At Double the Donation our goal is to provide nonprofits with the resources they need to raise more money from corporate giving programs. We regularly receive questions from nonprofits on what sorts of information they should collecting within their CRMs and how to use this information. So we reached out to Tim Sarrantonio from NeonCRM for advice and asked him to share his top tips (see below) on how to encourage corporate giving with your CRM.
Although every donor — regardless of donation size — is important, there are some donors that require some . Corporate donors, who often have more resources to give than individuals, can truly make an impact on your organization’s fundraising goals.
Here’s how you can use your CRM to make the most of your relationships with corporate donors.
Data is your friend
If there’s only one thing you take away from this post, it should be this — the key to corporate giving is collecting as much data as possible. Donor data can be especially lucrative in corporate philanthropy prospecting, due to the high donation amount potential.
In this case, data means any information collected about your donors. At a bare minimum, this should include:
Giving history
Nicknames
Preferred method of solicitation
Preferred address for mailings
Everyone will have different preferences for where and when they like to be contacted, and it’s important to record that information in your CRM, especially since you may be dealing with more than one contact. Use a combination of historical data, online forms, mailed in forms and personal communications to ensure you’ve collected as much information as possible about your corporate donors.
Track your organization’s interactions
One of the most common mistakes in corporate philanthropy is having several staff members doing the same prospecting, which can lead to multiple asks that might confuse or turn off the donor. And since you may be dealing with multiple contacts at one company, things have the potential to get messy. Tracking your interactions with corporate donors in all forms is key, so ensure that each and every email, phone call, mailing and meeting is stored in your CRM.
Create a corporate philanthropy solicitation plan with your entire team to decide who is going to actually make the ask when the time comes. Use your database to assign staff members, board members, volunteers and fundraisers to every one of your corporate giving partners. Database fields can be used to track different stages of the “ask,” and activities can be used to track each interaction. Proper planning and personal attention are the keys to success.
Give early, give often
Even when making primary asks, don’t be afraid to stress that recurring gifts is a feature that your organization offers. There is a growing amount of research that shows donors are turning toward recurring gifts on a timeline comfortable to them.
Consider creating a special appeal aimed at encouraging recurring giving or simply adding a “recurring gift” checkbox on your solicitation materials and online donation form. Either way, make sure your corporate donors know that this is an option, and make it easy for them to opt in.
Your donors deserve recognition
Depending on the donation level, corporate donors may expect recognition beyond being listed in the annual report. Consider starting a corporate giving society based on a certain minimum donation amount or with several different branded levels of donation amounts. Be sure to include these donation levels on donation forms, and make spaces for recognition on your website, campaign page and any promotional collateral specific to that initiative.
In addition, many organizations offer sponsorship opportunities or gift matching campaign promotion. Both of these options are great PR for corporate philanthropy initiatives, and may even expand audiences for you and your donors.
Corporate donors are people too
Make sure to treat them like it! Although sponsorships and other business opportunities may be important to corporate donors, the best way to encourage corporate giving is creating (and maintaining!) a genuine personal connection with donors.
Take advantage of your CRM by recording as much personal information as possible — donor’s household relationships, friends, organizational connections, where their kids go to college, and even hobbies — all in one database. Going beyond business and nurturing an authentic personal connection will make your message stand out above the rest.
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Tim Sarrantonio has over ten years of experience working for and volunteering with nonprofits, and has raised over $1.5 million for various causes. He is a team member at Z2 Systems, a Chicago based company that provides the award winning CRM database NeonCRM. He currently serves on the board of directors of both the award winning theater The Neo-Futurists and internationally recognized comic books and literacy nonprofit Reading With Pictures.
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NeonCRM is a web-based fundraising and membership system that provides nonprofit organizations with all the tools required to increase donations and memberships while automating and streamlining day-to-day tasks. To find out how NeonCRM can connect your organization, visit www.neoncrm.com.
The post Corporate philanthropy 101: Encouraging corporate giving with your CRM appeared first on Double the Donation.