Stories are powerful — our brains seem to be hard-wired for this ancient method of sharing information. As a result, including stories in your emails may seem like a no-brainer. But there’s a problem: Non-profits are adding stories to their fundraising messages… and they’re not working. How can smart organizations harness the power of stories to communicate with supporters and get them to donate? In M+R’s newest publication, we dig into what makes stories powerful, explain recent test results that can help non-profits avoid falling into the personal story trap, and offer concrete...

Note: This is an archived publication! Visit www.e-benchmarksstudy.com for the most recent versions of all our Benchmarks studies and Benchmarks Extras. Thanks to everyone who joined us for a great session at NTC today to talk about the findings from this year’s 2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study from M+R and NTEN! The release of M+R’s fifth annual eNonprofit Benchmarks Study analyzes data from a record number of groups – which means more numbers to crunch and more charts for you to geek out over. (If you’re into that kind of thing. Which we are.) With more than 40 nonprofits letting us...

So, how did the end of year season turn out for non-profits? With final results in, we decided to compare our clients’ end-of-year 2010 results to their 2009 figures. Here are the top findings on looking at aggregate stats from 13 clients we work with who conducted fundraising campaigns this past December as well as last December: More Money – 77% raised more money this year than they did last year. More Donors – The number of donors grew by 12% this year. Lower Response Rates – 85% saw the same or lower email response rates than they did last year. More Asks – 85% sent more solicitations...

Download the PDF As nonprofit supporters become shoppers this holiday season, they’ll be on the hunt for gifts that do good.  How can your organization capture the attention of online shoppers and make the most of this year’s rush? We took a look at several of our clients’ gift-giving programs and identified key strategies for success: Know your competition. Your supporters are holiday shopping, not making a donation.  So when it comes to gift-giving programs, you’re not only in competition with other nonprofits, you’re also in competition with Amazon, Best Buy, Toys’R’Us, iTunes, and...

Download the PDF Over a year ago, M+R released the results of a test in which we dropped the price of membership with a major nonprofit from $35 to $25 for a limited time for subscribers who had never become members.  We teamed up with two University of Maryland economists to roll out the offer and analyze the results. Reducing the membership to $25 and – here’s the key! – telling supporters it was a special discount raised just a hair more, but it got more people donating. This tactic reduced the average gifts, but increased response rates, securing first-time gifts from more people. Check out...