🌟 8 ways to reach new donors for your charity
To expand your donor base, it's important to identify and connect with groups that resonate with your cause. Below are some tactics to help you think of new pockets of supporters:
1) 🏷️ Brand-related communities:
A great source and way of finding new donors is searching for existing brand communities that may have an affinity with your cause.
For example: A charity championing pet rights could find potential donors by working with pet food brands, as their customer community are people who love animals. By tapping into existing communities of brands that are related to your cause you can easily & quickly find pools of new donors who have the disposable income to donate, or the interest to support your awesome work in other ways.
2) 🏞️ Related recreational & hobby groups:
Both online and offline, you can discover similar groups and communities that may relate to your cause. For example, if you're a charity focused on helping younger generations get involved in more physical, outdoor activity you may choose to find and engage with adult sports clubs for creative partnerships to reach new donors.
For example: If your organization is dedicated to preserving local nature reserves, collaborating with a bird-watching or hiking club could be fruitful. Organize joint events, such as nature clean-ups or birdwatching hikes, where participation fees or donations contribute to your cause.
3) 🏬 Local businesses and organizations:
You should look at your surrounding areas and all types of local businesses that you could potentially collaborate with to reach new, relevant donors. For example, you can collaborate with brands, restaurants, gyms, bars, local businesses, clubs, religious communities, and other organizations that align with your cause. Joint campaigns, sponsorships, or cross-promotions can introduce your charity to new audiences while leveraging shared values and resources. These collaborations can range from event partnerships creatively incorporating and leveraging the partner, to more quick and simple partnerships like giveaways.
For example: For a charity combating homelessness, partnerships with local restaurants or bakeries to provide surplus food at the end of each day can be beneficial. Not only does it contribute to your cause, but it also promotes the partner's image as a socially responsible entity.
4) 🕌 Religious Groups:
If you're on a mission to make a better place, it's likely local religious groups may have some level of affinity for your cause. With that in mind, it may be worth you considering the different religious groups in your area and how you could engage some of these communities to help with your cause. As well as local groups, you can also look to online religious groups to potentially support your cause.
For example: If your nonprofit provides aid in disaster-stricken areas, collaboration with religious organizations could involve the creation of special charity collection days. These collections can be held within their facilities, mobilizing their community towards your cause.
5) 🏢 Corporate Social Responsibility Programs:
Many corporations have programs where they match employee donations or sponsor specific causes. You can research and identify companies whose mission aligns with your cause and reach out to them. They may be willing to collaborate with you, either through direct donations or by encouraging their employees to donate. This can be a great way to get new donations for income for your charity, but it could take a while before you see the results due to the back and forths needed in communication
For example: For a charity focused on improving children's education, you could partner with a technology company to create a program where their employees tutor students or provide IT equipment for underprivileged schools.
6) 🎯 Micro-targeting:
Leverage data analytics and segmentation techniques to identify potential donor segments within larger populations. Analyze demographics, interests, and behaviors to pinpoint groups with a higher likelihood of supporting your cause. In a study conducted by Smith et al. (2020), micro-targeting strategies were employed by charity: water through Facebook's ad platform. By targeting women aged 25-40 interested in international development, they achieved a significant increase in new donors. The study found that the conversion rate for the micro-targeted group was 38% higher than the non-targeted group.
For example: If your organization promotes mental health awareness, a micro-targeting campaign on social media platforms could focus on individuals who follow self-care or mental health influencers. A creative collaboration could involve an influencer sharing a personalized message or story related to your cause, encouraging their followers to donate or check out your resources.
7) 💻 Online Communities:
Explore online platforms and forums where individuals passionate about relevant causes gather. Engage with these communities, build relationships, and share your organization's mission and impact. If you're not sure where to start with this you should simply search for keywords, posts, and hashtags related to your cause. Then, see what accounts come up with the most engagement and trending posts. This is an easy way for you to find new potential donors who may be following pages, accounts, brands, influencers, and community pages that you didn't know existed. Use this strategy to get started on finding new donors on TikTok, Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, and Meta.
For example: For a charity focusing on mental health, consider partnering with popular mindfulness or meditation apps. These apps could feature a special guided session where users can donate to access it, or they could spotlight your organization in their community forums or newsletters.
8) ✊ Activist groups:
There will be many activist and action groups either directly or indirectly related to your cause. As these will have passionate individuals these people will likely be strong supporters and champions for your charity. This could be in the form of financial donations, to volunteer and impact delivery efforts. For example, if your cause is related to the environment, you can find potential donors in groups of environmental activists. There are many such groups, both online and offline, who might be interested in your cause.
For example: If your nonprofit is committed to combating climate change, consider partnering with an environmental activist group for a tree-planting initiative. Participants can donate to your charity and receive a tree sapling to plant, symbolizing their contribution to the cause.
