Online Fundraising: Multi-Channel vs. Integrated Campaigns – What’s the Difference?
Online Fundraising • Online fundraising has certainly gained traction over the years in the nonprofit world. • Although nonprofits continue to use the traditional channels, like direct mail, they’ve added new ways to reach donors, such as social media. • This multi-channel approach to fundraising provides a variety of communication vehicles. • But does it also mean a nonprofit’s fundraising is integrated? • Just because a nonprofit adds online fundraising does not mean it has adopted a truly integrated approach. • The organization may simply be running multiple campaigns in multiple channels. • So what’s the difference? integrated fundraising?
And why do nonprofit experts recommend
Online Fundraising
Online Fundraising The Integrated Approach •Integrated fundraising is all about strategic messaging and moving prospective donors to action. •The nonprofit marketing team creates distributed across multiple channels.
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•Each channel used plays a vital role in the overall goal of the campaign. •For example, online fundraising channels support traditional fundraising efforts and vice versa. •When developed strategically from the beginning, an integrated campaign has the potential to perform well above the multi-channel approach. •The more channels used to reach a donor, the greater likelihood of success.
Online Fundraising The Integrated Approach •Unlike multi-channel measured as a whole.
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•For example, what was the response rate on a direct mailing or online fundraising campaign? •Integrated fundraising would measure results for all the channels combined. •The integrated fundraising philosophy is based on synergy. •The combined effort of the whole is greater than the individual parts. •Put another way, a lower performing channel may actually be driving donors to another channel to contribute. •So, each channel should be considered as a contributor to the overall campaign’s success regardless of its individual performance.
Online Fundraising
Online Fundraising Challenges in Integrated Fundraising •In addition to coordinating multiple channels, the nonprofit has to coordinate multiple people with different objectives and experiences. •The nonprofit will have to weigh the benefits of integrated fundraising to the costs of restructuring. •Using an integrated approach in traditional and online fundraising is not just the latest marketing buzzword. •Despite the challenges, it’s a meaningful and necessary strategy for improving campaign results.
Online Fundraising IPM Advancement offers over 75 years of accumulated nonprofit consulting experience. We typically begin a client engagement by auditing annual traditional and online fundraising, membership or advocacy programs. During this process, IPM Advancement examines the entire annual giving program in terms of donor communications, organization history, database issues, donor demographic and psychographic profiles, fundraising history, pipeline development, internal and external challenges, and more. Our goal is to create greater clarity for our nonprofit consulting clients over their annual giving, membership and advocacy programs, and then help them achieve higher levels of success.
About the Author
Edward Phillips, MBA, is Chief Creative Officer of IPM Advancement, a leading non profit fundraising company. Visit us at http://www.ipmadvancement.com or call 623-687-3908 for more information about Online Fundraising.