It’s a new year. And we can say it with confidence. But not because we rang it at some fancy party where we saw the ball drop.
Nope, we know it’s a new year because it’s list season. As soon as we see all these trends, tips and predictions popping up in our inboxes, that’s when we know the new year has officially arrived.
Now we’re throwing our hat in the ring. Except with our own spin. Because, yes, fundraising trends are great. In theory. They sound awesome and you definitely feel like you can conquer the world after reading them (or at least your 9 to 5).
But…how do you actually get any of them done?
That’s where we come in. Below are the trends we believe in or agree with. Except these aren’t purely-aspirational ideas. By using EverTrue, you and your team should be able to look back in 12 months and say you turned an industry prediction into an accomplished goal.
Keep Your Donors Loyal
Spoiler alert: You’re going to hear us talking about this one A LOT this year. Brent especially. It’s a big one and we firmly believe it’ll pay dividends in 2019 and well beyond.
How do you keep your donors loyal? You can’t call them up to ask for money every other month. And while you might be able to count on a yearly donation at some level, you can’t ask for a huge gift year in and year out without burning a few bridges. Staying top of mind without over asking is a fine, but critical, line to walk.
However, if you stay up to date on the lives and interests of your donors with EverTrue, you can keep conversations going throughout the year, keeping your organization top of mind in the process. We can help you gather more up-to-date and well-rounded information about alumni than ever before, allowing you to, for example, send them news about a professor they’ve shown affinity for or connect them with relevant alums when they change jobs. This keeps communication open and shows that your institution values them beyond just their dollars.
Which leads us to…
Tell Incredible Stories
People love stories. It’s a scientific fact. And it’s an effective advancement strategy. By capturing stories your alums care about, you forge a deeper connection with them. After you build a great content engine and start putting incredible stories in front of people, you can use our social tracking to isolate exactly who your content is resonating with.
Track likes and comments on a specific piece of content in EverTrue or drill down to get the picture of a potential donor’s interests by viewing their engagement history. This arms your gift officers with obvious conversation starters that you know they’ll be receptive to.
Personalize Your Communications
And no. Starting it off with “Hi, [INSERT FIRST NAME]” isn’t going to cut it in 2019. Everyone is on to that trick at this point. It no longer passes for personalization.
How do you truly personalize your emails and other communications? As you begin to track people’s habits and interests in EverTrue, you can make sure your interactions are tailored to them. Find people who love the baseball team or have a fascination with your study abroad programs then make sure that’s the type of thing your emailing them about. You can make sure they see a lot of that same content on Facebook, as well.
Collect Donations Within Facebook
Well, why not? The Facebook Donate button is just there, where donors are already spending time. You don’t have to pick up a phone or make a visit or anything.
Segment groups in EverTrue based on interests, enable Donate and, bang, watch the donations roll in.
OK, it might not exactly be that easy. But it doesn’t have to be hard either.
By tying together segmenting in EverTrue, a series of good content and consistent monitoring, you can turn Facebook into a valuable stream of donations this year.