Image courtesy of University of MinnesotaLets be honest here. Without your constituents, your nonprofit does not go.
Their support is what makes your nonprofit function and stay afloat. Because of their importance it is crucial that you are always looking for ways to improve your relationships with these most important of individuals.
Here are 4 step that will help you and your nonprofit build stronger relationships with your constituents according to Monika McMahon of The Connected Cause.
How has your nonprofit benefited from implementing a CRM? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Define your goals
When starting major constituent recruitment campaigns, your first step is to define goals. By defining your goals you are picturing the end result of your campaign. Imagine the types of questions that you will be asked upon completion of your project, and decide how a CRM will help you to answer those questions. Being able to answer questions like: Where did your new constituents come from? What is their major demographic? and How will you communicate with them? are all valid questions that should be answerable before the project even gets underway.
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Gather resources
Make a list of all the materials you will need to be successful, and make sure they are readily available before starting the project. Additionally, it is important to ensure you have the correct staff in place to execute every action that is needed. Having everything and everyone in place before starting campaigns is a major key to success.
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Identify obstacles
Have contingency plans in place for in case things go wrong is immeasurably important. Also, it is important that everyone in your organization knows exactly what is happening, and why it is happening. If while you are recruiting new constituents you are simply sending out emails and call to action requests with no real goal in mind, you must take a stop back and analyze why you are sending these emails out to begin with, and what function it is serving.
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Decide what your new data will change
Finally, while your new constituents are getting involved with your nonprofit you will be gathering data about them. Knowing exactly what you want to accomplish with this newly acquired data is the ultimate key to success. This data should fit into your current constituent record and expound upon your knowledge in some way. Understand how your nonprofit can use this data to build stronger relationships with your constituents moving forward.
If you’re interested in reading more you can check out the original article by Monika McMahon of The Connected Cause..
