Do your donor and volunteer engagement rates fluctuate? Do fewer supporters open your emails? If so, it may be time to rethink your marketing strategy.
Rejuvenate your strategy with fresh, creative approaches. Even when you’re not directly asking for support, strong communication makes your work’s impact visible and drives donations.
We’ll share four fun, interactive ways to keep your supporters engaged year-round. Not only do these strategies encourage continued involvement, but they also strengthen the vital connections that fuel your mission.
1) Nonprofit eCards
Digital greeting cards let supporters know you’re thinking about them. They can be instantly delivered and eliminate the need for paper and postage. Plus, they can include interactive elements like animations, videos, and links to your website, which provide more value to recipients.
With these positives, eCards can help forge meaningful relationships and boost donor retention. If this strategy fits your brand, it’s a fun and creative way to steward supporters!
Here’s how to launch your eCard campaign:
Determine when and why you’ll send eCards. Decide the specific occasions and purposes for which you’ll use eCards. This could include thank-you notes, birthdays, holiday greetings, major program updates, or the anniversary of a donor’s first gift.
Design your eCards using an online platform. Create appealing eCard designs aligned with your nonprofit's brand. Use an eCard creation platform with user-friendly tools, like pre-made templates and design assets. Strengthen brand recognition and bring your designs to life by incorporating your logo and animations into your cards.
Create personalized messages. Write eCard messages based on the recipient's previous interactions with your organization. Use their donation history, event participation, and past feedback to craft personal and relevant messages. For example, you might encourage a beneficiary to write a thank-you note to a volunteer, letting them know how their work personally impacted them.
Share your impact story. For nonprofits, an impact story is a narrative statement that combines anecdotal and quantitative evidence to help donors understand how participants are better off as a result of your organization’s efforts.
Track your results. After sending eCards, monitor how many recipients opened theirs and took further action. Tracking these metrics helps you understand the effectiveness of your eCards and refine future communications.
eCardWidget’s charity eCards guide shares a great example of an eCard created by Peace Winds America to support their mission of improving disaster preparedness, response, and recovery globally. To spread awareness, the organization celebrates World Refugee Day, which occurs near Father’s Day. They created a collection of eCards like the one below to celebrate both occasions:
Supporters could send digital cards like this one to wish their father figures a happy Father’s Day and spread awareness of an important cause at the same time. This eCard strategy allowed the nonprofit to engage with current supporters and connect with new ones.
2) Impact Reports
Create detailed impact reports that visually show how contributions are used and the difference they make in people’s lives. Provide digital and print options to ensure they are accessible to all supporters.
Impact reports are especially useful at the end of the year, which is when the majority of charitable giving occurs. It shows donors that the money they’ve given is being put to good use, and it tells volunteers that their hands-on support makes a real difference. Essentially, impact reports position your nonprofit as a worthy steward of gifts, inspiring continued support.
Include these elements in your annual report to demonstrate supporters’ impact:
● Mission Outcome Statistics: Put the nonprofit data you’ve collected to good use by featuring it in your report. Quantify how many individuals or communities have directly benefited from your programs and how they are better off as a result. Also, detail specific achievements, such as the number of individuals who have obtained a livable wage, number of people who have completed their GED, and the percent of participants who successfully complete a program..
● Visually Engaging Formats: Make data digestible by using infographics, charts, and compelling visuals that illustrate your impact.
● Beneficiary Stories: Include personal stories from beneficiaries who were directly impacted by support. Data-driven impact stories communicate your nonprofit’s influence and add a human element to data, helping donors better understand how their gifts support your cause.
● Annual Comparisons: Provide year-over-year comparisons to show progress and how new contributions can further your mission.
An impact report is a great opportunity to share future plans with supporters. After all, 90% of American donors say that knowing how their contributions will be used plays a role in their decision to give.
3) Fun Appreciation Events
From wrapping up a major campaign to closing out the year on a positive note, an appreciation event can help you connect with supporters and show how much you value them. These events also facilitate personal interactions, foster a sense of belonging, and instill loyalty toward your organization.
Celebrate achievements and thank supporters by throwing a gala dinner, thank-you lunch, or casual ice-cream party. You can even elevate the experience by handing out recognition awards, lining up speakers, and featuring fun music and games.
Appreciation events inspire people to continue supporting your work. In fact, approximately 87% of donors who attended an appreciation event said that it positively impacted their decision to give again. This means your appreciation events can pay for themselves in terms of long-term and increased support from attendees.
4) Advertisements
Nonprofit advertisements keep your mission top-of-mind and reinforce supporters' emotional investment in your cause. Additionally, ads can highlight involvement opportunities and showcase supporters’ impact.
Getting Attention’s nonprofit advertising guide explains that nonprofits can leverage several types of advertising, like Google Search, social media, print, influencer, and radio ads. Among these, nonprofits find the most success with search ads, which generate an incredible ROI of $4.78 for every dollar spent.
Best of all, nonprofits can tap into free advertising opportunities, such as the Google Ad Grant. Through this program, eligible nonprofits can receive up to $10,000 in ad credits to promote events, volunteer opportunities, and fundraisers. Here’s how the grant helps you connect with supporters:
● Targeting Features: Google Ads enable highly targeted advertising based on user behavior, search history, location, and demographics. Look at your supporter segments, and use Google’s targeting features to deliver specific messages to those most likely to engage.
● Keyword Research: Conduct keyword research to determine what terms and phrases your supporters search for to find your cause. For instance, you might identify that supporters search for terms like "local environmental action," "community food drives near me," or "how to help homeless in [city]" to find initiatives your nonprofit offers.
● Content Promotion: Promote content your audience likely has interest in, such as success stories, impact reports, and educational materials. This keeps supporters informed and deepens their connections to your cause by emphasizing their impact.
Thoughtfully crafted advertisements not only emphasize the impact current supporters have but also help recruit new volunteers and donors. Leverage opportunities like the Google Ad Grant to communicate impact, sustain your initiatives, and stand out online.
Start Improving Your Communication Strategy
Staying on top of the latest nonprofit trends can help you tap into creative methods that drive support. Whether through strategic use of Google Ads or hosting appreciative events, staying connected in meaningful ways ensures supporters are continuously engaged. Just pay attention to what works, make sure to share a measurable impact story, and adjust as you go!
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