What we learned from online giving campaigns during the pandemic.
Taking time to reflect can often be the most valuable part of teamwork. Intentionally setting aside time to look in the rear-view-mirror and make careful observations of how you did, what were the results of your endeavor, and can the effectiveness of your plan be measured are absolutely questions worth asking.
Here are five things that we learned from the online giving campaigns produced during the past 18 months:
It is what it is!
Banquets, auctions, friend-raisers, and giving campaigns are mutually exclusive efforts online. Meaning, each of these things are uniquely different. You could make a case for an online banquet having the ability to accomplish all the ‘whys’ that happen in each type of event. Areas have done a good job with transferring their traditional banquet to a virtual platform. However, the need for manipulating your event to a virtual scale is passing way.
We’ve made the clear and definite observation that the strategy and execution of these online events are distinctly different from one another. The online giving campaign has the laser-like focus on answering these three questions:
What are you asking for?
When do you want it?
How do I respond?
Anything that distracts your audience from clear answers to these questions is hindering your opportunity to reach your funding goal. It’s unique and has a specialized place in the market.
It’s here to stay.
There’s no question of the effectiveness and efficiency of an online giving campaign. If it doesn’t seem obvious to you yet, let me encourage you now: add this to your funding schedule! I believe that each ministry should include some type of online giving effort in their annual development plan.
Slowly, but surely, we are moving away from attempting to put our traditional banquet or auction onto a virtual platform. As the world becomes more safe and things open up, there’s less interest in the next innovative way to produce an online event that replaces our ministries traditional gathering. People will return to those when available. Yet, the online giving campaign will be acceptable and well-received for many years.
Follow the Data.
We live in an age of instant information. The data and analytics that you can access are endless when it comes to the behavior of your audience online. Trust the data! Trust the experience of those who have done this. Trust us; we’re here to help and can offer a variety of coaching and consulting mediums for your ministry.
Have a Plan. Have a Team
It’s important to not go at this alone. Like most things in ministry, loneliness and isolation will slowly destroy you. In particular, creating something online can feel like it’s possible to accomplish with fewer people on the team. We would strongly discourage that notion. Your audience will respond—or in this case, make a donation or give a gift—when they are invited to do so directly. The most effective way to get someone to contribute to your campaign is to personally ask them. All the emails, social posts, videos, and text messages will certainly bring awareness; but the highest rate of donations come from individual appeals. You need a team to accomplish this. The greater your team, the broader your reach, and the more positive your results.
It Works.
Surprisingly, some of the most basic development principles stand true in the online giving campaign. More than 80% of your contributions will come from less than 20% of your audience. Faithful, recurring donors are still the ones to contribute the most. Establishing major gifts before the event is a key to reaching your goal.
Additionally, an online campaign has the ability to reach a large number of people. You’ll have the opportunity to reach lapsed donors, new donors, one-time donors or event participants, parents, church groups, leaders, neighbors, and more.
A thoughtful understanding of your community is the best way to determine your goal. Relationships are the resounding ingredient to a successful campaign. Reaching new donors and growing your ministry is still possible when the campaign is presented correctly.
The next time we do an on-line campaign, there are 3 key things I will do differently.
1. MORE PROACTIVE: Next year our team will make more phone calls. Including a phone-a-thon during the campaign.
2. BIGGER NETWORK: Next year, I am going to thank people who gave a gift immediately after the transaction and ask them to spread the word and share the information in the email thank you response.
3. INTENTIONAL COLLABORATION: Next year I will invite other organizations (like a church or other nonprofit) with a broad audience to share the campaign information.
Don’t hesitate to add this to your annual fundraising schedule. Let us know how we can help!
Written by: Blake Raney