Your donors are tired of the same old events and year-end appeal letter. Taking the same approach with your donors over and over can lead to donor fatigue, which is difficult to overcome once it sets in and can leave you searching for new donors instead of boosting your donor retention rate.
Younger donors are especially on the hunt for spectacular experiences to enjoy. Experiential fundraising, then, is a way to reach both your existing donors who may be tired of your outreach and these younger donors who maybe haven’t gotten involved in your cause yet.
But…how do you create an experience that donors want to participate in (and donate for)? And what does it look like?
A fantastic donor experience can be as simple as creating a streamlined donation form to make the act of giving a breeze. To take this a step further, though, consider one of the following experiences:
- A unique event that’s related to your organization’s mission. For example, if your organization promotes diversity, you might have an evening celebrating different cultures with food and performance.
- A fundraising challenge. Just like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, these types of experiences have the potential to go viral – and raise big money.
- A membership program. Build different tiers with exciting benefits like merchandise, discounts, access to exclusive content and events, and more.
- A peer-to-peer fundraising competition. Get your supporters to create fundraising pages and raise money on your behalf – with prizes for those who raise the most!
- A community fundraising event partnering with a local business. Ask a local restaurant to donate a part of their sales for the evening to your organization and invite your supporters to enjoy a delicious meal for a good cause!
- An interesting holiday fundraiser. Take advantage of your donors’ festive nature, especially for holidays that are celebrated less.
- A sponsorship. You may be familiar with sponsorships for your events, but have you considered what else a donor may sponsor? This works well for animal rescue nonprofits where donors can choose which animal they want to sponsor.
The best experiential fundraisers will be relevant to your mission, include a fun or moving element, and can effectively be pulled off by your team (without eating up too many resources).
Download our Donor Experience Brainstorming Worksheet to guide you through all the necessary steps to brainstorm your experiential fundraiser, such as:
- Reviewing your mission to help you choose a brand-aligned experience. How can you use this opportunity to inform supporters about your cause?
- Identifying your target audience. Are you targeting existing donors or looking to engage with a new group? Getting specific about the donor persona you’re hoping to reach will help you solidify your experience.
- Free writing some ideas. Without putting pressure on yourself, come up with a few ideas. They can be extravagant or simple – this stage is just about getting them on the page!
- Narrowing your ideas down. While you want to make all of your creative ideas a reality, some things just won’t be feasible for your organization. Determine your limits (based on budget, manpower, etc.) and cross out any ideas that are too over the top.
- Making a plan to act! Once you have your idea, what are the next steps to put it into action?
Along the way, we’ll provide helpful examples that illustrate what we mean and can get those creative juices flowing.
Happy planning!
