What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Norman Reiss

If you’re convinced that integrated fundraising / marketing would help your organization but are finding it a challenge to implement, read these tips from Convio on how to break down your silos. Also listen to this week’s free webinar from Fundraising Success on Strategies for Seamless Integration Across Fundraising Channels. If multiple departments maintain their own calendars of constituent outreach activities, this is a good place to start by using an integrated calendar (and keeping it current).

Email isn’t dead yet, and many of us are still asking questions about what’s too much and how can we increase open / action rates. For help, see 14 tips for making your nonprofit email more effective, Make sure you think carefully about the subject line (which will affect whether or not readers decide to open your message) and test for stronger email performance. Here’s more ideas on how much communication is too much. Struggling with content ideas for your next enewsletter or direct mail piece? Try these three stories every nonprofit should know how to write.

After this week’s announcement of the upgraded iPad, is it time to retire the PC in favor of laptops and tablets? Seems to me that having a real keyboard is still helpful, especially on mobile phones which continue to boom.

If you’re planning to re-do your website, consider first what platform will serve you best, such as WordPress or Drupal. The newly updated Idealware Field Guide to Software for Nonprofits is also a great reference.

Coming next week – a preview of Nten‘s Nonprofit Technology Conference, which I’ll be attending later this month.

Why Technology is Core to Your Mission

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Norman Reiss

Back when I was focused mostly on technology, my role was often viewed as a back end function, not really part of the core mission of the organization I worked for. Currently, technology is no longer a niche specialty, but something that everyone is involved in through the huge influence of cell phones and portable computers. And while I still help nonprofits to make the best use of technology, my role has expanded to include communications, marketing and fundraising.

Blackbaud’s new report, Top Trends in Technology offers a great overview of how technology now influences an organization far beyond the original emphasis of desktop and network computing. Definitely worth reviewing in detail; some of my takeaways are:

Continually evaluate how well your website is serving your constituents. Many nonprofits still only focus on the website while it’s being redesigned, then allow it to stay dormant until the next makeover. Remember that your web presence serves many audiences, those who already support your cause and others who are new to your organization and are seeking an overview of your services. Give your website a health check.
Know who your strongest supporters are and help them to spread the word about your organization. Most nonprofits already focus on those who have given major gifts or who are strong candidates to do so. But many other constituents want to help you to engage others in your mission, not only by making donations. Find out how to help with fundraising without asking for money.
The idea of a single supporter database is difficult to implement, but do your best to reduce islands of data that may develop when staff aren’t adequately trained to keep their data in a central, sharable location
Establish a culture where technology is implemented to achieve specific organization goals, not because a vendor or consultant tells you that it is a good strategy.

Fortunately, technology is no longer a back end service, but affects the overall success of how well your nonprofit achieves its mission. Establish a partnership between IT and other departments, as suggested by how fundraisers can manage and work with IT departments.

P.S. Hope you’ll join me at Nten‘s Nonprofit Technology Conference, coming up in March in Washington DC. It’s always a great event, and we talk a lot about these topics.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Norman Reiss

Attended an interesting session on email marketing and social media at the All About Email Virtual Conference and Expo yesterday, reviewing how these channels can be used to complement each other. An important point – since you don’t ‘own’ information on Facebook and Twitter, it’s still important to build your own email list. (Sessions were recorded and will be available for listening starting Mon, Nov. 15.)

While we’ve seen reports on social media and email marketing, there’s been little to guide nonprofits on website statistics until the new 2010 Website Benchmarks Report available from Groundwire. Although the report focuses on small environmental organizations, its findings are useful for all nonprofits.

When deciding how to do fundraising, do you rely on data or on your own instinct. Jeff Brooks in Future Fundraising Now suggests that you use facts and past experience as your guide. And if you think that a multichannel approach to fundraising / marketing is something new, take a look at Hank Rosso’s classic Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, last revised in 2003 (see chapter on using the Internet as a fundraising vehicle).

If you still need help with your year end fundraising drive yet, get some help from Network from Good’s upcoming webinar as well as this tool from Blue State Digital which analyzes your Google Analytics data. (Tip – don’t wait until the last week of 2010 to frantically prepare an appeal.)

Like to be on the cutting edge? Try RockMelt, a soon to be released browser which integrates social media.

If you’re in NYC next week, attend the Foundation Center’s Open House on Tue, Nov. 16 and Nten‘s 501 Tech NYC meeting Wed evening, Nov. 17, which will feature Allyson Kapin, from Rad Campaign, Women Who Tech and lead blogger at Frogloop offering tips on nonprofit technology and social media.

Enabling Donors to Choose How Money Is Used

Posted on November 6, 2010 by Norman Reiss

This week I was invited to take a look at GiveLoop, a new software platform for processing online donations. Inspired by sites such as Kiva and DonorsChoose, GiveLoop allows nonprofits to empower constituents to decide exactly how their donations will be used by ‘voting with their money.’ Benefits for the nonprofit are to increase donation size, increase donor loyalty and increase donor volume, as well as providing more transparency. If you’ve looked at direct mail appeals you’ve received lately, you will probably notice how donation levels are often associated with what each amount will allow the nonprofit to do, but doesn’t obligate the organization to use the funds for that purpose.

While GiveLoop offers an interesting new way to do online fundraising, most organizations I’ve worked with have been wary of collecting restricted funds, partially due to the accounting requirements and partially because they really don’t want to give constituents this level of control. But this reminds me of the difficulty some nonprofits have had in embracing social media because they want to control the messaging. But as Clay Shirky pointed out at last year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference, ‘you’ve already lost control.’

However, I like the idea of GiveLoop as continuing the recent trend of giving donors more information about what their money will be used for, and then reporting back on how the donations were actually used. GiveLoop also tries into social networking, although co-founder Todd Spitz told me that it was too early to tell whether constituents who have given through GiveLoop have been successful in becoming fundraisers for the causes they support.

For a nonprofit that is considering using a product like GiveLoop, a question to ask is whether the organization is really interested in listening to their supporters, or if they are doing it simply to raise more money. If it’s the latter, then the effort is less likely to be successful as constituents will eventually realize that their input is not welcome. There also needs to be full transparency about what will happen if the requested funds for a specific project are not raised; will the balance be made up by another donation source or will the donor be asked to consider supporting another initiative?

Interestingly, GiveLoop’s FAQ clearly states that the nonprofit is not obligated to use the money in the way donors select. But to make the most of this type of program, an organization clearly has to be willing to give constituents a much greater role in how funds are spent, similar to why it’s so important to listen first in social media and not simply treat it as another way to send out nonprofit updates.

Why Small Donations Matter

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Norman Reiss

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.

Analyzing Your Online Giving Campaign

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Norman Reiss

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.

Report from Online Nonprofit Technology Conference

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Norman Reiss

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!

Are Nonprofits Effectively Using New Social Media Tools?

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Norman Reiss

This week has featured a flurry of comments about whether nonprofits are taking advantage of new social media tools such as Twitter. Seth Godin says no but the Chronicle of Philanthropy gives several examples to show how some nonprofits are doing things right. See also social media guru Beth Kanter’s attempt to reconcile the two sides.

My take: smaller organizations such as Charity:Water will continue to take the lead on showing larger nonprofits how to raise funds and engage constituents in a variety of new ways. Larger organizations are still trying to deal with what Clay Shirky‘s observation during his year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference: nonprofits have already lost control of their branding and messaging .

Here’s a newly released report on How Nonprofits are Using Web-based Technologies to Reach Their Goals. Not surprisingly, many organizations are still experimenting to discover what works. On the for profit side, some companies are using outside firms to manage their Twitter and Facebook presence; my take – social media works best if it’s coming directly from organization staff.

Tips from an ePhilanthropy Pioneer

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Norman Reiss

eTapestry introduced their ‘software as a service’ product in 1999, long before many others realized the benefits of a web based interface. (eTapestry was acquired by Blackbaud in August 2007.) This week I had the opportunity to attend a session given by CEO Jay Love who offered some interesting insights.

Social media is on everyone’s radar lately; Jay described the value of monitoring comments about your company / brand and described a recent experience where eTapestry was able to respond quickly to a negative tweet by a customer. Read about the happy ending.

It’s often frustrating when our donors stop giving, but sometimes the problem is hidden when the number of new donors more than make up the difference. If we can find ways to re-engage lapsed donors, what a difference this can make in our list growth! Here’s some recent Guidestar tips on how to reduce donor attrition rates.

Two important questions to ask:

How do you welcome new subscribers? (Common Knowledge has also done considerable work on developing a welcome series of communications.)
How do you manage relationship after opt-in?

Jay described the importance of having a donor database what everyone uses to document constituent interactions, also detailing a personal experience where he is considering discontinuing support for a charity which ‘asked the same questions’ that he had already answered in a past meeting. In my experience, organizations that have a fully functional CRM often have difficulty getting staff to use it. In response to my question, Jay recommended that nonprofits demonstrate that those who are the biggest ‘note takers’ are the most successful in fundraising – and publicize this information to all staff.

Another point which may seem obvious but isn’t always applied – make sure you direct constituents to specific landing pages so you can track where they came from, not to your general home page.

For more ideas, visit Jay’s blog as well as Blackbaud’s NetWits ThinkTank blog. To learn more about social media, visit the Gear Up for Giving training offered by the Case Foundation.

Nonprofit Bridge

Bridging Technology, Communications & Development to Implement ePhilanthropy for Nonprofit Organizations

Category Archives: technology

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Why Technology is Core to Your Mission

Analyzing Your Online Giving Campaign

Report from Online Nonprofit Technology Conference