Beyond Giving Tuesday: Harnessing the Power of Design for Nonprofit Fundraising
Giving Tuesday is a powerful fundraising tool for most nonprofits, but making donors aware of your work and your mission is a year-round affair. Design is one of your most critical tools for driving donations consistently and keeping your nonprofit in the hearts and minds of your supporters. Here are a few suggestions that often get overlooked, especially when the development team is doing double duty.
Craft a Compelling Narrative
Visual storytelling offers your followers and supporters a trade-off: You give them the gift of feeling informed, emotionally engaged, or even entertained in exchange for their attention and, hopefully, their advocacy and money. Communicating at this level means going beyond highlighting your nonprofit's work; it means finding personal narratives your audience can connect to and experimenting with different ways to bring stories to life through color, photography, typography, infographics, video, carousels, etc.
Ask yourself: Does my story have a beginning, middle, and end? Is there a strong hook? Have I created enough tension to keep a viewer’s interest? Put yourself in their shoes and always consider: What’s in it for them?
Storytelling Tip: Showcase a variety of stories and perspectives, including beneficiaries, volunteers, and team members. Diversifying your storytelling engages a broader audience and emphasizes the breadth of your organization’s impact.
Build Brand Recognition
Believe it or not, the mistake many nonprofits make is not asking for support frequently enough. Brand recognition, and more importantly, brand trust, takes time. If you’re only sending out a few emails a quarter, you run the risk that supporters who believe in your work won’t remember you.
One way to make sure you stand out in donors’ memories is to ask often and make sure your email/ad/direct mail piece is unmistakably linked to your nonprofit in their minds. A cohesive visual identity may seem boring or repetitive to you, but to someone who gets hundreds of emails a week, it helps cut through the noise.
Email Marketing Tip: Allow your followers to opt in or out of certain campaigns. Most email platforms offer the option of including an “email preferences” menu in the footer of your message, so you can keep supporters engaged on their terms.
Follow a Content Calendar
Establishing a consistent publishing and outreach schedule is both one of the hardest and most important structures nonprofit teams can build. Regular updates keep your organization at the forefront of your followers' minds and emphasize your relevance. Sharing news, milestones, and behind-the-scenes content maintains engagement between capital campaigns or other fundraising efforts. It also offers your audience something in return for their loyalty. They get to stay informed, access meaningful content to share, have opportunities to comment, and feel like they are part of your organziation’s work.
When the time comes to make an ask, themed campaigns are one way to create excitement and urgency. These can be tied to specific program launches, initiatives, events, or milestones, encouraging your audience to contribute to something more tangible than the broader mission. (Again, make sure the visuals representing these niche campaigns are playing in the same band as the larger brand identity.)
Leverage Live Video
Live Q&A sessions are an effective yet low-effort way to connect directly with your audience. Address supporters’ questions, provide updates, share success stories, or interview staff members or clients about their opinions or experiences. You can even spotlight your supporters by sharing their stories or recognizing their contributions. This not only shows appreciation but also encourages a sense of community among your donors. Make sure your live video fosters a sense of community by giving participants specific ways to engage during the event and following up with them afterward.
Virtual Event Tip: Fundraisers held in person can also be livestreamed. While the setup can take longer, the payoff can be worth it, as it engages a much larger audience in real time and allows them to contribute directly via YouTube or another social media platform.
Reach the Right Audience with the Right Creative
If your team utilizes paid ads for fundraising, you’re likely targeting specific segments of your audience. Make sure your campaign creative also reflects what you know about each target audience's demographics, interests, and past interaction behavior. A short round of testing at the beginning of the campaign can help determine if you’ve gotten it right or if something needs to change.
You’ll also want to stay updated on trending hashtags and other marketing developments related to charitable giving, and incorporate them into your posts (as long as they fit your brand identity). Capitalizing on popular trends not only increases the visibility of your nonprofit's content but also indicates that your team is on the cutting edge and paying attention to modern conversations surrounding your issue area.
Acknowledge and Celebrate Supporters
Acknowledge donations promptly with personalized, branded thank-you messages. You can express gratitude publicly on social media, celebrating the generosity of supporters who wish to be named. And never underestimate the impact of receiving a handwritten card in the mail!
Along with thank-yous, be sure your supporters have access to regular impact reports that demonstrate how their donations are making a difference. Transparency builds trust and reinforces the tangible impact of contributions. These reports should be part of your planning and budgeting process; no one wants to read an underwhelming report that looks like it was slapped together in Canva!
Nurture a Year-Round Cycle of Generosity
Creating a continuous cycle of giving requires intention, patience, and a lot of trial and error. One way to lessen the burden is to view everything your organization does through a fundraising lens. Even if not every action, publication, or campaign is an opportunity to make an ask, it is an opportunity to connect with your followers and supporters and build relationships that lead to sustained support. Don’t be afraid to publish, email, text, and post!
Russell Estes is the co-founder, principal, and creative director for Square Lightning.
If cultivating sustained support is a priority for your organization, contact us for a consultation. Let's design a suite of development materials that inspire giving all year round.