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A Forgotten Goal of Online Fundraising

Online fundraising is awesome. Done right, it can take the very best of your mission and spread it through e-mail to thousands of donors around the world, bringing cash into your organization within minutes. If it only did that, it would be worth every second I’ve ever put into writing messages and landing pages for nonprofits over the past few years.

But why stop there?

As great as the donations are, online fundraising can give you so much more than a quick monetary bump. It can also help you spread the word, inform the public, create fans, and build donor relationships that go on for years. In other words, it can help you meet all your goals… not just the ones that involve keeping the lights on this month.

Instead of talking about the forgotten goal of online fundraising as engagement, future funding, or creating a donor base, why don’t we stick with something simpler, like getting people interested and involved. Keep things on that level, and you’ll have an easier time pulling it off.

Here are a handful of ways you can take the most advantage of your online fundraising messages:

Be social. If you aren’t making it easy for people to get in touch with your organization via social networking – this means Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at a minimum – then you’re missing out on some pretty big opportunities. Create fans and friends, and you’ll end up with a long list of dedicated supporters.

Start an opt-in. When it comes to creating long-term relationships with donors, it’s all about continuity and consistency. Especially in these tough economic times, it makes sense to maximize your chances to let people come back to you later, not to mention stay in touch through an online newsletter.

Try to go viral. An e-mail that gets a strong donor response is good; one that prompts them to forward the message to their contact list before they give is infinitely better. Try to craft messages that people want to share, because going viral is the number one way to increase the effectiveness of your campaign.

Mix it up. Finding the best way to increase donations is a bit like figuring out the sound of one hand clapping: frustrating at first, but rich in deep understanding. What I’m getting at, in a roundabout way, is that not every message you send should center on a request for more money. Mix things up with a bit of good news, some progress reports, or even just a note of thanks. You don’t want every communication from your nonprofit to end with a request for money – that’s the quickest way to end up in the trash folder!

Matthew Aaron is an independent fundraising writer who has worked with hundreds of organizations across North America and the United Kingdom. You can see more about him and his work at http://www.fundraising-writer.com, or reach him directly at 303.482.2801.p>