Using the Rule of the 3 Rs to Make Your Fundraising Greener

Embracing a leaf from the environmentalist playbook, let’s dive into three cool strategies to reduce, reuse, and recycle your marketing efforts, setting the stage for more funds to flow into your nonprofit.

Here are three ways you can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle your marketing efforts to raise more money for your organization.

Reduce

The first R is Reduce. Meaning to use less.

Imagine crafting a yearly marketing plan and a content calendar that becomes your secret weapon. It’s like having marketing superpowers to focus on what really matters. Some reductions to consider are:

Reduce the number of marketing channels you’re on. Streamline your focus on who and where your donors are. Are you trying to be in all places for all people? Are your donors really on TikTok?

Reduce reach and increase your frequency. Go deeper vs. wider by cutting down your quantity and sending more quality messages. Are you sending only one direct mail piece a year? If so, consider sending more times to fewer people so you can be in mailboxes (and top of mind) more often.

Reduce mass messages to get more targeted and personalized. Use variable data to your advantage and add human elements like handwritten notes and phone calls. Are you sending the same email to your entire list? If so, consider making subsets of your list and messaging to them differently. Maybe your monthly donors get their own communications.

Reuse

The second R is Reuse. Meaning to use something again in a new way.

You can efficiently and consistently tell your nonprofit’s story in a way that will save you time and money by reusing content and connecting the dots between your website, email, and social. Use multi-channels to work smarter for you, not harder.

Reusing content takes advantage of the adage of the rule of seven, which says someone needs to hear or see a marketing message at least seven times before they act. Reuse doesn’t necessarily mean cut and paste word for word, but it does mean to use again in a new way.

An effective way to reuse content is through the classic combination of your website, email, and social media. For example, you can reuse content from three blogs for six newsletters and 18 social posts.

Recycle

The third R is Recycle. Meaning to return to a raw state and create something new.

Every nonprofit should recycle and do so often by revisiting what makes your brand your brand. Go back to your organization’s raw state and talk about the foundational reasons why you do what you do.

Use your vision, mission, and values to create something new that continues to be relevant for the optimism and change the world needs to see and what your donors want to support.

Recycle your nonprofit’s stories of success. Shout them from the rooftops. It could be the first time that a potential donor has heard how your organization made someone’s grass a little greener.

So, friends, in a nutshell, remember:

1. Reduce your time and energy throughout the year by creating an annual marketing plan and content calendar and then sticking to it.
2. Reuse content within all your multi-channels – most especially the combo of your website, emails, and social media.
3. Recycle your inspiration. Use your vision, mission, and values to create something new, relevant, and purposeful for your supporters.

Want more information? Visit our nonprofit expertise hub to find a variety of case studies, helpful blog posts, and Agency for Change podcast episodes featuring nonprofit leaders.

KidGlov is a boutique, full-service, advertising, branding and content marketing agency and certified B Corp, with offices in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, specializing in nonprofit marketing, healthcare marketing, financial services marketing, social impact marketing, and purpose-driven businesses.