DONOR FUNDRAISING

Based on how we did with NewsMatch this year, it’s likely we can stick with our current trajectory/plan of fundraising super hard during NewsMatch and then being pretty light, but consistent with donation asks during the year. I think the one question we need to consider is whether we want to begin doing a mini-drive mid-way through the year. I could be in favor of having an optional May or June fundraiser each year that we essentially don’t have to do if we hit our budget for that FY, but that could be used as a way to raise any funds we may be short? I really think it could be minimal effort/repurposing a lot of NM content and templates, etc. (obviously removing NM branding and info) and it wouldn’t be too much of a lift and could be a big payoff simply to make extra asks that month.

GRANTS

In the fall, we talked about focusing on networking and cultivating new donors/large donors and reducing grant apps to like 1x/quarter; I think we could probably up that to 2x/quarter during non-NewsMatch, especially considering some apps aren’t bad and sometimes we can repurpose existing apps.

EARNED INCOME

Probably not worth our time/effort at our current stage of growth and given we aren’t behind. Managing even tshirt sales is a bit much and getting us outside of what we have capacity for. I do think footage is an easy way to make some $, but don’t think we have time to be very proactive about making $ that way. Ads could be an easy way to make some money, but once again, who is going to manage all that?

These are things that INN suggests having:

DONOR DATABASE:

Your organization has a functional donor management system in place with automated data tracking and reporting capabilities.

CRM GUIDELINES:

Your organization has written customer relationship management (CRM) guidelines in place for managing the data in your donor management system.

PROSPECT RESEARCH:

Your organization uses third-party data to inform major gift strategies and donor prospects are researched as part of a strategic fundraising process.

DONOR PROFILES:

Your organization uses donor profiles to identify your best major gift and planned giving prospects and effectively uses donor profiles in fundraising strategies.

DONOR POLICIES:

Your organization has written policies in place that protect the donor and their privacy when giving to your organization.

GIFT PROCESSING: Your organization has written guidelines in place for processing gifts and standardized procedures followed by all staff.

GIFT ACCEPTANCE: Your organization has written policies in place outlining the acceptance of gifts and funding priorities that are consistent with the strategic goals of your organization.

ENDOWMENT POLICY: Your organization has a written policy regarding how the endowment is invested, monitored and managed.

FUNDRAISING PLAN: Your organization has a written fundraising plan in place to ensure alignment of board and staff around goals, priorities, strategies and roles for a determined period of time.

STRETCH GOALS: Your organization has fundraising stretch goals in place based on revenue data analyzed from past years and performance indicators.

STRATEGIC PLAN:

Your organization has a strategic plan in place to ensure the alignment of board and staff around the goals, priorities, strategies and roles for achieving long-term sustainability.

ENDOWMENT PLAN:

Your organization has an endowment plan in place to raise funds for the ongoing support of and investment toward achieving long-term sustainability.

CASE FOR SUPPORT:

Your organization has a written case for support that demonstrates the needs of your community, how your organization impacts the need and the results and outcomes achieved by your activities.

STEWARDSHIP PLAN:

Your organization has a written stewardship plan in place that outlines who, when and how you will follow up with, acknowledge and recognize your donors.

ENGAGEMENT TOOL:

Your organization has an Engagement Tool that drives donor engagement during a visit and which includes a funding plan with short- and long-term organizational priorities and major gift opportunities.

RETENTION PLAN:

Your organization regularly performs retention analysis of certain fundraising metrics (frequency of contact, donor growth) and has a strategy to increase your donor retention rate to AT LEAST the national average (currently 45%).

BOARD AGREEMENTS:

Your organization has written board agreements in place that outline how your board contributes financially to your annual giving plan.

CULTURE OF PHILANTHROPY:

100% of your board and staff has a defined role in the fundraising process and supports the philanthropic effort of your organization.

MAJOR GIFTS TEAM:

Your organization has a Major Gifts Team of board and staff dedicated toward achieving long-term financial sustainability.

BOARD DIVERSITY:

Your organization has recruitment strategies in place to attract and retain board members of diverse backgrounds, competencies and industries that drive your fundraising.

ANNUAL GIVING:

Your organization has a board- and staff-driven annual giving (i.e. gifts below $1,000) plan in place to secure unrestricted operating funds from individual donors during a specific period of time.

MID-RANGE GIVING:

Your organization has a written mid-range giving (i.e. gifts between $1,000-$4,999) plan in place to manage, grow and steward donors to establish mid-level giving and increase donor retention rates.

MAJOR GIVING:

Your organization has a written major giving (i.e. gifts of $5,000 or more) plan in place that includes identifying, cultivating and stewarding major donors that raise sustainable sources of individual giving revenue.

PLANNED GIVING:

Your organization has a written planned giving (i.e. bequests, IRA charitable rollover, charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, real estate, etc.) plan in place to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization.

Sources for fundraising:

• join button (website)

• donate button (website)

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Twitter

• FindYourNews.Org

+note that we can make a unique link for each of these platforms for a specific campaign. For example, for NewsMatch21.

See instructions for links and such here.

Fundraising guide and resources + email newsletters

BlueLena

• was founded by an experienced team of publishers, journalists and newsmedia marketing executives to create a sustainable future for independent local media. We do so by deploying world class technology, and delivering the expertise and professional services to build and support subscription, membership and donation models for long-term success. In early 2020, BlueLena as formed specifically to support community-based alternative news and emerging digital media with audience management, and the creation of long-term sustainable reader revenue models.

• There are a variety of coaching programs and learning resources available to assist publishers with charting a path to successful reader revenue strategies, including the Membership Puzzle Project, GNI Subscription Lab, the Facebook Accelerator Program and the Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program.

• However, to pursue this strategic path successfully, publishers are faced with the daunting challenge of investing in the technology, the talent AND the expertise to successfully implement consumer revenue strategies that are critical to long-term viability.

• BlueLena removes those barriers and helps accelerate transformation.

Info districts are special districts that fund participatory media and civic communications projects to meet local news and information needs. Modeled after other kinds of special districts – like business improvement or library districts – info districts are established democratically, funded by a local tax, and accountable to the community they serve through a public board.

The primary CTAs/nudges should be for sustaining/monthly donations (AKA for people to become members)

What are our highest viewed pieces? Which ones do we have feedback on?

• Protest coverage

• Gentrification Explainer

• Economic Segregation Map

• Tear Gas Explainer

• VVC mini doc

• Area Commissions explainer

• What we raised last year

  1. What we did with that $

     1. what we spent it on

     2. What we accomplished

• Fundraising goal this year

  1. What we want to do with that $

     1. What we will spend it on

        1. 1. Content production

     2. What we intend to accomplish this year

        1. 1. financial goals re: new donors, nm goals, $15,000

     3. What we intend to accomplish in 3-5 years

1. Defend your coverage

against accusations of a liberal bias, “fake news” attacks and swirling misinformation

2. Explain what you do and don’t cover

including your story selection process and how you handle wire news

3. Talk about your sourcing

how facts can change quickly, when and how you cite polls and how you report election results

4. Explain how you work to be fair

clear up accusations of bias in news coverage, and separate opinion coverage from the newsroom

Go where your audience is

• Churn rate - how many people cancel + cohort based churn analysis - look at when people were onboarded and when cancel happens - certain times for sign up are stickier for retention, but may not have been most engaged cohort of donors and can look @ techniques for keeping those people

• # of donors per 1,000 unique visitors/page views

• Can help identify top performing articles/journalists/sections

• Top performing sources (sm, email, web)

• Look @ surveys, as readers why they became a donor

• Averages Press Patron's clients' supporters give

  1. $11 monthly

  2. $80/annual

  3. $70 one-time

• Donation experience:

  1. Be able to dive in and out of each page/step