From awareness to engagement: Turn interest in your nonprofit into lasting support

Charitable giving doesn’t happen in a single experience—with a few rare exceptions.  

It typically requires multiple touchpoints across multiple channels, sparking interest, building trust, encouraging engagement and, finally, inspiring a gift. 

Yet far too often we become so focused on direct response and pushing donors to make that gift that we lose sight of this. We forget about the longer journey that drives a deeper trust and relationship with those who support us. 

This is where your nonprofit’s brand plays a critical role.  

Julia Patterson previously wrote about the importance of social media in growing brand awareness and this is a critical piece of the puzzle. But once someone is aware of who you are and what you do, how do you nurture that relationship from discovery to conversion? 

In this blog post, we’ll focus on how to engage prospective donors as you move toward a gift. I’ll share some tactics you can use that fit your brand and your mission.  

Laying the groundwork

At a basic level, engagement is a transactional exchange of attention for value. Over time, it becomes deeper and builds into more of a relationship. Here’s how:

• You provide content that interests a prospect, and they pay attention.
• You give them something more valuable, and they want to receive it via email or text.
• With their contact information, you continue the conversation via email, text, direct mail, etc.

There are several ways to capture potential supporters’ contact information and spark further interest in your mission.

Use tools like:

• Facebook Lead Gen Campaigns to quickly capture emails and build your list.
• Google Grants and Paid Search Ads to target people searching for causes like yours.

The key is finding what content is right for your nonprofit’s brand. Identify brand-aligned offers, such as free guides, health tips or exclusive resources, that reflect your nonprofit's values and connect personally.

A child sponsorship organization might run a lead-generation campaign around the Valentine’s Day holiday, focused on sending love to children in need.

While a food bank could offer an impact report that shares success stories, statistics and financial accountability:

Once you’ve captured contact details, the real work begins: consistent follow-up through email, text or mail to cultivate that budding relationship.

Amplifying engagement through participation

At the next level, engagement means building an emotional connection with your audience by encouraging active participation. This is where user-generated content (UGC) shines.

People love to see their contributions recognized, and this can be a powerful way to turn followers into advocates.

What we’re talking about here is influencer engagement. It just looks a lot different in the nonprofit space than someone on Instagram promoting the latest beauty product.

Identify the “micro-influencers” already connected to your organization. Their reach can amplify your mission authentically.

Here’s how:

• UGC Campaigns: Invite supporters to share stories, photos or videos showcasing their passion for your cause.
• Ambassador Programs: Engage mid-level and major donors to host events or recruit others, turning their personal networks into opportunities for growth.

For Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), we built an innovative microsite that allowed their members (Lions) to share photos and videos of their acts of kindness. This engagement on the Stories of Pride site led to more donations from members to support the mission.

Your mission is a part of your passionate supporters’ identity. If you can create deeper connections, it will cause a ripple effect of influence.

Personalization through data-driven insights

This is where strategy meets sophistication.

Nonprofits should leverage first-party data to personalize the prospective donor’s journey. They are already sharing their preferences and interests through their actions—your job is to listen and respond.

How to make it happen:

• Data Collection: Use tools to track behavior across email, your website and landing pages. Discover what causes them to open, click and stick around.
• Personalized Journeys: Tailor communication based on what supporters care about most—whether it’s specific programs, communities or ways to engage with your cause.
• Test and Optimize: Experiment with new content and channels to discover what resonates. This isn’t about immediate transactions—it’s about nurturing long-term relationships.

By leaning into these insights, nonprofits can transform engagement signals into meaningful connections and eventually higher conversion and retention rates.

American Bible Society uses RKD’s Identity to add personalization to their website. For example, different creative and messaging can be delivered to first-time visitors vs. lapsed donors vs. major donors, etc. Content can also be personalized by interest in different programs, like Bibles for troops vs. Bibles for children.

Here are a few variations:

The goal is to put audiences on tracks that align with content that’s relevant to them, which leads to more interest and passion—and more engagement.

More than a gift: The strategy behind donor conversion

Don’t judge success by an immediate transaction. Yes, we want donations, but we must build deeper relationships that support your nonprofit’s mission and long-term goals.

Investing in turning awareness into action will help turn action into lasting impact.