Lead Community Fundraising: Successfully Connecting People Digitally (Management for Professionals) 3030778487, 9783030778484

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Management for Professionals

Linda Mareen Neugebauer Irene Zanko

Lead Community Fundraising Successfully Connecting People Digitally

Management for Professionals

The Springer series Management for Professionals comprises high-level business and management books for executives. The authors are experienced business professionals and renowned professors who combine scientific background, best practice, and entrepreneurial vision to provide powerful insights into how to achieve business excellence.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10101

Linda Mareen Neugebauer • Irene Zanko

Lead Community Fundraising Successfully Connecting People Digitally

Linda Mareen Neugebauer Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising S.L. Málaga, Málaga, Spain

Irene Zanko DIRECT MIND GmbH Vienna, Austria

ISSN 2192-8096 ISSN 2192-810X (electronic) Management for Professionals ISBN 978-3-030-77848-4 ISBN 978-3-030-77849-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1 Translation from the language edition: Lead Community Fundraising by Irene Zanko, and Linda Mareen Neugebauer, # Der/die Herausgeber bzw. der/die Autor(en), exclusiv lizensiert durch Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature 2020. Published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. All Rights Reserved. # The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Foreword

This is a timely book to help fundraisers and charities connect people in the digital age. And that is more important than ever, because these are lonely times. It seems that the digital revolution has provided us with unprecedented opportunities for connection. Our social media are literally at our fingertips every waking hour of the day. They are with us when we are with people, and they are with us when we are alone. According to the report published by the International Telecommunication Union in 2020, more than half of the world population—4 billion people—use mobile Internet. And in European countries too, everyone is digitally connected. In Europe, an estimated 727.6 million people—around 87%— use the Internet. The prevalence of digital connectivity should really help us feel more connected with others than ever. But does it really? A study conducted in 2010 by the Mental Health Foundation in the UK, entitled “The lonely society?,” suggests the opposite. Almost one in two British adults said they believe that people in Britain are getting lonelier as time progresses and feel depressed due to being alone. And that is not only the case in the UK. In the USA, the same is happening. The loneliness is arguably greater these days than in previous generations, although Americans are more digitally connected than in any other age. But how can that be? There is practically no moment of the day or night now when we are alone—with our phones by our side and the Internet and social media surrounding us. Have we lost something important? And each other—our communities? It seems so. Robert Putnam provides another reason. In his seminal essay from 1995 “Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital,” he demonstrated that the previously strong networks of civic engagement and civil society in the USA are becoming increasingly weaker. But do we really have no other choice today than to allow communities to disappear? I think this book, in a unique way, presents us with an answer, and the answer is no. Fundraisers and charities alike can help people feel less lonely and more connected. They can help people feel that when they come together, they can make this world a better place. And they can help people feel that the digital reality we now live in does not have to be a big scary barrier that cuts us off from the real

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world—rather, it can become part of a vibrant community that we build through our newfound digital connectivity. How would this work? With all of us—including fundraisers and charities— focusing on the very fabric of what builds relationships: transparency, trust, and confidence. To do so, however, we have to remove the barriers that digital technology may create for us. Only then can we make the digital world more complete. But to do this, we have to reflect on how we think and how we feel in this digital world. Only when we know this, can we make it better than it is today. The last thing we should do is to hide from what is already happening and ignore the digital transformation. We cannot stop our world from going digital whether we like it or not. The longer we hide, the less able we will be to adapt to this new digital world, and the less good we can do with it. If we have to face this new, digital world, why shouldn’t we try to do it as well and as quickly as we can? This book offers its reader the ability to do just that. It helps its readers to become and remain successful digitally. By showing, for instance, how the existing can be integrated into the new. Because this new, digital world is based on the old one. Fundraisers and charities can then weave what is kept into what is changing. What is not changing is that people want to love themselves and love others. They also need to tell and share stories that allow them to experience that love. This hasn’t changed with the digital revolution. But what has changed is who is telling the story, who is connecting with whom and how. That is all. Thus, in catching up with and in leading the digital revolution in fundraising, we do not have to give up everything that we have learned and we have known about people, charities, and fundraising. We just need to know how to transfer what we know into the digital reality. A three-paragraph email with a seven-word title needs to be written differently from a four-page letter sent in an envelope, but the need that people have to be intrigued, excited, admired, and made to smile are the same. This book shows us how can we turn the digital media into our friends and how can we allow them to help us do what we do best. I think it is important that we use the right words to describe people based on what they aspire to do. This book found a word to describe the people who voluntarily provide their contact details to an organization so that the organization can provide them with the opportunity to help further by giving. They call them “leads.” With this term also comes the commitment that we want the conversion to happen in a way that will contribute to, not distract people from, the quality of relationships that they initiated with any given organization. Because, as we can read in Chap. 3, when generating leads, when collecting donations, it “is about connecting people with an organization, building real relationships and thus preparing the ground for future donations.” When leads are connected with an organization, they can also feel emotionally connected with the brand of the organization itself. Equally likely, they can connect with a child, a whale, or a piece of land that they want to help. They can also connect with other supporters like themselves, or even a charismatic leader at the helm of the organization. And this bond is important. Because the deeper we can take these emotional connections, the more meaningful giving will be for people. The more meaning giving provides to people, the more likely they are to continue to do

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it. Because what matters to people are the communities their giving creates. It is about helping people see, feel, and sense the others around them in a way that reduces their sense of loneliness and increases their sense of well-being. Therefore, this book takes you by the hand—in the spirit of the community idea—and show you by means of practical examples what others have tried in the past and what has worked. But even more important than the examples themselves, however, is that the most essential question of all is answered, namely: Why did something work well? Because only when this is clear can we transfer this knowledge to our own situations. For this reason, all of the ideas, procedures, and recommendations presented in this book are based on real examples from the recent past. These examples provide a number of valuable pointers for helping anyone interested in lead community fundraising to look and think in the right directions. The examples, illustrations, and procedures used in this book are doubly helpful. On the one hand, they help demystify lead community fundraising for newbies. The latter can find their own way based on what other organizations such as Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International, World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, or CARE have done. On the other hand, even experienced fundraisers can benefit from this book since it offers them a host of new possibilities and ideas that can try out in their own fundraising practice. Experienced fundraisers can compare what they are currently doing to how others are approaching the same task. They can examine where there is an overlap and where there is a difference. The digital world changes a lot faster than anything that we have seen before in traditional fundraising. Therefore, it is always important to ask yourself: what will never change, no matter how quickly our digital environment changes? Here are some possibilities: Our human desire to connect with others will not disappear even when one day we will not even be able to see our own children faceto-face. Our need to uphold values like human dignity, justice, transparency, freedom of choice, autonomy, trust, and self-determination will never change, even when their definitions may need to be modified to suit the emerging digital reality. And our desire to always grow into a collective that is better, stronger, and more caring for each other will not change. So let us use what the digital world has to offer us and apply what we can learn from this book, to meet our need to connect, to understand our values more deeply, and to achieve something that we have never seen or imagined before. Jen Shang

Preface: Why this book?

You can’t open new doors by following old ways! If we do what we have always done, the same thing will happen that has always happened. This also holds for donations. But how do you go down new paths? Without stumbling? Without any detours? Digital lead community fundraising represents new territory. With more than 40 practical examples from around the world, this book intends to map this topic, so that organizations—whether large-, small-, or medium-sized, whether experts in fundraising or newcomers—can digitally get leads and then, ultimately, donations as well. Because nowadays, even for organizations, there is no getting around the need to create a community—consisting of fans, followers, and potential donors— with which the organization constantly connects and cultivates an active exchange. Therefore, we do not need to have a fortune teller’s crystal ball or a time machine taking us into the future to dare to make the forecast now: lead community fundraising will develop into one of the most important fundraising techniques. With this book, we want to show the ways in which lead community fundraising can succeed and at the same time contribute to the international professionalization of digital lead community fundraising. For digital lead community fundraising is not hype, but rather a consequence of the digital transformation itself. And like the transformation itself, it is far from over; it is constantly evolving. What is valid today will be obsolete tomorrow. That is why, internationally, there are still very few books and publications that look at digital fundraising. And a look at the statistics shows that there is still plenty that could be done. There is still much room for improvement. We want to help make digital fundraising successful. And that only works if you share knowledge. Because people can only move forward together. Therefore, anyone who would like to share their experiences and suggestions with us is welcome to contact us. Because lead community fundraising works best when you do it together. Málaga, Spain Vienna, Austria

Linda Mareen Neugebauer Irene Zanko

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Acknowledgments

Our thanks go to the Spanish organization Cris contra el Cáncer and here especially to Marta Cardona, who has contributed a lot to the development of lead community fundraising through her trust and willingness to innovate, and to the agency network Direct Mind GmbH, which has been renowned for almost 40 years for pushing fundraising in many European countries in a practice-oriented manner.

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Contents

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How Digitalization Is Changing the World? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 How Digital Are we Already? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 What the Digital Implies: A World Full of Algorithms . . . . . 1.3 Is there a Digital Crisis of Confidence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 What Distinguishes the “Digital” from the Non-digital . . . . . 1.5 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Where Are we Currently in Digital Fundraising? . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Digitalization: The Bottleneck in Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Ten Truths in Digital Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Universal Opportunities for Digital Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 The Power of Empathy and Compassion . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2 The Power of Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.3 The Power of Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.4 The Power of Patterns of Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.5 May the Force Be with you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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New Digital World, New Digital Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 What Is a Lead? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 What Is the Goal of Lead Generation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 What Is Lead Nurturing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 What Is Lead Scoring? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 What Is Lead Routing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 What Are Data Mining and KDD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7 What Is Progressive Profiling? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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All about Lead Community Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 What Is Lead Community Fundraising? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 The most Important Things in Lead Community Fundraising: The Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 The Focus in Lead Community Fundraising: On People . . . .

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4.4 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Lead Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Who Else Is in your Lead Community? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 What Types of Lead Communities Are There? . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 How Can the Success of a Lead Community Be Measured? . . . 5.4 The Lead Community Life Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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This Is how Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Step 0: Lead Segments and Lead Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.1 I Act, Therefore I Am: Three Lead Segments . . . . . . 6.1.2 The Lead Types behind the iSegments . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Step 1: The Power of the Right Click Category . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Step 2: Use the Power of Stories and Patterns of Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.1 Good Versus Evil/the Fight against the Monster . . . . 6.3.2 From Beggar to King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.3 The Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.4 Suddenly in a Foreign World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.5 The Comedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.6 The Tragedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.7 The Rebirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3.8 Why these Stories and Interpretive Patterns Are So Important? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Step 3: Use the Power of Emotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.5 Step 4: Be Appreciative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 Step 5: The Resolution of the Action and “Hollow Clicks” . . 6.7 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Multi-cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 What It Is and What It Is Not: A Demarcation . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Personas: The Alpha and the Omega in the Multi-cycle . . . . 7.2.1 So Why Create Personas? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 This Is How the Lead Community Fundraising Multi-cycle Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.1 The Attract and Re-attract Phases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.2 The Connect and Re-connect Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.3 The Engage and Re-engage Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.4 The Delight and Re-delight Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7.4 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The How to Do Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Step 1: The Personas and What Is Important to Them . . . . . . 8.2 Step 2: How Much Involvement and What Mix Is Needed? . . . 8.3 Step 3: Which Channel to Which Leads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 Step 4: Build and Nurture the Lead Community . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 Step 5: What Makes a Good Lead Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6 Step 6: What Counts in the Donor Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 The Takeaway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Team . . . 9.1 Lead Community Manager 5.0—A New Fundraising Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This Works in Lead Community Fundraising: More Than 20 International Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.1 This Works in the Indirect Leads Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2 This Works in the Incentivized Leads Segment . . . . . . . . . . 10.3 This Works in the Involved Leads Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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The Most Important Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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And What’s Next? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.1 Corona and Digital Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2 Generations and Digital Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.3 Ethics and Digital Fundraising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Selected Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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How Digitalization Is Changing the World?

In truth, we are neither online nor offline, but onlife. Luciano Floridi (2017)

Everything is going digital. Our devices, our everyday life, and ourselves. We are talking about the Internet of Things and the fourth industrial revolution. We keep coming up with new terms such as industry 4.0 or platform industry to name the new. Because digitalization is changing all areas of life, data is becoming more and more important and significant. Today, we communicate not only with people, but also with machines and that leads to a dematerialization of things. Associated with this, there are also fears and insecurities. The “digital” is difficult to grasp for us. Too much happens in the background, across complex processes, across different points, and is not really visible to us. In people’s minds, the term big data is often associated with the invisible “digital power” of large corporations and state institutions over people (Dorschel 2015: 2). Nevertheless, we live more and more digitally. Today, according to the Global State of Digital in 2019, a person spends around a third of the day on the Internet, more precisely, 6 h and 42 min (Hootsuite 2019: 40). Half of this time is spent on a smartphone, as mobile communication continues to grow rapidly (Hootsuite 2019: 42). Our everyday reality now consists of emoticons and a multitude of other digital givens without us really being aware of it. But what exactly is digital changing in our world? In short, everything. The digital is changing our lives and the way we live, speak, and deal with one another profoundly. We can now find a digital component in almost every area of our life. As a result, the digital world is rapidly shaping our lives, including our physical existence. There is a merging of the digital and physical worlds. This has a direct effect on our existence.

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_1

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How Digitalization Is Changing the World?

How Digital Are we Already?

The best answer to this question is to take a look at the economy. This makes sense since fundraising is often based on the specifications, trends, and also the approaches of the economy. The question is: where do things stand with the digital economy? The digital economy in Europe is very much behind that in the USA. According to a study by the EU Commission, 41% of European employees have little or no digital skills (Keese 2016: 18). There is a lack of specialist staff and a lack of necessary education needed for the new way of thinking that this networked world of subjects and objects demands. This shows that digitalization is still in its infancy; it is nowhere near as advanced as it could be. But in some areas it is already very far along. A look at digital marketing and sales shows that. Here SEO and SEM come first. According to Statcounter, as of October 2020, Google had an incredible market share of 92.7% and an absolute monopoly in online marketing (Statcounter Global Stats 2020a). If you look at the social networks, it is no different. According to Statcounter, as of October 2020, there was also a monopoly here: Facebook possesses a market share of 71.9%, with Pinterest ranking second with 12.3% (Statcounter Global Stats 2020b). Almost 68% of the global online advertising budget goes to Google and Facebook (eMarketer 2019). This shows that these tools are well received. Yes, there is a certain gold rush feeling. And there is something else to be seen: digital marketing clearly works, otherwise, it would not be so widely accepted in business. Moreover, the digital will also work in fundraising.

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What the Digital Implies: A World Full of Algorithms

Algorithms are not an invention of digitalization. They have been around a lot longer. Since the invention of writing, we have been able to organize entire societies according to a kind of algorithm (Harari 2018: Chap. 4, para. 10). After all, an algorithm is nothing more than a methodical sequence of steps with the help of which calculations can be made, problems can be solved or decisions made. An algorithm is not a specific calculation process, but rather the method that you use when you want to calculate something (Harari 2018: Chap. 2, para. 4). A very simple example of an algorithm is a baking recipe. The methodical description of the preparation sequence is ultimately nothing more than an algorithm. In a baking recipe, the ingredients can change, in mathematics it is the numbers that can be used differently. Ultimately, however, in both cases the method always remains the same. Machine algorithms, for example, can be found in a fully automatic coffee machine. In this way, the machine knows exactly which sequence to activate when someone presses the button for coffee with milk, and which one when someone presses the button for espresso. Algorithms have been around for a long time, but digitalization has increased their numbers enormously. This leads to problems. On the one hand, because,

1.2 What the Digital Implies: A World Full of Algorithms

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according to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, more than half of all Germans don't know how to use the term (Fischer et al. 2018: 14). Ultimately, only one in ten can explain how an algorithm really works. On the other hand, because many algorithms are becoming so complex and opaque that they can only be carried out by machines. And that changes everything. If a receptionist registers you at the hospital in an analog way, he/she may follow certain guidelines very strictly, but he/she could always turn a blind eye, which makes it much more human and personal. What will this look like in the future when you log into a machine in the hospital? The machine has neither a consciousness that allows it to empathize with the patient’s suffering, nor the desire to really help—only via its algorithm. What a highly intelligent machine will probably still be able to do is convey the content to you in such a way that it is precisely formulated in your language, fits your current state of mind and is precisely tailored to your entire personality. Are algorithms good or bad? In any case, the majority of Germans feel very uncomfortable about machines making decisions about things independently of people (Fischer et al. 2018: 6). In fact, 73% of respondents even want to ban fully automated decisions made without human involvement (Fischer et al. 2018: 7). As far as the transparency of algorithms is concerned, this has recently even been discussed at the political level. The idea is to make algorithm-based processes, decisions, products, and services verifiable for the consumer. The main aim here is to prevent discrimination, unfavorable treatment, or fraud. In addition, the multitude of digital algorithms could trigger another profound change in society. One that could end well or badly. It is something that has often happened—when new techniques revolutionize work. In the age of industrialization, machines took over part of human work. What the machines did back then was primarily to optimize our manual tasks, as in the case of assembly-line work. Ultimately, the cognitive work involved stayed with us humans. Today’s highly intelligent algorithms can also take over the cognitive part of our human work and not only that. The “smart” machines can carry out these cognitive tasks much faster and more efficiently than we can. But what does that mean for us humans? This could lead to a complete reorientation of our digital society. It could lead to a world in which we are free to think. Or to a world that, according to Harari, is directed by digital algorithms. But this means that we would have to give up our idea that people are individuals and that every person has a free will that determines what is beautiful for us and what the meaning of our lives is. And then we would no longer be guided by the internal stories that our remembering self-invents but would instead be an integral part of a huge global network (Harari 2018: Chap. 9, para. 27). Which world comes into being—that is up to each and every one of us.

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How Digitalization Is Changing the World?

Is there a Digital Crisis of Confidence?

Digital media—especially social networks such as Facebook and Instagram—allow us to participate in the lives of others as onlookers. So it would be logical for people’s trust in others to increase through digitalization, wouldn’t it? It would. But logic isn't everything. And at the moment, things look different. According to a global survey conducted by the Centre for International Governance Innovation, 75% of Internet users do not trust social media such as Facebook and other platforms (CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey 2019c). The emergence of false news, so-called “fake news,” is one of the main reasons for this. An unbelievable two of five Internet users said they had already been deceived by fake news at least once (CIGI-Ipsos 2019a: 60). Where did that happen? Two of three Internet users encountered fake news on Facebook (CIGI-Ipsos 2019a: 37), 65% more generally on social networks and 60% on the Internet in general (CIGI-Ipsos 2019a: 36). For this reason, there is increasingly more concern about our privacy on the Internet. For instance, 8 of 10 people did not feel safe online in 2019 (CIGI-Ipsos 2019b: 8). Moreover, by 2019, at least one in every two people was more concerned about their privacy on the internet than they had been just one year previously (CIGI-Ipsos 2019b: 10). The Edelman Trust Barometer from 2018 presents a similar picture. This report speaks of 2017 as the year of the crisis of confidence and 2018 as the year in which there was a struggle for the truth. Finally, 2020 is seen as the year in which trust is based on competence and ethics and is therefore decisive for future success (Edelman 2020: 4). And this is also the case because there is a crisis of confidence in 12 of the 28 countries examined (Edelman 2020: 7). Around 60% of those surveyed have the feeling that technological development is out of control. Confidence in technology is falling, as is confidence in the quality of information (Edelman 2020: 15f). An unbelievable 76% of people even believe that fake news is being used as a weapon—in the last two years this number has risen by a full six percentage points. And 57% of those surveyed are of the opinion that the media are contaminated with fake news (Edelman 2020: 16). This probably also leads to the European Union (EU) being, in global terms, very skeptical about information on social media sources. In the EU only 29% trust information from social media sources. And this number continues to sink (Edelman 2020: 59). All of this shows that there is a digital crisis of confidence. But this crisis is not just digital. This condition is probably not (only) due to the digital media themselves but reflects the world itself. For the world in which we live is very often associated with innovation, flexibility, and acceleration, but, conversely, it is very rigid in ecological, social, emotional, and cultural aspects (Brocchi 2012). And what’s more—on these levels our world is based on control and distrust. And that also affects the digital world. Even well-intentioned image campaigns made by Facebook, Amazon, and Google will not help here. We feel that our data is not being adequately protected. And basically, we don't even know what is really being done with it (Watson 2015). Thanks to Edward Snowden and the public disclosure

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on Facebook’s biggest scandal so far, in 2018, we can at least get a sense of the terrifying reality of our digital data. Ultimately, lack of transparency is the means by which control can be exercised in the digital world. It’s an emotional, social, and technical problem. Ulrich Dolata describes this very well, because the digital giants such as Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple are all headquartered in the USA and dominate more than just the essential offerings and markets of the Internet. As the operators of its central infrastructures, they also regulate access to the network, structure users’ communication options, are essential drivers of the innovation process and, as major employers, shape the working conditions in the “commercial internet” as well (Dolata 2018: 1). This means that the digital giants exercise control themselves—they are a new “overriding central authority” (Yeung 2017). There is little trust here. And if there is any, it is trust in data security in the technical sense (Nissenbaum 2001: 635ff). The importance of this technical data security became apparent when the European Data Protection Regulation came into force in May 2018. Many companies have been forced to start all over again with data collection. This makes it clear how important it is to handle data ethically. Gartner Inc., an IT research company, predicted in 2015 that half of all business ethics violations in 2018 would be traceable back to the improper use of big data (Gartner Inc. 2015). But back to the topic. It takes trust—or at least the feeling of it. Because without trust there is no relationship with the donor and thus ultimately no donation. But how do you build trust? According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, exactly two factors are required for this: competence and ethics. And a lot of ethics. Because ethical values such as integrity and reliability are three times as important for building trust as competence. That’s good for non-profit organizations (NPOs). Because NPOs are seen as very ethical (Edelman 2020: 22ff.). Building trust is the motto—and in the best case, heralding a “new era of trust” (Yeung 2017). An era in which Internet-based transactions take place transparently, quickly, securely, and without overriding central authority (Yeung 2017). And that is possible. Because digital media offer the best prerequisites for this: They are basically dialogic, can allow freedom, and are democratic: “Every living human who has ever, and will ever, press an ‘Enter’ key has to bear responsibility for our digital legacy” (Blasingame 2018: Foreword, para. 5). A first step in the right direction is transparency—because this creates trust. Always. Digital, too.

1.4

What Distinguishes the “Digital” from the Non-digital

Online and offline don't work the same. They're different. The nature of the digital is also different. The digital has four characteristics that distinguish it from the non-digital. You should know all four to avoid falling into the traps of digitalization. The first characteristic: The digital is incomplete (Spiekermann 2019: 80). Perhaps you are now thinking, well, that’s not right. But think back to the moment when you ordered an item of clothing online, maybe a pair of nice trousers, and were then completely disappointed with them. Why was that? Because the digital could

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not transmit the intense smell of the fabric, nor how the fabric feels on your leg, nor the trousers’ quality. The same thing happens when looking for a partner on the Internet. There you will find photos and a few texts about a person that impress you. We quickly build a mental picture of this person and we begin to digitally fall in love. But when we meet this person in the real world, our expectations are often disappointed—because the digital is incomplete. A personal conversation, however, is “complete.” We can actually perceive a person with all of our senses. We can smell him, we see his facial expressions, hear his voice, we can feel his skin when we hug and we know very quickly whether we are attracted to this person or whether they repel us. We lack all of these human perceptual abilities in the digital world. That makes the digital incomplete. And that is also the case in digital fundraising—here too there is a lack of the interpersonal, that touching with all senses. And here even big data can only help to a limited extent. Because, according to Spiekermann, “what life is really about cannot be recorded with data because all these values that can be felt by people in a situation are not visible and cannot be measured digitally” (Spiekermann 2019: 84). Big data, therefore, never really reaches the core of the human situation. According to Felix Stalder, Facebook makes no distinction between data about users and the use itself. For example, if someone posts a message that is classified as “happy,” that is considered sufficient grounds for claiming that the person is in a really good mood. Such an incorrect evaluation of data ultimately led to the financial crisis in 2008 and the failure of such risk models (Stalder 2017: para. 4). It is very difficult to express social processes in numbers. Even if, according to Stalder, such findings are often not meaningful, they are still used for decisive evaluations. And that can lead to misinterpretations and wrong assumptions about the donors. But now back to the characteristics of the digital. It is not only incomplete, but also prone to errors. And this is the second characteristic: The digital is prone to errors (Spiekermann 2019: 94). Why is that so? Because software systems are always prone to errors. Anyone who has anything to do with them knows this only too well. Fundraising, which is based on a digital software system, is also subject to errors. This cannot be changed, but we should at least know and consider it. For machines also make mistakes, even if less often than we do. That is why it is so important that we always implement processes in fundraising in which “manual work” is not excluded. This also makes the digital process a bit more human again. By “lending a hand,” we oversee and monitor the digital processes we have created ourselves and do not let them become self-regulating processes because: “The only biological thing in the digital world is we humans. We made it and we control it” (Juan Ángel Verdú Zamora, private conversation with L. Neugebauer in March 2019, Málaga, Spain). The third characteristic is: The digital has no consciousness. That sounds plausible at first glance, but if you take a closer look the question arises, how can a consciousness be recognized at all? A question whose answer science has yet to find complete agreement on. In spite of this, one assumes there is a consciousness if there is a subjective experience and associated desire and sensations (Harari 2018: Chap. 3, para, 3).

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The digital in general does not have such abilities, despite its increasingly “smart” intelligence. Or does your smartphone feel joy when you pick it up or give you an angry signal because it is calling for you? Hardly likely. But the digital can do something different. The algorithms that our systems take over in fundraising can carry out millions of calculations within a second, such as setting the time of dispatch, selecting the people to be contacted, or text variants. The system also notes when the email was sent and when an email was opened and read. If there is no response after an email is opened, it will send another email to this specific group of people. However, all of this happens without consciousness—even if it sometimes seems otherwise. And something else, a fourth and final point that defines the essence of the digital, namely: The digital looks so perfect, but it’s not. In the digital world everything looks similar and professional. Everything is so nicely arranged and lined up. What does a letter in a computer font ultimately say about an organization and what does it reveal about it? There is a lack of authenticity in the digital world and that leads to the question: “How real is what I’m seeing?” If I can’t trust what I’m seeing, how am I supposed to build a relationship? These four characteristics make up the essence of the digital—and mark the difference between the digital and the real. Because if we see the world through offline glasses, we are guaranteed to fail online. In fundraising, but also in everyday life, even if we are just buying pants or looking for a partner.

1.5

The Takeaway

Digitalization has arrived in all areas of life—and it is being used successfully as a marketing tool in business. Digitalization is changing our entire world. In order to react to this, it is important to know that the digital functions differently from the non-digital. And it does so from its very essence. It is fundamentally different from direct communication—and you have to take this into account when it comes to fundraising. And not only because of that, but also because of the fact that there is little transparency and therefore little trust in digital media; instead, there are algorithms and associated dangers that one should be aware of. With regard to digital fundraising, this means: We need more—trust and transparency—in digital media. Because this is the only way to successfully attract donors and build a longlasting relationship.

References Blasingame J (2018) The 3rd ingredient: the journey of analog ethics into the world of digital fear and greed. SBN Books, Florence, AL Brocchi D (2012) Einleitung. Negatives Menschenbild und Separationsgedanke der modernen Gesellschaft. Ursprung und Wirkung, 2nd corrected edn, para. 1. Cultura 21, Cologne CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey (2019a) Internet security & trust. Part 3: social media, fake news & algorithms

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CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey (2019b) Internet security & trust. Parts 1+2: Internet security, online privacy & trust CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey (2019c) Highlights. 2019 CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey Highlights. www. cigionline.org/internet-survey-2019. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 Dolata U (2018) Kollektivität und Macht im Internet. Soziale Bewegungen–Open Source Communities–Internetkonzerne. Springer-Verlag, Wiesbaden Dorschel J (2015) Praxishandbuch Big Data. Springer Gabler-Verlag, Wiesbaden Edelman Trust Barometer (2020) Global report. https://www.edelman.com/trust/2020-trustbarometer eMarketer (2019) Global ad spending update 2019. Summary Fischer S, Petersen T, Stiftung B (2018) Was Deutschland über Algorithmen weiß und denkt: Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Bevölkerungsumfrage. Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh Floridi L (2017) Die Mangroven-Gesellschaft. Die Infosphäre mit künstlichen Akteuren teilen. In: Otto P, Gräf E (eds) 3TH1CS. Die Ethik der digitalen Zeit. E-Book. 978-3-944362-31-1. iRights Media Gartner Inc (2015) Press release: gartner says, by 2018, half of business ethics violations will occur through improper use of big data analytics. www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/ 2015-10-07-gartner-says-by-2018-half-of-business-ethics-violations-will-occur-throughimproper-use-of-big-data-analytics Accessed 08 Oct 2020 Harari YN (2018) Homo Deus: Eine Geschichte von Morgen. C.H. Beck, Munich Hootsuite (2019) Digital 2019: essential insights into how people around the world use the internet, mobile devices, social media and e-commerce. https://hootsuite.com/resources/digital-in-2019. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 Keese C (2016) Silicon Germany: wie wir die digitale transformation schaffen. Knaus-Verlag, Munich Nissenbaum H (2001) Securing trust online: wisdom or oxymoron. Boston University Law Review 81(3):635–664 Spiekermann S (2019) Digitale Ethik. Ein Wertesystem für das 21. Jahrhundert. Munich: Droemer Knaur Stalder F (2017) Algorithmen, die wir brauchen. Überlegungen zu neuen technopolitischen Bedingungen der Kooperation und des Kollektiven. In: Otto P, Gräf E (eds) 3TH1CS. Die Ethik der digitalen Zeit. E-Book. 978-3-944362-31-1. iRights Media Statcounter Global Stats (2020a) Search engine market share worldwide. Oct 2019–Oct 2020. https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 Statcounter Global Stats (2020b) Social media stats worldwide. Oct 2019–Oct 2020. https://gs. statcounter.com/social-media-stats. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 Watson SM. (2015) Data is the New “___”. http://dismagazine.com/discussion/73298/sara-mwatson-metaphors-of-big-data/. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 Yeung K (2017) Fazit. Dürrezeit für Freiheit im Rahmen von Recht und Gesetz? Blockchain, Transaktionssicherheit und das große Versprechen automatisierter Rechtsdurchsetzung, para. 1. In: Otto P, Gräf E (eds) 3TH1CS. Die Ethik der digitalen Zeit. E-Book. 978-3-944362-31-1. iRights Media

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Where Are we Currently in Digital Fundraising?

No development in recent human history has had more far-reaching influences on social and economic structures than digitalization. Accordingly, it also turns the common principles of successful brand communication upside down.—GfM, Schweizische Gesellschaft für Marketing 2018: 2

The wave of digitalization has also reached fundraising. The question is, will it be a tsunami that leaves no stone unturned? Or is it a gentle wave that slowly surrounds what already exists—like an ocean current. A look at 2020 leads to the conclusion that it will probably be the former. Because corona is the fire accelerator that will probably drive digitalization forward even faster—at least that is what Kid Möchel (2020) writes with regard to stationary retail in the Kurier. And that probably also applies to other areas. According to Socialbakers, the global reach of Facebook ads increased by 12.3% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter of 2019. In Western Europe there was an increase of 31.3%, in North America an enormous plus of 135%. And this increased reach of Facebook ads correlates with the fact that more and more advertising is being shown on Facebook (Socialbakers 2020; Schasche 2020). And this trend will probably continue—in fundraising as well. The good news: the wave doesn’t have to crash over our heads; we can all learn to surf on it. What exactly is changing digitalization? You will find the answer in the following sections of this chapter.

2.1

Digitalization: The Bottleneck in Fundraising

I believe in the horse.The automobile is a temporary phenomenon.—Wilhelm II, last German Emperor and King of Prussia

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_2

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When the automobile was invented, many were skeptical whether this new technology could prevail and whether it was better than the old one—the horses at that time. The same skepticism is being expressed about digitalization today. Here, too, there are still many who do not want to believe that this will lead to a comprehensive revolution in fundraising. Others, however, firmly believe it will. As quoted above, the Swiss Society for Marketing thinks, with regard to digitalization, that no development in recent human history has had more far-reaching influences on social and economic structures (Gfm 2018: 2). And the corona crisis in 2020 also clearly shows how important digital fundraising is for organizations. Aside from fundraising, the effects are even more massive: In 2017, the World Economic Forum said that of the 500 largest US consumer goods companies listed on the stock exchange, around 41% have disappeared since 2000. And more will follow. The World Economic Forum predicts: 50% of the companies that now exist will disappear in the next 10 years (World Economic Forum 2018: 4, 6). In the fundraising area itself, it has been shown in recent years that it is becoming increasingly difficult to win new donors with a classic donor letter. Why? Because a lot is changing with digitalization. Even the donors themselves. 1. The way we are is changing Perhaps you have already noticed: The “old donors fade away,” but our current “old donors” “function differently” than the generations preceding them. And this is the case, even though the baby boomers—those born in Austria between 1956 and 1969—are now reaching “donor age.” The GfK generation study from Germany says it very clearly: “The current 60-year-olds will in future behave differently than the current 70-year-olds due to the conditions under which their age group grew up” (Gfk Charity Scope 2017: 2). The reasons for this lie in the different events that shaped the different generations and also in the different media practice. Because while the generations before them—today’s donors—grew up with very little technology, this is different from the boomer generation. The latter are also digital immigrants, but they are the first generation who grew up with manageable technical devices—from cars and washing machines to dishwashers and radios (Rupps 2010: 61). Even in their youth they spent a lot of time on technology—on music cassettes, instant cameras, records, VHS cassettes—and as young adults on television, game consoles, and computers (Rupps 2010: 62 f.). Emails only became part of their media practice in their 30s (Rupps 2008: 141). But today they have arrived on social networks and on the internet. The boomer generation lives a digital life today— they make their transfers online and are active in social networks. Letters are increasingly perceived as advertising, as we see from our own experience, but direct mail is still the medium that generates the most donations in many countries. The emphasis here is on “still.” In Austria, according to the Golden Ager study by Marketagent.Com, around 92% of people between 50 and 59 years of age are on the internet, and 30% of these are in social networks (Marketagent.Com and Schwabl 2019: 25, 43). Of those who use social media, 90.8% of the 50- to 59-year-olds state that they use WhatsApp. Almost 71.4% of this group use

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Facebook, 77% YouTube, and 24.3% Instagram. This differs only partially from the usage behavior of millennials who are between 15 and 24 years old: 93% of them use WhatsApp, 74.5% Facebook, 89.2% YouTube, and 56.4% Instagram (Marketagent. Com and Schwabl 2019: 45). The Golden Ager study results show that the 50+ generation has arrived in the world of social networks—and thus also in digitalization. This is also consistent with the fact that 87.5% of the around 1500 respondents between 50 and 57 would give up alcohol for a week, but only 25.8% would do without the Internet and only 25.4% would do without mobile phones (Marketagent. Com and Schwabl 2019: 33). But the affinity to social networks and digital media is not the only thing that distinguishes the boomer generation in Austria from the generations before them. This generation of the economic boom children is also the first to be consumer oriented, but at the same time this generation is also critical and questions itself and others (von Becker 2014: 133; Billig and Geist 2014). And they really are critical when it comes to donations, at least according to a study from the USA. Baby boomers in the States go to much greater lengths than their parents’ generation to figure out how an organization uses their money before deciding to donate. And not only that. Around 44% of the surveyed baby boomers from the USA want to decide how their donations are used—only 15% of their parents wanted that (Fluke 2017). Baby boomers are not only consumers, they are also and above all group people who feel comfortable with each other and take responsibility for others (von Becker 2014: 112f, 138). The following direct marketing study from the United Kingdom also shows how great the change is. Here donors were asked what motivates them to donate. In the baby boomer age group, the answers were almost equally distributed.1 In the group of older donors who were born before the war, there was a huge difference: in direct mailing. For older donors the index is 400, for baby boomers it is 150. This shows that in the group of the previous generation the value is more than 160% higher than for baby boomers (dms 2008: 14). The importance of the classic donor letter is also declining in Germany: In 2015, 24.7% of the Germans surveyed stated that the donation letter initiated the donation. In 2019 it was only 19.3% (GfK Charity Panel and Corcoran 2020: 21). This leads to the conclusion that the baby boomer generation acts differently than their parents. And this holds when it comes to donations. Today it is no longer enough if something is important and urgent in the eyes of the NPO. It must also be important and urgent for potential donors. This means that the reason for the donation must also match the preferences, values, and passions of the donor. But these values, preferences and passions do not arise in a social nirvana, they arise in community with others—in social space. They arise through everyday life, through living and being in a social society (Blumer 1973: 90; Meinefeld 1976: 93; Hall

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The other possible answers were: calls for donations on TV, calls for donations on the radio, calls for donations in newspapers and magazines, calls for donations on the Internet, street and door advertising, collections by friends / colleagues, and current events.

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1980a: 34). That means that we interpret the world from our context, based on our experiences. And we also interpret donation letters, donation mailings, and other appeals from this lifeworld context. And this contextuality can also be found in the way people receive donation letters (Krotz 2008: 132; Hepp et al. 2009: 9; Hepp 2010: 18). This means that media content can only be decoded on the basis of our own everyday life, our interests, and relevance (Hörning and Reuter 2008: 109ff; Mannheim 1980: 212). Stuart Hall, one of the greats of cultural studies, identifies three different ways in which content can be received—or, as he says, decoded: (1) The dominant-hegemonic reading of the content. Here, when decoding the content, people follow what the makers want (Hall 1980b: 134; Storey 1996: 12 f.). They almost see it the same way. (2) The negotiated reading in which people generally understand the big picture, goodwill, or the national interest, but only agree partially (Hall 1980b: 137). Here, the legitimacy of the hegemonic event definition is confirmed while—on a rather restricted, situational level—meaning is created on the basis of deviating rules (Hepp 2010: 119). (3) The oppositional reading, in which the decoding deviates completely from the preferred reading, even though the recipient understands the dominant-hegemonic code rationally (Hall 1980b: 138, 2010: 119). That means: What we ultimately see in fundraising appeals—whether online or offline—lies in our own horizon of relevance and emerges from our own lives. We humans actively decode media content and assign it the meaning it has for us in this society. And that’s a problem from a fundraising perspective. Because through digitalization, there are ever more stories. And with them ever more of those that you share, like, or comment on. While in the age of direct mail the dominant-hegemonic reading was adopted, the meaning of the digital content—and also the appeals for donations—is now being negotiated digitally online or the opposing reading is chosen through the discourse. When that happens, it reduces the chance of successful fundraising. This can be explained with the Katz and Liebes encoding–decoding models. Katz and Liebes are important representatives of cultural studies and one thing that they have developed is a typology of involvement. They start from the aforementioned different ways of reading content: on the one hand, the dominant-hegemonic reading, which leads to a referential decoding, and on the other hand, the oppositional reading, which leads to a critical decoding. Both types of decoding can generate hot or cold involvement (Katz and Liebes 1993: 68ff.). Hot statements are very emotionally charged and designed for confrontation; cold ones are very cognition heavy. They are oppositional, but not designed for confrontation (Katz and Liebes 1993: 109, 128). Table 2.1, adapted to fundraising, shows this. This typology is in part essential for fundraising (see Table 2.1). Because it shows that the reception or decoding of content can also lead to undesirable side effects. Firstly, that the story told is understood as a fictional construct—and thus as untrue. And secondly, that it could be assumed that the story told in fundraising is intended to induce a certain action—i.e., to manipulate in a negative sense. Both are counterproductive for generating donations. And that, online and offline.

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Table 2.1 The four forms of involvement, based on Katz and Liebes (1993: 128), adapted by I. Zanko Four forms of involvement Referential decoding A lot of Moral involvement—This is where the emotion content in the donor appeals or in the communication is considered true. For example, the potential donor has `compassion and the need to help A lot of cognition

Ludic involvement—This means a cognitively and playfully negotiated reading. Here, e.g., the question is dealt with how this will continue in the future. It’s kind of a thought experiment

Critical decoding Ideological involvement—Here people think that there is a manipulative message in the content of the donor appeal or the communication, e.g., an effort to inspire pity, to get someone to donate ... Aesthetic involvement—Here the content of the donor appeal or the communication is understood as fiction, and as a “story”

2. The way we communicate is changing There have never been so many ways to communicate. In addition to traditional communication options—such as direct, personal conversations, telephone calls, and letters—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and messaging services are now part of everyday practice. And not just for young people, but for large parts of society (Marketagent.Com and Schwabl 2019: 44). The number of people between the ages of 50 and 59 years using smartphones is increasing. From 2012 to 2018, their number in Germany rose from 7% to 77%. Among the 60- to 69-year-old Germans the number rose from 4% to 58%. And active Internet use also increased immensely during this period: active Internet use among 50- to 59-year olds rose from 72% in 2012 to 91% in 2018. And active Internet use among 50- to 69-year olds increased in the same period from 50% to 74% (Nürnberg Institut 2018). A similar picture can be assumed for Austria and other countries. And that has an impact on how—and with which media—we interact. This is also evident in everyday situations, such as when we leave the house. We used to ask ourselves, do we have our keys and wallet with us? Today, it is the cell phone that cannot be missing. And this change in communication has consequences—it changes us as humans. According to Bruno Latour, we no longer act alone—in the sense of actor–network theory. We have new “partners in action”—i.e., new techniques that also act. Together with us. And this joint action also affects us all because the way in which we act with media is changing. One change is that our average attention span is melting away. In 2015, it was 8.25 seconds or below the level of a goldfish (9 seconds) (Pyczak 2018: 54). And it will probably continue to shrink. Offers of information and communication rain down upon us from all sides—and at the same time. Thus, contents must have immediate appeal, and be immediately recognizable and understandable; otherwise, they will not be noticed. But that’s not the only change. Another is that we “are returning to the campfire.” The stories no longer belong to one organization/compan/medium—

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they belong to everyone and are changed together. One speaks of a new age that is beginning: the age of stories, in which the best story wins (Buster 2013: 13). But that is not the only effect that social networks—or Facebook—have. Above all, Facebook influences how we communicate. And not just because Facebook with its 1.8 billion daily users in September 2020 (Roth 2020) is larger than China— with its 1.39 billion inhabitants (Länderdaten 2020), but also on two other, essential levels. On the one hand, the presence of faces and pseudo-personal stories in social networks creates the fiction of a personal relationship. Elisabeth Wehling even described Facebook as a closeness generator at the Digital Gamechangers Festival 2018: Because the faces, the friendly tone, the stories all create the impression of closeness—even though there is actually no personal relationship. On the other hand, Facebook’s algorithm—and with it the technology itself—influences how we communicate. Because only those contents are shown to a large group of recipients that are often liked, commented on, and shared. The others simply get lost in the maelstrom of communication. What remains is content that either polarizes and/or content that fits your own filter bubble (Digital Gamechangers Festival 2018). And something else is different from the good old days—before Facebook, before Twitter, before Instagram and Co. The nature of communication is changing. This is no longer a mass media one-way street as it was in times when radio, television, and print ruled alone. Especially in social networks, which are naturally interactive forms of media, communication takes the form of a dialogue (Gfm 2018: 2, 7). That said, it changes how the story is told. Instead of “one person speaks, everyone listens,” it is now “one person speaks, everyone speaks.” What does it take? Context and relevance (Bachér 2018). Otherwise the worst could happen, namely: “People saw it; they just didn’t care” (Vaynerchuk 2013: xvi). Because it is not enough for the ad to reach the recipient—what this recipient sees must be important enough to trigger an action—a click, a like, a comment (Vaynerchuk 2013: xvi). The fact that media practice has changed radically within such a short period of time allows us to conclude that old behavior patterns are becoming obsolete, and people are changing with the media. To put it in the words of R.E.M: “It’s the end of the world as we know it”—at least in fundraising. 3. The way marketing and fundraising work is changing “We didn’t do anything wrong,but somehow we lost everything.”—Stephen Elop, Nokia boss (in Der Standard, 06-20-2019. p 11)

New media—including social media—do what they always do. They displace and complement the old media (Faulstich 2002: 159). Radio has taken large parts of the audience from the print sector, television has taken its viewers from radio, and the Internet has taken its users from newspapers, radio, and television. Moreover, social networks are in the process of overtaking all the others and attracting the greatest possible attention—because with the emergence of smartphones and mobile Internet, the world of undivided offline attention has almost ceased to exist (Vaynerchuk

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2013: 4). But if attention is being absorbed in the black hole of social networks, then nonprofit organizations and all others who want to attract leads have to be where the attention is—on social networks. 4. What does that mean? All of this leads to the end of the fundraising world as we all know it. But burying your head in the sand doesn’t help. It never works. A sentence regularly ascribed to Albert Einstein is fitting here: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens far too often in fundraising at the moment. Old patterns of action are continued, old traditions of thought, old ideas. It’s still going well, but the question is, for how much longer? And in Great Britain and Ireland the largest nonprofit organizations have been shrinking for years, and new ways of attracting new donors are urgently needed (O’Flynn 2019: 20). And perhaps the more important question is, what do we do instead? To answer this question, we are trying to work out how to survive this end of the world in fundraising. And become digitally successful. Because digitalization cannot be stopped—but it can be mastered and shaped. But to do this, we all have to accept and respond to the changes it brings with it. Richard Turner, one of the fundraising greats, also postulates: “Fundraising needs to change” (Turner 2016).

2.2

Ten Truths in Digital Fundraising

Digitalization does not spare fundraising. But for digital fundraising to succeed, these ten challenges must be mastered. We have come across these truths again and again in our research. And we have collected them in order to present them here at a glance. Because being acquainted with them should help us to successfully overcome stumbling blocks on the way to the new digital fundraising world: • Digital optimization measures do not guarantee donations. In fundraising, people often “only” talk about optimizing existing digital resources, such as optimizing the donation site, optimizing forms or the position in the Google ranking or optimizing social media content. That in itself is okay, but unfortunately not a strategy, just a measure for optimizing existing resources. Because if I have no visitors to my homepage, for example, or if I occupy a niche topic that nobody is looking for on the Internet, optimization measures will be of no use to me. What I am missing is a higherlevel digital fundraising strategy that will lead traffic to my website and landing pages in a predictable and profitable way.

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• The digital communication channels are only part of the strategy and not the strategy itself. Often only the digital channels are listed in fundraising through which an organization can attract supporters, donors, or regular givers. There are bullet points like email marketing and social networks like Facebook. Unfortunately, this list of channels doesn’t really have anything to do with a digital fundraising strategy. It only shows the digital channels through which I can ultimately achieve my goal with a set strategy. • Missing definition of terms: digital definitional chaos. The digital world is much faster and more complex and also includes providers with different perspectives, which is generally positive. Except when it leads to a definitional chaos. Often, within an agency or organization, one and the same thing is named with several different terms. Not only does this lead to confusion, but it also prevents professional digital fundraising. The following example makes this clearer. Leads are sometimes named after the channel through which they were acquired digitally, such as Facebook leads or PPC leads. Others call the leads, depending on the campaign, in most cases “signature leads” or “petition leads.” Ultimately, however, a Facebook lead can also be a petition lead, etc., which leads to confusion. Clarity and uniformity are required here. • Petitions, petitions, and more petitions: Lack of variety in digital involvement opportunities. Some organizations have initiated very successful petitions in the past, celebrating great achievements. The Austrian organization Arche Noah, together with the environmental protection organization Global2000, was able to collect over 400,000 signatures in 2014 in less than a year. Well over half of them came through digital channels. This corresponds to the mobilization of almost 5% of the Austrian population and thus represents one of the most successful petition campaigns in Europe. Thanks to this, it was possible to reject the absurd EU seed regulations of that time. Organizations that have carried out petitions know that these types of supporters are often very easily motivated to subsequently make a long-term or one-off donation. It has been known for years that online petitions can be initiated for fundraising purposes. Well-known players here include petition platforms such as change.org or avaaz.org. In the long term, alternatives are needed, because when petitions become the perennial issue and the ultima ratio, they fizzle out. • There is a lack of digital processes and systems for processing large amounts of data. Data volumes and sources are increasing continuously and dynamically (Finsterbusch and Knop 2012), and this also holds in digital fundraising. To adequately store this digitally acquired data, appropriate systems and defined processes are required; otherwise, the leads quickly end up gathering dust in a “drawer.” As a result, not only is a lot of potential lost, but enormous data chaos also quickly ensues.

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In addition, patterns of action from analog fundraising are often transferred 1:1 to digital campaign management—such as coding. In digital fundraising, these are not absolutely necessary or may even unnecessarily restrict efforts. What is needed here is a new pattern of thought and action. It should move in the direction of an infinite number of strategically defined data segments and units and allow evaluations that can be combined as required, so that no information is lost. • The attention span changes. Communication is becoming cheaper and more affordable. Today, the limiting factor is no longer access to information, but the attention given to it (Kreutzer 2018: 11 f.). Perception is becoming more and more selective. The reason is clear: we humans have set up a filter to protect ourselves from this flood of information; otherwise, according to Kreutzer, we truly would suffer from information burnout (Kreutzer 2018: 11). In online marketing, ROI is also to be understood as the risk of ignorance (Kreutzer 2018: 13). Through the digital information overflow, the Internet of Things also creates a “terror of diversity” or a “terror of options” (Kreutzer 2018: 11). This has a huge impact on fundraising via digital channels, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to get your message noticed at all. • Change of perspective: The organizational perspective alone no longer counts. The development of digital media has also changed information behavior. We inform ourselves before we finally decide on a product and we currently do this mainly via the Internet. At the same time, people have become more immune to traditional advertising. Our attention is much more focused on the messages that we personally find useful. A paradigm shift is therefore required in the digital age. The focus must be shifted—away from the organizational perspective and towards the needs, interests, and preferences of (potential) donors. Because it is becoming increasingly important what supporters, donors, and fans think and write about the organization. Information needs have changed and are much more dynamic these days. The digital paradigm shift in fundraising means: Use relevant content and issues to convince on the level of individuals! • The democratization of stories. Digitalization and the social media channels that have emerged in its wake have changed the way people and organizations interact with one another. In the past, the stories told in the donation letters were written by the organizations. They “spoke” while the masses—the readers—“listened” quietly. This way of telling stories hasn’t been around that long—only since the invention of printing. Previously and for millennia, stories were passed on orally. This has now changed again with the emergence of social networks. There is now no longer a single broadcaster aimed at many silent recipients—as in the days when mass media ruled alone. Now there are many senders and many receivers. And the stories that

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organizations tell in social networks are spread or even spun by users—by commenting, liking, or sharing them (Turner 2016). • The democratization of “acting for a good cause.” For the past 100 years, the main motivation for fundraising for most organizations has been that they have needed money from donors to do good. That’s basically the only thing the donors should do: donate. The organization, on the other hand, was the active agent. But digitalization is changing the relationship between the donor and the organization. Because nowadays people are used to making decisions and being asked. This democratization of the relationship between company and customer is evident in marketing (Gfm 2018: 2ff.). And this democratization can also be seen in fundraising—between the organization and the donor. Ellen Janssens, an experienced fundraising strategist, sums up, from the perspective of organizations, the direction in which this democratization is going. We are going to have to change to a new way of thinking. . . . [We will need to move] [f]rom a situation in which our supporters only make our work easier by allowing us to use their money in pursuit of a [given] mindset to a situation in which we help our supporters to achieve their goals together with us (Janssens 2018). This makes the donors part of the solution (Janssens 2018). • The changing legal framework. The Internet is not a legal vacuum, even if there is no uniform law for online fundraising. Fundraising should therefore be based on online marketing law, which is rather a cross-sectional matter that encompasses a whole range of areas of law with their own respective legal regulations (Blind and Stumpfrock 2018: 561 f.). Basically, the following principle applies in online marketing law: What applies offline, in principle also applies online (Blind and Stumpfrock 2018: 561). In addition, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) plays an important role in digital fundraising. This came into force in Europe on May 25, 2018, and has expanded the data protection rights of individuals in Europe. The GDPR primarily aims to help provide internet users with greater transparency concerning the collection, storage, and transmission of their personal data by companies and organizations. And this development toward greater data transparency is far from completed by the GDPR. We can expect that data protection legislation will be further changed and probably also tightened during the next few years—and that worldwide.

2.3

Universal Opportunities for Digital Fundraising

Obi-Wan Kenobi was the first to feel a great shake-up of power. Now we are all feeling a tremor too—triggered by digitalization. But even if the fundraising world as we all know it is in the midst of transformation, some things are powerful enough to survive the shake-up of power. Which things, which powers? That is exactly what

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you will find out in the following subsections of this chapter as we introduce you to the “mighty four”: the power of empathy and compassion, the power of motivation, the power of stories, and the power of interpretation patterns.

2.3.1

The Power of Empathy and Compassion

Everything starts with empathy. (Sam Richards 2010)

That’s right—empathy is the beginning. But not the end. Because we humans are social and emotional beings who are capable of compassion and empathy. But empathy alone does not get you very far—especially not in fundraising. Because compassion and empathy are not the same thing, even if they are often mentioned in the same breath. According to Tanja Singer, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute, empathy and compassion are in fact two completely different social emotions and are activated in different areas of the brain (Klimecki et al. 2013: 282ff.). Empathy means that we can see the world/pain/problems through the eyes of others—says sociologist Sam Richards (Richards 2010). According to Altmann, empathy is the ability to recognize, understand, and feel with the suspected emotions of another person (Altmann 2017: 447). That means that empathy is sensitivity, but not only. Because, according to Singer, empathy is only the ability to have emotional resonance—the ability to share a feeling with another person. Nothing more. Compassion goes beyond that and arouses positive we-feelings (Klimecki et al. 2013: 282). So, empathy ensures that we can empathize with the feelings of others. We flinch when we see someone hurt themselves. We are also sad when someone tells us something sad. We sympathize with the other. But this empathy has limits. Because, according to Lamm, it is crucial that it stays with them “as if.” This means that we are aware that “what one is feeling within oneself right now is the pain and emotion of the other person” (Lamm 2019: 107). And this empathy is greatest when there is closeness—either through similar experiences or a common ground. Joy and pain are relived more intensely when people have had a similar experience or have already been in the same situation or belong to the same group—the same nation, the same religious community, the same family, or even just the same city or the same school . . . (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016). Concrete, pictorial language—as found on social media—also promotes empathy because it appeals directly to emotions. But not only this. Social media can also lead to polarization, says the well-known linguist, Elisabeth Wehling. Because the way we speak or write directly shapes the way we think and act (Wehling 2018a). But empathy cannot only grow, it can also shrink. For example, when the physical reaction to what is perceived—the pain/sympathy—is alleviated by painkillers (Mischkowski et al. 2016: 1345). Or even when we use technology in the course of digitalization to move things a little further way away from us. To make

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them less close, less intimate, less human (Wehling 2018a). Because whenever people feel that they needn’t do something immediately, needn’t follow their moral compass as closely and can show less empathy (Wehling 2018a), then empathy and compassion may be switched off. Then there is a dehumanization in which people are objectified. There is no relationship at this level (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016). The good news: Stories activate the mirror neurons (Jäger 2016a; Lile 2017) and thus awaken empathy. There is no other way. Because there are connections in the brain between the region in which the mirror neurons are located and the region that manages our emotions (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 59). Unfortunately, being empathetic does not necessarily mean that we then act. Ultimately, empathy only means feeling, sympathizing with the other and then leaving it at that. Compassion is more—because compassion is built on empathy but leads to helpfulness and action (Strobl 2017; Singer and Klimecki 2014: 1ff.). Singer and Klimecki also see it this way: “Compassion (. . .) is conceived as a feeling of concern for another person’s suffering which is accompanied by the motivation to help. By consequence, it is associated with approach and prosocial motivation” (Singer and Klimecki 2014: 1). This means that compassion—unlike empathy—is not about sympathizing with someone else’s suffering, but about actively alleviating this suffering. Compassion is therefore a feeling of warmth, concern, and care for another person, coupled with a strong motivation to improve that person’s condition (Omidi 2018: Sect. 2.3, para. 1). And this can also be seen in the brain: when someone feels compassion, the areas in the brain responsible for positive feelings and rewards are activated (Klimecki et al. 2013: 282, 291; Mühl 2017). So compassion leads to action, while empathy often only leads to persistence in empathic stress or ultimately to covering one’s eyes and ears for self-protection (Mühl 2017). That is the first big difference to compassion. The second big difference is that compassion goes hand in hand with positive feelings, and the reward center is also activated in the brain. Empathy is basically the first step on the way to compassion. And this is—as neuropsychological studies show—part of the basic equipment of humans. One-year olds try to console others. This can also be explained by the fact that compassion is essential for our survival. And there is something else that makes compassion so special, namely that—unlike pity—it is egalitarian and operates on an equal footing with others (Strobl 2017). So why do we need empathy and compassion? Because only then does fundraising work. Because without empathy there is no compassion. And without compassion there is no donation.

2.3.2

The Power of Motivation

Why do we humans do what we do? Why do we act exactly as we do and not otherwise? This is an essential question—not just for humanity as such, but also for fundraisers. The answer sounds simple at first glance: people act for two reasons. First, because they want to achieve a goal. And secondly, because we humans want

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to satisfy our motives or (basic) needs (Heckhausen and Heckhausen 2010: 3 f.). Both are good, very good for fundraising. And this is due to a simple truth: the motives and needs that determine how we humans act in everyday life also determine our actions with regard to donations—online and offline. Here there are links to Bourdieu’s habitus concept. With this concept he tries to answer the question of how people act in the everyday world (Bourdieu 1998: 21, 145). And there is one more truth that comes to light here: When it comes to successful fundraising, motives should be all of our favorites. Because motives remain pretty constant; once you have discovered one, you can appeal to it again and again in your donors. For a motive is a more or less stable personality trait, a preference for a certain type of goal and a motivation for human behavior (Bartnik 2008: 4). Steven Reiss has worked out 16 of these motives. He calls them “motives for life” because, according to Reiss, every person carries these basic needs (or motives for life) inside, albeit in different forms (Reiss 2009: 41, 43). And these life motives motivate our actions—because they have to be satisfied again and again (Reiss 2009: 43). These are: – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Power: The pursuit of achievement, leadership, and influence. Independence: The pursuit of freedom and autonomy. Curiosity: The pursuit of knowledge and truth. Recognition: The pursuit of social acceptance, belonging and positive selfesteem. Order: The pursuit of stability, clarity, and structure. Saving: The pursuit of property. Honor: The pursuit of loyalty and moral integrity. Idealism: The pursuit of social justice and fairness. Relationships: The pursuit of friendship, joy, and humor. Family: The pursuit of a family life and especially the raising of children of one’s own. Status: The pursuit of prestige and public attention. Vengeance: The pursuit of retaliation and competition. Love/Eros: The pursuit of romance and beauty. Diet: The pursuit of food and enjoyment. Physical activity: The pursuit of fitness and exercise. Calm: The pursuit of relaxation and emotional security (Reiss 2009: 47 f.; Gianella et al. 2017: 28ff.).

We all want the same 16 things and let them guide our actions—at least if you follow Reiss. Because according to Reiss, what motivates us is stable in adulthood (Reiss 2009: 44). And best of all: motives work according to certain principles (Gianella et al. 2017: 28ff.). Some of these are also important for fundraising.

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Table 2.2 The categories of basic psychological needs (Hofmann et al. 2017: 2) Categories of basic psychological needs – Orientation – Attachment – Control – Belonging – Autonomy – Love – Self-determination – Recognition

– Protection of self-esteem – Increasing self-esteem – Experiencing competence – Pursuit of achievement

– Gaining pleasure – Avoiding discomfort – Well-being

The most important principle is the principle of universal goals. That means there are goals that all people have in common, goals deeply rooted in human nature. And this in turn means that, to a certain extent, all people want the same thing (RMP-Germany n.d.: 4). What? Friends, the man/woman for life, success at work, happiness, safety, and health, maybe a baby. Does that sound familiar to you? To us it does. And it is precisely these goals that we can appeal to in fundraising—because everyone recognizes them. And this wanting itself is the next principle that Reiss has established: in the principle of intrinsic motivation or fundamental need. Because this intrinsic motivation not only has a universal component, namely, that we all want the same things. No, intrinsic motivation also has an individual component. In other words: We don’t all want the same thing to the same extent (Reiss 2009: 44). This is essential for fundraising. Because even if all people want, for instance, happiness, safety, and health, the environment is more important to some and cancer research to others for achieving precisely these goals. In addition, intrinsic motivation goes hand in hand with people’s need to communicate their intrinsic values to others (Reiss 2009: 44). First, this means for fundraising: the values—not just the motivations— also have different characteristics. Second, people want their values affirmed. Another principle that is also important for fundraising is the principle of strongly held motives. It states that people try to satisfy their strongly held motives in different situations and in different ways. That means: people with a thirst for knowledge are interested in many topics and areas of knowledge, whereas romantically inclined people devote themselves intensively to finding a partner (RMP-Germany n.d.: 7). The principle of self-hugging is also essential for fundraising. It states that we assume that our values are the best—not only for ourselves, but also for everyone else (RMP-Germany n.d.: 9). Needs are closely related to motives. According to the Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon (2018), motives are relatively stable psychological properties. Needs, on the other hand, are a state or experience of a deficiency, combined with the desire to remedy it (Dorsch: Lexikon der Psychologie 2020). The most important of these are, as it were, the basic needs. They can be grouped as shown in Table 2.2. A look at the basic psychological needs reveals great similarities with the 16 life motives. Love, control/power, independence/autonomy, relationships/attachment, status/self-esteem/, and recognition occur in both spheres. And Scott Magids, Alan Zorfas, and Daniel Leemon sing the same tune in their article “The new science of customer emotions” (Magids et al. 2015). Out of 300 universal emotional motivators

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they have filtered out 10 high-impact motivators that influence the behavior of consumers. These are also of great relevance for fundraising (Magids et al. 2015; Oechsli 2015). Here they are: – Belonging—People are social beings; they want to belong. Donors too. This works on several levels: through events, especially for the most loyal donors. With quick information that the donation has arrived. By building a relationship—based on appreciation. By celebrating anniversaries and jubilees, and prosaically by expressing gratitude. – Environmental protection—Because nature is sacred. This is of course a stronger motivation for some fundraising organizations than for others. – Developing the ideal self—This means the person you always wanted to be. This can also be an essential motivation for a donation, for example, by taking on a sponsorship or signing a legacy. It’s also about becoming a better person yourself—through the donation. – Security—This means, knowing that what you have today will still be there tomorrow. And with it: pursuing goals and dreams without fear. If this sense of security is not there, no donation can be made since the donor himself is in fear. On the other hand, the donor can also help to give others security, such as a safe place to sleep or eat for the next month. – Do something meaningful in life/be successful. This is also possible through the donation, e.g., when a new vaccine is found, a children’s home or a sanctuary has been established. – Uniqueness—Which lets you stand out from the crowd. Everyone wants to be perceived as someone special, including donors. This is especially true in fundraising, as the donor does not get a product for his/her money, only appreciation. – Faith in the future—The belief that the future will be better than the past. Anyone in fundraising who does not believe that they can find a cure for cancer, save a child from hunger or make the world a better place will not donate. – Feeling good—Success, relaxation, and balance. This also motivates people to donate. On the one hand by striving for a life that meets expectations and is in balance, on the other hand by yearning for a world free of conflicts and threats. And thirdly, this also motivates people to donate, because donating creates a good feeling—the relaxation that follows the tension of donating, you might say. – Independence and freedom. For the donor fundraising involves personal freedom and independence, on several levels. On the one hand, because the donor decides when to donate and through which channels to communicate. On the other hand, because the donation itself can be a way to gain freedom—from government organizations or pharmaceutical companies, for example, through private research, or from genetically manipulated food through the cultivation of traditional seeds. – Feel enthusiasm/passion/excitement. This happens, for example, when donors can watch a new, exciting thank-you video or watch something special live online (Magids et al. 2015; Oechsli 2015).

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A comparison with Maslow’s well-known hierarchy of needs shows that these 10 high-impact motivators are located on its higher levels—in the area of belonging, self-realization, and in the area of recognition/appreciation/uniqueness (Wang 2017). And something else becomes apparent: namely, how important belonging, uniqueness, and enthusiasm/passion are. According to a 2012 study, these three things are decisive for a second donation (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016). So far, so good, but what is still missing here are two other motivating factors. On the one hand, there is the “real-world connection”—the awareness that what you do has an impact on real life (Muir 2018). And on the other hand, the factor of fairness and justice. Because this also motivates our actions. At least that’s what John Stacey Adams’ equity theory says. This is known in German as the theory of the principle of equality of justice and states that people in social relationships strive for fair consideration for their commitment (Young 2018; Adams 1965: 267ff.). And that in turn shows an important human behavior: making a comparison with others (Young 2018). The importance of fairness and justice is also shown by a wellknown experiment in which two chimpanzees are given fruit. As long as both get the same fruit, everything is fine, but as soon as one gets something different, an uproar results (De Waal 2011). What all of these motivations/motivational factors and basic needs have in common is their link to emotions. “Emotion is often the driving force behind motivation” says Lucia Wang (Wang 2017). So, it is ultimately the emotion that makes people act the way they do. For this reason, Wang also demands a “customercentric approach by looking at what emotional motivators drive human actions” (Wang 2017). And there is great potential here. Because if we are aware of what drives people to act—in other words, to donate in fundraising—then we can respond to these underlying motivational factors and motives, appeal to them directly, and communicate more clearly. For example, the motivation behind sharing is, on the one hand, the willingness to help, i.e., the need to make yourself useful to the organization and to help achieve a goal. Another underlying need, every bit as strong, is the urge to belong while, at the same time, distinguishing oneself. Another, to make the world a better place and to want to make a difference (Schüller 2016: 289). Because only when we know why people act the way they do can we put people—not the nonprofit organization—at the center of our efforts. And continue to do successful fundraising. Because the motives, needs, and motivations for action that determine actions in people’s everyday life also dominate their action vis-à-vis donation-related media. Moreover, these motivations for action do not change overnight—yet the technology itself does.

2.3.3

The Power of Stories

They are stories; they unite this world.Herbert Grönemeyer, Stück vom Himmel

That too will always stay the same—since the first campfires, thousands of years ago, since there were words and stories: People love stories, even if the way in which

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digital stories are told changes and become dialogic. There are many good reasons that stories are important and always will be: • Because we all grow up with stories and because we all know how storytelling works (Schütze 1976: 15). All the more so, because oral storytelling is a basic form of communication (Gülich and Hausendorf 2000: 370). It is thus part and parcel of the practices of our everyday life (Mannheim 1980: 22; Schütze 1977: 52)—and these practices share similarities, just as the structure and core of these stories do (Booker 2005: 3). • Because we humans ask for stories from the moment we can speak (Booker 2005: 2). • Because we think in stories (Booker 2005: 2). We even think of our life as a story. • Because stories and the heroes of those stories are everywhere. Just think of Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Andromeda (Booker 2005: 3) or think of the Mars bar, James Bond in the movies, or Lutz advertising. • Because stories always say something about human nature and the inner dynamics in humans (Booker 2005: 8). And nobody can escape that. That is what makes stories so strong. • Because they trigger images in our heads. This is because when hearing, reading, or seeing stories, that part of the brain responsible for processing visual stimuli is also active (Jäger 2016a). • Because stories activate comprehensive processing—that is, they engage the brain in a whole host of regions on both sides of the brain. By contrast, facts only activate those areas in the brain that are responsible for grammar, language understanding, and language processing (Jäger 2016a). • Because we humans need stories—as a medium for passing on knowledge and experience (Erlach 2017: 279). • Because stories can convey values and attitudes (Jäger 2016a). • Because stories are remembered—or, put in another way, because they are stored in episodic long-term memory (Jäger 2016a). • Because stories make us humans act (Jäger 2016a). And this happens because the story reaches our episodic memory. For there, experiences are stored that were made in a certain situation at a certain point in time. If you are reminded of this experience, you are more likely to behave similarly to the way you did in the original situation (Jäger 2016b). Why is that important? Because that’s what fundraising is all about: people taking action—in the form of a donation. All of these reasons are important. But some are more important than others. Here are the three main ones:

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1. Because stories trigger emotions. And because these emotions trigger a very special type of information processing—holistic and fast. This is consistent with Seymour Epstein’s cognitive-experimental self-theory. This theory is based on the idea that two different systems of information processing take place in perception. One is the analytical-rational system. It is conscious, linear, slow, and logical thinking. The second is the system that can be experienced intuitively. This thinking happens quickly, holistically, and emotionally (Epstein 2003: 159 f.). We humans spend most of our everyday life in this holistic way of perceiving things. Epstein argues that the intuitively tangible system stores information as (emotional) memories and learns from these experiences (Epstein 2003: 160). The system, which can be intuitively experienced, is guided by emotional memories and experiences—and thus requires few cognitive resources. It is the system in which we all largely act in everyday life (Epstein 2003: 161). And that means that all of our perceptions are largely unconscious, at least when it comes to everyday matters. Sounds interesting, but it is even more interesting why this type of intuitive information processing is so important for fundraising: – Because this way of thinking means “seeing is believing”—unlike rational information processing, which is about proof and logic—and these two are deadly for fundraising because they kill the emotion. – Because this thinking is holistic—memories are felt here, joy is recreated here. All of this happens quickly and emotionally. And that’s what it takes for the donation. – Because the behavior is not triggered by rational reasoning, but by feeling (and the pursuit of pleasure). – Because this thinking is based on the current action, not on the past. – Because this thinking happens completely automatically, and we are not aware of it and we cannot turn it off. – Because this thinking resists change. It doesn’t change that easily—unlike rational thinking (Epstein 2003: 160).

These emotions triggered by stories have an immediate, very strong effect and come, in evolutionary terms, from the oldest parts of our brain—especially from the limbic system (Gedankenwelt 2020). Because emotions are—at least in the eyes of many neuroscientists who pursue a biologically oriented concept of emotion—a kind of evolutionarily determined survival system that is anchored in the brain and triggers physical processes in response to external factors (Vaitl 2006: 17, 19ff.). Emotions act on several levels: a behavioral level, e.g., the escape from threat; a physiological level, e.g., an increased pulse rate and a subjective level of experience, such as experiencing fear or joy (Vaitl 2006: 18). And these emotions can be both positive and negative. In contrast to emotions, feelings are stored very differently. Just the fact that they arise in different regions of the brain shows this. Emotions arise mainly in the limbic system, whereas feelings form in the frontal lobe. This indicates the following: Feelings are a result of abstract thinking, while emotions are innate and genetically

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Table 2.3 The activation potential of the basic emotions (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016)

Positive feeling Negative feeling

High level of activation/willingness to act Amazement, humor, enthusiasm, joy

Low level of activation/willingness to act Satisfaction

Anger, disgust, fear

Sadness

predetermined as the fruit of evolution. Feelings have their origin in the cerebral interpretation of events and impressions, while emotions originate in the immediate reaction of the nervous system to incoming sensations (Gedankenwelt 2020). Thus, whereas feelings arise gradually, emotions come about immediately and directly. And most importantly, emotions are universal—they can be found on our faces all over the world. The American anthropologist and psychologist Paul Ekman studied this for a long time and established six basic elements of information (Drimalla 2011). These are: joy, anger, fear, disgust, sadness, and surprise. Despite their differences, these basic emotions have a lot in common: they all arise involuntarily and only last for a short time. All are associated with a specific feeling, a physical change, and a characteristic facial expression. And not only for all humans worldwide but also for primates (Drimalla 2011). And what’s more: “These fundamental and universal emotions are very intense and cause us to begin or end actions” (Gedankenwelt 2020). There is a lot to unpack in this quote. First of all, we are talking about the six basic emotions to which Karen Armstrong and Omar Mahmoud also refer (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016). Secondly, these six emotions are universal. That is, they are the same all over the world. Everyone has these emotions. And therefore, facial expressions of these emotions are interpreted similarly the world over (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016). This is essential for fundraising, because we humans cannot help but react to stimuli with emotions and then take action. But not all emotions have the same activating effect (Table 2.3). In terms of successful fundraising, this means it is better to make people angry (or, to a limited extent, fearful) than sad. Because sadness is not activating. But the stimuli should not be too negative either, because fundraising also needs hope. And it must be clear that the donation can make a difference. And it is also better to inspire, please or amaze people than to provide satisfaction—especially in fundraising. Because if we are satisfied and everything is good, there is no longer a need for a donation (Armstrong and Mahmoud 2016). 2. There is another important reason why stories are important: Because the brain— as brain scans prove—doesn’t make a great distinction between reality and fiction (Pyczak 2018: 17). First of all, this means that written or spoken words in our brain also stimulate the regions that are responsible, for instance, for smelling and feeling, and movement. When we read the sentence “The woman is wearing a soft velvet coat,” the sensory cortex in the brain reacts. So far, so good (Pyczak 2018: 17). But it gets even better. Because that is the case not only for you or

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me—but for everyone. And this, in turn, means that stories manage to synchronize people’s brain activities (Pyczak 2018: 44). Why? Because of the mirror neurons in all of our brains. These special nerve cells in the brain ensure that we can empathize with others and understand their emotions. Because when our brain sees an action, it reacts with the same (albeit weaker) feelings as if one were performing the action oneself (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 59). Thus, by means of these feelings, we manage to feel what the hero is feeling in the story (Pyczak 2018: 18 f.). And this implies, first of all, that stories connect and, secondly, that stories create a sense of closeness and empathy. This is because our bodies respond to what we see and hear by releasing hormones. The cuddle hormone oxytocin ensures compassion. The stress hormone cortisol focuses our attention (Pyczak 2018: 46) and the happiness hormone dopamine ensures that we ourselves also feel happy when we see a happy ending for the heroes in a movie (Jäger 2016a). And that is essential for fundraising—whether online or offline. The experiment at Wharton University in Pennsylvania shows how powerful stories are in fundraising: A two-sided ad was created in two versions for “Save the Children.” The first version consists of two pages full of graphically appealing facts, whereas the second version combines one page of facts with a one-sided story about a girl in Mali. This second version of the story generated double the revenue (Pyczak 2018: 29).2 3. The third important reason we humans love stories is that we already know them. Because all the stories we tell each other are based on the same scheme, at least if you follow the British journalist Peter Booker (Pyczak 2018: 22). All stories come from the same source, are knitted together according to the same patterns and function according to the same rules (Booker 2005: 13). Booker has made these patterns visible and distilled them down to seven basic plots. His work now forms the basis for many other authors and speakers. These basic plots, or primal stories, are also essential for this book. We will thus return to them in greater detail below—in Sect. 6.3 “Step 2: Use the power of stories and patterns of interpretation.”

2.3.4

The Power of Patterns of Interpretation

Words are semantic grab bags. —Elisabeth Wehling (Wehling 2017)

Words are powerful. They can hurt or make someone happy, they can destroy or build someone up. Words are weapons—Trojan horses, actually. Because words are “semantic grab bags,” they carry within them the way we think about the world:

2 Unfortunately, this example is no longer available on http://storynocmics.com/case-stories/, so the secondary source is given here.

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specifically, because they activate semantic patterns of interpretation, so-called frames (Wehling 2017; Badr 2017: 39). How does this work? As follows: Whenever our brain processes words and ideas, it activates knowledge and contexts of meaning from previous experiences with the world. This includes movement sequences, feelings, tactile perception, smells, tastes and much more. In short: our understanding of words comes about by our brain calling up physical processes that are associated with these words (Wehling 2018b: 21).

This even goes so far that when we perceive the word “hammer,” our brain automatically plans the sequence of movements associated with using it (Wehling 2018b: 21). Nobody can escape these frames because people think in terms of frames. Every time we think—think something—a frame is activated in our brain (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 73). And if the frames are first activated in our heads via language, they guide our thinking and acting without us noticing it, because only 2% of our thinking involves conscious processes (Wehling 2018b: 18, 42 f.). Frames are, so to speak, interpretive filters that set the interpretation and relative importance of everything— even the seemingly most objective facts (Wehling 2018b: 17, 20ff.). As a matter of fact, it makes no difference whether a glass that is 50% full is described as half full or half empty. But the words activate different conceptual frames of meaning (Wehling 2018b: 17). And this frame of meaning is also activated when you try to negate it verbally—for example, by saying: The glass is NOT half empty. Because by trying to negate a frame, you get involved and activate it (Wehling 2018b: 52ff; Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 77). Just how important framing is, is becoming apparent in times of global warming and climate change. Let’s look at these two terms. They don’t sound dangerous at all. And that’s because of the frame. Warmth is perceived as something positive. And that also applies to change. And that’s exactly the problem. Because nobody is afraid of warmth or change. That is not scary and does not seem urgent. That is why Lakoff and Wehling suggest that it would be better to speak of a climate crisis. Because the word crisis implies drastic deterioration (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 182). An experiment at Stanford University also shows how much frames guide our perception. The researchers created a newspaper article about the increasing crime in the fictional city of Addison. Only two words in the headline were changed. For one group it read: “Crime virus is increasingly infecting the city of Addison,” for the other group “Crime predator is increasingly stalking the city of Addison.” The two items were shown to a group of people who were asked what to do next. One group wanted to reduce crime—through more juvenile shelters. The other group wanted to eradicate crime, through more police, harsher sentences, etc. What had happened? The different headlines had activated different frames. The first activated the frame of disease for which healing is possible. The second that of the predator that must be combated (Wehling 2018b: 49).

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Qualitative research in sociology and political science has recognized how important frames are—and has been doing so since the 1970s, starting with the sociologist Irving Goffman. Since the 1990s, the framing paradigm has been more widely received and developed, especially in communication studies (Badr 2017: 39). In short, the aim of framing is to influence the public interpretation of facts: To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described. (Entman 1993: 52).

Frames are therefore also consciously used today, e.g., introduced into public discussion by politics. In the USA—according to Wehling—it is mainly the conservatives who practice framing. And they use metaphors to do so. An example of such a metaphor is the term tax relief. The surface frame—the superficial frame of the word—means: Taxes are a physical burden, tax reduction is a relief, and the taxpayer the victim. So those who want high taxes are bad. The party wants to free people from this burden—and is therefore good (Wehling 2018b: 62, 68). There is another underlying frame: a deep-seated frame. These are very profound frames, which structure our general understanding of the world, our assumptions about the world, such as those based on our moral and political principles, and which are simply “true” for us (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 73). And this frame reads: we live in a competitive society in which performance is economically rewarded. The moral behind it is a “strict father moral,” based on the principle of reward and punishment (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 80, 88 f.). The commonwealth principle3 is completely filtered out (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 80). But metaphors are not only important in a political context, but also in relation to one another. Yes, they are all crucial. For metaphors structure our perception to a large extent: we think, speak, and act in metaphors (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 14). They are the only way that we can conceive abstract ideas. For this purpose, these abstract ideas are linked to physical experiences and thus made conceivable (Wehling 2018b: 68). This means that metaphors are framed by being connected to concepts of things that can be directly experienced (Wehling 2018b: 68). Would you like an example? Take the abstract idea of the end of love. The frame for this is to think of the love relationship as a journey that has come to an end. We have all taken a trip before—by train or car or with a school class. Therefore, we can also use metaphors here and pull the emergency brake in the relationship, get out in time or admit that this relationship did not lead anywhere (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 16). These metaphors arise from our everyday experience and therefore also differ from culture to culture (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 24 f.). And that’s important because fundraising can only be successful if it uses the right metaphors: those that people

3

In simple terms, the commonwealth principle claims that the rich only got rich because they made use of the community—the infrastructure, medicine, and technology. It is, thus, legitimate for them to give something back.

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know. To do this, we have to know people’s everyday experiences. And that is only possible if we know our potential donors. And this brings us back to the real topic and the big question: How can we use the power of frames and metaphors in fundraising? The answer to this can be found in Lakoff and Wehling. In the context of US politics, these authors have worked out a powerful metaphor with significant implications: the metaphor of the nation as a family (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 34 f.). This metaphor can also be applied to the organization and the donor or potential donor. The donor is part of the organization—part of the family. And family is essential. Because it is the first place where the child learns what is right and wrong and how to act morally. And in this context, there are—according to Lakoff and Wehling—two types of worldview: the conservative and the liberal. Which leads us to the question: is family morality about power and obedience or about dialogue and understanding (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 34, 39)? According to Wehling and Lakoff, we are faced with the conservative family model with a strict father morality, on the one hand, and the progressive family model with a caring parent morality, on the other (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 39). The former is about asserting yourself in the world—not cooperating. The strict father is the breadwinner and, due to his physical strength, also the head of the family, with respect to the mother as well. This family lives in a world of competition and in the efforts of its members to assert themselves against other people, punishments are important—both to discipline themselves and to avoid immoral behavior (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 41, 55). What if other people live according to different values? There is no tolerance for this in this family. Because the “others” endanger the authority of the father—and the concept of authority is what this is all about (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 50). In the fundraising area, you can find this worldview in the realm of the conservative church. This is a “strict father church” (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 44). The frame behind this conservative worldview is that of “good versus evil.” And that has three consequences for storytelling. The first is that the hero in this frame has no alternative course of action. Evil is on the loose, and the hero has to apprehend it. The second is that there are no negotiations—good must prevail. The third is that justice comes through retaliation, not reparation (as is the case in the frame of the liberal worldview) (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 107, 137). It is different from the progressive family model—of the liberal worldview and loving parent morality. This is about care, understanding, tolerance, cooperation, and responsibility. The child is raised to care for others, not to assert itself (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 47 und 49ff.) because: The progressive family model understands tolerance as a strength ... Tolerance has to do with understanding other people and cooperating with them. That is a moral value in the caring parent model, and it requires empathy. (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 50)

Involved here is the concept of empathy (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 53). And this empathy is important in fundraising—for example, to help the poor, prevent

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starvation, and to help the homeless. This does not mean, however, that donations are only possible within the framework of a “caring parenting moral.” It just means that we all have to be aware of which metaphors and frames are active—also in the people themselves. For anyone who grew up having to defend their family—in the spirit of conservative parenting morality—views the world as a dangerous place— with bad people from whom one’s loved ones have to be protected. Here the call for tolerance will go unheard, but the call for struggle—even using evil means to stamp out evil—will be heard (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 51). With caring parent morality, it’s the other way around. This is about protecting. Because it is a moral duty to ensure that no one in society harms anyone else (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 51). And that can also be used for fundraising: for example, for environmental protection, protection against poisonous food or fine dust. For Lakoff and Wehling too, the caring parent morality that goes hand in hand with empathy is the key to success. Because then people would strive to strengthen global environmental protection, because the protection of people begins with the protection of the environment, which provides the basis of life upon which we all depend (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 101). But the approach of transferring the conservative or progressive family model to fundraising and then appealing to the appropriate frames goes far beyond the area of environmental protection or the conservative church. It can be transferred to any organization. And to development aid as well. But the latter term is itself problematic. Because it incorporates two frames at the same time. On the one hand, it indicates that someone is still developing and is thus underdeveloped. And that this someone can therefore legitimately be treated like a child and does not have to be taken seriously. On the other hand, a strict father morality is also documented in the frame, based on reward, authority, and punishment. If, on the other hand, we speak of help for self-help instead of development aid, the frame looks different. Here, the loving parenting morality dominates, the ideas of care and cooperation and personal responsibility and the feeling of being part of a larger family (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 88ff.). Three reasons why frames and metaphors are important tools in fundraising: 1. Because we all only hear or see what fits into our frame. The rest is filtered out (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 169). And the frame we perceive also depends on our worldview. Is it the conservative “strict father morality” or the progressive “loving parent morality”? Different frames appeal to us depending on how we have learned to see the world. There are three types of people: conservatives, progressives, and bi-conceptuals—with the last of these applying each of the two models to different areas of their lives. Bi-conceptuals not only think in terms of both metaphors; they also act according to both (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 63). 2. Because the metaphors we use in our language determine to a large extent how other people perceive the situation so described (Wehling and Lakoff 2016: 30). 3. Because you cannot negate frames. As soon as you refer to them, it gives them currency. And that often happens in fundraising, for example, in the area of

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refugee aid. If we emphasize that the boat is not full, it gives currency to precisely this frame (of the full boat).

2.3.5

May the Force Be with you

We should all be a little bit Jedi. And use the power—that of emotion and compassion, that of motivation and that of stories. Only then can we succeed in getting people to be interested in a good cause and ultimately to donate. And that can only succeed if we put the potential donor herself at the center and bring her into the story as an actor and part of the team (Sherrington 2016). This works best when we know what determines her actions—and know her motives and needs. And when we know what kind of story we as fundraisers are actually telling—when we know our basic plot. And when we use the power of compassion and emotion. And if we use the power of words—the patterns of interpretation that they contain: the frames. These four mechanisms are powerful when used properly. Yes, in the end they even mean a cultural turn—away from the role of organizations as the sole heroes of history, toward dialogue, toward relationships, toward a new type of fundraising—one in which the organization and its potential new donors serve to accompany one another. More on this in the next chapter.

2.4

The Takeaway

Digitalization is a bottleneck in fundraising—and practically a new promised land for anyone who manages to navigate this bottleneck. Because digitalization is changing not only the way we live, but also what being human means and how we communicate with each other. And that also changes fundraising. There are ten truths to bear in mind when making this change. Because not everything goes smoothly in fundraising in a time of digital transformation. But with all of this change—the good news is that there are also things that stay the same. And these offer universal opportunities for fundraising. Always. And everywhere.

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Länderdaten L (2020). https://www.laenderdaten.de/bevoelkerung/einwohner.aspx. Accessed 26 Nov 2020 Lile S (2017) 10 visual storytelling rules every digital marketer needs to know. https://visme.co/ blog/visual-storytelling-rules/. Accessed 26 Nov 2020 Magids S, Zorfas A, Leemon D (2015) The new science of customer emotions. Harvard Bus Rev. https://hbr.org/2015/11/the-new-science-of-customer-emotions. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Mannheim K (1980) Strukturen des Denkens. Kettler, David; Meja, Volker; Stehr, Nico; eds. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Marketagent.Com, Schwabl T (2019) Golden ager report. http://www.marketagent.com/webfiles/ MarketagentCustomer/pdf/c17b0dd2-1fa8-4ba4-9510-5cd753825eca.pdf Meinefeld W (1976) Ein formaler Entwurf für die empirische Erfassung elementaren sozialen Wissens. In: Sozialforschung K (ed) Alltagswissen und Alltagshandeln, Gemeindemachtforschung, Polizei, politische Erwachsenenbildung. Munich, Wilhelm Fink, pp 88–157 Mischkowski D, Crocker J, Way BM (2016) From painkiller to empathy killer. Acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces empathy for pain. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 11(9):1345–1353. https:// doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw057. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Möchel K (2020) Corona ist der Brandbeschleuniger für Entwicklung im stationären Handel. Kurier, 18.11.2020. https://kurier.at/wirtschaft/corona-ist-der-brandbeschleuniger-fuerentwicklung-im-stationaeren-handel/401100747. Accessed 29 Nov 2020 Mühl M (2017) Empathie als Notwendigkeit. Das Herz der anderen. https://www.faz.net/aktuell/ feuilleton/debatten/das-herz-der-anderen-empathie-als-notwendigkeit-15271225.html. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Muir M (2018) Focus on 6 high-impact motivation strategies. https://multiplepathways.info/2018/ 01/18/focus-on-6-high-impact-motivation-strategies/. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Nürnberg Institut für Marktentscheidungen e.V. (2018) 50plus. Siegeszug der Smartphones. https:// www.nim.org/compact/fokusthemen/50plus-siegeszug-der-smartphones. Accessed 20 Nov 2020 O’Flynn A (2019) In der digitalen Wildnis. Das Generieren von Leads kann einer NGO beim Wachsen helfen. Fundraiser-Magazin 4(2019):20–21. https://fundraiser-magazin.de/files/ archiv/pdf/fundraiser_72_2019-04.pdf Oechsli M (2015) High-impact emotional motivators that drive advisor behavior. https://www. wealthmanagement.com/client-relations/high-impact-emotional-motivators-drive-advisorbehavior. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Omidi M (2018) Empathie und Mitgefühl als psychologische Fähigkeiten. Unterschiede, Zusammenhänge und Möglichkeiten ihrer Entwicklung. Leseprobe. https://www.grin.com/ document/381343#:~:text¼nicht%20erf%C3%BCllt%20w%C3%A4re.-,2.3%20Definition% 20von%20Mitgef%C3%BChl,Zustand%20der%20Person%20zu%20verbessern. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Pyczak T (2018) Tell me! Wie Sie mit Storytelling überzeugen. Für alle, die in Beruf, PR und Marketing erfolgreich sein wollen, 1st corr. reprint. Bonn: Rheinwerk Reiss S (2009) Das Reiss Profile. Die 16 Lebensmotive. Welche Werte und Bedürfnisse unserem Verhalten zugrunde liegen. Offenbach: Gabal Richards S (2010) Ein radikales Experiment in Empathie. https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_ richards_a_radical_experiment_in_empathy?language¼de. Accessed 22 Nov 2020 RMP-Germany (n.d.) Die 7 Prinzipien der Motivationspsychologie. https://www.denk-neu.com/ wp-content/uploads/WEB_Die-7-Prinzipien-der-Motivationspsychologie.pdf. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Roth P (2020) Facebook Nutzerzahlen Oktober 2020. https://allfacebook.de/toll/state-of-facebook. Accessed 26 Nov 2020 Rupps M (2008) Wir Babyboomer. Die wahre Geschichte unseres Lebens. Herder, Freiburg in Breisgau

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Rupps M (2010) Ich will nicht mehr 20 sein. Das Weltwissen der Babyboomer. Herder, Freiburg in Breisgau Schasche S (2020) Social-Media-Werbung trotzt der Pandemie. https://www.wuv.de/marketing/ social_media_werbung_trotzt_der_pandemie. Accessed 29 Nov 2020 Schüller AM (2016) Touch. Point Sieg. Kommunikation in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation. Gabal, Offenbach Schütze F (1976) Zur soziologischen und linguistischen Analyse von Erzählungen. In: Internationales Jahrbuch zur Wissens- und Religionssoziologie, vol 10. Opladen, Westdeutscher, pp 7–41 Schütze F (1977) Die Technik des narrativen Interviews in Interaktionsfeldstudien–dargestellt an einem Projekt von kommunalen Machtstrukturen. Arbeitsberichte und Forschungsmaterialien Nr. 1 der Universität Bielefeld, Fakultät für Soziologie, 2nd edn. Universitätsverlag, Bielefeld Sherrington M (2016) Putting the supporter in the story and getting the story straight. International Fundraising Congress 2016 (Transcript and documentation) Singer T, Klimecki OM (2014) Empathy and compassion. Curr Biol 24(18):R875–R878. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.06.054. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Socialbakers (2020) Social media trends report: key insights from Q3 2020. https://www. socialbakers.com/blog/social-media-trends-report-q3-2020. Accessed 29 Nov 2020 Storey J (1996) Cultural studies & the study of popular culture: theories and methods. University Press, Edinburgh Strobl I (2017) Mitgefühl. Mit anderen zu empfinden stärkt das soziale Miteinander–und die eigene seelische Gesundheit. https://www.psychologie-heute.de/leben/38818-mitgefuehl.html. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Turner R (2016) Here be dragons. https://101fundraising.org/2016/06/here-be-dragons/. Accessed 23 Nov 2020 Vaitl D (2006) Blick ins Gehirn. Wie Emotionen entstehen p:17–24. http://geb.uni-giessen.de/geb/ volltexte/2006/3693/pdf/Vaitl_GU_39_06.pdf. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Vaynerchuk G (2013) Jab, jab, jab, right hook. How to tell your story in a noisy social world. HarperCollins, New York von Becker B (2014) Babyboomer. Die Generation der Vielen. Suhrkamp, Berlin Wang L (2017) How emotional motivators can drive authentic brand growth. https://www. crazyegg.com/blog/emotional-motivator-drive-growth/. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Wehling E (2017) Die Macht der Sprachbilder–Politisches Framing und neurokognitive Kampagnenführung. Re:publica 2017. https://doi.org/10.5446/33110#t¼05:03,05:39. Accessed 21 Nov 2020 Wehling E (2018a) A1 Interview bei 4Gamechangers 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v¼kb7l0yGNFfA. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Wehling E (2018b) Politisches Framing. Wie eine Nation sich ihr Denken einredet–und daraus Politik macht. Ullstein, Munich Wehling E, Lakoff G (2016) Auf leisen Sohlen ins Gehirn. Politische Sprache und ihre heimliche Macht, 4th ed., with suppl. afterword. Heidelberg: Carl Auer World Economic Forum (2018) Operating models for the future of consumption. Insight report: a report by the World Economic Forum’s system initiative on shaping the future of consumption prepared in collaboration with Accenture. https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-72/ Accenture-Strategy-WEF-Operating-Models-Future-Consumption-Full-Report.pdf Young J (2018) Heroes of employee engagement: No. 6, John Stacy Adams. https://peakon.com/de/ blog/future-work-de/john-stacy-adams-gleichheitsprinzip-der-gerechtigkeit/. Accessed 25 Nov 2020

3

New Digital World, New Digital Terms

The designation “Lead Community Fundraising” is completely new. The term “lead community marketing” does not yet exist in business either. The concept of lead community fundraising is basically made up of the words “lead,” “community,” and “fundraising.” Here you will first find out what a “lead” is and which other important terms you should be acquainted with in digital fundraising.

3.1

What Is a Lead?

What is a lead actually? Like everything in life, this is a bit complicated. And at the same time very easy. Lead is an essential marketing term in English. The word “lead” is related to the word “leader.” But there is one major difference: a “leader” is someone who leads. A “lead” is someone who is led—and this holds in fundraising as well. A lead is a person who has an interest in a product or service and who has actively shown this—among other things by voluntarily providing their data for a subsequent dialogue or having registered (Deutsches Institut für Marketing 2019). A Lead Has the Following Three Characteristics: 1. A lead is a prospective customer. The “relationship quality,” also called lead quality, can be determined based on the intensity and type of interest. 2. The person voluntarily provides their contact details to the respective organization or to third parties so that they can be contacted afterward. 3. A lead must first be led through a certain cultivation process (lead journey) to make a donation decision.

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_3

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New Digital World, New Digital Terms

But be careful! Leads are not limited to interested parties. Microdonors who make one-time donations of up to € 3 can also be seen as such. Because this amount is so small that these microdonors are actually leads as well, as the relationship still has to be cultivated in order to generate a willingness to larger or regular donations.

3.2

What Is the Goal of Lead Generation?

Lead generation in fundraising is about connecting people with an organization, building real relationships, and thus preparing the ground for future donations. The aim is to address people using digital media and convert them into leads using forms, call-to-action calls and landing pages. The lead generation is only part of a long journey, at the end of which there is—ideally—long-term support.

3.3

What Is Lead Nurturing?

Lead nurturing refers to the maintaining of individual relationships. The term “nurture” means to educate, promote and care for (Mattscheck at Onlinemarketing Praxis n.d.-a). Lead nurturing includes all measures to address a prospect (lead) with relevant information at the right time, in order to ultimately help them with the donation decision. Lead nurturing is therefore an important part of the entire cultivation process. This ranges from the acquisition of new donors to creating/sustaining donor loyalty, to the reactivation of former or inactive donors and leads. Often, however, leads want to find out more about a topic or an organization’s campaign or just want to participate without even thinking about donating. If you ask too early for a donation or for a regular gift, poor conversion rates can result. And this in turn can result in the rating of these leads as bad. But a bad conversion rate cannot always be attributed to lead quality. This poor result can also be due to the lack of relationship building. It is possible that these people were approached too early or simply with the wrong content or with a communication channel that was inappropriate for them. Therefore, lead nurturing also includes the further qualification of leads. In digital marketing, the nurturing process pursues various objectives. Most of the time, it’s about increasing qualified contacts, improving conversion rates, and increasing ROI (Mattscheck at Onlinemarketing Praxis n.d.-a). Lead nurturing aims to build lasting and meaningful relationships on an individual basis. It is not just about people getting to know the organization better, but above all about creating moments of lasting enthusiasm and leaving people with a warm feeling in their hearts and a smile, because: “We do not remember days, we remember moments” (Blanchard and Glanz 2018: 66).

3.6 What Are Data Mining and KDD?

3.4

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What Is Lead Scoring?

Lead scoring is essentially about the qualitative evaluation of leads. The aim is to find out more about the person behind the email address. Two factors are particularly important for the assessment: the completeness of the data profile, including explicit data, and the response to, and activity of, the person vis-à-vis previous communication with the organization (implicit data) (Mattscheck at Onlinemarketing Praxis n.d.-b). Taken together, the two aspects create a two-dimensional lead scoring model, which can ultimately calculate and assess the potential of the interested party and the possibility of a successful donation (Schuster 2015: 135). In business, people often start to “score” before a prospect has even been acquired. Special systems use the IP address to monitor visitors and their behavior on a website, which is then evaluated by the system. As soon as the visitor shows a certain behavior that is considered significant for the company, a certain action is automatically triggered by the system. This can range from the appearance of a pop-up or chat window all the way to dynamically designed websites, through which every visitor gets to see a different website and content tailored to their interests (Schuster 2015: 135 f.). The latter has its pitfalls, because in the end it means that, for example, a visitor to the website of an environmental protection organization who indicates interest in the subject of the sea only gets information about that.

3.5

What Is Lead Routing?

The term describes the search for the right time to ask for a donation. In business, the term lead routing describes the transfer of qualitative and cultivated leads from the marketing department to the sales department. In most cases, this transfer to the sales department is automated using appropriate software. Lead routing can occur in fundraising if the organization has its own marketing department, which also generates data from leads and supporters with its own campaigns. Here it is particularly important to determine the exact time of the handover to the fundraising department. Organizations that have one and the same department for fundraising, marketing, and communication find it easier here. The lead routing is completely eliminated, and it is more about finding the right time to ask for a donation.

3.6

What Are Data Mining and KDD?

KDD stands for “knowledge discovery in database”—in short, discovering new knowledge in (old) databases. Data mining is part of that: data mining concentrates on the process of data processing, whereas KDD includes the preparatory work and the actual data evaluation.

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The term data mining is not to be understood as “digging and mining,” but as the acquisition of new knowledge from existing data from one’s own database (Han et al. 2012: 5). In the scientific context, it primarily refers to the determination of statistically valid knowledge that was not yet known or could be potentially useful. Large amounts of data are automatically evaluated in order to identify regularities and hidden relationships (Duden 2019). In this way, new cross-connections and trends can be identified. However, due to their size, such mass databases can only be processed using special computer-aided methods. With KDD, new and previously unknown potentials can be identified and mapped for the first time in fundraising. In this way, for example, we can more easily identify those leads who have the highest donation probability within our database or find those active donors who are more likely to want and are able to donate. This holistic process also enables us to identify all donors or sponsors in our database who have a very high likelihood of cancellation. In business, leads with a high bounce rate are often referred to with the term “churn leads.”

3.7

What Is Progressive Profiling?

Progressive profiling refers to the gathering of information about a person. It is a process with the help of which interested party data can be further qualified in order to ultimately motivate the party to make a donation. It is assumed that leads do not want to give away all of their data immediately. Nobody would like to fill out 10 mandatory fields, especially not at the first contact. Fortunately, hardly anyone has to, because there are much better ways to go about this, such as: To subscribe to the organization newsletter, you will initially only be asked for your first and last name and your email address. This personal data can subsequently be expanded by writing an email newsletter to this person and offering in it a free download of an eBook or another incentive such a wallpaper. To download the eBook or the wallpaper, only one or two additional pieces of information about the person are requested. This could be further contact details, such as the telephone number or postal address, but also information about favorite topics or interests. In the follow-up communication, you can always start campaigns that serve to enrich additional information in order to ultimately obtain an ever more complete profile of your “desired donor.” This allows an even more precise idea of the interested people (leads), their wishes, needs, and motivations. And that’s exactly what is needed for the lead journey. But that is another story.

References Blanchard K, Glanz B (2018) The simple truths of service. Sourcebooks Inc., Naperville, IL Deutsches Institut für Marketing (2019) Lead, Interessent, Kunde—Was ist eigentlich was? https:// www.marketinginstitut.biz/blog/was-ist-ein-lead/. Accessed 26 Nov 2020

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Duden (2019) Data mining. https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Data_Mining#block_2. Accessed 10 Aug 2019 Han J, Kamber M, Pei J (2012) Data mining: concepts and techniques (Morgan Kaufmann series in data management systems). Elsevier, Amsterdam Mattscheck, Markus at Onlinemarketing Praxis (n.d.-a) Lead nurturing. https://www. onlinemarketing-praxis.de/glossar/lead-nurturing. Accessed 10 Aug 2020 Mattscheck, Markus at Onlinemarketing Praxis (n.d.-b) Lead Scoring. https://www. onlinemarketing-praxis.de/glossar/lead-scoring. Accessed 10 Aug 2020 Schuster N (2015) Leadmanagement. Vogel Business Media-Verlag, Würzburg

4

All about Lead Community Fundraising

Okay, we’ve exaggerated a bit. Everything won’t be in this chapter. But the most important thing about lead community fundraising will be. And that is: Lead community fundraising is not just about addressing people, like traditional sales is, it’s about having a real dialogue with people. Nothing more—and that is difficult enough.

4.1

What Is Lead Community Fundraising?

Lead community fundraising is a multi-cycle fundraising technique to attract and retain prospects and donors. The focus is on the people themselves—and thus on the lead community. These are the fans, followers, and potential donors of an organization. The most important thing is the lively exchange—the dialogue— with this community. Why does an organization need this? In short, to survive in the long run. Because unlike in classic fundraising, where it used to be easy to ask for a donation in the first or second step, this has partly changed today—thanks to digitalization. People have also changed. It takes a much more global perspective to be digitally successful, because the lead community is not only becoming a central fundraising element, it also gives the organization a powerful external voice. Organizations then suddenly have a lot of people at their side who stand up for their issues and can be quickly mobilized for their campaigns. This creates completely new opportunities and also makes fundraising more dynamic. Here is a small checklist of how lead community fundraising can be used:

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_4

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– Create trust: Those whom you trust, make you feel good. – Increase brand awareness: If I know my counterpart, if a brand/name/ NPO is familiar to me, I feel more comfortable and more secure. – Sensitize and create awareness: When someone knows my topic, thinks my work is good, and believes in the same thing as I do, there are a lot of positive feelings. – Mobilize: Those who can act will feel better afterward. – Generate donations: Those who help feel good. – Deepen bond: If you are part of something, you feel great, nobody wants to be alone. Therefore, the development of an active and reactive lead community is a basic prerequisite here. – Inspire your community, turn them into fans. The latter are a gift in themselves because they will then recommend you to others—on their own initiative. Enthusiastically. As you can see, lead community fundraising stands or falls with the feelings it arouses in potential supporters and donors. Because above all, lead community fundraising must convey a good feeling and contribute to improving one’s state of mind. All of this aims to build and deepen an honest and positive relationship with one’s supporters. So let’s take a closer look at the good feeling thing.

4.2

The most Important Things in Lead Community Fundraising: The Emotions

The truth is: There can be no donation without a good feeling. Because good feelings are the only thing that makes people repeat their good deeds. Therefore, the focus in lead generation must be on good feelings. And that means genuine, good feelings. Because in marketing, good feelings are simulated and sold to us every day. A men’s deodorant allegedly turns an average guy into a womanizer. A shampoo practically triggers an orgasm when washing your hair. The assumption is that these feelings are exaggerated—and, at the very least, are not lasting. Just as the joy of a new sofa or a new cell phone does not hold for long. As soon as a new mobile phone version comes out or the sofa shows its first signs of wear and tear, the joy starts to subside. But the NPO sector creates what others cannot: namely, good, genuine, and long-term feelings. Because the feeling of having achieved something good and something big in the community lasts a lifetime. Ask yourself if you are still happy about your two-year-old cell phone, then remind yourself of the feeling you had when you were able to help someone and felt their gratitude. Compare both feelings. There is an incomparable difference in value. Because helping others triggers a “helper’s high” in us—a real dopamine shower. And this good feeling is the gateway to donating: because if the first good experience

4.3 The Focus in Lead Community Fundraising: On People

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has been had before donating even comes into play, the probability is much higher that the same person will become active again. The philosophy behind lead community fundraising is therefore empathy. Much more important than focusing on the end goal, namely the donation and conversion rate, is the fact that people feel good about you and have a positive (lead) experience with your organization. It is about surprising, being unforgettable, communicating in a way that allows supporters to feel comfortable. The new paradigm shift is called: “helper’s high” instead of “supplicant mode.”

4.3

The Focus in Lead Community Fundraising: On People

Why is an orientation toward people so important for lead community fundraising? Because as long as we only concentrate on objects, we cannot realize the great potential of fundraising. Fundraising still focuses on objects—on “cold addresses” or “segments”—and not on the people themselves. Or we limit ourselves to abstract terms such as frequency or amount of donations. For example, although Ken Burnett promoted relationship fundraising almost 20 years ago, many organizations are still very far from it. And that leads to organizations losing support and donations. According to a study by Boomerang, the main reasons for ending support—besides death or unemployment—is that people feel that they have no influence on the organization and that communication with the donors and supporters themselves is poor (Craver 2014: 16). For there are major differences between an orientation toward donors and one toward people. Donor orientation means: – The value of the donor is calculated solely on the basis of his/her index size or his/her donation value. – Wanting to please the donor and thereby offering what you think he/she seems to want. – Establishing a relationship with a donor is based on purely economic interests. – Donor orientation is a process that can be learned. The problem with this is that when the donor no longer gives, communication and thus appreciation for the past is also stopped. But without communication and appreciation, there will be no further donation—a self-fulfilling prophecy. People orientation, however, means: – The focus is on people and their well-being. – Everyone has an unlimited value in themselves. This must never be allowed to depend solely on the size of one donation. – The donor is perceived and supported holistically as a person. Communication is not just about the fundraising budget.

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– The vision is to achieve and develop something unique together: this is how a dialogue arises. – Honest relationship: A true and meaningful relationship is created that goes well beyond the best donor loyalty program. – People-oriented behavior is not a learned process, but rather an inner conviction and basic attitude of the entire organization. A people orientation involves seeing the person behind the donation and to letting them feel this. Communication is therefore always recipient oriented. The relationship is deepened and ultimately the so crucially important trust grows, which is the foundation for successful lead community fundraising. It is almost superfluous to mention that as people’s well-being increases, the willingness to donate increases considerably, and in some cases, it may even double (Shang et al. 2018: 5). How can this correlation between well-being and willingness to donate be explained? For example, as Wolfang Ambros put it in his song “I want to remain human” (A Mensch mecht i bleib’n): not everything that has a value must have a price. And that is the case when gearing toward humans. Speaking of value. Gearing toward humans also includes their values. These are more important than ever right now. Because the world has changed rapidly. What was true yesterday may already be out of date today. And the change goes deep—the technological revolution changes a lot, if not everything. According to Kornblum, the world of fixed structures, hierarchical management methods, and economic boundaries has disappeared without us even noticing (Kornblum 2012: 100). Therefore, we urgently need values that act like role models and that we can adhere to (Kornblum 2012: 100). But which values should we follow in lead community fundraising? Here is an attempt at a definition: Lead community fundraising is value-oriented when it creates meaningful memories for our supporters, strengthens the building of a long-lasting relationship with them and genuinely cares about their well-being.

Neuroscientists say that people only perceive something as valuable or something only has value for them if fields of positive motive and emotion are activated in the brain (Häusel 2016: 61). Accordingly, the world only gets its value through emotions. And that can be used for fundraising—by using positive emotions to ensure that a person experiences something as more valuable. In technical terms, this is also called “emotional boosting” (Häusel 2019: 13).

4.4

The Takeaway

Lead community fundraising is a fundraising technique that is based on a multicyclical, people-oriented acquisition and retention of leads and donors. First of all, people should be won over to an organization as interested parties (leads) through a value-oriented approach with meaningful, participatory,

References

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educational, helpful, and entertaining content in order to subsequently actively build up and maintain a lasting, mutually nourishing relationship (lead journey) with them. The willingness and loyalty to donate (donor journey) develop out of this special relationship. The central element is the establishment of a lead community of one’s own to which a strong connection is established. This unit, consisting of fans, followers, and supporters, represents the future basis for attracting donors. It is also a powerful voice for the organization.

References Craver R (2014) Retention fundraising: the art and science of keeping your donors for life. Emerson & Church Publishers, Medfield, MA Häusel H-G (2016) Brain View. Warum Kunden kaufen. Freiburg, Haufe-Verlag Häusel H-G (2019) Emotional boosting. Die hohe Kunst der Kaufverführung. Freiburg, HaufeVerlag Kornblum JC (2012) Die Rolle der Werte in einer globalisierten Welt. In: Hernnerkes B-H, Augustin G et al (eds) Wertewandel mitgestalten. Gut handeln in Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft. Herder-Verlag, Freiburg, pp 100–106 Shang J, Sargeant A, Carpenter K, Day H (2018) Learning to say thank you: the role of donor acknowledgments. Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, Plymouth, UK. https://www. philanthropy-institute.org.uk/s/Learning-to-Say-Thank-You_eBook-27122019.pdf

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Lead Community

“People Power” is the name of the new fundraising ecosystem!

“Power to the people,” sang John Lennon in 1971. And not only he. In the 1960s and early 1970s, calls for more political empowerment and less state control were part of American popular culture. The call for more “power to the people” is therefore a political one—one that should move the masses. And it is an expression of rebellion—also against the ruling establishment and thus ultimately also against the older generations (Harvers 2020). This rebellious spirit still exists today—in relation to the lead community. Because, analogous to the political system in the 1960s and 1970s, in the fundraising sector it is no longer the institutions that have the power—it is the people/the recipients/the leads and donors. This development is fueled by digitalization—and above all by the social networks and the people who fill these networks with life. The lead community doesn’t just have one type of power—it has two. We call the first type “power of all.” This is the strength of what we have in common, of the team, of sticking together and pulling together. We call the second power “power of one.” That is what a single person—the single lead community member—can move and what then helps to make a happy ending come true.1 Lead communities and their individual members do not act primarily rationally, but rather emotionally (Golumbia 2018)—that is the greatest strength and at the same time the greatest weakness of social networks. And this strength must be used. Because lead communities are becoming the most important fundraising component of the future. Therefore, organizations will not get around building their own lead community to secure their income in the long term. An organization cannot only reach its existing target groups better in this way, but it can also open up new potential for itself. Organizations that continue to exclusively follow a classic

1

Not to be confused with the power of individual fate, such as in Wray 2013.

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_5

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fundraising approach run the risk of falling behind. The earlier an organization starts building a lead community, the greater its experience and technological lead will be. Therefore, building a lead community really helps an organization with digital transformation. And this is all the more so, since people basically strive to connect with others, to communicate, to exchange ideas—simply to be a community. Because as social beings we humans are dependent on life and communication in communities. It is therefore not surprising that a person is in a maximum of not more than three to four digital communities at any one time (Mühlenbeck and Skibicki 2008). The need for exchange and communication is the key to understanding lead communities. A lead community is a relationship community. It unites people who share the same values and stand up for the same common cause. But what makes a digital community different from a village community? With digital communication, social, and spatial boundaries can be removed. We can connect with each other and stay in touch much easier and faster. We can create and deepen relationships with people that we would never have met in a village community. The balancing act lies between anonymity and intimacy. This offers opportunities and challenges at the same time. This community is connected through communication—through digital conversations. Fundraising becomes conversations and communities become fundraising! A successfully established lead community will in most cases be far larger than the number of donors or employees of an organization. That makes them valuable and powerful. But this community can disappear just as quickly as it came into being—if it doesn’t get what it needs. Therefore, communication—the binding agent—should always be relevant and useful. The content orientation can therefore also be called the “DNA” (Tanasic and Casaretto 2017: 20) of one’s own lead community. In addition, the conceptualizing of content should answer the following questions: – – – – – – –

Who am I addressing and what added value do I offer them? What benefits does the community offer for fundraising? What are the success factors? What degree of interaction is desired? Can the members (leads) also exchange ideas with one another? What size should my community have? How often, how much, and through which channels do I want to communicate content? – How often and at what intervals would I like to ask for support or a donation? But a content-related concept alone is not enough. The people who belong to our community should also share our vision. Because the vision is the foundation of a functioning lead community. This is how the vision of an organization becomes its greatest “asset.” Because what lead community fundraising ultimately does is make this vision available to people and share it with them. In lead communities, everyone

5.1 Who Else Is in your Lead Community?

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can ideally participate and interact. Communication thrives on the strength of real time. This means that organizations have to say goodbye to long-planned communication plans and should be ready to spontaneously report on daily events without requiring ten releases to do so. Fast and timely communication is better than perfectly planned communication. Authentic, fast communication is great, and for lead communities it’s the best of all. Because the closer the supporters are to reality, the more trust-building everything is. The worst thing is not to communicate. The most common two prejudices in communication: – It is sufficient if I write emails regularly: No, because emails alone are not sufficient and if the content is not relevant, attractive, or useful, it makes no sense at all. It is not enough to just talk about channels and to broadcast on them. It is much more important how the communication between supporters and the organization works and what the supporters appreciate most about it. A dialogue should also be initiated. Because a lead community should not be understood as a “push only channel” (Tanasic and Casaretto 2017: 76) just for asking for donations. – We only do everything according to plan: No, because a timely communication takes precedence over perfectly planned communication. Because only authentic and timely communication can successfully inspire and bind a community. You still need a plan, but flexibility and agility in implementation is becoming a new learning task for fundraisers. What a lead community really needs to survive is a satisfactory and active “community life” as well as benefit creation. If the person can sense the high degree of benefit, then he or she will be more willing to donate. And here the emotional bond is essential. The more clearly people experience that the goals, values and visions they share have been implemented, the more likely they are to stay with you. Because people only get involved in a community if they get something in return: emotional support, including consolation.

5.1

Who Else Is in your Lead Community?

The lead community consists of many people—but these can be divided into different categories. Always. And for every lead community. For this reason, the chart in Fig. 5.1 is called “the essence of your lead community.” Figure 5.1 shows that there are ignorant people—quasi newcomers—as well as those who know, compassionate people and helpers. Lead community fundraising is not primarily about asking for a donation, but about getting people excited about your topics and issues. It is therefore important to understand the core of a lead community, because the greatest potential for hope lies in the group of people who are not (yet) in the know. The object here is to make them knowledgeable, to let them empathize and ultimately to cultivate them into helpers.

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Fig. 5.1 The essence of your lead community (Content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

In every lead community there will be active as well as passive community members. In many lead communities, the “Nielsen rule” can be applied (Tanasic and Casaretto 2017: 36). This states that 90% just watch and read, 9% participate now and then, and about 1% are really proactive. Over the course of years, it may well be possible to develop lead community fundraising’s own separate formula, but we are not that far along yet. Leads do not see themselves as passive prospects, but rather as active members of the community. That is also something that is generally valid. That’s why we should communicate in this way with our leads. They have participated and underwritten community efforts and want to be seen and recognized by the organization for this. They want to be noticed and addressed as part of the organization. They want to exchange ideas on an equal footing and participate in further development.

5.2

What Types of Lead Communities Are There?

In the nonprofit sector, there are the following main types of lead communities, depending on the field of activity, as seen in Table 5.1. Every community is different and has its own characteristics, which is what makes lead community fundraising so exciting and interesting. Lead communities, regardless of their type, are also to be understood as “open communities,” because basically anyone who wants to can also be part of them.

5.4 The Lead Community Life Cycle

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Table 5.1 What types of lead communities are there? And who could that be? (Developed by L. Neugebauer) Lead community field Health Environmental Animal Human Cultural Sport Educational Religious Political

Who could that be? Institute for Cancer Research, Parkinson’s Funds, hospitals WWF, Greenpeace PETA, Four Paws Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Amnesty International Theaters, museums Sports clubs for the disabled Universities, schools Church in Aid, Caritas Open Secrets

Make it as easy as possible for people to come to the organization. In all of this, both sides should always benefit. Unfortunately, many organizations still lack this reciprocal aspect. There is a good trick to encourage dialogue on equal footing: give your lead community its own name. This can be the organization name itself or something completely its own. This name can be communicated externally or only used internally. One thing is for sure: a name makes everything much more personal.

5.3

How Can the Success of a Lead Community Be Measured?

There are three essential key performance indicators (KPIs) that enable you to measure the success and achievement of goals of your lead community. They track the behavior of the leads and let you experience how active or reactive your own lead community actually is. The KPIs are found in Table 5.2.

5.4

The Lead Community Life Cycle

Imagine you did it—the lead is there. Now what? The worst option is not doing anything. Here is a small thought experiment. Imagine you are invited by someone to visit him in a country that is foreign to you. You accept the offer and get on a plane at the agreed time. But when you arrive at the airport, nobody is waiting for you in the lobby. What should you do now, and how do you feel about being left so alone in this foreign country? People (leads) feel the same way when they register with an organization for the first time. For them it is like the beginning of a yet unknown journey. How will the trip be? We would therefore do well if we take people by the hand right from the start (to lead) and give them a good feeling, so that they can stay with us as long as possible.

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Table 5.2 How can the success of a lead community be measured? Three indicators (developed by L. Neugebauer) Key performance indicator (KPI) Relationship quality

Donation income

Market analysis

To be measured via . . . – Surveys, interviews, recordings – Recommendation rate (net promoter score) – Interaction rate – How long people read (website) – Time on site – How often it is read – Which topics are of most interest – Which channels have the greatest acceptance – Opening rate – Click rate (click-through rate) – Social signals (social media) – Response rate to non-donation campaigns (e.g., petition, ...) – Response time to non-donation campaigns – Unsubscribe rate (bounce rate) – Total ROI (income, cost ratio) – Response rate for single donations – Response time for single donations – Response rate for regular gifts – Response time for regular gifts – Average donation amount (regular gifts or one-time donations) Receive new knowledge about donor persona, new ideas or insights

The same also applies to first-time donors or first-time regular givers. At least in theory. Because in practice these are often still given very little looking after. So what can optimal care look like? Being careful to pick up new prospects right where they are? And giving and appreciating joy? Questions upon questions: let’s look at Fig. 5.2 for some answers. Welcome New Leads The way we are greeted has a big impact. It can repel us or attract us! Usually, we don’t give enough thought to it. Standard greeting emails are therefore completely out of place. Why do we want to greet our leads at all? Do we want to thank them too, and if so, what do we actually want to say thank-you for? Just for having registered with us? Because they helped? Or for being such compassionate and caring people? Therefore, it is important to be aware of why we generally want to welcome and thank someone. Only then can the greeting create well-being across the board. Basically, we should give all new leads a positive feeling. For example, by presenting the impact and implications of the good deed and thanking people— and in fact, thanking these people as people, and not just as instruments of a good deed. Alternatively, one can make the person feel like they are part of a successful

5.4 The Lead Community Life Cycle

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Fig. 5.2 The lead community life cycle (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

team and that this “team” also values them. Special activities or invitations to an “open house,” to a welcoming event, and so on, are also an option. It is important that all of this happens as quickly as possible rather than at some point in the future. Guide New Leads To stick with the image of the traveler, it is also particularly important here to explain to the newcomer what to expect. But that’s only half the battle. It’s also important to show him/her why he/she definitely needs to stay. The options for directing new leads in this context are very extensive. It is important to give security, but also to convey the feeling of continuity. This is the only way to avoid stress and uncertainty. Also, nothing should be too complicated—and the “cognitive effort for new leads” should be kept low. But how can this be done? By a personal email from the founder of the NPO. By writing a testimonial, by providing feedback after an action, such as a petition—because people want to know what happened next. A video that conveys the mission or vision of the NPO is also a good choice, as are small gifts such as eBooks, webinars, and social downloads that offer the newcomer added value. Gifts also allow the further enrichment of data: for example, in the case of postal gifts, such as stickers, which requires the sharing of one’s mailing address.

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Reward Active Leads It’s like in any other relationship—you have to say thank-you to people for being there. Otherwise, the relationship will disappear at some point. There are a variety of ways to reward active leads. Here it is essential that the person behind the active lead feels that the organization is important, and that the organization is aware of the loyalty and active help this person provides. Options here include rewards such as friendship bracelets, personal messages from the founder of the NPO, free webinars, and personal well wishes for Christmas, birthdays, or shared anniversaries. More generally, all ideas that create unforgettable memories are welcome. It is important here that communication is less formal and more friendly. Strengthen Fan Leads The larger the “fan base” of a lead community, the more it can move. Therefore, it is very important that continuous, lasting, and valuable experiences are created for the people behind the fan leads. These experiences are different from those with the other groups. It is about interaction on an equal footing—about team character. Like the people behind the active leads, those behind the fan leads should also be rewarded personally. Perhaps you will vote for your fan of the month, or you will ask your fans for their opinion, surprise them with a small gift—preferably something that they can only get from you. No matter what: fans are heroes and should be celebrated as such. Honor the Oldest Leads Newcomers need something different from fans or old hands. And the people who have been with us the longest are also important. Because they are loyal, they stick to the organization and stand by it—in good times and bad. This loyal and continued support must be acknowledged—as a sign of appreciation. Personal messages from the founder of the organization, but also special awards or prizes for years of social commitment, are suitable as a sign of recognition for the oldest leads. But you can also show appreciation and esteem by asking for their opinion, letting them have a say in the decision-making process (e.g., when giving a name to an animal or a building), inviting them to special events or simply saying thank-you to them over and over again. Because this relationship is strong—much is shared in common and this needs to be emphasized and called to mind. Re-Invite Inactive Leads Much of the lead community is passive, and some are also inactive. But that’s not a reason to despair; it’s normal. What needs to be done now is: invite, activate, win back. The best way to do this is to reach out to these people again, similar to the process of gaining new leads. It’s about the “re-attraction” phase. We’ll come back to this in Sect. 7.3.1.

References

5.5

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The Takeaway

A lead community is not a product, but a social community of people who share the same values and visions and where the interchange mainly takes place via digital communication channels. Over time, not only does the organization get to know its members (leads) better, but also vice versa. This creates ever more personal, two-way communication. For the top priorities are satisfied members (leads) and the formation of a mutually nourishing relationship. This can only happen through the conscious and active development and cultivation of good feelings. It is from this special relationship that the willingness to donate or the wish of the members (leads) to donate arises. In this way, this digital relationship community becomes a continuous, predictable, and secure source of income for the organization to finance its important work. In addition, the lead community makes the organization very strong vis-à-vis third parties, especially once the organization reaches a certain size. There is no fixed minimum size, but in our experience, it only really makes sense to speak of your own lead community, if you have at least 1000 leads.

References Golumbia D (2018) Wie Soziale Medien unser Denken verändern und die Demokratie bedrohen. Vice (online). https://www.vice.com/de/article/bjy7ez/wie-soziale-medien-unser-denkenverandern-und-die-demokratie-bedrohen. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Harvers R (2020) ‘Power to the people’: john Lennon’s revolutionary statement. Udiscovermusic (online). https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/power-to-the-people/. Accessed 26 Nov 2020 Mühlenbeck F, Skibicki K (2008) Community marketing management. Wie man onlinecommunities im internet-Zeitalter des Web 2.0 zum Erfolg führt. Norderstedt: Books on Demand (BoD). Chap. 1.1, para. 8 Tanasic J, Casaretto C (2017) Digital Community Management. Communitys erfolgreich aufbauen und das digitale Geschäft meistern. Schäffer-Poeschel-Verlag, Stuttgart Wray H (2013) The power of one: the psychology of charity. HuffPost (online). https://www. huffpost.com/entry/the-power-of-one-the-psyc_b_2670533?guccounter¼1. Accessed 26 Nov 2020

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This Is how Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Campaign

Now it’s time to get down to business. Here you can find out what your lead campaign needs in order to work. And here it is—nicely packaged in a graphic (Fig. 6.1). But no worries: there’s much more here than just a graphic. The details will follow. In this chapter you will learn: which lead segments and types there are, which promises organizations make with each call to action, which basic plots are behind the lead campaign and its call-to-action—and much more. The Key Point: This Is how Lead Community Fundraising Works To do this, we really have to start from scratch here—that is, at Step 0. Before you can consider in Step 1 what type of click it is, what the goal is and what promise you make with it, you need leads. And there are quite a lot—entire segments. But nothing is cut and dried with that. Because everything stands or falls with the quality of the story. And there aren’t that many good ones. For all the stories in the world can be broken down into seven basic plots, and six of them can be used for fundraising— that is Step 2. Because these plots help to structure what we tell and to whom we tell it. Step 3 is about being clear about which feeling and which motivation to act should be triggered. When we know that, we move on to Step 4. And the question of what kind of appreciation we want to show. Or put another way: What does the lead/actor get? This can also be a simple, but heartfelt thank-you. Step 5 is one of the most important. This involves: What was the actor promised for his/her click/for his/her action? This is a promise we have to keep. The “mighty four” are also absolutely essential in the conception of any lead campaign. We have described them in detail in Sect. 2.3 on “Universal opportunities for digital fundraising”: – The power of emotion and compassion. – The power of motivation—these are motives, needs, and high impact motivators. # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_6

61

Always triggered by posiƟve emoƟons: - Compassion - Create JusƟce - Restore Balance - Community/ ParƟcipaƟon - Fairness - Enthusiasm

2) The Mission

3) The Rebirth

4) Suddenly in a foreign world

2) Impact Click

3) Dialogue Click

4) Join Click

6) The Comedy

Personal thank you Small giŌ / present Confirm acƟon Show appreciaƟon ConfirmaƟon and praise for the good deed CommunicaƟon at eye level Be authenƟc Let the donor be part of the team The clicker is a hero

Fig. 6.1 This is how Lead Community Fundraising works—Step 1 to Step 5 (developed by L. Neugebauer)

6) Joy Click

5) From Beggar to King

Main goal: Let people make a difference!

1) Good versus Evil

1) Info Click

as many as possible

Be Appreciated

4

Keep your promise depending on the click category Experience well-being through good feelings Follow-up Create dialogue Bonding Context

as many as possible

Resolve the Ac on

5

6

5) Product Click

select 1

select 1

select 1

Give Good Emo ons

Basic Plot

Click Category

3

2

1

62 This Is how Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Campaign

6.1 Step 0: Lead Segments and Lead Types

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– The power of stories. – The power of patterns of interpretation—of frames and frameworks that are automatically activated in all of us and that we as humans cannot escape. Think about them. Take advantage of them. Because the “mighty four” are universally valid, for all types of fundraising and thus also for lead community fundraising. So those are the steps in a nutshell, now comes the long version.

6.1

Step 0: Lead Segments and Lead Types

To do lead community fundraising, you first need leads. But when you start thinking about leads, the same lead types and categories tend to come to mind. Is this the same for you? The first thing that comes to mind is the petition. No wonder. Petitions are booming. They are still a successful strategy in fundraising for generating prospects online—but there are many others. Yes, there are more than you think. Without a doubt. And let’s face it, there is a life for leads outside of Facebook. Sounds incredible, but it’s true. There is also room for improvement when it comes to naming leads. Therefore, from now on everything is new and to be developed from scratch. So come and join us on our own private lead journey. Discover leads from a different perspective—from the perspective of people. Because, as already mentioned, we understand lead community fundraising to be people centered. And people act, maybe not always in the smartest way, but the click is always authentic. In action, the values, visions, and needs of the people manifest themselves. For this reason, we differentiate the people behind the lead based on their level of action.

6.1.1

I Act, Therefore I Am: Three Lead Segments

People act. And this action is motivated by desires, needs, longings, habitus, and many other things that make us human. Therefore, this typology takes action as its starting point and combines it with an emotional quality. For not all types of action require the same emotional involvement. Figure 6.2 shows the three lead segments that we were able to identify. The Three Lead Segments This typology illustrates what it is really about: namely about actions, about what someone has done with or for an organization—and about how a person came to an organization with their data. And this can be summarized in three segments. But in truth, everything is much more complex, because there are many different types of leads behind each segment.

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Fig. 6.2 The three lead elements—a typology based on the actions of the leads (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

Table 6.1 The definition of the action level (developed by L. Neugebauer) How are the three iSegments defined? iSegments The definition of the level of action Involved These people do something for the benefit of the work of an organization or its Leads beneficiaries and pass on their personal data for this purpose. This is why this iSegment is also called “involved leads,” because these people have committed themselves to the organization. Incentivized These people receive something from the organization for free, which motivates Leads them to register with the organization with their personal information. This is why this iSegment is referred to as “incentivized leads.” Indirect These persons are on the websites of third parties and intentionally or Leads unintentionally register with the organization with their personal data. This is why this iSegment is called “indirect leads,” as these people are not directly on the organization’s website and their primary activity originally had nothing to do with the organization.

Table 6.1 with the “iSegments” illustrates this very precisely. Why were these three segments named “iSegments” (term developed by Neugebauer et al. 2019, unpublished)? Look closely, all three of the terms start with the letter “i”. But not all “iSegments” are created equal. Involved leads are more likely to donate and indirect leads are less likely to, with incentivized leads somewhere in the middle. This is also due to the actions taken to generate the lead.

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This is explained by their “origin.” Because indirect leads come from third-party websites. The actual action taken by these people does not involve getting in contact with the organization. The enrollment or registration with the organization occurs almost incidentally while the lead seeks to do something else, such as participate in a raffle or register for a newsletter on a fashion portal. For some lead types in this iSegment, the registration is largely done nonconsciously or unintentionally, making the probability that these people will donate among the lowest of any in lead community fundraising. Nevertheless, even with indirect leads, there are ways to involve and qualify people in such a way that their likelihood of donating becomes just as high as that of the other two iSegments. More on this can be found in Chap. 10. Since incentivized and involved leads register or enroll directly on the website or landing page of an organization, these lead types are usually more likely to donate than the lead types from indirect leads. However, each iSegment can address and find people who perfectly fit the vision of the organization. It is more about the organization tapping into and leveraging each iSegment for itself.

6.1.2

The Lead Types behind the iSegments

So far, we have identified over 40 types of leads and begun by defining them. We are aware that there will be more lead types in the future while others may disappear. All lead types described below relate to private individuals. In addition, it is of course also possible to generate leads from companies. There are already some examples of this in practice. In this book, however, we limit ourselves to private individuals. The lead segment with the most lead types is fortunately one of the most valuable iSegments, namely that of the “involved leads.” We want to point out again that this is the first time that lead types have been identified and strategically defined on this scale. Therefore, this is only the status quo, and only the beginning of lead community fundraising. When choosing a name for a lead type, we made a conscious effort to formulate it at the personal level. Because behind every lead there is a person who is more or less interested in the work of an organization. This awareness is fundamental in peopleand action-centered lead community fundraising. How were the names given? By following the action-centered approach. After all, the action that a person has taken in order to participate is the most essential qualitative feature—saying the most about a person’s needs and inclinations. Figure 6.3 illustrates which lead types result from the respective lead segment. Now you know what types of leads—such as microdonors or challenge participants—result from the involved leads segment. You also know what types of leads result from the incentivized lead segment or the indirect lead segment. So far, so good. Now let’s dig down deeper and analyze the level of action of each individual lead type. How do indirect lead types act? That’s a good question. Because indirect lead types represent a special form of lead type. For instance, you have here the

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Fig. 6.3 The three lead segments and their respective lead types—a typology based on the person’s actions (content: L. Neugebauer; graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

subscriber as sponsor, as co-sponsor, or in the form of a co-registration. What’s the difference? It comes down to the “proximity” factor. How close to the organization are the people behind the leads? That is vital. It makes a difference whether an organization acts as the sole sponsor of a third-party website or not. The latter is the case when the organization acts as one of many sponsors of the third-party website— that is, as a co-sponsor. Or if the lead comes from a third-party provider and a co-registration. Sounds complicated? It is, but we promise: With practice it gets easier and easier. So now, after taking a look at Table 6.2, you know how the types of leads act in the indirect lead segment and how that behavior defines them. Now let’s turn to the action of the lead types in the incentivized lead segment. How do incentivized lead types act? This is shown in Table 6.3, because incentivized leads are also defined by what they do and how they do it (or do not do it). For the view of the level of action is also so important because it is an honest look—without argumentation, without socially desirable answers. It captures what people do. And nothing more.

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Table 6.2 Indirect lead types (developed by L. Neugebauer) How do indirect lead types act? Lead types Definition of the level of action Sponsor: Person signs a petition on a third-party website and takes this opportunity to Signatory register with the organization. The organization appears as the sole “sponsor” of this website Sponsor: The person signs up on a third-party online portal and takes this opportunity to Subscriber register with the organization. The organization appears as the sole “sponsor” of this website Sponsor: Person makes a one-time donation of up to € 3 on a platform. On this occasion Microdonor he/she registers with the organization. The organization appears as the sole “sponsor” of this website Sponsor: Person makes a one-time donation of more than € 3 on a platform. On this Donor occasion he/she registers with the organization. The organization appears as the sole “sponsor” of this website Sponsor: Person takes part in a test on a third-party website and registers with the Test organization on this occasion. The organization appears as the sole “sponsor” participant of this website Sponsor: Person takes part in a raffle on a third-party website and takes this opportunity Raffle to register with the organization. The organization appears as the sole participant “sponsor” of this website Co-sponsor: Person signs a petition on a third-party website and takes this opportunity to Signatory register with the organization. The organization appears here as one of several so-called “sponsors” of this website Co-sponsor: The person signs up on a third-party online portal and takes this opportunity to Subscriber register with the organization. The organization appears here as one of several so-called “sponsors” of this website Co-sponsor: Person makes a one-time donation of up to € 3 on a platform. On this occasion Microdonor he or she registers with the organization. The organization appears here as one of several so-called “sponsors” of this website Co-sponsor: Person makes a one-time donation of more than € 3 on a platform. On this Donor occasion this person registers with the organization. The organization appears here as one of several so-called “sponsors” of this website Co-sponsor: Person takes part in a test on a third-party website and registers with the Test organization on this occasion. The organization appears here as one of several participant so-called “sponsors” of this website Co-sponsor: Person takes part in a raffle on a third-party website and takes this opportunity Raffle to register with the organization. The organization appears here as one of participant several so-called “sponsors” of this website Co-register: Person signs a petition on a third-party website and takes this opportunity to Signatory register with the organization. The organization usually integrates a specific call-to-action onto this website, enabling the person to sign up for it on this occasion Co-register: The person signs up on a third-party online portal and takes this opportunity to Subscriber register with the organization. The organization usually integrates a specific call-to-action onto this website, enabling the person to sign up for it on this occasion Co-register: Person donates up to € 3 on a third-party online portal and takes this Microdonor opportunity to register with the organization. The organization usually (continued)

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Table 6.2 (continued) How do indirect lead types act? Lead types Definition of the level of action

Co-register: Donor

Co-register: Test participant Co-register: Raffle participant

integrates a specific call-to-action onto this website, enabling the person to sign up for it on this occasion Person donates more than € 3 on a third-party online portal and takes this opportunity to register with the organization. The organization usually integrates a specific call-to-action onto this website, enabling the person to sign up for it on this occasion Person takes part in a test on a third-party website and registers with the organization on this occasion. The organization usually integrates a specific call-to-action onto this website, enabling the person to sign up for it on this occasion Person takes part in a raffle on a third-party website and takes this opportunity to register with the organization. The organization usually integrates a specific call-to-action onto this website, enabling the person to sign up for it on this occasion

Table 6.3 Incentive lead types (developed by L. Neugebauer) How do incentivized lead types act? Lead types Definition of the level of action Freebie Person registers with the organization in order to receive something in return recipient for free and without any obligation. This can involve both material and immaterial incentives, such as an eBook, a screen saver or a simple “like” Test The person registers with the organization to take a quiz or a test participant Raffle The person registers with the organization to take part in a raffle participant Lottery The person registers with the organization to take part in its lottery player Subscriber The person registers with the organization to subscribe to regular information from it. This can be, for instance, a newsletter, an e-newspaper or even WhatsApp news E-learner The person registers with the organization to get training. This could be a webinar, for example Follower The person registers with the organization to receive updates from it about a specific project or the outcome of a campaign Gamer The person registers with the organization in order to participate in an online game offered by the organization

Table 6.3 shows which actions are based on incentivized lead types. This is important insofar as lead community fundraising basically involves exactly that: action. Because both registering and becoming a lead, as well as donating itself are ultimately one thing above all else: actions. And people’s everyday action preferences can also be used to determine what drives them, what they are looking for, what they want. Because in this quasi-nonconscious everyday action, our

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Table 6.4 Involved lead types (developed by L. Neugebauer) How do involved lead types act? Lead types Definition of the level of action Microdonor The person makes a one-time donation of up to € 3. This could be done, for example, via an SMS donation Buyer The person buys the so-called “charity or solidarity products” from an organization E-activist The person registers with the organization in order to specifically support it in an action and campaign. His or her click has an immediate effect Signatory The person signs an organization’s petition Interactive The person registers with the organization in order to interact with it or with those involved. This could, for example, be in the form of a verbal donation or in the form of an exchange of experiences Event attendee The person registers with the organization to take part in an event. This could also be an e-event Challenge The person takes part in a challenge from the organization. This can be participant initiated by the organization or by a private person Team member The person would like to become part of the organization and joins it with his or her data Handraiser The person affirms and specifically declares his or her support, by name, for a certain value statement Helper The person registers with the organization in order to demonstrate his or her interest in helping them Voter The person registers with the organization in order to vote in an action or campaign and thus be able to participate in the decision-making process Volunteer The person registers with the organization in order to show his or her interest in becoming a volunteer Donor The person registers with the organization in order to receive further information about donation opportunities Regular donor The individual registers with the organization in order to receive further information on how he or she can become a regular donor to the organization Mid-level donor The person registers with the organization in order to receive more information about projects with a donation requirement of € 500—€ 10,000 and the donation options available to them Major donor The person registers with the organization to receive further information about projects with a donation requirement of € 10,000 or more and the donation options available to them Legacy giver The individual registers with the organization for more information on leaving a legacy

habitus is revealed—that is how we see the world and society (Bourdieu 1998: 41 f.; Liebisch 2010: 74). Okay: so far, so good. The question now is how do involved lead types act and how does this behavior define them. You can see all of this in Table 6.4.

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But be careful: not all mid-level donors are the same. Because not every organization defines this from 500 to 10,000 Euros. And that’s good. Because, although this definition of mid-level and major donors is in keeping with international standards in fundraising, every charity should definitely define their mid-level and major donors individually by analyzing the amount actually donated by the top 20–30% of their donors. So far, we have been able to categorize more than 40 lead types and name them in three languages. These form the backbone of the iSegments and bring them to life. In the future, even more lead types may be added and others may disappear—because this is a preliminary list and overview, an attempt to map internationally uncharted territory. For this reason, Table 6.5 shows all iSegments and lead types in three languages. There, finished. “Step zero” has been more or less completed. This creates the basis for developing a lead community fundraising campaign: namely, the selection of lead segments and lead types. Are you ready to take the first step? Hopefully, because things continue—with the appropriate click category.

6.2

Step 1: The Power of the Right Click Category

Everyone wants just one thing in lead community fundraising: the click. But hardly anyone thinks about how this click comes about. Specifically, it involves the following two questions: 1. What should the click do? Should it get someone to sign something or order something? What should someone do—at the level of action. And this is where the power to motivate action comes into play, as already described in Sect. 2.3. You have to be clear about which motives, needs and high-impact motivators trigger the action—what is behind the click. This is the only way to select the right click category. 2. What promise do we actually give a person so that she clicks—regardless of whether she donates, registers or subscribes to something? This question is essential! Because usually the desire to get as many people as possible as leads in the shortest possible time prevails, so that one completely forgets that the call for action is also linked to a promise on the part of the NPO. We’ve probably all signed a petition at one time or another, which then seemingly petered out and died in nirvana. Out of sight, out of mind. You don’t remember it, but you do remember those organizations that really informed you about the outcome of their petitions. Many organizations forget their promises in the heat of the moment. They don’t keep anyone up to date. But how can you as a donor or interested party be sure that, for example, an injustice has been stopped by the signature? The solution is obvious: promises must be kept, even very small ones like these. Because only that brings

Involvierte Leads

Incentivierte Leads

Mikrospender/in Käufer/in E‐Aktivist/in Unterstützer/in (Handraiser ) Abstimmungsteilnehmer/in Unterzeichner/in Interaktive/r Eventteilnehmer/in Challenge‐Teilnehmer/in Voluntär/in Helfende/r Team‐Mitglied Pate/in Spender/in Mediumspender/in Großspender/in Legatgeber/in Involved Leads

Incentivised Leads

Indirect Leads

Indirekte Leads

Freebie Empfänger/in Testteilnehmer/in Gewinnspielteilnehmer/in Lotterieteilnehmer/in Abonnent/in E‐Learner Follower Spieler/in

iSegment

Leadarten

Co‐Sponsor, Sponsor oder Co‐Register: Unterzeichner/in Abonnent/in Mikrospender/in Testteilnehmer/in Spender/in Gewinnspielteilnehmer/in

iSegment

German

Microdonor Buyer E‐Activist Handraiser Voter Signatory Interactive Event Attendee Challenge Participant Volunteer Helper Team Member Regular Donor Donor Mid‐level Donor Major Donor Legacy Giver

Leads Involucrados

Leads Incentivados

Leads indirectos

Freebie Recipient Test Participant Contest Participant Lottery Player Subscriber E‐Learner Follower Player

iSegmento

Types of Leads Co‐Sponsor, Sponsor or Co‐Register: Signatory Subscriber Microdonor Test Participant Donor Contest Participant

English

Table 6.5 The lead types and their iSegments in three languages, developed by L. Neugebauer

Microdonante Comprador/a E‐Activista Handraiser Votante Firmante Interactivo Asistente Evento Participante Reto Voluntario/a Ayudante Miembro Equipo Socio/a Donante Donante Medio Gran Donante Donante Legado

Receptor/a Freebie Participante Test Participante Sorteo Participante Lotería Suscriptor/a E‐Learner Seguidor/a Jugador/a

Co‐Sponsor, Sponsor o Co‐Registro: Firmante Suscriptor/a Microdonante Participante Test Donante Participante Sorteo

Tipos de Leads

Spanish

6.2 Step 1: The Power of the Right Click Category 71

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Table 6.6 The six click categories and what they promise (developed by L. Neugebauer) The six click categories and what they promise Click category Info click Impact click Dialogue click Join click Product click Joy click

Organizational promise . . . Send information Show positive impact Lead a conversation Create feelings of belonging and community Send products, material, or immaterial Create fun and joy

credibility, creates trust, transparency and positive feelings in the people who openly support organizations. Therefore, keeping digital promises is one of the most important pillars of lead community fundraising. In order to create a solid foundation for this pillar, based on a separate analysis (Neugebauer et al. 2019, unpublished), six click categories of promises were carved out. They are set out in Table 6.6. The promises named in Table 6.5, based on previously identified lead types (L. Neugebauer, 2018–2020, unpublished), can be distilled down into “six click categories.” These click types work on two levels. On the level of action—the level of motivation, motives, needs, and high-impact motivators—what you want to achieve is manifested in the naming of the click types. – The Info click aims to get information. This complies with, for example, the basic needs for orientation, control, autonomy, and self-determination, but also with the high-impact motivator, safety. – The Impact click combines the pursuit of recognition, of the feeling of competence and of an increase in self-esteem, but also speaks to the motivation to want to do something meaningful in life and to stand out from the crowd, to be something special. What is also involved here is the pursuit of fairness and justice. – The need for social contact manifests itself in the Dialogue click. – The Join click is triggered by the basic need for attachment, belonging, and participation. – The Product click is motivated by the pursuit of pleasure—we want to get something. – The Joy click is motivated by the same need, but in a different form: namely, gaining pleasure. This is about fun, about well-being, but also about wanting to feel high-impact motivators such as well-being/relaxation/balance and enthusiasm/passion/excitement (Hofmann et al. 2017: 2; Magids et al. 2015; Oechsli 2015). On the level of relationship—the level of the digital dialogue with the actor/ donor/interested party—these six click categories are synonymous with the promise

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we humans make with every digital lead-generation campaign. Some lead types are clearly and exclusively in one click category, while other lead types can appear in different click categories, depending on the orientation of a campaign. One thing that the six click categories have in common is that the promises they stand for should be kept in a timely manner, preferably immediately. And something else is important: that nobody receives less than what was promised. In the best-case scenario, he or she gets more than expected. This creates a wow effect and a positive experience, showing that the trust in the organization was justified. But the opposite is also possible if you allow this trust to be almost deliberately destroyed—by means of “hollow clicks.” For more on this, see Sect. 6.6.

6.3

Step 2: Use the Power of Stories and Patterns of Interpretation

When we know what the click is supposed to do and what promise we are making with it, we move on to Step 2. And that means we have to be clear about which basic plot, which basic story—the structure of which appears over and over again—we are telling. Because stories are powerful. They make us dive into them, to feel what the hero is feeling. That is, they trigger emotions by activating the mirror neurons (Jäger 2016; Lile 2017) and thus arousing empathy and compassion (Lakoff and Wehling 2016: 59). Because there is one major difference between empathy and compassion. Empathy only means feeling, empathizing and then leaving it at that (Strobl 2017). But compassion leads to action. Both are needed for fundraising to work. Because without empathy there is no compassion. And no donation without compassion. But stories can do even more: they connect people—because they manage to make everyone feel the same way (Kaufmann 2018). Stories are able to synchronize people’s brain activities (Pyczak 2018: 44). They are able to do all this because they all come from the same sources, are all stitched together according to the same patterns and function according to the same rules (Booker 2005: 13). Stories give us a sense of security by allowing us to recognize these basic plots within.

6.3.1

Good Versus Evil/the Fight against the Monster

The first basic plot involves the classic fight between good and evil/the fight against a monster, as seen in James Bond movies, in War of the Worlds, in Star Wars, in the Three Musketeers or Sherlock Holmes. And the first question always arises: Who is the bad guy: in James Bond it’s always a super bad guy like Dr. No, for Luke Skywalker it’s Darth Vader, in War of the Worlds it’s the aliens, in Sherlock Holmes it’s his opponent Moriarty and in the Three Musketeers it’s the evil Lady De Winter (Booker 2005: 23, 37, 42). The roles are clearly assigned. There is a deadly monster—in (partially) human or animal form—and it brings death and destruction over a community, an entire

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country, a kingdom, or even over the whole world. In addition, the monster usually has a “great prize in its claws”—a treasure or a princess. This monster must be conquered and killed—the story is about nothing else (Booker 2005: 23). The hero is the opposing player—he confronts the monster, and it looks like he is going to die. But then the tide turns, the hero escapes death—usually with a “miracle weapon” and kills the monster. The great order of things is restored—the world, the kingdom, the church are saved, the prize won (Booker 2005: 23). The pattern itself is simple: the monster is initially just a diffuse threat from a distance. Then the hero is called. The hero prepares for the fight, there are initial triumphs, and the hero feels invulnerable. But then it looks like the monster will win and kill the hero. When it looks as if everything is lost, the climax comes: a wonderful change in the situation occurs, with the hero escaping death and gaining the upper hand. He kills the monster, restores peace and wins the prize/woman/honor (Pyczak 2018: 23; Booker 2005: 48 f.). Why is the fight between good and evil or against the monster important? Because we do one thing above all in fundraising: tell stories. And this one is one of the most important. Because when rangers fight against poachers, when animal rights activists oppose fur farming, when researchers fight against cancer, then it’s the same story. Here, too, there is a dark, deadly threat—here, too, there is someone who opposes it and there is a showdown. But unlike in films or books, the donor is there—as part of the team that helps fight this threat. Otherwise fundraising will fail—online and offline. Hence, we all need to be aware of what the core of the story is that we are telling. And we need to be aware of who the hero is. Because we—the fundraisers—are not alone. Perhaps surprisingly, the donor is also a hero—if not the only one. But he or she is the one who matters NOW and whose good deed—the donation—decides the current showdown.

6.3.2

From Beggar to King

The second basic plot “from rags to riches” is about the ascent from the depths. But it’s about much more than just going from beggar to king—or from dishwasher to millionaire. Because there is always an element of personal maturation here. And not only in the sense of growing up, but also in the sense of “becoming yourself” (Booker 2005: 5, 54 f., 220). This can be seen, for example, with the ugly duckling, in the legend of King Arthur, with Cinderella, but also with Rocky, who in the end— although he loses the fight—becomes what he has always been at heart: a real boxer. And as with the “monster plot,” here there is also an opponent—an adult like the evil stepmother in Cinderella or direct competitors like the ugly duckling’s evil siblings—in whose shadow the young hero stands (Booker 2005: 54). This plot can be summarized as follows: A loser becomes something very special. This transformation takes place in several steps. A young person lives in low, unhappy circumstances, dominated by a dark figure. Then something happens that leads the hero out into the world, that calls to him or her. In this world the hero or heroine registers some initial triumphs, including in matters of love, but he/she has

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not yet fully matured. There is a fundamental crisis, and everything goes wrong. But the hero/heroine does not give up, she appears instead in a new light and with new independent strength. She manages to fight against the dark figure, free herself from the shadows and defeat the figure of evil. In the end, the hero/heroine is complete— there is a happy end, including in matters of love (Booker 2005: 66; Pyczak 2018: 23f). This plot is always found, for example, when we recount how everything began from the perspective of the organization—when we go into the founding myth. About how we might once have sat together at a friendly get-together and shared the opinion that something need be done—against the suffering of children, the suffering of animals, the destruction of nature, a particularly deadly or debilitating illness, or whatever. And when we tell how far we have come and what we have achieved in the meantime. All of this shows that we have not only achieved something against our opponent—whether it be the destruction of the environment, animal cruelty, a particular disease, or child poverty—but that we have also changed ourselves. That we’ve gotten stronger. And that now, in the final showdown, the donor is needed to ensure a happy ending at some point down the road. The donor becomes the second hero here, standing right by our side in the showdown. With his or her donation the donor joins forces with the organization working for a happy ending.

6.3.3

The Mission

The third basic plot “the quest” involves a mission that must be accomplished, a quest that must be completed in order to achieve a great and important, but faraway goal—as in Lord of the Rings, or Moses’ exodus from Egypt, as for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark or in The Odyssey (Booker 2005: 5, 69). It is—on a general level—about life itself, which is a journey—a journey the ultimate goal of which is wholeness and self-actualization (Booker 2005: 221). In the beginning, the hero/heroine is called—with Moses this happens quite clearly through the burning bush. This mission becomes the most important thing in the world—something life changing (Booker 2005: 69ff). This is where the journey begins. But the journey itself is only half of the story, the second part deals with the mission or the goal for which everything is undertaken (Booker 2005: 83). The hero is not alone on the journey—there are companions like Frodo’s friend Sam or Moses’ brother Aaron and helpers like the old sage Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, whom the group met on their way—though they also encounter deadly dangers. There are monsters who stand in their way and temptations that try to lead them astray (Booker 2005: 72ff.). When the hero/heroine arrives at the destination of the journey, there is no happy end in sight. There are further dangers, entanglements, and further trials that end in a real showdown. Only then is the mission achieved—Moses reaches the promised land, Odysseus is king again, and Frodo has destroyed the ring. Through the journey and the fulfillment of the mission, the hero himself is transcended (Booker 2005: 83; Pyczak 2018: 24).

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This basic plot can also be found in fundraising. If we want to save the jaguar from extinction. If we want to stop the climate crisis. If we want a world in which animals also have rights. If we want to free all bile bears. When we want to help children with a specific skin disease. When we are looking for a cure for cancer so that all people can survive. When we enable sick children from poor countries to have an operation in another country. We always have to be clear from which perspective we are telling a story. We need to know who we are and what role the donor plays. Because in this story we are Gandalf and Frodo at the same time—we are the old sage who helps the hero. We are the ones who got the call. But we are not the only Frodo in history. Because the donor also received his call—through us— and he heard it. So, there is a second heroic story here, a second Frodo. Because it would be completely implausible if we made the donor the sole hero. On the one hand, because he knows himself: It is not his sole mission. He helps, but he does not develop a cure, he does not travel to foreign countries to save animals or nature. But he has an essential part in it. And on the other hand, because we cannot write this story from the perspective of the donor alone: We don’t know what really moves him. We don’t know his life story. We can only make hypotheses and refer to generally applicable things—because everyone has had a first day of school, a first love.

6.3.4

Suddenly in a Foreign World

The fourth basic plot involves the “journey and return” and finding your way in this foreign world. Examples are Alice in Wonderland, but also The Time Machine and Gone with the Wind (Booker 2005: 5). In this plot the key question is: what and where is this foreign world? It can be that the person ends up in a foreign world—like Alice in Wonderland. And it may be that people stay in the same place, but the world around them changes, as it does for Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind when the American Civil War breaks out (Booker 2005: 87, 104ff.). At the center of this plot is usually a young, naive person who has only limited experience with the world and suddenly finds him- or herself outside of the customary—in another world of whatever kind. This world may be exciting at first, but soon the shadows grow longer and the dangers greater. The situation comes to a head, and the hero has to fight for survival. The hero/heroine then manages to escape from this world. The heroine often returns as a mature adult—a luminous figure with an expanded intellectual horizon (Booker 2005: 105f). This plot of “journey and return” is based on experiences that we have all made ourselves. Namely, on the feeling of having entered a world that is foreign to us and of having to cope with this foreign environment—or being lost in it. We have all experienced this before—be it on the first day of school or when we reached puberty, when everything we knew previously changes (including ourselves) and something completely new begins. The feelings of rising fear, of feeling trapped and not belonging, are part of our own past (Booker 2005: 87, 104ff.).

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We encounter this plot in fundraising when we report directly from the rainforest. Or from a community hall somewhere in a poor country where children are being screened. Or from a war zone. Or directly from a rescue mission, for instance, where an animal being held under terrible conditions is freed and transported to a safe place. Or when we tell how a loved one got sick and our world changed. Or when we look back on a crisis—in nature, in private, wherever ... Or when we change perspectives and tell the story of someone else: of a person on the run or of a child who has to walk long distances every day to get water or food. Or of an animal that witnesses its habitat being destroyed.

6.3.5

The Comedy

The plot comedy—as Booker understands it—doesn’t just mean comedy, rather it involves a transformation from a dark state to one of light. From ego-centered, isolated people to people who are there for others (Booker 2005: 144). Because this is a basic insight of human existence: people should not be alone; they are social beings and need community. In this way the hidden is brought to light, entanglements are revealed and everything that fits together is brought together. So either those whose dark qualities have gained the upper hand become new, different persons—their hearts soften—or they are punished and rendered harmless. This is how the true identity or nature of people is revealed. This is how lovers who may have separated due to misunderstandings, find each other again and reunite. Or families that were separated are reunited—in places where they belong and where they thrive (Booker 2005: 116f). The essence of this plot goes as follows: In a small world people live side by side. There is frustration and confusion. This increases as the darkness grows and everything turns into a nightmare. Then the light of understanding enters the picture, and the confusion is resolved. The people and their little world are transformed— into their better selves and into a joyful community the members of which stand by one another (Booker 2005: 150, 224 f.). It might seem strange at first, but fundraising involves a lot of comedy— because comedy tends to be about happy endings. That good triumphs and evil is punished or chastened. And the donation brings the story a little closer to this great goal. Thus, the donor is to some extent the hero in this plot, but not the only one. Because it is only partly his story that is being told. He has also heard the call— through the request for donations—but he is not the focus. Nevertheless, the donation also transforms his little world and the donor himself: the donor virtually reaches the next level towards a better self and is part of a community of persons who stand by one another. Which stories are found in fundraising? Well, those in which we restore, as it were, the right way of doing things, the good old rules. In which we resolve entanglements. In which children find their way back to their parents. In which animal populations start to recover. In which new therapies take effect. In which a

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well supplies a community with new vitality, an orphanage becomes a home, or a hospital is good for an entire region.

6.3.6

The Tragedy

The plot of the tragedy shows what happens when people act for the wrong reasons—when they allow themselves to be driven or seduced by their egos, as in Faust or Bonnie and Clyde. The call the hero/heroine receives has the character of a seduction (Booker 2005: 173). Even if it initially looks like the hero/heroine will get away with it, the tide turns. Everything goes wrong and the hero/heroine loses control of the situation. In the end, the hero/heroine is dead or destroyed (Booker 2005: 156). This plot is special: because this is the only one that does not appear in fundraising. Because if something is illegitimate, reprehensible, or wrong, or if the hero/heroine is being driven to do something wrong, then this is not a good basis for a donation. Nobody wants to be on the “wrong” side. Nobody helps the “evil queen.” We all want to save Snow White.

6.3.7

The Rebirth

The rebirth is the seventh and last of the basic plots—the last primal story. We all know not only of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty who are awakened after long slumbers, but also of the Frog King, who is cast under a spell and becomes a prince again, or of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, who becomes a new person after being visited by the three spirits of Christmas (Booker 2005: 193ff.). These spirits become Scrooge’s antitheses—it is they who make his transformation or rebirth possible. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty also experience a rebirth, triggered by the princes who awaken them with a kiss. And of course, one of the most famous rebirths is found in the Bible: that of Jesus. All of these rebirths share one thing in common: the born-again are better than anyone before them, more whole, more healed, and with a profound understanding of the world as a whole. What do all these rebirth stories have in common? That they involve someone who is almost dead or under a spell. And that for a long time it looks like the evil forces will win. But then there is a miraculous turn of events and the hero/heroine reemerges from the shadows. And the wonderful thing about it: The hero or heroine is transformed to his or her true self and full of deep understanding of the world itself (Booker 2005: 204, 227). And not only in the Bible, but in fundraising as well there is a lot of rebirth and return from the shadows. When a near-dying child needs to be saved—with the help of the donor. If we do everything, we can save nature from destruction, or the whole world, or a certain animal species from extinction, or a homeless person, or someone with an addictive disease from self-destruction. Here—when it comes to rebirth/near-death/coming back from the shadows—the focus is not on

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the organization. It is primarily about those we want to save—people, animals, nature, whatever. And the donors are part of our team, working with us fundraisers to do just that. And in this way the donors themselves experience a moment of rebirth. Because this includes not only dodging death at the last moment, but also a moment of transformation. And this also extends to the donor. He himself becomes a better person through his good deed—even if you can never tell him that directly.

6.3.8

Why these Stories and Interpretive Patterns Are So Important?

These seven plots are at the heart of the stories that we all tell each other over and over again—they are part of daily practices and therefore common sense. And they are essential for fundraising. Why? Because we all recognize the pattern of the story—and this recognition produces a sense of closeness and familiarity and immediately creates a little movie in the mind (Pyczak 2018: 27). These primal basic stories or plots, therefore, possess a validity that is, first of all, independent of time and culture. In addition, they offer universally valid docking points for experiences such as those from childhood or youth, or first-time experiences, or the experience of war or cultural trauma (Fuchs 2017: 67ff., 116, 125). And they all have something very important: namely, someone or something that must be fought against. And that’s essential for fundraising. Because without threat, there is no donation. But these stories are not a holy grail that operates on its own in fundraising. There is one essential prerequisite for stories to have an effect: We all need to know our audience—their values, desires, their lives, and their needs (Pyczak 2018: 45; see also Fuchs 2017: 62). Because stories change depending on who you tell them to. This is also the case in everyday life. The story of your last vacation probably sounds different when it is told to your colleagues than when recounted to your closest friends (Pyczak 2018: 37). So what does it take to tell good stories? Someone to tell it to—or the representation of that person. And one way to generate this is by creating personas. What makes these basic plots generally valid? That all people have personal points of reference. For example, in the “overcoming the monster” plot, this is the confrontation with evil. And in the “rags to riches” plot, it’s the experience of vulnerability and growing up (Booker 2005: 52). But no matter what plot we tell in fundraising, there are three things we need to be aware of before we tell it: What is the story? Why are we telling this story now? Who are we telling it to? (Pyczak 2018: 110). Because stories need to be tailored to their recipients. And all the more so online. Only if they move him/her emotionally and if they fit his/her values and what is relevant to him/her, will he/she want to hear, read, or see them. And this is where the patterns of interpretation come into play. For these frames are practically built into our words—and thus into our thinking and our ideas (Jecker 2017: 24ff.; Badr 2017: 39). This happens automatically and unconsciously. We

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can’t turn it off, but we can use it. Because “every time we think—think anything—a frame is activated in our brain” (Lakoff and Wehling 2016: 73). And once frames are “activated in our minds via language ... they guide our thoughts and actions, and without us noticing” (Wehling 2018: 18, 42), because only 2% of our thinking is a conscious process (Wehling 2018: 43). Frames are, so to speak, interpretation filters that give relative weight and interpretation to everything—even the seemingly most objective facts (Schulz-Nieswandt 2006: 174). We need to take advantage of this when we tell the basic stories—and do so using the right words. Because the interpretative patterns are inscribed in these words. So it does indeed matter how an appeal reads, how a text is written. Every word is crucial. And one other thing is crucial: we must be careful that what we tell in our campaign is true and real. And that this story has a real-world impact. This means that when we initiate online campaigns, we have to be aware of what the campaigns are actually intended to achieve, even at the stages of creation and conception. And what’s more: We have to consider whether this action can realistically achieve this—that’s what the term “real-world impact” means. It is simply a question of whether we can really solve something or contribute something. Because if the campaign fails to deliver what we promise, it becomes a “hollow” campaign. For online actions—including lead campaigns—are multi-dimensional. They are meant, of course, to generate leads. But not only. They should also publicize a topic or a problem and raise awareness about it within the population. And in the best-case scenario, they should also mobilize and connect people with common values and goals. This digital interconnecting gives the lead community the power to initiate and drive the change that is needed. An offline protest in Sudan, for example, would never have been heard if twitterers from Khartoum had not used tweets to draw attention to the government’s brutal actions (York 2013). It was similar in the USA, where dozens of websites organized a “blackout” to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). They attracted enough attention to prevent the law’s enactment (York 2013). However, things don’t always work out this way. There are plenty of examples to the contrary. For example, the sharing and viewing of the American 2012 STOP KONY campaign were intended to catch this same Joseph Kony (York 2013). This did not happen. The Save Darfur campaign (York 2013), which, by selling green bracelets, aimed to raise awareness of human rights violations in Darfur and thus contribute to conflict resolution, also failed—despite a large advertising campaign. This shows that it is not enough just to tell a good story. It takes truthfulness and a real-world impact. Only then can online campaigns really mobilize people. Only then can the digital people power that lies dormant in social networks gain momentum.

6.5 Step 4: Be Appreciative

6.4

81

Step 3: Use the Power of Emotion

Bestow good feelings and the feeling of making a meaningful difference. Nobody likes to hear that their action is going nowhere—everyone, really everyone, wants to make a meaningful difference. This is also the case with lead campaigns. Therefore, the conception must exude precisely this message: That this one click makes a difference. That it helps to create justice, restore balance, or fairness. This works, for example, by referring to the high-impact motivators already described in Sect. 2.3. Therefore, only briefly here. This involves, among other things, the following factors: The desire to belong somewhere or to become a better person. The need for security—and for the world to still be standing tomorrow—and the confidence that the future will be better than the past. The desire to be successful in life or to be unique. The longing to feel good, to have balance and an intact world. But also, the desire to feel free and independent or to feel enthusiasm/passion/ excitement (Magids et al. 2015; Oechsli 2015). The awareness that action has reallife effects (Muir 2018) is an important motivational factor, as is the pursuit of fairness and justice (Young 2018; Adams 1965: 267ff.). What all these motives/motivational factors and basic needs share is their link to emotions. And these emotions are the reason why motivational factors make us act. In the best case, good emotions such as compassion, enthusiasm, and the experience of participating—trigger this action. Lucia Wang agrees. She says, “Emotion is often the driving force behind motivation” (Wang 2017). So, in the final analysis, it is the emotion that makes people act the way they do. And in lead community fundraising, it is the good feelings that lead us to donate, to register—in short, to act.

6.5

Step 4: Be Appreciative

Appreciation is immensely important—especially in fundraising it is the most important thing, along with good feelings. Because in fundraising—regardless of the medium and channel—the donor does not get a product for her money, only appreciation. Appreciation is also essential for leads. Nobody likes to belong somewhere where they are not valued. Because appreciation is not just icing on the cake of life, it is a need. And a special one at that. To use Maslow’s words here—appreciation is actually a basic human need and therefore something that all people have in common: All people . . . have a need or desire for a stable, firmly based, (usually) high evaluation of themselves, for self-respect, or self-esteem, and for the esteem of others (Maslow 1943).

But what exactly is appreciation? Stangl’s “Online Lexicon for Psychology and Pedagogy” describes it as follows: “The need includes, on the one hand, the desire for strength, achievement and competence, and, on the other, the need for prestige, status, fame and power. A person’s self-esteem is based on this” (Stangl 2020).

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Appreciation is thus a basic need with a unifying force. It is therefore important to show genuine appreciation—also with regard to the focus on people in lead community fundraising. How is this done? By saying thank-you in person in a video, email, or text message. By having a small present for your new prospect or donor. By expressing praise and appreciation—for example, when someone has signed a petition, shared information, or made a donation. After all, every click, every good deed turns a person into a bit of a hero. But be careful: Whatever you do, it must be done on an equal footing, not from the top down—but in dialogue. And it must be authentic. Because people sense it when someone is not being sincere and try to take them for fools. And one more thing: Tell your leads, fans, donors, and followers that they belong to your organization, that they are an important part of your team. Because belonging is important—and another basic need (Stangl 2020).

6.6

Step 5: The Resolution of the Action and “Hollow Clicks”

When someone clicks, she is taking a leap of faith. She trusts the organization to deliver what it has promised. So if we communicate with a lead campaign that a click will help alleviate world hunger, then it is not enough that this is true. We must also inform the actor about how and what we have achieved together. There needs to be a resolution—a happy ending, a good feeling. And depending on the click category, there are several ways to achieve this good feeling and to show that the trust in the NPO was justified, for example, with a thank-you or a follow-up. What does not work at all, on the other hand, are hollow clicks—these are the real destroyers of digital trust (Neugebauer et al. 2019). The term we have coined refers to campaigns that are meaningless and empty—just smoke and mirrors. But you can only see this after taking part in an action or if you look very closely. Because these campaigns make a promise that they don’t intend to keep—or are not even capable of keeping. To illustrate this, we would like to add two examples. An eBook was advertised on a website that could be downloaded after registration. In the picture next to the form, you could see an eBook that looked like it had over 100 pages. However, after registering, all we received was a measly 5-page PowerPoint document, not even sharing the same title page. We refer to such actions as “hollow click campaigns” (Neugebauer et al. 2019). The same thing would happen with a petition that turned out not to be a petition at all. You click and think you can achieve or change something with your signature, but since it is not a real petition, the effect of the click dissolves into smoke—with the only real-world impact being the collection of your data. The dangerous thing about “hollow click campaigns” is that they destroy people’s trust. And unfortunately, there are far too many of them. But even one more would be one too many.

References

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The Takeaway

Think carefully about the lead segments and types you are going after and what you want to achieve with your lead campaign. Once you know that, specify your story: Which of the basic plot categories does it fall into? What patterns are you updating with it? Which interpretation patterns and frames reside in which words? Then consider: How and what should the actor feel? What are the motivations and needs underlying these feelings? And don’t forget—one thing is paramount and that is the feeling that the actor can make a difference. And you need to know ahead of time what kind of appreciation and recognition your lead will get from you. Because appreciation is a basic need. Satisfy it. Then—when the campaign has gone the way you wanted it to and you have gained a new lead—comes another, important part: You need to resolve the campaign—for example, by saying thank-you or by providing information about successes had and what comes next. Because the promise that the actor will make a difference is inscribed in every lead campaign. She needs to know that it worked—otherwise she will lose trust in you.

References Adams JS (1965) Inequity in social exchange. In: Berkowitz L (ed) Advances in experimental social psychology, vol 2. Academic Press, New York, London, pp 267–299 Badr H (2017) Framing von Terrorismus im Nahostkonflikt (studies in international, transnational and global communications). Springer VS, Wiesbaden Booker P (2005) The seven basic plots: why we tell stories. Bloomsbury, London, New York. (paperback ed.) Bourdieu P (1998) Praktische Vernunft. Zur Theorie des Handelns. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main Fuchs WT (2017) Crashkurs Storytelling. Grundlagen und Umsetzungen. Haufe-Verlag, Freiburg Hofmann M, Reisert L, Pracht G (2017) Das Modell der “inneren Antreiber.” https://www. shsconsult.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/131023_InnereAntreiber_TrainerKit-funal.pdf. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Jäger S (2016) Storytelling–das Gehirn will Geschichten. https://www.wissenskurator.de/ storytelling-das-gehirn-will-geschichten/. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Jecker C (2017) Entmans Framing-Ansatz. Theoretische Grundlegung und empirische Umsetzung. Herbert von Halem-Verlag, Cologne Kaufmann S (2018) Spiegelneuronen. https://www.planet-wissen.de/natur/forschung/ spiegelneuronen/index.html. Accessed 26 Nov 2020 Lakoff G, Wehling E (2016) Auf leisen Sohlen ins Gehirn. Politische Sprache und ihre heimliche Macht. 4th ed., with an afterword added. Carl-Auer-Verlag, Heidelberg Liebisch K (2010) Identität und Habitus. In: Schäfers B, Korte H (eds) Einführung in Hauptbegriffe der Soziologie, 8th revised edn. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, pp 69–86 Lile S (2017) 10 visual storytelling rules every digital marketer needs to know. Available at: https:// visme.co/blog/visual-storytelling-rules/. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Magids S, Zorfas A, Leemon D (2015) The new science of customer emotions. Harvard Bus Rev. https://hbr.org/2015/11/the-new-science-of-customer-emotions. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Maslow AH (1943) A theory of human motivation. Psychol Rev 50: 370–96. Republished at: http:// psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm. Accessed 28 Nov 2020. (Here: the chapter “The Basis Needs,” para. 32) Muir M (2018) Focus on 6 high-impact motivation strategies. https://multiplepathways.info/2018/ 01/18/focus-on-6-high-impact-motivation-strategies/. Accessed 25 Nov 2020

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Neugebauer L, Zamora V, Ángel J (2019) Personal communication Oechsli M (2015) High-impact emotional motivators that drive advisor behavior. https://www. wealthmanagement.com/client-relations/high-impact-emotional-motivators-drive-advisorbehavior. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Pyczak T (2018) Tell me! Wie Sie mit Storytelling überzeugen. Für alle, die in Beruf, PR und Marketing erfolgreich sein wollen. 1st corr. reprint. Bonn: Rheinwerk Schulz-Nieswandt F (2006) Sorgearbeit, Geschlechterordnung und Altenpflegeregime in Europa. Mensch und Sozialordnung in der EU. Berlin, Lit-Verlag Stangl W (2020) Bedürfnishierarchie. In: Online Lexikon für Psychologie und Pädagogik. https:// lexikon.stangl.eu/3141/bedurfnishierarchie/. Accessed 28 Nov 2020 Strobl I (2017) Mitgefühl. Mit anderen zu empfinden stärkt das soziale Miteinander–und die eigene seelische Gesundheit. https://www.psychologie-heute.de/leben/38818-mitgefuehl.html. Accessed 24 Nov 2020 Wang L (2017) How emotional motivators can drive authentic brand growth. https://www. crazyegg.com/blog/emotional-motivator-drive-growth/. Accessed 25 Nov 2020 Wehling E (2018) Politisches Framing. Wie eine Nation sich ihr Denken einredet–und daraus Politik macht. Ullstein, Munich York GC (2013) Mit ein paar Klicks vom Sofa aus die Welt retten? In: Berliner Gazette. https:// berlinergazette.de/digitaler-aktivismus-slacktivism/. Accessed 28 Nov 2020 Young J (2018) Heroes of employee engagement: No. 6, John Stacy Adams. https://peakon.com/de/ blog/future-work-de/john-stacy-adams-gleichheitsprinzip-der-gerechtigkeit/. Accessed 25 Nov 2020

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This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Multi-cycle

Okay, we’re ready. So far, we have managed to develop a campaign together—in the best case one “with everything”: with people-centering, with a powerful vision, with a real-world impact that mobilizes, moves, and inspires and which gives the actors a sense of resolution at the end because: “People are not click cattle. Nor are they data packets” (Schüller 2016: 60). In this way, we put the focus on ourselves and managed to get in touch with a person. In the best case, he/she acted and became a lead. Congratulations Is that it now? Is there now love, peace, and harmony and everyone lives happily ever after? Not at all. Because a happy ending is still a long way off. That was only level 1. Now comes the next level—and that is significantly more demanding. Because we are only at the beginning of the lead process. And the newly acquired people behind the leads are standing right next to us. Expectantly. Now is the time. Are you ready for the next level? You should be, because here you can find out which path we would take at this point so that new leads become new donors and new fans. A bit of a spoiler in advance: This doesn’t happen automatically. Today it is much harder to get new donations than it used to be. In a fundamental sense. Not just in digital media. Because the donation decision is being pushed back. It’s becoming ever rarer for a classic advertisement to lead to a direct donation. One of the main triggers that bring people to donate has already been found: And this lies in the relationship between people and the organization, a relationship that inspires and creates a sense of belonging.

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_7

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7.1

This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Multi-cycle

What It Is and What It Is Not: A Demarcation

The idea of classifying people based on their behavior is not new. We find this in the donor pyramid, for example. The aim of these classifications is usually to “develop” people—for example, to “turn” them from an interested party to a major donor. And that’s exactly the problem. Because this is a linear donation-centered, not a dynamic, human-centered way of thinking. This is also reflected in the concept of the lead funnel, which is well known in the field. This “lead-generation funnel” is based on a “push–nudge strategy,” which, simply put, means: the leads (and the people they stand for) are pushed, so to speak, through a funnel, the focus of which is on the donation/sale. However, this leaves essential relationship elements such as followup and contact management unaccounted for. The main problem is that the qualification or cultivation process is very strongly and very linearly geared toward the sale/donation and that this ends the cultivation and qualification process for leads too early. Those that do not “work out” quickly are simply “sorted out.” That’s it for them. This is not how it should work. But how then? To make the process more people oriented, we developed the lead community fundraising multi-cycle. This is not based on a “push–nudge strategy,” but rather on a “pull–delight strategy.” That is, a person goes through several cycles and is not pushed through some funnel by the organization and simply abandoned if a donation is not made immediately. Rather, this cyclical understanding is designed to pick up people individually—and to do so from where they are at the moment. The focus here is not on sales, but on the community and thus on belonging and participation. This means that all phases are interwoven and repeat themselves. Therefore, this holistic approach “includes everything.” And that’s why this approach doesn’t start after the leads have been won, but before that. Because all phases are interwoven and can recur. To achieve this, the multi-cycle approach needs communication measures that do not rigidly follow a fixed communication plan, but rather are flexibly adapted to people in their individual phases and to their actions. In this way, the individual becomes the gauge and trigger of the cycle. However, such a cycle cannot be implemented in the old thought structures and patterns of action that have prevailed in fundraising for decades. It takes flexible systems, “agile fundraising” and a way of thinking that does not think in terms of annual plans, but in much shorter units and lines.

7.2

Personas: The Alpha and the Omega in the Multi-cycle

There’s a person behind every tweet, share, and purchase. Take care of the person more than the rest. – Shafqat Islam (Schlömer 2018: 115).

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Personas are the alpha and omega in the lead community fundraising multi-cycle. It is they who the stories are directed at—their values, dreams, needs, and hopes. They are the ones whose attention we want to capture, whose actions we desire. Without them all is naught. Therefore, the first step is to create the persona—as an idealtypical image—to whom we address our messages: Personas are fictional, generalized representations of your ideal donors. They help you understand your donors . . . better and make it easier for you to tailor content to the specific need, behaviors, and concerns of different groups. (McLean and Walsh 2014: 42)

That is really wonderfully put. But what does that mean for us now? Well, personas are ideal-typical donors in the sense of Max Weber. The latter developed the concept of the ideal type, a conceptual construct for understanding important parts of social reality. So, it is not a real image, but something ideal/utopian that does not exist in reality (Weber 1980: 4; Dieckmann 1967: 29). The ideal type should aid in understanding. It “gives as a prototype”—such as the typical Austrian—“an idea of what is meant by it” (Stangl 2020). And it is not about the generic or the average; instead, the focus is on the distinctive character of cultural phenomena (Dieckmann 1967: 29). In other words, it’s not just about the lowest common denominator, but above all about the differences—about what distinguishes people from one another. Why? Because it is in the differences between the donor groups, each represented by a persona, that we find the most authentic points of contact—and that we can use to find the right context and the greatest relevance. For these points of contact are where one’s own life is at issue—in one’s very specific phase of life and with one’s very specific experiences such as vacations, generational affiliation, social status, and experienced trauma. This is in line with Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. For according to Bourdieu, the lifestyle (of a class) can be read from its furniture and style of dress (Bourdieu 1987: 137). This means that cultural needs have a socialization-related character. “Not only every cultural practice . . . but also the preference for a certain literature, a certain theater, a certain music prove their close connection . . . with social origin” (Bourdieu 1987: 17f.). In a nutshell, Bourdieu’s habitus concept states that social experiences are inscribed in the body and thus they structure, first, the perception of the world and, secondly, they affect future behavior (Bourdieu 1998: 41f.). The habitus is a multilayered system of patterns of thought, perception, and action that determines our actions and our perception—and has a social origin: it is based on the social situation, the cultural milieu, and the biography of an individual. As a kind of social grammar, the habitus is inscribed in the body and behavior of the individual (Liebisch 2010: 74). The habitus is thus a “unifying principle” that connects the individual with the collective or the culture and its age (Krais and Gebauer 2008: 24). This means that people act in this social world based on their previous experiences. And this also shapes how they perceive the world. As stated elsewhere, it is above all the years of childhood and adolescence that shape and lead to cohorts becoming distinct generations. So when it comes to creating ideal personas, this is exactly what needs to be kept in mind: What has shaped the donor—and specifically their generation? What did they experience?

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What structures their thoughts and actions in this society? It sounds good—because it is. For there are some important reasons that speak in favor of personas.

7.2.1

So Why Create Personas?

Here are the most important reasons at a glance: – Because they help to build a relationship with the actor/lead/donor (Clark 2017). – Because they help specify the tension among identity, context, and preferences. Only by being acquainted with all of this can you give each persona what interests, excites, and inspires him—to better meet his needs (McLean and Walsh 2014: 23). – Because communication always happens between individuals. And because personas stand for individuals but aren’t actual ones. They are semi-fictional ideal types, enriched with real data and yet more than that. – Because they provide a way of seeing through the eyes of others. They help us figure out how actors/leads/donors behave and illustrate the needs, expectations, and wishes of the donors in every phase of the multi-cycle (Maechler et al. 2016). – Because personas work. Websites created with the help of personas are two to five times more effective and easier to use than others. Because “if you can target what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to, your impact will be drastically increased.” Because it’s all about context and relevance to the individual’s life—and the personas can be used to create this and build a relationship with the donor (Clark; Kindful 2017: 3). – Because they go deeper than other target group models and the creation can therefore be better geared toward them (Kreativagentur Artundweise 2020). Personas include more than just one-dimensional sociodemographic data such as age, education, income, and place of residence. And they also encompass more than the two-dimensional SINUS milieus, which combine these sociodemographic data in the term “social situation” as the lower, middle and upper class and introduce a second dimension of “basic orientation.” The latter distinguishes between three basic orientations: tradition, modernization/individualization, and reorientation. Personas are three-dimensional. For they “make it possible to depict different actual realities of life” (Kreativagentur Artundweise 2020). What do you have to consider when creating personas? There are a few basic rules that should be followed. The first is: great leaders visualize the journey through the eyes of others (Duarte 2016: 4). That means, it’s about the perspective and the relevance horizon of the person whose attention I seek to attract. It’s about seeing the world through the eyes of the other. This is the only way to identify key touchpoints and really inspire the people behind the personas.

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The second basic rule is that the personas should also be made tangible and experienceable for everyone within the organization. Because only when everyone is familiar with these personas is it possible to have a relationship with them and to communicate in a coherent and consistent way. A third basic rule is: no more than five. In fundraising, we recommend creating one to five donor persona profiles, as this is still a relatively manageable number and, from our experience, are completely sufficient for digital fundraising. In the “attraction phase,” the identification of the one to five donor personas is so important because I can only initiate online actions that give my potential supporters what interests them, what moves them or what worries them. Only when the content and topics are really relevant to the people, when there is a real-world connection, do these people give me their most precious resource: their attention. And only then is a dialogue possible. So now concretely: How are personas created? Basically, the following questions need to be answered in order to create personas—semi-fictional representations of donors, of their behavior, interests, and perceptions (Clark 2017). So it’s not just about WHAT the personas do, but above all WHY? That is the most essential. That is the basis on which the relationship between people and the organization can grow (Hume and DeCoster 2017: 13). As a first step here, it is necessary to answer the following questions (Van de Ven et al. 2018: 24): – Who is she? How old is she? Where does she come from? What is her occupation, where does she live, does she have children, hobbies, animals? – What inspires and excites her? – Where is she from? Where did she grow up? Which generation and which social situation does she belong to? What values, drivers, and frames do she have? What shaped her in your childhood/youth? – How did she find out about the organization? How does this process typically work? Are there family connections? When did the persona start donating and why? – What should she do next regarding the organization (Clark 2017)? Should she donate for the first time, should she make a permanent donation? Should she click, order or forward something? What would another persona ask herself? What motivates her to act (in contrast to others)? And how can the organization respond to this with key messages?

All of this cannot be answered just like that; it requires a process that has to be gone through—step by step. In the following, we outline nine steps for developing your own donor persona profiles (Schlömer 2018: 201f): 1. Define the goal: Do we only want to know our ideal donors, or should all fundraising and marketing within an organization be tailored to this?

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2. Existing donor analysis: And that begins with a look at your own database. Because there is a lot of information that you can use. The search strategy is as follows: Into which groups can the people (mostly donors) in your database be divided (Smartbug Media 2013: 12f.)—specifically in relation to existing demographic data? For these data can be statistically enriched—for example, by age groups. In this way, conclusions can be drawn, for instance, about what has shaped someone, taking into account where they live. Because someone who grew up on the periphery and not in the center of a trend ticks differently. This is important because people are social beings—and as Karl Mannheim puts it—socially “conditioned” (Mannheim 1980: 80). First, this means that the way we perceive the world is socially structured. And secondly, it means that this social life leads to shared knowledge and shared experiences (Mannheim 1980: 80). And that’s what a persona embodies, in part. But cognitive and lived experiences and origins are by no means everything that defines a persona. It is also about figuring out what people strive for (Pyczak 2018: 60). Because the persona is the alpha and omega of the lead community fundraising multi-cycle, even at the beginning of the lead community fundraising campaign, because: Every storyteller needs such an overview of personas that he wants to address ... It is . . . one of the most common failures in storytelling not to sufficiently know the target group, their wishes and interests. (Pyczak 2018: 113) It is therefore worth taking a look at the individual generations. Because what turns cohorts into distinct generations does not leave donors unaffected—even if it is only one point among many. For example, a large part of the generation of war children—those born from 1938 onwards—were traumatized by war or grew up with special “figures of thought” passed on by their parents such as “not making a fuss about yourself” or “gritting your teeth” (Meyer-Legrand 2016: 72, 141). It is important to keep in mind which generation a persona belongs to, since this allows us to take a shortcut as it were: to the values, dreams, and fears, to the worldview of a group of people. Involved here is what unites a group of people. There is no need to reinvent the wheel here, because there is a lot of literature on the war generation, the generation of war children, the baby boomers, as well as on millennials, and generation X. 3. Knowledge gathering: Conduct qualitative interviews and surveys with your best, active donors. The point is not to interview lots of people, but to conduct meaningful interviews. Often as few as three to five interviews per donor persona group suffice (Schlömer 2018: 186). Monitor donor comments on social networks and keep track of comments and complaints on an ongoing basis. Research data on, for instance, generations, living environment, and place of residence. 4. Donor stories: Create your own donor stories based on the information you have gathered and the interviews and surveys that have been conducted. Develop a continuous story/ history of the processes of donation decisions and mentoring. You should get a feel for the people who are especially close to your organization.

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5. Donor profiles: Donor stories should be combined into profiles. Which factors lead to donations, which barriers to donations can be identified? Are there features of enthusiasm? What are the basic features? 6. Interpretation and evaluation: Is there a donor persona profile that has the best conversion? Are there donor persona profiles whose language, interests, and needs coincide and thus can be bundled together in communications? 7. Donor experiences: How can the donor experience be optimized on the Internet? Which touchpoints can be found and actively used for the respective donor persona? Does the marketing department share the same understanding of the design of digital media with regard to addressing the “most important” people? 8. Donor persona fundraising: Does fundraising focus on one profile or should all persona profiles be managed in online fundraising? How should the donor journey be designed on an ongoing basis? 9. Internal presentation: Develop posters, billboards, and other paraphernalia that feature your best donors, giving your donors a presence on your organization’s site. Ideally, you’ll even host your own internal event to showcase your best donors to your colleagues across departments as a means of driving internal donor storytelling. Basically, there is more than one way to get from here to there—and this is what distinguishes “ad hoc donor personas” from “data-driven donor personas” (Adlin and Pruitt 2010: 25ff.). Ad hoc profiles are created on the basis of past knowledge and analysis of potential donors or leads. This is a more superficial approach. Datadriven profiles require a lot of research work not only in your own database, but more generally. This also usually involves qualitative interviews. Personas are then created on the basis of this extensive research. Both approaches have their justification. It is ultimately a strategic decision which type of profiling an organization chooses. Figure 7.1 provides a look behind the scenes and shows the donor personas developed for internal use by CRIS contra el cáncer (CRIS Cancer Foundation). How you present the donor persona profile internally can be extremely personal and emotional for your organization. In addition to posters, you can use glasses, pens, pillows, and other internal paraphernalia to better showcase donor personas within an organization. Together with phrases like “Get to know our donors who make our work possible every day ...” an internal presentation can succeed very masterfully. In addition, this creates an element of familiarity and fosters rapport with donors. Ideally, these are not stock photos, but photos that are as real as possible. After all, the image of one’s best donors becomes a symbol for some of the most important people within the organization. Be aware of that. Every detail, such as the clothes they wear, is extremely important. Besides photos, illustrations are also possible. And don’t forget the name of the persona; it should be distinctive and characteristic. If the person has a certain significant quality, you can reinforce

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Fig. 7.1 (a, b) The donor personas of CRIS contra el cáncer (CRIS Cancer Foundation). a Part 1, b Part II (from: Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising)

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Fig. 7.1 (continued)

this adjective by starting the name with the same letter (Adlin and Pruitt 2010: 71), e.g., “Anna Animal Lover”, “Doug Dog Lover,” or “Hollie Hobby Gardener.” The term “user persona” is sometimes used synonymously for “donor persona.” “Influencer personas” need to be kept distinct from these terms, however. Influencer personas are well-networked multipliers who, due to their popularity, not only have a great influence on their fans, friends, and followers, but also on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as a whole. When we create donor persona profiles, our donors tell us their personal stories for the first time. Previously, only we ever informed our supporters with stories about our work. This can thus be seen as a kind of “reverse” or “internal storytelling.” These stories do not just involve the donor and how he/she experiences the entire

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donation process and support, but for the first time also show the people behind the donations. “Donor storytelling” should, of course, be very inspiring. The goal is to get the entire organization excited about their donors and help keep communication focused on their needs. This enables the entire organization to develop a special sense of closeness and understanding for the people who make their work at all possible with their donations. This is an incredible moment of bonding, both internally and externally.

7.3

This Is How the Lead Community Fundraising Multi-cycle Works

Figure 7.2 shows the lead community fundraising multi-cycle. This is based on a process common in inbound marketing and adapted for lead community fundraising. What is “multi” and “cyclical” about it? Above all the bottom segments. They illustrate the repetitive cycles of re-attracting, re-connecting, re-engaging, and re-delighting new contacts, leads, donors, and fans. Figure 7.2 shows the following: First, that this cycle is oriented around people— they and their actions are the focus. So this is about an inside view, not an outside view focused on specific goals. Second, that lead community fundraising is

The Multi-Cycle of Lead Community Fundraising

Attract

Connect

Engage

Delight

New Contacts

New Leads

New Donors

New Fans

Unknown people

First-time leads

First-time donors

First-time fans

Re-Contacts

Re-Leads

Re-Donors

Fans Forever

Re-attraction of lost/inactive donors and leads

Re-connection with lost/inactive donors and leads

Re-engagement of active leads and donors as well as re-leads

Active fan-donors

Re-Attract

Re-Connect

Re-Engage

Re-Delight © Linda Neugebauer. Diseño gráfico: Antonio Verdú

Fig. 7.2 The fundraising multi-cycle (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

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ultimately a cycle that repeats itself—in eight phases. Third, that each cycle has very specific core tasks that are essential and provide orientation. Fourth, this cyclical understanding of the lead process shows that overall success is always in the multicycle itself—it is about all cyclical phases, not just one. Let’s now turn to the individual phases.

7.3.1

The Attract and Re-attract Phases

This phase is about getting people’s attention and interest (for the first time or again). This is illustrated in Table 7.1. But even here it depends on the little things. Because what the table does not illustrate is: whose attention exactly would we like to attract? For the Internet allows you to reach millions of people even across international borders, 24/7. In order to “attract” people, we first need to know what is valuable and meaningful to them. A run-of-the-mill target group definition à la “female, with children, middle income, homeowner” is not enough. We need to know more—especially given the people-centeredness of lead community fundraising. We need to be able to divine the desires, dreams, and goals of those we want to attract. And that is only possible through the concept of personas, as already explained in detail elsewhere. So what can an ad in the lead community fundraising multi-cycle look like that is developed on the basis of personas and aims to attract the attention of new people? Here is an example from Spain: For the Spanish CRIS Cancer Foundation (CRIS contra el cáncer), one of the best persona profiles includes those people who have cancer themselves or have people with the disease in their family or among their friends. To find people affected by cancer and to target solely this donor persona profile, a two-stage campaign was designed that uses third-party providers. If someone registered for a prize competition, the message found in Fig. 7.3 was shown to them during the process. The message poses the question, “Is there anyone in your private circle who suffers or has suffered from cancer?” The second question, found in Fig. 7.4, only appeared if the initial question was answered with “Yes.” Figure 7.4 reads: “We want to give hope to these people. At CRIS contra el cáncer, we are doing research to find a cure and create a world without cancer. Would you like to help us do this and receive information about how you can become a sponsor?” All people who answered “yes” to both questions ultimately Table 7.1 The attract and re-attract phases (developed by L. Neugebauer) Phase Attract

ReAttract

Who? New and unknown people Inactive donors and leads

Goal? Arouse attention and interest for the first time Get renewed attention and interest

Elements? Selection of content and lead generation channels based on the donor persona profile or contact history for existing leads

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Fig. 7.3 A way to reach new people with a question: Campaign for CRIS contra el cáncer, Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising, and www.coregistros.com

Fig. 7.4 How to proceed after the first question: CRIS contra el cáncer, Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising and www.coregistros.com

co-registered with the organization. This example illustrates how you can generate leads with a very special persona profile and attract the attention of those people who fit the profile. What does it all look like in the re-attract phase? Because it’s not just about getting people’s attention once, but again and again—in cyclical phases. Because in a lead community there are always people who become inactive. If that happens, you should act—but please do it right. Because with these people it makes little sense to simply continue as before with your communication and appeals for donations. Instead, you need to succeed in re-attracting attention. The best way to do this is to return to the good old days, as it were—to the beginnings of the relationship. And to the topics and contents that were important to the person at the beginning, the contents/appeals/actions they were won over by and—also important, the channel used to do so. Most of the time, digital communication takes place via email, but perhaps the communication preferences of these now inactive individuals involve SMS messages, telephone calls, or even mailed letters. The “re-attract” phase is not about asking over and over again for a new donation, it is about letting the cycle begin again. You need to get people back on board—but to do that you first need to regain their attention. Figure 7.5 shows what such an action via SMS can look like:

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Fig. 7.5 SMS campaign by the Spanish organization Cris contra el cáncer, run by Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising and www. coregistros.com

Two factors were used in this re-attract campaign. First, International Breast Cancer Day was taken as a timely opportunity and, secondly, a text was developed for a female persona profile who had previously been interested in cancer prevention topics. The SMS text reads as follows: “Do you know the 7 symptoms of breast cancer? We are giving you our prevention guide as a gift. Click here and get it for free.” In addition, sending SMS messages right on International Breast Cancer Day proved relevant and topical—and drew its recipients closer. What distinguishes the campaigns of the re-attract phase from those of the attract phase? Basically and above all: the people they are aimed at. It also follows that attention should be given to the previously “favorite topics” and communication channels of leads and donors who have become inactive. But the basic rule is—test, test, test. No matter how it turns out, it is worthwhile making people aware of you again.

7.3.2

The Connect and Re-connect Phase

This phase is about getting people to connect with the organization and the community. Now it’s down to the nitty-gritty, the all-important phase: the connect phase. The point here is to make a community out of people who are complete strangers to

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Table 7.2 The connect and re-connect phases (developed by L. Neugebauer) Phase Connect ReConnect

Who? New, unknown people Inactive donors and leads

Goal? Establish a connection—to the NPO, to the community Reestablish a connection—to the NPO, to the community

Elements? Adapted to the respective target persons: – Formulation of the callto-action – Landing pages – (Smart) forms – Consent (Opt-In) – Cookie settings

one other and to the NPO. If this connection—this sense of community and solidarity—is lost, a re-connect1 becomes necessary. This means re-connecting inactive leads or donors to the community. After all, someone who may not have responded to donor appeals for a year and therefore does not see themselves as part of the team needs to be contacted in a different way than someone who is new and fully euphoric about joining. All of this is illustrated in Table 7.2. The connect phase shown in Table 7.2 is extremely important. But how do you connect people with the organization or with other people? That is only possible if you know the person opposite you. Thus, this phase stands and falls with getting to know that other person. And getting to know your counterpart is only possible if you get him to exchange his data for a certain content, a certain offer/gift (incentive) or concrete help (involvement). Thus, this ultimately involves a quid pro quo transaction. But what holds for all other business transactions, also holds here: If the price is too high, no deal will be made. Therefore, in the connect phase, everything revolves around the question: What data does the organization want to request? How much is too much? How much is necessary? The answer to these questions is: as much as necessary. And what is necessary varies greatly. For instance, if an organization has developed gender-dependent persona profiles, it is important that the form also asks for gender. Naturally, the less data asked for, the greater the number of people willing to surrender theirs. First name and email address are entered faster than gender, title, last name, first name, email address, telephone number, zip code, and city. That is clear, but it still may make sense to request more data right from the start. Because the more data that must be entered, the higher the quality and commitment of these leads. After all, these were the people who were ready from the start to entrust more personal data to the organization. Hence our tip: Make it as easy as possible for people to get to your organization and ensure good data collection from those who do. Sounds easy, and it is—at least if you take into account the following aspects of form design and length. Especially when it comes to length, less is definitely more here. Because you should only ask for what is really necessary. The following aspects should be taken into account when designing the form: 1

A term developed by Linda Neugebauer in 2019.

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– Simple, clear layout, a short form: Because long forms are discouraging. This can take place in the fraction of a second it takes the visitor to your landing page or website to assess the effort involved in filling the form out. And this effort has an enormous influence on the visitor’s willingness to act. To increase the latter, it is extremely important to design a form that appears simple, logical, and easy to fill out. Basically: – The fields to be filled in should have sufficiently large labels. – And the labeling of the field should never be found in the field itself, because otherwise the labeling will disappear once you click on the field. – Field labels should be simple, clear, and logical. – The length of the form fields should be based on the probable length of the content to be entered. – There should be enough space between the elements. Of course, it is also possible to visually combine areas to make them easier to read. – A modern, contemporary design should be employed that is based on what a user is used to and what he/she has already learned. Because we all know what a form looks like. If this expectation is met, it saves time when filling it out and the commitment to fill it out is increased. – Request as little information as possible, as much as necessary. This saves you “unnecessary” queries: – Hide optional fields. These can appear with a click if and when needed: for instance, the mailing address field can be clicked back into life if the donor would like to receive donation confirmation by post. – Clearly indicate whether a field is mandatory or not. – It is best to explain to your users in advance, but at the latest as part of the form, which data your organization would like to collect and why. This not only increases digital transparency and demonstrates the reliability of your organization, but also users’ commitment to fill out the form in full. – Ask yourself: do certain data need to be validated? How important is that for the campaign? Form validation protects against incorrect entries and helps your organization collect high-quality data. So-called inline validation, for example, only allows a form to be submitted once everything has been entered correctly. This validation gives the user direct feedback on any data that still needs checking. Green check marks for correct entries and small red crosses for incorrect entries have emerged as the most popular icons. If a form has not been filled out correctly, there needs to be a compelling error message right next to the form field in question with a clear prompt to fill out the form correctly. – User-friendly forms work better. Use: – Pre-filled forms if data is already available. Then these can be pre-filled when linked to the donation page. – Autofill: With some forms, it is possible to let the browser fill in the fields automatically by the browser, which reduces the “workload” for the user.

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– Auto-complete: Especially with place or street names, it is practical if the entry is completed automatically. In this way, users have less to type in and given that service character feeling they know and appreciate from Google. Of course, this is only possible where the input options are limited. – Automatic spell check: Typos can trigger suggested alternative spellings, which the user can then choose or not. – Dynamic forms are more efficient. Is your form still static or already been made dynamic? If you use dynamic forms whenever possible, the form fields can be shown or hidden in real time depending on the actions of your users. – Logic is great. Make sure the form fields are placed in a logical order. The order should make sense and not confuse. – When is the right time for the form? Should it be placed on the landing page or pop up later? Immediately visible forms are used much more often in digital fundraising than forms that are not immediately visible, though the latter can be of high value for some lead types. Increasingly, an intermediate stage is being used in online fundraising—whereby the form is only partially shown at the beginning, with the rest of the form being displayed in subsequent steps. – Clearly state what happens once someone has filled out the form. Are the users called and asked for a donation? Or do they receive per email a download link to a free guide? Whatever happens, point it out directly on the form. Because nobody likes surprises ... – Be sure to create a visual contrast! The form must stand out clearly from the rest of the website and must also be perceived as a form. Giving the form a border in a contrasting color is a good way to set it off optically. The form also needs to be sufficiently set off spatially from other elements on the page and should also be distinctive in color from them. It is very important that the form should attract attention, but without cannibalizing all the other elements and messages on the landing page. – Are there any trust-building elements such as the SSL certificate? At least one of them should be displayed near the form—preferably near the call-to-action button. The donation seal of approval is, of course, ideal for donation sites. – The call-to-action button must stand out clearly. For fundraising, the colors green and orange have turned out to be particularly effective in attracting attention. In theory, everything is now clear, but there is actually only one way to find out what optimal implementation looks like in practice, and that is to test, test, test! Using so-called A/B tests, all design elements and variants can be checked and continuously optimized to increase the conversion rate. It is very important to vary only one feature per test—in other words, test the color of the call-to-action button OR the text inside the button. Once you know the best color for the button, then the best text can be sought after; after that you can test your way to the best header image and so on. This continues until all elements have been optimized. And then? Then you start all over again. The process basically never stops. For as the saying goes: “In life, you never stop learning.”

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Fig. 7.6 An activating landing page of the organization Cris contra el cáncer and its campaign “Send your hug now.” A campaign by Cris contra el cáncer and Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising

But even the most effective color, the best text on the call-to-action button and the best-looking header image on the landing page can only achieve the desired effect if there is one key ingredient: transparency. People want to know WHY they should do something. And this is also the case for lead generation and digital fundraising. Therefore, the landing page and the form must answer this question, which is at the heart of everything—because trust can only be built if everything is transparent and understandable for the individual. An example of how this was solved well is found in the campaign “Send your hug now”—a campaign launched by the Spanish organization Cris contra el Cáncer during the corona crisis. Here, see Fig. 7.6. The user finds a lot of information in the form depicted in Fig. 7.6. On the one hand, the user will find the answer to the question of what exactly happens when the user clicks. And on the other hand, the user will find the answer to the question: “Why do I have to enter my data in the form?” This is where unspoken reader

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Fig. 7.7 A successful landing page—Four Paws International. https://help.four-paws.org/de-AT/ mehr-transparenz-bei-lebensmitteln (Accessed 01-02-2020) (screenshot: L. Neugebauer)

questions are answered. This then makes it clear why contact details should be entered and what the organization needs them for. Another example of a successful landing page is shown in Fig. 7.7. It is drawn from the international organization Four Paws. Not only is there a data protectioncompliant opt-in field, but the organization also provides precise information on how the data will be used. It is even pointed out that you will occasionally be asked for a donation or support. This communicates simply and clearly to users what to expect if they click the checkbox and their data input is confirmed. The “data stuff” represents the biggest difference between the connect and re-connect phases presented in Table 7.2. Because in the latter—with exceptions such as petitions—there is no longer any need to enter data, since the organization already has it. There are several options here:

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– A pre-filled form: The landing page is linked to a pre-filled form. The advantages here: The user can check all of their contact details, fill in empty fields, and correct data. If everything fits, all the user has to do is click on the call-to-action button. – No form at all: There is no form on the landing page, everything runs in the background, invisible for the user. The disadvantage: The user has no chance to add or change data. The advantage: No distraction from clicking the call-to-action button. – Data enrichment: One or two additional pieces of information are requested here. This could involve, for example, the postal address for mailings or the date of birth for a specific service. Of course, it is also possible to use a form that has not been pre-filled. However, this is not advisable, as it just creates unnecessary work for users without yielding any benefit for the organizations themselves. An example of a re-connect campaign can be found at the Spanish organization CRIS contra el Cáncer. It has two distinctive features. On the one hand, it has a mobile landing page version and, on the other, it comes in two versions. In one case more data was collected, whereas in the other, it was not (see Figs. 7.8 and 7.9 for further details). Both versions of the campaign aimed to re-connect people with the lead community who had become inactive and to provide them with useful, valuable content. Interested persons could download the prevention guide free of charge by simply clicking on the download button. The second version, shown in Fig. 7.9, asked for an additional piece of information, namely, the extent to which the user was affected by cancer. The question read: “Is there anyone in your environment who suffers from cancer?”—to which one could answer “Yes” or “No.” The guide could only be downloaded once the question was answered. What did this accomplish? Two things. First of all, the organization was able to collect further essential information about the lead community and secondly, it was able to further enrich its person-related data.

7.3.3

The Engage and Re-engage Phase

The aim of both the engage and the re-engage phase is to turn leads into new donors—or to get another donation from active leads. And that works—like everything else in donating—primarily through emotion (Häusel 2016: 13). In this context, emotion works in two directions. On the one hand, the entire approach must be designed to arouse emotions and appeal to the heart. And on the other hand, there must be an emotional connection between the organization and the person. Whomever I trust and have a relationship with, I am naturally also happy to help. Table 7.3 illustrates this process—including what it takes to achieve a (first-time or further) donation. The two most common routes to donations are either asking for a one-time donation or asking for regular support or sponsorship. There are organizations that

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Fig. 7.8 A re-connect campaign in two versions. Version 1 of a mobile landing page from CRIS contra el cáncer by Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising

This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Multi-cycle

7.3 This Is How the Lead Community Fundraising Multi-cycle Works Fig. 7.9 Version 2 of a mobile landing page of the re-connect campaign from CRIS contra el cáncer by Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising

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regularly ask for donations and each appeal tells a new and separate story about those affected or their projects. Others, on the other hand, create their calls for donations as a campaign that is communicated over a certain period of time, sometimes with a set donation target. There is also no consensus on the rhythm. Our international research has shown that there is no uniform line in digital fundraising. Some organizations send out a call for donations by email every month, while others send out a call for donations every week or even more frequently. The following example from WWF Austria shows one way in which a successful two-stage email appeal for donations can succeed. In a first step, you are asked to commit to a sponsorship or long-term support (see Fig. 7.10), in a second—a week later—for a one-time donation. The strategy is to first ask for something “big”— long-term support—and later for something “small.” For people don’t like to say “no” and don’t like to turn down a request. The hypothesis is that some of the people who opened the initial email would have liked to have given—just not regularly. To pick up these people, the second stage follows: the request for a one-time donation (see Fig. 7.11). This two-stage approach (as implemented in Figs. 7.10 and 7.11) is a very good one. After all, only when a topic is mentioned more than once does credibility and urgency arise. These are the two most common ways to attract donations, but they’re far from the only ones. There is also the option of asking for a microdonation or the purchase of solidarity gifts or donations in kind. An example of how a request for a microdonation in the context of an email might look can be found at Amnesty International Spain (see Fig. 7.12). In one of their emails to their lead community, Amnesty Spain asked for an SMS donation of 1.20 Euro. What does this donation bring about? For every SMS donation received, a postcard is sent to prison inmate Taner Kilic, the Honorary President of Amnesty International Turkey. The postcard, which features a blue sky, is pictured in the email (see Fig. 7.13). On the postcard shown in Fig. 7.13 there is a personal message to Taner so that he feels supported and not alone: “Taner, one year without looking at the sky is too long. This piece of sky is for you.” The aim of this campaign was to be able to send a box full of postcards to Taner, the prisoner.

7.3.4

The Delight and Re-delight Phase

The aim of this phase is to turn people into fans—either for the first time or over and over again. Table 7.4 provides an overview. The delight and re-delight phase presented in Table 7.4 is not about a short “wow,” but about a long, heartfelt relationship. And such a relationship thrives on commitment, enthusiasm, closeness, and consistency. And this consistency is only given if all points of contact pursue the same goal: namely, to inspire the donor and to establish a closeness to him (Häusel 2019: 18). For getting someone enthusiastic about an organization and its topics does not happen at the push of a button or

7.3 This Is How the Lead Community Fundraising Multi-cycle Works Table 7.3 The engage and re-engage phase (developed by L. Neugebauer) Phase Engage Reengage

Who? New leads Releads

Goal? Acquisition of new donors Renewed donation from active leads and first-time donors, as well as re-leads

Fig. 7.10 Email campaign asking for a long-term sponsorship for WWF Austria, run by Direct Mind GmbH (part 1)

Elements? ✓ Lead nurture. ✓ Lead scoring/routing. ✓ Contact history. ✓ Donation history. ✓ Communication channels: email, direct mail, telephone, ....

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Fig. 7.11 WWF Austria, Direct Mind GmbH (part 2)

through a single action; it takes many small, consistently positive and inspiring experiences. Only then can a strong connection be established between the NPO and the lead/donor/actor. And this connection is made of emotion—it is found right in the brains of all of us. Because when we like something and something makes us feel good, the reward center in the brain is activated (Häusel 2019: 26). The more often this happens by doing the same thing over and over again, the stronger the connection. According to Häusel, emotionalization is like a heating thermostat (Häusel 2019: 26). Even if you turn it all the way up, it takes time for the room to warm up. The same holds here. It takes patience and interaction for enthusiasm to develop. And it is very important that after the donation nothing is “over”—because that would promote disappointment rather than enthusiasm. That is why the multi-cycle does not stop with the donation. This is the only way donors can become fans. There are a few proven ways to do this. One involves automatically sending a series of email thank-you’s to newly recruited donors. Online sponsors also usually receive a welcome package by mail. Some organizations also rely on a welcome call. This allows the new sponsors’ contact information to be double checked, and for one-time donors, the opportunity can be used to ask for long-term support. So far, so good. But the question is: what happens next? Because usually, from this point on, the newly acquired online donors end up in the standardized donor

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Fig. 7.12 Amnesty International Spain’s microdonation campaign—Part 1. www.es.amnesty.org (Accessed 08-07-2018) (screenshot: L. Neugebauer)

Fig. 7.13 Amnesty International microdonation campaign—Part 2. www.es.amnesty.org

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Table 7.4 The delight- and re-delight phases (developed by L. Neugebauer) Phase Delight Redelight

Who? New donors Repeat donors

Goal? Create new fans Reignite or sustain enthusiasm and fan engagement

Elements? – Contact history – Donation history – Smart content – Touchpoints—Wow effects

support program. That’s a shame, because there is so much more that could be done. The following examples show just what is possible. One possibility is to share joint accomplishments with the donors. This not only shares the joy of joint success, but also reaffirms the trust the donor has placed in the NPO. This is also important in terms of the people centeredness of lead community fundraising. What’s so important about that? Successes motivate people to continue helping in the future. Here is an example from WWF Austria. This is interesting in that it again works in two stages. The first email (see Fig. 7.14) communicated the success: the donation goal was reached. The WWF was happy—about the funds and the great support. For it had been possible, within a very short span of time, to purchase the freedom of 20,000 young sturgeons. The second thank-you email (see Fig. 7.15) was sent a few months later. It not only contained a video, but also showed how well the little sturgeons were doing in the meantime and that they had already grown. This is the latest news from the project and thus represented added informational value. The conception underlying the two-stage WWF thank-you email is good on several levels. First, because it quickly communicates the success of the appeal for donations and praises the donors. Second, because it delivers further updates at a later point in time—even including video and details of where the small sturgeons now are and how big they have already become. That is one way. Another way to get people involved in the work of the organization is via an involvement campaign. The goal here is to get people to take part in the work at as close range as possible—and this is best done in a dialogic and active manner. The example from Doctors without Borders Spain shown in Fig. 7.16 illustrates how this can be done. In this example, people are called upon to send words of encouragement to the “super babies” who, like little superheroes, have to fight for survival in the first 28 days after birth—given that the newborn mortality rate in the Central African Republic is still very high. For the sake of maximum authenticity, there was even the option of sending a personalized postcard directly to the maternity ward in Batangafo in the Central African Republic. This campaign lives not only from the encouraging words of the supporter in Spain, but above all from the prompt feedback from the African mothers from the maternity ward, registering the arrival of the word donations. Because only if the Spanish participants’ expectation of feedback and dialogue is met, can action like this inspire and create a sense of closeness and community. After all, dialogue is the essence of digital media—the latter making it possible to connect with organizations and with people on location in real time and to

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Fig. 7.14 Thank-you email (1) from WWF Austria, conceived by Direct Mind GmbH

get to know each other in a profound way. For example, webcams can be used to witness the construction of a school in an African country “up close and personal,” or GPS systems can bring you there when a water donation arrives. These are just a few of the ways to create a skillful and lasting “delight” in the digital age.

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Fig. 7.15 Thank-you email (2) from WWF Austria, conceived by Direct Mind GmbH

7.4 The Takeaway

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Fig. 7.16 Involvement campaign from Doctors without Borders Spain

7.4

The Takeaway

Lead community fundraising does not work in a linear fashion, it works in cycles— and not in one, but in several. Because the multi-cycle is based on people and their actions. For this to work, we must first make these people available. Clearly, you can only build a relationship and cultivate it if there is someone to do this with. To create this counterpart, personas are developed. They are the alpha and the omega, for they are the ideal types standing in for individual people. The multi-cycle itself has eight phases that are repeated. Put simply, the attract and re-attract phase aims to get people’s attention. The connect and re-connect phase is about connecting with people and getting their data. Otherwise, no communication and no relationship can be built. The engage and re-engage phase is about converting leads/actors into donors. This calls for a lot of emotion. The delight and re-delight phase is about intensifying the relationship between people and the organization— it’s about turning people into fans.

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References Adlin T, Pruitt J (2010) The essential persona lifecycle: your guide to building and using personas. Morgan Kaufmann, Burlington Bourdieu P (1987) Die feinen Unterschiede. Kritik der gesellschaftlichen Urteilskraft. Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp-Verlag Bourdieu P (1998) Praktische Vernunft. Zur Theorie des Handelns. Frankfurt am Main, SuhrkampVerlag Clark M (2017) Who are you talking to? Persona-based marketing for nonprofits. (Kindful blog). https://kindful.com/blog/persona-based-marketing/ (Accessed 11-29-2020) Clark M, Kindful (2017) Persona-based marketing: changing your marketing approach to consider persona-types of constituents. eBook. https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2686655/Content/Per sona-Based%20Marketing%20Ebook.pdf (accessed: 11-29-2020) Dieckmann J (1967) Die Rationalität des Weberschen Idealtypus. Soziale Welt 18(1): 29–40. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40876840 (Accessed 11-29-2020) Duarte N, Sanchez P (2016) Illuminate: Ignite change through speeches, stories, ceremonies and symbols. Penguin Random House, New York Häusel H-G (2016) Brain view. Warum Kunden kaufen. Haufe-Verlag, Freiburg Häusel H-G (2019) Emotional boosting. Die hohe Kunst der Kaufverführung. Haufe-Verlag, Freiburg Hume C, DeCoster I (2017) How science has changed the journey and its enormous impact on retention. International Fundraising Congress 2017. (Presentation materials) Krais B, Gebauer G (2008) Habitus. Reihe Einsichten – Vielsichten, 2nd edn. Transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld Kreativagentur Artundweise (2020) Zielgruppen wie gemalt – warum Sie in Personas denken sollten. https://www.artundweise.de/magazin/zielgruppen-wie-gemalt-in-personas-denken/ (Accessed 11–29-2020) Liebisch K (2010) Identität und Habitus. In: Schäfers B, Korte H (eds) Einführung in Hauptbegriffe der Soziologie. 8th corr. ed. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. p. 69–86 Maechler N, Neher K, Park R (2016) From touchpoints to journeys: Seeing the world as customers do. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/fromtouchpoints-to-journeys-seeing-the-world-as-customers-do# (Accessed 11-29-2020) Mannheim K (1980) Strukturen des Denkens. In: Kettler D, Meja V, Stehr N (eds) Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp-Verlag McLean H, Walsh B (2014) The donor journey: a step-by-step guide to lifecycle marketing for your nonprofit. Presented by Oracle hjc. https://de.slideshare.net/hjcnewmedia/donor-mappingwebinar-final (Accessed 11-29-2020) Meyer-Legrand I (2016) Die Kraft der Kriegsenkel. Wie Kriegsenkel heute ihr biographisches Erbe erkennen und nutzen. Europa-Verlag, Berlin Pyczak T (2018) Tell me! Wie Sie mit Storytelling überzeugen. Für alle, die in Beruf, PR und Marketing erfolgreich sein wollen. 1st corr. reprint. Bonn: Rheinwerk-Verlag Schlömer B (2018) Inbound! Das Handbuch für modernes Marketing. Rheinwerk Verlag, Bonn Schüller AM (2016) Touch. Point Sieg. Kommunikation in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation. Gabal-Verlag, Offenbach

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Smartbug Media (2013) The ultimate guide to inbound marketing personas: 75 questions to jumpstart your content. https://www.slideshare.net/FilippPaster/the-ultimate-guide-to-inbound-mar keting-personas (Accessed 11-29-2020) Stangl W (2020) Idealtypus. In: Online Lexikon für Psychologie und Pädagogik. https://lexikon. stangl.eu/11672/idealtypus/ (Accessed 11-29-2020) Van de Ven L, De Wit R, Engagement Factory (2018) Marketing transformation series. 2. Personas and buyer journeys. https://webinars.engagementfactory.com/assets/presentations/EF%20-% 20Marketing%20Transformation%20Series%20-%20Personas%20and%20Buyer%20Journeys %20LQ.pdf (Accessed 11-29-2020) Weber M (1980) Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Grundriss einer verstehenden Soziologie. 5th revised ed., for students. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck

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This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The How to Do Guide

These five steps will lead you to successful lead community fundraising—with clear how to do instructions for emulating, doing it yourself and doing it better. Figure 8.1 provides an overview; the text follows with the details.

8.1

Step 1: The Personas and What Is Important to Them

Before you create and run a campaign, you should know who you are targeting. Who are the people you want to reach and what motivates them? This works by defining personas. We have already elaborated on how such a persona is defined and created, and why it is important. What comes into focus here are the wishes and needs of these personas, as Fig. 8.2 illustrates: Lead community fundraising is only as good as its knowledge of the needs of the leads, actors, and donors. Personas help one to empathize with these needs and plan fundraising around them and around people’s relevance horizons (Häusel and Henzler 2018: 10). What is the advantage of personas? Roughly speaking, they help you to give people what they need and want. So, when your team creates an online campaign, the first thing they should ask themselves is whether their campaign meets any of the following needs and, if so, which ones: – – – – – –

Help me. Entertain me. Teach me, educate me, inform me. Engage me, let me belong to you, let me get involved and make a difference. Inspire me and excite me. Lead me, guide me, motivate me.

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_8

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Fig. 8.1 This is how lead community fundraising works (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

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8.1 Step 1: The Personas and What Is Important to Them Fig. 8.2 What needs and desires do personas have? (Content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

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Help me Entertain me Educate me

“Lead me”

Engage me

Inspire me

This approach is quite different from what we know from classic fundraising—the difference lies in its orientation toward people. This is only possible if we fundraisers see through the eyes of our leads and donors and adopt their worldview. Only then can we as fundraisers communicate content and issues in a way that makes them valuable, relevant, and meaningful. And what’s more: Organizations should also scrutinize the topics, assistance, and entertainment they can use to inspire and win people over. This means not only picking up content that appeals to the organization—it must also be relevant to the people behind the persona. A colleague (now deceased) used to always say in the good old offline days: “The worm must taste good to the fish, not to the fishermen.” And that’s still true today. But communication must be one thing above all else: authentic. Only then can the content get people to act. In short, we as fundraisers need to know what makes this campaign important for the people behind the personas. Accordingly, it is not enough to define one to five personas, you also need a content strategy. Otherwise, the message won’t get noticed and we fundraisers won’t get through to people. The best way to reach people is to meet their needs and give

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Table 8.1 Content strategies at a glance (developed by L. Neugebauer) Content strategy Helping content Entertaining content Educational content Engaging content Inspiring content Leading content

Type of content Help, look after, take care of (care) Entertain, amuse, have fun and enjoy, create good moments Content that educates, teaches, and informs Involve, engage, connect, participate Inspire, excite, initiate Instruct, accompany, lead, motivate, help grow

Examples Advice, how-to-do videos, information on data security, video glossary, community videos Games, humor, movies, video blog

Webinars, quizzes, tests, statistics, results, reports on site, case studies, blogs, videos to introduce topics, story videos, reports All kinds of hands-on activities, dialogue, invitations to events Share ideas, celebrate success, video blog, hero stories, meeting recordings Individual contact, exclusive information and webinars, motivating videos

them the benefits they are looking for. Because we fundraisers only get people’s attention when our content is relevant, we communicate on an equal footing and we speak in their language. Schüller talks about the 80/20 rule (Schüller 2016: 159): 80% content and 20% advertising. That means—content is the new digital currency. Without valuable and relevant content, campaigns fizzle out in digital nirvana— because nobody pays them any attention. But there is another way. And with a content strategy that aims to do just that: offering people what interests them and is important to them. Table 8.1 shows what such a content strategy looks like. Ideally, all the content areas shown in Table 8.1 are covered by several lead campaigns—and also tailored to the respective persona in the multi-cycle. Because people are different and need different content. And: not all content can be used always and everywhere—some always work, but some are seasonal, dependent on the year or the event, such as in the case of a disaster.

8.2

Step 2: How Much Involvement and What Mix Is Needed?

Do you remember what you have already read elsewhere—in Sect. 7.2—about how important it is to involve the people behind the personas? The best-known involvement measure to date is the online petition. But this is by no means the only possible type of campaign. As elaborated upon above in Sect. 6. 1.2, there are currently more than 40 ways to involve people. So far, so good. But which type is the right one and when? The answer is simple, yet complex: Because it depends on you. How you involve people basically depends on the answers to the following questions: What is the goal? And depending on that: Who do you want to reach? For example, if you want to grow in the sponsor space, you might launch a campaign that reaches people who are interested in a free health care guide. These

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Fig. 8.3 Three levels of involvement and which leads result from them (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

are probably people with a medium level of involvement. So basically “somewhere” between high and low involvement. In marketing, involvement means that the customer feels emotionally involved when purchasing a product. This can be transferred 1:1 to fundraising. Here it means that the person behind the potential lead feels a higher emotional involvement. Or you can filter out those people from the lead community who are particularly active and are also of suitable age for the topic of legacy. These are people with a high level of involvement who already have a strong relationship with your organization and who identify strongly with its actions. Both courses of action are possible and lead to your goal. And these three levels of involvement—high, medium, and low involvement—correlate with the three lead segments. Figure 8.3 illustrates the three types of involvement and which leads result from them. Figure 8.3 shows the different levels of involvement. These basically indicate how much a person is emotionally involved in the action he/she is taking. And this level of emotional involvement differs for each lead segment. The strongest involvement is found among involved leads. Here, the person behind the potential leads is strongly emotionally involved and “fully stands behind what he is doing.” In marketing that might be buying a car. There the person is also sure—that’s exactly it, this brand, this color, this equipment. It’s similar in fundraising—here the person behind the lead identifies with this organization, this topic, this appeal. Usually, there is a pre-existing relationship with the organization or the issue.

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The situation is different with low involvement. There is hardly any emotional involvement here. This can be compared to buying groceries. There is no special identification with the products. In lead community fundraising, this is the case when it comes to indirect leads, i.e., people acquired via third-party websites. Incentivized leads—with medium involvement—are found right in the middle. But that’s not all that can be distinguished in involvement. Because there is another essential distinction: namely between personal and situational involvement. The former is based on a longer-term interest—in other words, the issue or organization is important to the person. Situational involvement arises from the concrete situation. This happens when the fundraising campaign or appeal is perceived as significant. It is best if situational involvement can be transformed into personal involvement. This is the only way to turn an interested party into a fan and to create an active lead community. It is therefore also quite clear that lead campaigns are most successful when they have to do with the person himself/herself and his/her personality. In other words, when the level of involvement is high from the start and the person behind the lead has the feeling that he or she is fully behind an action or a topic of the organization. And if that is the case, then, in addition to involvement, commitment is also needed here—that is, the feeling of being included and engaged. Because those who burn for something want to be part of it. However, this also means that the more qualified the lead is who is won over—i.e., the higher the level of involvement—the more you have to involve this person with an online campaign from the very first minute. But what influences involvement? Here is an overview about the most important factors: – The person: Even if this is “obvious,” it still cannot be said often enough: language, needs, current life situation, personality, personal experiences—all of this and more have a great influence on whether we can successfully involve a person. Or not, as the case may be. – The campaign content: What does the campaign bring to the people behind the potential lead? Is it the good feeling of helping someone? Or is there even a personal benefit? The content of a campaign has a major impact on people’s willingness to engage. This is why the creation of persona profiles is so important. Because this makes it even easier to find the right content—precisely the content our target audience responds to. – The medium: Which medium, i.e., which communication channel, do we use to reach the people we want to reach? Because not every medium is suitable for every level of involvement. A simple SMS that calls for a quick vote and requires only one or two clicks needs no more than a low level of involvement. That’s perfect. An email campaign with a lot of information and a long form to fill out is quite a different animal. Here, a low level of involvement probably won’t suffice—

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people with a medium or high level of involvement are instead required. This leads to the following rule of thumb: Whenever more time and concentration are required, the involvement level must be higher. It is therefore important to know the strengths and weaknesses of each individual medium in order to then use these media for the appropriate lead campaign. In addition, not every medium can incorporate everything—for example, videos don’t always fit. – The message: – This is about the story that is told to involve potential donors. – The momentary situation: A lot happens during the year and these events have an impact on whether people are easier or more difficult to get involved at a given point in time. For instance, in fundraising, the season has always had a significant effect on willingness to donate. Christmas is still the time when, across countries, it is easier to get most people involved in social issues. But personal occasions such as birthdays, weddings, deaths, or current events, such as natural disasters, have an enormous influence on people’s willingness to get involved in a good cause or not. It is good to be acquainted with these five factors because they influence involvement. But that is not the only important finding. A second important finding is: Even if high involvement is a great thing, it is a double-edged sword. Because there are probably not an infinite number of these special people with a high level of involvement in your organization or your topic. Many more people probably know neither your topic nor your organization. Therefore, it is best to address different levels of involvement in your campaigns. But how do you do that? With a mix of the different levels of involvement. To do this, develop a mix of different involvement strategies—ideally, you would combine lead types from all three lead segments with the three involvement levels.

8.3

Step 3: Which Channel to Which Leads

We now know which personas have which interests and needs. We know which involvement levels match which lead segments. But we don’t yet know which lead generation channels are even available. Nor how we can combine them in fundraising. Nor what we need to watch out for. In short, we don’t yet know which channels to choose. That’s the whole point here. Now we choose the channel depending on persona preferences and involvement level. Because which communication channels we choose is important. Much more important than some might think. Just the choice of medium can impact whether we even reach our personas. On Facebook, for example, the 40-and-over generation can be found much more easily and to a greater extent than on Instagram. The same applies to all indirect lead types acquired via third-party websites—these online platforms also attract very different people and age groups. And not only that. Not every channel fits every relationship quality and intensity. Remember, an SMS also works with lower involvement and thus with indirect or

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Fig. 8.4 Which communication channels harmonize with which leads? (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

incentivized leads, whereas an email with a large data query needs a high level of involvement and thus an involved lead segment as well. Figure 8.4 shows which communication channels harmonize with which lead segment. And which do not. For example, indirect leads are acquired via third-party websites and this correlates with low involvement. This is important for the design of the campaign and also for its goal. Because someone acquired via an online lottery or a fashion portal has different informational needs than someone from the group of involved leads who was won over via a Facebook campaign and has been passionate about a certain topic for a long time. Different channels must be used to address different people. For the days of reaching everyone via one channel are long gone if they ever existed at all. The strategy in lead community fundraising is therefore holistic and multi-channel—and includes online and offline channels. The channel mix may vary from country to country. Nevertheless, there are some big players that are hard to pass by at the moment. In 2019, almost 70% of the global annual online advertising budget went to Facebook and Google (eMarketer 2019). Social media advertising increased 23-fold from 2010 to 2019 and is expected to grow to around 123,000,000 US dollars by 2022 (Weidenbach 2020). Google, on the other hand, manages not only search engine marketing and optimization (SEM and SEO), but also ad placements on most available websites and even owns YouTube. The good news: there are already more options outside of the two monopoly giants than you might think.

Fig. 8.5 Two ways of generating leads and the channels resulting from them (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

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Figure 8.5 gives a sound overview of the two most important approaches to lead generation in online fundraising. And the question, as everywhere in marketing, is: Do it yourself or let others do it? That is, do you want to attract leads via your NPO’s website (iSegment: incentivized and involved leads) or via third-party websites (iSegment: indirect leads)? Up front, a bit of a spoiler: the best answer is—both. And preferably at the same time. After all, the internet is big and full of websites. It is therefore hardly surprising that third-party websites represent a major pillar of lead generation in fundraising (see Fig. 8.5). The advantages may not be obvious at first glance, but they are here in black and white for you to review and replicate. Here is a quick overview: – Great for tapping into new target group potential. – Well-suited for directly addressing the people behind the personas (if the platform fits the organization’s topics). – Plannable lead volume—depending on the platform, the lead volume can even be relatively high and constant. – Big bang for the buck: often reduces cost per lead (CPL). – Makes targeted brand building possible—if the values of the organization complement those of the third-party website. – Plus: The organization doesn’t have to worry about getting enough traffic itself. But where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages: for instance, the organization has no influence on the quality of the leads. For this reason, the traffic sources of the third-party websites need to be monitored to evaluate the quality of the prospect advertising. But third-party websites are only one pillar in lead community fundraising—the second pillar is one’s own website or landing pages (see Fig. 8.5). The biggest advantage here is that you have everything in your own hands. And that is also the biggest disadvantage. Because this type of lead generation—unlike prospecting via third-party websites—requires the strategic and continuous planning of profitable traffic sources. In addition to Facebook and Google, there are many other sources of traffic that an organization can leverage. In Fig. 8.5 they are represented by the different advertising options. But no matter whether you rely on your own website or landing page or the website of a third party—each offers many ways to generate traffic apart from Facebook and Google. What are they? Table 8.2 gives you an overview of the most commonly used channels for lead generation and what potential they have. Because here, more really is more: the more lead generation channels you combine, the more success you will have.

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Table 8.2 Overview of the options and potentials of the main lead generation channels (developed by L. Neugebauer) Channel Email

Social networks

Option Leads are won over by sending mass e-mails— sent by the owners of the respective “email distribution list” themselves There are an array of possible uses, but two variants have been most widely used to date: 1. Mailings in the “look and feel” of the organization 2. The placement of an advertisement of the organization in the e-mail of the data owner himself, which links directly to the landing page of the organization Facebook is currently the most widely used social network in fundraising for reaching donors or leads – Facebook has two advantages: It is the largest social network on the Internet. And the people who are represented there increasingly belong to the 40+ generation. This is a better fit for fundraising than Instagram, for example, where people are “younger.” Nonetheless, don’t just focus on Facebook; expand your lead generation with other social networks as well. Because everything on social networks can change overnight. The advertising options here are also very diverse. An overview of the most

Potential Depending on the country, high volume may be available and, depending on the campaign, attractive costs per lead (CPLs) may be achievable

Tips Look at the background of the people on the provider’s email distribution list. Are they a good fit for your organization? How was this data collected?

Here, too, the potential varies by country, but the volume can be very high and high profitability can also be achieved

Remember: Facebook restricts the “campaign freedom” of organizations and should be viewed critically in terms of ethics and transparency Therefore: Don’t just feed the “giant” but invest in other social networks and channels as well

(continued)

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Table 8.2 (continued) Channel

SMS/MMS

Social messaging services

Online TV

Option commonly used formats: – Ads (text, photo, video, ...) – Posts – Influencers – Chatbots – Messaging services – Referrals There is not always a link to your own landing page, but forms can also be used directly on social networks to generate leads Analogous to sending mass emails, one can also make a mass SMS/MMS sending. These are sent—as with emails—by the owners of the “lists” on behalf of the organization and are suitable for generating leads. So far, two options have been established here: – Linking to one’s own landing page. – The direct request for an SMS donation. So far, these services have been used rarely for fundraising—partly because of various legal restrictions on advertising. The most popular social messaging services include: – WhatsApp. – Facebook Messenger – Telegram – Viber – Snapchat Videos on social networks have already attracted many leads. Less established is advertising on the websites of TV stations.

Potential

Tips

Since in most countries large lists of mobile phone numbers are available, the basic potential is there

Since an SMS is much more “intimate” than an email, the campaign’s content must be relevant and meaningful enough to justify the “intimacy” of this contact. In many countries, organization makes little use of mass sending of SMS or MMS for advertising purposes. But that can be changed

There is potential due to the increased and growing use of messaging. However, this varies greatly from country to country and is still in its infancy

Messaging services are now one of the most widely used communication channels in our society. Use them for your fundraising

Once again potential is highly countrydependent, but it is present in almost every country

By choosing the right TV channels and programs, you can best reach your target audience. In addition, this form of advertising (continued)

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Table 8.2 (continued) Channel

Search engines

All other websites

Option There are a wide variety of advertising formats here. These include: – Videos (in stream, pre-roll . . .). – Ads. – Native. There are three ways you can get people to your organization’s landing page via search engines: – Search engine marketing (SEM). – Search engine advertising (SEA). – Search engine optimization (SEO). There is an increasing potential in SEO, as “banner blindness” becomes more prevalent and organic search results are preferred over paid ads. This tendency is likely to increase in the future As you already know, you can acquire indirect lead types via third-party websites. But you can also win over incentivized and involved leads. You can do so by placing ads on third-party websites that link directly to your organization’s landing page. Unfortunately, the ad formats and options here not only vary a lot, but are sometimes quite opaque. The most common formats include: – Display ads – Programmatic ads – Realtime ads – Native ads – Affiliate

Potential

Tips is much cheaper than the classic DRTV ad on TV. What’s more: more and more people are watching TV online— and the trend is rising

People now use search engines to search for almost everything digitally. So, invest in SEO. It’s an important investment in your lead community fundraising and it’s possible in any country

Remember? There are other search engines besides the giant “Google.” Use them. Because fundraising can be highly targeted by means of all search engines

Since every country is teeming with websites, the potential is basically huge. It is up to the fundraising sector to shape and develop this potential. Prices per lead are currently often higher than for other channels. But they can be optimized!

Always check which third-party websites your ad can be seen on and make sure that the content of these websites is appropriate for your organization. If you are working with suppliers, demand digital transparency and have regular reports on inserts sent to you for review

(continued)

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Table 8.2 (continued) Channel Retargeting

8.4

Option Retargeting is a kind of “tracking process.” If someone was on an organization’s landing page, they are “tagged” and then retargeted with targeted ads on other websites they subsequently visit. Retargeting options are very extensive

Potential Retargeting has not only caught on in sales, but also in fundraising. It is an important building block increasing the overall potential of lead community fundraising

Tips Retargeting can be annoying, especially if you have already “bought” something and then get to see the same product displayed over and over again. Therefore, craft your retargeting campaigns with moderation so that people never feel bothered and your campaigns always remain ethical

Step 4: Build and Nurture the Lead Community

You got the data from the people behind the leads. Congratulations. Now the real work begins. Because now it’s about making these people a part of your community. But you should take a closer look. It’s the little things that matter here. Because the people who make up your community belong to different lead segments and were won over via different campaigns and different media—and this means they have different levels of involvement and relationships of varying intensity with your organization. Figure 8.6 illustrates at a glance what the lead community consists of. What do you have to watch out for when communicating with your lead community? For one thing, the General Data Protection Regulation—because only if the data has been collected and stored correctly, can you work with it and turn leads into fans and loyal supporters. And for another, you need to pick up your community members from wherever they are at the moment. For example, for those who have just come to you via a third-party website require a different approach and different communication than those who are involved leads and have long been part of your organization. The right storytelling and also a look at the motives and drivers can help here, as described, for instance, in Sect. 2.3. And, of course, it helps to be aware of who your counterpart is. Not every community member of yours was won over via the same campaign or the same channel. So you should always keep in mind who your community members are and where you “got” them from. If you take this into consideration, this already represents a big step forward. But there is more to it. Because even if we’d all like it, people don’t all react in the same way and at the same time. That’s why you’ll never be able to inspire all community members at once and convert them into fans. That means that you have a heterogeneous community in a twofold sense: not only has it been won over via different

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Fig. 8.6 The lead community—what it consists of (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

campaigns in different media, but it also finds itself at different points in the relationship. The best solution is to make communication and relationship management as individual as possible. A freshly acquired lead rarely has the same informational needs and status as an active lead acquired years ago. The multi-cycle helps the lead community fundraising identify a member’s particular stage. Managing/nurturing individual relationships with the lead community is extremely complex. So start with small steps first. Monitor and optimize them on a continuous basis. And use the lead types that you got to know in Sect. 6.1. Because these different involvement strategies not only serve to attract new community members and reactivate lost ones, but they are also an optimal tool for looking after active community members. There are even lead types that you can more easily acquire within your community than outside of it. This is the case when it takes a high level of commitment, trust, and involvement. And this is especially true for the lead types mid-level donors, major donors, and legacy donors. Directly finding a prospect who wants to make a major donation to your organization is far more difficult than asking the same question to an active member of your

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lead community. For there is already a relationship and willingness to get more involved in the organization. But here, too, there are many ways to achieve your goal. So that old Austrian saying comes true: “Regardless how steep the mountain, a small step is always possible.”

8.5

Step 5: What Makes a Good Lead Journey

Do you know what a good lead journey and a good first date have in common? Both may have been preceded by some communication, exchanging numbers and names. But that’s not it. What both really have in common—the linchpin—is that there has to be a “happy beginning” in both. If there are no sparks, that’s it. This may sound harsh, but that’s the way it is. Because if a person doesn’t have a great experience with the organization right from the start, then lead community fundraising has failed. This works best when you deliver what you promise up front. As already elaborated upon in Sect. 6.2 (and elsewhere), we always promise people something in our campaigns and appeals. Be it the promise to save the world, end hunger, or to right an injustice via petition. Anyone who responds to our campaigns wants answers and information. And he/she wants to be heard and seen—as a person— just like on a date. There are few things worse than being mistaken for someone else on a date or having your date fail to remember your name. Here is another example from the lead community fundraising itself. It’s about Peter. Peter sends encouraging words to children with cancer online via a landing page. After he participates, he receives an appreciative SMS, which links to a video in which the organization’s managing director thanks him personally. A week later he receives another message, this time from an affected child, that shows him how happy the child was about his encouraging words. “Wow!” thinks Peter, “Great that I could help the sick children! That feels good! I did that right!” He feels it was worthwhile to send the word donation. He feels validated not only in his actions, but also in his ability to make a positive difference. It makes him happy to have helped children with cancer. He feels connected not only to the organization but also to those affected and to other community members—and that is exactly the point of lead community fundraising. Peter has had the positive experience of how wonderful it is to help others, especially as part of a community. Will he get involved again or even donate? Probably. Will he support this or another organization again? We are quite sure of that, because: You forget what it was all about. But you don’t forget how you were treated. – Ralf T. Kreutzer (Kreutzer 2018).

So it’s all about making the other person feel good and keeping the (explicit or implicit) promise made during the campaign. Accordingly, all your efforts should ultimately lead to a unique and positive lead experience. And that doesn’t happen overnight—it takes time. How long? This is what “time-to-value” tells you. In this

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Fig. 8.7 Many paths, one goal: the lead experience (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

context, this term from marketing designates the time that a prospect needs to truly experience the value of an NPO campaign. Only when people have this time and only when the emotions are right will your leads become donors and your donors become fans. Figure 8.7 shows how it works. Figure 8.7 shows the needs and desires that people in our lead community have. They are an important starting point for this shared journey. But it is not a package tour, but an individual one. Because the lead journey is not only dependent on these wishes and expectations, but also on the particular lead segment to which the community members belong. So take the lead segments into account when you design your lead journey— because the relationship with an incentivized lead is completely different from one with a handraiser. And what’s more: Always think your lead campaigns through to the end. For example, an incentivized lead not only needs the promised incentive after clicking, but usually also more information about the organization or topic before he should be asked for a donation. An E-activist, on the other hand, wants to see after clicking that his help has actually arrived before he considers donating. Therefore, the lead journey can be completely different depending on the campaign. These are also termed approach chains (Schlömer 2018).

1 This number is based on Linda Neugebauer’s personal experience of many years dealing with NPOs internationally.

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The communication channels shown in Fig. 8.7 are just as important as the lead segments. In a nutshell: It doesn’t always have to be an email. Because our experience from international practice unfortunately shows that email is sometimes worse than its reputation. Their average open rates are estimated to lie between 10% and 30%.1 That means around 70–90% don’t even read the email! In the case of SMS messages, the open rate is said to be 95%, and that just within the first three minutes of receipt (Klar 2017). However, the cost of sending SMS messages is much higher and certain content cannot be fully and solely displayed via this channel. In telemarketing, we estimate “reachability” to be around 30–60%—provided the telephone number is correct. The latter is another problem with lead generation, because people don’t always willingly enter their correct phone number, especially when it is a required field. By contrast, people usually enter their email address correctly. Besides telemarketing, there are other ways to nurture relationships with lead community members: such as postal letters, house calls, messaging texts, and chats. This is quite different from what it used to be, when you usually committed to one or at most two channels and never changed again. Today, the rule is: don’t commit to one channel, use many different ones instead. For it’s not just the number of communication and relationship channels that have changed, but also the way people interact with digital media. As a small aside: people today usually use more than one screen at the same time. Sounds strange, but it’s true. According to the UIM study “Catch me if you can! 2.0,” the share of multi-screens among online users has risen to almost 90% (United Internet Media 2015). Most of these so-called “multi-screeners” use at least two devices. This multi-screen use continues in the lead journey, but also in the donor journey. Thus, it can be assumed that a single lead community member receives many different touchpoints on different devices. This is why it is so important to take this into account in the lead journey and to develop effective “cross-device fundraising concepts.” This requires not only the best technology, but also the best creativity—dialogic, digital creation. This is the only way creation can keep up. Because as it was mentioned at the very beginning of the book, in this life we are not only online, but rather “onlife.” What does a good lead journey look like? Like Doctors without Borders Spain, for example. Figure 8.8 shows how the conception of a lead journey can be represented internally within an organization. This involves a welcome nurture that goes to freebie recipients who were acquired via a chatbot by Doctors without Borders Spain. Let us recall: lead nurturing means cultivating individual relationships and includes all measures to address a lead with relevant information at the right time in order to ultimately induce them to make a donation (Mattscheck at Onlinemarketing Praxis n.d.). What makes the conception of a lead journey so complex is that all emotions and all expectations of the participants have to be taken into account. And that on several levels—on the one hand in general, in the sense of a consistent experience orientation. And, on the other hand in detail—because the influence of each individual touchpoint during the lead journey should be determined and given weight. In doing so, all channels and important performance indicators should be captured in a

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Fig. 8.8 The internal organizational conception of a lead journey, using the example of Doctors without Borders Spain, with the agency Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising S.L.

so-called “dynamic nurture mapping” (term: L. Neugebauer 2020, unpublished). What is that again? In short, it’s a slightly different way of mapping the interactions that take place during the lead journey between the NPO and the people behind the personas, from an NPO perspective. And we’re not talking about just any interactions, but those that are interesting for nurturing relationships. Because journeys are not pure transactions, but personal experiences of people with the entire organization. This personal experiential quality cannot be made visible in simple reports or statistics. However, most fundraising reports are only based on classic key performance indicators such as pull or average donation, but not on giving form to a person’s emotions, thoughts, or identity. Therefore, any kind of mapping helps an organization in this visualization process. Successful mappings focus on people, their needs, identity, feelings, desires, and well-being. They show all touchpoints and thus make complex information processes quickly and easily comprehensible for everyone. In addition, mappings create an overall picture, promoting in this way a closer relationship to (potential) donors. How a journey is ultimately designed depends completely on the situation and is very personal. Figure 8.9 shows another way of depicting a journey. The example comes from Greenpeace Spain. Involved here is an “experience design map” (term: Neugebauer 2020, unpublished), which treats a “welcome nurture” for new potential legacy givers. Translated into everyday language: The graphic shows which thoughts and emotions potential legacy donors should have at the outset of the legacy journey.

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Fig. 8.9 Experience design map from Greenpeace Spain, conception by Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising

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So far, so good. Now you have a lead journey or an experience design map. But that’s not the end of the story. For once you know which people, in which lead segments, via which media you are talking to, you must then decide something else very essential: what you want to talk to these people about. Here’s a little tip: Don’t just talk, but also ask—for the opinion of your community members, but also for a donation. For which donation, exactly, depends on the respective cultural or national habitus. Because there are national differences. In some countries, people are more likely to ask for a regular donation, while in others requesting a one-off donation is more common. In the best case, you should mix all possible donation types. Here are the most important donation options at a glance: – Regular donations. – Sponsorships (i.e., long-term, regular donations, usually via direct debit authorization, dedicated to a cause such as a region, an animal, the rainforest, or a specific school). – One-time donations. – Microdonations (a very small donation, but gives you, as it were, “a foot in the door” to the heart of the donor). – Purchase of a solidarity product. – Donations in kind (clothing, food, glasses, toys . . .). – Mid-level donations. – Large donations. – Legacies. Ideally, you already know your lead community members and can distinguish those who tend to buy solidarity products or who like to make one-time donations from those who are more willing to commit to a long-term sponsorship. But that doesn’t mean you can’t ask potential sponsors for a donation in kind once in a while. Because it’s all about combining “donation offers”—and the feeling of freedom of choice that these different “offers” bring to people. In this way, there is practically something for everyone—and the type of donation with which they feel most comfortable. Depending on the nation and organization, this will result in a different fundraising plan. That is what makes lead community fundraising so unique. But before we ride happily off into the sunset, there is still a whole lot more information to go through. Perhaps you remember Fig. 8.2: What needs and desires do personas have? The one with “help me,” “entertain me,” and so on? This figure had shown the needs of potential leads. Now we are building on precisely these needs with the nurture strategy—that is, by cultivating relationships. A relationship can only be “good” for both sides when all important needs are met. So, which nurture strategies can be used in lead community fundraising—and within the lead journey—to improve the relationship with lead community members? First of all, it must be said that there is not ONE nurture strategy, but several. On the one hand, there is one that is oriented around content. And on the other hand, there is one oriented around specific milestones or occasions. Both are

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Table 8.3 What content strategies are there for improving the relationship with leads? (Developed by L. Neugebauer) Content-based nurture strategy Helping nurture Entertaining nurture Educational nurture Engaging nurture Inspiring nurture Leading nurture

Target Helping people and taking care of them Entertaining people and putting them in a good mood Informing people and sharing knowledge Letting people participate Inspiring people Guiding, accompanying and motivating people

Table 8.4 What occasion-related nurture strategies are there for improving the relationship with leads? (Developed by Neugebauer) Occasion-related nurture Welcome nurture Special day nurture Thank-you nurture Rewarding nurture Honoring nurture Update nurture

For example, when? For new leads or re-leads if they have been inactive for a long time Birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries Say thank-you. Over and over again, but at least four times a year! Because you can never say thank-you enough! Award recommendations, participation or likes Honor long-term members or those who have achieved something special Keeping people updated on the current status of projects or success stories. Can also be done via experts who explain current developments

important, both are promising. And both—like quite a lot in the lead journey—are best when mixed. In fact, lead community fundraising is much like a smoothie: everything gets mixed together and this mix is better than the sum of the parts. And when it comes to nurtures, they have smoothie qualities, too. For in every act of nurture, it’s important to thank people and make them feel appreciated. But encouraging a dialogue and asking for a donation are also important and must not be missing—at the right place and at the right time. Table 8.3 gives an overview of the content-related nurture strategies available for improving the relationship with leads and what the goal of each strategy is. Table 8.4 provides information about the most common event-related nurtures and when they are most promising. What makes occasion-based nurtures so interesting is that they can be initiated during the lead journey.

8.6

Step 6: What Counts in the Donor Journey

Done. The lead has become a donor. If this were Hollywood, “The End” would fade in right here, and we would all know: “And they lived happily ever after.” But Hollywood is far away. And what follows here is real life. And here—as in any other relationship—appreciation and a bit of romance in everyday life are required,

8.6 Step 6: What Counts in the Donor Journey

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otherwise, the relationship will die. We have all probably experienced this privately, when the partner mutates from prince to frog because he thinks he doesn’t have to try anymore. And this is also evident among donors. According to a study from Boomerang (Craver 2014: 16), nearly half of donors break up with an organization and stop donating because there is too little communication and too little service. Here are the reasons for breaking up in detail: 5% of donors say the organization doesn’t need them, another 5% say they haven’t received information about what happens to their donations, 9% say they are not asked for support, 13% complain that they receive no thanks, and 18% that there is no service. Want more numbers? Here you go. This time they’re from offline and refer to the London Society of Blind People: With a new donor journey, 70% of first-time donors have given after six months—without the journey, it is 64% after 15 months. And with the new donor journey, 8% of donors are giving regularly after 6 months—without the journey, this number is zero (Linton and Royal London Society for Blind People 2013). This means that for donors to remain donors, the relationship must fit on several levels: on the personal level, where commitment, commonalities, and recognition are involved. And on the institutional level, where an organization’s visibility, the character of its service, and professional communication with donors are the keys. The best way to ensure that donors remain donors is to launch a donor journey. This goes beyond the lead journey and addresses the donors. So far, so good. The bad news: there is no such thing as a donor journey in general; just as with lead journeys, they are as individual as the donors themselves. But there is one big thing that all donor journeys have in common: they should arouse love and enthusiasm. The donor journey aims to deepen the relationship between the organization and its donors. Ultimately, the donors should love the organization and the organization should inspire the donors and turn them into fans. Figure 8.10, a small graphic, shows what really matters in the donor journey. So there are two things that really matter in a donor journey: make your donors love you and make them into your fans. But that is not possible at the push of a button. It requires reciprocity. So: love your donors. See donors as real people with feelings, desires and needs, and take an interest in them. This works best if your organization is not donation oriented but people oriented. That would be good—for fundraising as well. For only relationship-oriented fundraising can turn donors into enthusiastic fans. And that includes a new focus in fundraising: and it is clearly on the donors. Help your donor achieve her goals and wishes through your organization! This is awesome, as you will see. Because if we manage to communicate in such a way that donors feel they can achieve their deepest desires and personal goals through an organization, that would be great. Because people love to achieve their goals. And best of all: To a certain extent, the organization’s goals should match those of its best donors anyway. After all, it is precisely these values that inextricably link the two. This must also be reflected in the way we communicate. This, too, must be done from the donor’s point of view. And this view is not uniform—it is individual. Not every donor is the same—not even in terms of their donation. Because there are one-time donors,

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Fig. 8.10 What really matters in the donor journey (content: L. Neugebauer, graphic design: Antonio Verdú Zamora)

Make your donors love you

Wow!

Make them be your FANS!

multiple donors, sponsors, major donors, and much more. And the same is true in terms of needs, desires, and personal relevance. Therefore—similar to the lead journey—the donor journey should also be individually adapted to the needs of the respective person.

8.7

The Takeaway

Lead community fundraising involves more than just putting a campaign on Facebook. Lead community fundraising means inspiring people and building a community with them—a community in which help is given, also in the form of donations. A secure basis that can always be relied upon. First of all, this requires personas, because only if we know who the person opposite us is, can we catch his/her attention and approach him/her correctly. So that he/she becomes part of this community. This does not require luck, but above all the right involvement strategy and a good mix of communication channels. Then people will give up their data and become leads and these leads will become fans and donors. To ensure that it stays this way, constant communication is needed—and, accordingly, the lead and donor journeys. And nurture strategies are needed, too, i.e., strategies for managing

References

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individual relationships. Lead nurturing includes all measures to address a prospect (lead) with relevant information at the right time (Mattscheck, Markus at Onlinemarketing Praxis n.d.) to ultimately help them with the donation decision. Lead nurturing is, therefore, an important part of the lead journey and is based on the needs that potential leads have and that the organization should fulfill.

References Craver R (2014) Retention fundraising: the art and science of keeping your donors for life. Emerson & Church Publishers eMarketer (2019) Global ad spending update 2019. Summary Häusel H-G, Henzler H (2018) Buyer Personas. Wie man seine Zielgruppen erkennt und begeistert. Haufe-Verlag, Freiburg Klar T (2017) Warum die SMS mehr als zeitgemäß ist. Available from https://www.cio.de/a/ warum-die-sms-mehr-als-zeitgemaess-ist,3572480 (Accessed 11-29-2020) Kreutzer RT (2018) Praxisorientiertes Online-Marketing. Konzepte – Instrumente – Checklisten. 3rd ed., p. 31. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler-Verlag Linton C; Royal London Society for Blind Children (2013) Donor journeys and the little heroes nursery appeal, p. 26. Available from https://de.slideshare.net/iof-events/donor-journeys (Accessed 01-02-2021) Mattscheck, Markus at Online marketing Praxis (n.d.) Lead nurturing. https://www. onlinemarketing-praxis.de/glossar/lead-nurturing (Accessed 08-10-2020) Schlömer B (2018) Inbound! Das Handbuch für modernes Marketing. Bonn, Rheinwerk Verlag, p 132 Schüller AM (2016) Touch. Point Sieg. Kommunikation in Zeiten der digitalen Transformation. Gabal-Verlag, Offenbach United Internet Media (2015) Catch me if you can! 2.0, Update of multi-screen baseline study, p. 7f. https://www.united-internet-media.de/en/research/onlinestudies/categorystudies/catch-me-ifyou-can-part-2/ Weidenbach B (2020) Prognose der Investitionen in Social-Media-Werbung weltweit bis 2022. Available from https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/647056/umfrage/investitionen-insocial-media-werbung-weltweit/ (Accessed 11-29-2020)

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This Is How Lead Community Fundraising Works: The Team

Lead community fundraising requires an orientation toward people, and this must also be shared and internalized by the fundraising team of each organization. Because with this digital fundraising we all have the chance for the first time to transfer knowledge—about the interests, topic preferences, language, values, needs, well-being, and motivations of the individual community members and donors behind the personas—in a big way to all communications. Therefore, the fundraising department needs to share this knowledge with all other departments. Only in this way can the organization leverage its full potential and create positive synergies. In carrying this out, the lead community fundraising team should adhere to the following basic principles: – Content should be tailored to the needs of the respective personas and have a concrete and tangible benefit for them. The basis for this, in turn, is that the team listens to its supporters and learns from them, as well as seeking an active dialogue with them. – One goal is to attract donors and cultivate them to become loyal ones. Long-term donor loyalty can only be achieved by building and maintaining an honest relationship of trust. – Ethical communication of content is a basic requirement. There should always be honest, appreciative, and attentive communication. – Communication is always value- and experience-oriented and should have a positive effect on the mood and state of mind of the lead community members. After all, no one likes to be sad or afraid. – Communication takes place on an equal footing. – The lead community fundraising team must perceive the person in his or her being as a whole—not just as a potential donor or interested party. – The communication itself must be transparent and comprehensible. – The aim is to promote people’s well-being.

# The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_9

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So which departments are important for lead community fundraising? This question can be answered with four words: the more, the better. But the minimal version requires the fundraising department, the marketing department, and the communications department. But this, of course, all depends on the size of the organization. Small to mid-sized organizations often have only a few employees who—like a Swiss Army knife—are used for almost everything. Larger organizations operate in a more specialized way and have many different departments at their disposal. And here, further change is likely, for digitalization and the development of digital fundraising will also change and diversify job profiles. The lead community manager might well be one of these new job profiles. We would like to briefly introduce this job profile to you here:

9.1

Lead Community Manager 5.0—A New Fundraising Position

If lead communities develop into one of the most important building blocks of fundraising in the future, this gives rise to the necessity of creating a new position in fundraising, namely that of the so-called “lead community manager” (term: L. Neugebauer 2019). This fundraising position is not only new, it also requires completely new skills. This is because the flexibility marketing automation systems now make possible must be transferred to an ROI for the first time and continuously by means of “agile fundraising.” In addition, annual planning is now supplemented by the creation of new, dynamic, multi-cyclical plans. The high agility of the new CRM systems makes it possible and necessary for fundraising to act faster and in shorter time frames. And this is also adapted to the corresponding personas of an organization. Moreover, it is also about establishing a dialogue with lead community members and communicating with them in a multi-level, interactive, and reciprocal manner. The classic approach, in which fundraising takes place via a one-way mass channel, is a thing of the past when it comes to lead communities. As a general rule, the lead community manager must fulfill both the tasks and the requirements of the fundraising profession as previously practiced. But that is certainly not all. Here are the seven main characteristics of the lead community manager: 1. She connects everyone: Not only the members of the lead community with the organization, but also the other departments with the lead community fundraising department and with the community. While making connections on all sides, she always remains people- and value-oriented. Lead community managers know that an organization can only be successful in digital fundraising, in the entirety of all internal and external connections. She thus transforms the USP into a so-called “social connecting position”.1 The stronger the connections, the more stable and 1

This term was developed by Linda Neugebauer in February 2020.

9.1 Lead Community Manager 5.0—A New Fundraising Position

2.

3.

4.

5.

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sustainable is the “digital position” of an organization in the market. By virtue of her connected position, she is not only part of the organization, but also part of the lead community itself. She collects people, not data: The lead community manager has a large amount of personal data about lead community members. Since data collection and enrichment, which are continuously planned by her, always take place transparently, she also manages that members become not merely “data to be recorded” (Hasselbalch and Tranberg 2017), but rather “people who record themselves.” For her, data is an important part of ourselves, which she and her team deal with very carefully and humanely. Despite her high number orientation, she never loses sight of people. She regards data as a source of values and determines the value of an analysis for the members themselves as well as in connection with the organization. When it comes to the analytical use of data, it is not only efficient, but above all also transparent. She lives this transparency not only within the organization, but also within the lead community. She is also aware that the way the organization thinks and deals with data has a major impact on various levels within the organization. She plans and creates digital content: She identifies herself with the content of the organization and can translate it to online actions and overall communication with the lead community. Creating the content concept for the lead community is as much a part of the job as speaking the language of the lead community and continuously ensuring that the content communicated is relevant and meaningful. She inspires and motivates: For even if the primary goal is to raise funds, the lead community manager never loses sight of the fact that she should not only inform and educate people, but also inspire and motivate them. Therefore, she regularly plans actions that have a positive effect on the spirit of lead community members. Because she knows: Only when a person experiences good feelings will she stay with the lead community and feel the need to become more and more involved. She keeps an eye on the algorithms: Because decisions should never be solely in the “hands of machines,” but there should always be an alert and conscious eye on the meaningfulness and value of algorithms. The lead community manager regularly critically examines existing algorithms. She is the good “digital conscience”: Lead community fundraising is subject to a very special, ethical responsibility. After all, her work involves building and further developing “healthy” digital spaces. She’s a data protection expert—and the community is in good hands with her. The lead community manager is well versed in data protection law and continuously ensures the necessary security of lead community members. As soon as new trends become known, she implements them and even thinks ahead to new ways of doing things. She communicates all aspects of data protection and security within the lead community and the organization.

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If all of this works, the lead community manager can become a highly flexible and agile fundraiser and achieve her goal of building and maintaining an active and responsive lead community and fan base.

Reference Hasselbalch G, Tranberg P (2017) Datenethik: Eine neue Geschäftsethik entwickeln. In: Otto P, Gräf E (eds) 3TH1CS. Die Ethik der digitalen Zeit, Position 3103. E-Book. 978–3–944362-311. iRights Media

This Works in Lead Community Fundraising: More Than 20 International Examples

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First things first: Thank you. Thanks to all the organizations whose actions we are privileged to depict in the following. After all, what good is the best theory if there are no practical examples to illustrate how to implement it. In this sense—have fun with these examples from seven countries, which we have classified according to the involvement level of potential leads. Because indirect leads have different experiences, different wishes, and needs than involved or incentivized leads—but you already know that. Therefore, just let yourself be inspired and motivated. Because lead community fundraising thrives on community—not only that of potential donors, but also that of fundraisers. So, feel free to get a little closer and see which first stretches of territory in the newly discovered land of the digital lead community have already been mapped.

10.1

This Works in the Indirect Leads Segment

Co-registration works well—especially in combination with participation in a petition, test, or quiz. Here you can generate the lead types: co-register signatory and co-register test participant. Figure 10.1 is a good example of this. It refers to a petition and comes from the Spanish petition platform Osoigo.com. Here a signer of a privately initiated online petition can “co-register” for an organization. This co-registration can take many different forms. Some platforms allow images and videos, whereas others allow text-only advertising. In Fig. 10.1 you can see that on the right side—in the red box—there is an option to co-register: The organization asks here if you would like more information about becoming a sponsor (of this organization). If this is the case, this is confirmed by checking the opt-in box and co-registering with this organization. The advantage: You can reach a lot of people this way. The disadvantage: Very few of these people are emotionally close to your organization, and many probably don’t even know it. Even so, co-registrations on different platforms are a good vehicle for getting new leads. In some countries, they have long been very popular. Since such petitions, # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_10

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Fig. 10.1 Co-registration in the course of a petition. Lead type: co-register signatory. https://www. osoigo.com/es/sandra-romero-5-cuando-destinaran-mas-recursos-para-concienciar-a-laciudadania-de-que-si-se-hacen-donantes-de-medula-pueden-salvar-vidas.html (Accessed 11-272020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

tests or quizzes come from third-party providers, it is particularly advisable to choose content that is in keeping with the organization itself. Figure 10.2 shows another example of this, also from Spain. Here, too, there is the option of co-registering for an NPO, this time in the course of a test. This generates the lead type co-register test participant. It is a test about the coronavirus on

10.1

This Works in the Indirect Leads Segment

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Fig. 10.2 Co-registration in the course of a test from www.coregister.com. Lead type: co-register test participant

Facebook. Before you’re allowed to take it, you are asked whether you would like more information about what the organization does and how you can best support it. If you answer “Yes,” you will be asked at the end of the test to confirm the organization’s opt-in checkbox for correct data use. This twofold mode is very elegant, since it allows the participant’s basic interest to be queried before the test and then reference can be made back to precisely this interest after the test. Contests represent another very popular way to generate leads. Here you can generate the lead type: co-sponsor contest participants. The organization acts as a co-sponsor. The vast majority of platforms that offer co-registrations also offer the option of generating leads through co-sponsorship. The difference between co-registration and co-sponsorship is in the details. When co-registering, the user is usually asked whether he/she would like to donate or receive more information about the work of the organization. If this is the case, it is sufficient for the user to click on the opt-in checkbox, so that the organization can communicate with him. With co-sponsoring, on the other hand, by participating in a contest, the user gives his/her opt-in that all sponsors of the website can contact him/her. So there is clearly an opt-in, but most people have probably given their consent without really realizing it. That is why, in the terminology of traditional sales, one would speak of “cold leads” here. Figure 10.3 shows an example of this lead-generation option—it involves an example of a travel contest portal. Clicking on the sponsors’ link in Fig. 10.3, a user can see all the website’s sponsors who may contact him on the basis of the opt-in he/she has given. If he/she does not want to give his opt-in to all sponsors, he/she can control this individually with a simple click. Our experience shows, however, that hardly any user takes a closer look at the sponsors of a website and with most giving their opt-in to all sponsors. Figure 10.4, depicting the control windows for activating or deactivating website sponsors, shows just how many sponsors there can be in such a contest. However, very exclusive leads can also be acquired via third-party platforms and websites. This is the case if the organization appears as the main sponsor of, for instance, online tests or quizzes. Because online tests are an excellent way for people to deal with topics that are new to them in a playful way. The advantage of

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Fig. 10.3 Co-sponsoring in the course of a contest. Lead type: co-sponsor—contest participant. https://viajes.catalogodepremios.com/ (Accessed 03-05-2021) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

10.2

This Works in the Incentivized Leads Segment

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Fig. 10.4 A large number of contest sponsors. https://viajes.catalogodepremios.com/ (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

this variant, in which the NPO acts as the sole “sponsor” alongside the organizer, is that the lead “belongs” to the organization alone (apart from the website provider). This differs from the variants previously presented. This exclusivity also has advantages for the people acquired in this way—they are not approached by many organizations, but only by one. This also gives the contact a higher value in the eyes of the leads. In Fig. 10.5 you will find an example of this, in which the organization acts as the main sponsor and a health test is involved. The lead type here is sponsor test participant. What makes this implementation in Fig. 10.5 worthy of presentation is the transparency and the moral, ethical understanding with which this page was created. For if the user clicks on “Patrocinadores” (sponsor), he/she sees the sole sponsor of this website. And: if the user does not want to give the sponsor an opt-in, he/she can refuse to do so. So now you know what works particularly well in the area of indirect leads. Let’s move on to incentivized leads.

10.2

This Works in the Incentivized Leads Segment

In contrast to indirect leads, here the organization makes a direct appearance. The aim is not only to get new contact data, but also to deepen the relationship with existing leads and to give them, as it were, a little gift. As the name suggests, incentivized leads are about incentives. In other words, people give up their contact information in order to receive—in the form of a small quid pro quo—something that they want or that is useful to them. In principle, several types of incentives can be distinguished here: tests and quizzes, contests, and freebies. These, in turn, can be separated into two basic groups: namely, immaterial and material freebies. The most common tangible objects are guides, eBooks, and stickers. But there are other proven material freebies such as: – – – – – –

E-paper/whitepaper Access to online newspapers Case studies Worksheets Stickers Templates

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Fig. 10.5 Sponsoring in the course of a health test, www.coregistros.com. Lead type: Sponsor—Test Participant

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This Works in the Incentivized Leads Segment

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– Screensavers – Checklists – Recommended reading In addition to the material freebies, there are, as mentioned, also immaterial ones. These are “social incentives” that benefit the user or meet a need. These intangible freebies include “likes” that the user receives (e.g., for a posting or photo), but also the user’s name in a feed. Long story short: Freebies work well with incentivized lead types and generate the lead type freebie recipients. Greenpeace Mexico, for example, offers a food guide (see Fig. 10.6). The clever thing about this site: anyone who seeks to leave the donation form on the website prematurely receives this freebie offer—via an “exit pop-up.” The approach is awesome. Because here a benefit is offered to people who already know the organization and had almost been ready to donate. And this little gift brings them emotionally closer to the organization. So it’s an investment in the future—in the relationship. Another very interesting example of an immaterial freebie comes from Doctors without Borders Spain, from the beginning of the corona pandemic in March 2020. Doctors without Borders Spain offered psychological support to help people better deal with their emotions during the pandemic. And not only that: In addition to this immaterial freebie, the offer also included a material one: namely, the download of a free screensaver with further tips for staying mentally healthy. All you had to do was leave your name and email address. Not only the idea is interesting, but also the implementation. Because a chatbot was used here. Chatbots are not yet very common among nonprofits. However, the sector is slowly starting to use bots, because they are ideal for interacting intensively with people. The community’s questions can be answered online around the clock. Doctors without Borders used excellent chatbot integration on its website (see Fig. 10.7), right at the start of the pandemic. The Austrian organization Aufstehn relied on a completely different type of freebie in one of their campaigns for the European elections: a door hanger that could be ordered for free on the organization’s website. The aim was to find 150,000 people who should use this door tag to point out how important it was to vote in the European elections. But that was not the only special feature of this campaign; another was that the freebie requested online was sent by mail. This combination of on- and offline is particularly important where the postal donation letter and personalized direct mail work. Because the online–offline link allows newly acquired leads to be integrated into an organization’s offline communications program. The Aufstehn campaign was very successful and actually found 150,000 takers for their door hangers in a very short time. Figure 10.8 shows what they looked like. Besides freebies, there are other ways to get new incentivized leads or to strengthen the relationship with lead community members. One of them involves tests and quizzes. You may be wondering how this differs from the quizzes and tests described earlier in the chapter, in Sect. 10.1. The first difference is that here

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Fig. 10.6 A freebie from Greenpeace Mexico: a free food guide. Lead type: freebie recipient. https://dona.greenpeace.org.mx/ (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

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10.2

This Works in the Incentivized Leads Segment

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Fig. 10.7 An immaterial freebie from Doctors without Borders Spain—with chatbot. Lead type: freebie recipient

the quizzes and tests are not acquired indirectly via third-party websites or other platforms. The second difference is that here the focus is not just on generating leads, but also on the use of quizzes and tests as relationship tools. The third difference is that the organization and its topics represent the framework and brackets for the quiz or test, and this is targeted specifically at people who are interested in the organizations and their topics. A further argument supporting this is the fact that these tests and quizzes can often also be found on the organization’s website itself or can be linked to it. Here is an example from the States. WWF USA calls on participants to take part in this test with the headline “Find your inner animal!” The bar to participation is kept very low—all that is needed is an email address (see Fig. 10.9). Greenpeace New Zealand also uses this tool—and invites you to its online quiz with the challenge to “Test Your Rainforest Knowledge!” (see Fig. 10.10). In addition to freebies, tests and quizzes, contests, or raffles are very popular and proven. Figure 10.11 presents an example from the Spanish organization Oxfam Intermón. The organization held a contest in which the participants could win a project trip and thus get to know Oxfam Intermón’s project work better—on site and at first hand. Greenpeace Austria also ran a raffle and combined it with participation in a survey asking about attitudes to the climate crisis—including what the individual is already doing to help (see Fig. 10.12). Nevertheless, this Facebook ad generates the lead type contest participant—because, in order to generate new leads and to get the data of the survey participants, a climate protection set was raffled off. This implementation is interesting in that while the leads are incentivized, they were

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Fig. 10.8 Freebie door tag from Aufstehn. Lead type: freebie recipient. https://actions.aufstehn.at/ 150000tueranhaenger?s¼wag (Accessed 04-12-2019) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

nonetheless previously heavily involved via a survey. If the data collection, i.e., lead generation, had already taken place during the survey, it would have generated another new and not incentivized, but involved lead type: namely, the survey participant. There are another two reasons why this example is important: On the one hand, it shows how much room for development still exists in lead community fundraising. And on the other, it shows how well you can involve people in each lead segment and thus increase the quality of the relationship right from the start. Another way to generate new leads or retain existing community members is via e-learning content. Greenpeace USA is a good example of exactly what this can look like. This organization gave people the opportunity to register for a webinar on plastics and chat directly with the project manager. This direct contact with an

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Fig. 10.9 “Find your inner animal” test from WWF USA. Lead type: test participant. https://www. worldwildlife.org/pages/find-your-inner-animal (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

Fig. 10.10 Test your rainforest knowledge from Greenpeace New Zealand. Lead type: test participant. https://act.greenpeace.org/page/28323/petition/1?locale¼en-NZ (Accessed 02-092020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

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Fig. 10.11 Oxfam Intermón contest—there is a project trip to be won. Lead type: contest participant. https://sumate.oxfamintermon.org/viaja-a-uno-de-los-proyectos-de-oxfam-intermon (Access 02-09-2020) (screenshot by Neugebauer)

organization’s staff is excellent. It creates a sense of closeness, promotes transparency, and creates an intense bond (Fig. 10.13). The Spanish organization Action against Hunger (Acción contra el Hambre) has found another wonderful opportunity to involve people in their projects and strengthen the lead community. How? With an online game—entitled “Women who make the world go round.” As a virtual character, you traveled randomly around the globe to one of the organization’s project countries. Figures 10.14, 10.15, and 10.16 show this example in detail. It represents the “player” lead type. In Fig. 10.15, you can see the virtual figure and also the country she “traveled” to by chance. Which country did it turn out to be? You can find out from the text on the right. It says: “You have landed in Guatemala!” So far, so good. Now you get to know the story of Josefina, who comes from Guatemala. Then you have the option of learning more about Josefina, donating or downloading a banner that communicates that you support these women. This lead type thrives on a play-based approach to the world—or as it is often called today—“gamification.” Gamification calls for some elements that exemplify the essence of play. These include:

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Fig. 10.12 Facebook ad with climate survey from Greenpeace Austria. Lead type: contest participant (Screenshot by I. Zanko, Facebook ad from 25 August 2020)

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Fig. 10.13 Webinar with e-learning content from Greenpeace USA. Lead type: e-learner. https:// www.greenpeace.org/usa/join-our-webinar-and-chat-with-annie-about-our-plastics-campaign/ (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

Fig. 10.14 Online game of Action Against Hunger Spain in which a virtual female figure travels to a virtual country. Lead type: gamer. Part 1 (first of three consecutive figures). https:// ellasmuevenelmundo.org/ (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

– Visible status of players – Visible ranking of all players – Riddles or diligence tasks (quests)

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Fig. 10.15 Online game of Action Against Hunger Spain in which a virtual female figure travels to a virtual country. Lead type: gamer. Part 2 (see also Figs. 10.14 and 10.16)

Fig. 10.16 Online game of Action Against Hunger Spain in which a virtual female figure travels to a virtual country. Lead type: gamer. Part 3 (see also Figs. 10.15 and 10.16)

– – – – – –

Transparent results Feedback on player activity Convincing goals (epic meaning) Dynamic progress display of achievements Collaboration in the community Providing information appropriate to the task at hand

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This playfulness is immensely important because from an early age people acquire the world through play, learning to understand it and also learning through play. Organizations can actively harness this play drive for lead and donor acquisition. It is important that the game is not an end in itself, but also serves to transmit content/knowledge/emotions. Games are a great way to convey an organization’s expertise in a fun and emotional way. Great. Now you know what works well in the area of indirect and incentivized leads. Now let’s move on to involved leads—and the clearest examples from practice.

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This Works in the Involved Leads Segment

Involved leads aim to get people involved, to immediately make them part of the organization. Here, too, there are several ways in which this can be achieved in practice. Microdonation works very well at getting people involved Figure 10.17 shows an example from Amnesty International Spain that works with a microdonation. The aim here is to receive a small donation of 1.20 Euros as a way to then get in touch

Fig. 10.17 Microdonation from Amnesty International Spain. Lead type: microdonor. www.es. amnesty.org (Accessed 07-26-2018) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

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with the microdonor and make them a part of the community. It is very important to treat these microdonors differently from normal donors. Because the former do not yet have a shared history with the organization, have not yet built up trust and do not yet feel part of the team. In this example, seen in Fig. 10.17, the organization is calling for an urgent SMS donation of € 1.20 via email. The SMS donation is intended to help a young woman—Taibeh—so that she is not deported back to Afghanistan. Another lead type that gets involved naturally and on its own is that of the buyer With this lead type your organization wins twice. On the one hand, you get direct income from the sale of solidarity/charity products. And on the other hand—through these products—new people are found who are interested in the work of the organization and may even become donors one day. To acquire this lead type, an organization needs not only products and a way to order them online, but also the corresponding logistics for shipping and purchasing. Many are put off by this. However, it is not necessary to set up an online store just to attract this type of lead. Instead, you can start with small steps. For instance, if your organization offers 1000 wristbands at a price of € 2 each, they can be sent as a one-off with the support of volunteers. If this works well, then yes, the next step—and thus an online shop solution—can be considered. Have you got a taste for it? OK then. Here you can find a successful example of an organization’s online shop. In this case, it is Noah’s Ark. This Austrian association has been working for over 30 years to preserve and develop crop diversity and offers some old varieties for sale through its web shop—and has been very successful at it. Figure 10.18 shows you what this web shop looks like. We have termed another very involved lead type the e-activist. Who is this? These are people who want to be active online; they want to help change the world and are looking to make a “real-world impact.” As always, here is an example— again from Amnesty International Spain (see Figs. 10.19 and 10.20). For International Women’s Day on March 8, 2018, Amnesty International wanted to project messages of equality onto the facade of the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy. To this end, the organization collected messages on equality on its website. Amnesty made a video after the action that showed how the messages were actually displayed on the building’s facade. Perhaps the most well-known—and unfortunately also very overused—way to engage people and get their data at the same time is the petition, which generates the lead signatory. Figure 10.21 shows a successful example from the Australian organization “Action for Dolphins.” This organization collected signatures on a petition to stop the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. This is because every day between September and March, dolphins are herded into a bay, brutally hacked to death, and sold as pet food. The petition was addressed to the governor of Wakayama and aimed to get him to stop allowing the slaughter of the dolphins.

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Fig. 10.18 Arche Noah web shop. Lead type: buyer. https://shop.arche-noah.at/ (Accessed 03-052021) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

Fig. 10.19 Amnesty International Spain’s e-activism campaign, part 1. Lead type: e-activist. www.es.amnesty.org (Accessed 02-20-2019) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

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Fig. 10.20 Amnesty International Spain’s e-activism campaign, part 2. www.es.amnesty.org (Accessed 02-20-2019) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

What makes this petition different from others? That it even provided the option of leaving a personal message for the governor. WWF Austria also generated new leads with a petition. And it used Instagram stories to do so. The unique thing here: the story was deleted afterward. Figure 10.22 shows what this petition looked like. Greenpeace Australia shows us an interactive way to generate leads (see Fig. 10.23). This organization asked that people write their bushfire stories today to let politicians know that better climate policies were needed to prevent future fires. This is well done in that the interactivity harmonizes well with the dialogic component of digital media. Another type of involved lead is shown in the campaign of the Spanish Red Cross: the team member—that is, people who join a mission/organization and want to become part of the team (see Fig. 10.24). Another way of getting people involved is through handraiser campaigns. These aim to get people to give their opinion on something/to raise their hands or to stand up for something by name. Doctors without Borders Spain, for example, has done this, calling for a halt to COVID-19-related patents (see Fig. 10.25). CARE Canada also started a handraiser campaign—on the subject of women’s and girls’ rights. CARE called for people to sign up to support the upholding of the rights of women and girls around the world (Fig. 10.26).

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Fig. 10.21 Petition to stop the bloodbath of dolphins. Lead type: signatory. https:// stopthebloodbath.afd.org.au/petition (Accessed 02-14-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

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Fig. 10.22 Petition “Nature instead of concrete” from WWF Austria in Instagram stories. Lead type: signatory (Accessed 09-04-2020) (screenshots by I. Zanko)

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Fig. 10.23 Greenpeace Australia brings people in front of the camera and lets them tell their story. Lead type: interactive. https:// greenpeace.good.do/ shareyourbushfirestory/writea-submission/ (Accessed 01-14-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

Fig. 10.24 The Spanish Red Cross sends out an SOS. Lead type: team member. http://www. apoyacruzroja.es/emergencias-sos (Accessed 12-16-2019) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

A hitherto less frequently used way to get people involved is to simply ask them for help. Doctors without Borders Spain do just that in the example shown in Fig. 10.27. The organization aims to generate leads among those who want to help. The text in Fig. 10.27 states that this girl has a highly contagious disease that everyone is afraid of and that they turn her away because of it. But Doctors without Borders, it further states, will not let any disease stop them from saving human lives. The text then asks whether people want more information on how they can support Doctors without Borders with this life-saving aid effort. Voting also gets people very involved A successful example of this once again comes from Doctors without Borders Spain. The ad shown in Fig. 10.28 is designed to be very dialogue-driven and engaging—as is evident in the question: “Gloria has just been born. Does she have a right to medical care in order to survive?” with which this Spanish organization points out the importance of respecting human rights.

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Fig. 10.25 Doctors without Borders Spain calls for COVID-19 patents to be stopped—from Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising. Lead type: handraiser

The Spanish Red Cross is going a different way—and going for it all. Because the aim of the following campaign is to win people interested in regular giving. Thus, the title of the campaign—“Stay with us and become a regular giver!”—with which leads should be won over to long-term support. The form requests name, telephone number, and email address. Only a few steps later, people are then asked to sign up as sponsors or at least make a donation (Fig. 10.29).

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Fig. 10.26 CARE’s support campaign for women’s and girls’ rights. Lead type: handraiser. https://secure3.convio.net/careca/site/SPageNavigator/Surveys/surveys_2860.html (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

Some other organizations—such as Greenpeace Australia—successfully generate digitally leads interested in legacies, as seen in Fig. 10.30. To do this, people were asked to fill out a small questionnaire. Not only was personal data collected, but also the lead’s degree of interest in a legacy and their communication preferences. This is a good way of making follow-up support after the lead campaign more efficient and even more people oriented. What the examples show is not only what works and what has proven successful. No, they also show that the digital fundraising world is always moving forward, always evolving. That means new campaign approaches and ideas are constantly being added, while others are becoming obsolete. That’s the way of things— especially digital things. Nevertheless, these examples are important—because they stake out the space of what is feasible and what is already there. To take the image from the beginning of the chapter—what you have seen here are the first, mapped, new territories in the still largely undiscovered land of digital fundraising. Go on a journey of discovery. Good luck. And have a good trip.

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Fig. 10.27 The campaign by Doctors without Borders Spain aims to generate leads among helpers. Lead type: helper. From Doctors without Borders Spain and Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising

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Fig. 10.28 Doctors without Borders Spain’s voting campaign on human rights. Lead type: voter. From Doctors without Borders Spain and Prosocial Agencia de Fundraising

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Fig. 10.29 Sponsorship campaign of the Spanish Red Cross. Lead type: regular donor. https:// quedateconcruzroja.org/ (Accessed 02-09-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

Fig. 10.30 Legacy website from Greenpeace Australia. Lead type: legacy giver. https://www. greenpeace.org.au/donate/gift-in-wills (Accessed 02-07-2020) (screenshot by L. Neugebauer)

The Most Important Information

11

Digitalization is changing everything. The way we communicate, the way we think, and the way we live. And it’s also changing the way we fundraise. But this digital fundraising is not just old wine in new bottles—it is different from offline fundraising. Why? Because the digital is fundamentally different—much more dialogic, faster, more personal, but also less transparent and often less trustworthy. As a result, the fundraising world as we all know it is changing—it is becoming more demographic. This can be seen, for instance, in the fact that donors today not only donate, but also have a say and participate in decision-making. This changes the relationship between the organization and the donor—they are now finally on an equal footing. Lead community fundraising must start right there: with the people, in the community—in order to have a dialogue with them on an equal footing and thus build a relationship. Therefore, it is no longer primarily about donors, new donors, regular donors, and major donors—it is about leads, fans, followers, and potential donors of an organization. In other words, these distinctions start from the interests and experiences of the people themselves, not from the action and benefit expectations that the organization places on these people. Digital lead community fundraising is about building a basis of trust and a relationship, creating awareness of issues and concerns, getting people to act—to click, to share, to respond, to communicate, and also to donate. And it’s about inspiring people. Because in lead community fundraising, the focus is on the community—on people and their emotions, interests, needs, motivations, experiences, and actions. It’s all about people-orientation, remember? That’s why not all community members are the same—some are new, some are in the know, some empathize, some help. To pick up everyone where they are, we have the lead community cycle, the lead segments, and types. All of this is important. But what defines the revolutionary potential of lead community fundraising is the paradigm shift in thinking. Because this affects fundraising in its entirety. Table 11.1 illustrates the differences in traditional and new fundraising thinking and the implications that this paradigm shift brings. # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_11

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Table 11.1 The paradigm shift in digital fundraising (developed by L. Neugebauer) Old fundraising thinking From. . . Static and rigid Monologic Being aimed at the masses Responses are not welcome “I’ll tell you a story and ask for a donation” A relationship based on exchange In other words: You give me a donation and receive a donation confirmation, a thank-you, a certificate, an annual report Short-term joy “Always ask for a donation!”

Who do we want as donor? Everyone gets the same message The communication channel depends on the type of campaign Donation seals and other trust seals

New thinking in fundraising Toward . . . Dynamic and flexible Dialogic Being focused on the individual and community Responses are welcome “I listen to you and I (also) give you something” A relationship focused on community That is, one person genuinely cares for the other, the relationship is based on mutual give and take Sustainable well-being Say thanks, help, involve, encourage, inform, inspire, entertain, educate, and also ask for a donation Who is this person? Everyone gets the message most relevant to him The communication channel depends on the personal preferences of the donor/lead Ethical thinking and moral conscience

Table 11.1 is the quintessence of many pages full of concentrated theory and practice. It shows how thinking digitally is changing fundraising—at all levels. The campaigns are changing from static, rigid content to dynamic, flexible— campaigns geared toward dialogue. There is no other way to do it because lead community fundraising focuses on people and their individuality—both at the level of individuals and in the community. In the past, it was enough to use mass media to disseminate content from the organization’s point of view. That is now passé. And the same holds for the intention behind dissemination: It’s not just about getting a donation, but also about community members sharing and commenting on content. This also aligns with the next point on the list: that digital fundraising is about listening and recognizing people’s needs and desires. And, of course, fulfilling them whenever possible. It’s the same in every relationship, including this one. Because— and this is also an important takeaway of this book—lead community fundraising is based on a comprehensive orientation toward people and this goes hand in hand with a new self-image in fundraising: community members and the organization enjoy an everyday relationship, a dialogic one on an equal footing. And one that is based on listening and having a say. One that comes as close as possible to our everyday understanding of interpersonal relationships and differs from a business or customer relationship (which is much more formal and distant). But to achieve this level of well-being, we must know who the people in our community are. Not just about demographics and account numbers, but also what their dreams, stories, needs, and identities are. Because only then is it possible for every person to receive the message that is relevant to him or her. And on the channel that this person prefers.

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That is why communication is also different: It is focused on talking, on being together, on good emotions. It is not just about a short joy after a donation and an even shorter thank-you before the next classic appeal for donations, but about a substantial feeling of well-being on all levels—and this can also be achieved, for example, by the community member learning something new or being inspired. This paradigm shift in thinking also changes moral and ethical action. In a new, digital world of togetherness, trust, and dialogue, a new, digital ethic is also needed. We’ll return to the relation between ethics and digital fundraising—at the end of our next and final chapter. Because, as we all know, the best is often saved for last.

And What’s Next?

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So far, so good. This concludes our first look at the vast land of digital lead community fundraising. And it’s just that—a first look. Nothing more, but also nothing less. So here’s a brief look at the direction in which the digital fundraising world may continue to evolve.

12.1

Corona and Digital Fundraising

Corona has changed the world as we knew it—and with it every single one of us. The Future Institute even goes so far as to speak of a deep crisis (Horx 2020). A Chinese study speaks of the pandemic as trauma (Kurier 2020). That means the crisis affects collective memory and collective narratives (Horx 2020). So it’s only reasonable to hypothesize that a pandemic that has changed every individual and the world itself has also changed the world of fundraising. A look at the economy shows that during the crisis there was an increased reliance on digital media (Rönisch 2020). And not only in the economy, but also on a more fundamental level it has become apparent that “digitalization has become the backbone of everyday life: for information, entertainment and communication.” The result: “Despite physical distancing, we have more contact with each other—on the phone or in video chats. Digitalization makes it easier for us to find our way around in the new normal” (iab austria Digi Talk 2020). How can the corona crisis affect lead community fundraising? Here is an attempt to look into the future. It is already clear that the corona crisis is promoting a reversion to old role models. The sociologist Jutta Almendinger has even warned that the corona crisis could set equality in Germany back by 30 years (Balzer 2020). If that happens, the gender gap will widen again, and this may lead to a strengthening of gender-based fundraising. And there could also be a re-traditionalization in society as a whole, moving away from globalization and toward local structures. That can be good when it comes to # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1_12

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sustainability and regional products. But it can also be bad if it results in a culture of “we are us and the others are none of our business.” The Future Institute (Zukunftsinstitut) sees one possible scenario for a post-corona world in a return to family, house and home, and the emergence of small communities. The good thing here is that “[s]ustainability and we-culture are important values. The less good thing is that these values are only thought of locally, not globally” (Zukunftsinstitut 2020a). But there are also positive prognoses and outcomes One sees precisely this strengthening of a we-culture as promoting digital lead community fundraising. And that’s because the community itself is already the personified we-culture. Another positive prediction envisions the strengthening of a value-oriented, moral digital society. The Future Institute speaks of a new “tech realism” in this context. This means that the digital is no longer seen as a salvation from all ills but is instead critically scrutinized and used as a quick fix (Horx 2020). This means that the lead community could become even more important—as it becomes much more active and autonomous. Another positive forecast sees the corona pandemic driving change—including disruptive change. The world after corona will be different. “The extrapolation of the past is not our future,” states the Zukunftsinstitut (Zukunftsinstitut 2020b). This will also have an impact on the digital lead community fundraising—which is getting more tailwind from the crisis. Another prognosis assumes that emotional (not spatial) closeness and trust will gain in value—because people have learned through the crisis how important cohesion is. And that will probably lead not only to a more mindful, more social consumerism (Seitz 2020), but could also usher in a new, digital fundraising age: one in which social cohesion has become part of the habitus and in which many people are happy to help. This prediction is also in line with the assumption that corona will lead to a new mindfulness. This means that everyday consumption and investments will then be made more consciously—also with regard to society. This could lead to digital campaigns having moral values, being carried out according to ethical rules and not only having depth, but also relevance (Ackeret 2020). You see, the world can get better. The potential is there. Now it is up to all of us to make sure that the good forecasts come true.

12.2

Generations and Digital Fundraising

In Sect. 2.1, we already addressed the issue of generations. Let’s call to mind that the baby boomer generation “ticks” differently than the generations before—and this includes the generation of war children. And a small spoiler up front: Generation X and Millennials also think, live, and act differently than the generations before and after them. There are three reasons for this: First, the different events that shaped each of the different generations. Second, the different media practices—since

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different times have produced different media. And third, the different ages at which the different generations find themselves. For age goes hand in hand with different phases of life. While the baby boomers in Austria are just about to retire, the millennials have “other problems.” They are the ones feeling the full brunt of the corona pandemic—because it is the under-30 generation that is currently losing its financial security. According to the Research Center for Elections at the University of Vienna, those under 30—the millennials—lost at least a tenth of their income between February and September 2020 (Resch 2020). And that raises the question of whether a new generation will develop—a corona generation—shaped by the crisis. For the crisis is shaking up the world and revealing new differences and similarities between the generations—including those between baby boomers and war children. Because even if these two generations tick differently, they have a lot in common—this has been very clear since the beginning of the corona crisis. For it is probably these two generations that continue to donate in Germany (and probably also in Austria) (steinrücke+ich et al. 2020). This suggests that these two generations will not be “upended” by the crisis. And this, in turn, can be explained by their generational character. One experienced the Second World War and the harsh postwar reconstruction. The other the end of security—through the oil crisis, RAF terror, the Cold War, and acid rain (panadress Marketing Intelligence 2019). This suggests that both generations, at least in Austria (and probably in Germany as well), grew up with a collective trauma and developed a certain resilience—and that this distinguishes them from the same generations in other countries. This is also supported by the results from the Austrian Internet Monitor (AIM) from the second half of 2020. They show, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, that daily Internet use among those over 50 has increased—likely largely due to the corona crisis (Integral 2019: 4; 2020: 4). In addition, the number of Austrian online shoppers is also increasing. The number of online shoppers rose, for instance, from 4.1 million in 2019 to 4.2 million during the first phase of corona. And according to a forecast by the Institute for Commerce, Sales, and Marketing, the number of online shoppers was expected to reach 4.3 million by the end of 2020 (JKU Institut für Handel, Absatz und Marketing 2020). This indicates that due to the corona crisis both generations are becoming more and more used to living digitally. But that doesn’t mean that all generations “work” in the same way. Not at all. It actually means the exact opposite. Namely, that different generations have different experiences, different values, and different media practices. Table 12.1 presents the differences between the generations. Table 12.1 shows that there are many generations, side by side. And these generations are also in flux——they change, they have new, formative experiences, they react to crises. And that affects the future of digital fundraising. Because if people change, fundraising must change, too. Digital, people-centered fundraising can only work if it focuses on the individual person—in his/her historical and biographical determinacy—and builds an honest relationship based on appreciation and transparency. And the boomers are the first (and by no means the last) generation for whom this approach will make the difference between success and failure in fundraising.

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Table 12.1 The generations at a glance, based on Panadress Marketing Intelligence (2019), Reif (2015), Bellan (2019) and Rupps (2008, 2010) The generations at a glance The war child generation (born between 1938 and 1945) Formative War/postwar experiences period

The baby boomers (in Austria those born between 1956 and 1969) The loss of the welfare state, terror, oil crisis, environmental crisis, Cold War

Formative media

Radio, cinema, personal conversations, writing letters

TV, music cassettes, telephone

Values

The classics, such as diligence, discipline, courtesy, punctuality, home. . .

Communication preferences

Letters, face to face

Being part of something, may also stand out from the crowd, although they feel comfortable in it, family is important to them as well Open-mindedness and tolerance and manners, they are also steady and loyal Phone, face to face

Preferred advertising and information channels

Classic media

12.3

Email, Facebook, but also traditional media

Generation X (born around 1980) End of the Cold War/fall of the Berlin Wall, end of the USSR, Chernobyl TV/satellite TV, private channels, cable TV

Pragmatic, Independent, work–life balance

Email, messaging services, SMS Email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter but also online daily newspapers

The millennials (born by 1995) Terror 9/11, digitalization/ technological change

Internet and mobile phones, smartphones, PCs, tablets, video games Selfrealization, freedom, team spirit

Social media, messaging services Social networks, online media, YouTube

Ethics and Digital Fundraising

Ethics are important. And they are becoming more and more important—especially in the digital age. Unfortunately, in many places there is a great temptation to generate leads using unethical or unfair means. According to the motto—nobody notices anyway. But that’s not the case. Neither the people behind the leads nor the

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other organizations fail to notice. And what is left behind is a stale aftertaste, the vague feeling of a threat to privacy and a digital crisis of confidence. The European Data Protection Regulation is therefore—not by chance—a step in the right direction. It says that there must always be a specific reason for the collection of data and that collection requires the explicit consent of the user. We humans should be allowed to see the real interests and intentions of our “data owners.” Our “data power” should always be exercised openly and transparently. Because then it is not power, but rather leadership “to lead” and that is exactly what lead community fundraising is all about. Privacy By Design: Not all data are good or useful. The creation of unnecessary records can also pose a risk to the organization and its leads and donors. Keep this in mind and consider what is being processed, where and how the data are being stored. Give donors/leads control of the data (Hasselbalch and Tranberg 2017: Datenethik, para. 4). How ethically we handle data and the people behind it will become one of the greatest challenges of the digital age. It will lay the groundwork for the direction in which the world and our digital society will develop. Because ultimately everything revolves around the question: How far are people allowed to go? Do we have to put into practice everything our technologies enable us to do? We are all familiar with this question from the discussion about genetic engineering—and there, as here, ethical action is called for. For one thing, to keep incalculable risks as low as possible. How can we do that? By orienting ourselves to important values of the Western world, to: – – – – – – –

Human dignity Justice Transparency Freedom of choice Autonomy Trust Self-determination

These values are important. They are a guideline for human action and more than just lip service that should be found in an organization’s mission statement. These values must be filled with life. For the good of everyone. That’s why data protection and ethics are not a tiresome and annoying hurdle, but rather elements of a positive, constructive transformation process toward the digital future. There is a simple rule of thumb for acting ethically without poring over literature and treatises, without doing a lot of research. Just ask yourself: Would I find that acceptable to myself or not? If the answer is “yes,” then you are acting ethically. If you say “no” or “well” if you have a stomachache, then your moral

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compass is pointing you in a different direction. And that’s the direction you should move in. Quickly. In this way, digital ethics can become a new “fundraising compass.” And you can be sure that this ethical orientation will pay off—also in terms of lead acquisition and donations. Because values such as openness and honesty are the new, digital currency—this is the only way to build trust. And in the digital age, giving out your own data is more than ever a matter of trust—even more when it comes to donations than anywhere else in the digital world. That has always been the case in fundraising, and it has remained the same in digital fundraising. That’s why the not-for-profit sector is leading the way when it comes to digital ethics. So keep asking yourself: 1. How can I bring an ethical component to our daily digital fundraising? Has my organization already established ethical guidelines that guide our daily actions? 2. How can my organization develop an ethical culture in digital fundraising? One that puts people—and their well-being—at the forefront? Why is this necessary? Why are these questions needed? And why do you and your organization need this? Because the digital should strengthen us as humans! Is your organization already promoting digital transparency? Does it disclose the collection and processing of leads’ or donation data? According to which criteria and on whose basis are decisions made and algorithms set? Are algorithms comprehensible and can they be held accountable? In most countries, there is still no code whatsoever for ethical digital fundraising. Since there are many more opportunities in digital fundraising and lead generation to mobilize and move people than ever before, it is increasingly important to become aware of the ethical aspects of digital fundraising and to actively shape them. Digital ethics can help us to make better decisions in digital fundraising and are to be understood as a kind of decision-making aid. The question is always: What direct effects do our actions in digital fundraising have on our potential donors? Digital fundraising brings many opportunities, but also challenges, and the following questions arise: – Should we digitize and automate all of our communication? Or are there areas that should and must remain offline? – How important are dignity, respect, and humanity to us in dealing with our leads and donors? – Are there areas in which it is necessary to be able to go beyond the digital? – Is automated, hyper-personalized content in fundraising communication in the interest of donors, leads, and other parties? Or is this content just used for manipulation? Where do we define the limits in digital fundraising? – Should there be digital “free zones”? And if so, where should we let them arise? – How do we handle data that we collect via the lead community?

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It is important to ask yourself all this and more—because in the long term, only those organizations and companies will be successful at which data ethics is an issue. Gry Hasselbalch and Pernille Tranberg see it that way, too. They predict the development of a data ethics awareness—just as there is an environmental awareness in companies. What this data ethics awareness looks like is anyone’s guess. But, in fact, it’s up to all of us to develop it. Because “around the globe we are registering an ethical paradigm shift in the form of a social movement, a cultural change, and a technological and legal development that increasingly puts people at the center” (Hasselbalch and Tranberg 2017: Datenethik, para. 3). In other words, the trend is away from soulless Big Data mining and towards ethical data use that focuses on people—and not their data. For this moral, ethical awareness to become the essence of digital fundraising, it needs one key ingredient: people. You. And all of us.

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Selected Reading

Adlin T, Pruitt J (2010) The essential persona lifecycle: your guide to building and using personas. Morgan Kaufmann, Burlington, VT Ahern T (2009) Seeing through a donor’s eyes: how to make a persuasive case for everything from your annual drive to your planned giving program to your capital campaign. Emerson & Church Publishers, Medfield, MA Alter, Adam (2017): Irresistible: why we can’t stop checking, scrolling, clicking and watching. Vintage Digital. Ariely D (2015) Denken hilft zwar, nützt aber nichts. Warum wir immer wieder unvernünftige Entscheidungen treffen. Munich, Droemer Knaur Arison S (2014) Einfach Gutes tun: Eine Philanthropin über den Beitrag, den jeder für eine bessere Welt leisten kann. L.E.O. Verlag, Munich Birri B (2018) Marketing Automation – dramatisch erlebte Praxis! Akquise in 89 Tagen ohne Schweiss und Tränen vollständig durchautomatisieren! Self-published, Amazon Digital Services, Kindle Blanchard K, Glanz B (2018) The simple truths of service. Sourcebooks Inc., Naperville, IL Blasingame J (2018) The 3rd ingredient: the journey of analog ethics into the world of digital fear and greed. SBN Books, Florence, AL Booker P (2005) The seven basic plots: why we tell stories. London, New York: Bloomsbury (paperback ed) Borgmeier A, Grohmann A, Gross SF (2017) Smart Services und Internet der Dinge. Geschäftsmodelle, Umsetzung und Best Practices. Industrie 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine-to-Machine, Big Data, Augmented Reality Technologie. Carl Hanser Verlag Burnett K (2002) Relationship fundraising: Donor-based approach to the business of raising money (Jossey Bass Nonprofit & Public Management Series), 2nd edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Harari YN (2018) Homo Deus: Eine Geschichte von Morgen. C.H. Beck, Munich Harel D (2012) Algorithmics: The spirit of computers. Springer, Berlin Haselwood J (2018) The digital fundraising blueprint: how to raise more money online for your nonprofit. Self-published, Amazon Digital Services, Kindle Keese C (2016) Silicon Germany: Wie wir die digitale Transformation schaffen. Knaus-Verlag, Munich Kim AJ (2000) Community building on the web: secret strategies for successful online communities. (Visual Quickstart Guides). Berkley: Peachpit Press Lakoff G, Johnson M (2013) Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press, Chicago Levitin DJ (2014) The organized mind: thinking straight in the age of information overload. Penguin Random House, New York Löffler M (2014) Think content. Content-strategie, content-marketing, Texten fürs Web. Bonn: Galileo-Press Mühlenbeck F, Skibicki K (2008) Community marketing management: Wie man OnlineCommunities im Internet-Zeitalter des Web 2.0 zum Erfolg führt. Norderstedt: Books on Demand (BoD) # The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 L. M. Neugebauer, I. Zanko, Lead Community Fundraising, Management for Professionals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77849-1

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Selected Reading

Otto P, Gräf E (eds) 3TH1CS. Die Ethik der digitalen Zeit. E-Book. 978-3-944362-31-1. iRights Media Pyczak T (2018) Tell me! Wie Sie mit Storytelling überzeugen. Für alle, die in Beruf, PR und Marketing erfolgreich sein wollen. 1st corrected reprint. Bonn: Rheinwerk-Verlag Schoepf A (2018) Mehr Unternehmenserfolg mit Marketing Automation 2018. Wie man automatisiert Neukunden generiert und bis zu 30% mehr verkauft. Norderstedt: Books an Demand (BoD) Schüller AM (2012) Touchpoints: Auf Tuchfühlung mit den Kunden von heute. Gabal-Verlag, Offenbach Specht P (2018) Die 50 wichtigsten Themen der Digitalisierung. Redline Verlag, Munich Spiekermann S (2019) Digitale Ethik. Ein Wertesystem für das 21. Jahrhundert. Munich: Droemer Knaur. Spreer P (2018) PsyConversion. 101 Behavior Patterns für eine bessere User Experience und höhere Conversion-Rate im E-Commerce. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler-Verlag Tanasic J, Casaretto C (2017) Digital community management. Communitys erfolgreich aufbauen und das digitale Geschäft meistern. Schäffer-Poeschel-Verlag, Stuttgart Vaynerchuk G (2013) Jab, jab, jab, right hook. How to tell your story in a noisy social world. HarperCollins, New York Webber E (2019) Building successful communities of practice: discover how connecting people makes better organizations. Blurb, London Zweig K (2019) Ein Algorithmus hat kein Taktgefühl: Wo künstliche Intelligenz sich irrt, warum uns das betrifft und was wir dagegen tun können. Heyne Verlag, Munich