Kat Borgerding (@katborgerding), a volunteer with the ONA Resource Team, compiled these key moments from the ONA20 session on Oct. 6, 2020. To view a recording of the session, register for on-demand access to the ONA20 archive. Session participants included:
- Kristi Waite, Director of Development, The Seattle Times
- Terry Quinn, Chief Development Officer, The Texas Tribune
- Fraser Nelson, Proprietor, Fraser Nelson LLC
- Moderator: Annie Madonia, Chief Advancement Officer, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
5 key takeaways:
- The donor pyramid is pretty much an upside-down audience engagement funnel:
- The rule in fundraising is that the 20% of your donors at the very top of the pyramid usually give you 80% of your revenue.
- But the most important part of this donor pyramid is the bottom of the pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid are those who connect with you most.
- Find a way to use a matching program. This can be very motivating because donors feel like their dollar is going farther or somebody else’s matching their gift. The Texas Tribune used this as their initial fundraising push.
- Use newsletters or emails to personalize the fundraising ask and make donors feel like insiders. The Salt Lake City Tribune used this in their initial push for donations after an earthquake and again around COVID’s impact on their newsroom and state.
- Frame your ask as raising money for a fund that supports the work that you’re trying to accomplish. The Seattle Times used this to support the work of their investigative journalism fund.
- Tips for writing fundraising emails:
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- Ask early in your emails and put multiple asks throughout the email.
- Once the donor makes a gift, strip them out of your solicitations moving forward so they don’t feel like they’re getting solicited over and over.
- Start with one email then resend it to everyone who didn’t open the first one.
- Have a default setting so donors can click on a box for a certain amount, and the opportunity to write in a specific amount.
- Track your data.
- A/B test
- What to call your fundraising push: If you’re trying something new, call it a pilot. It doesn’t mean what you’re doing is set in stone forever. We should be nimble and change and morph how we do things to meet our audiences where they are.
Memorable/tweetable quotes:
- “It’s like orchestras and museums, you know people already self-identify as loving you because they’re buying or using your product, some way.” —Annie Madonia
- “I’ve learned development is really a specialty. So, if this is landed on your plate: please please please, be careful and mindful. Take advantage of all the resources that are now on your way.” —Fraser Nelson