Hi Reader,

When I became a new mom, I was broke.

My husband and I lived on one salary with a new baby.

It was hard.

One of my largest expenses was diapers.

I recall seeing a mom put a new type of cloth diaper on their baby. It looked amazing. I’d never contemplated using cloth, but these were no ordinary cloth diapers.

Made with a microfibre, absorbent fleece, snaps, inserts, you name it, it was a new invention I needed to learn more about. That mom gave me the name of the person who sold it to her. I called right away.

I bought 3. As broke as I was, I knew using these would save me money. I liked the diapers so much that I began selling them to other moms.

I was able to buy more and go all in on cloth diapering.

I never anticipated learning how simple this system was and precisely what I needed to make it work.

In today’s edition of the Social Profit Stack, I’ll share how going all in on your digital-first fundraising can simplify the process and help you deliver an exceptional online giving experience for your donors.

Simple Systems

Gone are the days of creating a donation form on your website and becoming a digital nonprofit.

Digital-first systems are increasingly crucial as more people turn to these channels for research and make giving decisions.

Research shows that adopting a digital fundraising system helps you gain an advantage by leveraging the power of online marketing for growth.

There’s different work you need to do to succeed.

Digital-first fundraising focuses on content marketing, social media, email marketing, and digital advertising to reach prospective donors where they spend much of their time – online.

Growth is Online

It’s time to focus online when we acquire donors in the digital age. The stats prove it.

​NextAfter’s 2024 Digital Fundraising Report shows that digital-first organizations are growing 12.7% faster than the average nonprofit.

This report also showed that online revenue outpaced offline revenue growth for the past five years.

While there is more data to support these stats, the findings are clear: the pandemic helped organizations pivot their fundraising efforts far more effectively than the average organization.

Cultivating Your Community

Using digital tools isn't only about having fun; it's about building a strategy that connects a community of people who believe in your mission.

This sense of connection and support is invaluable for any nonprofit.

Rather than budgeting for gala events, consider inviting people from your community to your offices to show behind-the-scenes information on how you get the job done.

Always share how you continue to make an impact.

For example, create volunteer drives and assemble members of your community who believe in your cause. Email them using a fundraising call to action to support you every few months.

Create A Whole Other Resource

Nonprofits often need help to build resources.

You can use a digital strategy to create another resource for your team.

For example, you can welcome your donors using an automated welcome sequence using email marketing. You can use your online donation form to share the value of your cause and why your donor may consider giving.

Bear in mind that a digital-first fundraising strategy doesn’t mean only digital. The system can support a multichannel approach to engagement.

A digital approach enables your nonprofit to be dynamic and responsive to changing conditions and to convert and retain donors.

Here are five tips to get you started (or optimize) with a digital-first fundraising strategy and develop simple systems for your nonprofit:

1. Leverage the data you’ve been collecting for your nonprofit. Learn more about the people who engage with your nonprofit and begin communicating with them to share your impact in the community.
2. Let your digital strategy fuel mid-level and major gift fundraising efforts. From introducing an audience to retaining donors, the online experience can help build the initial relationships.
3. Digital donor acquisition is less expensive than traditional donor acquisition. NextAfter’s research shows that the average gift size for a new online donor was $59.07 - 53% higher than the average gift size of a new offline donor.
4. Measure your results monthly on website traffic, conversion, cultivation, and retention. Track the numbers using a CRM. Set it up so you can see what’s working and what's not month over month.
5. From the measurements, create new objectives to increase the numbers. How can you direct more traffic to your website? Are my email open rates increasing? Is my donation page visited more often? All these metrics can help you see the critical factors of a digital-first fundraising strategy.

Once the five steps work well, use your data to decide how digital marketing and advertising can help you continue increasing numbers.

A shift to a digital-first approach in fundraising shows how the process can be simple and effective. Adopting digital systems helps you streamline processes, making it easier for nonprofits to manage their fundraising efforts and provide a better online giving experience.

Link Love

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Thanks for reading this far ✌🏼