Pro Tips for New Fundraising Organizers: Learn From Experts

Fortunately, you’re not alone. Hundreds of fundraising leaders have been in your shoes, and they’ve learned valuable lessons about what strategies work well and which aren’t effective. 

In this post, we’re sharing some of their expert advice for new organizers. Whether you’re entering the fundraising fray at a large nonprofit or a volunteer-led booster club, these tips and best practices will help you start off strong.

1. Build a Strong Narrative

Every fundraiser needs a story. Why are you raising money? What programs, services, or advocacy efforts will donations fund? Who or what ultimately benefits, and why do they need your organization’s help? The answers to these questions will guide your fundraiser’s narrative.

When building a narrative for your fundraiser, experts advise creating a central message that directly appeals to your audience. This message should be a brief yet compelling statement or story that explains your fundraiser’s goals and the “why” behind them.

In the Meyer Partners nonprofit storytelling guide, direct response fundraising and marketing expert Bonnie Meyer recommends creating narratives grounded in the “3 R’s:”

• Relevance: Your fundraiser’s message should be clearly applicable to your organization’s mission and the campaign’s target audience (i.e., your donors). Explain why this fundraiser matters for your cause and why your audience should care.

• Resonance: Your narratives must appeal to supporters and inspire them to join your cause. Use emotional language, real-life stories of your beneficiaries, and empowering calls to action (CTAs) that will resonate with donors.
• Respect: Every narrative and story you tell should be respectful of your community. This includes beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, program participants, and other constituents. Be honest about their experiences when telling stories, and avoid stereotyping or overexaggerating the truth.

You can apply the “3 R’s” to many aspects of your fundraising strategy. No matter how you incorporate your narrative into your campaign—from sharing a beneficiary’s story in appeals to celebrating your nonprofit’s impact on a donor wall—keep the “3 R’s” in mind. Ensure all communications align with your central narrative and remain relevant, resonant, and respectful.

2. Leverage the Right Technology

One of the first lessons fundraising organizers learn is the importance of technology. Joan Garry, renowned fundraiser and founder of the Nonprofit Leadership Lab, emphasizes that you can’t afford to think of technology as overhead. On her blog, she says that “Technology is not just a tool but rather central to your engagement strategy, to your client service strategy, to your development strategy.”

How do you choose the right technology to invest in? That depends on your organization’s mission, size, needs, and technological expertise. For instance, you might benefit from:

• A robust nonprofit CRM: Constituent relationship management (CRM) software is essential for nonprofits planning to fundraise long-term. This database houses donor data, tracks donations, and centralizes fundraising information for your team. 
• Team fundraising software: If you’re planning a team-based fundraiser where many group members or volunteers will participate, a team fundraising platform will be essential. These tools simplify fundraising for beginners by providing basic fundraising pages and peer-to-peer functionality at a low cost.
• Specialized event management tools: Some types of events, like online or hybrid auctions, require specific software to be successful. If your fundraiser involves one or more virtual events, it’s worthwhile to consider an event management solution.

You’re not limited to just one of these platforms, and there are plenty of other helpful tools to explore, such as marketing and communications software or volunteer management platforms. You can always start with one solution and add on others (or purchase more comprehensive software) in the future. Remember that your tech stack will evolve over time as your needs shift—that means your organization is growing!

3. Maximize Your Fundraising Opportunities

In a recent study, 50% of nonprofit leaders listed revenue diversification and financial sustainability as a top priority for this year. Veteran fundraising professionals know that relying too heavily on one fundraiser or revenue channel is a recipe for disaster, especially if that channel dries up—that’s why they plan several different ways to raise money year-round.

However, you can still maximize your giving opportunities even if you’re only running a single fundraiser. Include different revenue-generating activities at one event or combine multiple fundraising ideas for your campaign.

For example, here are a few easy revenue opportunities you can add to any fundraiser:

• Discount cards: Create and sell cards with discounts to local or even national businesses. While this fundraiser traditionally involves selling physical cards, some providers like Team Butter offer 100% virtual options that involve selling codes to access a nationwide discount card app.
• Personal fundraising pages: Give your supporters the chance to multiply their impact by fundraising on your organization’s behalf. Provide them with an online fundraising page they can personalize and share with their own social network to spread the word.

• Matching gifts: Many employers offer corporate matching gifts to their employees. Through these programs, your donors can request a 1:1 donation match from their employer and double their initial gift.

To maximize revenue potential, you might sell discount cards at a restaurant proceeds night or promote matching gifts as part of a year-end giving campaign. You can also explore other opportunities, like selling concessions or branded merchandise at fundraising events where you also sell tickets.

4. Make Giving as Easy as Possible

Your donation page is the heart of your online giving strategy, so it must be secure and user-friendly. For instance, you likely already know that your page should have PCI-compliant payment processing. But beyond that, how can you streamline giving and truly make it as easy as possible for donors to support your cause?

Follow the advice of fundraising expert Rachel Muir: “Every step you remove from the donation process increases the likelihood a donor will complete the gift.” 

In practice, this concept means making the following changes to your donation page to simplify giving:

• Reduce form fields and ask for necessary information only (contact information, donation amount, payment method).
• Use large, clearly clickable buttons with direct CTA language (“Give now!” or “DONATE”).
• Embed your giving form directly on your donation page so users don’t have to click away to complete their gifts.
• Include links to your donation page in all relevant marketing materials and fundraising appeals (or QR codes for flyers and direct mail).

After streamlining your donation process, follow up with donors to ensure an easy gift experience. Send a quick survey to everyone who donated in the last month, asking questions like, “How easy was the giving process on a scale of 1 to 10?” and “Did you run into any technical issues when making your donation?” Evaluate the results and make tweaks to your donation page as necessary.

There’s always more to learn about fundraising, but these tips should give you a firm foundation. For more learning opportunities, explore online fundraising resources like blogs, webinars, and podcasts developed by experts.