Transform Your Fundraising Results By Taking Donor Engagement to the Next Level

UPDATE: If you missed the webinar, you can catch the recording here!

You’re invited to join Masterworks for a FREE webinar that will help you transform your fundraising results by dramatically increasing donor engagement.

When: Thursday, April 7, at 10 a.m. PDT

Cost: FREE

Who should attend: Anyone who works in or interacts with non-profit development, marketing or communications

Register now.

Why attend?

Here’s the question I’m asked the most: “What one fundraising trend is the most disruptive today?”

Now, my intuition tells me that it’s not just one trend, but a combination of trends in our turbulent marketplace today, that are fundamentally disrupting fundraising as we know it.

But, if I had to pick one trend — and only one — it would be the rise of the “empowered consumer,” a phrase coined by behavioral economists to point out that consumers are now firmly in the driver’s seat in the marketplace.

It’s hard to say exactly what all is driving the shift from passive, acquiescing consumers to empowered consumers. But more and more, they’re going out of their way to avoid marketing messages and demanding more control, more choice, more convenience and more clarity — and all on their terms, not ours.

Some of it certainly relates to the massive generational change in our marketplace. Altruistic traditionalists are fast disappearing from the fundraising scene and being replaced by the WIIFM (“what’s in it for me?”) Baby Boomers.

Keep calm and delete, delete, delete

Today, behavioral economists tell us, more than four out of five consumers are going out of their way to avoid being marketed to. You probably do it yourself! It’s as easy as deleting an unopened email, or fast-forwarding through commercials on TV.

Any way we explore this trend — even taking into account today’s often dismal fundraising results — it’s clear that a new kind of consumer is giving birth to a new kind of donor.

And from all indications, this new “empowered donor” is here to stay.

From everything we’re tracking here at Masterworks, it seems that while confidence in the economy is slowly inching upward, consumers remain cautious. They still carry the psychological impact of hard-learned lessons from the financial crash of 2008.

When consumers do give to a charity today, they seem to be more vigilant about getting the best value for every dollar they contribute. (Four out of five donors said they would stop giving or reduce support if they perceive high administrative overhead.) Today’s empowered donor researches, compares, seeks recommendations, asks questions and carefully weighs their giving decisions.

As a result, successful organizations know they must work harder to activate and retain donors.

But here’s the cautionary tale. For most non-profits today, working harder often means more aggressive tactics. This approach may initially get new donors through the front door. But it won’t create the meaningful connections that keep givers from exiting right away through the back door.

Today, three-quarters of all first-time donors never give a second gift! And when you add that statistic to the overall picture, it’s sobering: for 100 new or recovered donors acquired by the average non-profit in the U.S., 103 are lost to attrition in the same year.

Talk about empowered!

So, what’s the answer?

The answer is creating more donor engagement — not finding more opportunities to ask for money.

Donor engagement is the opportunity to create emotional attachment to the cause or organization. The behavioral economists at Gallup believe that engagement is THE definitive predictor of growth in our marketplace today. Engaged donors are much more loyal and profitable than average donors in both good and bad economic times.

At Masterworks we’ve been talking about donor engagement since 2011, when we launched our first Age of Engage Workshops. We have always believed that donor engagement needs to be at the center of any organization’s growth strategy.

Register now for our FREE webinar on maximizing donor engagement, Thursday, April 7, 10 a.m. PDT.

In this one-hour webinar you’ll learn about the:

Most practical ways you can help donors become more emotionally connected to your cause and brand.
Two key kinds of engagement interactions. When combined, passion for your cause and relationship to your brand will move the needle significantly on donor engagement, driving up revenue.
Three distinct categories of donors.
“Currency” of engagement — a simple way to measure donor engagement so you can maximize it.

Plus, you’ll have plenty of time to ask questions.

Fully engaged donors — who feel they’re getting more out of a non-profit — give more, give more frequently, and give over a longer period of time to your ministry.

And that’s our goal: to help you take actions to engage donors more consistently and more meaningfully in 2016. When you do, you’ll drive up the number of engaged donors for your ministry — so that you can reap the benefits of greater growth and profitably.