Glossary

A Lead is a person or organization that expresses interest in an organization's work and may potentially become a supporter, volunteer, or donor in the future. In digital fundraising, a lead is often defined as someone who has opted in to receive communications from the charity. As a result, these potential supporters regularly receive newsletters or transactional emails with personalized content. Lead generation is a key tool in online fundraising, often serving as the first step toward an online donation.

Lead Generation aims to attract and convert prospects into subscribers (see first-party data) and is an important community-building measure in online fundraising. Typical lead generation strategies for charities include gated content (e.g., offering a downloadable project report in exchange for an opt-in), email subscription forms on the website, or lead generation forms on platforms like Facebook (e.g., offering testament guides to potential legacy donors).

Lead Nurturing is a discipline of marketing automation focused on guiding leads toward the next best action in the donor lifecycle. The goal is to achieve internal marketing and fundraising objectives in a structured and largely automated fashion. Lead nurturing models are part of the Soulclick Automation Module. For example, newsletter subscribers can be encouraged to make an initial donation, or one-time donors can be converted into recurring supporters. This is achieved through timely, behavior-based, and personalized email automation campaigns.

The Lifetime Value (LTV) represents the cumulative value of a donor over her or his lifetime. The LTV can be calculated for individuals, segments, or cohorts. LTV analyses are used in fundraising to retrospectively (past-oriented) or prospectively (future-oriented) determine the monetary value of a target group. These analyses provide critical insights into which target groups have established long-term successful relationships with the organization and where resources for marketing activities and relationship management should be allocated.

Link building refers to the process of systematically acquiring backlinks – external links from other websites that point to your own. It is a off-page SEO strategy that helps improve search engine rankings.

In digital fundraising, the following link building strategies are commonly used:

• Content marketing: Publishing own content on other websites (e.g. studies, infographics, guides).
• Press & media outreach: Mentions in relevant media, online newspapers, or blogs.
• Partnerships & collaborations: Mutual linking with e.g. project partners abroad.
• Directory listings

Important: The quality of the linking websites is essential. Backlinks from untrustworthy sources can harm rather than help your search engine rankings.

With LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization), website content is specifically optimized so that AI language models like ChatGPT or Gemini can better recognize and recommend it. Similar to search engine optimization (SEO), LLMO is tailored not for search engines, but for AI tools.

In digital fundraising, LLMO helps boost the visibility of your organization’s content and attract more traffic. A clear structure and easy-to-understand language are essential. Well-written FAQs (frequently asked questions) moreover increase the chances of being used as a source by AI systems.

Local SEO aims to improve an organization’s ranking for regional searches (e.g., “charity near me”). For nonprofits with local services (like counseling centers) or regional fundraising events (e.g., a charity run), Local SEO is a crucial tool in the online marketing mix. It helps increase reach and makes it easier for target audiences to locate the organization on platforms like Google Maps.

Key Local SEO measures include setting up and completing a Google My Business profile, ensuring consistent NAP data (name, address, phone number) across all channels, and utilizing local keywords and landing pages (e.g., “addiction support Solothurn”). Additionally, positive Google reviews, local media mentions, and regional links can enhance Local SEO impact.

A Long-Tail Keyword is a specific search phrase consisting of three or more words. Compared to short-tail keywords, which are single terms, long-tail keywords are much more specific and often lead to higher conversion rates. An example of a long-tail keyword might be “donate for children” or “donate to projects in Nicaragua.” Nonprofit organizations should optimize their web content not only for individual keywords but also conduct targeted long-tail keyword research and incorporate these terms into their content.

A Lookalike Audience is a group of users who share similar characteristics or behaviors with an existing audience. Platforms like Facebook Ads or Google Ads use data from existing audiences (e.g., website visitors, donors, or email subscribers) to identify and target (see: targeting) new potential users who are likely to have similar interests or behaviors.

In digital fundraising, nonprofits use lookalike audiences to reach potential donors who resemble their current supporters. This targeting strategy helps organizations expand their reach by identifying users who are more likely to engage, donate, or participate in campaigns, based on shared traits with existing donors.

A Low-Code Application is a software application built using a low-code platform, which allows developers to create applications with minimal manual coding. Instead of writing extensive lines of code, developers (and even non-developers) can use a graphical interface with drag-and-drop components, templates, and visual workflows to build the application. This approach significantly accelerates development, making it easier to create applications quickly and with fewer resources.