Interested in learning more about donor acquisition? We’ve partnered with Social Impact Solutions and Trellis to offer a free webinar on April 27. Register here.

Fundraising is hard, and as a nonprofit leader, there is a lot to juggle, between planning fundraisers, securing major gifts, and managing donor relations. With so many pieces to balance, donor acquisition often slides to the bottom of the list. 

But having a strategic donor acquisition plan can make or break your nonprofit so we’re breaking down the three steps to building a new acquisition strategy that will change your fundraising for 2023. 

And while these three steps will get you started, for more ideas on how to implement these tools and acquire more donors, join the webinar “How to Maximize Donor Retention and Raise More for your Organization” with Trellis and Social Impact Solutions on April 27th, 2023 to continue your learning! 

Ready to dig in? Let’s go! 

1. Share your story, rather than an ‘ask’. 

Every compelling ask starts with a story. Storytelling is crucial for nonprofits to connect emotionally with their donors, illustrate their impact, and inspire action. To start, make sure your entire organization and key stakeholders know your story, and your why. Then focus on sharing that with existing and new donors. Compelling stories cast vision and capture the imagination of your audience. Use this to your advantage! 

2. Nurture your donors to action. 

Unfortunately, telling one really good story won’t lead to an immediate increase in revenue. However, when you focus on nurturing your donors, you’ll be able to build relationships that create long-term donors. We recommend regular and personalized communication with donors to help build long-term relationships, increase donor loyalty, and ultimately encourage repeat donations. Personalized communication will also allow you to understand donor motivations and preferences, which you can use to tailor future fundraising efforts and improve overall donor satisfaction. 

Don’t worry we’ll dig into more strategies to nurture your donors on April 27th! You can sign up for the free webinar here. 

3. Make giving easy, accessible, and strategic. 

Your donors are ready to give now, but how? Canadian organizations are increasing their fundraising capacity by 20%-30% without adding any cost or frustration. In fact, some of the smartest nonprofit fundraisers are leveraging strategic approaches to donation upselling to increase engagement and retention online and with no added time.

During the webinar, we are going to unveil the secrets of how you can start capturing more of your ideal donors and start raising more money than ever before!

Now that we’ve covered the three steps to building a new acquisition strategy, it’s important to remember donor acquisition isn’t just about getting more money, it’s about creating opportunities to make an even greater impact in our communities. When charities attract new donors, they can expand their programs and initiatives to address more of the pressing needs of those around us. We know a strategic donor acquisition strategy will allow your organization to continue making worthwhile impacts in your community. Curious how you can turn around your donor acquisition strategy to raise more for your organization? Join us on April 27th to get started. 

John Mark Vanderpool, Co-founder, Chief of Business Solutions at Social Impact Solutions, works diligently to ensure nonprofits and businesses have the marketing, communication, and impact tools they need to reach their full potential. In his role, he works to develop strategies that organizations can deploy so they can achieve success in their marketing, funding, and impact efforts. 

He has been a StoryBrand certified guide for over 5 years and has the knowledge to help organizations transform their marketing strategies. In collaborative work with the Social Impact Solutions team, John Mark helps you and your organization solve your data and marketing problems so you can start turning insights into meaningful action.

Rebecca Alfred, Charity Relationships Lead at Trellis.org, is part of the team supporting charitable organizations, hospital foundations, nonprofits, and other organizations to find new online approaches to raising funds for the causes they care about. Coming from a diverse background including tech companies, marketing agencies, and accounting firms, she’s now settled in the social sector. 

Since starting at Trellis, Rebecca has supported hundreds of organizations as they run fundraisers with specialized expertise in signature fundraising events, and donor experience for virtual and hybrid fundraisers. Beyond working at Trellis, Rebecca has also worked in research for nonprofit sustainability and developed social programs to meet complex challenges.