7 Digital Fundraising Ideas for Fall

Strengthen your fall fundraising in a few steps!

By Stephanie Tippitt, Vice President, Digital Strategy

Get ready to embrace the fall frenzy, folks! The leaves may be changing, but the thrill of fundraising is just beginning! 

It’s time to gear up for the most significant fundraising period of the year and an abundance of opportunities to engage with your generous donors. 

By proactively applying these fall fundraising strategies, you can maximize your fundraising potential and optimize your outreach efforts online during this critical season. So, let’s get down to business and ensure your fall fundraising campaigns are ready!

1. Prepare for digital success this fall with an audit of your website and donation page!

With numerous digital channels connecting you to donors and prospects, your website and donation page will be bustling with traffic. It’s time to audit and optimize! Check off these essential items:

• Confirm your homepage quickly informs the visitor within a few seconds about who you are, who you serve, what you do and how they can get involved. 
• Do your site and donation page support campaign tracking and are they connected to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? 
• Get new email addresses! This can be a great time to acquire email addresses with all the new traffic visiting your site – check your email sign up form to confirm it is working as expected and that it’s offered on key pages throughout the site.
• Do the website and donation pages show well on mobile and on current browsers? 
• Feature and promote the monthly giving offer!

2. Check these quick email tips to get your emails opened.

Getting your fundraising emails opened is the first step to clicks and gift conversion! Check off these items to give your strategies the winning edge.

• Use personalization. Address your donors by their names and segment your email lists based on their interests and previous interactions. Personalized emails are more likely to be opened and engaged with by your donors. 
• Create compelling subject lines. Attention-grabbing subject lines entice recipients to open your emails.

3. Use emails to strengthen your relationship with donors.

In addition to sending fundraising-focused emails, make sure you also include email touchpoints that help cultivate and deepen the relationship with your donors.

• Include affirmational emails mixed in with your fundraising emails. These can be thank-you emails, encouragement emails or emails focused on the holidays. Your donors need to receive emails that do not always include an ask!

• Build your welcome series. With all the new visitors coming to your site and hopefully signing up to receive your emails, be sure to get them into an automated Welcome Series. A welcome series is a great way to introduce them to the “warm fuzzies” of your organization and prepare them for the type of communication they will receive.

4. Amplify your impact with matching gifts during fall!

Partner up with businesses or individuals willing to match donations, enticing more supporters with the promise of doubling their generosity. Giving Tuesday and Year End Matching campaigns consistently outshine non-match versions, making them our most successful campaigns of the year.

5. Supercharge your paid media campaigns!

Paid media is a fantastic avenue to tap into a massive audience, attracting fresh prospects genuinely interested in your cause.

The digital landscape is ever-evolving, especially in paid social, programmatic and paid search channels, driven by the rise of AI technologies and growing public concern for data privacy. Unraveling the potential of new donors through digital channels demands constant performance monitoring, precise audience targeting and thorough offer/channel testing. 

Explore diverse ad formats, from compelling static image ads to engaging video ads and AI-powered photos and copy. Utilize digital tools to discover your prime audiences and deliver creative offers via channels that speak directly to their hearts.

6. Leverage organic social media during fall!

It’s an ideal opportunity to connect and communicate with your supporters through various social platforms. Use creative content that engages with your supporters and integrates with your fundraising campaigns.

7. Why not give your fall campaigns an extra nudge with text-to-give?

One BDI client partner raised $10,000 with a single text on Giving Tuesday! Take advantage of this powerful tool to update and engage donors. 

Picture this: Updating donors on campaign progress, sending out urgent “last chance” requests and offering follow-ups and thank-yous at the campaign’s end – all through text-to-give magic! According to M+R, over 90% of users open a text message within 3 minutes of receiving it. Talk about incredible engagement! 

Rest assured that these 7 fall fundraising tips are poised to make a significant impact on your results during the upcoming season. Should you have any questions or require assistance in implementing any of these strategies, feel free to reach out directly to me at stippitt@bdiagency.com. 

The BDI Digital team is here to provide support and guidance to ensure your fundraising efforts thrive!