Whether
it is the spirit of the holidays or a personal squaring of accounts
ahead of tax season that drives donations, nearly a quarter of household
charitable giving happens between Thanksgiving and New Year’s,
according to a study by
Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
So during this opportune time for giving, how can your organization
secure funding by persuading donors that it best meets the needs they
care about most?
First, it is important that donations be considered investments.
Donors are putting up money, or time, or expertise. They deserve the
best possible return on investment—in this case, the most people fed or
the most jobs created or the most kids learning to read, all measured
against the dollars spent to achieve those outcomes.
After all, you wouldn’t buy stock in a company just because it was
frequently in the news, because a celebrity endorsed it, or because you
had a vague “good feeling” about it, would you? So, why should we expect
those factors to persuade people to make charitable
investments—especially when nobody has to donate?
Today, many organizations are using data to forecast the social
impact of their efforts so they can help donors invest with more
confidence. But while not every organization has the time or money to
report in-depth measurement, there are simple things a nonprofit can do
to ensure it is demonstrating how investing in its programs can
generate the greatest social impact possible.
Here are four ways to sell your impact to end-of-year donors:
1. Emphasize outcomes. In your pitch to donors, highlight the
outcomes you aim to accomplish first—that way donors understand exactly
what you want to accomplish with their donations. It’s far more
compelling to make an argument about producing outcomes than to list
activities. For example, as mentioned in an earlier blog post, don’t
tell why you want to
buy a van; explain how you intend to increase access to health care.
2. Measure the return, not the activity. Focus on
demonstrating value to donors. Put another way, you are looking to show
that you can deliver them the biggest “change per buck.” For example,
say a donation of $10,000 will pay to give books to 2,000 kids. There
may be some evidence that having a book will encourage some of those
kids to read more and that their reading ability will improve some
amount. And getting books to 2,000 kids sure sounds good. But there is a
stronger message you could send to donors.
Say that $10,000 could fund an afterschool reading program for just
20 kids, and kids in similar programs have seen their reading ability go
up a full grade level or more. An investment in the reading program
buys fewer books, but it is also more likely to provide a tangible
return on investment. Selling your impact is about demonstrating how
your organization produces valuable social outcomes.
3. Think about competitors. Understand what alternative
organizations or opportunities your donors might consider. What unique
value do you provide? How will you provide donors with a better return
on investment? Answering these questions will make donors more confident
that your organization is the right choice.
4. Consider asking for alternatives to financial donations. Don’t forget about asking for investments of time and expertise. Understand what your
volunteers value
to recruit, retain, and assign them to help more effectively. Tapping
passionate supporters’ knowledge and time may be a donation that makes a
huge difference to your organization.
Looking at donations this way may not seem intuitive. It also takes a
little more work than just asking for charity from the same donors.
But, selling your impact to donors who are invested in your work will
create dynamic new opportunities with a variety of supporters.
