eNonProfit Benchmarks Study
Hot Off The Press - being released later today:
In the for-profit dot.com world, the bottom line is easy to measure — it comes down to dollars and cents. For nonprofit organizations, success is more difficult to define. How many people were educated? Informed? Served? Engaged? Activated? How much money was raised? Did legislative policy change? Corporate policy? Public opinion?
The eNonprofit Benchmarks Study is the first of its kind look at the effectiveness of major American nonprofit organizations using the Internet to raise money and influence public policy. The study is a tool that nonprofits can use to measure and compare their online performance to other organizations’ online programs.
What you will find:
- Return in Investment: Hallmarks of a Successful Program
- e-mail Messaging: Cornerstone of Nonprofit Online Programs
- e-Mail List Growth: Just How Big Is That E-Mail List?
- e-Mail List Composition: Who Are These “Online Subscribers,” Anyway?
- Online Advocacy: Mobilizing Subscribers for Online Action
- Online Fundraising: Making Online Programs Pay Off
- Best Practices in Online Communications: Practical Steps for Improving Your Online Progra
2008 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study
Highlights from the report can be found in this article from the Non-Profit Times and this post from the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Prospecting.
Online Fundraising In 2008: Can We Blink Yet?
The Internet may not have turned out to be everything charities (and the rest of the world) thought it would be 10 years ago. However, Harry Lynch, CFRE, chief executive officer of Sanky Communications in New York, reminds fundraisers that they shouldn’t forget what the Internet has become—especially for groups most likely to give.
“Back in ancient times—say around 1998—we all knew that the Internet was going to take over the world. Remember that? How obsolete and uncool was everything else, including every other fundraising medium and method, about to become?
It wasn’t to be, of course. Not even close, in fact. Yet even the naysayers, who have a decade’s worth of history and hindsight on their side, would do well to stop and take note of just how far we have come in just 10 short years.
The approximately 50-fold increase in the amount of money being raised online over the last decade is eye-popping. While the Internet may still represent less than 4 percent of the nearly $300 billion being donated annually in the United States, if the rates of growth hold up, well, you do the math.
Of course, there’s also the often-overlooked fact of who is now online. Fully one-third of people over 65 (READ: those most philanthropically inclined) are now active on the Internet. Plus, nearly three-quarters of those in the 50–64 age group (i.e. the folks making the most money) are going online regularly. That degree of Internet penetration among older adults is wildly ahead of what was projected just a few years ago.
There’s just no doubt about it: The future of online fundraising is clearly very bright—and very, very complicated.”
click here for the complete article.
In The Press
A selection of recent articles and postings around the nonprofit world you may find of interest; first in our Jewish world followed by some links to recent non-profit blog posts.
A new study examining efforts at long-range planning in synagogues found that — under the right conditions — outside consultants, if armed with an understanding of both the business and the nonprofit worlds, can help congregations formulate strategic blueprints for the future. But the encouraging findings contained in “Strategic Planning in Congregations: Capitalizing on Opportunities for Organizational Change” came with a few caveats.
Annual Survey of State Laws Regulating Charitable Solicitations
Did you know that over 40 states require nonprofits conducting online fundraising campaigns to register with their state? This includes any other state into which solicitations (including e-mail) are directed.
Non-Profits on Video: Using YouTube to Promote Your Cause
Conventional wisdom says that it is the small nonprofit organizations who stand most to benefit from Web 2.0 opportunities, where so much can be accomplished for such a small investment of time and resources.
Online video, for example, puts multimedia broadcasting into the hands of organizations that could never afford to buy television air time. There’s no charge to post an unlimited number of video on YouTube, for example, and a camera and computer are all the gear you need to get started.
But is online video-sharing really a useful communication tool for you? Is it an effective way of connecting with others who share your interests, and spreading your nonprofit’s message?
The Slumping Stock Market Cuts Into Giving
The stock market’s slide has begun to affect a fast-growing type of giving.
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund — which raises more than all but three other charities in the country according to The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 rankings — says contributions dipped by 8 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007.
On The Blogs
A selection of recent articles and postings around the nonprofit world you may find of interest…
What does this uncertain and difficult economy mean for fundraising and philanthropy? Changing Our World President Chris Watson offers a sector briefing.
Are Tech-Savvy Millennials the New Voice of Philanthropy?
There are many broad generalizations made when it comes to speaking of whole generations, but young people today are certainly showing an interest, and a tech-driven level of sophistication in their volunteering and charitable support, that might make fundraisers take a second look at these young donors of time and resources. From the Association of Fundraising professionals
There was no shortage of cyber chatter surrounding last month’s Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans. Here’s a sampling of some observations from bloggers around the country. And some additional observations here.
How to Create a Rock-Solid Tagline That Truly Works
Nike said, “Just do it.” Nortel told you to come together. Timex said it takes a licking and keep on ticking. And GE mentioned that it brings good things to life.
Well, good for GE. As far as you’re concerned, you’d probably be happy figuring out how to bring your tagline to life.
At a time when more organizations are looking to combine resources through collaborative efforts either internally or externally, an executive director I’d been working with declared, “Collaborations, partnerships, mergers or anything else my board of directors could think of will not happen.”
The Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index™ Study
- What online marketing metrics should I focus on
- How is my organization doing
- What targets should I set for my organization
Web 2.0 is Cool, But…
Whoa, Nelly! Web 2.0 is Cool, But …
By Peter Deitz
At last month’s Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans, nonprofit techies and professional fundraisers met up to discuss the emerging best practices for fundraising using social networks and social media. Their conversations were overwhelmed by one small detail. Few nonprofits have succeeded in raising large amounts of money using blogs, widgets and fundraising applications for social networks.
Nine months since the high-profile launch of Facebook Causes and well over a year since the first articles on Web 2.0 fundraising started to appear, members of the nonprofit tech community seemed to be turning against the new-fangled tools for online fundraising. The traditional staples of online fundraising — a well-cultivated e-mail list, the ubiquitous “donate now” button and a coherent well-designed Web site — appeared to be making a full-fledged comeback.
Continue reading here.
High Tech High Touch
Times have changed.
The new donors of today and the donors of tomorrow are far different than the donors many nonprofits have become accustomed to. These up and coming donors are tech savvy. They grew up with video games and the World Wide Web.
They are comfortable completing entire conversations and interactions via e-mail or text message. They instant message and talk on their mobile phone while browsing the Internet and reading up on the latest news.
According to Darryl Gordon, a vice president at Kintera in San Diego, this is a lifestyle not imagined or experienced by the typical baby boomer donor. But the baby boomer donors of today are going away.
Taking their place is the always connected and always accessible younger generation that has come of age in a fast-paced society. Nonprofits need to adapt their mentality to transform fundraising and communications strategies to high-touch strategies that incorporate high-tech.
Not only will society force this change, but the more commonplace technology becomes, the cheaper it becomes. Many organizations have already experienced the cost-effectiveness of e-mail campaigns and appeals.
The ability to accept and process donations online has saved many organizations administrative time. But as technology continues to evolve and alter the way constituents interact, nonprofits will be forced to more frequently utilize new and upcoming technology to communicate and engage their audience.
With the plethora of high-tech choices available today, nonprofits no longer have to worry about the costs associated with a high-tech, high-touch campaign or the fear of bombarding their constituents’ inboxes. Organizations can send a newsletter via e-mail, send a text, post updates on its social networking site, post a blog, send a podcast, and call the cell phone. These choices enable nonprofit communicators to more frequently communicate with constituents, communicate via multiple mediums, and communicate in a manner that is accepted by recipients.
Technology has given nonprofits the ability to communicate and cultivate relationships with constituents in accordance with the way constituents communicate and cultivate their personal relationships — making technology an effective tool to build donor affinity and deepen donor relationships.
reposted from the NPT Newletter; you can sign-up here for your own weekly copy
Deadly Online Fundraising Blunders to Avoid
All to many nonprofit websites are making mistakes that discourage donors from browsing, donating, volunteering or referring others to the site.
The good news is 62% of adults visit a nonprofit’s site prior to making a donation (according to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive).
This is also the bad news. For many nonprofits, the quickest way to scare away donors is to direct them to the organizations’ website.
Here then, are four common blunders and how to avoid them.
Click here to continue reading
Go After Monthly Donors — Now!
Monthly giving plans are one of the best ways to reduce donor attrition and to upgrade an individual’s giving level. In the next decade you will find that charities will increasingly look towards monthly donor programs to increase their income.
In a report titled “Myths of Monthly Donor Programs” Canadian consultant Harvey McKinnon talks about how easy it is for a nonprofit to lose annual donors to those organizations with more aggressive monthly donor campaigns.
“When a donor joins a monthly donor club it has consequences. She may even start reducing her single gift donations to other nonprofits — perhaps yours! — because she has committed a greater share of her charitable funds through monthly donor programs.
Here’s an example to illustrate the point:
A donor, Ms. Cindy Williams, regularly gives a total of $1,000 a year to 10 charities, or $100 each. That’s her limit. Then she’s successfully recruited by two of the charities into $25/month sustainer programs. This means she’ll give them $600 (or 60 percent of her annual giving), leaving only $400 for the other eight charities. If Cindy splits the remaining money evenly, the nonprofits will see their donations decline to one $50 gift each. This is a reduction of 50 percent. Or Cindy may even decide that she’ll give $100 to four nonprofits and stop giving to four others. She could choose a combination of the above scenarios.
But whatever decisions Cindy makes, the clear winners are the nonprofits with the monthly donor programs. They each upgraded her annual giving by 300 percent. And the clear losers are the remaining eight charities.”
Click here to read the report in its entirety.
tip to FundRaising Success magazine
Developing A Pool Of Free Fundraisers Online
The proliferation of the Internet is creating a new type of constituent that carries a different set of behaviors and opens a door to a larger group of potential fundraisers. Nonprofits know that the most engaged constituents can become some of the most successful fundraisers for the organization.
According to Debbie Snyder, vice president professional services for Kintera in San Diego, the trick is capturing these online constituents, converting them to supporters, then converting the supporters to donors before finally converting donors to fundraisers. Avid Internet users are also more likely to share information with others online and the number of ways in which they can do it has grown substantially in recent years. There are a number of online resources to help an organization encourage online participation from its constituent base.
The first obvious tool is social networking. It has been all the rage lately and gotten a lot of publicity. It’s easy, free, and people are doing it. Social networking may not be a gold mine of donations, but it is a successful way for organizations to educate the public about its mission and cause.
click here for more
Ten Rules for Fundraising Online
Rule #1: Don’t become invisible
If you build it, they won’t just come. Building an online brand is just as important and just as difficult as building an off-line brand.
Rule #2: It takes “know how” and vision
Your organization’s website is a marketing and fundraising tool. NOT A TECHNOLOGY TOOL. Fundraisers and marketers need to be driving the content, not the web developer.
Rule #3: It’s all about the donor
Put the Donor First! Know your contributors, let them get to know you.
Rule #4: Keep savvy donors; stay fresh & current
Make online giving enjoyable and easy. Give the donor options. Use the latest technology. Show your donor how their funds are being used.
Rule #5: Integrate into everything you do
Your website alone will do nothing. Every activity you have should drive traffic to your site.
Rule #6: Don’t trade your mission for a shopping mall
Many nonprofit websites fail to emphasize mission, instead turning themselves into online shopping malls, without even knowing why.
Rule #7: Ethics, privacy and security are not buzzwords
Many donors are just now deciding to make their first online contribution. They will expect that your organization maintains the highest standards of ethics, privacy and security.
Rule #8: It takes the Internet to build a community
Many nonprofits (particularly smaller ones) lack the resources to communicate effectively. The Internet offers the opportunity to cost effectively build a community of supporters.
Rule #9: Success online means being targeted
The website alone is not enough. You must target your audience and drive their attention to the wealth of information and services offered by your website. Permission must be sought before you begin direct communication via the Internet.
Rule #10: ePhilanthropy is more than just e-money
ePhilanthropy is a tool to be used in your fund raising strategy. IT SHOULD NOT be viewed as quick money. There are no short cuts to building effective relationships. But the Internet will enhance your efforts.
“The Ten Rules of ePhilanthropy Every Nonprofit Must Know”
Copyright and reprinted with permission from the
ePhilanthropy Foundation