Maintaining ongoing communication with potential donors ensures they are up to date on upcoming fundraising events and school needs.
1. Start an email Campaign
Starting an e-mail or e-newsletter campaign is the #1 most crucial factor in the success of your online fundraiser. If people aren’t informed, they won’t be willing to help. The tips provided below will make your campaign a success.
Purchase email Marketing Software: Email marketing software will save a great deal of time and money. This software allows your donor database to be uploaded directly into an email marketing application, eliminating the need to manually upload data. Emails can be easily tailored to a recipient’s interests. Emaillabs.com offers great basic email marketing software. WildApricot, Convio, GetActive, and LocalVoice are designed specifically for online fundraising and offer a handful of specialized tools general email applications do not offer.
Do Not Solicit in Initial Mailings: The importance of not soliciting recipients with their first email cannot be emphasized enough. Initial emails should be used to gather information on the recipient needs and interests in order to provide more valuable content. There is a direct correlation between the relationships built with potential donors and the amount they will give.
Establish a Schedule for Writing and Distributing: The whole point of an email marketing program is to hold a recipient’s attention by keeping them continually informed. People will look forward to receiving your email. A set frequency should be established based on time constraints and your school’s ability to produce relevant news or content.
2. Integrate an RSS Feed
RSS feeds allow for subscribers to be automatically updated on new website content or events without having to regularly check your website. New blogs, email newsletter shipments, wiki page updates, and upcoming fundraising events should be placed on an RSS page. Doing this will greatly increase fundraiser participation. Keeping people engaged with student clubs, organizations, and teams is very important. The more involved they are, the more they will give. A few ideas are outlined below.
3. Start School Blogs and Forums
Forums are especially great for school websites. This gives parents, students, community members, and faculty a place to share ideas and become involved. A blog is a great way to provide information on current school happenings.
4. Create Wiki Pages
A wiki page is a webpage that has the capability to be edited by website visitors. Wikipedia is the most commonly known wiki site, offering a visitor edited, free encyclopedia. It’s a good idea to submit your school’s details and history to this site, as it will often come up first among search results. Schools can also advantage from wiki by developing their own Wiki page for every sports team and student organization. This will allow parents, students, or staff to contribute unique pictures and stories about each group. This not only helps establish a sense of community but also informs the entire community on student activities.
A wiki page can also be used for school details including school history and notable people. Giving staff the ability to quickly edit these pages will make them more valuable and interesting. For one more added benefit, search engines consider continually updated content more valuable, so having wiki pages will increase your website’s natural search results.
PBWiki provides a fully integrated wiki application that makes creating wiki pages a breeze.
5. Create and Distribute Charity Badges
A charity badge is a small widget often including a picture, brief description of the organization, and link to where you can make a donation. The beauty of the charity badge is that it allows users to share with one another by simply clicking on get this badge and copying the html code onto their website or blog. Using charity badges is good practice for any fundraising campaign. Although they may or may not produce large donations, they are a very effective way to promote a fundraiser. Having your badge placed in specific targeted locations can help you reach new demographic groups.
Also, charity badges are often shared from one friend to another, making requests targeted to individuals who may donate. They are also very inexpensive and easy to create. They cost no more than the time it takes to make them, which is minimal (simply follow step-by-step instructions though providers such as CareBadges or ChipIn).To get your school’s charity badge started, choose a provider and create a badge.
Then, email those who would be most likely to make a contribution or share the badge with others. After this, donate to your charity badge yourself, and have co-workers and friends do the same. People are much more likely to donate if they feel they are part of something bigger. Finally, promote your badge though your school blog, or social networking sites.
Article courtesy of Lance Trebesch and Colt Lapham of TicketPrinting.com
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