March 05, 2021

Reason 1: Take Control of the Narrative - Donor Solicitation

57% of people who watch fundraising videos will donate to that cause, which is why incorporating video into your solicitation strategy is critical. Video is personal; It highlights the character of your organization and showcases the work you do. When you embed video in email outreach to potential supporters, you take control of the narrative. You get to tell your nonprofit’s story the way you want it to be told. “First-time donors will give you a chance based on your good name (if that name is well known) or your intriguing mission statement.” Donors are more likely to open an email with a video in it, so you can seize that opportunity to make your case for why your mission is impactful.

When your potential donor watches your video, you are inviting them into your story and asking them to be a part of it. You can work with them to build their “why”, to help them to understand how your nonprofit contributes to their identity. Even the most beautifully written newsletter is a one-way conversation. Video email is immersive and drives responses in a way that no other medium can match.

Reason 2: Elevate Your Brand Value - Donor Retention

Take care of your major donors, and they will take care of you. As a nonprofit fundraising professional, much of your time is likely spent building and carrying out stewardship plans for those few, key individuals who support your mission. The value of focusing your time on major donors is clear: they are the most effective way to build revenue while keeping costs low. These donors give generously and (hopefully) often, allowing you to pursue other nonprofit fundraising ideas like Socially Distant Donor Engagements. Even still, your major donors WANT to hear from you. They are invested in your work.

"Among the minority of donors who give again after acquisition, some respond positively to appeals for more generous contributions. But a larger number of donors give more generously for a while, but soon their contribution value hits a ceiling; they keep giving but gift value is now stubbornly immutable. That is the value they assign to your brand." The value of your brand, or how important your nonprofit is to the identity of the donor, is the ceiling you will always be pressing up against. Video emails are your chance to break through.

Donors that receive personalized videos from the nonprofits they support feel seen. Video emails reinforce the donor's “why” and invite them to engage with your organization in a way that is personal to them. By maintaining a steady flow of video email communication, you continually reinforce greater engagement and giving.

One great example of how to integrate video emails into your stewardship plan is a personalized thank you video! Giving your donors a big, warm thank you is a tried and true strategy of donor stewardship.Thank you videos take your gratitude to the next level and show your donors how much you care!

Reason 3: Adding Videos to Your Online Fundraising Strategy - It’s Simple Math

We know that when it comes to nonprofit fundraising, out of sight often means out of mind. We also know that too many touch points can lead to donor fatigue. We can think about this as an equation:

Touchpoint + Donor Value of Your Brand = Donation

We want to increase donor interest and gift size while maintaining the amount of resources our touchpoints require from internal staff.

Your donors are smart. If you send a donor 2 appeals every year with long text and a few pictures, plus a 3rd email at the end of the year with canned copy to thank them, it’s likely that they’ll know your messages weren’t designed just for them. In place of this canned messaging, incorporating video into your outreach strategy is the key to increasing engagement in a unique way.

We know that adding video to your outreach emails can boost your open rates to 37%, and that personalized video emails are more relational than text-heavy emails. We also know that video emails connect to our donor’s identity in a way that other forms of outreach can’t match. This means that by embedding personalized video in your outreach emails, you can:

• Increase your donor touchpoints without increasing internal resource drain
• Increase email engagement as video emails are more likely to be opened
• Increase your donor’s perception of your brand value

Whether you are looking to build relationships with potential major donors or trying to elevate the giving of existing major donors, video emails are an easy and impactful way to improve your major gifts strategy. It’s simple math.

Curious how to get your Board on board with integrating video emails into your nonprofit fundraising plan? Watch “Why you Need to Get your Board to Embrace Digital Fundraising” to get some ideas.