It\u2019s impossible to nurture current donors and cultivate new ones without engagement. But instead of creating \u201cfundraising engagement-specific\u201d action items in our annual fundraising calendars<\/a>, I think it\u2019s time we start thinking about fundraising engagement more holistically.<\/p>\n Fundraising engagement can– and should– be integrated into everything we do, whether it\u2019s just a simple touchpoint or a more intricate campaign. A great way to do this is to think about engagement from a community-driven fundraising perspective.<\/p>\n Everything.<\/p>\n First, let\u2019s review what community-driven fundraising<\/a> is. This form of fundraising uses the amazing power of your supporter\u2019s influence to inform and ultimately motivate their own friends and family to get involved with your cause. With community-driven fundraising, you\u2019re inspiring and engaging your current supporters<\/a> in the hopes that they\u2019ll do this same.<\/p>\n Peer-to-peer fundraising<\/a>, social sharing, crowdfunding<\/a>\u2014these are all perfect examples of community-driven fundraising.<\/p>\n With community-driven fundraising, your community shares with their community to grow your overall community.<\/strong><\/p>\n As you inspire your supporters, activate your donors, and rally advocates to inspire others to get involved, you\u2019re engaging: plain and simple.<\/p>\n Community-driven fundraising involves three separate actions, or what we refer to as \u201cThe Elements of Community-Driven Fundraising.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, more than ever before, it\u2019s word-of-mouth that produces results. You don\u2019t just want your supporters to get involved in the process.: You NEED them to.<\/p>\n Here are a 6 different ways you can use community-driven fundraising to engage and ultimately cultivate your donors. The desired result: a group of committed, devoted and retained supporters.<\/p>\n The first step of the donor engagement cycle is to inspire your supporters, and there\u2019s a real reason for this. Without inspiration, there\u2019s little chance they\u2019ll be compelled to do anything to help your organization. Thus, inspiration is needed to ensure cultivation down the road.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no denying the power of a good, emotion-inducing story. Stories are the reason I cry at Disney movies and can\u2019t, for the life of me, get through an ASPCA commercial. Tears aside, stories are the best tool we have to educate, energize, and cultivate our nonprofit supporter base.<\/p>\n Since community-driven fundraising requires inspiration, there\u2019s no better place to start than with a client story. Client stories help to show the \u201chero\u2019s journey<\/a>,\u201d of the people we serve. Dive a little deeper, and you\u2019ll see how these stories also show how our nonprofits are an integral part of said journey.<\/p>\n A well-written story goes a long way, not just inspiring people to act, but by inspiring people to inspire other people (did you follow that?)<\/p>\n When you see a funny meme or read a great article online, you want to share it, right? The same goes for your readers! To ensure you\u2019re engaging your readers, infuse your stories with \u201cshareable\u201d elements<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n As you can see, the Asian American Arts Alliance took this concept up a notch by prompting supporters to share their own \u201cclient story\u201d with others<\/p>\n Visual client stories such as pictures and videos get the attention of our intended audience (our current audience) like written client stories, but can they be engaging? Absolutely!<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a cue from charity: water on this one.<\/p>\n In this Facebook post, charity: water introduces a client story and a great image and asks the reader to click to watch the video and learn more. It\u2019s a simple action, but it\u2019s an essential building block toward activation.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s another one, this time from Volo City Foundation.<\/p>\n Volo City Foundation<\/a> shared a great video to tell the story about their latest community-driven fundraising campaign efforts.<\/p>\n These visual stories are the exact recipe for inspiration!<\/p>\n Through inspiration, you\u2019ve provided your supporters with the information they need to decide when and how they want to get involved. Check out these 2 ways that you can activate to cultivate.<\/p>\n If inspiration is WHAT motivates people to act, a call to action<\/a> is HOW to get people to act. It\u2019s the true instrument in supporter activation.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re asking people to sign up for your eNewsletter, providing them with a nonprofit story to read, or sharing your latest ROI results on Instagram, end each \u201ctouch\u201d with a call-to-action.<\/p>\n Is this overkill? No way! It\u2019s how you engage and ultimately cultivate your supporters.<\/p>\n Here, Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc. encourages donations to their crowdfunding site through Facebook.<\/p>\n Social sharing is essential in any nonprofit marketing plan today. Whether you have a large following on Twitter or are catering to an email audience, the people who support you want a way to share what you\u2019re saying with others.<\/p>\n As you\u2019re crafting your nonprofit stories, emails, stats, and other marketing tidbits that you share with supporters, stop to think about the avenues you\u2019re giving them to share their experience with others. Don\u2019t forget to add social sharing buttons to your stories so that your audience can immediately spread the word if they are inspired to do so.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve provided the inspiration and activated them into action. By now, your supporters know about your cause and have done something to prove they\u2019re committed. In other words, they\u2019ve made it through most of the donor engagement cycle.<\/p>\n Take that energy one step further by rallying them to become advocates for your organization.<\/p>\n Personal fundraisers, the people who volunteer to fundraise in your peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, are true champions of your cause. They\u2019re on the forefront, sharing your message with friends and family, adding their own story to your nonprofit story, and in the process, bringing new prospects to your attention.<\/p>\n When you recruit personal fundraisers<\/a>, you\u2019re giving these supporters the opportunity to go above and beyond. It\u2019s the optimum way to ensure long-term cultivation.<\/p>\nWhat Does Engagement Have To Do With Community-Driven Fundraising?<\/h2>\n
![\"inspire-activate-rally\"](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-05-02-at-1.44.28-PM.png\")
<\/p>\nCommunity-Driven Fundraising Can Engage + Cultivate Donors<\/h2>\n
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6 Different Ways To Engage + Cultivate With Community-Driven Fundraising<\/h2>\n
Inspire<\/h3>\n
1.Share \u201cShareable\u201d Client Stories<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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2. Connect Supporters with Visual Stories<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"VoloCity](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/VoloCity-Kids-CauseVox-Campaign-1024x644.png\")
Activate<\/h3>\n
3. Use Calls to Action Every Single Time<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"community](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-29-at-7.51.57-PM.png\")
4. Capitalize on Social Sharing<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"community](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-29-at-7.52.55-PM.png\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-29-at-7.52.37-PM.png\")
Rally<\/h3>\n
![\"Donor](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-29-at-7.53.05-PM.png\")
5. Recruit Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"community](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-29-at-7.53.26-PM.png\")
6. Try DIY Fundraising<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"community](\"https:\/\/causevox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screen-Shot-2018-03-29-at-7.53.44-PM.png\")