Website’s Ease of Use Determines Success of Online Fundraising by Daniël de Voogt Websites are playing an ever increasing role in charity fundraising and across the world as a whole, with a considerable increase in online donation. Yet for many charities it appears to be difficult to present themselves well on the internet. A recent survey shows that the user friendliness of websites still leaves much to be desired. As the organizations’ calling card and access point to the website, the home page must meet the highest demands of user friendliness. In today’s fast moving world a visitor remains on a web page for an average of only 27 seconds. A home page is at its most effective when the visitor can see what the site has to offer at a glance. The user must also be able to find his … Continue Reading
Fundraising Benefits of the Internet
by Michael Bres For the charity market, online marketing is the pre-eminent medium when it comes to eliciting a response. This may be by means of placing a banner or text link on the Internet on sites which you know your target group visits. Then people are just one click away from contact with you. If you then provide your information in an expert and exciting way, this will result in visitor interest and therefore in a response. Search engine marketing and optimization of it are also excellent ways of attracting potential donors. With the right approach, good results can be achieved in a highly cost-effective manner. If there is limited knowledge of search engine marketing within your organization, it is worth considering using a specialist for this purpose. What opportunities does the … Continue Reading
Fundraising 101A
A continuation of earlier posts from the IFC's survey on the state of the economy and what we as fundraising professionals should be doing to ride out the storm. The strategic and tactical decisions made by charities will have more influence on their fortunes than the recession itself. Charities have more control than they think they do so long as they focus on program fundamentals, do not panic and focus on the long-term. Board members and senior management need to understand the current financial data and stop making unrealistic expectations. Work like a for-profit organization to gain increased long-term growth. Develop messages, themes and scripts around why we need our donors now more than ever. Strengthen current partnerships to weather the storm rather than looking for new ones. … Continue Reading
Back to Basics
In reviewing the survey results I wrote about yesterday, there are a few key comments that showed up consistently. You'll recognize most; they fall under the heading of Fundraising 101. Key concepts we all know, but to often forget. Remind donors they are wanted, needed and appreciated. Invest time, intelligence and money in massively improving the donor experience with your organization. Make sure donors who do withdraw their support for economic reasons are still communicated with and are being shown appreciation. Most will return IF ASKED when times get better. Do what you are good at better, retain your strengths, cut your losses and seize new opportunities (lower media costs as an example). Demonstrate value for money – consistently and across all activities. Engage the public in … Continue Reading
Keep A Long-term View
I recently attended the International Fundraising Congress in the Netherlands. It was a heady experience with over 950 delegates representing 60 countries. Meeting and learning from colleagues on a global scale is becoming increasingly more valuable for all of us as we compare and benchmark with our peers. As you can well imagine, the state of the economy was on everyone's mind, played into many sessions and was the focus of a special mini-plenary on the last morning. But what was most interesting: attendees were upbeat about plans for the next year and saw opportunities in the challenges being presented. Over the course of the Congress, an online survey was undertaken to explore the implications of the global financial crisis for fundraisers. The views of 100 leading worldwide fundraising … Continue Reading
What Works in the 21st Century
The fundraising mix in the 21st century by Indira Sam-Sin Fundraising instruments have changed over the last twenty years. But donors have changed as well. Donors aren’t as loyal to their favorite charities as they were some years ago. If charities don’t approach the donors in the way donors want to be approached, they are likely to cancel their support. While donors have changed, technology has advanced. Do charities need to communicate differently with their donors? And do charities need to make use of new media to communicate with their donors? This article addresses both these questions. … Continue Reading
Crossing Borders in Fundraising
We live in a global world. Not only do we look within our own communities for new donors, but we reach across borders seeking those who would support our cause. Today we begin a new category, Crossing Borders, where we will speak about international fundraising. Joining us will be contributors worldwide who will weigh in on topics ranging from the challenges we face in the current economic climate to the various fundraising instruments available today. Our goal is help you discover new ideas, new markets, and new donors. We hope to assist all our readers acquire additional knowledge along with the needed tools to be poised for new growth when the current challenging climate turns around. … Continue Reading
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