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.

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.

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!

With the emergence of social media options such as Twitter, Facebook, and now Google Buzz to join the web site and email marketing, nonprofit organizations now have a cornucopia of communications options to stay in touch with constituents.  But which channels are best to use, and what messaging should go in each?   To address this dilemma, Tech Soup recently featured Aspiration’s Allen Gunn in Integrating Social Media Into Your Website.   A few highlights:

• Consider where your constituents are most likely to be, and start publishing on those channels first
• Even if you’re not ready to use them, set up accounts with consistent names on multiple social media sites – don’t forget about media sharing portals YouTube and Flickr
• Provide information about other channels on email newsletters, blog posts etc.
• Add channel links to organization email signatures
• When deciding which channel(s) to use, consider whether you’ll be primarily sending, e.g.event announcements,late-breaking news or alerts, donation asks, scheduled communications or infrequent updates

To help prepare an overall communications plan, Aspiration provides a useful publishing matrix.  Gunner also recommended utilizing a social media dashboard using tools such as iGoogle and NetVibes (see Aspiration’s public dashboard) so you can keep track of how others are talking about your organization online.

So what content to use for what service?  We’re still learning, but my recommendations are:

1. Web content and email marketing still come first.  If using other channels, make sure the messaging and images are consistent.
2. Update blog content at least weekly;  include links to information you’ve already published on Twitter or Facebook
3. Post in Twitter or Facebook several times daily, including retweets of others’ posts that will be of value to your followers.  Facebook generally has a more ‘personal’ touch, but always remember to stay focused on your organization / brand.
4. Google Buzz? Too early to tell.  This seems like more of an effort to keep users in Gmail and as a response to other services than as a new value added product.
5. Make it easy for constituents to find your other channels by referencing them on your web site.  For example, see the ‘Connect / Join / Follow Us’  links at Environmental Defense Fund , Witness, and Aspiration.
6. Listen before you speak. You may have heard this advice when speaking with colleagues or with your spouse;  the same applies online
7. Make sure you have something of value to say. If you’ve followed #6 by reviewing colleagues’ blogs / public content, you’ll have plenty of ideas to choose from.  But don’t just repeat – add your own spin.

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.

As we prepare to enter a new decade, consider these suggestions from Pamela Slim’s book Escape From Cubicle Nation, based on Martha Beck’s principles of being “transparent, authentic and open.”  These ideas are helpful not only for us as individuals but also for nonprofits in how to communicate with constituents:

1. Admit what you don’t know.
2. Ask for help.
3. If you can’t help someone, find a good person who can.
4. Don’t be afraid to laugh.
5. Mean what you say and say what you mean.
6. Don’t worry about being perfect.  Admitting flaws, fears and mistakes makes you human and likeable.
7. Apologize right away if you screw up.
8. Take responsibility for your business.  If someone is unhappy or unsatisfied, don’t be afraid to ask why (and try to make things right).

Have a safe, happy New Years’ and a healthy, joyous 2010.

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.

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?

America’s Giving Challenge has kicked off – raise funds for your favorite nonprofit(s) and compete for award monies for top fundraisers.

The Agitator analyzes online strategies for Charity:Water, a ‘model’ for new nonprofits and a more established organization, Habitat for Humanity

Just getting started with raising money online?  The Backyard Philanthropist offers an online fundraising bootcamp.

Need a ‘best practices’ example for how to build an email list?  I recently signed up to receive online communications from YAI, and they use a few good techniques:

• sign up form requires only first name, last name, email address and how subscriber is related to mission of organization (e.g. have disability, have family member with disability, work in field, staff member etc.)
• asking for specific areas of  interests – and explaining why they are asking for this information, providing a way for YAI to use segmentation in choosing who will get each mailing
• sign-up box tells constituents exactly what they will be receiving if they subscribe – YAI news, events and program openings.

(Although I recently received my first YAI enewsletter, I haven’t seen any type of ‘welcome series’ messages as many nonprofits are now starting to utilize – see my post about online giving earlier this year. )

Finally, I attended a few events last week on nonprofit web sites by Charity Dynamics and Empax.   Some takeaways:

• organize site for visitors, not by the organization chart (may seem obvious, but many nonprofits still fall short here)
• include clear calls to action
• provide a variety of ways for visitors to support the organization (but make sure donation button is easily findable)
• redesign or refresh?  Not always an easy choice, but evaluate site every 18-24 months to determine if it’s meeting needs of visitors – do usability testing.

Managing an organization’s web presence no longer focuses only on the main web site, which many constituents may never visit.  An online presence consists of:

• main web site
• organizational blogs
• Facebook cause / page
• twitter posts
• email marketing messages
• AND what constituents are saying about organization in their own blogs, Facebook pages, twitter posts etc.

When I seek to learn more about a nonprofit that I’m not already familiar with, I use the main web site only as a starting point.  It’s usually much easier to get a feel for a nonprofit’s culture and philosophies by reading its blogs (if it has them!) and social networking sites.

But as many of my colleagues have noted, it’s vitally important to listen to what others are saying about your organization.  This will tell you much more than if you only rely on your web analytics to learn which pages on your web site are attracting the most traffic.  Even if you aren’t able to generate regular content on Facebook, Twitter etc., participating in conversations will show you how effective your outreach is and whether you need to tweak your marketing efforts.

Social networking may not be for everyone (yet), but keeping abreast of what others are saying should be part of every nonprofit’s strategy.  If you are able to maintain a presence on Facebook and Twitter, make sure the messaging is appropriate for each forum.  Simply replicating the same content everywhere isn’t the right approach.

Addendum 10/12/09 on the growing importance of social networking  – Why email no longer rules in online communications.   Blue State Digital disagrees.  I concur – it’s always best to use a combination of approaches and email clearly still deserves a prominent place at the table.

Addendum 10/29/09 – Many new thoughts on while email may be changing, email is not dead