out of their end of year fundraising (and who isn’t) we have a few tips on our blog. Here’s one post to help make your donor’s experience blissfully simple: http://www.connectioncafe.com/posts/2011/12-december/keep-it-simple.html