Tag Archives: nten

You Don’t Need to Recreate the Wheel

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Trying to figure out how your organization can be more effective online?  There are many nonprofits that are already succeeding that you can learn from.  Probably the most publicized success story in recent years is the astounding growth of charity: water, featured in a recent post by davidconnell.net.  One particularly interesting point is how charity: water has partnered which local organizations that actually do much of their core work (the nonprofit didn’t build an infrastructure to do it themselves).

In addition, when charity: water communicates with its supporters, the focus is on the cause, not the organization.  If your organization does many different things and you’re having difficulty what to focus on, take Katya Andresen’s suggestion to make modules out of your mission.  Not all of your constituents will care about everything you do, but there is probably some program or activity that particularly interests them.

Hearing a lot about mobile?  Nten‘s Holly Ross discusses 5 Nonprofits That Are Innovating with Mobile.  Even if you decide that you don’t have the bandwidth for a mobile approach yet, don’t forget to test outgoing emails on cell phones since so many more constituents are reading emails on cell phones.

The old model of technology focused on getting support from product vendors.  While I still work closely with my vendors’ customer support staffs, I also rely on checking in with my colleagues across the country, many who are asking the same questions as I am.  (Some issues I’m currently working on are how can I increase engagement with my organization’s Facebook followers and how can I integrate online forms from my vendors in social media platforms – since this is where many of my constituents are spending time online, never reaching my nonprofit’s website).

Another way to learn from others is to follow the most frequently used nonprofit hashtags, as nicely summarized by Kerri Karvetski.  (Don’t forget to use these hashtags when you post on Twitter!)

Fortunately, the nonprofit sector is a very open, sharing community.  Instead of struggling on your own, take the time to learn from what other organizations have already done, and ask for help if you need assistance in making your nonprofit shine online.  And don’t be afraid to fail.  As I was recently reminded by social media superstar Danielle Brigida, most of us are still figuring things out, especially since online products / services are constantly changing.

Social Media for Social Good

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This week I had the pleasure of listening to a panel of social media experts at the Foundation Center’s Social Media for Social Good event.  Speakers included Renee Alexander from US Fund for Unicef, Julia C. Smith from Idealist, Farra Trompeter from Big Duck and Nten‘s Amy Sample Ward, preceded by a presentation by Small Act‘s Casey Golden.

As might be expected during an event on social media, there was an active stream on Twitter, which you can review with the #SM4SG hashtag.  Below are some highlights:

  • Mentioned several times this week and also by Danielle Brigida who recently spoke at the NYC 501 Tech Club, social media involves a lot of trial and error and experimentation.  Often you will have to try different tactics before you find what will work best with your audience.   Don’t be afraid to fail.
  • Engagement = stimulating a conversation and encouraging constituents to take action on issues.
  • Developing a social media policy for your organization will help guide your staff how to speak about your nonprofit online – look at the social media governance policy database and the social media policy generator for help.
  • Your social media policy should be a fluid, living document that is reviewed with staff and updated regularly, not in a book that is stored on a shelf.
  • On Twitter, in addition to sharing ideas from others you find worthwhile, make sure to include your own ideas too – the best Twitter streams have a mix of links, no links and original content.  See this example of a Twitter engagement formula.
  • If your management is still uncertain whether social media is worth the effort, show what your competitors are doing online to engage and build their constituent base.

Want more resources?  For a step by step process on how to use social media, download Idealware’s Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide.  For more guidance on developing a social media policy – Big Duck’s Measuring Your Impact and Creating Policies for Social Media.  And for general tips on Twitter, read Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book

Social media is sexy, but don’t forget the online basics: make sure your website and email marketing program is in place.  Social media works best when part of an overall communications strategy that includes any way you connect with your constituents, whether online or offline.  Focus not only on your organization’s programs, but on the issues which your organization (and constituents) is most focused on.

Thanks to the Foundation Center’s Vanessa Schnaidt for moderating the discussion and to social media guru Jereme Bivins (who manages the Foundation Center’s Twitter stream) for planning this event.

The New World of Mobile – Smartphones and Tablets

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For a long time, I resisted getting a smartphone, preferring to stay with my trusty desktop computer.  I didn’t want to have to work with a small screen and keyboard, and also balked at having to add a data plan to my cell phone bill.  I did have an Itouch, but was limited to using it online when wi-fi access was available.  When I was given a netbook for work, I enjoyed the convenience, but still spent most of my time online at my desktop connection.

Late last year, I got my first Android, and was able to sign up for a plan which included phone, texting and data at a fixed price which was less than what I had been paying for voice only.  Now I use it mostly for social networking, still preferring to use my desktop at home and at work when possible.  But as shown in A Mobile Word: How Your Supporters are Using Smartphones and Why You Should Care, many of our organizations’ constituents have taken the plunge to mobile, yet we often develop websites and sending emails as if everyone was still primarily using a desktop computer.

In Walt Mossberg’s recent laptop buying guide,  he suggests not buying a laptop now, which was the device that was supposed to be the replacement for desktops, and to consider whether a tablet may fit your needs.  I haven’t used a tablet yet, but my boss does and he takes it everywhere he goes and ‘loves’ the device.

Recently I received an email newsletter that had this link on top: view on mobile device, reminiscent of when we were told that every email should have a ‘print friendly’ link. Now, fewer people regularly using printers, but practically everyone has a smartphone and possibly a tablet as well.  So it’s critical that we design our online communications to be brief, viewable in narrow columns, and that we test on the most common platforms that our constituents are using (you can find this out through your web analytics or by surveying your audience).

There’s also the additional questions of whether to develop a mobile friendly website or a mobile application, or possibly a tablet specific or Facebook application.  As a first step, however, make sure your website and email blasts can be viewed well on smartphones.  Even if you have mostly ‘older’ constituents, this is a change that you must start preparing for now.  If you need help, look towards Nten or firms that specifically work on mobile strategies such as MobileActive or consulting firms such as Common Knowledge.  Also review Five Must-Have Characteristics of Nonprofit Mobile Websites.

Report from Chase Charity Insights Event in NYC

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A stellar panel from Facebook (Matt Jacobson, Head of Market Development), Mashable (Zachary Sniderman, Social Good Assistant Editor), Nten (Holly Ross, Executive Director), and Twitter (Jack Dorsey, CEO/Co-Founder) shared thoughts this week on nonprofits’ use of social media at the Chase Charity Insights event in midtown NYC.

Jack Dorsey, who recently announced he will return to the helm of Twitter, began by recalling the now familiar story of Charity:Water, and asked that nonprofits:

  1. focus on design and storytelling – tell stories about the people you’re helping, not only about your organization
  2. measure results and listen to constituents
  3. use ‘simple tools’ to engage followers through ‘constant outreach’ to stay in touch

(Jack’s most recent project is Square, an amazing credit card reader which plugs into mobile phones, allowing organizations to accept donations / payments anywhere.)

Jack noted also that many charities are addressing the same issues, asking that we find ways to work together towards common goals.

Matt Jacobson explained how a simple gesture of agreeing to pay for someone’s groceries led to the $93 dollar club which has raised over $120,000 to fight hunger.  He offered a few websites to help nonprofits get the most from Facebook, such as Non-Profits on Facebook and Facebook Pages.

My friend Holly Ross gave a quick review of the Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report, recently released at Nten’s Nonprofit Technology Conference (and which I recently blogged about).  The most interesting takeaway – how organization size doesn’t matter – any nonprofit can benefit from using social media.  But Holly pointed out that online represents only about 5% of total fundraising and that direct mail still brings in the most money.  She also asked that we look past statistics and focus on telling good stories and building relationships.  During the Q&A session, Holly reminded us not to talk at people, but to seek to engage in conversation.

Zachary Sniderman offered several examples of creative nonprofit social media initiatives such as Earth Hour, Living Philanthropic and would you believe, World Poopin’ Day.

Today’s event was sponsored by Chase Community Giving, which recently extended its philanthropic program by two years and $25 million and will soon begin another contest to select charities to support.   There was some controversy over this program last year but nevertheless, learning from our colleagues on how to creatively use social media at our organizations is very worthwhile.

Notes from Latest Benchmark Reports

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Two major benchmark studies were released at the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference: the e2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study (#11NTCbenchmarks) and the Nonprofit Social Network Survey Report (#11NTCBench).  If you haven’t yet had a chance to digest their contents, below are some major takeaways:

  • When analyzing email marketing statistics, a high unsubscribe rates will often be accompanied by a high response rate.  With overall open rates of emails declining, it’s a continuing challenge to get subscribers to open and read your email messages.   So look at all your statistics;  don’t panic if you suddenly see a rise in unsubscribes
  • Do you give an option for monthly gifts whenever you ask for one-time donations?   Other than by large nonprofits which seem to do the best in this area, many US based organizations seem to neglect this strategy – or forget to pay special attention when communicating with these donors
  • 9 of 10 nonprofits now have a presence on Facebook, but use of Twitter seems to be leveling off (my take – what’s good for other nonprofits may not be best for you.  I’ve seen Twitter often succeed better in creating a buzz and raise visibility than relying mostly on Facebook)
  • While most nonprofits aren’t raising significant funds on Facebook, many of the organizations that are doing the best in raising money are small.   So if you dedicate the budget and staff, you can get good results
  • Many nonprofits focus on commercial networks such as Facebook and Twitter; only 13% of those surveyed have private / house networks which are used mostly for program and service delivery (my take – even though they’re initially harder to create, house networks have the strong advantage of being totally under your control;  Facebook can and does change its rules often, and still makes it  difficult for you to extract email addresses of those who like your page.)
  • Few organizations have yet shown concrete hard benefits from measurements such as ROI to validate the use of social networks;  soft benefits such as increased organization visibility and non-financial supporter engagement are mentioned more frequently.

How can you use these statistics to tweak your online strategy?  With an overall email churn rate of 18%, it’s critical that we always be thinking about ways of building our supporter base.  While website and email marketing still predominates, it’s clear that the most successful nonprofits use a variety of techniques to engage current constituents and to attract new supporters.  Social media can help, but it shouldn’t be done in a vacuum.  Pick a few channels to focus your efforts, test some new approaches to see how they work, and get ideas from what other nonprofits are already doing successfully, especially others in your vertical.  As both reports show, results often very dramatically between sector, e.g. international organizations whose results are often skewed by fundraising for emergencies.

For even more statistics, review the Online Giving Study, also presented at the recent Nonprofit Technology Conference.  Many slides and recordings from the event sessions are now available at Nten’s NTC page.

2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference Report

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This year’s Nonprofit Technology Conference in Washington DC was by far the biggest event we’ve ever had with over 2,000 attendees, plus many others who participated through the Online NTC.   In addition to the many opportunities for learning, I particularly enjoyed connecting with many nonprofit colleagues from around the country, some which I had only previously met through email or phone.

These are some sessions I found especially rewarding (with Twitter hashtags):

  • Opening Plenary, featuring Dan Heath, co-author of Switch (#11NTCSwitch) – I’ve always been fascinated with how change affects our lives;  Dan clearly demonstrated how we can learn to welcome change rather than to fear it.   His advice that we analyze our successes instead of our problems and ‘do more of what is working’ is also consistent with my life philosophy of looking for the good.  This is particularly relevant at our nonprofit organizations, which are almost always changing.
  • E-mail Design Workshop – Don’t Let Bad E-mail Code Ruin Your Day or Your Results (#11NTCemail) Shana Masterson and Sean Powell provided an eye opening look at how we can prepare emails that will look good on whatever device or browser our constituents use to view them.  Sadly, Shana recommended that we give up working in WYSIWYG, as many email programs provide, and stay with HTML for the best results. Emailonacid was mentioned as a good way to preview emails and test deliverability.  Unfortunately, email design is very different from web design and can’t fully utilize common web technologies such as CSS (cascading style sheets).
  • Secrets of the Engagement Pyramid (#11NTCeng) presented by Karen Uffelman and Eric Magnuson, featured an interesting approach to evaluating the engagement level of our constituents, and how we can move them to higher levels to commitment.  As many nonprofits are learning, social media followers may or may not become more involved with our organizations.  But those who take advocacy actions are strong donor prospects (and vice versa).
  • Not convinced that segmentation yields better results?  In Scientist in Your Communications Department: Segmenting Messages, Customizing Content, and Delivering Results. (#11NTCsegmt). Jeff Schuck used the success of sites such as Amazon and Netflix to provide customized recommendations based on its knowledge of user preferences.   The simplest way to get started?   Separate your donors from non-donors, and prepare different content for each.   I asked why so many nonprofits struggle with targeting groups of constituents;  Jeff replied that many organizations keep data in too many places.  Another point: it’s much easier to get a donor to increase their gift than to get someone to donate for the first time.
  • Marketing gurus Kivi Leroux Miller and Nancy Schwartz led the session on Weaving Your Marketing Loose Ends into a Strong, Tight, Powerful Plan (#11NTCweave), which demonstrated the importance of developing a marketing plan template as well as doing a communications audit to insure that your communications are consistent across channels.  Nonprofit marketers Tara Collins and Karen Secular also shared their experiences in managing the sometimes difficult balance between development and communications, showing why it’s so critical that these departments work together to build relationships with constituents
  • In The Social Website: Integrating Social Media into Website Design and Function (#11NTCSocsite), Debra Askanase and Seth Giammanco discussed many websites which use a variety of techniques to engage visitors using social media links – view the slides for details.   They then challenged us to develop ideas for a fictional nonprofit which wanted to do the same.

Notes from these and other sessions are all publicly available, as are recordings of several of the presentations. Also download these newly released reports,: e2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study (#11NTCbenchmarks) and the Nonprofit Social Network Survey Report (#11NTCBench), which I will analyze further in my next blog post.

Kudos to Holly Ross who, together with her Nten staff, put together such a wonderful event.  Kudos also to my friend Peter Campbell who received special recognition, those who won the NTENny awards (which I helped to present) and to those nonprofits who produced winning videos.  If you couldn’t join us in DC, hope to see you in San Francisco next year.

See you at NTC This Week?

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This week I’ll be at the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference, where a record crowd of nearly 2,000 will discuss how nonprofits can optimize their online strategy.  Below are some sessions which look particularly interesting:

  • Stop Chasing Rainbows: Enduring Success In a Shifting Online Landscape (Fri 3/18, 10:30 – 12 Noon) - Jascha Franklin-Hodge will review how we can integrate social media, location based services and mobile to engage supporters
  • E-mail Design Workshop – Don’t Let Bad E-mail Code Ruin Your Day or Your Results (Fri, 3/18, 3:30 – 5 PM) – email is still the primary way to communicate with stakeholders, and Shana Masterson and Sean Powell will discuss how we can get the best results
  • Sneak Peek at the Third-Annual Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report (Fri, 3/18, 3:30 – 5 PM) – I helped prepare last year’s report, which is sponsored by Nten, Common Knowledge and Blackbaud.  Even if you can’t attend this preview, you’ll be able to download the report soon and attend follow up events to discuss its findings.
  • It’s Not Direct Marketing If You Can’t Track It! Analyzing the Social Web (Sat, 3/19, 10:30 – 12 Noon) – Social media can be fun to participate in, but you have to be able to show your management how it’s helping.  Brenna Holmes will offer some tips.
  • 2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study Release (Sat 3/19, 1:30 – 3 PM) – Nten & M&R Strategic Services‘ annual study looks at online messaging, fundraising, and advocacy data from 36 nonprofit organizations;  you’ll be able to download this report too, but it’s fascinating to hear the analysis

The biggest problem you’ll probably have at the event is deciding which session to attend – since this is the largest NTC ever, there are even more choices this year.  In addition to these tips from Yesenia Soleto, don’t deliberate too much about what to pick.  But I’ve found that you can quickly get a feel in the first 15 minutes whether a session is matching your expectations;  if not, feel free to go elsewhere.  And don’t fret if your first choice is overcrowded and you need to select an alternate session;  this happened to me last year and the ‘other’ presentation turned out to be fascinating.  Also consider which sessions will be recorded or covered later through follow-up webinars.

If you’re in town early or staying after the conference, consider visiting the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (I’ll be there Wednesday) or attending Penguin Day to learn more about open source software.

Can’t attend the conference in person?  You still still participate through the Online NTC.

Don’t forget to thank Holly and her staff for putting this event together.  They work hard year round to make this a special experience for all of us.  Hope to see you later this week in DC.

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

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Thanks to Charles Lenchner for today’s Organizing 2.0 Conference, where I presented a session on how to evaluate and implement a donor or membership database.  Thanks also to fellow speakers (among many others) Steve Dondley, Jason Lefkowitz & Colin Delaney who spoke about content management systems (particularly Drupal) and managing online consultants.

Last week’s Nten webinar on email list management strategy offered tips such as segment on constituent behavior not on interests so you can better target your communications.   According to the Agitator, email is still an important channel, but many readers may be reading them on their phones, making it even more important that your message is concise.  Big Duck also offers 7 tips for an effective e-newlsletter.

Facebook has (again) changed how pages are presented – The Social Path and Tech Cafeteria offer a look at the latest changes, and Beth’s Blog discusses a Facebook content strategy.

Using a slide show on your home page?  Future Fundraising Now suggests it may not be effective, even though many other sites are doing this.  Also see EchoDitto’s take.

I’ve noticed on the NYC subway lately that almost everyone is on their smart phones,  not a surprise since smart phone sales now exceed PC sales.  All the more reason to make your website mobile friendly.

Nten’s 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference next month will be the biggest and best ever.  Even if you can’t attend in person, you can now participate online.

Why Technology is Core to Your Mission

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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

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I’ve long advocated using web based applications, but are we ready for a cloud operating system?  Here’s a first look at Google’s Chrome OS, planned for release next summer.  (Why not just focus on Android, which is already in wide usage on the mobile platform?)

Need help in planning a social media and online engagement strategy?  Here’s a great overview of what’s involved, thanks to Big Duck‘s Farra Trompeter.  For example, pick the channels where you have the time and resources to participate (you can’t be everywhere).

Will you join me at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in March in DC?  For a preview of some issues we’ll be discussing, Nten summarizes the best of nonprofit technology in 2010.

In social media, a key principle is to listen first.  Janet Fouts recently offered a terrific webinar on Streamlining Your Social Media Workflow , and offers this useful list of listening tools.

Only two weeks left to get out your year-end appeals.  Here’s why you need to act now, and some last minute advice, more tips on making the ask and best practices for year-end fundraising.

While this is a busy time for fundraisers, I hope you still find time to celebrate the upcoming holidays.