Smartideas

Introducing the "FOUR SELFs" of Engagement Fundraising

When I first came up with the term engagement fundraising it was because I was a pissed-off donor!
I wanted the charities I cared about most to treat me better. I wanted them to be more respectful of me. I wanted them to send me messages that were relevant and interesting to me.

I wanted to receive those messages at the right times. I wanted the organizations to recognize my wants, needs, desires and interests as well as where I was in the consideration process for making a gift. I wanted them to understand why I cared about their missions and how I wanted to make a change in the world.

I’ve been working on developing engagement fundraising technologies and strategies for almost a decade now because it’s fairer. It’s more respectful. It’s what donors want. And it’s what they deserve.

Engagement fundraising is permission-oriented.
It gives your supporters an opportunity to decide whether they should be put on a particular list or another (or not at all). In other words, it allows them to qualify themselves for your outreach.

Engagement fundraising is informative.
It’s transparent and open. It provides your supporters with lots of information and lots of opportunities for them to educate themselves about the impact they can make (and how your organization can help them do so).

Engagement fundraising is immersive.
It gives your supporters opportunities to involve and immerse themselves in your mission. It provides them with videos, webinars, tours, one-to-one meetings and a host of other attention–grabbing experiences.

Engagement fundraising is self-actuating.
It creates circumstances that lead your supporters to ask themselves to act, to solve problems and to take stands. It encourages them to solicit themselves.

I call these the ‘four selfs’ of engagement fundraising.

Self-qualification
Self-education
Self-involvement
Self-solicitation

Today you can leverage technology to build better, deeper, more respectful relationships between your organization and its supporters while interweaving the four selfs.
Finally, technology and smart outreach strategies can ensure self-qualification, self-education, self-involvement and self-solicitation occur in an automated fashion.

So what are you waiting for?
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while now, isn’t it time you took a look at how we can help you raise more money at lower costs thanks to engagement fundraising strategies and technologies?

Schedule a time to talk today! It’s purely educational. No sales pressure— ever.

>> The 5 Steps of Donor Engagement – The Fundraising Authority
>> Inside the Mind of the Planned Giving Donor with Russell James