{"id":46939,"date":"2022-06-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=46939"},"modified":"2024-05-09T01:50:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T01:50:16","slug":"how-to-effectively-communicate-with-donors-when-fundraising-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/how-to-effectively-communicate-with-donors-when-fundraising-online\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Effectively Communicate With Donors When Fundraising Online"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everyone knows that effective communication with donors is essential to successful online fundraising. But you may be left wondering what effective communication on the internet looks like. Between website copy, social media, emails, and more, there are so many avenues for reaching out to donors. How can you make sure that your communication with donors is helping you bring in gifts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Hill is the VP of Marketing at NextAfter<\/a>, a fundraising consulting research lab and institute on a mission to unleash generosity. Nathan has trained hundreds of nonprofit professionals in communication, fundraising, websites, and emails for organizations both big and small. In a recent webinar<\/a>, Nathan gave us some tips for effective communication with donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through their experiments, Nathan and NextAfter have found that the single most important piece of communication determining a donor\u2019s likelihood to give is the value proposition. But before we jump into how to write an effective value proposition, let\u2019s take a look at how we think about our donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Donor Mountain <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nonprofits and businesses have a tendency to think in terms of donor or customer funnels. The pattern will probably sound familiar: a large group of email recipients results in a smaller group of website visitors, resulting in an even smaller number of donations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"donor-funnel-for-email-appeal\"
An Example Of A Donor Funnel For An Email Appeal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The trouble with this line of thinking is that it does not account for the conversions and donations that you are failing to get. It also assumes that some natural force will pull donors through the process of giving, much like gravity pulls water through a funnel. In reality, giving is a journey that involves a lot of work and many distractions along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan at NextAfter recommends thinking of donor experience as a mountain. Your job as a nonprofit is to get the donor to say yes to a series of decisions until they ultimately make the decision to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"donor-mountain\"
The Donor Mountain Shows You All The Steps You Need To Help Your Donor Make<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With your donors, you should be playing the role of the sherpa as you guide them along the path of fundraising online. At each step, from clicking on your email, to visiting your site, to making a donation, your goal is to get them to say \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attracting and retaining major donors is a top priority for all nonprofit organizations. We\u2019ve put together a free workshop<\/a> to help you with this process. But communication is key and there\u2019s no better way to communicate donor impact than with a value proposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Value Proposition: What Is It?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that we know the most effective way to think about our donors, let\u2019s talk about the best way to communicate with them. Nathan and NextAfter have helped nonprofits find greater success fundraising online with powerful value propositions. This pivotal idea deserves a clear definition. But before we talk about what a value proposition is, let\u2019s be clear about what it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What It\u2019s Not:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A value proposition is not your organization\u2019s mission statement, which tends to be internally focused, rather than donor-focused. Your value proposition is also not an incentive. Incentives make donors think about themselves rather than what they can give to the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What It Is:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ideal value proposition answers one crucial question. If I am your ideal donor, why should I give to you rather than some other organization (or at all)?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maximizing your online fundraising means answering this question as often as possible in donor-facing communications like websites, social media, and emails. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"value-proposition-example\"
An Example Of A Value Proposition On An Organization’s Donation Page<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s Break The Question Down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s that crucial question once again: If I am your ideal donor, why should I give to you rather than some other organization (or at all)? <\/em>By breaking the question into parts, we can unpack what makes value propositions such an effective tool for fundraising online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n