Investing in Online Fundraising
Targeting ministry resources wisely.

Blake Fite | posted 9/09/2009

Jeremiah's complaint about why the wicked prosper and the faithless live at ease is a question that some ministry leaders may be asking during current economic times. More telling is God's response to his complaint. He addresses Jeremiah's attitude about managing adversity this way: "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with the horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" (Jer. 12:1-5).

God's response to Jeremiah is still relevant. It is easy to look around and wonder, Why does it seem like everyone except us has the resources they need? A modern application of the response God gave Jeremiah: If you are worn out trying to keep up in the arena of resource development, you must learn to manage your technology resources and online fundraising more wisely.

Reflect with me for a moment. What is the purpose of technology for a ministry? At Donor Depot, we follow this guideline for technology: "To maintain donor loyalty and trust by equipping the nonprofit with productivity tools that enable the cultivation of long-term, high-yielding relationships."

Outside of building deep relationships with those who are fulfilling your mission, what else is there? If any part of your technology strategy does not cultivate relationships, you should look at ways to cut that part out of your overall budget.

Five Common Mistakes

Let's look at how ministries can best invest resources for online fundraising in the form of five common mistakes they often make:

(1) Choosing technology tools based almost exclusively on current trends.

Some of my more experienced clients have lamented that in the past they took a counterproductive approach to targeting technology resources. Instead of matching technology tools with specific development programs and events directly related to their mission, they acquired technology based almost entirely on recent trends.

It is important to note recent trends. However, ministries may struggle when new trends are the only measure used for choosing new technologies. Other factors such as constituent demographics, finances, technology staffing, and simply the time it takes to keep up with everything should be considered as much, if not more, than the new technology itself. Changing your online strategy based solely on rapidly changing trends would be like trying to give my one-year-old daughter a drink of water using a fire hydrant instead of her sippy cup—it's just not wise.

Technology changes faster than any ministry staff can process on a daily basis. To counteract these changes, many of my clients set aside specific times throughout the year to analyze certain aspects of their technology strategy.

(2) Using a technology provider with inflexible pricing.

Flexibility in technology pricing is critical for small to regional ministries, because it allows them to grow steadily while meeting their budgets. Ministries should closely examine the pricing strategies of technology providers to be sure they are the ideal fit.

For example, if you are a small ministry reaching out to local inner-city kids and have a vision to replicate nationally, an "all or nothing" pricing strategy may not work for you. Conversely, a pricing strategy based on your ministry's needs for items like a website, an online contribution form, donor software, and a backend content management system allows you to manage costs while meeting unique ministry needs.

In taking this more strategic approach, you can adjust when you have acquired enough funding to launch a national campaign and purchase add-ons such as video streaming, online surveys, content support packages, and so on. Just be careful to ask your technology provider upfront whether or not future needs will easily integrate into your current system.

(3) Having a technology strategy that fails to understand the realities of donors.

I find it interesting that when God answers Jeremiah's complaint, his focus is on Jeremiah's need to prepare to manage obstacles he will face in the future. Today's ministries do well to follow that advice.

Oftentimes, the issues my clients face are not related to technology itself. Most new technologies, as great as they may be, do not always address the need to acquire, retain, and cultivate donor relationships. It is great to consider a new blog or streaming video on your website, but more content on your website, and the time required to produce it, may not address the ever-growing time constraints facing the next-generation donor.

Let me explain: If you followed my wife around from sunup to sundown, you would note that the probability of her getting online during the day to read a blog is low. If you are going to create sustainable growth by reaching the next generation of donors, you must keep a keen eye on traditional donor segmentation methods, social networking trends attracting donors, and how the next generation gives (mostly electronically and with a debit or credit card) as much as the latest technology fads.

(4) Not considering the budgetary implications of technology systems, including implementation, maintenance, and training.

The biggest problem we see with our clients is that they sometimes broad-stroke technology needs. They begin to take a more strategic approach when we explain the cost implications of implementation, maintenance, and training. Most nonprofits, especially in the pioneer years, tend to buy expensive donor management systems and backend Web tools that are heavy in upfront costs. When they actually pull the funds together to purchase these systems, they have nothing left to execute their online communication strategy or to fund ongoing maintenance and training.

It is important to understand the differences between implementation, maintenance, and training when budgeting for ministry technology systems:

Implementation is the act of leveraging technology to communicate with your online donors. For example, implementation tasks include producing and sending out a mass e-newsletter, analyzing which groups should receive your e-newsletter, and making sure it has the appropriate opt-out and refer-a-friend links embedded in the text.

Maintenance is the ongoing process of keeping up your website's content. That can be in the form of online giving forms, surveys, blogs, and so on. These maintenance issues are critical as you build out your budget and communication strategy.

Training is also an important consideration in your strategy. Americans move on average every five years, and that alone requires you to train and retrain your employees on the technology patterns and solutions you have in place internally.

(5) Thinking that technology alone provides organic growth in donor giving.

Most donors give their money to people who help people. There is more excitement about a new building if there is a fundamental belief that it will accelerate assisting people to help more people. A well-functioning website that's pleasing to the eye is important to the overall fundraising strategy, but, for better or for worse, it is not a major factor in substantial organic growth or major donor giving swings.

Giving will be limited if you don't have a website, but websites typically do not yield the majority of donor revenue. Your technology plan should not drive your fundraising programs; your fundraising programs should drive your technology plan!

We may not be competing with those riding horses or getting tangled up in thickets next to the Jordan River like Jeremiah, but we can learn from the advice that God gave to him as he faced adversity. Technology is necessary, but building relationships with people will sustain us during tough times.

Blake Fite is co-founder and president of Donor Depot, a technology company dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations to produce fundraising solutions that generate results. Blake has a B.A. in organizational communication from Oral Roberts University and an M.B.A. from Regent University. E-mail him at blake@donordepot.com or visit DonorDepot.com.

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