You Ask, We Answer!

Fundly held its first Twitter Q&A this past Wednesday and we were excited to hear from some of our clients as well as other nonprofit leaders. While you are striving to make the world a better place, our goal is to make online fundraising as simple and successful as possible for you. Here were some question highlights and expanded answers from our session for those of you who may have missed it.

Q: How do we set a realistic fundraising goal that will appeal to donors?

 

A: First of all, start by tallying the number of current supporters on email and social media, then average response rate and donation size. For an example, a 2% email response rate would be great, while social media is usually less. The average donation on Fundly is $94.

Using these numbers, if you have 10,000 supporter emails and have been in regular contact with this group, applying the 2% conversion rate will give you 200 donors at an average donation size of $94 equalling $18,800. With this basic formula you can set an achieveable goal that won’t turn off your donors and will provide you with a reasonable number for cost projections.

Q: Which social media site do you recommend when trying to connect with potential donors?

 

A: Utilize network(s) where your followers are active and engaged. Don’t forget that email is one of the most effective ways to reach supporters and be sure to include that in your fundraising strategy along with social media promotion.

Generally speaking, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn are the most popular social media sites. Facebook has over 800 million users and half of them log on daily. Twitter has more than 140 million users and generates over 340 million Tweets daily. Google+ is gaining momentum and claims that 170 million people have upgraded to their social media tool.  LinkedIn has more than 131 million members which is up 63% from 2010.These are the four biggest social media networks, however it is important to know where your supporters tend to be the most active and engaged.  A small amount of research could save time and energy and maximize your campaign’s potential to reach the most donors.

Q: We have a donation button on our website and aren’t seeing as many donations as we’d like. Any recommendations?

 

A: Fundraisers are usually more successful when you have a defined timeline. There is no “magic” number, but several weeks give people a sense of urgency to give.

I would also take into account donation button placement – is it easy to find? Be sure to highlight the button and ensure that your donation process is easy to use.  If it takes too much time to figure out or upload, you’re going to lose donors.

Finally, what else do you have on your webpage? Be sure to include success stories, inspiring pictures, and examples of where your donors’ dollars are going to. Advertise current projects that you are working on that will explain to donors how their contribution will make a difference.

Do you have a question about online fundraising that you want to ask one of our Fundly professionals? Follow #fundraisingtips on Twitter every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time. We look forward to helping you create successful online fundraising campaigns to promote your cause. If you won’t be able to attend the Q&A, leave your question in the comment section below and look for it in the recap next week!