Simple and Effective F2F Fundraising:
5 Reasons Your Nonprofit Can’t Afford Not to Raise Money Face to Face This Year
You just finished an annual budget meeting with your Board of Directors, and another goal is being set for the upcoming fundraising campaign. Your inbox is being inundated with ideas from your leadership and staff about new mobile giving tools and the latest trends in fundraising. While it may be tempting to just sit back and try engaging new potential donors through all of these new platforms, there is no better way to raise funds for your cause than through genuine relationships.
Here are 5 points to consider while creating your resource development plan this year:
1) Face to Face fundraising is still the most cost effective way to fundraise.
Donor acquisition can be a big deal for a nonprofit. If you are not careful, the cost of acquiring a new donor can exceed the amount of their gift. This is especially true in regards to online “crowd funding” campaigns or big corporate events. It takes a considerable investment to reach your target audience for a very small return. With a relationship fundraising model, a dedicated staff person can quickly build a mutual trust with a potential donor and often secure a larger gift. For the same amount of time and money it takes to raise $5 online, you could be raising $5,000 from a handful of local small business owners that see the need and want to partner with your organization.
2) Recurring gifts are more likely gained in person.
To grow your organization and exceed your fundraising goals, it is imperative that you start to grow your donor base each year. In order to do this, you must make a donor feel personally connected to your cause in order to become a long-term investor. A potential donor is much more likely to commit to a regular monthly or annual contribution if they are asked by someone directly.
3) It gives your nonprofit more credibility to potential donors.
When you shop for groceries, clothes, or select a hotel to stay in for the weekend, you are more likely to offer your business to those establishments that look like they are successful and focused on providing the customer with the best possible experience. Whether people realize it or not, this is also true when it comes to charitable contributions. Your potential donors are looking to invest their hard earned money into programs that make a real difference and are run by qualified leaders. While many would argue that nice buildings, big marketing campaigns, and full time fundraising staff are taking away from the nonprofit program funds, the verdict is in and the numbers say otherwise. The largest and most successful nonprofits raise more money than anyone and they do it by projecting success and building face-to-face relationships with major donors.
4) It allows you to capture higher quality information and analytics.
Face to face fundraising ensures that you get all of the information you need to communicate with your new donor throughout the year. It also gives you better data to collect moving forward. If there is a missing link in your message or something that doesn’t seem to be resonating well with potential donors, having the face-to-face interaction will help you figure out what is going wrong quickly. Rather than just putting your message out to the masses, a personal ask gives your nonprofit the opportunity to actually listen. Collecting personal feedback is an invaluable commodity these days.
5) It is the most effective way to tell your story.
A six figure marketing budget and the best campaign video in the world can’t compare to the power of face to face storytelling. If you have been struggling to meet your fundraising goals recently, this could be the missing ingredient you have been looking for. A meeting with a potential donor gives you the opportunity to accomplish three things:
1) Educate the donor about your programs
2) Ask the donor for a specific one time or recurring gift
3) Thank the donor
This very simple yet powerful approach to fundraising is usually only successful through face-to-face fundraising efforts.
