Struggling to host the perfect fundraiser? Are membership metrics down this year? Is your email marketing campaign having a hard time getting off the ground? If so, you're not alone. Nonprofits across the country are looking for smarter ways to meet their goals without taxing their resources.
Whether you're working on parsing supporter data or are doing your best to conduct donor outreach, there are ways for nonprofits to succeed and meet their goals with ease. Here is a few to get you started.
1. Set More Effective Goals
Many nonprofits and advocacy groups follow the "bigger is better" mindset. While that's noble, it isn't always realistic. From overly high donor requests to large fundraiser pushes, going in with this mindset can make it difficult for nonprofits to consistently hit their goals. There are plenty of cons to setting goals that are too ambitious and perhaps the largest of these cons, is that many overly ambitious goals just aren't obviously achievable from the off, and knowing this can stymie progress.
Instead of setting sky-high goals, set more realistic, measurable, and timed ones. Not only will you hit your metrics more consistently but you'll also feel as though your nonprofit is making progress. Setting effective goals is simple. For instance, you could say you want to increase email address signups by 11% over the next quarter. It's timed, it's achievable, and it makes sense for email marketing and contact information collection.
2. Rely On Smarter Marketing
Sometimes, you need to take a new approach to marketing. Many nonprofits rely on a single channel of marketing which leads to decreased donor management capability. If you're only using online fundraising, social media, or email marketing, you're going to have a hard time connecting with constituents. To acquire larger amounts of contact information and define your supporter records, you need to take an omnichannel approach.
An omnichannel approach allows customers a wider gateway for connectivity. It also makes it easier to connect with your support team, whether that's through your website URL, a supporter email link, or your online fundraising platform. By marketing across multiple channels at once, instead of using one at a time, you're better able to filter out unqualified leads, export supporter data to a useful CSV file, and enhance the setup of your digital presence.
3. Invest In Better Platforms
If you're trying to juggle a donor's recurring gift, credit card details, and the number of petitions they've filled out through an outdated payment gateway, then you're really going to struggle to keep up. No matter the transaction type, you need to be able to ensure IP address confidentiality, have easier connectivity, and utilize more intuitive dashboards. This is why investing in a platform like Engaging Networks can greatly benefit your nonprofit.
The Engaging Networks platform offers a variety of pros, from smarter fundraiser management to higher levels of donor outreach and advocacy. The pros don't stop there, either. Engaging Networks also integrates with Salesforce, acts as a payment gateway, and even has e-commerce connectivity for your online store. Plus, the brand is continually adding new features which is a boon for nonprofits across the country.
4. Rethink Your Website
Say a prospective supporter hears about your nonprofit and decides to head to your website. Once they're there, they immediately decide to head right back out after seeing the jumbled, confusing layout. Your website needs to be intuitive, mobile-friendly, and visually pleasing. Many nonprofits struggle to develop a robust web presence and it shows. Since your website is the gateway to your brand, you need to invest in it. Luckily, you don't have to go to huge expenses, in order to develop a robust website.
Whether you're taking lessons through the Engaging Networks Academy or you're learning more about Salesforce integrations, there are ways to hit your goals faster and more effectively. It takes time and patience, but it can be done.
