Blackbaud Will Buy Convio – My Thoughts

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Norman Reiss

Having watched many nonprofit vendors combine over the years, I probably shouldn’t be surprised by this week’s news that Blackbaud intends to acquire Convio. But since the companies have taken such different paths with contrasting cultures, it’s hard to imagine that a merger will go smoothly and provide significant benefits to nonprofit customers.

Blackbaud’s most popular product has long been Raiser’s Edge, which provides unmatched functionality but is also beyond the financial reach of many small to medium nonprofits. Despite efforts recently to make it more web based, RE is still primarily locally installed. Of course Blackbaud has bought many other companies over the years which provide web options, such as eTapestry, Kintera, and PIDI, so many that it’s often hard to know how the multiple products all fit together.

In addition to its foundation online marketing platform (now Luminate), Convio took a significant risk by developing Common Ground, a web application built on Salesforce. While Common Ground offers much less functionality than software like Raiser’s Edge, it offers the strong advantage of being able to connect well with other products due to its Salesforce infrastructure. (Integration between platforms has been a major issue at every nonprofit I’ve worked for.)

While Blackbaud has been most active in acquisitions, let’s not forget that Convio also bought GetActive – and the transition of GetActive customers to the Convio platform was long and painful.

As many of my colleagues have said this week, it’s hard to know how this acquisition will pan out, and which products will continue to be maintained. I have friends at both Blackbaud and Convio, and I can only hope that the inevitable personnel shakeup will be handled respectfully.

In my view, this merger may have the effect of reducing competition and innovation, which is always a bad thing. However, this may also be a wake up call for those organizations who have not discovered the benefits of using open source solutions which are not tied to the fate of a particular vendor.

If you’re on the Progressive Exchange and Nten email lists, I encourage you to read the comments of my colleagues Peter Campbell, Michelle Murrain, Robert Weiner , Allen Gunn on Aspiration Tech and Alyson Kapin’s on Frogloop. Also see Nten’s take and then join the free Nten conference call this Wednesday to further sort out what is likely to come next.

Have You Seen These Recent ‘Top 10′ Lists for Nonprofits?

Posted on January 14, 2012 by nhr2000

Apparently, like many of us start off a new year by making resolutions, so should nonprofits. Recently I’ve noticed many top ten lists, focusing on online fundraising, communications and technology. Kivi Leroux Miller’s offered 10 Changes to Make in 2012, Network for Good published 10 Resolutions to Make (and Keep) for Online Fundraising and Marketing Success in 2012, and Convio provided 10 Ways to Kick Start 2012 Fundraising.

My favorite takeaways (mentioned in many of these lists):

Examine how your website and email communications read on mobile phones and tablets. This is how more of your constituents are accessing your content now
You don’t have to recreate the wheel. Our nonprofit colleagues are incredibly generous with their knowledge. Learn from other people (like Beth Kanter or Nancy Schwartz) and organizations (like Nten and Idealware) that offer multiple resources to help your nonprofit succeed online (and off)
Learn more about your supporters by analyzing information you probably already have: website statistics, email analytics, registration forms, polls / surveys – then use this data to better segment your communications

But as Kivi said during her webinar that described her recommendations in detail, it’s not enough to just read or listen to these suggestions. What will you do this month to apply these ideas at your organization?

More Highlights from 5 Years of Nonprofit Bridge

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Norman Reiss

More blasts from past posts from Nonprofit Bridge:

How a nonprofit is organized can greatly impact its online success. From mid-2008, here’s Building a Successful Online Team. In mid-2009, I followed up with a review of Convio‘s study on Why Organization Structure Matters. Then in early 2011, I offered this Job Description for an Integrated Fundraising / Communications Position.

For more advice on digital strategy, read Tips for Online Success and How to Succeed Online – Even When You Think You Can’t. It’s always worthwhile to learn from those who are doing it well in Practical Examples of Cross-Channel Success.

Website redesign is often a challenging process. Here’s some Reasons Why (and Why Not) to Do a Website Redesign, and some additional tips.

Creating great content is key to engaging constituents. Learn How to Develop Content Your Constituents Will Want to Read, how to Develop a Content Strategy and then What Content to Put in Each Channel.

Most nonprofits need to partner with companies who provide hosted software. Here’s how to get the most of the relationship in Tips in Selecting and Working With an Online Vendor.

Do you give and attend webinars? Here’s tips on how to present and how to get the most from participating in online events.

Finally, the hottest topics now are social media and mobile / tablets. Read Insights into Developing a Social Media Strategy and my take last year on the New World of Mobile.

Thank you again for following my thoughts on the intersection of technology, communications and development for nonprofit organizations.

How To Make Your Nonprofit Multi-Channel

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Norman Reiss

Why is it so difficult for nonprofits to implement a multi-channel communications / fundraising strategy, even though integrated campaigns have been proven to outperform single channel approaches? In the Agitator, Roger Craver says the main problem is silos, where departments operate separately from each other – even though this is directly opposite from how most constituents view an organization.

This point was driven home a few days later during a webinar by Convio and HJC on How Nonprofits Become Integrated Fundraising Organizations, which offered these tips on how a nonprofit learn to take advantage of the benefits of a multi-channel approach?

Getting buy-in from senior management
Planning / investing in systems and process to encourage departments to cooperate instead of compete
Remove silos from teams and departments so they naturally collaborate towards mutually developed goals

When I asked why this going multi-channel is so difficult, HJC’s Mike Johnston replied ‘inertia – nonprofits are used to doing things the way they always have.’ Interestingly, smaller organizations may find it easier to create a culture where integration takes place.

My take: start by using an integrated editorial calendar which includes upcoming direct mail solicitations, email marketing campaigns, website updates, social media etc. Beth Kanter offers this way to get started (thanks to Lightbox Collaborative) This will at least avoid the embarrassment of saying different things in different channels. Then, make sure results are measured for an overall campaign instead of by department or by type of outreach. Constituents use many ways to communicate; it’s about time we did the same.

For a great primer on how to effectively use different communication channels together, view slides from Idealware’s recent webinar.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Norman Reiss

If you’ve been wondering when you can build your nonprofit page on Google+, now’s the time. Heather Mansfield offers help on How to Create a Google+ Page For Your Nonprofit. Also view this video by John Haydon. Here’s Beth Kanter’s take. But the jury is still out on whether Google+ pages will prove to be as popular as Facebook pages.

Frustrated trying to keep up to date with Facebook? Get help in John’s Tactical Guide to Recent Facebook Changes and sign up for next month’s bi-monthly Facebook features update from Common Knowledge.

Planning to roll out a new website with Drupal? Have you already launched, but finding it difficult to manage how to manage content edits and approvals? Join Michelle Misner and I on Nov. 29 to learn How the NYPL Successfully Project Managed a New Drupal Website. (It’s free if you’re a Nten member!).

Speaking of Nten, I’ve just signed up for next spring’s annual Nonprofit Technology Conference in San Francisco. Please register now to lock in the lowest rate. It’s always the premier event of the year for the #nptech community.

It’s year-end fundraising season again. Get a jump start by reviewing Farra Trompeter’s online fundraising tips, Convio’s How to Get Your Holiday Appeals Opened and Jeff Brooks’ reminder to Avoid Common Fundraising Mistakes, e.g. remembering that you are not your donor. And of course, don’t forget to plan a multi-channel campaign.

If you’re in NYC, join us at next week’s 501 Tech NYC event; this month we’ll chat about Google for Nonprofits. Also if you manage a nonprofit website, sign up for the next quarterly gathering of the Not-for-Profit Webmaster Round Table, planned for mid-December.

Why You Should Design for Mobile Now

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Norman Reiss

For a long time, I resisted getting a laptop, saying that I preferred the more comfortable keyboard and larger monitor with a desktop. Similarly, I waited until late 2010 to get my first smart phone, not wanting to pay a premium to navigate the web on such a small screen.

I still spend most of my time online on my desktop either at home or at work, but I do use my smart phone, mostly to stay up to date with Facebook and Twitter. But everywhere I look, smart phones are everywhere. So if I was to assume that nonprofit constituents feel the way I do, I would be losing out on an opportunity to connect with supporters on their preferred platform – mobile.

Recently I attended a Convio webinar on mobile strategies for nonprofits. While I encourage you to download their free guide A Guide to the Mobile Web: Best Practices for Nonprofits, I found these points by presenter Misty McLaughlin especially interesting:

There are many approaches to mobile, such as a ‘mini site’ which highlights your highest value content or a ‘mobile optimized site’ – unless your organization is primarily providing information as your mission, it is usually not necessary to replicate full website content on your mobile site
A good rule of thumb – when mobile visits in your web stats exceed 5% of your overall traffic, it’s time to have a definite strategy to communicate with mobile users
For most nonprofits, it is usually better to focus on a mobile version of your website and not rush to create an app. In addition to the expense of having to handle multiple platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc.), there is a much higher barrier to entry since constituents have to find the app, download it, and then remember to use it.
If you’re currently redesigning your website, creating your mobile presence first will help you to provide a richer, more focused and integrated online presence
Although tablets are the rage these days, it is usually not necessary to create a separate ‘tablet’ site since most desktop websites convert well to a tablet screen.
Scrolling on mobile pages is more acceptable than while browsing on a desktop, but you should still limit scrolling on your home page (OK on secondary pages)
If you’re CMS shopping, pick a product that will allow you to:

create content once for multiple platforms by separating presentation from content
provide auto device detection (so mobile users get the mobile site)
allow device-specific tailored displays

Key takeaway – mobile forces us to be smart about our content. What are the most important actions we want constituents to take? What is our key message – is it succinct, understandable and repeatable? We only have our supporters’ attention for a short time, so it’s more important than ever to use that time wisely.

For examples of great nonprofit mobile sites, visit the US Fund for Unicef’s main website and then view its recently designed mobile version. Also, compare the World Wildlife Fund main website with its corresponding mobile site. When you look at your organization’s website on your phone, can you quickly find the information you’re looking for without getting frustrated?

For more mobile tips, listen to Nten’s webinar, Mobile for Nonprofits. And remember that however you feel about using smart phones, you are not your constituents.

Thoughts on Managing an Online Strategy

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Norman Reiss

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.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Norman Reiss

If you missed this week’s Social Media for Nonprofits NYC event, you can get a great summary from Big Duck’s Farra Trompeter, who presented a great step by step tutorial on implementing Multi-Channel Campaigns. (More session slides from this and past events are available here.) See also Kivi Leroux Miller’s post highlighting Convio’s recently released Multi-Channel Marketing Report.

Coming up with strong content is the key behind any online strategy. As I and many of my nonprofit colleagues around the country do, I try to find the most worthwhile posts to share with my followers. Beth Kanter explains that Content Creation is Listening and Engaging, then followed up with this look at Scoop.It as a way to organize your content.

How can you make your website more ‘social’? Debra Askanase explains how and gives several examples of nonprofits that are doing this well, and will follow up with a Nten webinar next month.

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen says you must focus on essential content when writing for mobile platforms. If you’re new to email marketing, learn about Email Marketing 2.0, then learn how segmentation can help you to get better results.

Finally, if you’re trying to find a format to send to your management to summarize social media and results of other online activity, Beth offers this guest post highlighting the Smithsonian Institution’s in-house dashboard, then suggests using a small pilot project to demonstrate the effectiveness of social media.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Norman Reiss

Social media expert Beth Kanter summarizes recent studies on how to increase Facebook engagement – it’s also a great way to find out what issues your constituents are most interested in. Beth also outlines how to set SMART social media objectives.

To better understand how multichannel marketing works, read the recent DonorCentrics report and these write-ups from Frogloop, NonprofitTimes, The Agitator and Katya Andresen. One step in the right direction – make sure your marketing/communications and fundraising are planning campaigns together.

How much resources should your nonprofit devote to a Twitter strategy? Here’s Pew Internet‘s latest update on who’s using Twitter. And in addition to having a Facebook like button on your website, you can add a Twitter follow button also. Here’s also advice on the best days/times to tweet.

If you’re using integrated software like Convio, what stops you from using the tool most effectively? Recent options like @ConvioHelp and live chat can be helpful, but my experience shows that issues with product usability often get in the way also. My suggestion – make sure you take the time to train your staff on an ongoing basis.

Idealware also offers its own guideline on how to allocate your time between website, email and online outreach.

Attending Fundraising Day in New York this week? If so, please look for me there.

Nonprofit Bridge

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

Tag Archives: convio

Blackbaud Will Buy Convio – My Thoughts

Have You Seen These Recent ‘Top 10′ Lists for Nonprofits?

Why You Should Design for Mobile Now

Thoughts on Managing an Online Strategy