Integrated Communications: Key for 2010

Communication, including the best utilization of social media tools, is continually changing. Developing, and directing interactive strategy, is becoming more mission critical. Organizations need trained professionals who can interact at the highest level to help craft and implement integrated approaches. Here are a few articles that may be helpful in considering your various needs. from Massachusetts Technology and Innovation Exchange: Director of Community: Not Just Tweeting All Day Long Similar to misperceptions in email, I believe that many are beginning to recognize the importance of the Community Manager (Director of Community) role in organizations. While some still think about those responsible for social media as people who “play around on Twitter all day long,” I believe this flippant... Continue Reading

Are You Missing 40% of Your Online Donations?

Most of us don’t still believe that, but the fact remains that many seniors and other visitors don’t like to give via credit card. If that’s the only option you give them, you could be missing lots of opportunities to convert donation page visitors to donors. Maybe they don’t trust sending credit card information online. Maybe they just can’t be bothered to find their credit card. Maybe they’re trying to cut down on credit card purchases to avoid high interest charges. We encourage organizations to offer a multitude of alternate ways to accept donations online, including: Call a phone number (show the hours during which you can take calls); Print a one-page, self-sufficient PDF donation form and mail it in; Use the donor’s PayPal account; Use the donor’s Amazon one-click account; ... Continue Reading

The Online Fundraiser’s Checklist

Take advantage of Network for Good’s handy new eGuide, The Online Fundraiser’s Checklist, to ensure you don’t miss a thing. They have six checklists that cover the essential basics of online fundraising: Website home page Donation form Writing style Email lists Email campaigns Thank-you programs To download your free copy of How Do You Ensure Fundraising Success This Year? visit Network for Good. [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

Mobile Giving: A Golden Medina?

Less than two weeks ago a devastating earthquake hit Haiti and the world has responded generously. Text messages and giving, along with the role of social media in fundraising, has taken a huge leap forward in the public eye. Despite some of the results, this is not the golden medina of fundraising for the near term. Just one part of a complex puzzle. Paying attention to the characteristics of your donors and stakeholders, and understanding what works, and doesn’t, in your organization will allow you to craft the best possible strategy for the future. Here are two articles with some insight on the social media fundraising tools utilized the past two weeks by the American Red Cross who, as of Friday afternoon, has raised approximately $153 million – $27 million via text messaging. from The... Continue Reading

People Support the Things They Help Build

by Alex Margolin The AP made news recently by hiring a social networks editor to look for news leads on social media channels. Apparently, the AP has recognized that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, among other sites, cannot be ignored when it comes to gathering news. There is simply too much vital information moving through these networks. The AP follows The New York Times, which hired its own social media editor in May. But finding news amid “the conversation” on social media is just the start. CNN and the Huffington Post have taken the concept even further, allowing readers to post their own content directly to the news sites. That’s right – readers can post original videos to CNN’s IReporter section, mostly without filters. So as newspapers direct more of their resources to the Internet,... Continue Reading

Pros and Cons of Donating via Text Messaging

from Business Week: Haiti Earthquake Provokes Wave of Text Donations It’s unclear yet whether the text campaigns will succeed in raising more money overall for Haitian relief efforts by convincing the younger generation to give, or whether the phenomenon represents a shift in the way people give, rather than an expansion of generosity. Another open question is whether individuals who have access to corporate matching contributions – thus doubling the impact of individual donations – will bother to do so with the text donations. (Some corporate matching funds won’t match donations under a certain amount.) “We don’t have benchmarks for this yet,” says Katherina Rosqueta, executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania.... Continue Reading

The Impact of (Very) Small Donors

by Daniel Septimus The fundraising impact of small donors was one the enduring narratives of Barack Obama’s successful 2008 election campaign. The veracity of this narrative was subsequently questioned by a study released by the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute, but however you slice it, it’s been clear since the 2004 Howard Dean campaign that the internet provides new opportunities for financially mobilizing the masses. In general, when President Obama’s campaign spoke about small donors, it meant – at different times – people giving less than $200 or $100 or $25. More than 200,000 people visit MyJewishLearning.com in an average month, so we’ve long been curious about the possibility of cultivating these users as small donors. If a quarter of those 200,000 were to donate... Continue Reading

Are You Mobile Friendly?

Welcome to the mobile Internet! No question, Internet users are leaving their laptops behind in favor of phones, and organizations that aren’t prepared to ride the mobile wave are likely to lose a share of their audience. It’s a real challenge, especially for small nonprofits without their own IT wizards to wave a magic mouse and make an iPhone-friendly website appear. With that end in mind, here from Wild Apricot are two quick ways to make your organization’s blog or website a little more “phone-friendly”. And if you’re wondering why, here are some new stats from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project: 32% have used a mobile phone or Smartphone to access the internet for emailing, instant-messaging, or research; this is an increase of 33% since December 2007,... Continue Reading

Leveraging Data Analytics

What Would Google Do? Leveraging Data Analytics to Grow Your Organization by Sacha Litman What makes Google the omnipresent $21 billion leviathan company it has become? While its search engine and its application suite are impressive, Google’s key to success is its ability to mine data on customers that use its products for free. This data is used to put the right targeted ads in front of its customers for which advertising companies pay a hefty premium. This optimization requires a dedication to data tracking systems and analytics that explain consumer behavior and interests. And it’s not just Google. Despite the difficult economic times of the past few years, data analytics has ranked in companies’ top 3 areas for investment because, like Google, they recognize that the key to success is the... Continue Reading

Our Latest Tech Links

I’ve had a busy few weeks – Limmud UK along with a series of meetings and presentations in London. The most popular subject of discussion (after the economy’s effect on philanthropy) is how organizations can best utilize social media to advance their agendas. Questions on marketing through Facebook, and blogs, were high on everyone’s list. This is why we established an on-line Resource Library. In our article links section, we bring you informative, current links to nonprofit blogs and trade publications that we hope will assist you in staying current on the newest global trends and technology while at the same time providing guidance in evaluating concepts and tools for your own organization. Here are our latest additions; we encourage you to check back often as new links are... Continue Reading

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