If you’re a nonprofit professional, you probably already know a thing or two about mobile fundraising. [In case you don’t, feel free to check out this Essential Guide to Mobile Fundraising].
You probably also know that an overwhelming majority of adults in the US own smartphones (and that number is only rising).
You know that the best way to reach someone is not to call them, but to text them.
You know that Facebook is an incredibly powerful tool for communication and that it’s been the top, most downloaded app for years.
You know that emails are cost-effective and unbeatably efficient at getting your message across.
You know that online donation pages have driven your donation revenues through the roof.
But did you know that you could actually be doing so much more with what you already know?
We’re here to take your knowledge of mobile fundraising. One. Step. Further. With these ten tips:
#1. Get More Out of Your Email Marketing
#2. Make Text-to-Give Work for Your Organization
#3. Market Matching Gifts Through Social Media
#4. Make Recurring Gifts a Cinch
#5. Learn More About Your Donors Through Info Capture
#6. Make Your Donation Page Mobile-Friendly
#7. Raise More Money for a Specific Cause with Mobile Pledges
#8. Leverage Your Current Donor Base with Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
#9. Make Even Your Offline Fundraising Mobile-Friendly
#10. Encourage Donors to Give From Their Phones at Live Events
It’s time to explore the 10 ways mobile fundraising strategies can help you raise more from your donors.
#1. Get More Out of Your Email Marketing
Did you know that over ⅓ of all emails are opened on mobile phones? That number has been steadily on the rise for years, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
People are reading their emails on their phones while they wait for the bus, while they’re at work, and even while they’re out to dinner with their friends.
Here are some of the more traditional ways that nonprofits have made their emails more appealing to donors:
They’ve included a catchy subject line (preferably one that uses action words, like “Build” and “Change”)
They’ve struck the right balance between pictures and words in the email body (studies show that 65% of email readers prefer emails with more pictures than words)
They have a call-to-action (either a link to an event sign-up sheet or a link to an online donation page)
Where these traditional tactics fall short is the last step. Instead of clicking out of the email to donate, your donors can give in 2 clicks, using an email button, like the one below:
With email buttons, you can raise considerably more money from your existing email marketing campaigns.
#2. Make Text-to-Give Work for Your Organization
Text-to-give is a fantastic way for your organization to raise money from donors on the go. It’s quick, easy, and a low commitment option for people to donate to their favorite charities (like yours!)
It really is as easy as pie.
Below is a good example of how simple the transaction can be with modern text-to-give technology:
In addition to being easy for your donors, text-to-give is also a no-brainer for your organization. It’s easy to set up, maintain, and promote.
You can promote your text-to-give campaign just about anywhere:
At your nonprofit’s next live event
In your email blasts
In your upcoming newsletter
On social media
Anywhere and everywhere you advertise your nonprofit’s fundraising endeavors!
All in all, text-to-give is one of the swiftest, simplest, and safest ways to raise more money on the move.
#3. Market Matching Gifts Through Social Media
As we said before, Facebook is one of the most downloaded and widely-used apps in the world. It’s been around for over 10 years now, and its popularity is still on the rise. Everyone from the little kid next door to your great-great grandmother’s third cousin is on the social network.
Not only are most people on Facebook, but more often than not, they’re scrolling through their newsfeeds on their phones. The same is true of Instagram, Twitter, and even LinkedIn. They’re all predominantly viewed on mobile devices.
What does mobile social media have to do with fundraising, though?
We’re glad you asked. Whether you’re seeking major gifts or just looking for a small donation from a follower, it’s important to keep your social media presence well-maintained.
If you keep a constant flow of communication going with your supporters (and you don’t overwhelm them with too many posts or #unnecessaryhashtags), you can use social media as yet another marketing tool for all kinds of fundraising ventures.
Using social media to your advantage, you can promote:
Matching gifts programs
Text-to-give campaigns
Upcoming fundraisers
And more!
Bonus: Some sites, like Facebook, now allow donors to give directly through their accounts.
Note
Become a Matching Gift Expert! Grab our Free Ultimate Guide to Matching Gifts.
#4. Make Recurring Gifts a Cinch
Two gifts are better than one, right?
Of course they are! That’s why it’s doubly important to make sure that your mobile fundraising campaign is set-up to accept (and encourage) recurring donations.
If your mobile fundraising platform allows recurring gifts to be made, you can easily persuade a one-time donor to become a habitual gift-giver.
Even though most donors who give recurring gifts donate smaller amounts each month, they usually wind up contributing significantly more to your organization in the long-run.
How do you entice one-time donors to become recurring donors?
It’s really quite simple. It’s all in how easy you make the process.
To make the giving process as intuitive as possible you’ll need to:
Reduce the number of required fields on your donation form
Give 3 or 4 giving options (make sure that your recurring gift option is lower than the other 2 or 3)
Be sure that you accept all forms of payment
Offer a small incentive (it doesn’t have to be monetary)
Remember to thank them for their contribution, regardless of whether or not they accept the offer to become a recurring donor
There you have it! If you make recurring donations easy and intuitive, you’re bound to see an increase in your overall revenue.
#5. Learn More About Your Donors Through Info Capture
When you’re trying to maximize your fundraising, it’s always important to keep in mind your key fundraising metrics.
But how can you track your KPI (key performance indicators) if you don’t have all of the information you need?
Your problem can be solved with two words: Information. Capture.
Information capture is a feature of mobile fundraising that stores useful information about your mobile donors and their habits. This information can be exported and seamlessly integrated into your nonprofit’s existing CRM database.
Here are examples of the types of information you can glean from a typical text-to-give campaign:
Name
Phone number
Email address
Birthday
Amount of donation
Time of donation
Whether or not donations are recurring
And more!
Just think of all the strategies you could come up with using this information. After a while, you’d start to pick up on donation patterns. You’d be able to piece together what marketing campaigns were most effective.
Information capture is an amazing tool that brings any mobile fundraising campaign straight to the next level.
#6. Make Your Donation Page Mobile-Friendly
More people use their phones to surf the internet than they do desktop or laptop computers.
And it’s far more likely that a donor will find your nonprofit’s website using their phone or other mobile device.
What does this mean for your nonprofit? Well, if you want to keep your donors’ attention, you’ll need to make sure that your website (and your online donation page) are mobile-friendly.
A stellar, mobile-friendly donation page:
Loads just as well on a mobile device as it does on a laptop or desktop
Has multiple giving options
Looks and feels like the rest of your mobile website (same colors, fonts, etc.)
Makes donating easy and intuitive
For a prime example of a mobile-friendly donation page, check out the mobile donation form below:
As you can see, it’s a simple process that involves easy-to-press buttons and clear instructions.
When you’re aiming to raise money via mobile device, it’s incredibly important to make sure that your online donation form translates well to mobile.
#7. Raise More Money for a Specific Cause with Mobile Pledges
Mobile pledging has been proven to raise significant amounts of money.
Before there was mobile pledging: phonathons, fundraising letter campaigns, and door-to-door appeals were the only ways to raise money through pledging.
Those tactics are still around, and while they’re still effective, they’re not quite as efficient or convenient as mobile pledging.
Whether you’re raising money for the quiet phase of your capital campaign, or you’re trying to fund a cure for diabetes, the process for mobile pledging is essentially the same.
A donor learns of your fundraiser.
They text, email, or submit online their donation pledge.
Your nonprofit accepts that pledge.
The event or challenge ends.
The donor fulfills their mobile pledge.
Your nonprofit receives the funding automatically!
As with traditional pledging, not all pledges are fulfilled.
But for the most part, people tend to pledge more than they would donate otherwise.
The reasons why are unclear, but studies have shown that donors who pledge, on average, give more than other donors.
When the pledges are fulfilled, your nonprofit can expect a large amount of donations to come in pretty much simultaneously.
#8. Leverage Your Current Donor Base with Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising, also known as crowdfunding, is yet another fantastic way to raise money from mobile devices.
The unique feature of peer-to-peer fundraising is that it can actually be used to leverage your existing donor base to extend your nonprofit’s reach and efficacy.
You can enlist the help of your nonprofit’s most active advocates and key players to get the word out about your mobile fundraising campaign.
If you supply your organization’s advocates with your crowdfunding page and/or the ability to create one of their own on your behalf, the rest is up to them.
They can reach out to their respective social networks, their friends, family, and coworkers, and even random strangers on the subway.
Anyone and everyone can donate to your cause on the go with a mobile-responsive crowdfunding page.
#9. Make Even Your Offline Fundraising Mobile-Friendly
Now that you have all of the tools you’ll need to raise money via mobile devices, it’s time to explore the best ways to promote those giving avenues.
Although all of these giving options are on mobile devices (and some are also on desktop and laptop computers), some of the best ways to promote these giving options are actually completely offline!
You can promote your mobile fundraising plans:
In magazines
At bus stops
On flyers and posters
On promotional items, like T-shirts and mugs
And more!
Of course, on these promotional items you’ll want to include:
A QR code that will lead donors to your mobile donation page
Your text-to-give number
The address of your mobile-responsive website
Your nonprofit’s email address
For a great example of a flyer that promotes both a QR code and a text-to-give campaign, check out the poster below:
The poster does an excellent job of incorporating pictures and other visuals to explain the giving process and reassure the donor that it really is as simple as scanning a code to donate to their favorite charity.
Incorporate mobile fundraising into your offline fundraising and communications strategies.
#10. Encourage Donors to Give From Their Phones at Live Events
The other major way you can promote your nonprofit’s mobile fundraising efforts is at live events.
At your next fundraising event, take a few minutes to ask your event’s participants to take out their phones.
Chances are, they’ll all have their smartphones on them. As we said before, more than 90% of people own smartphones and take them everywhere they go.
Once they have their phones in hand, explain the process (it’s simple to explain and even easier to demonstrate).
It might help to have a projector and a screen to show examples of the donation process, such as in the example below:
After you’ve explained the giving procedure once, your new donors will be able to give quickly and easily every time thereafter.
Thank you so much for engaging with us. We’d love to hear from you now.
What mobile fundraising strategies have worked for your nonprofit in the past? Are you planning to employ any of our suggestions?
Comment below!
The post 10 Ways Mobile Fundraising Can Help You Raise More From Your Donors appeared first on Double the Donation.