Has your San Diego nonprofit been relying on only a few key donors to keep things running? Maybe you have a government grant, or are connected with a foundation that provides you with a large sum of money every year, or perhaps you have a private donor who bankrolls the majority of your operations. As you probably already know, relying on one or two sources of income is risky. If those key donors go away, for whatever reason, your organization may have to close its doors, or make some serious cuts.
Instead of waiting until you get word (or an indication) that your large donors aren’t going to renew their support for another year, your organization should start the process now of widening its donor base. Having a large pool of donors can give your nonprofit some much needed stability, and can also help it grow.
If you’ve never had to think about fundraising before, you might be a bit overwhelmed and have no idea where to start. Fortunately, there are fundraising and marketing experts out there who specialize in helping nonprofits in this area. The good news is that you don’t have to spend a ton of time and money putting on fundraising events or flying all over the country to meet with potential donors. Instead, you can use digital channels to find new supporters.
One nonprofit marketing agency that works with San Diego organizations is Beeline. They help nonprofits find new donors using Google Ads, digital lead magnets, social media, and other online channels. With most of Beeline’s nonprofit clients, the initial goal is to get people to sign up for a nonprofit’s email list. Then, these new subscribers receive regular emails from the nonprofit about their programs, initiatives, services, etc. After a steady stream of communication, these subscribers can then be asked to support the organization. The next goal is to turn one-time supporters into monthly donors.
When attempting to grow your donor base, it’s important to have a strategic plan in place. Many potential donors need to feel connected to an organization long before they are asked for money. They need to be convinced that their donation will be well used and will make a real impact. Reading or watching videos of success stories or impact stories can be helpful in this regard, as can testimonials from other donors as to why they have chosen to give to the cause. Donations pages on your nonprofit’s website also need to be strategically designed—especially if you want to encourage recurring gifts to your nonprofit.
Successful fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s rarely a quick way to solve your nonprofit’s funding issues, and you need to have realistic expectations about how long it will take to bring in new donors. However, when you work with a good nonprofit marketing agency in San Diego, your chances of success can increase exponentially!
