Focusing on a niche market isn't just a good marketing strategy for the small business -- it's also an excellent fundraising strategy for the small (and even large) nonprofit.
Too often, nonprofits think that if their donor base is small -- or worse, shrinking -- then they have to cast a wider net. They have to search far and wide for new donors. Usually, they'll experience some success, but it's short lived. Donors come on board only to leave a short while later. Why?
One very plausible explanation is that the nonprofit doesn't have an effective donor conversion program (more on that in an upcoming entry). But it's almost certain that the nonprofit also brought on the wrong kind of donor, and now the wrong donors are simply weeding themselves out. Usually, it's a combination of the two.
Small nonprofits also tend to mistakenly believe that lists don't work. No, my friends, lists do work. But you need the right kind of list to attract the right kind of donor. If you're a development-focused evangelical nonprofit, don't go after liberal donors. Don't even go after every evangelical donor. Get focused. Hone in on the lists that offer you the names of development-focused evangelical donors. Likewise, if you're a liberal political advocacy group, don't try to convert the evangelical donor. Get focused.
That's part of the science of donor acquisition. Next comes the art: identifying exactly the right list and deciphering the right approach for the potential donors on that list. Like any art, it takes practice. And time. Stick with it. Or don't. You can always let a professional help you get focused on the right kind of list. Turnbull Marketing Group is happy to help. Contact us today.
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