Tips for Making Philanthropy Program Even Better
Reflection is a vital part of philanthropy. It can help you learn more about your grantees’ work and strategy. By identifying your learning priorities and working with grantees to create learning opportunities, you can focus your resources on what matters most and what you can realistically measure.
Engaging Your Donors On Social Media
Social media is an excellent way to engage donors and create a two-way dialogue. According to Cane Bay Partners VI, LLLP, keeping donors updated and involved is easy and will give them the feeling that they’re heard and appreciated. Social media can be a powerful tool for nonprofits, so don’t underestimate its potential.
For example, a nonprofit can feature its most active volunteers and donors on its social media accounts. A post about a featured person may encourage followers to donate. Other posts can feature news about the nonprofit and the work it does. Social media can also be a great way to share your organization’s latest activities.
Donors connect with human stories and personal insights. They want to be part of a cause, and they want to make a meaningful connection. Therefore, a thought leader should be able to answer comments and questions on time.
Creating A Monthly Giving Program
Creating a monthly giving program for a nonprofit is an excellent way to raise money from a steady stream of donors. Not only does it solve the problem of asking donors to renew their gifts, but it also allows nonprofits to engage with their community in meaningful ways. For example, nonprofits can leverage social media and virtual volunteers, petition signatures, letters to the editor, and other strategies to reach donors.
Once your monthly giving program is up and running, you can optimize it to generate more funds and provide a better experience for donors. For example, you can use a CRM database to identify prospective monthly donors. These potential monthly donors may already be recurring volunteers or advocates.
Identifying Your Heavy Hitters
You can use a prospect research technique to identify your major donors and improve your program. This involves researching people willing to make large donations and organizing a donor database. This can make identifying your major donors a smooth process. Major donors are those who can make a significant gift to your nonprofit. These donations represent a significant portion of the money raised by nonprofits. Therefore, identifying these donors is essential for fundraising. There are many resources for determining your major donors.
Defining Success In Philanthropy
For a nonprofit, defining success in philanthropy means deciding on an area where it can make a difference. It means deciding whether to focus on a single community or the entire state or target a certain demographic. Depending on your mission, defining success could mean anything from restoring a polluted river to reducing maternal mortality in a developing country. Or, it could mean increasing awareness of the causes of lung cancer and advocating for more effective lung cancer screening protocols.
Often, philanthropists are fueled by their own experiences and interests. For example, some individuals have benefitted from scholarship opportunities and want to help others achieve similar success. Others may be prompted to give back because of a particular medical issue.
Managing Risk In Philanthropy
Many funders describe themselves as “risk takers,” but there is no industry-wide definition of “risk in philanthropy.” Moreover, even fewer funders currently assess risk during the grant application process, and even fewer have processes to manage risk after the grant is issued. But knowing how to define and manage risk in philanthropy programs is crucial for funders and grantees.
Managing risk isn’t easy, but there are several ways to mitigate it. A straightforward way is to create a thorough employee handbook that spells out all expectations and policies. This will protect staff, leadership, board members, and the organization.
