Whether you’re looking at cutting down your expenses, or you’re running with less team members and volunteers, it’s a difficult time to fundraise. Planning a COVID-safe strategy that won’t add extra cost is at the top of many fundraisers’ priorities, so here are some tips to raise more with the same resources. 

1. Harness your donor data

Many charity campaigns focus on building awareness and searching for new supporters, but this strategy can miss the potential donors sitting under your nose that are engaging with your content but haven’t yet taken the step to donate. Could you send a tailored email, or pick up the phone to find out more about why they would consider supporting your cause? Harnessing your data doesn’t have to be as daunting as it sounds: in the ToucanTech system, you can use engagement filters from your emails and events to segment potential donors that need an extra nudge. 

2. Focus on digital as far as possible

While keeping in mind your donors’ preferences for communications, taking your strategy digital can help to significantly reduce some of your costs, particularly if you are trying to reach a new audience. Whether you focus on free, owned channels such as social media, or via an email campaign, digital fundraising is a quick way to reach the masses. Plus, with some creativity and a bit of luck, you can create peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, such as the 5k NHS run, the ILS ice bucket challenge, and Movember, which can take off - with the internet, anything is possible!

3. Keep stewardship central to your strategy

Donor retention is key to keeping your costs low in fundraising, so keeping your donors happy will lead to a better fundraising outcome. Rather than an afterthought, thanking your donors and keeping them engaged should sit centrally to your strategy. In fundraising, rather than consider your donors as moving down a sales funnel, it’s more effective to consider the cyclical nature of fundraising as you attract, nurture and make asks of your supporters.  By automating parts of your stewardship, you can further decrease your costs while adding a personal touch that your supporters will appreciate. From a personalised birthday message, to content that reminds the donor of their individual reason to donate, stewardship is a key part of creating a sustainable fundraising strategy that will work in the good and the bad times. 
 

For more tips on topics such as unusual fundraising, check out our top tips page. 

Our customers are running successful virtual fundraising campaigns all over the world. Discuss ways to build your digital fundraising strategy with an experienced ToucanTech fundraising guru; organise a time to talk to the team here.