The Nonprofit Marketing Guide & Fundraising Strategies
During my research for this semester I flocked to the library to read books about marketing and design. I spent time sprawled on the library floor with piles of books searching for information. In my search, I came across many books that were vague or full of fluff, but as I flipped through the other books surrounding me I found intellectual, well-thought texts. My favorite of these books was The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for your Good Cause by Kivi LeRoux Miller.
When I say this is my favorite book from my research, I mean it — it’s on my Christmas list.
This book is a real-world survival guide and specifically says the hurdles your nonprofit may face and how you can avoid them.
That’s it for shameless proclamation of love for this book, here are some thoughts on fundraising that I was inspired by from this text recently.
Encourage your fans to friendraise — it’s a free alternative to fundraising. Here, you ask your supporters to talk about your organization to their friends. Miller states “research and practical experience shows that we are most effectively persuaded to do something when our friends, family, and colleagues are doing the talking (Miller 159).” If a trusted person in our life promotes and trusts an organization, we are likely to adopt their attitude with no pre-exisiting attitude existed.
Make your story into their story — Rather than “simply telling your supporters a story, [give] them the opportunity to create one themselves out of their own experiences and then to share it with others” (Miller 158). This method works well with volunteers. Specifically, by telling potential volunteers the stories of past volunteers and how they made an impact they will be encouraged to do the same; they begin to imagine themselves making a difference.
Mircofundraise — encourage that a small donation is better than no donation, and that every bit helps. Have a campaign that focuses on generating micro-donations such as $1, $2, or $5.
Put a positive deadline — if you have a deadline for the fundraising or volunteer registration try to make it positive. Rather than saying: “If you don’t give/sign up by this date, this bad thing will happen” (Miller 161). The best formula when presenting a deadline is to make it appear timely and urgent. Link the deadline to something positive like a raffle drawing or “raising funds through a matching grant” (Miller 161).
When it comes to fundraising, it doesn’t have to all be in-house. Your supporters can promote your organization with a higher impact than any brochure. Lastly, by presenting material in a positive light you can encourage volunteer support and deadlines being met.
Happy Designing.
LeRoux Miller, Kivi. The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2010.
