Mary Cahalane

Donor management software should serve at the heart of most non-profits’ fundraising efforts. Having a fully-featured and easy-to-use system will positively impact your annual fundraising numbers

According to Adrian Sargeant’s groundbreaking research, there is a direct correlation between the donor’s satisfaction with their giving and gratitude experience and whether they will give to your organization again. One of the most heartbreaking stories was from a staff member of a nonprofit who was ordered by her board of directors to initiate two new fundraising events while cutting the budget entirely for her annual fund. Yet some ways that your organization can invest in creating a personalized experience that is donor centric can start with broad changes to how you approach giving and lead into the more intimate ways that donors might interact with your mission. If there’s one thing that your organization can do when it comes to the donor experience, take a deep look at your gratitude program and invest as many resources into it as possible.

A branded plug-in that you can include directly on your website’s donation page to enable donors to search for their employer’s matching gift program. A fully automated matching gifts software that tracks eligibility, automates follow-up with donors, and analyzes your matching gifts strategy and success. Using matching gifts software can make this strategy even easier for you, because it removes the need for your organization’s staff to do all the research about employers’ corporate philanthropy programs on their own. For help deciding on the right matching gifts database for your nonprofit’s needs, check out this guide to the best matching gift database from Re:Charity.

It seems wrong on one hand – because the goal of good fundraising copy is to drive action, not relaxation. But what if our unresolved story, told well, allows the reader to pay attention? If you’re writing for fundraising, don’t resolve the problem. This is probably my favorite part of writing for fundraising – the chance to connect donors to beneficiaries.