As you know the internet has changed the way we conduct business. Case and point, you are reading the GMT blog to learn more about fundraising campaigns. The internet has changed a lot more than just where we get our information from. The style of writing and rubric for well received campaigns has changed as well. And often times these changes are difficult for people to swallow. I was part of a discussion regarding these changes at a Care2 event with Steve Daigneault, VP of eCampaigns at M+R Strategic Services (formerly of Amnesty International), Heather Tallent, Online Communications Manager, Humane Society International and Justin Perkins, Director of Nonprofit Strategy, Care2.com.

The emphasis is no longer on perfectly wordsmithed asks within multipart campaigns. The focus is on timely, informative and direct information. I am not suggesting that you scrap your current fundraising plan, but what I am saying is re-evaluate where your priorities lie. If having a typo means that you get your email out two days faster, it’s worth the trade off. The email should still be professional however, perfection is no longer required.

The development departments at the Humane Society and Amnesty International have noticed that sending out a quick email to their mailing list that gives their donors a lot of information about the problem, with a very soft ask at the bottom of the email can out preformed their quarterly asks. Neither of these organizations will stop their quarterly asks but they now understand that saying disaster “x” took place today and this weekend we are dispatching a team to do “y” actions, is a great way to show your supporters that you are actually doing something to help with the recent disaster. This event is in the news and it’s relevant. When you add one line to the end of the email that says, to help support these efforts click here to make a donation, please were more likely to make a donation.

Since timely emails work so well, it is beneficial to create urgency around an event. Send a series of emails that build up to an important event. You do not have to focus on asking for donations. Focus on the event and the events impact on your issues.

Sending out timely emails is important, but sending out substantive emails has also increased donations. Donors want to know what you are doing. They subscribe to your emails to learn more about what you are doing and not to be asked for money. By sending an email that gives a monthly update about the actions your organization took this month, the donor feels like they know more about the issue and what actions you are taking. From the emails they learned what you were working on and they may want to donate more money to these causes. They aren’t actually donating money to you, they are donating money to you because you are doing things that they want you to do.

Recap:
1. Send Informative emails- treat your audience like they are intelligent and educated them on the issues and your actions
2. Send timely emails- do not get bogged down in copy edits, perfection is not longer required.