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While some non profits put a lot of focus on building an online following, non profit consulting firms recognize the importance of converting those followers and friends to donors. To succeed, non profits must carefully follow these guidelines: 1. Identify and engage the target audience online. Who is it that you want to acquire as donors? Non profit consulting firms advise organizations to create an easy way to acquire online supporters. For example, link one issue to one action or run contests to gather new followers. 2. Segment the online supporters. Although this might not be entirely possible, you want to separate out those supporters who are most likely to be converted to donors as best you can. These would be the ones who are most passionate about your organization and cause. This can be done by tracking the number of actions the supporter has taken at your organization’s request. You also need to easily distinguish supporters who are under 18, as these supporters will not be fundraising candidates. 3. Collect ample information. Non profit consulting firms find many organizations don’t collect enough information from their online supporters. Many non profits capture just e-mail addresses and don’t come close to getting the information they need to convert supporters to donors. Research has shown using a multi-channel approach to communicate with supporters increases the likelihood of a donor conversion. Therefore, it’s crucial to get a full name, street address and phone number from online supporters. E-mail cannot be the only way to communicate and solicit donations from online supporters. You may want to include an opt-in clause and consider using a petition, pledge, survey, registration, newsletter or other simple information gathering tool. 4. Build a relationship. Prior to starting to fundraise among your supporters, non profit consulting firms recommend you build a relationship over a series of six to eight communications. These communications can include a variety of information, such as a thank you letter for showing interest in your organization and cause, more information about your organization, newsletters, recent direct mail packages, calls-to-actions and more. The end communication should include an ask based on what you would normally request from a prospective donor. 5. Make the call. After communicating with supporters over the six to eight week period, it’s time to engage with a phone call. The goal is to convert the supporter to a regular donor. The call should happen within three months of the initial action, and within a few weeks of the supporter’s receipt of a direct mail piece or email to help open the call – “I’m calling to follow up on the mail/email we sent you…” 6. Test and adjust. Many factors will influence your response rate. The last time the supporter took action, how active the supporter was, how urgent your appeal was, how you engaged the supporter, and the strength of the call to action, are a few of these influencers. The best course of action is to continually test your program and adjust accordingly. Although these steps have proven successful in many campaigns, many aspects of the donor conversion process will need to be tweaked. Too many disparate factors are at play for a one-size fits all approach to work every time. Many non profit consulting firms recommend you keep trying different approaches until you find what works. And remember, the reward will be well worth the effort.
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