 Efficiency can mean finding ways to streamline or automate manual processes. It can also mean finding ways to do more with less: less money, fewer resources, or both. But in the fundraising world, efficiency has come to be defined as all of these strategies combined.
Technology:
We’ve grown used to the world as being a place filled with technology. Our cars talk to us and give us directions, we can check ourselves out at the grocery store, and with the click of a button, we can send email messages that reach people instantly. Nonprofit organizations have also embraced technology. You might remember keeping track of your donors on 3”x5” index cards, but most organizations now have donor management software designed specifically for nonprofits. If your organization does not use donor management software and you want to be more efficient, it’s the best place to start.
Good data:
The arrival of the technology age has meant that the “human touch” that permeated our every interaction with donors has gone by the wayside. Instead of hand-addressing envelopes, you can conduct a 1000-piece mail merge and have personalized letters ready to go in minutes or hours instead of days or weeks.
Keep in mind that the “health” of your data now becomes essential. Correct and complete addresses help ensure your mailing is as efficient as possible and that it reaches the right people. Obtaining email addresses for your supporters and prospects can help you save time and money by reaching more people for less money than traditional direct mail. Knowing your supporters’ phone numbers gives you the option to reach out in yet another way to cultivate your donor relationships. Having complete and accurate data in your database gives you options to save time and money while building those critical relationships and raising the necessary money. There are a host of data services available to help you keep your data healthy, accurate, and complete.
Targeted appeals:
Another way to become more efficient in your fundraising efforts is to target your appeals. Most organizations already do this — some more than others. Targeting can happen in a variety of ways. You can target an appeal based on geography, for example, so that only prospects in a certain county are asked to support a particular issue. A school might target its alumni rather than everyone in its community for a particular giving level. Basic targeting like this just makes sense.
Prospect research:
Prospect research offers tremendous gains in efficiency when it comes to fundraising. The information available through prospect research can help your organization build a strategy that maximizes the impact of each dollar you spend. By letting you know whom to mail, whom to telephone, and with whom to build a personal relationship that could result in a planned or major gift, you can save thousands of dollars on wasted printing, postage, and most importantly, staff time.
When selecting a prospect research solution, choosing one that ranks an organization's donors and prospects based on custom-built statistical profiles and provides wealth identification will ensure that your development staff members are best prepared to focus their energy and resources. This combination will help you understand not only whom to contact, but in which manner. This can help you efficiently and cost-effectively raise money while minimizing the intrusion into your donors’ lives.
Don’t go overboard!
While it’s always smart to find ways to be efficient, it is possible to go too far. Remember that some things require a human touch. Hand written thank-you notes to important donors may take time, but that 10 or 15 minutes is still time well spent. It’s easy to slip into the mindset that fundraising is all about money, but it should be more about relationships. Your organization can accomplish its mission with money, yes, but more importantly, you need people. So as you strive to streamline your processes and become more efficient, don’t sacrifice the human touch completely.
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You don’t have to be a large organization to benefit from prospect research. Many smaller organizations have realized the positive impact efficiency has had on their overall budgets. Here are a few examples:
