The Challenge of Nonprofit Fundraising

The holiday season is upon us. Billions of dollars are requested from millions of donors and potential donors between now and the end of the year. Thousands of campaigns. Opportunities to donate to nonprofits are everywhere.

Between 30% and 50% of causes annual revenues, and therefore 2020 operating funds, are expected to be garnered. Depending on the campaign, the mail will be loaded with donation requests that, in success, will be returning a low single digit response rate. 5% max.

It’s true. The Direct Marketing Association, now called the Association of National Advertisers, looked at data and found that direct mail averaged a 4.4% response rate.

And that 4.4% response for nonprofit direct mail asks is significantly higher than the .12% nonprofit email response rate. But we as marketers can do better. What happens to the other 95% of the audience?

Most of the cause related marketing campaigns are representing foundational brands that have broad appeal. Typical results of a successful nonprofit fundraising campaigns is the result of “MAGIC” in the appeal which usually settles in on the sweet spot of a 5% response rate. But what is “the Magic?”

Usually a monochromatic appeal to the heartstring. But to whose heartstring and why?

Nonprofit Messaging Appeal

The main message of the appeal focuses on ONE way mainly to fall in love with any cause. That is what influences most audiences decision to donate. But is there only ONE message that entices compassion for their cause? Does it touch on an interest area of mine? Have I or a friend or a family member been affected by what the cause is committed to resolve? Do I have another personal reason to care? Does it fall within my annual donation budget?

With these and many more motivations to appeal to, how does a cause maximize the impact of the appeal?

PathSight believes that in todays hyper-connected world filled with breakthroughs in science and technology the time is now solve the 95% challenge.

We believe that:

• Most causes have a 5% overall response rate but that response rates for 50% of the population is actually closer to zero. WHY?
• It is possible to get positive response rates from 50% of the population of whom zero percent reply.
• Understanding Your Audience, Messaging, Sequencing, Targeting.

To understand this take the PathSight Discovery Challenge:

Hear our analysis and make your decision.

ALL of your target audience have deep foundational instincts to which they respond. There are many data proxies to which define the instincts in a target audience that allows PathSight to generate insights which allow PathSight to nonprofit audiences effectively for the purpose of enhancing response rates vs. practically any other approach.

Once the instincts are defined, and the groups are defined, an appeal can be segmented in messaging that communicate the core idea (appeal) via Tactics (mail, social media, phone) that elicit positive responses from any segmented group.

Contact us to find the other 95%.

The most complex node on this most complex network is the human interface. In order to sell, market, reinvent, reimagine or fix anything, you have to start with the answer to why. Why do people do what they do?

PathSight Predictive Science arose out of 50 years of intense historical scientific study and nearly 80,000 direct survey participants. Over the past 6 years PathSight has conducted an array of primary research studies exploring the relationship between one’s biologic instincts and one’s behaviors, attitudes and affinities. 

The result is an extraordinary system that uses proprietary analytics and advanced machine learning to assign people into measurable groupings (“Meta Worldviews”). These are stable and stunningly accurate predictors of a person’s thoughts, beliefs and actions across any number of human activities. It is why people do what they do.