New Year, New Strategy: Five Resolutions for Nonprofit Fundraising in 2017

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.”
—Melody Beattie, American author

Ahh, there’s nothing like a fresh slate. It’s that time of year, and many people are setting personal goals and challenging themselves to achieve them in the new year.

But what can you do differently in 2017 to raise more money? Before January completely slips by, I’d like to share with you IPM Advancement’s top five resolutions to consider in 2017:

1. Create, follow and commit to an editorial calendar

Many busy nonprofits make the mistake of “winging it” from month to month – versus establishing a well-thought out, organized editorial calendar. In 2017, consider incorporating a creative, strategic narrative that can be used throughout the next 12 months. Divide content into quarterly (or even monthly) topics. With this approach, you can save precious time and support key fundraising activities throughout the calendar year.

2. Empower and engage the forgotten audience (millenials)

Reaching millennials is a continuous challenge for today’s nonprofits. At IPM, we believe that continuing to invest in this key segment will pay off in the long term. As the first generation to start the precedent of donating online, as well as the segment that helped pioneer email, web design and online advocacy, ignoring this group is a serious mistake. And even though this generation may be smaller than the other segments, it’s important to understand that they commonly exercise a major amount of influence and economic power, as well as a strong desire to give. In fact, they are starting to enter their peak giving years, so nonprofit fundraisers would be wise in the coming months to pay even more attention to how they give and why.

3. Demonstrate the impact of your work

Demonstrate the impact of your organization’s work via a high-quality, eye-opening narrative this year. For example, take the time to illustrate highlights and milestones via well-crafted content, including text, images, videos, infographics, social media posts and more. The key here is to consistently weave in proof and/or data points to help build the case for support.

4. Coordinate and repurpose marketing content

The reality for most nonprofits is that developing new marketing content requires additional resources that are not always readily available. Repurposing content (when applicable) can save time and serious resources, and can still be effective. So use what you have strategically. Instead of starting from scratch, make a point of collaborating with teams across your organization (i.e., marketing, programming). The key here is to repurpose content with continuity top of mind, as well as a goal of delivering a strong, seamless narrative to your audience.

5. Embrace an integrated strategy

At IPM, we believe an integrated fundraising is a critical element of fundraising success in today’s nonprofit landscape. We also understand that this concept can be challenging for many organizations. However, in a 24/7 world of advertising overload and once-in-a-lifetime offers, we believe fundraisers must leverage every chance to reinforce their organization’s key messages, strengthen their relationship with supporters and make every engagement count. So, in 2017, encourage your organization’s fundraising team to better understand the importance of combining the three core donor engagement methods — Internet, phone and mail — into one powerful, fully integrated fundraising strategy.

The Bottom Line

The New Year is a wonderful opportunity to start over and to start fresh. If you are interested in learning more about how you can reach your organization’s goals for 2017, contact one of our team members today.