Fund Raising Tips for Nonprofits and How to Take Advantage of Them

    LEXINGTON, KY, April 22, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When they go out of business, nonprofit organizations generally do it for one of two reasons. They either complete the mission for which they were originally formed or they fail to compete successfully for financial support.

Complete or compete? Which is the endgame for you?

Unless you can see the completion of your mission in the near future, competing for funds is the number one challenge for most nonprofits.

You can try to do it alone, but the route to success is much easier when you partner with professionals who can provide the experience and expertise you need to succeed in the highly competitive world of fund raising for nonprofits.

For over 30 years Bluegrass Mail has provided direct mail, list management and other fulfillment services to businesses and organizations of all kinds. Over those three decades we have developed an appreciation for the unique nature of fund raising for nonprofits and expertise in developing strategies for meeting your goals.

We have identified keys to successful fund raising for nonprofits and pitfalls that prevent many organizations from achieving success. We are happy to share them with you.

Fund Raising Tip #1: Acquisition of new givers must be your number one priority.

Fund Raising Tip #2: Make sure your appeal is appealing.

Fund Raising Tip #3: Direct Mail Fundraising - It works

Fund Raising Tip #4: Think multichannel.

When people think of fund raising for nonprofits they usually think of large, well-known national organizations. But most nonprofits are small, community-based groups competing on a daily basis for a share of limited dollars.

And there are lots of both. 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States competing for $300 billion in charitable giving annually. Nonprofits employ 10 percent of the nation's work force and most of them working at competing with you for money.

Once your organization has decided to compete, Bluegrass Mailing's job is to help you find new donors, nurture them and turn them in to regular supporters you can depend on far into the future.

Along the way we will help you avoid common pitfalls that can inhibit or even sabotage the most well-intended fund raising efforts.

Fund Raising Tip #1: Acquisition of new givers must be your number one priority.

All sustained fund raising success starts with developing and maintaining a strategy for constantly acquiring new donors. In fact, three-fourths of new donors will come from direct mail.

Fund raising professionals will tell you that future contributions are most likely to come from people who have contributed in the past. However, those same professionals will warn you that following the path of least resistance by focusing all your attention on your existing donor base is the quickest route to eventual collapse.

Any pool of sustaining support is in a constant state of deterioration. Failure to regularly recruit new donors is like building a home on a weak foundation. No matter how sound and beautiful it may look, if the foundation is weakening the structure is eventually going to collapse no matter how much effort you put into maintaining it.

Bluegrass Mailing, Data and Fulfillment Services has an arsenal of tools for identifying, prioritizing and introducing your organization to new contributors. We use state-of-the-art tools like data mining and variable data printing technologies and combine them with over 30-years experience to help you develop a strategy designed to fit your particular needs.

Data mining is a process of identifying key points of information from large data sets and applying the information to define and reach your target audience. Data mining reveals patterns in large data sets that enable us to find the shortest, most efficient path from point A to point B, from you to your contributor. It's kind of like finding a needle in a haystack, except that we make the haystack bigger and find you a lot more needles.

Once the target is identified, we use variable-data printing (VDP) technology to make sure you deliver the right message to the right people at the right time. VDP helps us integrate all the elements of your fund raising strategy into a comprehensive plan that is both cost efficient and effective.

You don't have to be the first to ask, but you have to ask first.

Acquisition of new givers is the single most important feature of any successful fund raising strategy. It is the launching pad for your fund raising rocket. It's the "Go" on your fund raising Monopoly board. It's the kick off to your Super Bowl.

Everything else you do in fund raising begins with acquiring new donors. The effort must be constant. It must be permanent. And it must be effective.

The universe is your target. Bluegrass makes your universe manageable, but more importantly we make it reachable and affordable by connecting you with the people most likely to respond to your appeal . . . the first time and every time after that.

Fund Raising Tip #2: Make sure your appeal is appealing.

Bluegrass is not just a direct mail and fulfillment company, we are a communications company that specializes in demographic analysis and data management.

We combine expertise in direct mail, list management and other fulfillment services with state-of-the-art data mining and communications skills to provide cost-effective tools for success. We don't just help you determine who you need to reach, we help you develop the tools you need to reach them.

Failing to "make the ask" is a common pitfall that affects far too many nonprofits. It's hard to believe that it happens so often. Cards and letters that get so wrapped up in pulling your heartstrings that they fail to convince people to pull out their wallets.

Finding the right balance between head and heart is a very unique skill. We take great pride in our ability to help you communicate your message effectively. It is where a partnership with the professionals at Bluegrass may pay its biggest dividends.

No one believes more strongly in your cause than you do. Your passion is one of the things that makes your organization successful. But passion alone is not enough.

You don't have to be the loudest instrument in the orchestra to be heard.

Your passion can even get in the way of an effective message if you are playing the violin in a world full of trumpets. You will never be able to play loud enough to be heard unless all of the instruments are brought together to produce a single sound.

Believe it or not, variable data printing (VDP) even plays a role in message development. Don't let the word printing fool you. VDP is not just about putting text and graphics and images on paper or in an email. It's about combining the right text, graphics and images to form just the right message for just the right audience delivered at just the right time.

We use variable data printing to identify the each person's hot button and produce and deliver the message that pushes it.

Combining your passion with our ability to communicate will put the entire orchestra behind you and your passion. Sweet music indeed.

Fund Raising Tip #3: Direct mail fundraising - it still works.

If the acquisition of new givers is the number one goal of a sustained, comprehensive fund raising strategy, direct mail is the best way to do it.

It sounds old fashioned to talk about direct mail in a world dominated by cyber technology. But experts agree that "the majority of gifts are still received through direct mail." (2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Report, Helen Flannery and Rob Harris)

At one time people believed that telephone solicitation would be the dominant medium for raising money. Then the Internet made email and online giving possible. There is no question that the way we communicate is changing, but successful fund raisers will tell you that you should still rely on direct mail as the major feature of a comprehensive fund raising strategy.

Direct mail is the dinosaur that gets more popular with age.

Mal Warwich, one of the world's leading authors, consultants and public speakers on direct response marketing and fund raising for nonprofits says that "fund raising letters are - by far - the single biggest means used by nonprofits to recruit new donors."

Just because it sounds low tech, doesn't mean that it is.

Direct mail works because it is personal, target-able and cost efficient.

There is a limit to the amount of information that can be included in an email or Facebook post, certainly not enough to build a lasting relationship with people who are willing to part with their money to support you.

Direct mail also allows you to use use more information to better target your appeals. In addition to basic demographics, you can apply donor history and psychographics -- personality traits, attitudes, interests, and lifestyle preferences -- to better profile your target in ways that are not effective with email and social media.

A direct mail strategy developed by the professionals at Bluegrass Mailing, Data and Fulfillment Services allows you to tell your story effectively, make your appeal personal, and build the kind of relationships with givers that are necessary to sustain success over the long term.

State-of-the-art tools like data mining and variable data printing technology enable Bluegrass to target your message and match your organization's profile with demographic and psychographic characteristics of potential givers. This ensures your message gets to the right people and speaks their language.

Add list management, creative, copywriting and other services and you have an unbeatable combination of skills and professional services ready to assist your organization to develop and execute a comprehensive fund raising strategy that maximizes your investment and your potential for success.

Your message may end up in cyber space, but it starts in a mail box.

Fund Raising Tip #4: Think multichannel

At a seminar sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, political analyst Scott Rasmussen, founder and president of Rasmussen Reports (and co-founder of ESPN), recently told an audience of businessmen and women that in five years "we will not be using telephones for polling."

The fact that the day may be coming when we no longer are interrupted at dinner by pollsters is worth celebrating. But the significance of Mr. Rasmussen's observation is in the fact that it recognizes that the way people communicate is changing.

It teaches us that nonprofits must keep up with new trends and tools in order to continue to successfully compete for support. It means that to succeed over the long-term your strategy must be adaptable and employ all of the tools available.

What better way to compete than by relying on a company that combines over 30-years of experience in direct mail and fulfillment services with expertise in state-of-art digital and online technologies? Bluegrass is a "one-stop shop" for everything related to direct marketing from the mail box to cyber space.

While experts agree that the majority of contributions are still received through direct mail, it is becoming increasingly common for a first contribution to be given online. (1) Young givers - the ones who have never had a land line telephone or a newspaper delivered to their doors - are a prime target for an online outreach strategy.

Did you know that those younger online givers tend to have higher household incomes than mail-acquired givers? Or that they tend to give larger gifts than mail-acquired donors and tend to give over a longer period of time? (2)

On the other hand, did you also know that retention rates are lower for first-time online givers than for first-time direct mail givers? Or that large numbers of first-time online givers eventually switch to offline methods, usually direct mail? (3)

Your fund raising strategy must recognize that the process of acquiring new donors - the number one priority of an effective fund raising program -- and keeping them, needs to embrace new technologies and constantly adapt to change. But it also must incorporate tried and true techniques for retaining donors and maximizing their support for your organization.

You don't have to outspend the competition to outwork them.

At Bluegrass we love new technologies. We think variable digital printing technology is one of the most innovative and effective tools available for maximizing effectiveness and stretching your budget.

But we've been around long enough to know that the best strategy is the one that works!

(1) 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Mulitchannel Giving Report, Helen Flannery and Rob Harris
(2) 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Mulitchannel Giving Report, Helen Flannery and Rob Harris

For 35+ years BlueGrass Mailing has provided complete services for everything related to Direct Mail Marketing, Billing Services, and Fulfillment. Each of the services we offer is designed to maximize value, cost effectiveness, and Return On Investment (ROI). We do everything under one roof so you have access to all our experts from planning and design all the way through to delivery and tracking. Give us a call today to find out how we can help you create a successful non-profit fundraising campaign. 800.928.6245

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