My father wisely taught me there are no expenses in development. There are only investments.
Every dollar and hour spent on development should have a corresponding result and impact on giving.
Why?
You don’t exist to keep people employed in development.
That’s not why you’re there.
You’re there to bring others alongside you to support your organization’s mission.
When leaders seek giving efficiency or quick turnarounds, e-giving seems like a no-brainer.
Can it be successful? Is it profitable for ministries, schools, and organizations?
The quick answer? No, not really.
Here’s why:
There are only three strategies for raising money: face-to-face strategies, small-group strategies, and large-group strategies.
Each of these has strengths but also varying levels of effectiveness.
Face-to-Face
I consider a meeting or encounter face-to-face when you meet one-on-one or with a couple or two individuals.
The highest number of face-to-face meetings is four. Sometimes, meeting with a couple or two individuals is most beneficial for you and a second person from your organization.
Face-to-face is always the most effective and yields the highest return on investment of time and money, bar none. For every $10 you spend, you bring in $90.
Small Group
A gathering constitutes a small group when you’re meeting with between three and twenty-five people.
Small groups are nearly as effective but a little bit more expensive.
Large Group
A large group can be an event, congregation, or broad communication, such as a letter campaign, email campaign, crowdfunding, or text-to-give.
Large groups are the least effective and most expensive because they take time and coordination.
There’s nothing wrong with large group strategies, such as texting to give, emailing, and letters. We do all of that, right?
When you’re trying to communicate one-to-many, there’s an efficiency but a lowering of effectiveness. Response rates and the size of gifts will likely be lower whenever you use this approach.
Large-group methods get people to start giving, to take action, or to raise their hand–metaphorically or literally—and say, “I’m a giver! I’ll do something! I’m going to text,” or “I’m going to go online and give right now!” or, “I’m going to give at this event!”
One Time
One time events are a way to attract donors or raise a specific amount of money for a particular cause.
One time events and gatherings are best for getting people to help an organization reach a specific, achievable goal.
However, you have to be careful about using this approach because it can create people who are one-time givers. Upon their second exposure, the moment or newness is gone. They lean towards thoughts like, “Well, we’ve done this before. We already did this, and here they go again,” which means you have gifted yourself the challenge of moving people through that.
Is it an absolute don’t? No.
You just want to keep it in the context of those other strategies’ returns on investment. Always recognize that the more efficient it is or the more people you’re communicating with, the more expensive and the less effective it is.
I pray this helps you evaluate and execute your year-end giving push. Keep moving forward, and as always, report back. We love to celebrate your success!