Reach Out and Influence Someone

Tips to Spread Your Message

Six Tips for Fundraising Success
by Meghan Kissell - Senior Associate 

Have you noticed Santas, Menorahs and other seasonal holiday decorations popping up in store displays even before Halloween? While you might think it's too early to start stringing up lights, it's not too early to be thinking about your end-of-year fundraising appeals. Hopefully, you have already laid out your plans for capitalizing on year-end giving. Here are a few tips to help make the most of these efforts.

• Engage your supporters now. Don't wait until November to start asking people for money. If you have social networks, engage them now. Don't just shout at them, respond to their posts on Facebook and follow your supporters on Twitter. Develop relationships so people have a stronger connection with your organization.
• Segment your audience and tailor your messages. You've been thinking about the different audiences you work with all year and tailoring your messages to their specific interests (right?). Don't stop now. Skip the universal appeal letter and take time to segment your audiences and think about what might hold them back from taking action. Develop messages for your fundraising appeals that are tailored to resonate with each group.
• Update your website. Make sure your donation page is set up to reflect your end-of-year campaign message. Throughout your campaign, update your website to tell prospective donors how their donations will make a difference.
• Be specific. People respond better to a specific ask to support a program or project rather than a general ask. Think about how you can talk to people about the concrete things you do, rather than asking them for general support. For example, Heifer International doesn't just ask people to support the organization but gets right down to the details - letting donors choose exactly how they will be making a difference, whether it is with a water buffalo or a flock of chicks.
• Coordinate your offline and online communication channels. To be most successful, use an integrated, multi-channel approach. When you send your end-of-year appeal, follow it up a week later with a related email. Post information about the appeal on your website, on your Facebook page and on Twitter. Do you text your supporters? If so, text message reminders can be very effective, especially in the final week of December.
• Don't forget to say thanks. Every nonprofit wants its donors to continue supporting them. A key step is saying thanks for the support donors already give. When it comes to reinforcing action, a key tip in Discovering the Activation Point is that people are more inclined to act when they see a personal benefit for doing so - and that benefit can be something as small as a sincere and timely thank you. Be sure to personalize the thank you, either by having it come from a member of your board, or - if your appeal highlights a particular program - including a note from program participants or staff.

Good to Great

Smart Strategies for Success

Living the Brand

by Sarah McLean - Junior Account Executive and Lisa Falconer - Senior Account Executive

Great Minds

Ideas to Make You Think

Maximizing Your Impact with Paid Media Campaigns
by Maura Zehr - Account Executive

Strategic paid media campaigns - including ad buys, banner ads on websites, billboards, etc. - offer nonprofit organizations an opportunity to get their message in front of target audiences in a creative, compelling and controlled way.

In September, Spitfire worked with the Aspen Institute to launch the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health. The effort included a full-page ad in The New York Times to amplify the Council's message about the importance of world leaders investing in reproductive health. 

Throughout the summer, the Child Nutrition Initiative put pressure on Congress to pass the Child Nutrition Act through a print ad campaign in outlets regularly read by policymakers and their staffs. Both projects considered the following factors before designing and placing the ads.

Publication. One of the most important things to consider for a paid media campaign is where to run the ads. This should always be determined by the target audience you are trying to reach. For example, to target members of Congress, the Child Nutrition Initiative ran ads multiple times in Roll Call, CQ Today, Politico and CongressDaily.

Timing. Timing of an ad is also critical. The Global Leaders Council ad ran in The New York Times on the same day world leaders arrived in New York City for the start of the UN Summit and the Clinton Global Initiative. Timing for the child nutrition ads centered on the legislative calendar and movement of the bill, with the ads running when members returned from recess and in the weeks leading up to the bill's deadline for passage.

Concise Messaging. As noted in Spitfire's Smart Chart communications planning tool, messaging should include a few strong points that people will remember and have a clear ask. This is especially true for ads, given the limited amount of space available. The Council ad featured messaging that emphasized the strong commitment to this issue by listing the names of several world leaders who are part of the effort, and called on other global leaders to join the cause. Messaging in the child nutrition ad relayed a sense of urgency around providing children with nutritious school meals by connecting the issue to the skyrocketing obesity rates and child hunger. The ad directly calls on House and Senate leadership to pass the legislation.