05 Feb 6 Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies That Work In 2021

Fundraising is the lifeblood of nonprofits. Without consistent funding, nonprofits may struggle to carry out their mission. But, fundraising takes time and resources, and not every fundraising campaign will be a smashing success.

For this reason, much thought should go into deciding which strategies are right for your nonprofit. To ensure that you have a successful fundraising year in 2021, here are 6 of the best nonprofit fundraising strategies to try.

Text-to-Give

Having trouble connecting with your audience? Are your email campaigns failing to produce high open rates and conversions? Don’t worry; you’re not alone. The average open rate for emails is roughly 10-20% (and that’s if you’re doing really good!). That means that even if you’re crushing your email fundraising campaign, you’re still missing out on a ton of potential donations. Simply put, many people leave their emails unread.

That’s where text-to-give solutions come into play. With text-to-give and text-to-reach solutions, you can not only effectively communicate with your donors that have cell phones, but they can easily donate simply through sending a text. Open rates sit at roughly 98% for text messages. With ReachNow and GiveNow from mobileAxept, you can keep your donors up-to-date on your nonprofit and increase donor engagement, as well as let them donate easily whenever they choose to improve donor retention rates. It’s the best of both worlds!

Online Donation Forms on Your Website

Offering an online donation form on your website is a must if your nonprofit doesn’t have one yet. They are an easy integration and require little work on your end. If you do have an online donation form already, make sure to check it fairly often to ensure that it is working. If you don’t have one yet, get started on it ASAP. Convenience and ease-of-use should be the main focus when creating your online form.

For inspiration, take a look at these 15 donation page examples!

Overhaul Your Website

Perhaps your site could use a bit of an overhaul in its entirety. New websites can be expensive, but it’s worth reaching out to local web designers or marketing agencies to see if they’re willing to help out pro bono or for a discount. If a new site isn’t in the cards for your nonprofit at the moment, you can still make some quick and simple changes on your own that can improve your fundraising.

For example, is the content on your website SEO-friendly so that people can find your nonprofit’s site easily? Are the images updated so that it looks up-to-date? Do you have a thorough “About” page so that people who come across your site know exactly what you do and the cause you’re fighting for? Addressing these questions is a great start to creating a website that brings in more people, increases your online fundraising, and helps you reach your fundraising goals.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Events

Many nonprofits utilize a peer-to-peer fundraising strategy in one way or another. That’s because there is power in numbers, and by allowing your supporters to reach out to their personal networks, you can greatly expand your reach. Perhaps the best part about peer-to-peer fundraisers is that there are many different types to choose from. Here are just a few examples:

• Walk-a-thons & Color Run Fundraisers
• Bike-a-thons & Spin-a-thons
• Community Serve-a-thons
• Polar plunges

Whatever type of peer-to-peer fundraiser you choose, make sure you market it well in advance to ensure all your supporters are given a chance to see it and sign up!

Focus on Year-End Giving

A year-end push is a great way to improve your fundraising efforts before the year ends. Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is when you should be especially active with your reach-out campaigns. Whether you’re using a text-to-reach solution or being particularly active on social media, nonprofits should be very active in December.

This article from DoJiggy outlines some of the best practices to use when creating your year-end giving appeal.

Honor Donors Through Donor Recognition Campaigns

One way to entice people to donate to your nonprofit is to honor them through gifts for their donations. For example, bricks with donors’ names are often seen throughout parks for people who donated to help build them. Offering branded merchandise like quality t-shirts is another great way to get more people to donate. Many organizations utilize some sort of donor recognition campaign as a way of saying thank you. By showing your appreciation to individual donors, you’ll create lifelong supporters of your cause that will certainly be repeat donors.