Tag Archives: Care2

Thoughts on Managing an Online Strategy

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I’ve always felt that many nonprofits’ tendency to work in silos gets in the way of having an effective online strategy, and interestingly this was the first item mentioned in Five Dysfunctions of a Digital Team, blogged recently by the Stanford Social Innovation Review.  In this follow up post Four Models for Managing Digital at Your Organization, a hybrid structure was recommended as combining the benefits of a centralized group with decentralized digital gurus throughout the organization, but with reminder that this is very challenging to implement.

I blogged about this issue a few years ago, commenting on a Convio report on Why Organization Structure Matters.  Now almost all nonprofits are online (especially with the continued buzz about social media), but few seem to have figured out the best formula for success.

My take – there is no magic solution.  What works in one organization may fail miserably in others.  Perhaps the best advice I can offer is to be clear about what you want to achieve online, and then encourage departments to work together to develop an integrated approach for online communications, marketing and fundraising.  A dedicated digital group can’t succeed if it operates in a silo.

Updated 10-27-11
The final installment of the Stanford Social Innovation Review series on digital strategy, 7 Patterns of Nonprofit Digital Teams is now available.  Also, the Nonprofit Benchmark Digital Teams Report can be downloaded free from Communicopia.

Thoughts After a Hurricane

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It’s been an eventful week in New York.  First, we were shaken by a rare East Coast earthquake.  Then, we were faced with a Hurricane Irene which forced many of us to relocate to higher ground.  While not as severe as anticipated, this weekend’s storm has caused massive damage and electrical outages for many.  I was extremely lucky;  my thoughts are with those who are facing major clean-up efforts.

Is your nonprofit prepared for a disaster?  Care2 offers a webinar this week on Surviving and Thriving When a Crisis Hits.    And while this week’s events were a major inconvenience, find a way to Put Your Cause in the Eye of the Storm to tell stories about how your organization helps its target audience.  Here are some Tools to Help Any Nonprofit Tell Stories Online from Amy Sample Ward.

For yet another reason to use social media, read why Nonprofits Are Expected to Use Social Media During Disasters.  For many great ideas on how to implement a social media strategy at your organization, learn from Jereme Bivins in his Social Media Case Study on how the Foundation Center uses Thrive and other tools.  Per Pew Internet, 65% of Online Adults Now Use Social Networking Sites.

Most of us make presentations, but it’s always challenging to keep listeners engaged, especially when you’re on a webinar.  I participated in last week’s Nonprofits Live: Great Presentations, offered by Tech Soup.  You can watch and listen to the event here or search the #nplive hashtag on Twitter  which include many of my comments.

Help Nten to make next spring’s Nonprofit Technology Conference the best yet by tweeting your ideas to #12NTC.  Work for a really great organization?  Nominate your organization as one of the 50 Best Nonprofits to Work For In 2012.

Why You Need to Connect Advocacy with Fundraising

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When planning your integrated communications / fundraising calendar, you may offer several opportunities for your constituents to take action on issues your organization is supporting, as well as scheduling fundraising appeals throughout the year.  You probably have a department that focuses heavily on advocacy, while another group is involved primarily in development.  But as will be clearly demonstrated during the upcoming Advocacy Live virtual event, you will get the best results if you connect online advocacy and fundraising, also detailed in this white paper available from Amnesty International, Blackbaud and M&R Strategic Services.

If you examine open rates and click-thru statistics from your email marketing (you are regularly looking at these, right?), you will find that advocacy focused communications consistently outperform other types of emails such as enewsletters and financial appeals.  Advocates for your causes often feel strongly about showing their support, and may often respond favorably to a fundraising ask at the same time that they are taking action to sign an online petition.

Per the white paper, these are your strongest targets for fundraising appeals:

  1. repeat activist who took action in the last 24 hours
  2. current donor who took action in the last month
  3. “super activitist” (took 6 or more actions in last year)

As I’ve discussed here, your constituents view you as one organization, not as multiple departments with differing goals.  If you’re still operating in silos (see Beth Kanter‘s inspiring book, The Networked Nonprofit), you’re missing an opportunity to allow your strongest supporters to help you in more than one way.  Online strategy works best when its a joint effort from many parts of your nonprofit.

Thoughts for a New Year

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If there’s ever a good time to get a major snowstorm, it’s probably the week between Christmas and New Years, when many of us are either off from work or working a lighter schedule than usual.  Fortunately, the temperatures in NY have been rising in the past few days, so maybe I’ll be able to move my car soon from where it’s been parked since last Sunday :>).  (Even if I could get it out, where would I park it when I return?  These are times to be grateful if you have a garage or driveway.)

For those of us in nonprofit, late December is prime fundraising season;  I hope you’ve been successful with your year-end appeals.  But it’s also a time to take stock on what your organization has achieved in the past 12 months, and what you have planned for 2011.  Make sure to tell your constituents what their support has allowed you to accomplish, and thank them for their help.

In the past few years, I’ve worked for a large nonprofit, as a consultant to smaller organizations, and as a staff member of a consulting firm that services nonprofits. Recently, I’ve also helped a startup foundation to create the essential building blocks: donor database, email marketing outreach, website.  Immediately after the holidays, I will begin a new full time position with Jewish Funds for Justice.  So how can you help your nonprofit to succeed in 2011?

  1. Take the time to develop a compelling case for giving.  Just because your organization does great work doesn’t necessarily mean that others will want to donate.  Hank Rosso’s Achieving Excellence in Fundraising is a great resource if you need help.
  2. Online products are great, but you won’t get the full benefit if you don’t involve your staff in selecting and implementing new tools.  Make sure you’ve planned to provide the training and ongoing support to help your employees to get the most from new software.
  3. If your organization uses consultants, make sure they take the time to understand your needs before recommending any solutions.  But it’s also your responsibility to clearly define your requirements so the consultant can best address them.
  4. Develop a content strategy for what online platforms you will be on, and how frequently / what type of information will be placed on each (and who will create it).  Social media is very popular now, but your nonprofit still needs to have a website that fully explains its mission and how you’re serving your target audience.
  5. Get to know your supporters.  Trying to build a list quickly without segmenting on interests will make it difficult to prepare targeted communications.  Organizations like Care2 and Change.org can help you reach constituents who are most likely to be interested in your cause.

Finally, make the best of whatever curves come your way.  While this week’s snow was an inconvenience for many, I saw some people enjoying skiing on the beach in Coney Island and others taking advantage of the opportunity to slow down for a few days.

Have a healthy, peaceful and joyous 2011.

Learn to Be a Networked Nonprofit

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Beth Kanter, CEO of Zoetica, who has shared her expertise for years on Beth’s Blog an at various nonprofit events, will host a virtual launch party Mon, Jun. 21 for her new book The Networked Nonprofit with co-author Allison Fine.  Beth has long been a proponent for social media, but that’s not all that this book is about.  It’s also about changing the culture of your organization to operate in a network, much as individuals have recently learned the importance of networking from experts like author Keith Ferrazzi in Never Eat Alone and Jason Alba in his JibberJobber career management site and his other resources such as LinkedIn for Job Seekers.

Care2 hosted a webinar this week featuring the authors, National Wildlife Federation‘s Danielle Brigada and Autism Speaks‘ Marc Sirkin, moderated by Care2‘s Jocelyn Harmon who writes Marketing for Nonprofits.  Whether you read the book, attend the virtual launch or hear Beth and Allison’s ideas on the web or at an event , don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to transform your organization to “play well with others.”

Kudos to Danielle, who admitted during this week’s webinar how challenging it can be to change a large nonprofit that often moves slowly.  (My experience has been the same.)   But whatever size organization you work for, becoming more “networked” will better enable you to serve your constituents.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

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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.

Thoughts on Fundraising – Online, Mobile, Direct Mail

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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.

More Ideas on Fundraising During a Recession

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The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently offered these 10 tips:

  1. Don’t treat giving as a financial transaction – instead, treat donors as you would friends or family that are going through hard times.  Give them a way to stay involved, even if they are unable to make the level of donation they have in the past.
  2. Keep close ties to donors – remember to thank donors frequently and don’t treat every contact as a solicitation.  Don’t just send an autoreply – make it personal!
  3. Offer matching grants – to give donors a way to make even a smaller than normal contribution more meaningful
  4. Ask donors to give monthly – include as an option on all of your fundraising campaigns
  5. Look for ways to save money on fund raising – this is the ideal time to accelerate the move from direct mail to online to reduce costs.  Also use web conferencing to reduce staff travel.  Focus on special events that produce the most revenue.
  6. Seek alternatives to soliciting private donations – for example, can you rent part of your space for outside meetings or offer mission-related products?
  7. Collaborate to raise money – try joint initiatives with other organizations with compatible missions
  8. Scale back ambitious campaigns, but don’t give up on them – change the goal or lengthen the timeframe
  9. Avoid emergency solicitations – don’t let it get to this point – donors won’t want to recommit if your organization seems in danger of failing
  10. Shore up relations with grant makers – foundations and government agencies may still be able to help in 2009.

The Chronicle also reports that some nonprofits are reporting that more people are giving, even if the average gift is less.  This has been confirmed in many recent studies referenced in this Care2 post about the prospects for online fundraising.   Even in hard times, donors will still give.  Stay as positive as you can when planning your fundraising campaigns this year.

More ePhilanthropy Ideas from Around the Web

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Guidestar summarizes recent Giving USA online fundraising survey:

  • while Internet giving is widely used, it still represents a small portion (under 5%) of overall fundraising
  • most common way organizations raise money over the web is through an online donation page
  • best results come from organizations that combine an online donation page with email appeals

Overall, social networking tools aren’t contributing much – yet, but an organization that utilizes online ‘communities’ is likely to improve results.

Care2′s FrogLoop blog interviews Phillip Artez, President of Artez on how to choose an eCRM.  Phillip says that successful nonprofit fundraisers “aren’t afraid to share brand, content and promotion with their supporters” and reminds us that a large portion of funds will come from a small group of fundraisers so we should “treat them differently.”  He mentions three areas where nonprofits should especially pay attention to: potential of social networking sites such as Facebook, donations originating from mobile devices and more organizations utilizing SalesForce (which has excellent connectivity to other systems and provides up to 10 free licenses to nonprofits).

Finally, the Nonprofit Times explains the importance of using multiple channels since many donors will visit the web before making a donation - even if it’s offline and, surprisingly, even more so for constituents 65 and older.  PerDonordigital‘s Nick Allen, “more people are online, more people are doing research online, checking out charities they support or are thinking about supporting.” But NPAdvisor‘s expert Rick Christ warns that “nonprofit’s Web site should try to support direct mail, but not replace it.” and that direct mail is still how many first hear about a nonprofit. Convio‘s Vinay Bhagat adds that while blogs and social networking are getting more attention, the core web site is still the main way constituents will evaluate a nonprofit.

Many contributors to the Nonprofit Times article, including Nten‘s Holly Ross stressed the importance of integrating the web site with email appeals.


Direct Mail or Online Acquisition

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In a recent article in Fundraising Success, Karen Taggart of Care2 explores offline vs. online fundraising. Many points seem to point to the benefits of online initiatives:

  • Online campaigns result in higher average gifts
  • Online approaches are particularly effective for emergency / current events related campaigns
  • Online giving is expected to continue to rise
  • Online fundraising is considerably less expensive than offline efforts

But another article by Abny Santicola points out that the most effective strategy is a multi-channel approach, not using just one or the other: “Numerous studies have found donors contacted via multiple channels are more valuable and give larger gifts than single-channel donors do. But analytics and match-back for integrated campaigns can be tricky because it can be hard to demonstrate how communication through one channel affected response via another.”

As I’ve posted previously, I definitely agree that using both channels together is definitely the best solution.  The challenge, however, is to get different parts of an organization working together that are accustomed to working separately.  This will only happen if those who are responsible for online strategies also recognize the benefits of integrating offline campaigns which clearly still have much to offer in raising funds and engaging constituents.