New Disabled South – Strengthening Grassroots Giving Through Digital Engagement

New Disabled South is committed to advancing disability justice across the Southern U.S., advocating for policies and programs that support disabled people in the region. To ensure financial independence and long-term sustainability, they are working to increase grassroots donations so that individuals contribute at least half of their annual budget. By leveraging paid advertising, an online store, and donor email engagement, they are diversifying their revenue streams while strengthening community investment in their mission.

Here’s the Plan:

New Disabled South is implementing a multi-channel digital fundraising strategy that combines merchandising, targeted digital advertising, and email-driven donor conversion. 

To achieve this:

They are running two core fundraising experiments:

• • Goal: Use paid social and paid search ads to drive sales in their online store.
  • Approach: Test the effectiveness of different merchandise (mugs, t-shirts, hats) featuring the same message ("Y’all ableist") to determine which product resonates most with supporters.

• • Goal: Increase grassroots donations by engaging their existing email list.
  • Approach: Develop a welcome email series that includes fundraising asks to test how early donor engagement impacts conversion rates.
  • Testing Strategy: Assess the effectiveness of direct fundraising asks within the onboarding process and refine messaging accordingly.

Progress & Impact

New Disabled South has raised $3,413.11 through its grassroots fundraising efforts. Their merchandising experiment provides valuable insights into supporter purchasing behavior, helping them refine product offerings and digital ad targeting. At the same time, their email campaign is beginning to cultivate a stronger donor base by leveraging their existing network.

As they refine their digital strategies, they are learning that supporters are most likely to engage when messaging is bold and direct. By investing in digital engagement, merchandising, and donor conversion tactics, New Disabled South is laying the foundation for a financially sustainable movement led and funded by the disability community.