Integrating a multi-channel approach to fundraising sounds great, but many nonprofit organizations are still trying to come to grips with what that means, or how to get the most out of it.

During the 2014 International Fundraising Congress (IFC), Geoffrey W. Peters, chairman of CDR Fundraising Group, emphasized the fact that multi-channel does not mean just using a variety of vehicles, such as direct mail and online, but also making sure that an organization presents a consistent message that enables the use of one medium to reinforce another, thus broadening its appeal to potential donors.

Donors think of philanthropy as one coordinated, communicating entity, and failing to be such an entity can be deadly for fundraising. An online message that differs from the one in a mail solicitation is a sure way to lose a prospect.

Making all of it work together rather than like a collection of individual parts will produce far better results, Peters said, by allowing an organization to do the following:

• Keep working on existing programs, doing what works;
• Try new concepts more quickly without taking big risks;
• Develop new revenue streams;
• Take advantage of what works for other charities; and,
• Create new ideas sculpted to fit the organization’s specific strengths.