There is no question that we, who work in the non-profit world, are in unchartered waters with the coronavirus and the economic uncertainty it is causing. We’ve heard over and over from clients that they are struggling to make decisions because the situation is changing minute by minute. 

When meeting with non-profit clients for the first time, I am often surprised by how many development officers are still talking about how much money they raised with their last fundraising appeal or event.

A fully engaged customer or donor who feels emotionally connected to your organization is key to increased revenue. You need to know who your audience is and what will motivate them to engage. The insights for building those emotional connections that drive loyalty and advocacy for your organization or brand may be hidden in your database, or you could need research.  How do you know?

Mike brings over 30 years of experience in Information Technologies Operations Management, including system design and engineering, policy and process implementation, and security and compliance leadership.

In our previous article, “You have to know your donors to engage them,” we outlined the data points needed to build the emotional connections with your donors that lead to increased ROI for your fundraising. Many of those points can be found in your existing donor data, or through data appends, but some points will require primary research. In this article, we outline how to design research to be useful in creating more relevant and meaningful communications. 

Most fundraisers are familiar with the idea that it’s less expensive to keep a donor than to find a new one. And many are aware about how to retain donors: they need to build strong connections between the charity and the donor. In the past, charities have focused on the importance of making rational, deliberate appeals on the assumption that donors made rational, deliberate decisions when giving. 

There’s a lot of conversation around behavior science and how emotion influences the decision to buy, donate or join in the marketing blogosphere these days. Many of those conversations cite the work of Nobel Prize winner and psychologist, Daniel Kahneman. In his 2011 book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Kahneman argues that the mind incorporates two systems for decision-making: one that works quickly making decisions more on intuition and emotion, and a second that works more slowly to rationalize the decision. Because it takes less effort, we’re more likely to rely on the first system.

CHALLENGE:
A 1,200% increase in net proceeds may not seem possible, but that’s exactly what we helped the Detroit Zoo achieve over a five-year period through a more efficient and targeted marketing program.

The results of appeal season are in for Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan (CLFM) and the impact of a new approach has been dramatic.

Phoenix Innovate is pleased to announce our 2018 spoilage rate of .1%. According to the latest survey from Printing Industries of America (PIA), the industry average is 4%.

There are strategists and there are implementors, and it’s rare to find both skill sets in one individual, but that’s what we found in Trish Dewald!