Nonprofit Bridge

This week’s installment of the Blackbaud webinar series Cultivating Lifelong Donors:  Stewarship and the Fundraising Pyramid presented by Lawrence Henze focused on how nonprofits have traditionally focused on entry level giving and major donors, but have not paid attention to mid-level donors.  Interestingly, I had lunch with a friend who is a director of corporate giving for a NYC nonprofit, and he mentioned the same issue.  A few takeaways from this session:

1. Identify what giving levels are ‘mid-level’ for your organization – will vary depending on your constituent base
2. Focus on patterns such as how long these donors have been supporting you, at what time of year, and what age or life stage they are at (there are ways to append this information from other sources if you don’t usually collect it)
3. Develop stewardship strategies to develop closer relationships with these supporters, e.g. personalized thank yous or opportunities to interact directly with organization staff.

To do this effectively, you must have a central database which everyone uses, and where you enter each ‘touch point’ you have with a constituent.  The product you select doesn’t have to be expensive, but you need to develop an organization mindset where staff are accustomed to tracking and sharing information.  This can sometimes be a greater challenge than finding the right product.

I asked these questions during the Q&A session:

• Who in development should be assigned to mid-level donors?  The first response was ‘whoever is willing to take it,’ but generally it should be given to those who work with major donors.  After all, the hope is that many of these mid-level contributors will eventually advance to the major donor level.
• What about having the same person work with a donor as she/he rises through the fundraising pyramid, providing continuity and allowing a solid relationship to be built?  Lawrence said that he hasn’t often seen this in over 30 years of working with nonprofits, and that it might be difficult due to the high turnover of development staff.  But he added that if it could be done, it would most likely be successful.

Think of how you feel when you get to know a salesperson when preparing to buy a software product, then as soon as you make the purchase, you have to deal with the normal support staff, who then have to learn all over about your organization’s needs.  Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable if you could continue to work with the person you started with?  Try this with your constituents and see if it encourages them to move further along the fundraising pyramid.

At last night’s 501 Tech Club NYC monthly meeting, Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadura and Brooklyn Museum‘s Chief of Technology Shelley Bernstein talked about how Foursquare can be used to attract and engage constituents.  Earlier this week, Foursquare received $20 million in financing and currently has over 1.8 million users despite having only launched 18 months ago.

Naveen described his product as ‘software designed to change people’s behavior,’ to ‘get them to do more things, go more places.’  In addition to becoming ‘mayor’ of places frequently visited, Foursquare users can display badges as well as take advantage of promotions offered by participating vendors.  Shelley described how her organization has used Foursquare to get more involved with the community surrounding the Brooklyn Museum.  Interestingly, when she was asked whether the museum’s initiatives have resulted in an increase in museum visits or in donations, she said that Foursquare doesn’t yet offer enough information to be able to evaluate this.  Naveen added that Foursquare currently offers limited demographics on who is currently using its service.

Why has Foursquare worked well for the Brooklyn Museum?  Shelley explained that it was the nonprofit’s ‘social culture,’ which is further discussed in the recently released book, The Networked Nonprofit (Beth Kanter also attended last night’s event).  Another attendee from the Metropolitan Museum also described using Foursquare, but pointed out that it was more tied into the Met’s focus on education (vs. the Brooklyn Museum’s emphasis on community).

Reportedly Facebook is already working on including a similar functionality within its service, so it will be interesting to see how this affects Foursquare.  What I find most interesting is that for many of us who use the web, it really doesn’t matter where we are.  Yet with Foursquare, users are encouraged to ‘check in’ to their location several times daily, and to possibly connect with (in person) other friends who are where you are.  Can this be beneficial for a typical nonprofit?  If your constituents are using Foursquare, it may be interesting to find out.  But as has been done by the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum, first consider your organization’s mission and how this type of product can fit in.

Thanks to group leaders Charles Lenchner, Thomas Negron and Farra Trompeter and to Planned Parenthood who hosted the event and provided snacks.  This was the largest crowd that I can recall for a NYC 501 Tech Club gathering.  See also Farra’s recap.

P.S. Has your nonprofit tried Foursquare yet?  If so, leave a comment detailing your experience.  I will offer a free Nten webinar registration to first person that responds.

I will be moderating two sessions at next week’s International Fundraising eConference which brings together many of the nonprofit sector’s leaders in online fundraising and building a strong constituent base.  If you can’t listen live, all sessions will be recorded and available for replay at your convenience.    In addition, Fundraising Success is sponsoring a free Virtual Conference & Expo which is described as a way to learn the latest and most effective strategies and tactics for engaging, enlightening and empowering your donors.

If you’d prefer a live event and you’re in NYC on Wed, May 19, join us at the May NYC 501 Tech Club meeting which will recap lessons learned from last month’s Nonprofit Technology Conference.

Finally, if like me you still like to enjoy books, don’t miss the recently released Internet Management for Nonprofits: Strategies, Tools & Trade Secrets, including contributions from many ephilanthropy experts.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 10th annual Nonprofit Technology Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Social media was a popular topic throughout the three day event.  Jeff Patrick hosted a lively discussion on the just released Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report (which I helped to prepare), co-sponsored by Common Knowledge, Nten and ThePort.  While nonprofits’ increased use of Facebook and Twitter were not a surprise, some of the data showed interesting trends about issues such as the use of commercial vs. house (private) networks.  You can download the report free here.

Similar to how Twitter forces messages to be limited to 140 characters, the Ignite presentations featured a series of talks which were each limited to 5 minutes and 20 slides.  Scott Bechter-Levin encouraged us to share more information with our network;  Steve Heye provided a wonderful comparison of how techies and business users interpret the same information very differently.

Friday’s plenary speaker Andrew Sullivan offered a look into what happens when your blog becomes too popular, as is his The Daily Dish.  Blog readers expect steady feedback but “expect you to say things they agree with.”  But he added that his blog has enabled him to cover international events very quickly and has encouraged a “free flow of data.”

Saturday’s plenary speaker Asi Burak described how games can be used to stimulate thought about difficult world issues, demonstrating PeaceMaker, a simulation of the Middle East conflict.   Games allow us to play roles that we’re usually not comfortable with and help us to understand the ‘other side’ of the argument.  I’ve often ignored games, but this is a very different focus than the games you see on Facebook.

When it comes to social media, small organizations often get better results than larger nonprofits.  In the session Beyond Traditional Fundraising: Utilizing the Web and Social Networks to Secure Donors, speakers from Alix’s Lemonade Stand, Architecture for Humanity and Spirit Jump described how they’ve been able to stimulate interest to their causes.   The goal “isn’t always to raise money” but that you “no longer have to have money to raise money.”  An interesting observation was that constituents who are most engaged online aren’t always the best donors.   Clearly these smaller nonprofits are not only using social media heavily, some are bypassing the more traditional channels such as direct mail completely.

Will Kiva kill your nonprofit? This session focused on the trend of allowing donors to pick specifically the people and causes they will support as well as receive regular feedback on how their contributions have been used.  Many nonprofits I’ve worked for in the past have discouraged restricted gifts, preferring to receive funds that can be used for any purpose.  While not all types of nonprofits can support this type of giving (e.g. direct service organizations work well but large affiliate based organizations will find it more difficult), clearly this is a trend worth paying attention to.  One suggestion was to not stop asking for unrestricted gifts, but to start additional programs that are more targeted.

While not as well attended as the social media talks, the session Diversifying Your Tech and Online Communications Teams provided an interesting overview into why diversity in nonprofit staff can result in better service to diverse groups of constituents – and better fundraising results.   One interesting perspective (of a typical nonprofit) was “We’ll help your community but we really don’t want your input.”  Another observation: “We’re all a majority in some ways but a minority in others.”  A recommendation: “Learn about the communities (you serve) instead of trying to represent people you don’t know.”

Online communications gurus Beth Kanter and Kivi Leroux Miller – offered How to Design and Present Online Training People Will Love.  Many of us need to train colleagues in remote locations, so it’s important to understand the differences between live and online instruction.   Since many of our attendees will be multitasking, it’s even more important to hold their attention;  one suggestion was to use a more visual slide design, using principles from Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen.  Idealware’s Laura Quinn also offered a look at popular web conferencing tools such as Readytalk and GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar – make sure you take advantage of discounts available to nonprofits through TechSoup.  (For a concise summary of nonprofit software options, check out Idealware’s Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits.)

Just for fun, we enjoyed an after-event party at the World of Coca-Cola, which offered a novel ‘tasting room’ allowing us to taste brands from all over the world.  (My favorite was Bibo Candy, but I’ll probably have to travel to Africa to find a store that sells it.)

I’ve been a Nten member for many years, and this event gets better every year.  Thanks to Holly Ross and her staff for a wonderful three days.  If you missed the event, you can enjoy some of the sessions here.

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.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, I reached out to some friends and colleagues to ask about plans for the holiday and to wish them well.   A few conversations were especially memorable.  One friend who moved away from New York last year for a job opportunity and to be closer to family mentioned that he had a heavy work load and was struggling to keep up.  But he quickly added that his wife was enjoying her job and that his son, who has had some health issues in the past year, was doing very well.   (When we first met, he was also dealing with a difficult work situation, yet he was still upbeat and was very interested in hearing about my job and personal life.)  Another former co-worker told me that her husband’s job was now more secure after many months of uncertainty and that another family member had recently found a good position.

Many of us have been affected by the recession, either by losing a position that we thought was secure or by staying in a bad work situation for fear of not being able to find something else.  For most of us, work will be challenging at times as our organizations deal with limited resources and competing priorities.  Sometimes self-employment is a viable option, but that also can be stressful, especially during the early stages of building a business.  Thankfully, the recession seems to be easing, so the worst may be behind us.

As we pause for Thanksgiving, let’s follow the example of my friends who have chosen to focus on what’s good in their lives.  Appreciate being in good health;  be thankful for having people in your life who love you.  If you’re working, be grateful;  if you’re in transition, stay positive and look forward to your next opportunity, even if it’s not the ideal position you’ve hoped for (it may be a stepping stone to getting there).  It’s not what happens in your life, it’s your attitude that makes the difference.

While spending time with family and friends over the holiday weekend, don’t complain, criticize or gossip about others.  Instead, help make it a Complaint-Free World by focusing on what is good.

This post was created as part of a global groundswell of gratitude called TweetsGiving. The celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. I hope you’ll visit TweetsGiving to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful.

The NYC 501 Tech Club returned this week with a new format – presentation + networking.  Big Duck’s Farra Trompeter moderated a discussion on multi-channel fundraising – a topic I often discuss, joined by Simon Moloney of Npower NY and Rebecca Willett of Planned Parenthood.   Also this week, Convio held its annual Summit in Austin, TX.

For those in the NYC audience who don’t yet integrate multiple channels in fundraising efforts, Farra asked that we strive to break down silos within our organizations because “donors see us as one nonprofit.’  So there shouldn’t be a competition between money raised by direct mail versus email marketing or other online fundraising tools.  Multichannel appeals are most effective, especially this time of year (make sure you plan to email your donors on Dec. 30 / 31).  Farra also asked the attendees who we blend personal and organizational priorities in social networking content;  this may be addressed further in a future meeting.  (My take – a personal touch breathes life into a blog posting or tweet, as long as the focus isn’t removed from the nonprofit’s mission.)

Rebecca reviewed Planned Parenthood’s multi-channel strategy which she described as a ‘collaborative effort of the national office and affiliates.’  In response to my question on what content to put on each channel, Rebecca suggested first finding out which audience(s) are on each channel, then asking ‘what are they looking for’?  Planned Parenthood has some interesting enhancements planned, such as a 24×7 chat / text hotline, as well as a mobile phone application.

Slides from the NYC 501 Tech Club gathering on Multi-Channel Fundraising are available on SlideShare.  (Thanks Farra)

While I missed seeing other Convio users at the Summit, I was pleased to see Convio’s Nonprofit Live TV – an attempt to bring the event to me.  Congratulations to those nonprofits that were honored for innovation in in Online Marketing, Fundraising, Advocacy and Email Marketing.

Online tools make it easy for us to keep in touch with colleagues and friends, but it’s still nice to connect in person.  At the 501 Tech Club gathering, I met someone from Catholic Medical Mission Board, an organization I worked at while I was in college – long before I joined the nonprofit community full time.  Although many people I worked with have moved on, it was still nice to make a new connection.  Thanks to Nten and to organizers Charles Charles Lenchner and Thomas Negron for getting our group back in gear.

Addendum 11/24/09 – Here is Farra’s write-up of the 501 Tech Club event.

As we enter the most important part of the year for fundraising, Convio’s Blake Groves and Marc Cannon provided many useful pointers at this week’s NYC Convio User Group meeting, held at YAI in New York City.  Most of these ideas don’t require that you use Convio, nor do they need a large capital inflow.  But they do require a willingness to do things a bit differently than you may have in the past.  For example:

1. When you provide downloadable content on your web site, do you first ask for name and email address so you can build your list?
2. Have you explored ‘chaperoned’ email, where a partner organization provides your messaging to its own constituents?
3. Do you use petitions to ask constituents to take a stand on issues other than advocacy (also so you can build your list)?
4. Have you included surveys in enewsletters as a way of getting data to segment your audiences?
5. Do you plan a campaign approach / series of messages for year-end fundraising, filtering out those who have already donated?
6. Are you absolutely certain that you will have a final email appeal ready to be sent on December 31st, when many constituents are most likely to give?
7. Have you implemented a welcome series for new subscribers to your elist?
8. Do you encourage constituents to ask others to get involved with your organization (personal appeals are always more effective than when they come from the nonprofit)
9. Have you clearly identified who your audiences are – and developed separate ways to communicate with each?
10. Finally, have you tried A/B testing on your donation form, email messages, landing pages to determine what works best with your constituents?

Marc asked the group what mostly stops us from fully utilizing these approaches.  The responses (not surprising): limited resources, changing/competing priorities and lack of support from senior management.  Perhaps by using a prototype approach, how can you optimize fundraising and outreach efforts at your organization?

Nten offers two new articles covering online giving:  Steve MacLaughlin offers an optimistic overview, showing how online giving continues to increase despite difficult economic conditions and why an integrated (online + offline) approach is best;  Rebecca Higman and Katya Andresen discuss how nonprofits can continue to engage constituents after their initial online gift, promoting recurring gifts and by remembering to thank them for their support.

Two events coming up soon: nonprofit marketing guru Kivi Leroux Miller offers an online fundraising bootcamp on Nov. 4, focusing on optimizing your web site and online donation page, targeted email marketing and using social media;  her advice is always on target.  If you specifically need help with email, take a look at next week’s Boston Email Fundraising Bootcamp, featuring experts such as Idealware‘s Laura Quinn and Firefly Partners‘ Maureen Wallbeoff.  While social media is the hot topic of the moment, email will be with us for a long time and should be a centerpiece of your online strategy.

This week I had the pleasure of participating in Nten‘s first Online Nonprofit Technology Conference.  While on a much smaller scale than the annual spring event, the two days of online webinars featured some of our sector’s brightest stars and allowed an opportunity for much more interaction with the presenters than is normally possible at the live event.  Some highlights:

• Network for Good‘s Katya Andresen reminded us that raising awareness of our organizations isn’t enough, it’s to ‘get someone to take an action.’    She also recommended we let the constituent be the messenger for our cause (much more effective than if message comes directly from organization).   She implored us to focus on the donor when designing our web sites, not on the organization structure, mentioning Kiva and DonorsChoose as examples of how to do this right.
• ConmmonGood Career’s James Weinberg described how social networking sites are replacing online job boards.  As a way to encourage staff longevity, he suggested finding ways to change job responsibilities even if the position doesn’t change.   If nonprofits can’t create opportunities for staff to advance, it is their responsibility to help them move elsewhere (not sure how many nonprofits would agree)
• Idealware‘s Laura Quinn offered a sneak peak at her Field Guide to Software, to be released later this year.  She added that the choice of donor database is probably the most critical decision (and to make sure everyone in organization is comfortable using it)
• Beaconfire‘s Michael Cervino discussed using benchmarks from sites such as PewInternet and  e-Benchmarks-Study to measure how well our organizations are performing, also showing how Google Analytics funnels can be used effectively.  He also described how online surveys are best used frequently with few questions.  (I added this is a great way to add data to help segment your database)
• Philantech‘s Dahna Goldstein discussed how to help staff deal with change, e.g. making sure that staff are fully involved and kept informed
• Consultant John Kenyon and American Lung’s Rusty Burwell discussed online communications and the importance of inter-department collaboration.  See my previous post on this topic.  In response to my question, John stated emphatically that social media will never replace email as the main communications medium.

Thanks to Holly and the NTen staff for putting on another great program, and congrats also to Holly for being recognized by Nonprofit Times in the Top 50 Power and Influence!