logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Infographic: Fundraising Strategies that Actually Work

Rob Meiksins
August 20, 2014
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

 

July 24, 2014;Third Sector Today

It seems that everyone in the world is dumping buckets of ice water on their heads and challenging others to do the same, all in the name of fundraising for a good cause. That is all well and good, and I have to admit that I have enjoyed watching people react to the cold water. But is it a sustainable fundraising initiative that will add to organizations’ bottom lines year after year? As reported in NPQ, the ice bucket fad may actually be indicative of many things that are wrong with trends in current philanthropy.

So what does work? As we head into the third quarter of the year, many minds will turn to the annual fund—a venerable workhorse for nonprofits of every size. Crowdsourcing and other ideas may be fun, but research recently released by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative demonstrates just how important it really is to pay attention to the annual fund.

The research defines annual fund as an initiative to raise money for the current year’s operating expenses. Organizations that have an annual fund appeal are far more likely to achieve their fundraising goals than organizations that do not have an annual fund: 77 percent of organizations with an annual fund report being on track to achieve their goals while only 57 percent of organizations with no annual fund report being on track. Although larger organizations are more likely to have an annual fund, the success rate is found across the board.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Other key elements of success:

  • Donor retention. Organizations that retain at least 50 percent of their donors from the prior year are far more likely to achieve annual fund goals. Having at least five percent of prior-year donors increase the level of their gift is another strong indicator of success. Organizations with a high donor retention rate also report that their donors often increase their gift year upon year. In that way, donor working to retain donors is a good way to increase the annual fund.
  • Dedicated staff. Organizations with at least one staff person devoted to the annual fund are more likely to achieve success. This is true for nonprofits of all sizes and so becomes yet another argument for the importance of investing in operational capacity.
  • Benefits do not mean much. Offering tangible benefits in thanks for a gift does not seem to have a positive impact on retention rate or gift size. Benefits may include a gift item, or membership with incentives (a theatre company offering discounts on tickets, for example). For larger organizations, having gift clubs (usually seen as identified categories of giving listed in the annual report) can have a positive impact.
  • Thank donors, thank them again, and then thank them once more. It seems unlikely that anyone would dump two buckets of water on their heads, but a very old school trick of sending a donor a handwritten thank-you note is one of the most successful ways of keeping them and increasing their level of giving.

Infographic

New-fangled technological gimmicks may be fun, but sometimes it’s the old school tools that mean the most and have the best results. The research shows that success will follow having someone on staff devoted to reaching out to donors with information (and the survey says print newsletters are more effective than electronic ones), asking prospects to give, and then working very hard to get them to give again. It’s not rocket science (or ice buckets).—Rob Meiksins

 

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Meiksins

Rob has served in the nonprofit sector for over 30 years in roles ranging from intern to program manager, executive director to board director, and consultant. Starting out in professional theatre in New York City, Rob moved to Milwaukee to work with Milwaukee Rep as the dramaturg. Later, he started to work more and more helping people and organizations in the nonprofit sector articulate, and then take the next step towards their vision. Currently he is working on a new effort to establish an intentional process for nonprofits to identify their capacity-building needs and then learn about and implement the tools that will help. Ideally this is a partnership between nonprofits, consultants, and the philanthropic community to strengthen the sector we all see as critical.

More about: Culture ChangeFund DevelopmentFundraisingGivingNonprofit NewsOnline ActivismPhilanthropy

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

NPQ_Winter_2022Subscribe Today
You might also like
Why Social Change Films Matter
Cyndi Suarez and Saphia Suarez
Philanthropy Must Move from Charity to Solidarity
Son Chau
Eliminating Biphobia Through Breath, Brotherhood, and the Arts
H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams
Using a Data-Driven Strategy to Advance Racial Equity in Grantmaking
Heather Lenz, Ariel Jordan and Catherine Smith
Protecting Nonprofits That Protect Us During Crises—and Beyond
Aisha Benson and Jen Talansky
Reimagining Philanthropy to Build a Culture of Repair
Aria Florant and Venneikia Williams

Popular Webinars

Remaking the Economy

Black Food Sovereignty, Community Stories

Register Now

Combating Disinformation and Misinformation in 21st-Century Social Movements

Register Now

Remaking the Economy

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

Register Now
You might also like
Why Social Change Films Matter
Cyndi Suarez and Saphia Suarez
Philanthropy Must Move from Charity to Solidarity
Son Chau
Eliminating Biphobia Through Breath, Brotherhood, and the...
H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.