It is important to keep donors engaged by reaching out to them frequently! On average, nonprofits only manage to retain between 40-45% of their donors each year. This means that out of every 10 donors, only 4 or 5 will continue to give the following year.
This implies that a majority of individuals who make donations to your nonprofit will not make another donation. Keeping your donors interested in your organization can be as simple as using mobile engagement.
Mobile marketing engagement
Donors can now be reached through their mobile devices with mobile marketing. This typically involves sending out text messages to donors and even encouraging donors to sign up to receive alerts via text.
This mobile engagement makes it easy to stay in touch with your supporters and keep them connected to your nonprofit between appeals.
Go even further by making sure your online presence is designed for mobile users.
In the first quarter of 2021, 54.8% of global web traffic was generated by mobile devices, so mobile-ready websites and donation forms are important. This percentage does not include people who use tablets to browse the internet.
Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular for internet browsing, maintaining communication, and donating to charities. Therefore, mobile marketing plays a large role in how well you can connect with your target audience.
Opting supporters in to text messages
You cannot engage your supporters on mobile without first acquiring their phone numbers and receiving permission from them to text them. It’s easy to get your supporters to opt in to text messages because nonprofits don’t need written consent to start texting.
Opt them in on your donation form
An easy way to collect consent from donors is to include a checkbox on your online donation form. Most of your donors will include their phone numbers on the donation form.
Listing someone’s number means that you are halfway to getting them to agree to something. The only thing remaining is to request authorization to contact them using that phone number.
You can get consent from your donors quickly and easily by including a communications opt-in checkbox on your donation form.
Donors can opt in to being contacted by ticking a box using the provided contact information. This means that you have the consent of the individual to contact them through direct mail, email, phone calls, and text messages.
Other ways to opt supporters into your texts
There are other ways to get people to sign up for your texts. You can use other marketing channels to encourage your supporters to sign up.
Make lists of text updates for topics that people are interested in. This way, they can easily stay updated on programs and events. Use the unique keywords in your event’s marketing to make it more successful.
Mentioning key words on your website, social media, in emails, and through direct mail are all great ways to increase traffic to your site.
Make sure to include the number people should text your keyword to when you are promoting it. Your supporters can text the keywords to the number to provide consent.
Creating ongoing mobile engagement to boost fundraising
If you want your supporters to receive your texts, it’s a good idea to have them sign up. This way, they can opt in and engage with your mobile content.
1. Incentivize signing up
What’s the best way to get people to sign up to support your cause? If you want to gain their trust, you need to give them something valuable, like important information about the program or events they’re interested in.
The rewards you offer do not have to be expensive to be motivating to your supporters.
You could try to entice supporters by providing useful content or a coupon to your nonprofit’s thrift store. You could also try entering supporters into a drawing to win exclusive merchandise or a tour of your facility.
2. Create segmented lists
Some people will only be interested in some of the things your organization does. You can make your mobile communication more engaging by segmenting it and signing supporters up for messaging related to certain programs that interest them.
To do this, create a unique keyword for each program.
Next, explain to donors of these programs that by using this keyword they can get the most recent updates about the program’s status. After a person signs up, add them to lists of keywords related to what they signed up for.
3. Market your text fundraising keywords
If you want your supporters to sign up to receive your texts, you need to make them aware that this is an option.
Make sure to include your unique text keywords on your website, specific pages for the programs you offer, in your donor newsletter, in appeals, and on social media. This will ensure that your keywords are visible to those you want to opt in.
4. Optimize your donation page for mobile use
If you want your supporters to donate through their mobile devices, you need to engage with them on those devices as well. If you want people to donate more often, make it easier for them to donate by opening up mobile giving channels.
It’s really frustrating, isn’t it? Websites that aren’t optimized for mobile use are really difficult to use on a mobile browser. It creates a terrible user experience!
Don’t let the possibility of someone using a mobile device to donate to your cause stop you from optimizing your donation form for mobile use. There a number of key guidelines to keep in mind:
- Remove unnecessary fields for donors to complete.
- Provide clear labels and navigation without cluttering the page.
- Provide instant field validation to ensure quick completion.
- Keep donors on your site; never redirect them to a 3rd party.
- Ensure your branding is consistent and clean on your form.
It is important to test your online donation form in mobile view.
When you are processing a donation, you may want to consider using an intuitive payment method. Donation platforms that are designed for mobile use make it easy to customize your donation form and set up automated follow-up and thank-you messages. @Pay has published a list of alternatives to PayPal for those who are looking for other options.
It is essential to have strong donor engagement and to integrate it into other aspects of your strategy.
5. Choose a mobile giving solution that best suits your goals
The best mobile giving solution will be easy for your donors, but which giving tools to use depends on the goals of your campaign.
The best way to ensure that your fundraiser is successful is to choose the right mobile giving tools. With the right tools, you are more likely to reach or exceed your fundraising goals.
While text-to-give is an effective method for nonprofits that host live fundraising events, donation buttons embedded in email are better suited to broader fundraising efforts. This is due to the fact that many users now interact with their email largely through mobile devices.
If you want to raise a lot of money at your next event, offer mobile bidding and some great prizes.
6. Think of crowdfunding as a mobile fundraising strategy
How frequently do you consult your social media accounts on your phone throughout the day? Probably several times, at least. So do your potential donors. You can encourage supporters to spread the word about your campaigns by creating social media content that is shareable and by providing share buttons on your website.
Crowdfunding platforms can be a great way for organizations to reach mobile and web users through social media and other channels.
The best crowdfunding platform for your nonprofit depends on your goals. These platforms can be useful for a number of different types of campaigns, including:
- Cause-based charities
- Community-based projects
- Creative projects or merchandise fundraisers
- Schools and student groups
- Faith-based groups and churches
Research the top crowdfunding platforms to see which one would work best for your campaign.
If you have goals that are ambitious or a project that is eye-catching, crowdfunding might be a great option for you. You can increase traffic to your campaign page by targeting mobile users who skim text on social media sites.
Getting donors to give via text message
Once you have a list of donors who are okay with receiving text messages from you, you can convince them to donate to your organization by sending them a text message asking for a donation. To ensure your text campaign is successful, take the following into account:
1. Choose an effective text fundraising keyword
This can be changed at any time. The keyword that potential donors type in to start the text-to-donate process can be changed at any time. Choose a keyword that is memorable and related to your campaign goals.
We recommend:
- Avoiding basics like “DONATE” and “CHURCH” because those are probably taken. Though you can use them, it won’t stand out in your donors’ minds.
- Sticking to simple words that are easy to remember and spell. Otherwise, autocorrect will likely adjust it or donors might mistype it, reducing the number of completed donations.
Create a memorable keyword your supporters will use. We’ve been hard at work fundraising for our latest campaign and we wanted to update you on our progress. We’re making great progress on our latest campaign and we wanted to update you on our progress.
2. Market the heck out of your fundraising keyword
When discussing how to get donors to agree to receive text messages from you, we briefly mentioned this topic. If you are trying to raise money, you can ask people to donate money to you by text message.
This method is effective for promoting your website on social media. The more they see the option to give text, the more likely they are to remember it.
Make sure to include a call-to-action in your print appeals for donors to text a keyword to a short code in order to donate. Make sure you give people clear instructions on how to donate by text.
It’s not enough to just share your keywords. The following text message marketing best practices can help you raise more funds during your text fundraising campaign: -Craft a clear and concise message that explains what the campaign is for and how the recipient can help -Make it easy for people to donate by providing a link to your donation page -Encourage people to share your campaign with their own network of contacts -Follow up with donors after they have given to thank them for their support
3. Make links in texts mobile responsive
To get more gifts from text fundraising, use forms that are mobile responsive.
It can be frustrating trying to donate money on your smart phone when you have to keep zooming in and out. A mobile-responsive donation form is key to a successful text fundraising appeal.
If you’re using a text fundraising system that isn’t optimized for mobile, look for a more mobile-ready option for your users. Our donation form is mobile-responsive and works well with text fundraising.
4. Determine when text fundraising is your best option
Text fundraising doesn’t work in all situations. Emailing or sending a direct mail appeal may be more effective.
When you want to collect donations quickly, text fundraising can be incredibly helpful. We recommend using text fundraising for emergency appeals, giving days, and during fundraising events. This allows your supporters to text a keyword to a number to donate to your cause.
The three scenarios above are effective because of the campaign deadline. When you need to raise money quickly, text fundraising is the best option.
If you have an emergency need arise that just can’t wait, set up a text-to-give keyword and start marketing it. This method has been effective for the Red Cross for many years.
If your nonprofit is trying to raise funds quickly, days like Giving Tuesday may be helpful.
Because 24-hour giving days are all about raising money for your cause, text fundraising is the best way to get a quick response to your appeal.
Your text fundraising keyword is easily sharable so supporters can give and then ask their social circle to give as well! If you’re looking for ways to make your next giving day more successful, be sure to check out our Giving Day Playbook. You’ll find lots of great advice on how to make your event a success.
In conclusion, text-based fundraising at events can help you close the gap and reach your fundraising goal. The easiest way to do this is to have a fundraising thermometer that can be updated with donations.
Conclusion
Creating a great mobile experience will make it more likely that people will donate again and help your fundraiser succeed.
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