I’ve had the pleasure of hearing fundraising expert Bernard Ross speak and have paralleled a lot of his tactics in the fundraising work I do with clients.  Integrating donor psychology with up and becoming cross-channel tactics have been the key ingredients to Pacesetter’s successful fundraising programs.  Ross has been featured in the February 25, 2010 edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy discussing some of these tips.  I’ve outlined three simple steps that integrate these two approaches to ensure that you’re soliciting donations in the most effective way possible.

1. Identify what donors are responding to and market towards those areas. Yes, I said market.  Every fundraising professional is a sales representative for their organization/institution, and every contact has to be about making that emotional appeal.
2. Determine what mediums of communication your donors are responding to and incorporate tactics that fit the donors’ personality.  This can vary across your overall donor base – segment and attack.
3. Solicit donations when the donor is most likely to contribute. By analyzing donor history, you can cut down on marketing costs by sending heavy solicitations around the timeframe that the donor is most likely to contribute.

Overall keys to success – use smart segmentation and build upon that personal appeal each and every time.