The nonprofit podcast powered by donor bucks. We're living in a world where donors are evolving,
their expectations are changing and the same old fundraising tricks don't always cut it. So how can your organization not only keep
up but stand out in the midst of this dynamic landscape? Welcome to the nonprofit podcast, I'm Jenna
Nonprofit Advocate here at Donor box. We are here each week with practical actions
you can use today to increase donations and take your nonprofit to the next level tomor
row. And today I am so excited. I am joined by Britain Stalker, our fundraising
strategist here at Donor box. Welcome, Britain. Thanks for having me, Jenna. Today's episode is all about making fundraising
way more interesting for your donors. We are talking about experiential fundraising. So creating memorable experiences that your
donors will love. Now, Britt, you've had extensive experience
juggling both executive director and development director roles at different human services
agencies. Yo
u've leaned on traditional fundraising tactics
like your end giving campaigns, direct mail and annual fundraiser events. Given your background. What led you to explore experiential fundraising
and why do you think it's gaining importance in today's nonprofit landscape? Absolutely, Jenna You're right. You know, I have worked in both executive
and development director roles. I've seen the challenges, the same challenges
most of our nonprofits are facing, right and keeping their strategies effectiv
e and engaging. And, you know, we know traditional methods,
they really do have their place, but we're navigating of their fast paced moving donor
landscape. And this is a good time to reassess and diversify
approaches. And if you think about it, all of these traditional
events like year end campaigns and annual fundraisers, they've kind of been our bread
and butter, right? For a lot of our nonprofits, we know they
may a significant portion of our strategies and don't get me wrong, they have the
ir merits,
right? We love them so much. They bring in the dollars, they provide a
platform for engaging our donors. But there's some data out there that talks
about these concerning trends and what we're seeing is a decline in individual donor giving
any drop in giving Tuesday donors, which kind of goes to signal, you know, maybe relying
solely on those events might not be the most strategic move. And so as fundraisers, we really need to pause
and reflect and think really on these transactions,
right? This is kind of where experiential fundraising
comes into play. It really allows us to build these deeper,
these authentic connections with their donors and kind of get away from events that really
lack lasting impact. It's clear that the landscape is evolving
and traditional tactics while still valuable might not be sufficient on their own. So I want to dive into the shift from traditional
to experiential fundraising. You just talked about the decline in individual
donor giving and the d
rop in giving Tuesday donors as indicators of changing donor behavior. Can you share with our listeners some more
insights into these trends and why nonprofits should be paying attention to this. So there are trends happening, right? We're seeing these big shifts in what donors
are expecting from us. We what we know about our donors today is
they're looking for more than these transactional relationships, right? With our, with our nonprofits, they really
are yearning for a deeper connection to t
he causes they support. I think this decline in individual donor giving,
it really kind of indicates that the same old traditional approaches that we're using
are not resonating as effectively as it used to. I think about this old saying, Jenna, people
don't buy what you do, they buy, why you do it. Donors want to understand the why behind the
causes they're supporting. And this is where experiential fundraising
kind of comes into play, where it aligns with the shift, it offers more than a typic
al transaction. It creates kind of this space, this opportunity
for donors to actively participate where they're feeling a genuine connection to the mission. I want to dive deeper into the concept of
experiential fundraising. Admittedly, when I started learning about
this it was intimidating to me because it does feel like this big overarching concept. But with you and I talking about it, it doesn't
have to be. So can you break down what exactly is it? And how does it differ from these tradition
al
fundraising methods? I would say, think of it as a transformative
shift in how we connect and build those deeper relationships with our donors, our traditional
methods. Think of them as very transactional, right? It's a very superficial surface level aspect
of giving. Where is experiential fundraising, it really
transcends that it's immersive, it's personalized, it's really tailored to making donors live
and feel, to live and feel your mission if that makes sense. And so I think of it as real
ly getting away
from this one size fits all approach to creating these really customizable tailored experiences,
which you know, these experience, it goes beyond that fleeting emotional appeals and
it builds this deeper and lasting emotional connection. You have outlined three characteristics of
experiential fundraising so that personalized engagement, immersive interactions and weaving
in authentic narratives into the approach as well. So can you break down each of these and explain
why they're
important and why it makes up the whole donor experience? So let's go ahead and start with personalized
engagement. Let's think about how do we recognize our
donors, right? As individuals, they each come with their
own values, their motivations and interest. And when we're talking about personalized
engagement, it's really about moving away from the generic appeals that we kind of get
caught up in that cycle of sending. And instead really crafting appeals that are
tailored to what each individu
al donor loves. One example might be if a donor is passionate
about education involving them in a hands on educational initiative, that can really
kind of build that connection. So thinking about immersive interactions kind
of as a way of making your donors active participants in your mission. It's no longer about them being passive contributors,
experiential fundraising, it's creating these opportunities to engage directly with your
organization's work. Another keep is weaving authentic narrati
ves
into your approach. It's really that storytelling piece. How are you connecting deeply with your donors
through these narratives through these stories? You know what that can look like are success
stories. You can share firsthand beneficiary testimonials,
all of those immersive experiences, weaving those authentic narratives and all of your
donor interactions. It really builds, it adds depth and it adds
context to illustrate the power of experiential fundraising. I know that we've got some r
eally great real
life case studies of donor box organizations that have rolled out some nice experiential
fundraisers. We have refugee hope partners and Man down
Cornwall. So can you walk us through these examples
of these campaigns or events or experiences and highlight the strategies that made them
successful for sure, refugee hope partners. They did something really cool. They organized an open house event called
Taste and see they tapped into our donor box events feature. And what I really l
oved about this event was
it was family friendly. They featured small plates from some of the
top restaurants in Raleigh. And despite minimal planning, I would say
it was quite impressive where they raised 13 $1000. They attracted 260 new ticket buyers and each
donor contributed about 100 and $20. Each I would say what really stood out here
and made their events so successful was their creativity with their ticketing features. They offered different prices including early
bird deals and flash sa
les. Their event was convenient. It was inclusive making it kid friendly. It only lasted three hours. And what I especially loved was they kind
of weaved in multi sensory elements, cultural elements, the ingredients in their food where
it wasn't just your typical chicken and rice pilaf, right? That we get at a lot of the galas and auctions
we attend, they weaved in a cultural performance. They brought in art and what this did was
it brought their cause to life. Yeah, they did a really fantastic
job with
that event and like you said, it's immersing people in these experiences. So with this, with the food, with the music,
with the art, they really tapped into their guest senses, into all of their senses, they're
seeing, they're tasting their feelings. So that is an experience and that's incredible. Now, moving on to man down Cornwall's fundraising
campaign. Tell us about that. Yes, Jenna manned down Cornwall, a very cool
nonprofit focused in the UK. They provide support to foster stronge
r mental
and emotional health. They really elevated their fundraising strategies
by tapping into the power of competition and collaboration. And I would say what they did was fabulous. People don't just want to give for self interest
purposes. They really want to be part of a movement
and a team. And so man down Cornwall, they embraced donor
boxes, peer to their future. They launched a leadership board in a competition. They threw out incentives and that really
created a sense of camaraderie whe
re, gosh, I think it was 100 and 10 fundraisers. This pool of 110 fundraisers together. They raised 100 and $78,000 from nearly 3000
donors. And this speaks to the power of leadership
boards who doesn't love the competitive edge. And again, it kind of speaks to the power
of collective giving, right? Anybody who listens to the podcast or attends
our webinars knows that I love peer to peer. And this organization did such a good job. You don't have to have a ton of initial fundraisers
to make a big
impact. So like you said, they started with a pool
of 100 and 10 fundraisers. They got them involved, got the buy in because
who doesn't love a good competition. And they raised all that money from 3000 donors. So you're just casting a wider net there. And that's what made this an experience, right? That are becoming active participants. This is great. We've talked a bit about technology and I
want to talk about it a little bit more. How can technology like how these organizations
have used? Ho
w can technology complement experiential
fundraising efforts? There are some amazing technologies that are
out there, you might already be using them, you know, they're affordable, right? They're accessible. They're right here. First up, we have text to give, we're living
in this fast paced world, right? We're all busy. Our attention spans are shorter. Immediacy is key. And I kind of think about the way I feel when
I get a text message, I feel the immediate need to respond. And that's what text
to give replicates. It kind of brings giving to the forefront. It makes it an instant and tangible part of
the experience and it adds a level of convenience and realness to the donor's interaction. We also have fundraising goal meters. People really want to see the impact that
they're making tied directly to their contribution. And so this is kind of a great visual way
to show the power of collective giving goal. Meters provide a transparent a visual representation
of the progress toward a fundr
aising goal. And it really kind of creates a right? It motivates other donors to kind of want
to show up and contribute. We also have donation kiosk donor box has
an amazing one called live kiosk. And what that does is it brings the digital
experience into the real world at events. These kiosks allow donors to contribute easily
and seamlessly. And it's really all about making the act of
giving more immediate and interactive. So Jenna, I would say these technologies when
strategically integrated,
they can really transform, they can really elevate those donor
interactions to give those immersive experiences that we're talking about. It's all about capturing generosity in a way
that's convenient and flexible, right? And it's definitely become a major part of
creating those immersive experiences. Beyond fundraising, tech, I've seen organizations
that have explored virtual reality. So VR and augmented reality A R for an immersive
donor experience, we've talked a lot about some of these real
ly cool ways to help people
feel and see the the mission at work and bringing it back down a level. Something a little bit more accessible like
personalized video messages or stories are another impactful way to weave in those authentic
narratives with technology in a way that's not very intimidating as well. Now, for nonprofits looking to implement experiential
fundraising, where should they start, what are some practical steps they can take to
incorporate a more active element into their strat
egies to engage their donors. Gosh, Jenna, great question. I am a big picture type of thinker and let's
keep it simple, right? It doesn't have to be completely complex. Stick to these guiding principles and let's
let's talk about them, let's break it down first and foremost, no matter what we do,
right? We really need to understand our organization's
core values, what drives our mission. If you know, for example, your nonprofit focuses
on environmental conservation, your core values might look l
ike sustainability, biodiversity
and community. So get some clarity, get some clarity on these
kind of core values that represent your organization's character and your identity. And then from there, we really need to kind
of move to understanding our donors, taking a look at our existing donors, taking a look
at our ideal donors, we need to identify their preferences. What makes them tick, what are their interests? What are their hobbies? What type of things do they value? How do they prefer to
interact with our organization? Do they love to support online campaigns as
opposed to your in person events? You're going to really wrap around all of
the things to really dive in and to better understand your donors just as you would with
your good dear best friend or your partner. And one example I have is if your cause for
whatever reason I'm sticking to environmental focus, but if your cause aligns with environmental
awareness, you know, your ideal donors might be individuals who might be
really passionate
about nature, sustainability advocates, ecoconscious businesses. So get to know your values of your organization,
really dive deep in understanding your donors and from there, what that's going to create
space for is brainstorming ideas about these very immersive interactive experiences that
will really capture and retain your donors in the long run. If your nonprofit support animal welfare,
consider organizing a virtual tour of an animal sanctuary. You partner with allowing do
nors to virtually
interact with rescued animals and like all things, right? We all need a check for feasibility, evaluate
the practicality and the resources needed for each idea. Do we have the budget? Do we have staffing capacity? Do we really have the resources needed to
execute these immersive experiences that we're talking about? And from there, you're going to get buy in
from your stakeholders and start detailing all of these winning ideas. So for our listeners, we've actually gone
into dee
per detail on these steps and put together a really helpful brainstorming activity
workbook that guides you through each of these steps, thinking about your mission, thinking
about your, your core values, really detailing who your donors are, who your ideal donors
are guiding you through the very end of the planning process. So you can find the link to download that
workbook in the show notes. OK. As we wrap up any final tips or advice for
nonprofits embarking on this experiential fundraising jo
urney, I would say as nonprofits,
as we're diving deeper into this cool concept of experiential fundraising, my final tip
would be stay closely connected to your core values. Don't lose sight of them. We have great momentum right, we have these
amazing ideas, but we need to make sure that they align with our values, our guiding principles
and let's put them at the forefront to really shine through in every donor experience that
we're creating. I would also say Jenna don't be afraid to
think outs
ide of the box, let creativity kind of be your ally in crafting these memorable
experiences. But keep in mind that feasibility, right? That might look like starting small. And lastly, Jenna, I would say keep your donors
at the heart, at the center of it all. You know, they really are these true allies,
they're our true partners in making our missions happen. So understand their preferences, listen to
their feedback and really kind of leverage their insight to continually enhance our fundraising
experiences that we're creating with them. Britt, thank you so much for sharing your
expertise with us today. It's been so fun having you. Hey, it's been such a pleasure, Jenna. Always lovely to connect with you and to our
listeners before we wrap up, I want to address a concern that might be on the minds of some
of you. You might be thinking how can we host an immersive
experience if our nonprofit has limited to no capacity, creating immersive experiences
can be challenging, especially for smal
l nonprofits with limited resources. But as Britt said, it's totally doable with
a little bit more creativity, strategic planning and collaboration. So a few key pointers, I'd say is make the
most of your collaborations and partnerships and in kind support to stretch your resources. And as Britt said, while it may be tempting
to pursue these big ideas, start small, test the waters before committing to a large scale
experiential event. And this will really allow you to learn and
adapt without ove
rextending your resources. And it also helps to pitch to your boards
when investing in a larger event. So remember, the essence of experiential fundraising
is about creating a meaningful connection with your donors. And that doesn't always have to require a
large budget. Take that first step, even if it's a small
one, the journey to engaging and retain your donors is about progress, not perfection,
right? For more in depth insights and examples, be
sure to check out the show notes. We've got a g
reat blog article on experiential
fundraising and that brainstorming workbook waiting for you. Thank you for choosing to spend time with
the nonprofit podcast today. I hope you've left with the confidence to
take a small step today that will make a big difference tomorrow. Be sure to click the download button on your
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Comments
Thank you very much for organizing this Program which has given me a recaps of things l am lackin