Online Fundraising: Multi-Channel vs. Integrated Campaigns – What's the Difference?

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Online Fundraising Multi-Channel vs. Integrated
Campaigns Whats the Difference?

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Online Fundraising

• Online fundraising has certainly gained traction
  over the years in the nonprofit world.
• Although nonprofits continue to use the
  traditional channels, like direct mail, theyve
  added new ways to reach donors, such as social
  media.
• This multi-channel approach to fundraising
  provides a variety of communication vehicles.
• But does it also mean a nonprofits fundraising
  is integrated?
•  
• Just because a nonprofit adds online fundraising
  does not mean it has adopted a truly integrated
  approach.
• The organization may simply be running multiple
  campaigns in multiple channels.
• So whats the difference? And why do nonprofit
  experts recommend integrated fundraising?

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Online Fundraising

• The Multi-Channel Approach
•  
• The multi-channel approach combines traditional
  channels with online fundraising channels.
• Campaigns distribute messages through direct
  mail, television, radio, newspapers, magazines,
  billboards, e-mail, websites, social media and
  more.
• The branding may be consistent and the timing
  coordinated, but the nonprofit doesnt develop a
  cross-channel messaging strategy and proactively
  manage the campaigns across the channels.
• The multi-channel approach gets used frequently
  in organizations where different teams manage
  different channels.
• For example, if a nonprofit has one team managing
  an annual pledge telethon, another managing
  direct mail and yet another managing online
  fundraising, building an integrated strategy will
  be pretty complicated.

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Online Fundraising

• The Integrated Approach
• Integrated fundraising is all about strategic
  messaging and moving prospective donors to
  action.
• The nonprofit marketing team creates a unified
  campaign thats distributed across multiple
  channels.
• Each channel used plays a vital role in the
  overall goal of the campaign.
• For example, online fundraising channels support
  traditional fundraising efforts and vice versa.
• When developed strategically from the beginning,
  an integrated campaign has the potential to
  perform well above the multi-channel approach.
• The more channels used to reach a donor, the
  greater likelihood of success.

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Online Fundraising

• The Integrated Approach
• Unlike multi-channel fundraising, integrated
  fundraising results are measured as a whole.
• For example, what was the response rate on a
  direct mailing or online fundraising campaign?
• Integrated fundraising would measure results for
  all the channels combined.
• The integrated fundraising philosophy is based on
  synergy.
• The combined effort of the whole is greater than
  the individual parts.
• Put another way, a lower performing channel may
  actually be driving donors to another channel to
  contribute.
• So, each channel should be considered as a
  contributor to the overall campaigns success
  regardless of its individual performance.

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Online Fundraising

• Challenges in Integrated Fundraising
•  
• Although integrated fundraising has the potential
  to yield much better results, the approach does
  present some issues.
• A single, integrated database containing donor
  information, such as solicitation and response
  history, is necessary to successfully distribute
  campaigns across channels.
•  
• Also, campaign testing becomes much more complex.
  
• For example, how does a nonprofit
  cost-effectively test market a magazine ad?
• Careful planning and tweaking of the testing will
  have to be factored into the campaign schedule
  and budget.
• As mentioned earlier, different departments
  within nonprofit organizations handling different
  channels will create difficulties with integrated
  campaigns.

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Online Fundraising

• Challenges in Integrated Fundraising
• In addition to coordinating multiple channels,
  the nonprofit has to coordinate multiple people
  with different objectives and experiences.
• The nonprofit will have to weigh the benefits of
  integrated fundraising to the costs of
  restructuring.
• Using an integrated approach in traditional and
  online fundraising is not just the latest
  marketing buzzword.
• Despite the challenges, its a meaningful and
  necessary strategy for improving campaign
  results.

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Online Fundraising
IPM Advancement offers over 75 years of
accumulated nonprofit consulting experience. We
typically begin a client engagement by auditing
annual traditional and online fundraising,
membership or advocacy programs. During this
process, IPM Advancement examines the entire
annual giving program in terms of donor
communications, organization history, database
issues, donor demographic and psychographic
profiles, fundraising history, pipeline
development, internal and external challenges,
and more. Our goal is to create greater
clarity for our nonprofit consulting clients over
their annual giving, membership and advocacy
programs, and then help them achieve higher
levels of success.
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About the Author
Edward Phillips, MBA, is Chief Creative Officer
of IPM Advancement, a leading non profit
fundraising company. Visit us at
http//www.ipmadvancement.com or call
623-687-3908 for more information about Online
Fundraising.