At the 2024 International Fundraising Congress organised by The Resource Alliance, a pivotal question emerged. How can charities better integrate fundraising into their mission to maximise impact?
Eoghan Beecher, fundraising expert and the Country Manager for the UK and Ireland at iRaiser, shared five important strategies to address this issue. These strategies help align fundraising with a charity's mission and improve donor engagement.
1. Redefining the role of fundraising in your organisation
2. Building a donor journey focused on user experience
3. Integrating online fundraising tools into your strategy
4. Developing an audience-centred approach
5. Enhancing the donor experience
1. Redefining the role of fundraising in your organisation
Fundraising is often seen as a "necessary evil"—an activity that charities tolerate but prefer not to associate directly with their mission. However, as Eoghan Beecher emphasised at the IFC 2024, this perspective needs to change. Charity fundraising is essential to every organisation's mission. Without it, the vital work your organisation is committed to simply can’t happen.
Why is fundraising essential?
People love to give and contribute to causes. It often goes overlooked that many donors take genuine pleasure in supporting a mission. Fundraising represents an act of support. Donors put their money where their mouth is, and in return, they want to be recognised as agents of change, much like the organisation they support.
Adopting this perspective helps demystify fundraising and integrates it into a strategic approach that places donors at the centre of your charity’s activities.
2. Building a donor journey focused on user experience
A key concept introduced during this session was the donor journey, where every interaction is seen as an opportunity to strengthen the connection between the donor and the organisation.
What is a donor journey?
The donor journey consists of four major phases:
- Discovery: How do donors hear about your organisation?
- Decision: What convinces them that your cause is worth supporting?
- Deliver: What mechanism facilitates them to visit your campaign page or point of engagement?
- Do: What mechanisms transform them from potential donors into active supporters?
3. Integrating online fundraising tools into your strategy
To support the donor journey, using the right fundraising tools is crucial. Digital fundraising solutions are essential for meeting charities' needs, enabling them to streamline donations, personalise supporter interactions, and achieve their fundraising goals.
Online donation forms
Online donation forms are fundamental tools for any organisation. They should be simple, intuitive, and accessible on all devices (mobile, desktop, tablet). A key feature is that donors can use their favourite payment methods. This includes modern options like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
According to iRaiser’s benchmark, the use of these payment methods has been steadily increasing since 2021, contributing to higher donation volumes and increased recurring support.
Crowdfunding, peer to peer fundraising and community fundraising
These solutions allow charities to mobilise not only their direct network but also activate their supporters' networks and communities. Crowdfunding campaigns provide donors with the opportunity to feel involved in specific, concrete projects. They allow charities to show appreciation to their donors by offering rewards for their generous support.
On the other hand, peer to peer fundraising transforms donors into ambassadors who reach out to their own network for support and spread the word. By using these tools, every supporter becomes an active part of your mission. A peer to peer fundraising campaign, for instance, can not only increase donor numbers but also diversify acquisition channels and strengthen the relationship between supporters and the organisation.
4. Developing an audience-centred approach
A common mistake organisations make is targeting too narrow an audience, meaning potential supporters will never be given the opportunity to engage with a charity they may care deeply about. Audience identification is crucial. Analyse demographic and behavioural criteria and real-time testing to identify your target audience.
Tips to optimise audience segmentation:
- Start with a broad audience and narrow it down as you gather relevant data.
- Test your assumptions. Don’t hesitate to launch several test campaigns to see what works best for your fundraising efforts.
- Adapt your message. Donors behave differently based on their profile or where they are in the donor journey. A new donor won’t have the same expectations as a regular supporter.
To build a strong audience and expand your donor base, we recommend implementing certain audience growth techniques. We highly recommend using digital tools and data-driven strategies.
For example:
- Programmatic advertising, which enables targeted audience reach.
Programmatic advertising is a data-driven practice that automates processes to buy and sell digital ads. It uses machine learning and algorithms to deliver the right ads to the right audience at the right time and price.
Rather than being a direct response mechanism (see ad > click ad > make donation), it serves to associate a charity's brand with the trusted online locations that prospects most frequently visit. Creating a sense of brand awareness and recall increases their propensity to give at a later stage. Programmatic display ads serve to increase giving KPIs, both in volume and value of gift.
- Tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Conversion API (CAPI) for Meta ads. These tools help you better understand online donor behaviours and adjust campaigns accordingly.
These techniques not only help reach new donors but also increase ROI by using a data-centred approach to optimise each stage of the donor journey.
5. Enhancing the donor experience
User-centred design is essential to reduce friction in the donor journey. Here are some best practices to improve the donor experience:
- Consider the fold. Providing content and action points where users can easily see them is important. This helps increase engagement and conversion rates.
- Highlight calls to action. Donation forms should be simple, with a clearly visible donation button from the moment the donation page loads.
- Ensure compatibility with all payment methods: Adding modern payment solutions can significantly reduce transaction abandonment.
- Regularly test your website to ensure that the user experience remains seamless.
Integrating fundraising into your mission: turning donors into heroes
As you can see, fundraising should not be seen as a separate task but as an essential component of a charity's mission. By placing the donor at the heart of your strategy, using the right tools, and optimising each touchpoint, you maximise your chances of engaging loyal supporters and meeting your funding goals.
In summary, here are the steps to follow:
- Adopt a vision where fundraising is an integral part of your mission.
- Create a seamless donor journey by identifying each touchpoint.
- Use adapted tools, such as online donation forms and crowdfunding or peer to peer fundraising solutions.
- Effectively identify and segment your audience.
- Enhance the user experience on your platforms to maximise conversions and collect more donations.
By following these best practices, your charity can not only raise more funds but also strengthen its mission by engaging supporters in your cause. Want to discover more best practices for reaching out to different donor segments? Read our article: How to address donors effectively in online fundraising.