In the world of popularity have you noticed that the cool people all tend to be doing pretty much the same thing? Same clothes, same cars, same sports, etc. However, in the world of fundraising and non-profits that dynamic just doesn’t fit. The ones that stand out and do things differently are the ones that get noticed. Getting out there and grabbing your donors’ attention leads to higher donations and touching their hearts leads to gaining their loyalty.
Two ways to get noticed that I came across this week were creativity and startling/compelling facts.
Creativity can set you apart from the rest of the crowd. It shows your donors that you are really thinking about the needs of your organization and how best to meet those needs. There is a great example of creativity in this post that Take Part recently had about Canstruction:
founded by the Society of Art and Design in 1992, invites architects, engineers and designers to create sculptures made entirely of donated cans, and when the competition is over, the food will be donated to local food banks in time for Thanksgiving.1
Startling/compelling facts humanize your efforts. They showcase the facts and the foundations of why your organization matters, and the difference that their donation can make. Over at Oneicity they did a great job of explaining this in a little more detail here. Here is an excerpt:
Whatever your mission, if you don’t have a startling fact or a breath-taking statistic to share with your donors you’re missing out on two key opportunities.
1. Elevate your expert status. Your donors want you to be efficient, ethical and effective but they also need you to be an expert (how’s that for a string of “E”s?). If you or your organization is not an expert in your field, why would your donors give to you? Demonstrate your expertise with an arresting fact.
2. Sharpen the reality of your work. The “homeless” are an emotional stereotype that produce giving out of guilt or habit. Children having to “car camp” because their mom is on the run from an abusive dad can bond a donor to your work for life. The true, vivid picture of your work which sticks in a donor’s imagination will change your income for the better.2
There are so many other great ideas out there and these are just a couple of small things you can do to help you stand out amid the rest. The point is getting to know your donors and meeting their needs. What things have you tried or thought of to make you stand out?
One Comment
Thank you April for including us in such an insightful post. Your thoughtful concept of “getting to know your donors and meeting their needs” is one of the most succinct expressions of what every nonprofit CEO, Director of Development, Board Member and Vice President of Marketing should spend time doing right now.
Thanks again for sharing your wisdom.
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