Nonprofit Bridge

Probably the best book explaining the benefits of ephilanthropy I’ve seen to date is Ted Hart’s People to People Fundraising.  Multiple experts from nonprofit organizations and vendors / consultants who service nonprofits offer detailed strategies on why nonprofits must begin to embrace integrated fundraising techniques.  Some memorable takeaways:

• Traditionally an organization’s web site has been under the control of either IT or marketing.  Whereas their goals and objectives may be well intended, it is fair to say that their core focus is not development  oriented. Development is often shut out from many of the Web conversations…Nonprofit organizations need to take a much more holistic focus of who controls and contributes to the overall online presence;  marketing, IT and development are just three of the contributors.
• Many organizations hae been quick to jump on the online bandwagon without creating an effective strategic plan.  For example, it’s easy to ask people to visit your web site or leave an email address.  But without an effective plan for how you wil use email addresses and how your online activities will integrate with your offline activities, you may be creating more problems than solutions.
• To develop integrated campaigns, an organization may not need to restructure, but it will have to to rethink how the departments within the organization interact with each other.

Some of the book’s contributors, many which I’ve heard speak at conferences and other industry events, include Blackbaud’s Steven MacLaughlin, Convio’s Sheeraz Haji, Network for Good’s Katya Andresen as well as Ted Hart, who has long been an expert on this topic since founding the ePhilanthropy Foundation.  Many case studies from nonprofits that have successfully utilized integrated fundraising strategies are profiled, as well as many ways to take advantage of social networking sites.

If you still think that collaborative campaigns won’t work in your organization, take a look at this book and find out why it’s so important.

I joined over 2000 colleagues who help nonprofits raise money at Fundraising Day last week.  Some takeaways:

Mark Rovner offered these tips:

1. Ask When the Time is Right – when your organization / cause is in the news
2. Avoid the Constant Ask
3. Synchronize Your Channels – direct mail, email, web site
4. Avoid ‘Soft Asks’
5. Ask for Feedback – surveys, online focus groups
6. Finish the Story, Close the Loop – don’t ask again after donation before informing how past donation was used
7. Don’t Ask for the Wrong Amount – know what levels your donors have previously gave
8. Recognize Cross Channel Behavior – many will donate online after receiving direct mail
9. Make Sure You Thank More Than You Ask
10. Test – Find Out For Yourself

Tom Gaffny demonstrated the value of asking for a specific amount for a specific purpose, rather than simply requesting a ‘general donation.’

A day later, I attended the ePhilanthropy Social Networking Symposium, where we debated the value of social networking tools to nonprofits.  Some highlights:

Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud’s Director of Internet Solutions suggested that we ‘experiment first, plan later’ to make sure our organizations are represented in these new web environments.  He suggested a POST approach:

• People - who are you targeting?
• Objectives - what do you want to achieve?
• Strategy - what will it look like when you’re done?
• Technology - what tools will you use?

Philip King of Artez Interactive suggested the value of recruiting fundraisers instead of donors, and suggested that the ‘from’ line in an email will often be more important than the ’subject’ line;  i.e. people give because of their relationship with people, not necessarily because they support the cause.  He also discussed the ‘game changing idea’ of Kiva, where people can donate without going through a nonprofit organization;  Oxfam Direct has also used this technique successfully.

To keep up with latest trends, many speakers mentioned the value of following sites such as Beth Kanter’s blog.

1. After sending out email blasts, are you reviewing reports to learn how many of them were actually opened and what links were clicked?  See the recently released eNonprofit Benchmarks Study
2. Have you tried ‘microsites’ – a separate page focused on a specific event or campaign with an strong call to action – see NothingButNets.
3. Have you created an organization presence on social networking sites such as FaceBook and MySpace?   See this blog posting on Best Practices for Non-Profits Using Web 2.0 and Idealware’s Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites.
4. Have you looked at Barack Obama’s web site, which has changed the landscape for online fundraising and engagement?
5. Do you get ideas from other nonprofit organizations that have done especially well in raising money online?  According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy (June 12 issue), these five organizations have raised more than 10% of their revenues online: Heifer International (28 percent), Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (27 percent),Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund (21 percent), National Multiple Sclerosis Society (15 percent), and Make-a-Wish Foundation (10 percent).
6. Do you participate in groups, both online and off, to share success (and failure) stories?  People in Nten are always willing to help.  Don’t forget about for profit groups – I recently discovered the Internet Strategy Forum, which discusses many of the online strategy challenges that we also deal with in nonprofit.
7. Are you too busy to leave the office occasionally for a conference, such as this week’s Fundraising Day and Social Networking Symposium in New York?  If so, you’re missing the opportunity to learn from our colleagues.

This isn’t a surprise to me;  hopefully this will give Kintera the financial backing it has long needed.  But I wonder how will Blackbaud integrate Kintera’s products with the other organizations it has acquired in the past year: eTapestry, GiftMakerPro, and Target Analytics.  After years of keeping Raiser’s Edge as a locally installed product, is Blackbaud really prepared to sell itself as an online organization?  A few recent experiences indicate otherwise:

1. Blackbaud recently hosted an Interactive Internet Symposium in New York City.  I subscribe to many blogs and elists, yet did not learn of this event until a week after it was past. 
2. So I would not miss out on similar events in the future, I visited Blackbaud’s web site to signup for its enewsletters.  But Friday and again today, I was unable to complete my signup.  After selecting a user name and password, I received no acknowledgment either online or in email about whether my signup was successful.  But I was unable to login with my selected credentials, nor have I received any email confirmations..

If Blackbaud relies on its own marketing to distribute information about events and if signup to receive electronic communications is so difficult, does this sound like a company that is committed to providing online services?