Fundraising examples in the wild
Who doesn’t love a real-life example?
One thing you should know about me is…I’m always watching and paying attention to nonprofits and what fundraising, marketing, email subject lines, social media, events they are producing to see what hooked ME and what is working.
I thought it would be fun to share some of those examples because 1) there is no such thing as original content and 2) personally, I find these examples difficult to mine and the last thing you need to do is extra work.
Example 1: Warming up your audience before you make an ask
Nonprofit: Sunsar Maya
One of the ways I teach nonprofits to warm up their audience before making an ask is through what you might call a launch event. This is a free event that provides a ton of value to your donor and prospective donor - no ask allowed.
In this example, Sunsar Maya, a fabulous nonprofit building pathways out of poverty for women in Nepal, is hosting a free, virtual meditation event on Thursday, October 20th. The price of admission is an email address.
This meditation event is perfect to 1) invite people in their community who they need to make a fresh touchpoint with 2) a great way to convert social media followers to email subscribers and 3) a wonderful way to provide value to their community through something everyone could use: a little meditation in their life.
By hosting this event in October, Sunsar Maya will have time to bring in these folks closer, continue to share stories with them and eventually invite them to become a donor once they launch their end-of-year campaign.
Some other examples of a launch event include:
State of the Union style virtual convo
Lunch and learn
A how-to event eg: how to start a compost pile (environmental nonprofit) or how-to teach your dog to walk on a leash (dog rescue)
If you want a real-life example of how Sunsar Maya pulls this event off - make sure you sign up for their event right here.
Example 2: A really great email to a donor
Nonprofit: Book Give Denver
A few weeks back, I received this note in my inbox from Melissa at Book Give Denver 😍
After reading her note, of course I wanted to send the email she sent (which is so good) and you can read it right here.
What I love about this email is:
It’s fully text-based - no images
She tells a short, but effective story
The use of a first name - personalization all the way
Super strong, clear call-to-action
Using a PS sentence
Now is a great time to be storytelling, sharing, and inviting folks in. Use this email example from Book Give Denver as needed.
Example 3: Loom video as a thank you
Nonprofit: SODA
Earlier this fall, I made a modest gift to SODA International to support them on their way to 50+ student-led chapters. In response, Nicole, their Executive Director and Out in the Boons student made me this Loom thank you video (see below) which does exactly what it is meant to do: surprise and delight me.
Have you tried Loom? If not, I highly recommend. You can watch Nicole’s video here as an example.
Example 4: An awesome storytelling email
Nonprofit: Dementia Alliance of North Carolina
Campaigns That Convert alumni and Dementia Alliance of North Carolina Executive Director Heather Hooper is starting her warm up season off right. When this email landed in my inbox, I wrote her back with, “GREAT email!” because it’s true.
It’s all the things donors want in their inbox:
A great, personalized story
A personalized greeting
A short and sweet message
Storytelling doesn’t need to be complicated - it just needs to be real.
Check out Heather’s email that I’m sure had excellent open and click rates + really great feedback below!
Example 5: Growing an audience of raving fans on social media
Nonprofit: The Bloc Chicago
I talk about Jamyle Cannon, Founder of The Bloc Chicago, all the time. In fact, he was one of my people to pay attention to in 2022 and he has not disappointed.
For someone who was previously modest on social media - Jamyle has found his platform and audience on none other than TikTok. With nearly 100k followers (which he has grown in less than six months), Jamyle’s short and insightful videos on a range of topics spanning philanthropy, racism, the patriarchy, parenting and yes…sometimes The Bloc are something myself and (many) others now look forward to.
I heard Jamyle say once that in 2022 alone - he anticipates raising $100k from his TikTok followers and that’s without ever asking them for a dime.
See Jamyle is using TikTok to build trust with a range of people across the internet that he would otherwise not come in contact with. He is educating and inspiring people and because of that - they like and trust him. Go give him a follow and see how you can use a platform like TikTok as a nonprofit leader and fundraiser yourself.
That’s it on this edition of fundraising in the wild - what examples have you seen out in the real world that are working?