Running a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization is certainly not easy: multiple stakeholders (executive, board members, donors, recipients), constant oversight of resource allocation, and a never-ending battle to prove your worth to the public. History teaches us what criticisms are flung at you when operational spending overshadows direct mission funding, or when inefficiencies lead to reduced outcomes.

But what is the most efficient way to work through the challenges of non-profit management and still come out successful? Is there enough time in the day to run your day-to-day operations AND make certain that you’re speaking the right language, to the right people, at the right time, all without spending extensive amounts of operational capital?

Marketing Automation Platforms (MAP) can help:

1. Manage multiple communication channels
2. Secure a bridge between your marketing and fundraising teams
3. Optimize your digital footprint for online fundraising and sustainable growth

#1 Benefit of MAPs for Non-Profits: Marketing the Message to More than One

A MAP has the benefit of building out segmented audiences based on data collected from the target recipient; this includes all people in your database, not just your potential donor audiences. Send quarterly and annual reports to your donor community, financial audits to your board members, press releases to your media lists, and membership information to your monthly donors – all with personalized outreach, appropriate branding, and mission-centric messaging.

Tracking the response of these audience can help you build rapport with key stakeholders for follow-up opportunities to secure partnerships, be awarded grants, and receive earned press coverage.

The real return-on-investment is realized when a non-profit organization uses data analytics, segmentation, and personalization to drive donor-centric messaging, increasing their fundraising levels online.

• Small and mid-level donors can receive messaging based upon their interests, activity, or donor level; even what they view on your website can be tailored to their involvement with your mission!
• Monthly donors, a heavily sustainable funding source for non-profits, can be kept informed on a monthly or quarterly basis with messaging that helps to reinforce that their continued support is producing results.
• You can also choose to segment your major donors to receive only fundraising and messaging updates from their dedicated solicitor, and hand-pick select information that will help drive potential major donors to reach the funding level you’re aiming for.

Yes –a MAP can help you accomplish your online fundraising goals, all with one platform, at the same time. This effort, although it may sound daunting to take on, reduces operational costs in the long-term, can increase fundraising dollars, and delivers relevant and timely messaging to your chosen audiences.

Free 30-min executive strategy session – request here!

#2 Benefit of MAPs in Non-Profit: Bridging the Gap between Marketing and Fundraising

It is well known that there are challenges to unifying goals between marketing and sales departments, and in the non-profit world, there is no exception! It is likely that your non-profit’s marketing team acts as the communication arm, but is running in silo to the fundraising department, who is tasked with turning that communication into dollars. Maybe your non-profit is a branch of a parent organization, subject to more complex management design. These situations can lead to the misalignment of messaging, goals, and overall fundraising efforts.

MAPs allow marketing and fundraising departments to come together in one platform, under different user roles, to accomplish their tasks while remaining transparent and open with each other. Branding email templates and landing pages are in line with marketing requirements, and the fundraising team can be involved with data collection and strategy. If your non-profit organization has different branches, workspaces, partitions, or permission set-ups may help with MAP governance. Ideal communication is reached when marketing and fundraising teams work together with the knowledge that they have available, with the administrative tools that they need, and with their best foot forward.

Using a MAP to align marketing and fundraising provides the ability to drive omni-channel messaging and communications. For example, a Communications Director, or your VP/Director of Marketing, could:

• Align the assets and outreach needs of marketing
• Obtain and message the fundraising and nurturing needs from solicitors
• Align omni-channel fundraising (ex: direct mail and online fundraising messaging alignment)

Free 30-min executive strategy session – request here!

#3 Benefit of MAPs in Non-Profit: Digital Footprint Reimagined

Your IT team is an essential part of your mission – managing the website and ensuring that online fundraising forms are placed well, and work! They are the builders of what potential donors see when they find you online, and first impressions are important.

The IT department will be involved in the implementation of your MAP, and leverage the tool for success:

1. Assisting with additional domain prep
2. Behavior Tracking
3. Placement and testing of embedded forms
4. Landing Page troubleshooting in your MAP
5. Website personalization

Is your organization ready to make the investment into a MAP to drive your online fundraising strategy? Are you using a MAP and not seeing the return on investment you’d hoped for? Have you inherited a MAP and need to break down what’s been done? Request a 30-min, no obligation, Executive Strategy Session with Definitive Results – we’ll walk through your strategy, assess any major gaps, and help to get you back to meeting your fundraising goals in 2020.

Request your Executive Strategy Session here