Title: Online Fundraising: Multi-Channel vs. Integrated Campaigns – What's the Difference?
1Online Fundraising Multi-Channel vs. Integrated
Campaigns Whats the Difference?
2Online Fundraising
- Online fundraising has certainly gained traction
over the years in the nonprofit world. - Although nonprofits continue to use the
traditional channels, like direct mail, theyve
added new ways to reach donors, such as social
media. - This multi-channel approach to fundraising
provides a variety of communication vehicles. - But does it also mean a nonprofits fundraising
is integrated? -
- Just because a nonprofit adds online fundraising
does not mean it has adopted a truly integrated
approach. - The organization may simply be running multiple
campaigns in multiple channels. - So whats the difference? And why do nonprofit
experts recommend integrated fundraising?
3Online Fundraising
- The Multi-Channel Approach
-
- The multi-channel approach combines traditional
channels with online fundraising channels. - Campaigns distribute messages through direct
mail, television, radio, newspapers, magazines,
billboards, e-mail, websites, social media and
more. - The branding may be consistent and the timing
coordinated, but the nonprofit doesnt develop a
cross-channel messaging strategy and proactively
manage the campaigns across the channels. - The multi-channel approach gets used frequently
in organizations where different teams manage
different channels. - For example, if a nonprofit has one team managing
an annual pledge telethon, another managing
direct mail and yet another managing online
fundraising, building an integrated strategy will
be pretty complicated.
4Online Fundraising
- The Integrated Approach
- Integrated fundraising is all about strategic
messaging and moving prospective donors to
action. - The nonprofit marketing team creates a unified
campaign thats distributed across multiple
channels. - Each channel used plays a vital role in the
overall goal of the campaign. - For example, online fundraising channels support
traditional fundraising efforts and vice versa. - When developed strategically from the beginning,
an integrated campaign has the potential to
perform well above the multi-channel approach. - The more channels used to reach a donor, the
greater likelihood of success.
5Online Fundraising
- The Integrated Approach
- Unlike multi-channel fundraising, integrated
fundraising results are measured as a whole. - For example, what was the response rate on a
direct mailing or online fundraising campaign? - Integrated fundraising would measure results for
all the channels combined. - The integrated fundraising philosophy is based on
synergy. - The combined effort of the whole is greater than
the individual parts. - Put another way, a lower performing channel may
actually be driving donors to another channel to
contribute. - So, each channel should be considered as a
contributor to the overall campaigns success
regardless of its individual performance.
6Online Fundraising
- Challenges in Integrated Fundraising
-
- Although integrated fundraising has the potential
to yield much better results, the approach does
present some issues. - A single, integrated database containing donor
information, such as solicitation and response
history, is necessary to successfully distribute
campaigns across channels. -
- Also, campaign testing becomes much more complex.
- For example, how does a nonprofit
cost-effectively test market a magazine ad? - Careful planning and tweaking of the testing will
have to be factored into the campaign schedule
and budget. - As mentioned earlier, different departments
within nonprofit organizations handling different
channels will create difficulties with integrated
campaigns.
7Online Fundraising
- Challenges in Integrated Fundraising
- In addition to coordinating multiple channels,
the nonprofit has to coordinate multiple people
with different objectives and experiences. - The nonprofit will have to weigh the benefits of
integrated fundraising to the costs of
restructuring. - Using an integrated approach in traditional and
online fundraising is not just the latest
marketing buzzword. - Despite the challenges, its a meaningful and
necessary strategy for improving campaign
results.
8Online Fundraising
IPM Advancement offers over 75 years of
accumulated nonprofit consulting experience. We
typically begin a client engagement by auditing
annual traditional and online fundraising,
membership or advocacy programs. During this
process, IPM Advancement examines the entire
annual giving program in terms of donor
communications, organization history, database
issues, donor demographic and psychographic
profiles, fundraising history, pipeline
development, internal and external challenges,
and more. Our goal is to create greater
clarity for our nonprofit consulting clients over
their annual giving, membership and advocacy
programs, and then help them achieve higher
levels of success.
9About the Author
Edward Phillips, MBA, is Chief Creative Officer
of IPM Advancement, a leading non profit
fundraising company. Visit us at
http//www.ipmadvancement.com or call
623-687-3908 for more information about Online
Fundraising.