Category: Donor Participation Project

The days of relying solely on your own marketing and advertising to spread your nonprofit’s message are over. According to research from McKinsey, two-thirds of customer journeys today involve word-of-mouth influence from friends, family, and online connections. Your supporters want to share authentic stories about the meaningful work you do, so tap into their enthusiasm and let them help market your cause.

Identify your organization’s stories that are authentic, interesting, and relevant (AIR) to your supporters.

How has your work impacted real people and changed lives? Share vivid anecdotes and compelling statistics that illustrate your impact. But don’t just tell these stories yourself—make them easy for others to share and spread.

Engage your super-sharers, the 10% of supporters who actively spread messages. Give them the AIR stories and content that they can post on their social media and share with their communities. Their voices and networks will amplify your message in an organic, trusted way.

Feature your supporters sharing why they give or volunteer with your organization. Their stories and testimonials from the heart will resonate far more than your own marketing materials. Ask them to share on their channels or repost their messages on your social media and website. This shows the human impact of your work.

Look for opportunities to spread your stories everywhere.

Add an emotional story to your email newsletters, social media posts, and even your receipts, bags, and other materials that supporters interact with. Make it easy for people to share your content with the click of a button. You never know which story will resonate and spread.

While technology and automation have their place in marketing, they should never replace the human, emotional connections between your organization and supporters. Tap into the passion and enthusiasm of your donors and volunteers, feature their voices, and make it easy to share your most compelling stories. Their word-of-mouth influence is the most powerful marketing you can have. The customer is the marketer, so give them stories worth sharing.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Nonprofits today operate in a world where traditional marketing methods are losing their sway. Donors are less receptive to ads and sales pitches, instead turning to their peers and social circles to determine where to direct their dollars. According to marketing expert Mark Schaefer, “Your brand is what people tell each other.” For nonprofits, this means word-of-mouth marketing from passionate supporters is the most impactful way to spread your mission.

To tap into word-of-mouth marketing, focus on connecting with your “super sharers” – those donors and advocates eager to spread the stories of the work you do. Provide them authentic content that sparks emotion and inspiration, and make it easy for them to share with their networks. Post visual stories on social media, include shareable content in your email newsletters, and make personal connections at events.

Ask your supporters directly to spread the word about a campaign or initiative they care deeply about.

Don’t stop at your donors – consider featuring your supporters themselves on your social media profiles and other marketing materials. Let them share why your cause matters to them in their own words. This demonstrates the real-world impact of your work in a way that feels genuine and compelling. Earned media from local journalists and bloggers, especially those with influence in your region or cause area, is also a source of third-party credibility and interest from new supporters. Build relationships with key media members and pitch them on stories from your organization that would resonate with their audience.

While technology has created more competition for people’s attention, it has also provided new channels for spreading messages. Invest in resources for social media, email marketing, and your website to make sharing and connecting as frictionless as possible for your advocates and community. Bring paid advertising into the mix to boost the reach of posts that are already gaining momentum.

By realizing your brand lives in the stories people tell about you, nonprofits can leverage the enthusiasm and passion of their community. Focus on creating intimate connections and shareable moments with donors, then put resources behind amplifying that word-of-mouth marketing for the broadest impact. Your supporters want to spread the word about your cause – give them compelling reasons to do so.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Purdue University has revolutionized its fundraising operations by implementing a donor-centric model focused on maximizing donor participation. Speaking on a recent podcast, Purdue fundraising leaders John Deakins, Amber Turner, and Michelle Miller shared how they restructured their advancement team and revamped metrics and reporting to build stronger donor relationships.

The centerpiece of Purdue’s new model is its pod structure, interdisciplinary teams organized around academic units and programs. Pods include fundraisers, prospect development professionals, stewardship experts, and administrators, promoting collaboration and a holistic view of donors. Regular pod meetings review donor metrics, discuss key prospects, and develop customized engagement strategies.

“It’s our goal that some portion of what we shared can be utilized within your organization or your specific unit,” said Deakins.

To guide their pod discussions and engagement strategies, Purdue uses a quadrant system based on capacity and affinity. Fundraisers can then tailor outreach to each quadrant, from broad-based marketing to principled gifts.

“We think about where is the best place for broad based to be successful,” explained Miller. “Where’s the best place for our major gifts team and our principal gifts team to be successful?”

Purdue also revamped its metrics and reporting to focus on donor relationships, not just dollars raised. Scorecards now evaluate factors like substantive contacts, proposals, and ask amounts in addition to revenue. Quarterly business reviews discuss strategy and gaps across the entire fundraising pipeline. According to Turner, “It helps with pipeline generation. It helps them see how big their basis, does the constituency match … and how are they making sure to build out the bottom of their pyramid?”

By organizing around donors, not institutions, and crafting metrics that matter for the long term, Purdue University created a model to maximize donor participation. Overall, the podcast highlights how nonprofit fundraisers at any organization can implement donor-centric strategies to build a strong philanthropic pipeline. Pod structures, quadrant-based segmentation, and relationship-focused metrics are practical takeaways for fundraisers looking to strengthen donor engagement.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

The key to motivating donors lies in crafting stories that make them the main character. According to fundraising expert Russell James, evoking empathy and generosity requires helping donors see themselves in your cause.

James explains that our brains are wired to act when we can visualize a situation and feel an emotional connection.

But stories about vague groups of people or complicated issues fail to trigger this reaction. Instead, stories should focus on a single relatable character. Details matter, as they help donors form a clear mental image, but too much complexity kills clarity and emotion.

The most compelling stories, then, are the ones donors can picture themselves in.

This could mean describing a character similar in age, location, values or life experiences. Or show how a donor’s own journey relates to your mission. For major gifts, ask open-ended questions to understand what is meaningful to them and frame your work as helping them achieve a personal victory.

One study found people gave nearly twice as much to help one child as to help five. Another showed donations dropped when a story switched from one girl to eight, but rose again when the eight were presented as siblings—a single, cohesive group.

The key is to make the many feel like one so people can connect.

Images also help, but only if donors can identify with the characters. James cites research where people gave more to help pictured children, but only if the children seemed “like them.” Pics of criminals or lizards—not as relatable—backfired.

In the end, people act when a story feels like their own.

Tell donors how they are the heroes, and give them a role in your victory. Make their values and experiences central to your cause. Only then will they truly feel for those you serve. Blend stories of real people with images and details to forge an emotional bond, and you’ll unlock empathy, trust and lifelong donors. The secret, in short, is making it about them.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

To build an engaged donor community, focus on listening and meaningful conversations. This advice came from frontline fundraisers at the recent Donor Participation Project conference.

Heather Thompson, a fundraiser at a social services organization, found that dismantling internal silos and engaging both donors and program participants led to new insights. Her organization surveyed both groups, asking open-ended questions about their hopes, dreams and challenges. Nearly 30% of donor respondents wanted to explore using the organization’s services—showing the narrow line between donors and program participants. Overall, the survey revealed an opportunity to build interconnectivity across groups.

Other presenters recommended using social media and online communities to facilitate open dialogue. Caitlin Barma of Almaviz suggested using private online communities with email distribution to regularly engage audiences. She noted social media’s low organic reach, requiring paid promotion to connect with followers. In contrast, owned communities foster authentic conversation and deeper relationships.

Dr. Russell James, a fundraising expert, emphasized that people give to enhance their identity and relationships.

Asking questions that help donors articulate their identity and values in relation to your cause is key. For example, ask what donors’hopes are for their community or how they first learned about your organization. Follow up by framing your work as a way for donors to achieve meaningful victories and enhance their identity.

Aubrey Bergauer recommended “auditioning” content on social media to see what resonates before including it in newsletters. She also advised modifying successful content by 10% to improve it over time. Her mantra “done is better than perfect” encourages taking risks and learning from failures.

Building an engaged donor community requires time, but following these frontline insights on listening, facilitating open dialogue, and enhancing donor identity can transform transactional donors into lifelong advocates. With creativity and persistence, any nonprofit can achieve this vision.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives often stall when leadership fails to fully understand why this work matters or lacks a mechanism to ensure accountability. As fundraisers, we must educate our leadership and put accountability measures in place to advance this critical work.

Recent research shows 63% of nonprofits have completed DEI training, yet only 42% saw workplace culture improve.

This gap highlights the need to move from learning to action. We must explain to leadership that diversity directly impacts an organization’s ability to raise money and achieve its mission. Diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures drive innovation, help reach new donors, and improve staff satisfaction and retention.

With leadership buy-in, accountability is key.

Set clear, measurable DEI goals and evaluate leadership based on progress. Board diversity and staff retention of underrepresented groups are two key metrics. Holding leadership accountable for outcomes, not just efforts or intentions, is the only way to drive real change.

To set effective goals, analyze your data to understand where you are today so you can determine where you want to be in the coming years.

Set incremental, realistic targets, but aim high.

For example, commit to adding two board members from underrepresented groups each year and maintaining or exceeding staff diversity goals annually.

Educating leadership and building accountability will not be easy, but it is necessary to make DEI a sustainable priority. Have courageous conversations explaining why this work matters and how it will strengthen your organization and community impact. Put accountability measures in place so your good intentions turn into real outcomes. Diversity, equity and inclusion deserve more than lip service – they must be backed by understanding, action and results at every level of your organization. Our fundraising success and mission impact depend on it.

In summary, lasting change requires leadership and accountability. Equip your leadership with the knowledge and motivation to make DEI a priority, then put accountability measures in place to drive outcomes. This combination of education and responsibility will turn good intentions into impact. Our organizations and communities deserve nothing less.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Nonprofit fundraising is often a guessing game. We make assumptions about what motivates our donors and how to best engage them based on conventional wisdom or what works for other organizations. But by speaking directly with donors, one university gained invaluable insight into how to strengthen ties with long-time supporters.

For 15 years, the university had been sending donors standard communications and hosting events to show appreciation. They believed this was enough, but university leadership pushed them to enhance their donor stewardship plan. Before reinventing their strategy, the fundraising team conducted in-depth interviews with 31 loyal donors to discover their true motivations and desires.

The interviews revealed surprising results. Donors cared deeply about the university’s impact and longevity, not benefits or recognition. They wanted more updates on programs, students, and milestones; one update a year wasn’t enough. Many donors were eager to engage in campus events beyond donor-only receptions. And nearly all were willing to recruit new donors if asked and matched with the right opportunity.

With this knowledge, the fundraising team created a customized donor engagement strategy focused on three areas: impact, community, and transparency.

They reported on key university achievements and student life 4-6 times a year through letters and social media. They launched an open speaker series on current events that donors could attend, and saw impressive turnout. They also developed meaningful volunteer roles for donors to directly advance the mission.

Most notably, the university asked loyal donors to share why they supported the institution on video to inspire new and renewing donors. Response was overwhelmingly positive, indicating that long-time donors feel great pride in their giving and institution.

By listening to and learning from devoted donors, this university gained actionable insights to strengthen donor relationships in authentic, lasting ways.

Speaking with donors—however informally—can help nonprofits move from guessing games to tailored strategies that truly serve those who make their mission possible. The power of listening should not be underestimated.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

For nonprofit fundraisers, gaining insight into donor motivations and values is key to building meaningful relationships. Strategic questions are one of the most important tools for discovering what inspires donors to give and cultivating true partnerships.

According to fundraising expert Karen Osborne, the quality of questions fundraisers ask directly impacts their ability to gain donor insight. Rapport-building questions like “How did you meet your spouse?” are useful for establishing a connection but fail to reveal donors’ passions or motivations.

Fundraisers should move beyond superficial questions to unpack why donors care about certain causes and issues. For example, instead of accepting a short response about a donor’s career, fundraisers could ask follow up questions such as “What did you find most rewarding about that work?” or “How did that experience shape your perspective?”

Fundraisers also need to understand donors’ philanthropic values and goals.

Questions such as “What causes are most meaningful to you and why?” or “If you could resolve one problem in our community what would it be?” provide insight into donors’ priorities and vision for change. With this understanding, fundraisers can then have more meaningful discussions about how the nonprofit’s mission and programs align with donors’ values.

While preparing thoughtful questions is key, practicing active listening is equally important.

Donors will reveal a great deal if fundraisers are fully engaged and paying close attention. According to expert Jim Langley, unpacking responses through follow up questions demonstrates fundraisers are genuinely interested in donors’ perspectives and stories. By listening for meaning and emotion in donors’ voices, fundraisers gain deeper insight into their passions and priorities.

Fundraisers should develop a list of strategic questions tailored for each donor based on their interests and biography.

Thought-provoking questions spark engaging conversations where donors feel heard and understood. With the insight gained from these meaningful discussions, fundraisers can cultivate true partnerships and craft fundraising proposals donors are excited to support. The secret to gaining donor insight is simple: ask good questions and listen intently for the answers.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Nonprofit fundraisers today have access to a wealth of new technology that can help them strengthen donor relationships without needing technical skills. No-code solutions provide an easy way to automate and streamline processes, eliminating tedious manual work, departmental silos, and mistakes. The key is finding where technology can take over routine tasks so that fundraisers can focus on building meaningful connections with donors.

For example, several presenters discussed using Zapier, an integration tool that can seamlessly connect systems like your CRM, email service, and payment processor. By setting up Zapier workflows called “Zaps,” organizations can automatically send gift acknowledgements, trigger follow-up emails to donors who click newsletter links but don’t donate, and pull data from different sources into a single dashboard.

Other useful no-code tools include Airtable, which helps capture and organize information across teams; postgrid, for automating handwritten thank you cards; and video platforms like Vidyard and EverTrue’s ThankView that generate personalized video messages. An organization embracing these tools reported reducing gift entry time, identifying major gift prospects, and gaining useful insights from analyzing combined data.

The key to success is getting buy-in across the organization. Start by identifying a “quick win” to prove value, like streamlining a frustrating manual process. Reassure teams about data security and privacy, clarifying specific concerns. And remember that change takes time: start with small tests, provide thorough training, and consider a “graceful fade out” by slowly transitioning to new systems rather than abruptly ending existing ones.

Collective thinking from IT professionals, fundraisers, and data analysts helped identify solutions for breaking down silos and gaining efficiency. By using low-cost or free tools, any organization can eliminate tedious work, free up human time for high-impact activities, and gain useful data to build personalized donor experiences. With the support of leadership and patience through the transition, no-code solutions can help transform nonprofit fundraising.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.

Authentic and human-centered videos are the key to successful nonprofit video strategies. Donors today crave real stories and genuine connections to the causes they support. Highly polished, overly produced videos may look impressive but fail to forge emotional bonds or convey the urgency of needs.

As David Van Epps discussed in a podcast for the Donor Participation Project,

“The Internet, increasingly prefers authentic. A YouTube report said vloggers are winning all the views, and that viewers are starting to look for imperfections of speech, the ums, the ahs, the pauses…they know it’s genuine, honest.”

Videos made on smartphones that capture authentic moments and stories tend to outperform slickly produced pieces that lack a human touch.

To create authentic content, identify what information your donors and constituents urgently need by surveying frontline staff, monitoring online communities, and doing user experience testing. Look for the questions people repeatedly ask and points of frustration in their experience with your organization. Address these vital information gaps, no matter the video quality. As Van Epps said, “When a video is vital, low quality and homemade is okay. Because when the information is vital, a crappy homemade video is the best thing they’ve ever seen.”

Keep your videos human-centered by focusing on your audience’s needs and concerns, not your organizational priorities or preferences. Feature real people, share their stories of how your nonprofit impacts lives in meaningful ways. Build empathy through humanity. Let emotions shine through, even if it means imperfect delivery or less polished production.

Authentic, human-centered video content is a winning strategy for nonprofits because it gives donors what they crave: genuine connection and proof of impact. While you could invest heavily in high-end video, you don’t need expensive equipment or professionals to make a difference. With a focus on vital information, empathy, and authenticity, you have the power to motivate your supporters with the videos you create today. Keep it real, share the stories that matter, and let your humanity lead the way.

View the full recording of this session in our Resource Library.