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August 28, 2024 In Fundraising, By Media Cause Team

Nonprofit Fundraising Strategies for 2024

The financial success of many nonprofits relies on nonprofit fundraising strategies. While organizations may fund their efforts from multiple sources, traditional fundraising – donations from corporations and individuals – is an important part of any strategic plan. Given the abundance of mission-driven organizations, how do you make your appeal stand out and ultimately meet your financial goals? 

Fundraising Strategy Essentials

Fail to plan and you’re planning to fail; successful fundraising begins with a clear strategy. Taking time to think through what you want to achieve and the methods you’ll use to get there are important starting points. 

SMART Goals

Use the SMART parameters to define your goals. Make sure your goals are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Boud. Using the SMART parameters as bumpers for all sides of your nonprofit fundraising strategies will create a plan that you can implement effectively while tracking your progress. 

KPIs +  Tracking Performance

Keeping tabs on the status of your goals is key to actually achieving them. Make sure you’ve specified KPIs to measure success  – whether it’s dollars raised, donors contacted or new leads generated – and what constitutes success for each metric. Image of a man sitting at a wooden desk against a white brick wall, holding a credit card while using a laptop. A fundraising progress bar is overlaid on the image, starting from $0 on the left and moving towards 'GOAL' on the right, with the bar partially filled.

Donor Engagement 

Let’s take a look at the best ways to engage with your most important constituents.

Focus on Individual Stories and Demonstrate Impact

No matter your organization’s focus – food insecurity to natural resource preservation – you have an impact story to share. The trick when using your impact to engage with donors is to narrow your focus – you don’t want to overwhelm them with every stat and story you have. 

Instead, show them the impact of your programming through a favorite anecdote. Pick a unique, ownable story that illustrates the power of your mission and use that to drive home your case. Make the donor feel urged to give, because without their support, your critical work wouldn’t be possible.  

Utilize Networks

Think broadly when it comes to networks. Does your organization utilize volunteers? What about professional groups or associations related to your field? How can you get public buy-in, whether it’s via a local news outlet or a partner post on social media. Tapping into networks can extend your donor pool and raise overall awareness of your mission.

Once you’ve got a list of new groups to reach, be sure to tailor messaging accordingly. Keep in mind the interests and backgrounds of the group you’re targeting and leverage those attributes when you’re approaching them.

Optimizing Your Website for Donations

Once you’ve secured a commitment from a donor, make sure the process of actually donating is smooth and user friendly. 

Keep Your Website Updated

When a donor lands on your website you want them to see any recent updates – a new program offering, an exciting goal that was met or a moving story of impact – so that they become more invested in your mission. That includes making sure the interface for making the donation is glitch-free and secure. 

Optimizing Your Nonprofit Website 

Making sure that your website is  and appears at the top of a donor’s search is an often overlooked piece of the puzzle for nonprofits. If you feel overwhelmed by SEO, or have no idea what it even means (we’ll help you there – it’s Search Engine Optimization) 

One of the easiest ways to make your website more effective is to have a button in the main navigation that specifically drives to donations. That button – which should be obvious and labeled with something as simple as ‘donate’ – should take the user to a landing page that only includes the ways to actually donate. Don’t crowd this page with other calls-to-action or links to other pages on your website. Make it simple for them to hand over the cash.

Image of a woman with long hair, seen from behind, working on a laptop in a minimalistic office setting. A coffee cup is placed on the table next to her. A graphic of an envelope with a notification dot and a speech bubble saying 'hi!' is overlaid on the laptop screen, indicating the reception of a message or email.

Connect with Donors + Advocates with Email

Email is one of the most common forms of communication today. We use it for everything, which means that you should be capitalizing on it to fundraise. Email marketing is another topic that can feel overwhelming for often short-staffed nonprofits. Let’s break it down to make it more manageable. 

Email Fundraising Essentials

Did you know that for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment is $42? That’s a buck that your organization can’t afford to miss out on. We’ll start with the basics: check out this guide to email marketing that defines 20 common terms to help you get the lay of the land. Once you’ve got a grasp on the main pieces that make up the email marketing puzzle, then you can begin utilizing them to build your fundraising campaign. 

Utilizing Email Marketing

A good email marketing strategy begins with the same things that a good nonprofit fundraising strategy does: clear goals and measurable outcomes. Consider what you want from your email marketing – participation in a program, a pledge, or a request to meet with you – and hone your plan from there. Need help with that? We’ve got you covered with a guide on streamlining and scaling automated email marketing. 

After you’ve got the foundation established, you can begin experimenting with your emails. Does it seem like your donors open, and more importantly open their wallets, more frequently when you send in the morning or the afternoon? What kind of subject lines work best? Keep an eye on your analytics and adjust as you go – that’s the fun part!

Remember that you can control so many aspects of your nonprofit fundraising strategies. You can segment out your lists to send specific calls-to-action to specific groups. Maybe you have a group of donors that are highly engaged with one aspect of your work versus another. You can capitalize on that potential by sending email campaigns to them full of stories that are relevant to their interest area. 

Conclusion + A Quick List

There are a million and one ways to reach donors to raise funds, but what matters most is that you connect with people who want to be a part of the impact you’re making. 

Here a list of some tried-and-true methods:

  • Use videos to effectively tell your story and show your impact
  • Capitalize on word of mouth with peer-to-peer fundraising
  • Let your logo do the work for you – sell merch!
  • Offer raffles and prizes to entice new donors
  • Utilize match donations to incentivize increased giving

Want a deeper dive into creating a fundraising strategy? Reach out today.