The Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association Professional Development Fund is proud to be able to support our members in their quest to further their knowledge of fundraising. In October we were able to support education on Multi-channel fundraising tactics and mission driven fundraising for service dogs.
Multi-Channel Mini-Con
–Heather Leavitt, National Trust for Historic Preservation
I’m incredibly grateful to have received a scholarship to attend Multi-Channel Mini-Con 2024. Not only did I gain valuable, actionable insights to bring back to my team, but I also had the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and peers. This experience has been invaluable in helping me expand my skill set beyond traditional methods, preparing me to better engage donors and maximize their impact across multiple channels.
With a background in running a large direct mail program, I appreciated the chance to deepen my understanding of digital fundraising. My Vice President has been keen on transitioning our approach to a more omnichannel strategy, so this knowledge is especially timely. I gained essential digital marketing insights, from determining which payment options to start including on our donation forms—such as Google Pay and Apple Pay—to social marketing strategies, engagement scoring, and beyond. Learning about LinkedIn as a potential social marketing tool was particularly eye-opening, especially since our organization is very active on that platform.
I’m also intrigued by some of the AI-driven features I discovered, like the ability to personalize a donation form based on the donor’s device. For example, Apple Pay would be displayed on iPhones, while Google Pay would appear on Android devices. Another feature I found promising is the ability to turn on the option to cover donation fees for lower-level donors while turning it off for larger donors—a balance that could increase participation without deterring our most generous supporters.
It was also validating to see many of the practices we’ve implemented in our program highlighted during the conference. This confirmation reassures me that we’re on the right track with our fundraising strategy, and I’m excited to incorporate these new insights to further enhance our efforts.
Assistance Dog International’s Fund Development & Marketing Workshop
–Kara Studenski (she/her), Little Angels Service Dogs
Thank you to DMFA for providing a grant for the opportunity to attend Assistance Dog International’s Fund Development & Marketing Workshop. I am a former teacher and part of a small organization, so I value every opportunity I get to further my education regarding nonprofit marketing and development skills. DMFA made it affordable for my organization to send me to this very engaging conference.
At this conference, we discussed a variety of topics specifically related to the nonprofit service dog industry. Topics included utilizing powerful impact stories, creating language and visual identity guides, donor segmentation, compelling storytelling, personal fundraising philosophies, fundraising mistakes, social media marketing, event planning, direct marketing, monthly giving programs, and CRM databases.
Although each topic was uniquely informative, I got the most out of the sessions regarding creating language and visual identity guides, donor segmentation, and direct marketing. In my previous role working for a company that worked with nonprofits on their Facebook fundraisers, I often navigated language and visual guides for the various organizations. These guides were very useful to ensure we stayed true to the voice, image, and message of the organization. I would love to develop these guides for our organization so that, as we grow we can ensure everyone on our team and any contractors we use know how to keep our voice. Donor segmentation is something that has always made me nervous due to my lack of experience. However, the ADI session broke it down and encouraged starting with just one segmentation (like low-level, mid-level, and major donors). I love this suggestion because it is attainable and a great place to start. The direct marketing session was helpful because the presenter discussed the benefits of direct mail in conjunction with email and socials, which is not something we do often.
Overall, I felt this conference was greatly beneficial for me as someone who is new to the nonprofit world. I really enjoyed the sessions and took back some wonderful ideas and thoughts
