How Community Building Will Lead to Better Fundraising
We did it - thank you for joining me on the last post of the Root Systems Series! I’ve saved the most comprehensive (and some would argue, most important) system for the end.
🔦 New download alert!
Final Root System is “Donor Systems” - it’s huge! In this category, I’ve placed every activity that is directly related to connecting with donors and future donors.
To celebrate the final post, I’ve got a new freebie (button above) that will help you kick-start an upgrade of the Donor Systems in your organization. Prioritizing this system above the others I’ve detailed will bring you closer to your fundraising goals by:
🌈 Identifying a community of people who understand your mission and are excited to learn more
🌈 Building trust and strong relationships with your community
🌈 Making the actual task of fundraising more joyful and less stressful
🌈 Ensuring your donors truly feel like they are part of something special
⛏️ Let’s dig in.
After we sort out the “Why” of our organization (case for support), but before we start seeking donations, we must first ask ourselves two very important questions:
Question 1 - Who is going to want to support the work we do?
It’s a great idea to know who will be inclined to make a gift to your organization. You can figure this out by building donor profiles/personas/avatars or audience archetypes.
At the very least, have a “someone” (a human person) or several in mind before you move onto the next step.
Question 2 - How does one go from knowing we exist, to making a gift? Then another?
To answer this, we envision how this particular human person would likely move through key stages of a “Donor Journey”. Then, build out the systems/activities specific to your organization needed to make it happen.
The answers will be different for every organization.
There are also many different kinds of Donor Journey frameworks available; this is the one I have developed and teach to others.
As you go through the steps, on the worksheet, make note of all the activities your organization is already doing as they relate to each stage. In the end, you’ll be able to assess: what are we doing well? Are there any gaps in the journey?
You will also be able to see how each stage supports the next. Community fundraising is not just about asking for money – there are three whole steps before you even get to that part!
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙
❤️ Inspire
This is the “awareness building” step. Here, you are sharing what you do and WHY, who you help, and your mission. With these activities you are communicating with a large audience - as many people as possible - but with messages crafted specifically to resonate with one or more of your donor personas. Examples of “Inspire” activities include: digital awareness campaigns, posters/brochures, event tables, media stories, and speaking opportunities.
🧡 Connect
The goal of this step is to gather names and contact information through the “Inspire” activities. Again, we are not after just anybody’s name, email address, or phone number, but those who are inspired to learn more about your organization, what you do, and how they can get involved. Tools to gather can be as simple as a clipboard at a community event, and as complex and costly as an acquisition mailing. The most effective methods for gathering provide value for your specific human (content, an experience, a positive emotion). Whatever you choose: build systems to organize and segment contacts as you go.
💛 Build
Now that you have subscribers, followers + names, emails, phone numbers, and/or addresses, the goal of the next step is to build trust and relationships with your community. Prioritize transparency. Communicate consistently. Share stories, ask for input, provide opportunities to get involved, learn more and have conversations. Examples of “Build” activities include: sharing opportunities to volunteer, providing high-value digital content, mission-focused events, and learning opportunities.
💚 Ask
By now you will have a pool of people who trust your organization and want to help. You know their names, you know what they would like to accomplish as generous humans who also want to make a positive impact in their community (just like you). It is time to invite support through a gift. Don’t just do it once - plan to ask multiple times in multiple ways throughout the year. Make the process as joyful and uncomplicated as possible.
💙 Nurture
This step is crucial. Most first-time donors do not make a second gift. You’ve worked too hard to let that story be yours. Securing that all-important second gift doesn’t have to be complicated and many of the tasks can absolutely be systematized or automated. Nurture activities include a speedy and personalized donation follow-up, personalized donor communications throughout the year, impact sharing throughout the year, and all of the activities listed in the “Build” step.
““Philanthropy at its core is really about connection, not money… yet too often, philanthropy is thought of as something only wealthy people do. In truth, giving money, offering advocacy, or providing volunteerism constitute the outward expression of connection.”
Philanthropic organizations by definition should be wired for philanthropy; nonprofit organizations that are resilient during hard times, retain talented and diverse staff/volunteers, and raise enough money to have a significant positive impact on their communities are intentionally structured to invite, retain and celebrate different kinds of support from invested people in their community.
At the root of this truth are the systems and structures that support and nourish community investment in a cause - in the WHY of it all.
There are as many ways to build these systems and structures as there are charities in the world. I share my conceptualization of “Root Systems” for fundraising operations to provide a framework and understanding for those who don’t spend as much time thinking about fundraising as I do.
Thank you for spending your time with me.
If any of this resonates with you, I hope that we can connect:
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IF you are a nonprofit leader who is ready to improve resiliency within your organization and plan for sustainable growth through community-centered individual giving— we should talk! Send me a note or hit that “Book a Call” button for a free, no-pressure chat to see how we can work together.
-Kim
PS - You’ve downloaded the Donor Journey Worksheet, right?! If not then… oh, hello:
Other Root Systems Series posts:
#1 - Introduction
#2 - Case Development
#3 - Financial Systems
#4 - Data management
