Are you in charge of fundraising for your organization? Do you need an innovative way to get potential donors excited about giving money to your campaign? Are you looking for a beautiful and affordable way to recognize your generous donor? If you’ve answered YES, then look no further than our Donor Wall Decal Murals!
Why are Donor Recognition Walls effective?
Donor Recognition Walls are effective because they show donor appreciation, they build legacy, and they inspire others to give.
Why should you recognize your donors? Your Donor Recognition Wall will reward current donors for their generosity and encourage prospective donors to give to upcoming campaigns. Aim to put your donor wall in a highly public space and include information about how to give (flier, card, brochure, etc.) making it easy to participate in your current fundraising campaign. Allowing for donors to donate in the name of others also encourages participation.
Examples:
In honor of my father, George David Banks
In memory of Mr. Fluffykins - BEST CAT EVER!
In recognition of the charitable spirit of Laura Patterson.
When should you recognize your donors? The more you recognize your donors, the more likely they are to keep donating. Donors should be recognized for major gifts, planned gifts, in-kind donations, capital campaigns, crowdfunding campaigns, annual campaigns, sponsorships and more.
Which elements should you include on your donor recognition wall? Your donor recognition wall will be totally unique based on your needs and specifications. Some common elements to include on your donor recognition walls are: name of the fundraising campaign, donor name and title, gift amount, organization name and logo, timeframe of the gift, name of award.
What is a traditional model of a Donor Recognition Wall?
Traditionally, a donor recognition wall is a dedicated space that shows appreciation of individuals, business and foundations who have donated. The donor names, and often the donation amounts, are displayed on glass, bricks, wood, or metal plaques or signs. However, these tend to be costly and do not allow for flexibility with your growing donor list. Which is why we, at My Wonderful Walls, offer a totally different experience.
Donor Recognition Walls by My Wonderful Walls
We will work with your organization to create a fully customized Donor Recognition Wall in the form of a wall decal mural that is more affordable for nonprofits and small organizations.
Cost: Think $200-$500 for a My Wonderful Walls donor wall vs. $2K-$5K for traditional models.
Flexibility: Decals allow for flexibility so you can move them around, add or take away names from year to year or campaign to campaign
Fast Turnaround Time: From start to finish, we can have it to you within mere weeks of our initial conversation.
Totally Unique Design: Because we realized that not all organizations have an in-house designer, we’ve got you covered. We will customize your donor wall design to incorporate your logo, colors, and unique spirit.
Beautification: The donor mural will add color and pizazz to any plain, bank walls and get your donors excited about giving money.
The Process - Here’s How It Works:
We provide guidance at every step of the way. First, we have a conversation to gather information from you about your space, your donors, donor levels, and any design ideas you might have.
Based on our discussion, we present to you a digital prototype of the design (typically within days to a week’s time).
You provide feedback. We tweak if needed.
We make and ship you the base mural along with any initial donor name decals, if provided.
You install it in your space. Installation is easy and straight-forward with our peel-and-stick decals.
You invite donors to contribute in exchange for personalized donation decals to be displayed on the wall. If desired, we can help you create personalized emails, social media graphics, newsletters and handouts to promote your fundraising campaign.
As you get more donations throughout the campaign, you place more orders with us, and we mail more personalized decals back to you in mere days, so that you can promptly display new names on the wall.
Your donor wall fills in with names of your generous donors and you fulfill and even surpass your fundraising goals.
Ideal for Small and Big Organizations
Over the years, we’ve helped many organizations and small businesses raise oodles of money. Our donor wall decals are perfect for:
Animal Shelters & Clinics
Hospitals
Places of Worship
Care Centers & Retirement Homes
Foundations
Schools
Food Pantries
Libraries
Non-profit Organizations
Any Organization with a Public Wall and a Cause
How to Have a Successful Fundraising Campaign with a Donor Recognition Wall
Build and maintain your database.
Whether your donor database is petite or robust from years of experience, it’s important to keep it up-to-date and organized with pertinent information: name, address, past donation amount, donation date, email address, work information, phone number, birthdate, etc.
There are many online resources to help you build your donor database. Here is a full list of the top names in donor management software: 360MatchPro, Charity Engine, Salsa, Kindful, Dataro, Grassroots Unwired, Lumaverse, DonorPerfect, Bloomerang, Raiser’s Edge, Blackbaud, Aplos, Snowball, Arreva, Raklet, SimplyFundraisingCRM, DoubleKnow, Regpack.
Find the perfect donation price points.
Coming up with price points that are affordable and realistic to your potential donors is key in a successful fundraising campaign. Unlike the traditional and expensive donor walls, since the donor decals from My Wonderful Walls are so affordable, it’s possible to price the donation amounts so that most can contribute. According to Joanna Jewett of The Arc of Onondaga, their ‘sweet spot’ for donations is around $39-$45.
Offer multiple levels of donation amounts.
When you create a campaign with multiple levels of donor support, this allows for the possibility that every one of your donors can give. Your donation levels might look like $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or larger amounts such as $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000. Regardless, giving your donors various levels of participation can significantly contribute to the success of your fundraising campaign.
Pull at heartstrings with a unique design: Another brick campaign? Please, NO! Getting donors excited about donating is key. A huge part of what we offer at My Wonderful Walls, is the ability to create a fully customized donor recognition wall so that you won’t be stuck with bricks. We can incorporate your logo and brand colors. Do butterflies or owls resonate with your potential donors? How about hummingbirds or stars? Trees or birds? Cats or dogs? The possibilities are endless.
Do a mass mailing.
Once you have your perfectly designed Donor Wall Decal ready to go, it’s time to do your mass mailout. Sending appeal letters through direct mail is a classic tactic for fundraising to reach out to loyal supporters as well as new prospects. **See sample letter for ideas.
Resources Needed:
A list of donors who will respond to your direct mail appeal (here’s where your detailed and up-to-date donor database comes in super handy).
Decide if you're going to send a letter, pamphlet, or postcard.
Include a self-addressed, pre-stamped envelope. This will give them a way for them to send in a check and increase participation in your direct mail campaign.
Consider using a direct mail fundraising company or local printer that is quick and cheap. This can save you both time and money.
Follow up with an email.
Know when the mailout will hit mailboxes and reach out to your customers with a follow-up email. Multiple touch points will ensure that potential donors don’t miss their opportunity to contribute. Your email should include a narrative that supports your mission and at least two calls-to-action and/or links to your donation page. *See our sample email for ideas.
Promote your campaign on social media.
Using social media is a great way to spread the word about your cause and remind your potential donors of your current campaign. Here you can display pictures of your Donor Recognition Wall and even show pictures of donors in front of their personalized decal. Make sure to direct them to your online donation page (if applicable), or where they can go to make a contribution.
Follow up with a thank you.
As your donation starts rolling in, send thank you emails to remind them of what they are supporting and how it is helping. Consider taking a picture of the donor’s decal on the wall and sending them a picture of it. If your donor base is of the hashtag generation, you could even suggest that they share the picture with your unique fundraising campaign hashtag (Example: #AHSGive2022).
From whom should you ask for donations? The more you ask, the more you’ll get. Cast a wide net and ask from individuals, businesses and foundations.
Ask for donations from individuals. Individuals have the potential to be your best source of revenue for your organization. Some proven channels to ask for donations from individuals are email, direct mail, phone calls, online, in-person and social media.
Ask for donations from businesses / companies
Social responsibility is a big part of many company’s cultures today. When you reach out and ask, your organization could benefit from that philanthropy. Many companies have programs such as matching gifts, volunteer grants, corporate grants, and in-kind donations, all of which could lead to big money for your organization.
Asking for donations from foundations
Foundations are non-profit organizations that award grants to help other organizations promote their causes. Typically foundations give grants to organizations who share a similar mission, such as “foundation grants” and “challenge grants”. Foundations can prove to be great money-maker for your fundraising campaign.
How to reach your donors? Reaching out to your donors through multiple channels will ensure multiple touch-points, thereby increasing your chances of more donations.
Asking for donations through email
With the perfectly crafted email, asking for support of your fundraising campaign through email can lead to big money. Your email should include a narrative that supports your mission and at least two calls-to-action and/or links to your donation page. **See sample email for ideas.
Asking for donations through direct mail
Sending appeal letters is a classic tactic for fundraising. Send out ask letters to reach out to loyal supporters as well as new prospects. **See sample letter for ideas.
Asking for donations over the phone
Though it might seem slightly archaic, using phone calls to ask for donations is quite an effective fundraising tactic, especially with the older generation. During the phone call, you can explain exactly where their contribution will go and how it will benefit your organization. You can elicit help from workers or volunteers with a script or detailed notes to help you stay the course. You might consider hosting a phonathon, which can prove both fun and rewarding.
Asking for donations in-person
In-person asks are typically reserved for major gift or corporate donation requests and require a good deal of preparation. By meeting in person, it allows you to fully explain your organization’s funding needs and gives the potential donor the opportunity to ask questions. You’ll want to fully research your prospective donor in preparation for the meeting with a general script, the desired ask amount, and a Plan B if you don’t receive an immediate “yes”.
Asking for donations online
However, online fundraising is cost-effective and your organization should have a way for donors to contribute online. Note that most online donations will be small due to mistrust about giving online, and most large donations will be made via check, but don’t let this stop you. Online donation forms are becoming pretty standard these days. You’ll want to build an online donation page. You can build this yourself or hire an online fundraising company to do it for you. After your online donation page is complete and includes a large “DONATE NOW” button, you can actively promote your donation form. It’s important for your donation page to work on desktop as well as mobile devices. If you can get enough volunteers, consider scheduling a phonathon.
Asking for donations through social media
You can effectively use social media to promote your fundraising campaign. Because asking for donations on social media is less-direct, you can post multiple times in order to cast a larger net and reach more potential donors. Social media allows for a great platform to post pictures of your Donor Recognition Wall, pictures of happy donors, and updates on your fundraising goals. You should know, for example, whether your supporters use Facebook or Instagram and market to where they are. With each post, you should promote your online donation page with a link to your donation form and an explanation of why you are asking for donations. Alternatively, on Facebook, you can set up a donation page, so donors can give through Facebook without having to leave the site.
Tips for Your Fundraising Ask
Add a personal touch. Include your potential donor’s name.
Be succinct. Your letter should be no more than a page and the ‘ask’ should appear within the first 2 paragraphs.
Be precise. Tell your donors exactly where their donations will go and specifically how their support helps your organization.
Give them something. Make sure they know what they’ll get in return for their donation, in the form of their name (or chosen text) displayed on the Donor Recognition Wall.
