Competition for fundraising has increased; it’s not as easy to get donations as it used to be. Here are four proven methods to organically grow your donor base using a “digital made simple” approach to the explanations. Even if you have limited amounts of human resources you can at least adopt one of these suggestions to grow your donor base. Let us know if you'd like more details.

1. © 2014 Big Dog Innovations

2. What Everyone Generally Knows About
Fundraising Today
 Foundations are under increased pressure to perform
 Media proliferation has made the landscape more
confusing
 Competition for donations has increased
 Donor behaviors are shifting; where they’ve gone, and
in what percentages is the big challenge for 2014

3. What Many Development Officers “Sense”
About Fundraising Today
 Everything has changed in communications
 Old tactics are not producing like they used to
New approach methods must be developed

4. Here are four simple steps you can do to take
advantage of doubling the size of your donor
base in 2014.
Each of them may represent a slight tweak in
your approach to mirror the changed world
of donor behaviors today.

5. # 1 - Optimize Your Direct Mail
 98% or more of direct mail gets tossed in the garbage
 It’s 2014, people prefer (by a factor of 7x) to use a digital response
option as opposed to traditional response mechanisms
 Give them a digital option, use “Call-to-Actions” (CTA’s) to drive
increased interactions- whether donations, dialogue, or both

6. # 2 – Give Your Social Media a Strategic Facelift
 Change the angle of content from being “about you”, to content specifically aimed at eliciting
feedback
 It’s one thing to “get likes”; it’s another thing entirely to use social media the way it was originally
intended… as a forum for discussion and interaction
 If you look at all of your posts from the past three months you should be able to spot areas where
a slight shift in what you posted could have done more to incite dialogue and further establish
relationship opportunities
 If you think there’s a “content shift” opportunity, you’ll probably be able to maximize results by
focusing your efforts on no more than one to two platforms; the “less is more approach” may
deliver your best returns

7. # 3 – Start a Mobile Communications Plan
 The heavier hitters, the affluent in the 50 and
older community have reached nearly a 50%
Smartphone adoption rate
 With 99% push messaging open rates you can’t
afford to ignore this medium any longer
 When evolving your mobile strategy start
simple-
1. Determine what may be needed to fight “old
management thinking”, mobile is the future of
communications
2. Acquisition plans; use all your media formats
to acquire cell phone numbers
3. Mobile content is different, you’ll need to
strategize differently, but just like social media
the content must become “about your target
market”
4. Converting objectives- just like with direct
mail, use call to actions and dynamic landing
pages to increase your possibilities

8. # 4 - Teach Your Board Members & Benefactors
(Who May Typically Be Digital Immigrants), What Digital Natives Already Know
With easy to follow instructions board members can be taught how to use digital
communications in their various “spheres of influence”
This method of “local viral growth” can have a
dramatic impact on the quality and quantity of
your potential donor base. Give them a digital
plan; board members want to help!

9. Remember, when it comes to fundraising today…
 Old communications tactics no longer apply
 You’ll still have direct mail, stewardship, events, and major
donors
 But, your strategic plans and tactical approaches should
change with the times- after all, your donors already have

10. Let me know if this deck was helpful.
Also, if you’d like to see further explanation anywhere…
Peter Winters President, Big Dog Innovations
917 301-9100 pwinters@bigdoginnovations.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/peterwintersbigdoginnovations/
SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/BigDogInnovations
Cross Media Implementation Team-
MSP Digital Marketing
www.mspdigital.com