Tag Archives: Chronicle of Philanthropy

Are Nonprofits Effectively Using New Social Media Tools?

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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.

New Ways to Approach Online Fundraising in Tough Times

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According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, online giving continued to increase in 2008, but at a slower percentage than in 2007.   M&R Strategic Services reports that while the average online gift has decreased, the number of online donors has gone up, more than making up the difference for most organizations.  And while online donations are still a small piece of total giving for most nonprofits, some such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society have raising a significant portion over the Internet.  Some techniques that are most effective:

  • Including deadlines in e-mail appeals
  • Seeking small sums
  • Combining text messages and e-mail appeals
  • Asking corporate sponsors or like-minded charities to send ‘chaperoned’ e-mail messages on an organization’s behalf
  • Using multiple channels, e.g. social networks, video, e-mail, and text messages

Many nonprofits (including mine) raise significant revenues through athletic events, such as walks and endurance type events.  But the Chronicle reports this too is also getting harder, encouraging us to provide lower-cost ways to participate, adding new types of events, encouraging more constituents to actively fundraise, and aggressively seeking more participants.  This article encourages us to stay positive and seek creative approaches to stay afloat.  Helping supporters to raise funds through third party events is sometimes overlooked as a further stimulus to overall fundraising.

More online fundraising tips are available from Alica McKee of Sea Change Strategies at Nonprofit Marketing Guide and the Nonprofit Blog Carnival.

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.