Fundraising Lessons We Can Learn from the Super Bowl 🏈

Phootball 🏈 and philanthropy. Or is it football 🏈 and filanthropy? Alliteration aside, there’s a lot the world of philanthropy can learn from football, specifically the Super Bowl.

The Super Bowl is, and always has been, the most watched sporting event in America--yes, even more popular than the Olympics. So, it's no surprise that football is the most popular sport, especially since last year over 100 million people tuned in to watch the BIG GAME. And guess what? Many of those viewers were your donors. That’s right, there’s something about the Super Bowl that appeals to your donors. While they may tune in for different reasons, they're still there yelling at the refs, tearing up at the Budweiser Clydesdale commercials, singing along to the halftime show, and high-fiving each other when their team sportsed better than the opposing team sported. #GoSports

Although, as fundraisers, we could certainly think of much better uses of all the money that is poured into the hype that is the Super Bowl—from the pageantry and the commercials to the athletes salaries and the halftime show productions, it's a lot of dough. Add it all up and I haven’t seen that many zeroes since I last watched Revenge of the Nerds.  But if we can let go of that fact for a moment, I believe those of us in the philanthropy world could learn a lot from the Super Bowl.

This week’s lineup…

Left Brain Marketing Methods:  The commentators aren’t just there to fill the airspace during timeouts, they explain the rules, they retell the story that just happened on the field, and they explain--via statistics--what’s worked and what hasn’t--not just today, but historically. You can do that, too...let's talk about how.

Right Brain Marketing Moxie:  Nielsen has actually measured and found that every demographic out there is watching the Super Bowl. The big event knows no bounds when it comes to age, race, sex, or socio-economic status—it’s loved by all. That means whether your donor tuned in because they just love sports in general, are a super fan of one of the competing teams, have merely jumped on the bandwagon because everyone else is doing it, loves a small gathering with amazing party food, enjoys hanging with friends just like them, or just loves the commercials…they tuned in. And if they’re tuning in to the Super Bowl for any or all those reasons, there are definitely some right brain tactics we can steal from the Super Bowlers that can speak their fans—AKA our donors.

Are you ready? LET’S GOOOOOOOO!

Left Brain Marketing Methods: I had the privilege of teaching a webinar to some of my colleagues in California last week and we talked about a lot of left brain tools that community foundations use to raise funds--endowments, bequests, IRA rollovers, Charitable Remainder Trusts, etc. As creative as I like to be, I get that creativity is the icing on the cake-- but you still need substance...the cake 🎂. That's why those who know me well, know I fly my nerd flag high flag. I love data. I love data-driven decision-making. I love the tools that are available to help donors make fiscally sound investments into philanthropy. And I love taking what's complex about philanthropy and putting it into terms that every donor can easily understand. That's why we can learn a lot from the commentators calling the Super Bowl game. There's always a play-by-play commentator and a color commentator. They are necessary and important. And you should be doing both--intentionally.

The most important left brain role you can take on is the play-by-play announcer. It's a vital role. You need to explain what's currently going in your philanthropy game, how the rules impact the game, what the jargon means, what works, and what doesn't. Like you, these play-by-play commentators aren't typically featured on-screen or in-person--they must rely on words to explain the intricacies of the game.

As your nonprofit's play-by-play commentator, you need to know your charitable game intimately. What's legal, what's not? What is the best giving tool for that donor at that specific time? What message does a 75-year-old need to hear? What percentage of people have a will? How do you use a CRAT or a CRUT or an IRA Rollover? What is allowed with a Donor-Advised Fund and what isn't? And just like a Super Bowl commentator, you need to understand these concepts so well that you can explain them to someone in simplified terms that any layman could understand. Just like some Super Bowl viewers might only be viewing this one game annually, most of your donors don't eat, drink, and breath charitable giving like you do. It's your job to know the complexity of our industry in order to explain it to others in a way that is so simply they'll want to act.

The color commentators provide an analysis of the game. Think history, background information, statistics 📊. These people are usually those who have played the game and know it well--that's you! There is certainly a left brain need in our communications; a need to tell the story of the history of your nonprofit or a specific fund. Background information about certain donor types and how an endowment works are critical to your fundraising success. And, yes, statistics matter. There is power in numbers. Use these mechanics to your advantage.

How are you calling your philanthropy game so that your donors understand it and can see how they can participate? If you aren't doing it well yet, there's still time. Once you know better, you can begin to do better. And once you begin to see results from your efforts, it's even fun.

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Right Brain Marketing Moxie:  Emotions are high at the Super Bowl. Some people can't wait to make and enjoy a Snack-Stadium. Others shush their friends just so they can hear every multi-million dollar commercial. Some love that they have a football game to complement the amazing music and dancing during the halftime concert. Others love the back story of the underdog quarterback and his rise to top. Some are diehard football fans; while others jump on the bandwagon just to enjoy a fun day with friends and family. Literally, the Super Bowl and all the hype around it offers something for everyone. No one, and I mean no one, attending a Super Bowl party came to be bored. I hate to quote my husband here, but he's been known to say, "I like to enjoy things." LOL! Yes, I guess we all really do enjoy enjoying things.

The right brain lesson to be learned here is this:  The very same people who attend these Super Bowl parties and/or watch the Super Bowl game are our donors! And because of that, they love all the things the Super Bowl has to offer the other 364 days of the year, too. 

They want to engage in the backstory that you have to tell about a donor or a fund or a grant because they can relate to it. They want to laugh or cry or reminisce with the communications you send them just as much as they do with the Super Bowl commercials--they love to experience all the feels. Some of your donors can speak about charitable giving just like the sports enthusiast who has memorized decades of football stats. Obviously, you need to talk to them about more sophisticated ways to give than your run-of-the-mill first time donor. And, yes, there are bandwagon donors--those who donate where their friends donate or attend a charitable event just because they want to break bread with their social circle. It's the old 'people like us do things like this' axiom that applies to attending football games as much as it does to philanthropy.

Everything about the Super Bowl is built to draw in a big crowd and even get people to spend money. The average cost of Super Bowl ad in 2021 was $5.6M and that doesn't even include the cost of a celebrity endorsement or commercial production. But they spend this money because they know you have to spend money to make money. Yes, stewardship, marketing, and communication costs money and should be budgeted. But only because your ultimate goal is to get your donors to open your mail and act on it so you can raise even more funds. In other words, your direct mail doesn't have to look like it was printed on the cheap with little ingenuity or professionalism. It doesn't have to be 4-color glossy either, but it can serve your brand well. There is a happy medium, you just need to find it.

Yes, creativity plays a huge role in the Super Bowl and people all across America love it. While we'll never be on the Super Bowl level, we can certainly learn a lot from it. Sure, philanthropy is not a game. In fact, many of the causes we're addressing in our local communities are serious and systemic. However, in order to get your donors to act generously with your organization, you have to get their attention. And that means competing with work, family, TV, social media, movies, books, and everything else in their inbox and mailbox. Maybe one way we can do that is to take some of the elements of the Super Bowl and scale them in a way that our donors might want to open our mail and respond. Because the fact remains that you have donors that can contribute more--if only you gave them a reason to do so.

As you enjoy the Super Bowl this week, and remember the guy who invented sports in the first place, think about these left brain marketing methods and the right brain marketing moxie that they incorporate at every level. Then decide what you can do to scale those strategies to people who have an affinity for what you do and the capacity to do something about it. Affinity ❤ and Capacity 💵--that's the real MVP.

Have a Super Weekend, fellow fundraisers. The Super Bowl is a great reminder that we can put the fun back into fundraising.

All My Best,

dawn 🏈
[email protected]