When making important decisions about your donor recognition wall or exhibit, it’s important to have all the facts on hand. This will help make sure it goes well. A good budget amount is one of the most important early-stage decisions that must be made, but organizations often don’t give it much thought or choose it at random.
Allocating funds for a donor recognition wall initiative requires careful thought. For instance, Donor recognition expenses should take up no more than 2% of your capital campaign budget. As suggested by the Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP). What if, however, there is no campaign, and you just want to update your current donor recognition program? Please take into account the following factors:
Location
Think about how people will see the screen and where it will be placed. According to studies, larger displays have a greater effect and attract more famous contributors, yielding a higher return on investment than a smaller, less prominent display. Donor recognition walls. If well-thought-out and carefully positioned, may boost contributions from current backers and bring in fresh support from fresh sources.
Investment
How much money can be put into the project right now? Is this a sufficient amount to really fund the project? Instead of seeing it as an outlay, a donor wall should be seen as an investment in a successful long-term fundraising strategy. Even if the initial expenditure is larger than anticipated, you should take into consideration the possible return on investment (ROI) that this technology may have.
Your Ideal Design
The budget should take the display design into account as well. When planning a display, it’s important to have a clear idea of how much everything will cost, particularly. If you have a certain end goal in mind. How practical is your suggestion? Do you have the donors to help it expand? If your donations are generous, do they feel appreciated? Donors care deeply about how much of their money goes to your organization, but more and more research. That they also care deeply about how much they are recognized and rewarded.
Simply said, your donor recognition wall needs to work. You’ve invested a lot of time, money, and energy into it, so naturally, you want it to succeed. And one of the keys to it is being cheap and simple to update. This expensive piece of art has practical use in addition to being an important part of your fundraising plan. In the end, a well-thought-out donor wall will help you raise more money.
Update Display for ROI
Donor loyalty, patient trust, employee pride, and public favorability are just some of the ways in which well-executed donor appreciation programs pay for themselves.
Donations and gifts to a university’s foundation office went up after a brand-new, cutting-edge donor recognition system was created and put into place. It is notable that no formal request for money was made in exchange for these donations.
Without updating the donor recognition wall, these outcomes would not have been achievable. The improved visibility and accessibility of the new display spurred increased enthusiasm among donors, who began caring more about the relative placement of their names on the donor wall. The foundation staff at the university was surprised and pleased by the surge in contributions, which encouraged them to create new donor acknowledgment displays.
The Bottom Line
You should talk to an expert as early in the planning process as possible, especially when deciding on a budget, to make sure that your efforts to thank donors are making the most of the resources you have. Donor engagement strategists can help with the budget, layout, and location of a project, as well as give ideas for getting more money.
