For First-Time Participants

A Guide to #PowerProgress for First-Time Participants

#PowerProgress is designed by people with experience in small donor fundraising for nonprofit organizations. We believe that nonprofits, in particular, small, frontline groups deserve to build independent power, which can be catalyzed through generating independent revenue. Many of us have been in your shoes, working at smaller nonprofit organizations, hustling to find every dollar and every minute in the day to get the work done and keep the lights on. We’re here to help however we can, and in return, we ask that you share your experiments and results so that we can all learn from each other.

For first-time participants, it’s helpful to think about PowerProgress in four phases: Training and Coaching, Campaign Readiness, Match Period, and Reporting. We know that every organization comes to PowerProgress with a unique set of resources and goals for participation, and we welcome that. We are here to work with you to make sure that your PowerProgress is a success.

This is your guide to getting started.

The PowerProgress team will also be available during regular business hours over our shared Slack channel [Request to join our Slack channel here] to answer questions about this guide and your PowerProgress campaign. We also have weekly “AMAs” or “Ask Me Anything” live sessions from October 5th to December 21st with our digital fundraising coaches, communication experts, and the DPP team, so we hope to see you then! Weekly AMA sessions will we held every Wednesday from 1-2pm EST, on Zoom- this link will work for every session:

Phase 1: Training and Coaching

The training and coaching series is designed with two goals in mind: To familiarize you with digital fundraising and communication strategies that will help you be successful during and beyond PowerProgress with your small donor work; and, to share important information about PowerProgress.

As a participant, you will have access to:

• Campaign Headquarters: You will find everything you need here, including links to videos, AMA recordings, the fundraising toolkits, and more. Note: You will need the master password, which is found in our shared Slack channel.

• Our Shared Slack Channel: Meet and communicate with other participants as well as our incredible coaching team from Blue Engine Collaborative and our communications and marketing experts from Mission Partners, as well as our dedicated team from Democratizing Philanthropy Project.

• Videos on Demand (VODs): On Campaign Headquarters, you will find short trainings or “Videos on Demand (VODs)” you can watch when it works for you on a range of topics from “The art of the campaign and campaign planning”, “Agile foundations”, “The science of targeting and persistence”, “Stewardship, onboarding, and retention,” “Customizing your message” and more! (links in Campaign Headquarters)

• Matching Fund: In Campaign Headquarters, you will have a link to our Google Drive with your organization’s matching fund reporting spreadsheet. You have the ability to raise an additional $10,000 in matching funds based on your success onboarding new small donors throughout the PowerProgress campaign. All you have to do is fill out this spreadsheet listing your new small donors and the amount you raised, and we’ll match you up to $1,000 per new donor, up to $10,000 in matching funds.

• General Operating Support grant: We know your time is limited; it’s the end of the year, and you are probably exhausted from working on a critical election. We want you to have permission and space to focus on building your small donor program, so every participating organization will receive a $10,000 general support grant from DPP to participate as fully as you can in PowerProgress. We will also ask you to share some of your campaign strategy highlights, what worked best and what flopped, so that participants after you can learn alongside you.

ALL THESE LINKS? THEY GO TO THE CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS.

BOOKMARK THAT LINK AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIND EVERYTHING YOU NEED.

You don’t have to watch all of the Videos on Demand or attend the Ask Me Anything. We suggest you give them a shot and listen in when you can to help maximize the success of your year end campaign for small donors.

By the end of Phase 1, you should:

☑ Be on PowerProgress Slack

☑ Bookmark the Campaign Headquarters and watch any relevant trainings

☑ Read the “small print” section of the PowerProgress FAQ

☑ Signed up for an account on JustFund and applied a common proposal to “Democratizing Philanthropy Project - PowerProgress 2022” to receive your general operating support grant

Phase 2: Campaign Readiness

Now we’re at the point where we have to start really getting ready. And to do that, there are multiple Videos on Demand and slides for you to get up to speed on PowerProgress and how you can set your organization up for success. These trainings cover important information about PowerProgress, how to build your small donor program and how to customize your message.

1. How Democratizing Philanthropy Project will help you #PowerProgress (blog post)

2. Reporting Requirements (Slides)

3. Introducing the Campaign Toolkit (Slides)

These are all about what to expect.

One thing we hear from PowerProgress participants is that they feel stressed because they don’t know what’s coming. Sometimes they aren’t sure what they should be doing or they’re worried they’ve missed a step. We communicate as much as we do to help you feel like a pro.

By the end of Phase 2, you should:

☑ Log onto PowerProgress Campaign Headquarters and watch Videos on Demand

☑ Participate in “Ask Me Anything” with our incredible network of coaches here to help you

☑ Review the Campaign Toolkit and have an email marketing tool like MailChimp ready to help you send emails to new donors

☑ Know which donations are eligible to be matched, and what documentation is required

Phase 3: Match Period

PowerProgress opens on Nov. 1. We’ll issue a press release and send you sample social media copy you can use to promote your participation.

By this time, you will have a campaign toolkit that includes:

• An overall campaign plan with key messages and talking points

• A campaign calendar with suggested dates for all the email appeals you will send during PowerProgress

• Complete campaign materials, including graphics, email template, customizable email copy, and suggested subject lines.

  • Each week, we will post a reminder on PowerProgress Slack with campaign instructions and updates

For first-time participants and organizations without a lot of fundraising experience, 10 or 12 email appeals will sound like a lot. People ask if they can send three, or five, instead. Here we ask that you trust us. What feels like a lot of emails to you, the sender, won’t feel that way to your supporters. In fact, it may take three, or five, emails to finally get someone who wants to support you to actually click through. Each message doesn’t repeat the one before, but rather builds your case for support.

Your most important day during PowerProgress will be November 29. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is called Giving Tuesday and all kinds of nonprofits will be fundraising. We give it our own spin with #GivetoPowerProgress. Especially don’t be shy on #GivetoPowerProgress. Remember you have over a dozen other state-based, power-building organizations around the country in this with you.

By the end of Phase 3, you should:

☑ Raise money from new donors and build new recurring donors!

☑ Joined the national call-to-action to support state-based, power-building organizations!

☑ Thank all your donors for their support during PowerProgress

☑ Onboarded your new donors to your organization via your email welcome drip

Phase 4: Reporting

After the match ends, you will have about two weeks to submit your post-match report and documentation to JustFund. You will need to attach your Cover Sheet and attachments for donations [See Campaign Headquarters - Reporting Requirements for your organization’s reporting spreadsheet] including:

• Cover Sheet: Donor name, date, and gift amount for every donation to be matched

• Proof of donation for every donation to be matched

What counts as proof of donation? If it was an online donation, it’s super easy. Just export an Excel or CSV file from your online donation processor, like ActBlue, PayPal or Stripe. That’s all. For offline gifts, submit copies of checks.

Once you submit your documentation and Cover Sheet to JustFund, your matching grants should hit your accounts within two weeks.

What support does PowerProgress make available?

• PowerProgress Videos on Demand Series.

• Ask Me Anything with our incredible team of coaches from Blue Engine and Mission Partners

• Slack communication where you can DM any of our team members for support, or talk to each other and ask for ideas or help.

• Campaign Headquarters. We are here to help you with your campaign readiness. You can access Campaign Headquarters anytime to find the resources you need to make your year-end PowerProgress campaign a huge success.

• If you need more help, email us at hello@democratizingphilanthropy.org and we’ll respond to you within 24 hours. You can also slack us directly - don’t be shy; we’re here to help you succeed!