Electing to fundraise: how to keep your non-political message seen in an election year.

Are you concerned about the impact the 2008 presidential election will have on your 2007 fundraising? You should be. While the election is still 18 months away, here's why it is relevant today and needs your attention and action.

The 2008 presidential election is shaping up to be the most competitive, hardest fought, and most expensive campaign in history. Many experts are predicting this will be the nation's first $1 billion presidential campaign.

The candidate pool is unusually crowded in both parties, and the race is an open field created by the fact that no incumbent president or vice president is running for the first time since 1952. (See the exclusive NPT research on donors and the election in the March, 2007 issue or on the Web at www.nptimes.com)

With such a large pack of candidates, a big campaign treasury demonstrates political strength that helps a candidate gain attention from the media and voters. And money also provides the means for a candidate's message to be heard above the din. In order to be taken seriously, a candidate will need to raise at least $100 million by the end of 2007.

What's more, many analysts believe that 2008 will be a clash of such titanic intensity that the nominees will reject public funding--and the spending limits that govern it--for the fall campaign. The chances are that each major-party candidate will need to generate in excess of $400 million by the November 4, 2008, election.

There is going to be intense political fundraising this fall. There is so much media choice available today and with each candidate stocked with a war chest of money they will use every channel to try and stand out.

The Howard Dean presidential campaign proved the Web and blogs have changed the way politicians raise money and reach voters at the grassroots level. The use of more technology, such as wireless networked databases, will force the 2008 presidential campaigns to go high-tech with such strategies as constituent relationship management, micro-targeting and reaching voters using regional and local information to better craft the campaign message.

While the Internet has totally revolutionized the way campaigns fundraise, for the upcoming 2008 elections the Internet probably won't replace fundraising calls, events, and direct mail as the way in which the majority of campaigns raise most of their money.

DON'T GET LOST IN THE CROWD

So how do you prevent your message from getting lost and, more importantly, earn your share of the charitable dollar to fund your vital programs?

You need to research, plan, and carefully analyze the situation for your organization and make adjustments to timing, delivery methods, messaging, etc. whenever you feel there is an opportunity to generate better results.

You should also closely monitor mail delivery times and adjust mail dates when appropriate. You might also need to consider first-class mail for some segments to ensure timely and predictable delivery.

You should focus on creating super-pleased donors to bond them to the heart and soul of your organization. Increasing donor loyalty will be very important to your success not only the next two years, but always.

One way to increase this loyalty is this through a more effective acknowledgement and newsletter strategy. Donors want to be thanked for their support, but it is also critical to tell them how their money was spent and the positive change their donation achieved. More than 70 percent of donors have said that receiving a newsletter deepens their relationship with the nonprofit.

Another recommendation is to do what the political war room fundraisers are calling "micro-targeted database information." Some political fundraisers are calling this the "next wave" and are just getting their feet wet in this area. Many organizations have been applying data mining techniques for many years.

Ultimately, it's all about cost efficiency. The extent to which you can weed out many unlikely people and focus your time, energy and resources on the likeliest people who will become long-term donors, the more success you can expect.

INTEGRATED MARKETING

And finally, the best thing you can do is embrace multi-channel, integrated marketing. The value proposition of integration is unquestionably strong--the whole of a marketing initiative can be greater than the sum of its multi-channel parts if those parts work tightly together to assist one another.

To avoid getting lost in the clutter, consider integrating radio, print, telephone, and the Internet with your direct mail.

The Web is a medium that miraculously combines the strengths of multiple media. It allows integration to truly pay off. Just consider that more than half of all consumers use multiple channels when making purchases. And that number is rapidly growing.

If you want an example of this, look at today's typical car buyer. The person watches TV, flips through magazines with car ads, goes online to read reviews, to see online videos, to download specifications and to order brochures that arrive in the mail. Then when it's time to make the purchase, they'll go to their local dealership armed with pricing information that will help them get the best possible deal.

Auto manufacturers that reach customers through multiple touch points--like the Internet, television, radio, and direct mail--in addition to the local dealership experience higher spending, increased sales, and greater customer satisfaction.

These same trends and corresponding positive results also work in fundraising. We know that donors who give online, donate in total (both online and offline) more than 50 percent more than those who give only through one channel. They also give larger gifts, are more loyal, and have a higher lifetime value.

It's all about the synergy of multiple media touching donors across many channels. While integration isn't easy, it is worth the effort, especially in terms of your bottom line. Don't wait to adjust your strategy in 2008. The election is a real threat to your success, and you must begin your planning today ... in 2007.

Chip Grizzard is the CEO of the Grizzard Communications Group and is based in the firm's headquarters in Atlanta. His email is [e-mail]