Every other Sunday, I'll spark ⚡️your nonprofit's online fundraising strategy and deliver the tools you need to succeed. You'll receive an actionable tip and three links to drive donor engagement, deliver the best online experience for your donors, and raise more revenue. Join us!
Hi Reader, I recently worked alongside an organization led by a dedicated but traditional leader, named Jared (not his real name). Rooted in old-school methods, he had done well in raising money at events and even sent a spring appeal once a year up until C19. He needed help and hired me to help build a fund development plan. I quickly saw the organization was stagnant. Donations slowed, events were no longer well-attended, and acquiring new donors required growth. I wanted Jared to act quickly. I immediately suggested adding a few digital services to develop his engagement. Understanding Jared's resistance, I shared success stories from similar organizations that transitioned online, highlighting the ease of learning digital tools to reach wider audiences. I showed him how a digital presence could complement, not replace, their existing methods. Jared’s interest sparked. In an era where prospective donors use digital tools daily, it’s time to adopt a digital mindset. In today’s edition of the Social Profit Stack, we’ll unpack the concept of a digital mindset, discuss the importance of the transition, and provide opportunities to navigate the digital revolution, which I bet isn’t going away anytime soon. A Digital Mindset is PossibleA digital mindset is about leveraging technology and adopting a new way of thinking and operating. It involves understanding digital tools and platforms' potential to transform engagement, cultivation, operations, and fundraising. At its core, a digital mindset helps you innovate, adapt, and integrate digital solutions into every part of your organization's strategy. Digital transformation continues accelerating, reshaping expectations and behaviours among your staff, audience, prospective donors, and the broader community. Embracing a digital mindset is no longer optional. It's a shift that will allow you to stay connected with your community, meet evolving expectations for donor engagement, and embrace the power of data and digital tools to create more impact. A Mindset Shift: Ask Different QuestionsThe transition to a digital-first approach begins with looking at the world around you. You can ask pivotal questions - How can we facilitate meaningful digital interactions among our supporters? What are our audience's digital habits, and how can we effectively engage them in their digital spaces? By exploring these questions and listening to the responses, you can begin aligning your strategies with the realities of the digital age and preparing to embrace change. Navigate Digital OpportunitiesAdopting a digital mindset helps you leverage new opportunities. The opportunities involve reimagining how supporters, donors, and communities interact, share, and participate in the organization's mission. It means going beyond traditional engagement methods to explore digital platforms, tools, and channels that resonate with your audience. Doing so will create more inclusive, engaging, and impactful experiences. Digital opportunities focus on sharing your value through content marketing, social media and email marketing, and digital advertising to reach prospective donors. Overall, a digital approach enables your nonprofit to be dynamic, responsive to changing conditions, and able to convert and retain donors. The Shift Is PossibleThe shift to a digital mindset is more than an adjustment; it's an essential transformation that touches every aspect of your organization's operations and interactions. Your journey requires creativity and a commitment to continuous learning. It allows your staff to share ideas, provide solutions, and share widely why and who you help. By embracing this shift, you’ll unlock new opportunities, deepen relationships, and enhance your impact in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Link 💜I recently introduced a few nonprofits to ConvertKit. If you don't already have an email marketing platform, look no further! ConvertKit helps you grow. From the creator network to great connections with other software, it's a great way to add automation to your workflow. It's report time—introducing Next After's 2024 Fundraising Benchmark Report, a data-driven look at how a digital-first approach to fundraising is improving online and offline fundraising metrics for 27 organizations. It's time to unleash the power of chat marketing and supercharge conversions on your social channels with ManyChat. Engage with your donors where they are when they're ready. Capture the email addresses and phone numbers for up to 80% of your leads and add them automatically to your database. Thanks for reading this far! ✌🏼 |
Every other Sunday, I'll spark ⚡️your nonprofit's online fundraising strategy and deliver the tools you need to succeed. You'll receive an actionable tip and three links to drive donor engagement, deliver the best online experience for your donors, and raise more revenue. Join us!