Changing your Annual Fund Approach to Social Media

Changing Your Annual Fund Approach

from Letters to SocialCommunityBuilding

Premise:  Organizations are spending lots of money on direct mail letter programs that continue to return less and less revenue.  The immediate future is about how to create supportive “champions” for your cause, raise more $$, and replace this declining direct mail program.

Loyalty Solutions Group has formulated a comprehensive approach the answer, and will lead your Organization through the following assessment and build a Social Strategy that is tailored to the needs and people of your organization. steps:

Step 1 – Redefine your Case for Support.  (John, I made a note within the questionnaire regarding more structure for the Case question. This graph is identifying that structure – I will attempt edits to reflect this structure.) To succeed in the future with an Annual Fund Program, you will be required have to redefine your case for support.  As potential donors people are self-selecting their community involvement, you’re the case for support must be tailored to the new Social Community realities.  What is your value, how do people connect to it, what are the key words, and how do people who are interested find/discover what you do?  What happens when someone Googles your organization?  Why do people become a “fan” or join your group?

Step 2 – What Defines being a Fan or Ambassador?  Levels of Giving?.  And how do you steward these gifts?   How do these donors participate in building your community?  How do they become your evangelists?

Step 3 – Building the New Donor and Stewardship Web Experience.Landing Page.  In almost every organization, the current website serves web landing page is only built to provide limited some information about what the foundation or non-profit has done and the case for support for the entire organization.  Future online experiences sites will be rich loaded with Stewardship opportunities – facts, images, video, testimonials, and compelling stories of how “Your Gift Makes the Difference”.  Interactive options across various online media must enable people share their stories, radiating their experiences within and across social communities. There needs to be an activity where people can tell their stories and post their images.  They also need to feel welcome to submit give you their ideas about how you might improved better.  The landing page is totally linked to those communities that are most likely to help grow the support and community involvement.  Any online experience, whether it be a website, a blog or a community must be strategically integrated to radiate and grow support for of your organization.

Step 4 – Develop a Robust Donor Contact Email Strategy that drives the case for support, and makes it easy to access your link to the organization’s website. An effective web landing page, links to all of the social community sites, and creates compelling ways to grow your own email, micro blog, or conventional mail program will link and compel visits and participation within your social communities, while creating potential donor profiles and expanding your donor contact lists.

Step 5 – Develop an online outreach program within the  Social Community World Build relationships with relevant communities, bloggers and content providers. Step 5 – Search the On-Line Social Community World for other Community Groups that you should be associated with.  Instead of buying a mailing list or email list, the new world of on-line communities is about groups that already exist. Establish a plan and how to  connect migrate like-minded individuals to join and participate in your community.  This is one of the key requirements main values of making sure Step 1 is well-considered and articulated thought out.

Step 6 – Define which Social Technologies/Communities Your Organization Should be Using.  There are many lots of options but the secret is to use the right Technologies, with the right Message, and the right Stewardship.  THIS is the secret formula.

Step 7 – Develop and Refine the Right Messaging Strategy that is focused on building your Community and acquiring Donors and Program Ambassadors..

In the old days, this was a Brand conversation but, in the future, although Brand clarity is important – the annual fund elements are more niched.  People giving to annual funds are making small gifts to something they care about.  This may only be a small defined portion of your overall brand.  Letters are personalized.  This is the new personalized.  The system includes clarity for the case for support, and how to best demonstrate that “Your Gift Does Make the Difference”.

Step 8 – Rethink Your Media Strategy.  From your letter program to, event signage, and all outbound media – how does this all work together to drive your organization’s efforts to build your community support?.

Step 9 – Create Deliver a Community Manager Position and Job Description that is tailored to your Social Community Program.  Because all of these strategic programs and their requirements can be complex efforts are in some way tailored, the Job Description is created specifically for the so an organization that cannot buy an a seasoned experienced professional. This will enable your organization to  can execute a highly integrated and informed approach starting Day One.  The Loyalty Solutions Group will train this individual on those daily activities and critical behaviors that which must become the work be accomplished every day priority of the position and week.

Step 10 – Define a Proactive Response Plan to Address the Potential Top 5 Communication Issues that the organization might encounter by being this exposed to critical dialog within the sphere of these Social Communities.  Every organization has the potential risk of receiving negative feedback from some member of the public.  Once posted within on a public community board, the organization involved needs to respond quickly with confidence.  Planning ahead for this possibility is a must.

Step 11 – Develop the Analytics and Implement a Regular Dashboard that Tracks Program Measures Progress.  This analytical and optimization overall process enables is a long-term transformation and continued program development..  The goal of Loyalty Solutions Group is to demonstrate in two years constructive and successful tremendous progress toward building broad-base community support and redefining and strengthening a diverse revenue platform.  What you measure is what you get.

Step 12 – Develop an On-Going Support Relationship..  The Loyalty Solutions Group stays in constant contact with the organization’s Community Manager   and, as needed,  program stakeholders  – making sure that the CM employee receives immediate help when confronted with an opportunity or issue.  We meet semi-annually will be conducted as to do a formal Strategy Review, always assessing program performance reviewing what has happened, understanding where we have progressed in relationship to objective’s, and clearly defining the goals for the next 6 months.  The Loyalty Solutions Group also tracks emerging reviews all fast-rising social technologies to make sure that, if a new technology appears and should be introduced to the strategic plan strategy, it is put in place seamlessly and the Community Manager is appropriately trained on how to use this addition.

Above and beyond all of these Steps, The Loyalty Solutions Group is helping your the organization build the new culture of Social Community involvement though responsible participation. Communities.  The future requires a dramatic and comprehensive total new approach to establish create a culture that supports the ethos of Stewardship and CommunityBuilding.

The organization’s fans must care about your organization and even feel ownership of your mission and purpose.  Building this new infrastructure of broad-base support by re-energizing your Annual Fund is only the beginning of the new world.

Just remember…

• The Web has only been in existence for 20 years.  Think of your culture before the Web.
• Email has been the primary organization communication tool for less than 12 years.  Think of your organizational culture before Email.
• Social Communities have only been in existence for 7 years.  Think of your current organization’s as the  culture before this change.

Welcome to the New World!!