Smart ways to grow your donor base without overspending

Isa Hasty on Feb 19, 2025 11:04:23 PM

118: Smart ways to grow your donor base without overspending

With rising donor acquisition costs, organizations need smarter, more strategic ways to attract new supporters while keeping existing ones engaged.

A successful donor acquisition strategy uses several marketing outlets—owned (website, email, and social media), earned (press, partnerships, and word-of-mouth), and paid (ads and sponsored content).

This week, we’re sharing practical ways to help you reach more supporters—all while making the most of your resources. From digital-first acquisition strategies to social sharing tips and engagement tactics, these insights will help you build stronger connections, keep donors coming back, and continue to make strides toward your mission

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The take-home template

Acquiring new donors is vital to your nonprofit’s sustainability—offsetting attrition and bringing in greatly-needed funds to fulfill your mission. But since gaining new donors can be up to 5x more expensive than retaining existing ones, you need to have a solid acquisition strategy that wins people over.

This guide shows you how to build a donor acquisition program that is cost-effective, digital-first, and proven to work. As a bonus, you’ll also find a Facebook Nonprofit ad template with tips for creating compelling, high-converting ads.

Snackable snippets

Pros, cons, and tips of AI and automation for nonprofit 📖

Feeling left behind as everyone talks about AI? You’re not alone. While nonprofits are in a prime position to take advantage of the efficiencies and possibilities AI brings to the table, many don’t know where to begin.

Our recent article explores how you can harness AI and automation to free up time, amplify your impact, and strengthen connections with your donor community. We also share practical tips for adopting these tools thoughtfully and ethically, while overcoming common roadblocks.

How social sharing sparks ‘generational generosity’ 📖

Social sharing doesn’t just raise awareness; it has the power to directly influence fundraising outcomes. However, understanding how different generations behave in social spaces is key to engaging broader audiences and encouraging even more generosity.

This article explores how you can use social sharing to build lasting support and loyalty across all generations while highlighting key social media trends from GoFundMe’s "Social State of Giving."

Engagement strategies to drive acquisition and loyalty 📖

As the saying goes, an engaged donor is a retained donor. When you actively involve supporters in your mission and interact with them in meaningful ways, you build up their excitement to make a difference and generate long-term impact.

For help building a robust engagement plan, look to this guide for simple yet effective strategies to fuel your donor pipeline.

For your inspiration folder

With over 30% of annual giving happening in December alone, it’s never too early to get ahead of the giving season. A great place to start? Looking back at 2024’s most successful EOY campaigns for some fresh inspiration.

From experimenting with earlier timelines to launching SMS programs and harnessing the power of personalized display ads, these strategies helped nonprofits achieve impressive growth last year.

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