Too often nonprofits make decisions for their donors. They don’t test, try, or ask—they just say no. Too often they’re wrong.
Why it matters: You could miss out—bigger donations, more engagement, new volunteers, and more.
How to Kill Growth
We see it all the time. Nonprofit marketers want to try a new approach, but it gets shut down:
- Let’s send texts! Donors don’t want text messages.
- What if we send a video? Donors won’t watch it.
- We should ask for bigger donations. Donors won’t give more.
- How about we try ringless voicemail? Donors won’t like it.
- Why not connect with big donors? Donors don’t want to be bothered.
Instead of making the decision for donors, try it out and see what works.
Be Willing to Experiment
As a nonprofit, you need to be willing to experiment. You never know if you don’t try.
Try: “Do or do not, there is no try,” Yoda tells us. So go ahead and do it. If it doesn’t work, do something else. The key is to experiment with new approaches.
Test: What’s going to work best? Test and see. Send a video with a text message and compare the response rates. Do A/B testing on an ask for bigger donations. Our dashboard and tracking reports make it easy to see what works.
Ask: You can always ask your donors what they want. You might be surprised at the answers!
Rethink Risk
Too often nonprofits make decisions for donors because they’re afraid of the risk. What if people unsubscribe? What if they donate less? What if they don’t volunteer?
That’s living in fear.
It’s stuck in the past, clinging to how you’ve always done it. And it risks missing out on new donors, bigger donations, more volunteers.
Anytime you make a decision for someone else and assume the answer, you risk disaster. We all know what happens when you assume.
Instead, nonprofits need to try, test, and ask. Be willing to experiment. You may end up in the same spot, but at least you know it’s what works.
Rally Can Help
We’ve got the stats and data to help you know what works. Get started with Rally and we can help you answer these questions and be confident in your marketing.
