Ep. 193: The Fundraising Skill No One Taught You
EPISODE 193
The Fundraising Skill No One Taught You
About the Episode:
Online fundraising isn't hard because your donors aren't online. It's hard because most nonprofit leaders were never actually taught how to fundraise in the first place, and that's exactly what I'm fixing in this episode.
In this follow-up to last week's episode on campaign frequency, I dig into why so many organizations try online fundraising once, don't hit their goal, and walk away convinced it doesn't work for them. I break down what a real SPRINT™ campaign looks like versus what most nonprofits do (sending one email, posting a donation link, and hoping for the best). I cover the data behind email fundraising, why your donors aren't as offline as you think, and why a donate button is not a strategy. If you've ever told yourself online fundraising just doesn't work for your organization, this episode will change how you see that.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Why 99% of nonprofit leaders were never actually taught how to run a campaign
The difference between fundraising activity and a real campaign strategy
Why your donors aren't as offline as you think, and how to invite them into a new giving habit
What a real SPRINT™ campaign looks like versus one email and a donation link
The snowball effect, and why momentum makes giving psychologically contagious
Why a small email list isn't a barrier when the message is strong
It’s not your stories—it’s how you’re telling them. If your amazing work isn’t getting the attention (and donations) it deserves, it’s time for a messaging shift. The Brave Fundraiser’s Guide guide gives you 10 done-for-you donor prompts to make your message impossible to ignore. Get it for free here! https://christinaedwards.krtra.com/t/xKuLs6tOiPZa
Christina’s Favorite Takeaways:
“Online fundraising is a skill, not luck.”
“Saying online fundraising doesn't work is like telling me your car doesn't drive.”
“A donate button is not a strategy, a campaign is.”
“More donors give - more donors share.”
“Email is still one of the most effective fundraising channels. It outperforms almost every fundraising channel.”
“Online fundraising isn't broken. Online fundraising isn't something that won't work for your nonprofit. It is simply a skill most organizations, most leaders, executive directors, fundraisers and marketers were just never taught.”
Episode Resources:
FREE Resources from Splendid Consulting:
How to Work with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
$10K in 10 Days: The SPRINT Campaign™ to Fund Q1 - Fast, Online, and Without Events or Grants
Double Your Donations - Raise More From Your Laptop Without Chasing Grants or Galas
Easy Emails For Impact™ - Turn Your Inbox into an Income Stream
Donations on Demand: Build a $5K Email Campaign System in 30 min/week
The SPRINT Method™ - Fundraise Like a Pro, 5 Figures At a Time
Connect with Christina and Splendid Consulting:
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*Links may be affiliate links which means I may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Christina Edwards 0:08So let me say something that might surprise you, online fundraising isn't hard because donors aren't online. It's hard because most nonprofit leaders were never taught how to fundraise in the first place, and that is what we're fixing today. And once you see this, you can't really unsee it. So in the last episode, we talked about why million dollar nonprofits run more campaigns, more fundraisers throughout the year. And I don't mean more galas, more 5k and more raffles. I am talking about more sprint campaigns,
Christina Edwards 1:13
but there's a reason why most nonprofits don't actually do that. Most organizations were never taught how to run a campaign in the first place. 99% of the leaders that come to me fundraisers, executive directors, directors of development, were never actually taught how to fundraise in the first place. So that's what we're going to dig into today.
Christina Edwards 1:40
So we know that million dollar plus organizations run campaigns throughout the year, not just a year end and a spring fundraiser, but throughout the year, they move faster. They create momentum. They run multiple fundraising moments instead of waiting for the big event, the big year end appeal. And there, there's a reason why many organizations do not do that. They may say, Yeah, Christina, that sounds great and all, but we can't do that. Most organizations were never actually taught how to run an online campaign in the first place.
Christina Edwards 2:53
so, when leaders say we've tried online fundraising, what they actually mean is we've sent a few emails, we post it on social, we link to our donation page that is not a sprint campaign. Online fundraising is a skill, not luck, not personality, a skill. So it's not your fault, and that's what we're going to address today. Many organizations believe that online fundraising doesn't work for them because they tried it before. They tried it once or twice. They've tried it on Giving Tuesday, and they're super bad about it. They ran a campaign, they sent a few emails, they didn't hit the goal, they felt the embarrassment, they felt the failure, and they don't want to do that again, right? And the conclusion becomes, our audience just doesn't respond to online fundraising. They're just not online. They're not on social media. They don't read their emails, right? But the reality is, there's often a very low tolerance for failure. Yet every fundraising strategy has a learning curve. Think about it, you would not run one event and decide events don't work. You would not submit one grant and decide grants don't work, but with online fundraising, it is very much a snip, snap. Try it once, abandon it, sprinkle it in a few times a year and just hope for the best, fingers crossed. Trying is not a strategy. Hoping is not a strategy. That's just a test, that is just more work you're putting on your to do list for no actual purpose. You know, you don't feel like it's going to convert in the first place. Another thing that happens are these sweeping generalizations about donors, like I've lost count how many I've heard, how many times I've heard this, even in the last month or two. So here's what I hear. Our donors skew older. They're not online Christina, they're just not on social media. They don't read their emails. They don't like it when we text. They like direct mail. That's the best way. They like to come to our event. They want to be at our golf outing. But listen, recent research shows that 90% of adults age 65 and up, use the internet. I would agree. I'm like, they use the internet. So stop making sweeping generalizations. They read emails. The predominant, the majority of Facebook users, the largest user base, are boomers. Are older, right? They skew older. They're hanging out on Facebook. They're reading their emails. So don't discount them. The issue is not that donors are offline. And if you're thinking, Yes, but we need Gen Z, we need millennials. We need younger donors. Y'all, they're definitely online too. So I want you to think about the issues. About Is this a learned behavior? Have you trained your donors into a single behavior, and now you're saying, well, that's the best way. You mail them letters. They mail you back checks. you've basically been pen pals. You've basically been pen pals. Listen, I had pen pals growing up too. We would mail letters. It was great. We'd talk on the phone. Then the internet came along, and suddenly those pen pals were emailing and instant messaging. Behavior changes when the medium changes. Many nonprofits have simply never invited donors into a different way of giving, or they've they've invited so softly, so softly, that those donors have not created the habit for which you've cultivated that is the dinosaur habit back here. Now I'm not saying you have to get rid of your direct mail program. I'm just saying we need to do both, and we can sync those two together so your donors did not reject online giving. They were never really fully invited to it in the first place. So when organizations say online fundraising doesn't work, what they usually mean is something broke during the campaign. Not enough donors gave. The donation page didn't convert. The story didn't land. They weren't sure what to say next. The board didn't help. Momentum stalled. But when I take a look closer, what many organizations actually ran was not a sprint campaign at all.
Christina Edwards 7:28
So what they really did was sent out one or two emails, some social posts, donation link, and then they waited and hoped. But a real conversion campaign looks different. A sprint campaign might include a two week fundraising window, a clear goal layered in urgency, multiple touch points with donors, a story that builds over time, reminders, a snowball effect, which we'll talk about in a second. That is the difference between activity and strategy. So here's an analogy. Saying online fundraising doesn't work is like telling me your car doesn't drive, but when I walk over to your driveway and look a little closer, listen, you're out of gas. So of course, it's sputtered out. That doesn't mean the car is broken. That doesn't mean we have to just solely start walking and biking places. It means the system wasn't set up a campaign struggling doesn't mean the strategy field. It means a system wasn't there. That's why I love coaching so much, because we have the curriculum of the sprint method, and then you have coaching where I can go in and go, Okay, here's where it was sputtering, here's what we're going to do instead. And we can do these changes very, very quickly.
Christina Edwards 8:50
most leaders were never actually taught how to fundraise, how to lead a campaign and how to tolerate failure while learning. And that's a big problem, because doing a few things, sending a few emails, is not the same as running a campaign, and most organization attempts at fundraising look like that send one email, post once on social, share a donation link, then wait. That is not a campaign. A donate button is not a strategy. Hear me on this, just like I said a few weeks ago, monthly giving is not just having the ability on a form to donate on a monthly basis. That is not a monthly giving campaign. So a donate button is not a strategy a campaign is a campaign has structure, so it has the goal, the timeline, a story that on. Folds that people are like leaning in and want to be a part of that repeated messaging, because we are more distracted than ever. We need those repeats, escalating urgency donor matches, we weave in all of these high impact elements in your campaign, so a moment where donors and donor prospects understand why they should give now, not later. When those elements come together, that's when something powerful happens. That's when the momentum builds. That's when people actually start reaching out to you. We've had so many clients where people will say, is it too late? Hang on. I'm sending you a check. Hang on. Can I give online? Where's the link? Again, you actually get that energy in your campaign. That's when we see giving accelerate. That is the difference between people hoping, people donate, right, and leading people saying, over here, guiding people to the moment where they do. Running a sprint campaign is different than any other campaign you've run, because maybe you've tried this before, and it feels a lot like running a snowball down a hill, except you only pack a tiny, tiny snowball and push it once, and nothing really happens. It barely moves right. Can you picture that versus and that's really what most nonprofit fundraising attempts look like, one email, one post, one link, couple more, and then you go quietly into the night going, that didn't work. Just apply for another grant, but a true sprint campaign keeps pushing that tiny snowball quickly becomes a big snowball, right? It has the layer of peers, of emails, of community support, a moment of urgency, and suddenly the snowball starts rolling. That momentum builds. You're not really pushing it anymore. You're like gently guiding it forward. More donors see it. More donors give. More donors share. And that is something that happens psychologically. When we see that snowball effect happen, people are actually more moved to give. So psychologically, people are even more teed up to give to a campaign that's doing well than one that feels like a clunker. You with me, that's what a sprint does. It creates that movement, and when that movement starts, everything becomes easier and you become more magnetic. As a fundraiser, fundraising becomes easier and repeatable. So remember, a donate button is not a strategy a campaign is this is also where the data matters. So let's talk a little bit about data. Email is still one of the most effective fundraising channels. It is outperforms almost every fundraising channel I can think of online. It definitely outperforms social depending on the size of your organization. We see that $2.60 per email subscriber is the industry benchmark. On average a year I've seen it as high as 6 or $7 online giving continues to grow year after year in the sector. Grow. Not stall out, not go down. Grow. We have clients who have grown 60 plus percent in online giving quarter over quarter. Do not wait to implement and become excellent at this strategy, do not just say we're doing it. I want you to say we're doing it and we're the best at it in our sector. We're the best at it in our town, we're the best at it in our cause area. I want to share with you this idea of being a laptop fundraiser. This is why I love this idea so much because a laptop can raise life changing amount of money from a desk, from your kitchen table, from your sofa, without a ballroom, without a catering budget, without figuring out an MC, without having 50 volunteers to help you with auction items, without months of planning, it is a zero overhead fundraising strategy. You don't need a huge team. You need a system, a Wi Fi connection, a focus campaign, and the tools we give you in the sprint method, some of the most powerful fundraising moments our clients have had have been from a laptop. Now I also want to say you may hear this and think she hates events. Don't do events. That is not what I'm saying. We have clients who layer on Sprint campaigns to their events. So this doesn't mean that everything has to be purely digital. As somebody who does love meeting in real life, does love going to certain events and conferences and things like that, totally fine, but we can layer in a sprint campaign and it will convert higher for your in person. So for example, you can run a sprint campaign leading to a small gathering, a program, launch a community movement, a Bingo Night, anything like that, around a funding gap, the campaign is what creates the momentum. The format can be online, in person or hybrid. The key is the structure of the campaign itself. So let me give you an example. Mary is such a great one. We had her on the podcast recently before joining the sprint method. She really tried. She was trying this. She had her laptop. She had her Wi Fi connection. She had tried online fundraising. She was running multiple online fundraising at the same time, none of them were hitting their goals. Everything felt. At her. She was doing it all herself. She knew there had to be a better way, and once she implemented the sprint campaign structure we teach, everything changed. Her campaigns became more focused, her messaging became more clear, she became more confident, like I saw her confidence change, and she had the biggest fundraising year last year. She continues to soar this year. The difference was not the mission that didn't change. The difference was the system and support she got. If you're thinking, listen our donors perform in person events. Totally. Some do. This does not eliminate those right? That doesn't eliminate digital giving. Think about the donor that loves your in person event but just is out of town. They can't they're going to miss it for a whole year. They're not going to be connected to you for a whole year because they were going out of town for a weekend like that. Sucks for them, right? Think about all of the different ways this can help you. Sell your events, sell your tickets, sell your tables for your events. If you're thinking, we don't have a big social media following, totally fine. Not a problem. This is not about social media. Sometimes I struggle with talking about online because I think a lot of people think I'm talking about posting on social media. Yes, social media can be an arm of your strategy on this, but it is not the driver. It's like along for the ride, because the algorithm on social media makes it so hard for your audience to see your content anyway. So this does not rely on a huge social media following, or lots and lots of paid social media dollars behind it, or our email list is small, great. You'll be in good company. Lots of people inside the sprint method have small email lists. Small email lists raise money every day when the message is strong. This is definitely a quality over quantity piece. We have never done this before. Okay, that's exactly why you need the system. Most likely. You've sat on some webinars, you've taken some free trainings, you've read a few books, and you have DIY this, and you have done a beautiful job DIYing this to a certain point. Most people come to me when they're ready to stop DIYing this, and they want to lock in to a strategy and lock into support, support to engage their board support to offload this, to staff support to grow their mission. Because they are tired of wait lists. They are tired of saying no to people who who need the help that their cause area could help fund. Right
Christina Edwards 17:32
so you do not need a massive audience, you do not need a big old event budget. You do not need to be able to rub elbows with the foundation or grant funder in your community that you've never really been able to meet in person. You don't need any of that. You need a clear reason for people to give and you need a system to do it. So in the last episode, we talked about why million dollar nonprofits run more campaigns. But the deeper truth here is that they don't just run more campaigns. They know how to run them. Online fundraising isn't broken. Online fundraising isn't something that won't work for your nonprofit. It is simply a skill most organizations, most leaders, executive directors, fundraisers and marketers were just never taught. So if your car didn't move, you wouldn't throw it away. You wouldn't decide that's it. I'm only ever walking. I'm only ever biking. That's it. You would check the tank. You would check the engine, right? Fundraising works the same way.
Christina Edwards 19:04
so if you want to learn how to run focused 10k campaigns where you raise 510, 15, even $50,000 in a sprint campaign, like our clients are doing, that is exactly what we build inside the sprint method. Enrollment is opening this week. The best place to learn about it is going to splendidcourses.com/10k. You can always reach out to me on email or over at LinkedIn, if you're like, does this reply to me? Are we in the right spot for the sprint method? Should we join this program? I don't know. Just reach out to me and we'll talk. I'll see you in the next one.