Nonprofit Bridge

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.

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:

• M&R Strategic Services - Nonprofit Social Media Benchmarks Study
• Idealware – Using Social Media to Meet Nonprofit Goals
• Blackbaud / Charity Dynamics – Successful Event Fundraising with Social Media
• Website Magazine (not nonprofit specific) – Social Media Survey

This week’s meeting focused on reviewing nonprofit web sites which were recently redesigned.  Since many of us consult mostly with co-workers when developing a new site, I always find it very informative to hear from colleagues at other organizations .  (We also do a lot of this at the Not-For-Profit Webmaster Round Table, which will meet next on March 19.) Please visit sites which we reviewed (some still being redesigned) and give feedback to the organizations on what you like or don’t like:

• MS Foundation for Women
• New York Public Library
• Children’s Health Fund
• ACLU
• YAI

Other topics we discussed:

1. Should navigation links be removed from a donation form to not ‘distract’ the donor from completing the process?  Many attendees said yes.
2. Nonprofits that sent multiple appeals near year-end 2009 reported excellent results, demonstrating the benefit of taking advantage of the tax deduction by 12/31
3. Only a few are implementing Convio’s Common Ground, which provides an integrated donor database – may discuss further at a later meeting
4. Drupal is in use by more of us, but link with Convio is not yet available.  (open source CiviCRM does connect well with Drupal)
5. We agreed that implementing a welcome series for new supporters was worthwhile, but few are using yet – too much time to setup?
6. Video – YAI has done well with its YouTube channel;  TubeMogul was also mentioned as way to upload to multiple video sites.
7. Some reports of recent delays in sending emails through Facebook Causes, resulting in a holiday message that reached constituents late
8. Per ACLU, activists that have taken at least two actions are very likely to become donors (may incorporate into welcome series)
9. Some sites are moving away from Flash to Javascript for home page – better viewed on mobile phones
10. Challenges in working with Facebook, which ‘changes every day’

Thanks to the YAI Network for hosting meeting, YAI’s Dario Mallerman for moderating discussion and Convio’s Stephanie McKnight for coordinating.  More details are also in Convio’s Community site (login required).   Despite the beginning of a two day rain/snow storm in NYC, about 50 Convio users attended!

In addition to spending many hours online, I still do read books.  Recently I finished Wendy Smith’s Give a Little – How Small Donations Are Changing the World.  If you ever think that only large contributions make a difference, this book will change your mind, showing how small gifts make up the bulk of many nonprofits’ revenues.  In addition, I was introduced to many wonderful nonprofits that I wasn’t already familiar with – a complete list is available here.  My favorite quote – “giving changes you as well as the world.”

Your small gift can also help these very worthwhile causes:

• Idealist is asking for help so it can continue to be a resource for the nonprofit community
• Nten’s Holly Ross asks that you celebrate her upcoming birthday by helping a nonprofit colleague to attend the upcoming Nonprofit Technology Conference
• Support Idealware’s mission of providing objective software reviews for nonprofits by purchasing its new Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits

If you missed the recent PBS Frontline presentation of Digital Nation, you can watch it (and comment) online.   It is very thought provoking, and may provide a reminder that multitasking is not always the best way to get things done.  Also see this report from Pew Internet on Social Media and Young Adults.

Wondering about whether mobile fundraising will become a major fundraising channel as it has been for Haiti?  See MobileActive’s Definitive Guide to Mobile Fundraising as well as Beth Kanter’s summary of some recent viewpoints.

When you present, do you get frustrated with attendees who seem to be paying more attention to their phones / computers than to your presentation?  In her presentation this week on the Trainer’s Social Media Tool Box, Beth Kanter explained how to use social media to enhance your sessions by encouraging sharing of information.   A new book, the Back Channel, details this phenomenon in more detail.  (If you’re still waiting until the end of your talk to take questions, you definitely need to see Beth’s notes.)

Jeff Brooks also spoke on a Network for Good call on what not to do in online fundraising – slides are available here.  (Hint – if your figures are not growing, you’re missing something.)

Do you maintain a database for advocacy that’s separate from your main donor database?  Care2’s webinar on Connecting Advocacy to Fundraising showed how activists can also be top fundraisers, if you take the time to cultivate them.   Activists also consistently open emails more frequently than other supporters.

If you need help in selecting tools for your organization (who doesn’t?), take a look at Idealware’s just released Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits.  Laura Quinn’s organization has always provided great information through her web site, blog and enewsletter.  I helped with some edits for this book – it is definitely worth getting.

Now that there’s so many ways to communicate with constituents, are you taking the time to make sure your messaging is consistent and on brand across channels?  See notes from Kivi Leroux Miller’s talk this week on Integrating Your Website, Email Newsletter and Social Media Sites.  Also see Blackbaud’s tips on Multi-Channel Engagement.

Like most nonprofits, Idealist has having some challenging times and has asked for our help.  Ami Dar’s work has long benefited the nonprofit community.  Please help.

Finally, are you helping your constituents to run their own fundraising events, or do you only help with events run by your organization?  If so, you’re missing a huge opportunity. Read Independent Fundraising Events Bring Big Returns, which links to a recent white paper by Blackbaud and Event 360; you can also register for a webinar on Feb. 3 to learn more.

Depending on how you interpret the 2009 statistics, online giving is the greatest thing since sliced bread or is over-hyped and still represents a small piece of overall donations.  Today’s Agitator.net post challenges us to think beyond the numbers.  Some major points:

• Are new online donors simply moving over from other channels, or are they really ‘new’?
• What’s getting in the way of some nonprofits that are not seeing increases in online giving?
• If your organization has experienced a jump in online donations, do you understand why?
• Are you taking advantage of integrated strategies to coordinate your online and offline appeals?
• Can new online donors be ultimately upgraded to higher levels of engagement – as you would normally want for offline supporters?
• If some donors are contributing because their friends or family asked, can you expect them to have a relationship with your nonprofit directly to encourage future support?
• Are you doing enough testing of online messaging, as carefully as you would do for offline?

Online fundraising isn’t a magic bullet, as those who simply add a donation button to their web site without any further effort soon learn.  Similarly, if you send out regular email marketing messages but don’t analyze who’s opening and actually reading them (and who unsubscribe), you’re missing the boat.  Regardless of your 2009 online numbers, you can probably do better in 2010 by taking the time to answer some of these questions.

For more online fundraising tips, download this new Online Fundraiser’s Checklist, review 25 Tips for Better Fundraising Copy and note the recent boom in mobile fundraising (hint – this channel won’t only be effective after earthquakes).  More people are online, but fewer are using the traditional desktop of laptop computer.  Apple’s new tablet is coming soon to add yet another option.

This week’s disaster in Haiti has again highlighted online fundraising, as well as an expanded role for text messaging to raise money.  Apparently giving through your mobile phone is now a viable option and doesn’t always involve large fees to carriers – see post from Tech Soup, interview with Katya Andresen and CARE2’s advice that it’s Time to Get Mobile.  How sad it is that logistics have made it difficult to get the help to those in need quickly (hopefully this will change shortly).   Whatever channel you prefer, please give to the charity of your choice.

Hopefully, it won’t only be disasters that sends donors online.  Network for Good offers 5 Trends That Will Affect Online Fundraising in 2010.

But please don’t throw out the old tools when implementing the new.  Direct mail still has its place but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try some new approaches.  As Steve MacLaughlin writes, Direct Mail is Not Dead, but single channel communication is.

Thanks to Katya and Jocelyn Harmon for this week’s session on how to thank donors.   It’s amazing to me that some nonprofits still don’t always acknowledge gifts, other than a generic auto reply (and sometimes not even that).   And don’t only communicate with your constituents when you’re asking for money – this is a year-round dialogue.

Care2’s Frogloop surveyed some of our brightest stars to summarize the Best Nonprofit Strategies for 2010.   Network for Good’s  Katya Andresen and Blackbaud’s Steve MacLaughlin provide some early statistics on 2009 online giving.   Convio, which offers a a 2010 Resolutions Guide to help plan online initiatives, recently asked nonprofits what they most want to focus on in the New Year:

1. Reconnect with donors by giving new options of engagement
2. Increase fundraising for participant-led events
3. Use social media to reach the next generation of supporters
4. Improve multichannel engagement/integration
5. Evaluate website’s effectiveness

Some of my thoughts:

1. Despite the recession, online giving continued to be a strong fundraising source.  If you already accept online donations and regularly communicate with your constituents, congratulations.  But if you haven’t worked to optimize your forms and don’t analyze how well your email marketing is working, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
2. Don’t obsess about the ‘best’ tools to use for online fundraising.  It’s more important that you select a vendor / product that will likely be around for awhile (ask colleagues at other nonprofits for recommendations) and that you consider how it will connect to your other systems.
3. Social networking is not a fad.  Yes, it’s still better to make sure your web site, database and email marketing strategies are in place first, but don’t overlook tools such as Facebook and Twitter.  Remember that conversations about your cause and organization are going on all the time;  make sure you’re a part of them.
4. Fundraising is everyone’s responsibility, not just the development department.  Ideally, marketing/communication and fundraising/development strategies should be planned together since one supports the other.
5. Still think that your constituents won’t respond to online fundraising initiatives?  Think again;  use all available channels and let your supporter decide which to use – direct mail recipients often choose to respond online.

Just getting started online?  Here’s a helpful online fundraising primer.

2010 will begin the fourth year for Nonprofit Bridge.  Whether you have recently discovered our blog or have followed us since the beginning, I’d like to offer any small nonprofit organization a complimentary phone consultation to discuss how you can effectively implement online strategies.  Some questions I often receive:

• With a small budget, how can I effectively do online fundraising?
• How can I develop an email marketing campaign?
• How much should we use tools such as Facebook or Twitter to communicate with our constituents?
• What is the best way to update our web content?
• We’re considering a new donor database or content management system – where do we start?
• Should I put my events online, even if they have no charge to attend?
• Which department / staff member should take the lead in online / Internet strategy?

Please contact us to take advantage of this offer.

With year-end approaching soon, don’t forget to send out a last minute appeal to your constituents (and thank them for their past support).

Wishing you a healthy and peaceful holiday season and new year.

These are some organizations I support either financially, as a volunteer, or both:

G-ds Love We Deliver provides food deliveries to anyone suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, or other serious illnesses, as well as nutrition education and counseling.  I’ve helped in the kitchen to prepare food, and also to help deliver meals as a van assistant.  Mazon fights hunger as does City Harvest which salvages leftovers from food businesses in NYC.

The Wartburg is an adult care community in Mount Vernon, NY.  Many types of living arrangements are provided, from assisted living to 24 hour care.  Just spending a little time with a resident can make a huge difference.  Dorot also does great work with seniors, including programs which bring together the young and the old.

Southern Poverty Law Center helps fight intolerance through a variety of programs, such as the educational program Teaching Tolerance.  The Museum of Tolerance, affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is based in Los Angeles but also has a wonderful exhibit in midtown Manhattan.

The Save Darfur Coalition and Charity: Water have used a variety of online fundraising / outreach tools to promote their causes, both which are well worth supporting.

Despite the tragic loss of its founders, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation continues to seek a cure for spinal cord injury and support those who are afflicted by paralysis.  YAI recently won an award as the best nonprofit to work for in NYC.  So not only do they do great work to support the disabled, but they provide a nice work environment.

And of course don’t forget those organizations which serve the nonprofit community, Idealware and Nten.

While it’s nice to get a tax deduction, it’s especially rewarding to help a nonprofit that helps others year-round, whether financially or by the gift of your time.

What are your favorite causes to support?