In the old direct mail paradigm, donors made up the majority of an organization’s supporters and were kept engaged through direct mail solicitations that would incorporate additional actions (e.g., petitions) as a fundraising tactic, helping to advance an organization’s advocacy goals. It was simply too expensive to maintain and continue to communicate with a large group of supporters who weren’t generating revenue for the organization. Larger advocacy and community building work was done on the local, grassroots level—if at all.

The digital world & donor conversions

This left people who wanted to belong to the organization but weren’t ready or able to make a financial contribution, with few options on how to give their support. Digital platforms have opened a myriad of opportunities for people to get involved in organizations—whenever they want, wherever they want, and how often they want to participate.

Viewed solely from a direct lens, these supporters are fundraising leads, ready to be converted to donors and moved into the traditional donor pyramid. While some of these new supporters are, indeed, already primed to make a donation, the majority of constituents need a longer engagement period, more personalized content, and find value in their participation. In the end, not all of these constituents may convert to donors, but everyone has a role within the community, which can advance the organization’s non-monetary goals, increase brand awareness, and allow for organizational ambassadors.

While THA still sees direct donor acquisition (be it through mail, digital, peer-to-peer, face-to-face, etc.) as the most fundamental way of building a donor base, we also believe that growing an organization’s community—of donors, activists, supporters, evangelists, etc.—is critical to improving donor acquisition (providing a pool of individuals already connected to the organization) and positioning the organization for future growth.

THA believes that only the organizations who have diverse, engaged communities whose constituents feel valued and get value for their participation will be able to weather the rapidly changing fundraising environment.