Responsive Fundraising - by Gabe Cooper & McKenna Bailey

Book Synopsis

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.

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.