Multichannel Fundraising: 8 Must-Know Strategies

Read This Before You Kick Off Your Next Campaign

A truly integrated multichannel fundraising campaign gives donors a coordinated experience. Most fundraisers have probably used nearly all of the following at some point:

• Emails
• Direct mail
• Digital marketing
• Social media
• Print, broadcast and web advertising
• Print assets: flyers, brochures, posters
• Telephone calls
• In-person presentations
• Online donation pages

Choosing the right mix of channels promotes consistent messaging and appeals. With a carefully thought-out approach you can increase awareness for your cause, donor acquisition and gift amounts.

These eight strategy points can help you launch a successful multichannel fundraising campaign.

1. Rally Your Internal People
   Launching an integrated multichannel campaign is a daunting large-scale effort. Promote the campaign internally first to secure buy-in from department leaders and make staff aware that everyone will be working together to achieve campaign goals.
2. Be Consistent
   Whether an email, flyer, direct mailer or online donation form, all campaign pieces should be instantly recognizable as coming from your organization. Make sure that all elements (e.g., tagline, call to action, color scheme, imagery) appear consistently. This goes for online donation pages, too: Donation pages branded to a fundraising campaign may perform better than generic donation forms, according to research.
3. Ensure Campaign Elements and Channels Work Together
   It’s important that your campaign deliverables and channels complement each other. You might tease the story behind your campaign in a direct mail postcard, and drive recipients to a landing page for full details. Give Facebook fans a compelling snippet of information that inspires clicks to the campaign’s landing page. Send emails on fundraising progress – and include prominent CTA buttons that make it easy for recipients to make a gift. Make sure that all print pieces include a campaign URL.
4. Target, Segment and Personalize
   Remember, building relationships with donors is at the heart of fundraising. When it comes to direct outreach, use a data-driven approach to segment your audience and personalize content. This can become especially challenging for national nonprofit organizations with multiple local chapters. Investigate marketing resource management software that lets local chapters easily access and customize approved campaign materials.
5. Focus on the Channels Most Relevant to Your Audience
   Know how your ideal donor consumes media, and tailor your efforts accordingly. Analyze past campaign performance, send surveys to your donor base, or include a field on donation forms for donors to check preferred means of communication. Also relevant to this point: Make sure all web design elements are optimized for mobile.
6. Create Urgency
   Urgency is important in any type of campaign, and a multichannel approach gives fundraisers multiple platforms to communicate the time-sensitive nature to prospective donors. For example, give your campaign a face and a compelling story. Show a pediatric patient whose outcome is dependent on raising research funds. Link timely world or local events to the need to raise funds (e.g., an upcoming congressional vote that will impact your organization’s mission). Include deadlines for giving with all campaign collateral and channels, and use a visual meter to show fundraising progress.
7. Incorporate Tracking Methods
   Track campaign progress and uncover the methods that best drive conversion. For example, use hashtags to track your visibility on social media. Build tracking capabilities into donation forms, in print and online, so you can see where people are “going” to donate. Remember that in a well-executed multichannel campaign, elements should work together. So if at first glance it seems that direct mail is striking out, look more closely to see if it’s helping to drive online donations. For, example, online forms could include a field asking donors where they heard about the campaign. Alternatively, consider driving direct mail recipients to a PURL (personalized URL) to donate.
8. Go Beyond Visual
   We all know by now that branding is bigger than a logo and color palette. It’s paramount – particular in the nonprofit sector, where inspiring donors to act depends heavily on the human connection – to “walk the walk.” Consider the experience you want your donors to have with the campaign and your organization. Staff who call donors directly need to be aware of the campaign’s theme and goals. They also need to be trained to relate to constituents in a manner that upholds the organization’s brand and mission. The same goes for all staff and volunteers who represent the organization at events tied in to the campaign.

Get Started Today

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to a successful multichannel fundraising campaign. These eight tips can serve as a starting point to guide a consistent, cohesive campaign that reaches and inspires donors.

Strata Company has more than 25 years of experience helping nonprofit organizations realize greater ROI for their fundraising efforts. Our clients benefit from a unique approach that joins data, award-winning creative, the latest technologies and a commitment to personalized service. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.

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About Katrina Denk

Possessing over 10 years of experience leading strategic and tactical marketing efforts of some of the area’s most respected businesses, Marketing Director Katrina Denk brings a wide breadth of knowledge to every initiative she oversees. Whether it’s a product launch or a multi-touch email campaign, she understands all the ins and outs of the marketing mix. In her free time, Katrina is an enthusiastic world traveler and animal lover.