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And This Just In ….
nonprofit management tips

You can increase donations and visibility when news breaks by having a solid reaction plan in place. That isn’t news. The news is how to activate the plan.

At the Bridge to Integrated Marketing Conference in National Harbor, Md., Wendy Marinaccio Husman, account director at Donordigital and Whitney Broadwell, senior resource development officer at International Medical Corps, held a session titled “Use the News: How to Fundraise When the Media Spotlight Shines on Your Organization’s Mission.” They addressed ideas to help your organization be prepared when it is in the spotlight:

  • Your response on digital fundraising channels should be almost immediate. Having media budgets for paid ads and a social media strategy pre-approved streamlines the process and lets you get your message out first.
  • Don’t create everything from scratch each time. Creating template emails, advertisements, and social media posts that can be tweaked for different news stories moves the process along faster.
  • Consider offline direct response strategies, such as a direct mail “Urgentgram” or an agreement with telemarketing vendors with scripts prepared.
  • Try tapping into powerful partnerships. In the wake of the Nepal earthquake, International Medical Corps partnered with Facebook to place a donation button on member newsfeeds in addition to Facebook’s own donation of $2 million to the cause.
  • One of the common pitfalls of nonprofit responsiveness is an approval process that is too long with too much second-guessing.
  • Thank donors immediately after they donate and follow up to keep donors updated with news of your efforts on the topic they joined on.