Hey, so I know we just met but is there any chance you can come over and dogsit for me this weekend?

Too much? Too soon? We do hardly know each other, right? It probably would be best to get to better acquainted before I hit you up for favors, eh? Maybe we can grab some coffee to get to know each other first? Yes. Coffee first. Dog later.

Just as personal relationships require time and steps to develop before both parties are willing to invest something of substance so, too, your nonprofit’s relationship with its would-be donors requires nurturing. Your first ask being a donation ask won’t necessarily be a winner. Just with my dog sitting, you need to grow into it. So, what’s the nonprofit version of asking someone out for coffee?

We’re so glad you asked! Here are five tactics your organization can use to grow your community before asking them for donations. Each falls on what is commonly referred to as a “commitment curve” or “ladder of engagement,” They get you from that introduction to getting an email address to growing engagement to finally getting someone to watch my dog, er, I mean, winning a new donor.

A/B testing your online donation forms can provide valuable insight to boost conversion rates and better fund your mission. What's more, if your online donation forms are integrated with a constituent relationship management tool, like Salesforce, these A/B tests can offer far more than just conversion rates with which to judge performance. But what should you test and what questions do those tests allow you to answer?

Here are ten A/B testing areas and what you can glean from each:

Conversion rates (aka response rates) are the holy grail in fundraising metric tracking. Getting at this elusive figure can give you incredibly valuable insight into how much your appeal, well, appeals to donors. The calculation is simple, yet determining the true tactic behind the conversion can be more challenging.

It’s November - when the pumpkin is spicier, the turkeys more restless, and red lines on budgets prepare to turn black. Nearly one-third of the year’s giving will occur starting November 28th through the end of the year. And while this time is critical for meeting your bottom line, complicated it need not be. We humbly offer five simple wishlist items for your fundraising strategy to get your last minute gifts in order.

Donor retention can be as notoriously challenging as it is vital for nonprofits. The good news, though, is that doesn’t have to be! Here are twelve simple ideas that keep givers giving and vault donor retention: