Engagement Fundraising

These are the “four selfs” of Engagement Fundraising:
• Self-qualification
• Self-education
• Self-involvement
• Self-solicitation

s Your Offer Worth Sending?

❏ Is it fun?
❏ Is it novel?
❏ Is it fair?
❏ Is it honest?
❏ Are you being transparent?
❏ Is it shareable?
❏ Will it evoke emotion?
❏ Will it make them feel good (release dopamine and/or oxytocin)?
❏ Will it provide a sense of community (connection with others)?
❏ Will it help educate or inform?
❏ Will it help them feel like the hero in their own life story (provide feelings of autobiographical heroism)?
❏ Will it give them a sense that they can live forever in the minds of others (provide feelings of symbolic immortality)?
❏ Will it enable them to give back or pay it forward to others?
❏ Will it give them notoriety and/or praise?
❏ Will it enable them to right wrongs they want to change in society?
❏ Will it give them a feeling that they’re being religious or that they may be able to satisfy their religious dictates?
• Sign up for notifications about new blog posts and you’ll learn ___________________________.
• Take the survey so you can tell us what you think.
• Volunteer and you could make great new networking contacts (or meet new people, develop new skills, teach your skills to others, feel needed and valued, give back, improve the lives of others, or simply make a difference).
• Share this and your friends will appreciate that you did!
• Give conveniently using your donor-advised fund.
• Make your donations go further when you give to our Challenge Campaign in which a matching grant from a generous major sponsor doubles your gift.
• Tell your story about how and why you share our mission using our new widget and then you can share it (on Facebook or other social media) with your friends.
• Create your autobiography using our fun workbook so you can pass on your views, ethics, values, and story to future generations.
• Create your ethical will using our fun workbook to share your life lessons with your family and friends.
• Learn how to create a will and prepare your estate plan using our free workbook (or by requesting our kit, joining our webinar, attending our seminar, etc.) so you can provide for your loved ones and the charities you believe in.
• Check out our webinars (videos, infographics, bulletins, and/or any other ways to show “what you did with their money”) so you can see the impact your donations make.
• Try out our helpful app (widget, game, calculator, locator map, and/or any other ways to help improve your supporters’ lives).
• You’re invited to attend our science and research event so you can learn how our researchers are using your donations to search for a cure.
• Get a special VIP tour of the facility so you can see firsthand how your donations have built a foundation for successful impact.
• Subscribe to our e-newsletters (advocacy alerts, financial reports, updates, and other news) so you can stay up-to-date.

Number of times seeing an ad Prospect’s reaction
1st time Doesn’t see it
2nd time Notices it
3rd time Conscious of its existence
4th time Faintly remembers having seen it before
5th time Reads it
6th time Turns up nose at it
7th time Reads it and says, “Oh brother!”
8th time Reads it and says, “Here it is again!”
9th time Wonders if it matters
10th time Asks others about it
11th time Wonders why it matters
12th time Figures it must be a good thing
13th time Begins to believe it might be worth considering
14th time Remembers wanting to take action
15th time Yearns to take action
16th time Decides to take action someday
17th time Makes a conscious decision to take action
18th time Gains a burning desire to take action
19th time Considers the decision very carefully
20th time Takes action
For charities, it isn’t a matter of repeating the same message over and over again. It’s about making your donors feel good over and over. That’s what does the trick.
Repetition costs money,

You want your organization to be like an old friend or family member whom the donor can depend on. You might ask them for money every once in a while, but you’ve consistently engaged with them, so they already know about the problem. The donor has been involved from the beginning and they know that you really need the money and that it will be put to good use. They know you aren’t going to hit them up all the time, or sell their name to another charity. You share a level of trust and belief in the mission, so the donor welcomes the opportunity to give.

Nonprofits that listen effectively to donor verbatims and digital body language can be relevant and provide value to their supporters.

Be a facilitator; let the bait sit. Give before you try to get. Provide value. Offer opportunities for people to better themselves. Keep a donor-centric, donor-delight, facilitation-oriented mindset, and you will meet your goals

If you can think of yourself in terms of being a facilitator, you’ll be less anxious about approaching donors and asking for money. The anxiety disappears, because facilitators don’t ask. They provide supporters with opportunities to change the world and they help them make an impact.

Your task has always been about facilitating giving and connecting the following dots:
• The mission of the organization
• The programs that need funding
• How the mission entwines with a donor’s story
• How giving can make someone feel good about being the hero in their story, an advocate for change, a righter of wrongs, etc

Each donor also has their own process for making their decisions. Chances are you don’t know what that is, so the best move is no move at all, especially if their process involves anonymity.
Let them think until they’re ready. Listen. Look for cues. Then make sure you’re there for them when they want you to facilitate the giving process.

Giving the donor space