Mobilisation: How to attract and retain supporters

Mobilisation is not a campaign. It is not a movement, or a fashion, or a fad. Mobilisation is a model. It is the organisation of a group of people to take collective action in pursuit of a particular objective. In short, mobilisation breaks down barriers in charities and effectively harnesses the power of people. 

An effective mobilisation approach dismantles silos, promotes collaborative working across teams, and achieves consensus on overarching goals and objectives. It brings together supporters, staff, audiences, volunteers, and others to ensure progress, to push your organisation forward.

The results of mobilisation

Effective mobilisation, as shown in the recent Engaging Networks report, brings many benefits. Done well, mobilisation increases return on investment (ROI), makes your charity more attractive to potential supporters, helps you to retain audiences, allows for deeper engagement, and much more.

The benefits of mobilisation are particularly pertinent at present. As the sector continues to deal with the aftermath of the COVID-19, many charities are facing a new challenge. 

The cost-of-living crisis, compounded by a likely recession and soaring inflation, has led to a reduction in disposable income. The increases in the price of fuel, energy, and everyday items heavily impacts the charity sector, with 55% of the public stating that their financial situation makes it harder to donate. That is called the ‘cost-of-giving’ crisis and charities must mitigate against a funding shortfall.

That’s where digital mobilisation can help. And it’s already helped plenty of charities. 

Examples of effective digital mobilisation 

Mobilisation can help through deeper engagement with supporters. Consider Animals Asia, a charity that witnessed first-hand the ROI boost of mobilisation. Through digital mobilisation, Animals Asia increased their supporter database and grew their fundraising efforts through actions intended to achieve their campaigning objectives – all while helping them to attract new donors and supporters. 

New supporters went on a five-week online engagement journey, using a process of email and social media retargeting. That deeper engagement resulted in 5% of donors, who had given a cash gift following campaigning action, signing up to become a regular donor. 

The deeper engagement with existing supporters, alongside a powerful marketing campaign that attracted new supporters, delivered unexpected results, surpassing their projected ROI. 

The Children’s Society witnessed similar results. The charity helps young people through the most serious challenges in life. They saw mobilisation as a way of providing their audience with a greater insight into their mission, hoping to deepen the emotional connection and demonstrate impact. 

The charity created a ‘National mobilisation’ team, which aimed to attract new audiences and retain existing ones. The structure broke down silos and ensured greater collaboration between the fundraising, campaigning, and marketing teams, with everyone working towards the same goals.

The new structure better amplified the charity’s cause, ensuring deeper engagement from old and new supporters alike. The charity was able to better value supporter’s time, voice, and money, which had a transformative impact on the results of the team and broadly improved ROI. 

How to enact mobilisation

As mentioned, mobilisation is a model. And charities need to take steps to enact that model. The Engaging Networks report has produced a helpful checklist that will support charities in their mission for mobilisation.

Charities should take some of the following steps:

• Get buy-in from across your charity as you embark on mobilisation 
• Consider the time and resources you’ll need to deliver the project 
• Pick the right platforms to drive your programme forward 
• As for money to support campaigning and fundraising action 
• Use a mix of actions to attract different people to support your cause 
• Focus on inspiring people and engage them with compelling supporter journeys

These are just a handful of the suggestions in the report. There are loads of other suggested actions, as well as more best practice guidance and examples of charity’s mobilisation success, in the Engaging Network report. Follow the link below to find out how your charity can embrace mobilisation.