Finding Tomorrow’s Donors Today
Acquisition That Funds Your Vision
Fulfilling your God-given mission takes support. It means finding, reaching, connecting with, and building trust with donors committed to your cause. But what’s the “secret” to consistently bringing in new donors who catch your vision … and keeping them?
BBS understands this cultivation process to its core. Let us help you acquire new donors for your ministry’s long-term success — and maximize your strategy.
Turning Potential Donors Into Committed Ones
Strategies That Work
God is the ultimate Provider, and by His grace BBS has a proven track record of donor acquisition strategies that work. We’re committed to testing communications, identifying potential donors, and discovering competitively attractive opportunities for reaching new donors whose heartbeat aligns with your ministry’s goals.
Convoy of Hope Case Study
Raising Emergency Funds When Time is Short
Challenge: When a series of devastating hurricanes hit in rapid succession, long-term ministry partner Convoy of Hope needed BBS to act fast.
Solution: We produced and mailed a hugely successful Hurricane Harvey Urgent Gram — a type of emergency mailing using pre-printed stock that takes very little time to produce — in just two days. Then we dropped another effective Hurricane Irma Urgent Gram in just four days.
Result: Through such nimble fundraising techniques, and compelling emergency-response content, the Urgent Gram mailings produced 5 to 10 times normal ROIs!
Bonus Result: BBS created an Impact Report showing photos and results from the hurricane relief efforts these Urgent Gram responses made possible. The Impact Report generated significant additional gifts for ongoing relief projects helping hurricane victims.
Get Discovery Call
Digital Marketing Insights
Latest Post
- One Single Voice “If the written word of the Bible could be changed into a spoken word and become one single voice, this voice, more powerful than the roaring of the sea, would cry out: ‘The Father loves you!’” —Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa My prayer this week: Help my heart hear your voice of…
Donor Acquisition: Essential for Ministry Maintenance
Expanding Your Reach
Donor acquisition is not only about reaching someone new and convincing them to donate to your cause. A healthy strategy — one that lasts — is also about finding donors who are willing to give *again.*
It’s also about cultivating these relationships over time. It’s about sustaining and growing — knowing where to find donors who believe in your efforts, welcoming new donors to the fold, reminding them of their important role in your ministry family, and expanding your reach through them for the sake of the Kingdom.
Get Discovery Call
“For more than 20 years, the trusted team of BBS & Associates has led us to financial stability through their expertise in donor relationships, direct mail fundraising, strategic marketing, digital communications, and data analysis.”
Paul Joiner – Turning Point Ministries
Areas of Acquisition
Cross-Channel Searching
Every donor file has annual attrition which needs to be replaced. New donors to your God-given mission are out there, and BBS can help you find them among the crowd through a variety of approaches.
Digital Donor Acquisition
Nonprofits that have cracked the code on acquiring new donors digitally see their acquisition costs come down — often significantly! BBS can help you determine a successful acquisition strategy through digital ads, video advertising, social media, email sponsorships, branded content, customized landing pages, lead generation, and more.
Direct Mail Donor Acquisition
Direct mail is a proven — and thriving! — strategy for acquiring new givers to your cause. For decades, BBS has been helping ministries find donors through the mail. We have the expertise you need to broaden your reach and achieve your goals for the Kingdom.
Mid & Major Donor Acquisition
They may currently be “hidden,” but midlevel and major donors on your file are there! We’ll help you sort through the data to find more of your ministry’s highest givers and keep them engaged and aligned with your mission and vision.
Donor Acquisition FAQ
Donor acquisition is the process of finding, reaching, and acquiring new donors to your nonprofit. A good donor acquisition strategy includes specific, well-supported decisions about targeting, channels, donor segmentation, building trust, marketing, and fundraising asks.
Successful campaigns may be focused on a single channel and single source, or involve many channels and many sources. BBS, in fact, recommends both. The right strategy for your ministry depends on your specific goals, mission, and ideal donors.
Renting donor lists can be an effective acquisition strategy for nonprofit organizations, but it depends on the relevance of the rented lists to your organization’s mission and the ethical handling of the list and contact’s information.
When done well, with true thoughtfulness and strategy, renting lists allows them to tap into potential supporters who have demonstrated interest in similar causes.
It’s crucial to prioritize building genuine connections over mere quantity, and also consider the expected lifetime value of the list you are renting. Acquiring donors who truly align with the values and goals of your nonprofit are far more likely to lead to sustainable and meaningful relationships.
The best answer to increasing donor acquisition is unique to you, your mission, and the donors who believe in your work and cause. What would be a great decision for one organization may be lead nowhere for another. However, in our 35+ year experience, there are general principles that apply to everyone for increasing donor acquisition:
- Have a clear + communicated vision, mission, and values – this guides everything you do, what change you seek to make, and who you seek to serve.
- Make thoughtful and clear choices about who the donors are you want to acquire – the two ways organizations fail here is in being way too vague or by being so detailed that they can only describe donors who are already giving to you today.
- Select where you seek out new donors based on who the donors are you wish to find, their worldviews, their behaviors, and what they already believe and support. The channels you choose, where you advertise, where you don’t, and the way you invest your fundraising money and effort should all be a match with the donor you are seeking.
- Make absolutely sure your “Why give” is clear and the value proposition for the donor’s impact is clear.
Essential Questions for Your Donor Acquisition Program
What’s Your Score?
If you’re unable to answer the following questions, you’re not alone. But you might want to claim a free discovery call below to learn how you can encounter a thriving donor acquisition strategy!
- What is the average cost to acquire a new donor for your organization?
- How does this cost vary between direct mail and digital channels?
- Does your ministry have a proven-effective, reliable strategy for how to reach, welcome, and cultivate new donors?
Acquiring New Donors for Maximum Impact
Free Discovery Call
In BBS, you have a trusted partner with a track record of results in donor acquisition who will put in the hard work — with a servant’s heart. We’ll get to know where you can find new donors to your one-of-a-kind mission and collaborate with you to effectively move your ministry into the future.
Learn how to leverage donor data in order to drive strategy and deliver results. We’ve been coming alongside nonprofits for decades — some ministries have been with us for 10, 20, even 30 years and more. Let’s connect, and start this journey of expanding your reach together. Complete the form below and request a free discovery call with our team!
