A fully engaged customer or donor who feels emotionally connected to your organization is key to increased revenue. You need to know who your audience is and what will motivate them to engage. The insights for building those emotional connections that drive loyalty and advocacy for your organization or brand may be hidden in your database, or you could need research.  How do you know?

In our previous article, “You have to know your donors to engage them,” we outlined the data points needed to build the emotional connections with your donors that lead to increased ROI for your fundraising. Many of those points can be found in your existing donor data, or through data appends, but some points will require primary research. In this article, we outline how to design research to be useful in creating more relevant and meaningful communications. 

Most fundraisers are familiar with the idea that it’s less expensive to keep a donor than to find a new one. And many are aware about how to retain donors: they need to build strong connections between the charity and the donor. In the past, charities have focused on the importance of making rational, deliberate appeals on the assumption that donors made rational, deliberate decisions when giving. 

There’s a lot of conversation around behavior science and how emotion influences the decision to buy, donate or join in the marketing blogosphere these days. Many of those conversations cite the work of Nobel Prize winner and psychologist, Daniel Kahneman. In his 2011 book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Kahneman argues that the mind incorporates two systems for decision-making: one that works quickly making decisions more on intuition and emotion, and a second that works more slowly to rationalize the decision. Because it takes less effort, we’re more likely to rely on the first system.

CHALLENGE:
A 1,200% increase in net proceeds may not seem possible, but that’s exactly what we helped the Detroit Zoo achieve over a five-year period through a more efficient and targeted marketing program.

The results of appeal season are in for Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan (CLFM) and the impact of a new approach has been dramatic.

Phoenix Innovate is pleased to announce our 2018 spoilage rate of .1%. According to the latest survey from Printing Industries of America (PIA), the industry average is 4%.

We are proud to announce that our team has recognized Phoenix Innovate as one of "Crain’s 2018 Cool Places to Work." This statewide survey and awards program was designed by Crain’s to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Michigan, benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses.

Dan Felisiak is the newest member of the Phoenix Innovate team. Dan comes to us with eighteen years of print and mail production, client service and production management experience. Dan’s experience and skill as an estimator will help us continue our commitment to providing clients with firm and accurate pricing that delivers on our "no surprises, no excuses" motto.

Every announcement by a new administration about plans to reform the tax law is met with a certain amount of trepidation by charitable organizations of all sizes. But, the reality is that most individual donors don’t give for the tax break. A tax break is a welcome benefit, but most donors give because they believe in the cause, want to help or were asked by someone they know to donate.

There’s so much uncertainty surrounding the impact the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will have on individual giving, that many of our non-profit clients are asking for advice on how to plan their fundraising activities for the coming years.