How to Reach More Nonprofit Donors… Using For-Profit Strategies

For-profit companies’ customers have to come from somewhere, just like nonprofit donors. Big business has always spent heavily on traditional old-world advertising. Television spots, newspaper advertising, and mailers have been essential in attracting potential customers.

These methods were, and still are, incredibly effective… but they are also expensive and inefficient.

The need for cheaper, faster, and more efficient ways of reaching customers has driven a technological revolution. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have innovated new platforms, tools, and tactics to help companies of all sizes (and themselves) better understand, target, and reach new customers.

Understanding the Funnel

Successful for-profit companies understand the sales process as a funnel. They understand the funnel won’t fill itself. Because most targeted potential customers won’t become actual customers, companies know to reach out to many more customers than they need.

The same is true for nonprofits — you have to think about new donor acquisition as a numbers game. It’s no longer enough to simply create a website or have a Facebook page. Even the best donation appeal won’t work if too few people are seeing it.

The good news is that nonprofits now not only have access to the same online tools once available only to Fortune 500 companies, but these platforms actually offer advantages specific to nonprofit organizations.

Our advice? Use the 3 Pillars of Online Donor Outreach to fill your nonprofit funnel.