There are countless articles, just like this one, that provide ideas and courses of action for organizations to act upon in order to improve their management, operations, fundraising, etc.

Businesses and NGOs alike sit around boardrooms brainstorming different ways to better their operations or communications. And while this discussion is an important and necessary step for effective changes to be implemented, steps must actually be taken to implement changes in order to bring about these desirable results.

NGO directors who operate, manage, or otherwise lead an organization, are constantly looking for different ways to improve donor relations, outshine the competition, and ensure long-term success. These leaders are learning how to put discussions and ideas into action in order to achieve the success they desire.

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As more and more non-profit organizations adopt various mobile marketing and mobile fundraising operations, we love seeing the way they are making it easy for donors to donate. Here are a few successful fundraising apps to inspire you and your organization!

1. I Can Go Without

“We have the power to make real change.”

This app, created in Montreal, encourages you to pledge to make a lifestyle change. This can be anything from giving up a cup a coffee each week to curtailing your monthly manicures. Once you’ve pledged to reduce your daily consumption, the pledges are later converted into donations through the app’s secure donation center.

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As our world becomes increasingly more reliant on technology, consumers are consulting one screen or another consistently throughout the day. The customer mobile demands, having everything at the tip of their fingers, are escalating. Just like businesses, non-profits need to respond accordingly to this request.

Every non-profit organization should be responding to this consumer desire, but what is the best way to respond? Which mobile marketing approach is the best fit for your organization?

Here are some things to consider when adopting a mobile process for your charity:

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Source: this blog was written by Penelope Burk on June 18th, 2015, and posted on Burk's Blog here >>
It has been re-written with permission.

Chief executive officers and managers often ask me whether donor relations matters. As employers and supervisors, they are asking two important questions:

Can the value of donor relations (and, by extension, donor relations staff) be objectively measured?

and

Are those measures reliable indicators of fundraising success?

In both instances, the answer is a resounding “yes”.

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Twitter can be such a useful tool at times to bring people together, especially when the tweets are all coming from one great event like the Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference.

Here's a snapshot of my top 10 favourite tweets from the past 24 hours at Bridge. What great reminders!

Rachel Muir ‏@rachelmuir
How nonprofits are like broccoli: we're doing good work and we assume people will want it. Cook it differently for bigger impact! #bridge15

Moira KavanaghCrosby ‏@mkdm
The power of storytelling: So true via @j1berger "No one tells bedtime facts; they tell bedtime stories." #bridge15

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1. The Opening 

When you address your reader, do so in a personal manner. Instead of using an opening line reading, “Dear Supporter” use the donor’s name. When a letter is not personalized a donor can feel like a number in a machine and automatically reject the letter before it even gets read! The more personal information you use - the individual’s name, address, donation history - the more valued the donors feel and more likely they are to read and be receptive to the letter.

This personal, donor-centric, approach should remain a theme throughout your entire letter. If you do not acknowledge their individuality, you are much less likely to receive financial support from them.

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Once upon a time companies advertised through newspaper and radio ads, and communicated with clients face-to-face. Thirty years ago, companies primarily used television ads, while connecting with customers primarily via phone. In the last ten years, companies have shifted much of their advertising to the Internet and now routinely communicate with customers through email and on-demand chat windows. Today when companies discuss ‘mobile strategies’ they look into not just phone calls on a landline, but text messaging and Internet pathways via mobile phones.

As we all know, times change and corporate norms rapidly evolve. In order for your company/organization to stay relevant and successful, you must be aware of the marketing and operational trends and adopt those that are most effective.

In today’s world, consumers are using their mobile devices to research, engage, and purchase from companies. Consumers are even donating via their mobile phones. And although other (more traditional) channels are still vital aspects of a big picture marketing plan, it’s imperative to have a solid mobile strategy to make sure your organization doesn’t miss out on prime communication opportunities.

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It's coming up quickly - eight more sleeps and we will be arriving in Washington for the 10th annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference. We're very excited for this year's packed agenda. Here's the breakdown of the sessions that I am most excited to see:

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1) Keep it simple

From a navigation bar to search tools to event promotions, you have countless tabs and buttons on which donors can click. While there is certainly a time and place for all of these aspects of your organization, please keep them far away from the donation form. These aspects are all important to your organization, but when you present them all on one webpage, you can overwhelm and frustrate donors. Ultimately, you want the donation button to be the first thing they see. 

Next, when a donor goes to your online donation form, ensure the page is simple so they can easily complete the action of donating. Generally, people don’t want to give countless pages of information or spend hours filling out long forms. So to ensure potential donors don’t get upset and walk away - limit the information needed on your donation form. 

A great example of an online donation form is on the charity:water website. They start with the important things: how much you want to give and how you want to give it. They then break it down into short, digestable chunks of necessary information for credit card processing. This organization is very good at ensuring they only ask for vital information.

The Takeaway: Simplify your online donation form to make it easy for people to donate to you. 

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We live in an incredible time.

Recently, the Swedish blood donation service announced an initiative where donors are sent automatic text messages telling them when their blood has actually been used.

This service has actually been running in Stockholm for three years, but it is now being rolled out by other local areas all across the country.

Let's stop here for a moment and talk about this type of IDE - Incredible Donor Experience.

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