Barbara O’Reilly, Founder and Principal of Windmill Hill Consulting, joined NXUnite’s “Time to Try Something New: Innovative Ways to Fundraise in 2022” panel with nonprofit professionals Julia Beltran of Double the Donation and Jamin Gluck of Amazon Web Services for Nonprofits to discuss the ways nonprofits can grow and update their fundraising techniques.
Development Plans Lead to Success
The most daunting question for a nonprofit organization is, “Where do we start?” It is important for an organization to format a development plan in order to assist with defining what the fundraising goal will be and what key steps and metrics the organization needs in order to successfully reach its goal. As Barbara O’Reilly touched on in the panel, “Having a strategy written down, whether it be looking at segments, tactics, or channels, enables organizations to feel more confident that they have a steady guard rail to help them. It gives them that stronger culture of innovation.” With a strategy planned out, organizations are more likely to feel confident and prepared to take on the next task or challenge it may face.
Grow with Donor Data
As digital capabilities increase, new technologies and data sources are becoming available for enriching donor information, allowing organizations to do more with less. Jamin Gluck of Amazon Web Services for Nonprofits noted that when it comes to cloud softwares, it’s “no longer an if cloud is for nonprofit organizations, it’s more of a when.” As a nonprofit organization, it is important to stay relevant and up to date with the current digital innovations because donors and supporters are expecting it.
When working with data, organizations should consider the following actions in order to gain the most benefit from the data collected:
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Type of Data
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Functioning CRM
Determining What You Should Focus On
For an organization, it may be difficult to determine where and how much effort should be allocated in the area of fundraising. Julia Beltran of Double the Donation says, “Focus on the different initiatives of why you should remain innovative. A lack of innovation can result in factors such as lack of interest in donors or lack of efficiency, which may cause overall losses.” It is easy to conform to what is traditional and what feels familiar, but this can hinder success within your organization.
To ensure nonprofits are best positioned in the coming years, ask yourself and your organization the following questions:
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What gets your donors excited?
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What activities are consuming a lot of time at the organization?
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What are other ways we can differentiate our fundraising efforts?
The Future of Fundraising
As technologies continue to advance, nonprofit organizations will have to consider the best ways when it comes to differentiating their fundraising ideas and how to operate more efficiently. As your organization continues to grow and source new ways to fundraise, continue to leverage nonprofit educational resources.
