Monthly Archives: March 2010

Targeting Donors by Generation

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Yesterday I attended a workshop which reviewed the results of the Next Generation of American Giving, sponsored by Convio, Edge Research and Sea Change Strategies.  This is a fascinating topic, especially if your nonprofit still focuses only on older donors, which was the focus of an earlier study on the Wired Wealthy.

Different generations respond differently to fundraising appeals.  Generation Y (born 1981-1991) tend to be more ‘random’ in giving, like social media and mobile and respond well to peer to peer asks (not directly from the nonprofit).  Generation X  (1965 – 1980) also participate in peer to peer giving and also participate in professional networks such as LinkedIn.  The boomer generation (1946-1964) reads enewsletters, likes to volunteer and is the target of much traditional direct mail.  Finally matures (born 1945 or earlier) are wealthier, most likely to contribute by check and are more fixed in their choice of charities.

Most donation forms don’t ask for birth date / age range because potential donors are likely to find this invasive.  So many organizations that take the time to segment their constituents derive this information in other ways, such as noting which channels they choose to communicate with.  But in an increasingly multi-channel world, this may not always be accurate.

Some additional points from the report:

  • marketing programs should be optimized beyond “matures’
  • boomers are the next logical target, but don’t ignore generations X and Y
  • consider the economic value of gens X and Y which have a ‘lifetime of giving’ ahead of them
  • no generation is as loyal as matures
  • no channel will dominate in the future as direct mail has in the past
  • (no surprise) the Internet is the core channel for younger donors
  • let supporters choose which channel to use to interact with your organization
  • mobile giving is where online giving was in 1999

How can we adjust our outreach efforts?

  1. Online Feeder Acquisition – similar to when you ask for email address in a direct mail piece, use online as a list acquisition channel by asking for physical address – but you’ll have to provide some value in return
  2. Multichannel Campaign – compose an integrated fundraising calendar, respect previous giving behaviors such as not asking a $100 donor for a $25 gift or vice versa
  3. Segmentation – Adjust your call to action based on who you are communicating with (don’t send the same message to everyone)
  4. New Approach to Donor Management – Must be able to see all ways a constituent has interacted with organization – much easier if you can use one main database.

My take – if your organization is still structured in traditional ways, you won’t be able to fully take advantage of these opportunities.  Direct mail doesn’t compete with online, they work together.  And as this report suggests, if you’re only targeting the matures and boomers, you’re missing the chance to develop a long term relationship with the younger Generation Y and X constituents, many which may start by supporting your organization in other ways than by large financial contributions.

Report from NYC 501 Tech Club

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Attended another enlightening NYC 501 Tech Club meeting last night, featuring mobile text messaging.  Speakers included Katrin Verclas of MobileActive, Jed Alpert of MobileCommons and DoSomething‘s George Weiner.

First, we were treated to a summary of 10 take-aways from South by Southwest for Nonprofits by Matt Koltermann of Cross-Cultural Solutions, an international volunteerism organization which I served as Director of IT and Internet Strategy from 2000-2003.  Matt’s comments echoed many thoughts I shared in this blog, such as the importance of cross-channel brand / message consistency and how segmentation of constituents allows your organization to utilize a targeted communicated strategy (i.e. don’t send everything to everyone).

Katrin reviewed the recent 2010 Nonprofit Text Messaging Benchmarks report and explained the importance of not only sharing stories, but looking at real data.    Clearly mobile outreach isn’t right for all organizations – it’s still a bit challenging to setup, is subject to strict rules on how it can be done, and donations are limited to either $5 or $10.  And in response to my question, mobile strategy isn’t only for nonprofits that are advocacy focused, but for any nonprofit that has a ‘forward thinking’ communications department.  At least until it becomes more widespread, mobile is still a great way to get someone’s attention quickly for a pressing issue;  emails often don’t get read and are buried in a flood of other messages.

Jed emphasized that mobile doesn’t supplant other types of messaging, but is best implemented as part of an integrated communications campaign , not as a standalone strategy (hmmm – seems like I’ve said this before).  He also added that supporters that receive a text message after email are 77% more likely to donate.  Interestingly, it was also pointed out that since many of us use mobile phones to check Facebook and Twitter, a nonprofit doesn’t necessarily have to do SMS messaging to reach constituents by phone – even if you don’t have their mobile number.

George provided a different perspective for his organization, which is clearly targeted towards encouraging young people to volunteer.  While this is a noble objective, it was a bit worrisome when an audience member’s question was responded by ‘you’re not in our target audience.’  (She pointed out that she had nieces and nephews that were in their target audience.)  While it’s true that you can’t build a web site that will appeal to all constituents, this might be taking things a bit too far.

Thanks to event organizers Charles Lenchner, Thomas Negron and Farra Trompeter.  If you’re coming to Atlanta next month for the Nonprofit Technology Conference, be sure to join the NYC 501 Tech group for a get together on April 8.

Online, Social Media, Mobile Are First Response Channels of Choice

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Blackbaud’s Steve MacLaughlin kicked off a Lessons Learned from Haiti webinar series today with an overall review of how many nonprofits responded to the recent earthquake in Haiti.  Some memorable takeaways:

  1. After a disaster happens, there is a limited window to reach and engage supporters.   It’s critical to act quickly.
  2. If you wait for an emergency situation to happen, it’s too late.  Be prepared with email templates, photographs and develop processes so you can quickly update web page / donation form content (this is not often the norm at many nonprofit organizations).
  3. Emergency situations can impact any nonprofit, not just those that traditionally respond to disasters, such as the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
  4. Online, social media and mobile are first response channels of choice in responding to a disaster.
  5. Reliable people, processes and technology are critical
  6. Follow-up!  Reaching out to constituents doesn’t end after you’ve sent an email appeal immediately after the disaster occurs.
  7. Accountability is important;  make sure donors are told how their funds have been used.
  8. Plan in advance – make sure your web site / donation forms can handle temporary spikes in traffic.

Upcoming sessions in this series will focus on mobile giving as well as mobilizing your supporters using social media.  Register now for these free events.  Nonprofits play a critical role in disaster recovery efforts.  As Steve reminded us today, don’t wait for the next emergency to prepare your organization to respond.

How to Improve Your Presentations

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Not only is it had to hold others’ attention for very long on a web site or in an email newsletter, it’s increasingly difficult to connect to your attendees during presentations (and often to colleagues during meetings).  Many of us are constantly checking our mobile devices to participate in social networking sites, a phenomenon clearly described in Cliff Atkinson’s recent book, The Backchannel.  So how can we use this as an opportunity to connect with more people instead of viewing this as a problem?

Social networking sites like Twitter allow event attendees to report on a presentation while it is taking place.  This means that you can reach many others who are not able to attend in person.   Below are some tips which I’ve taken from the book and from my own experience as a presenter:

  1. Create a hash tag (#) that can be used to reference comments on Twitter
  2. Use a presentation home page to link to slides and to provide a communication channel with the audience after the live presentation has ended.  Don’t forget to reference  your web site, SlideShare, Twitter, relevant blog postings and videos on YouTube
  3. Have a colleague monitor the backchannel while you present – it’s a bit challenging to do both yourself and still concentrate on what you’re saying
  4. Take ‘Twitter breaks’ to acknowledge what is being said and to respond to comments / suggestions
  5. Include more graphics and less words in your slides.  If you’re reading information from your slides, you’re not going to hold people’s interest
  6. If necessary, modify presentation based on feedback you receive while you speak.  Don’t be afraid to change tactics if your audience is not engaged.
  7. Encourage live participation throughout your talk, not only at the end.  I’ve often attended talks where there is so much information presented, there’s little or no time left for questions.  Don’t let this happen to you.
  8. Less is more.  Have a handful of major points you want attendees to remember (and to tweet).  Don’t try to communicate too much.
  9. Find out who is attending your presentation before you speak so you can customize your materials.  It’s helpful to ask some questions of the audience on site, but it’s much easier if you take the time to research in advance.
  10. Learn from great speakers, such as Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki and Beth Kanter.   Watch how they engage with the audience and use feedback from attendees to communicate their message.

Few of us are naturally great speakers, but it gets easier with practice.  Join a group like Toastmasters if you want to improve your skills and seek out every opportunity to speak to groups.

Last Chance to Complete 2010 Nonprofit Social Networking Survey

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If you haven’t yet completed the 2010 Nonprofit Social Networking Survey, please do so now.  This initiative is co-sponsored by Common Knowledge, Nten and The Port, and results will be announced at next month’s Nonprofit Technology Conference in Atlanta, GA.  All survey participants will be entered in a drawing for an Amazon Kindle (don’t forget to include your email address at end) and will receive a copy of the report.

Can’t wait?  Below are recent reports on social media usage in nonprofit organizations: