Responsive Fundraising

by Gabe Cooper, Mckenna Bailey

Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-Centric Framework Helping Today’s Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving provides a three-step solution for nonprofit fundraisers looking to overcome the growing generosity crisis.

Since the 1950s, nonprofits have relied on impersonal outreach to inspire generosity from their donors. They leveraged direct mail, mass marketing and event fundraising to drive donations. In the early 2000s, with the introduction of social media, smartphones and a hyper-connected world, everything changed. The new normal for everyone became transparency, personalization, and a feeling of ever-present engagement.

In addition, donors also had new levels of access to information to the causes they cared about. They could read curated news about issues they cared about, research program results and even collect information about nonprofit employees.

Unfortunately, as expectations evolved, nonprofit fundraisers failed to keep up. The number of donors-to-nonprofits is falling year after year. Institutional trust is at an all time low. And burnout from fundraisers continues to climb. If nonprofits don’t make a fundamental shift right now, they risk their own future, plus the future of their beneficiaries.

Responsive Fundraising outlines the simple solution for nonprofit fundraisers everywhere. Using real-world examples from leading nonprofits, Responsive Fundraising explains how to take the personalized, donor-centric, connection-building practices most fundraisers reserve for major donors and scale them to work for all donors using The Responsive Framework.

The Responsive Framework is an ever-evolving cycle where fundraisers listen, connect and suggest giving options to each individual donor based on what they care about most. When responsive fundraisers listen first, they are able to communicate in a way that prioritizes the donor experience. They remain open to feedback, stay curious about the motivations and values of donors and seek new ways to evolve with donors.

Once they’ve learned about the passions of each donor, responsive nonprofits aim to connect with every donor in a way that honors their needs and preferences. Responsive fundraisers consider donor interests, preferred communication channels, and their individual donor journey to ensure that each outreach happens at the exact right time, with the exact right message so that the donor feels deeply connected to the cause.

Finally, responsive fundraising empowers nonprofits to make personalized generosity suggestions based on what they’ve learned from each donor. Gift asks are driven by donor passions and intentional timing rather than arbitrary nonprofit campaign deadlines. Responsive fundraisers also know that modern donors need to be treated as more than an ATM. They have so much to offer than money. Modern donors want to be close to the cause and leverage their social capital, expertise and time to increase impact. When responsive nonprofits suggest, they are providing an opportunity for the donor to join the cause in a way that matters most to them.

As the cycle repeats, nonprofits start to see better donor relationships with each individual donor, increased generosity, and, most importantly, a greater impact on the causes they care most about.

Throughout Responsive Fundraising, readers will learn what the data tells us about the modern donor and their generosity habits. They will receive step-by-step responsive fundraising plays they can implement right away to improve their current fundraising tactics. Plus, they’ll get a look into how responsive nonprofits are shifting their internal teams to create a more collaborative, successful organization.

The time for change is now. Donors deserve it. Nonprofits want it. And beneficiaries need it. Responsive Fundraising: The Donor-Centric Framework Helping Today’s Leading Nonprofits Grow Giving will give your nonprofit the best path forward.

Genres: Business

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 24, 2020

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gabe Cooper is the CEO of Virtuous, a CRM software for small to mid-size nonprofits. This book is a great overview of applying digital body language and agile thinking to non-profits, what Cooper calls "Responsive Fundraising." His 10 points for a responsive fundraiser are a great summary of what current non-profit fundraising leaders should be doing--measure yourself and your org against them. But the rest of the book reads from a high altitude--Netflix vs. Blockbuster type case studies, as if Cooper's intended audience for the book are Baby Boomer non-profit executives (actually, that probably is the target audience!). If you're just getting started as a digital marketer or fundraiser at a non-profit, or you need a quick refresher, this is a good book for you. If you want to dive deep on the actual practices here, read DONOR CENTERED FUNDRAISING by Penelope Burk and HACKING MARKETING by Scott Brinker.

[Laura Silvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for work and I found it really helpful for reframing my approach to fundraising. It is a very complex topic and this book brought the conversation full-circle consistently. My main complaint is the lack of scaled examples. My current role is at an organization far smaller than the examples used in the book, leaving me feeling stressed because the suggestions for improvement feel unattainable with our small staff and budget. But I would definitely recommend this to anyone in the non-profit world, especially if they are in communications, marketing, or development.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not that many of my friends on here are gonna read this, but I thought it was very insightful for the nonprofit sector. It puts into words some of the thoughts I've been having lately. I hope to be able to scale down some of the tips to be able to implement myself as my organization is transitioning to a new CRM which could take a few years due to the size of the organization.

However, as with most nonprofit books that are educational in this sense, I did find some sections quite repetitive. The examples throughout the book though really made up for it and highlighted some key takeaways.

[Lauren Pumpkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many passionate, talented, and reputable leaders who want to make a difference but simply do not know how. This book has eye-opening insights into consumer trends, generational shifts, and modern day relationship-building.

[Chip Johnston]

Responsive Fundraising is a must have for any Fundraiser. It's chocked full of super practical tips for understanding the expectations of modern donors and executing a strategy for exceeding them.

[Meghan Speer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for anyone in the NGO or nonprofit space.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great read. I will re-read it when I start my nonprofit.

[Jer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but too polemical and full of “click through” ads for the author’s company. I’m sure it was fun to write, but much less fun to read.

[Cambria Basaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some valuable information, but is super repetitive and moved pretty slowly.