3 mistakes to avoid in your donor acquisition outreach

Do your nonprofit’s communications get potential supporters excited and engaged?

It’s no secret. As a nonprofit professional, acquiring new donors is always on your mind. After all, reaching, engaging, and inspiring more people will help you raise more money and achieve your goals. So, it’s important to be strategic with your donor acquisition outreach!

After all, nonprofits only raise $78 for every 1,000 fundraising messages they send, according to the most recent M+R Benchmarks Report. This marks a 3% decrease from 2020, and we think you can do better!

So, you need to be strategic with your donor acquisition outreach. Doing so will help you connect with potential donors who already identify with your nonprofit’s mission, goals, and values.

And once you’ve identified new prospects that fit your ideal donor profile, you need to show them why supporting your organisation is the best way for them to make an impact on a cause they care about. This is the key to acquiring donors who will support you for years to come!

These are the individuals who will help you maximise your nonprofit’s impact with their support. But too many nonprofits are struggling to make the most of their communications strategy.

So, let’s do some soul searching. As you read on, ask yourself if any of these three common mistakes are holding your donor acquisition outreach back!

You’re not reaching the right prospects.

Let’s take a step back. Obviously, you want to raise as much money as you can so your nonprofit can do more to make the world a better place, right? So, it makes sense to cast a wide net and reach as many potential donors as possible on the surface.

However, we find that organisations that are more strategic and focus their donor acquisition outreach on targeted audiences spend less on their donor acquisition outreach and raise more money. They also have an easier time building relationships with their audiences, which leads to increased giving over time.

So, as always, it’s important to let data drive your decisions. Perform an audit of your existing donor base and identify similarities between your most loyal, most engaged, and highest contributing supporters.

For example, do key supporters work in the same industry or live in the same area? Have these donors generally increased giving over time or was their first gift well above average? Are there similarities in how frequently they give?

Then, use this data to build profiles that will help you identify new prospects who resemble your ideal donor. This is the key to reaching supporters who are eager to make a difference and will support your work for years to come.

And remember, engagement precedes action! So, if someone is consistently clicking links in your emails or liking your social media posts, consider reaching out directly and asking if they would consider making an impact by supporting your organisation.

You talk about how, not why.

We get it. You’re excited about all of the great ways your nonprofit is making a difference about a cause you care about. And that passion is a great thing that fuels the entire nonprofit sector.

However, it’s helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture. At some point, every fundraiser has fallen into the trap of focusing on the details of their work. We’re talking about how your nonprofit is making a difference and what that looks like.

But the how and what are not as important as the why! And the why is what will resonate with the prospects you’re targeting with your donor acquisition outreach.

Focus on answering the following questions in your communications:

·        Why is your mission important?

·        Why is this initiative crucial to your goals?

·        Why should the donor want to help?

·        Why now?

So, start inspiring the right donors by answering why in your donor acquisition outreach, instead of focusing on the details of how each initiative will make a difference.

You make it about you.

Now, the last section is not meant to imply that the how’s and what’s of your nonprofits work aren’t important! After all, these messages have their place in any fundraising communications strategy. However, too many organisations don’t frame these messages the right way.

Remember, your donor acquisition outreach shouldn’t focus on all the great things your nonprofit is doing. Instead, it should show potential donors how they can make a difference on a cause they care about.

Your organisation is just a tool that will help an individual make an impact.

So, after you explain why, the key is focusing on how the donor can make a difference and what this will look like!

It’s about what the donor makes possible with their support, not about what your nonprofit is accomplishing!

This formula will help you develop donor-centric messages that resonate with audiences. It will help you highlight the impact someone can make on your mission by donating today, rather than what your organisation will accomplish with their gift.

Are you being donor-centric in your outreach? Do you talk more about “me and we” more than “you and your”? It might be time to reframe your message and focus on the individuals who make your work possible!

How can you improve?

Did any of these three common donor acquisition mistakes jump out at you as you read this blog? Did you immediately start thinking about things you can do differently to avoid them?

If so, that’s great! The only thing better would be realising that none of these common mistakes apply for your organisation. And if that’s the case, way to go!

But if you’re like countless other nonprofit professionals, ineffective communications strategies might be causing you to miss out on fundraising dollars that can help you achieve your goals and make the world a better place.

These are the most common reasons we see nonprofits struggle with donor acquisition outreach. But we also find too many organisations have a hard time getting donors to stick around after their first donation.

Is your nonprofit’s donor retention rate below the average of 43.6? This eBook can help you take the next step.

About the author:

amplifi’s Marketing Manager, Mike Montalto, loves alliteration and has been with the company for over four years. His role involves producing and distributing educational content that helps nonprofits think differently about their fundraising approach and rise above the noise with their communications strategy. When he’s not writing about nonprofits, Mike enjoys playing bass and cheering on the New York Rangers.

About amplifi:

We’re on a mission to increase the value and effectiveness of fundraising and related communications for nonprofit organisations. We believe that the nonprofit industry is about more than charity. It’s about rallying the world around causes greater than ourselves!

We partner with nonprofits and equip them with the tools they need to rise above the noise and change the world.