Fundraising Drives: The Power Of A Name

By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA

Fundraising drives with sizzling names raise more money. It’s a statistical fact. The name of your campaign, annual drive, or new program should be dynamic and memorable, and convey your values to donors and funders, and the passionate impact you seek.

Consider these successful names:

“Close to Home” is the name for the University of Connecticut’s UCONN Foundation Faculty and Staff Annual Drive which includes various direct giving options plus automatic payroll deductions. The name says it all and conveys the powerful sentiment of belonging, that faculty, staff, and supporters constitute a family.

“Second Show” is a thrift store that benefits Columbia Memorial Hospital near Hudson, NY. They are committed to serving the needs of individuals in their community in an atmosphere of compassion and dignity while raising much needed funds for the hospital. They reclaim and repurpose items that would otherwise be thrown away. Their name positively accents these aspects of who they are.

“Elevating The Collection” is a fun name chosen by the Shore Line Trolley Museum because they literally had to build two buildings at a higher elevation to prevent harm to vintage trolley cars from storms and flooding. Shore Line had never raised significant funds from their 1,100 members, but within two years of initiating the campaign their buildings were built and $2.5 M was collected.

How to Go About Choosing A Sizzling Name

As you think of and vet names, ask yourself these questions:

  • Is it meaningful? Does the name support the values and heart of your organization?
  • Is it relevant? Is the name relevant to the key audiences you are trying to reach?
  • Is it distinctive? Does the name stand out?
  • Is it sustainable? Does it position you for growth, change, and success, or does it box you in?
  • Is it visual? Does it lend itself well to both graphic and text presentation?
    (Bonus) Is it modular? Does it let you build brand extensions in the future? Think FedEx Ground, FedEx Express, FedEx Office.

Run A Pilot

Testing a small group of pilot names is always a good idea. Choose your top five and share them with a select group of a dozen colleagues/friends/clients and ask for their confidential reaction. Pose some questions when you send the list of names, questions like: “What feelings does the name generate for you when you hear it?” “What does the name remind you of?” “Is the name memorable?”

Before you finally choose the name, check to see that it’s legally available. Also, you may need it to work as a domain address too, so be sure to search if anyone else is using it. If you are worried about someone else stealing it, for about $200 you can register it with local, state, and federal officials.
Naming something well is a substantial part of the roadmap of fundraising success. It lies at the intersection of fundraising and communications. It’s best to have that intersection well paved. Having a good name will help you raise the most revenue possible.

We welcome your comments about this post on the LAPA blog.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Related Posts

Fundraiser Retention

How To Improve Fundraiser Retention

That disturbingly high turnover rates and low morale plague fundraising professionals is nothing new. Research going back almost two decades shows this to be true.

One study in particular found that the “average fundraiser stays on a job only 16 months.”

In fact, just last year, author Rob Webb called on us to act on fundraising turnover right here in NonProfit Pro.

The past research on turnover was best summarized by our colleague Penelope Burke as follows:

Read More »

The Secret to Why Donors Give

There are many reasons we in the fundraising industry tell one another about why donors give.  They are moved by your mission, they know a board or staff member, they’ve given for years, to name a few.  I doubt that all of them are true, and I especially doubt that they are all true at the same point in the giving calculus for each donor.

Read More »

Are You Endowment Ready?

Nonprofit endowments are donations pooled together and invested in the stock market. At the end of the year, a portion of this money goes to the charity, but the principal amount remains in the market. Many smaller nonprofits may think of endowments as a pipe dream, but any size organization can start an endowment fund.

Read More »