It’s Time to Rethink “Ways to Give”
Stop Treating "Ways to Give" Like a Box to Check
Fundraisers spend a lot of energy asking, "Why should someone give?" It's the question behind our appeals, our campaigns, our cases for support.
But we rarely ask the other question that matters just as much: "What's the best way for this donor to give?"
That's a subtle shift, but it changes everything about how we communicate.
Today's donors have more giving options than ever: Donor Advised Funds, IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions, appreciated stock, employer matching gifts, planned giving, and more. Yet most organizations still treat these as a separate communication track: a year-end reminder, a dedicated "Ways to Give" email, a line at the bottom of a reply form that points them to a specific webpage for more giving options. It often feels like something bolted onto the message, not built in intentionally.
Donors don't experience a giving decision as separate from the rest of their life. It surfaces when they're meeting with a financial advisor, filing taxes, updating an estate plan — moments that have nothing to do with our communications calendar, but everything to do with when they're actually ready to act which many times happens right when we are asking.
Build It In, Not On
If other ways to give only show up as seasonal reminders, we're asking donors to remember, months later, that the DAF mailing they skimmed in November is also relevant to the decision they're making in April.
We need to embrace treating these options as a fluent part of everyday fundraising which means incorporating things like:
Introducing DAF giving before year-end even planning begins.
Naming IRA giving during tax season.
Weaving in a real story of a donor who gave appreciated stock.
Including a matching-gift nudge in the acknowledgments and stewardship touches we know donors are likely to open.
Making "ways to give" a recurring thread in newsletters and impact updates.
None of this means talking about every giving method in every touchpoint. It means donors should never have to go looking for the option that fits them.
Meet Donors Where They Already Are
A donor responding to a direct mail appeal might decide the best way for them to give is through a DAF, an IRA distribution, or stock. If we've only ever talked about ways to give in a separate context, we've made that harder than it needs to be.
The goal isn't to steer every donor toward the same method. It's to make it effortless for them to choose the one that already fits their life regardless of which piece of mail or email prompted them to act.
The Opportunity Ahead
The opportunity isn't mentioning more giving methods more often. It's retiring the idea that "ways to give" is a separate communication effort at all and instead making it a fluent, constant thread in how we talk to donors (and potential donors!).
The real question isn't whether these options belong in your fundraising strategy. It's whether we've made them feel like a natural extension of the ask, or an add-on donors have to go looking for.
About the Author:
When she’s not navigating life as a wife and mom of two boys (and all the chaos that comes with it), Nicki leads strategy as a Vice President at Fuse Fundraising. With more than 18 years of experience, she specializes in building integrated, data-driven fundraising programs that help Fuse's partners grow revenue, deepen donor relationships, and make smarter decisions across channels.