In her presentation, Social Media: Paint by Numbers, Holly Ross, Executive Director of NTEN (The Nonprofit Technology Network) reminds us that we need to look at the “big picture” when it comes to social media. Holly points out that when we paint by the numbers, we focus on painting one square at a time. Yet, we don’t fully understand how all the colors work together to create the bigger picture. It’s the same with social media and your cause.

It is easy to get hyper-focused when we are busy trying to manage our Facebook page, post on Twitter, follow up on LinkedIn, send out our weekly newsletters and update our website. We spend a lot of time working with each individual technology but rarely take the time to understand how these technologies can inform and support the rest of our work. What ends up happening is that your social media activities occur largely outside your organization’s broader communications and fundraising strategies.

In order for us to “see” the bigger picture, we need to find a way for social media, communications and fundraising to work together. If we are successful at achieving this, the potential to further our mission through increased commitments of time, talent and money across a diverse spectrum of constituents is greater. Where do you start? You start by regularly collecting, tracking and analyzing social media data about your supporters.

Social media data can tell us a tremendous amount about our supporters– what interests and engages them and what they need from us. You can discover and track information about who is re-tweeting you on Twitter, liking your stuff on Facebook, commenting on your blogs and donating via these channels. All of these are data points you want to capture — together they provide you with a new kind of database on your supporters, which can help you see a broader, more colorful picture.

Tips to collect and track social media data

Create a customized listening dashboard using iGoogle. Pull in RSS feeds of Twitter mentions, blog searches and specific news. Use this as your homepage for monitoring your online brand and supporter activity.

Source: Convio Social Media Guide

Start small. From Facebook posts and tweets, to actions taken and donations sourced, there are seemingly endless metrics that can be tracked in social media. Rather than trying to measure everything, start small. Begin with measuring your top 8 to 10 metrics.

Source: Convio Social Media Guide

Collect social media profile IDs. Just as you’d collect business cards at an event, ask supporters if you can use social media as a contact point. For example, would they rather receive a message via Facebook or direct mail?

Follow or add to your list of friends key people. Advocates, influencers, bloggers and mainstream media relevant to your cause should be followed. You can then use segmentation tools to create a feed (or list) on Twitter or Facebook to monitor their activity for collaboration opportunities.

Create a regular report to show growth and trends over time. Although there are various applications and tools out there that can automatically generate reports of varying levels for social media metrics and activities, I recommend creating a simple and intuitive report with only the metrics that matter to you.

Convio’s guide, Going Social: Tapping into Social Media for Nonprofit Success, provides a great example of a simple metric dashboard.

Time and again we have heard that targeting and personalizing messages do a better job in retaining and engaging supporters. However, this is hard to do if we don’t have a social media database that we can integrate with our existing fundraising and communications databases. What it all boils down to is that our nonprofits need to start tracking social media interactions.

The challenge collecting more data presents, of course, is that we might end up with multiple, independent databases (clients, emails, donors and social media interactions), aka data silos. Our task is to find a way to get them to talk to each other. What are some ways you have found to integrate social media data into your fundraising and communication databases?

Related posts:

1. 10 Must-See YouTube Presentations on Social Media
2. Are Nonprofit Executives Leveraging the Power of Social Media?
3. Putting Out Social Media Fires: What to Do When a Crisis Breaks
4. What’s the Buzz All About? Nonprofits and Social Media
5. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors

Ever since I can remember, I have been a die-hard Apple fan. From my first Apple computer (a PowerBook G3 with 192 MB of RAM and a 8GB HD) to the first generation iPod (a 5GB device for a hefty price of $499) to the iphone and now iPad, I have always been first in line to buy Apple’s products. In fact, this blog is being written in a Macbook Pro! So no, this blog posting is not coming from an Apple-basher, but from an Apple fan concerned about the philanthropic behavior of the company.

If we take a look at how other tech companies go about the business of philanthropy, we find that Microsoft, Dell and Hewlett Packard (HP) have a strong history of giving back, helping our communities and nonprofit culture thrive. But don’t take my word for it; BusinessWeek publishes a comprehensive review of corporate giving to charity.

Microsoft Corp. Isn’t it funny that some view Bill Gates as a cutthroat capitalist more interested in maximizing profits than innovating great products or helping society? Microsoft, however, is one of the top companies that contribute to better our communities. According to BusinessWeek, Microsoft gives approximately $400M (cash and in-kind donations) to charities annually. They fund programs ranging from fighting poverty and AIDS to facilitating the availability of technology and equipment for organizations during their disaster relief work. Microsoft is also a lead product donor on TechSoup, a place where nonprofits can obtain donated or low-cost Microsoft products. In addition, Bill Gates founded The Bill & Belinda Gates Foundation, which tackles some of the most neglected issues worldwide.

Hewlett-Packard (HP). A much less threatening competitor to Apple and with significantly less revenue, HP’s charitable contributions sum up to approximately 100M annually. Through its Company Foundation, HP Global Social Innovation, HP provides grants for education, health and community programs. They bring e-Health solutions to under-served communities and organizations, provide legal expertise through their top-notch legal department, and have several educational initiatives. In short, HP provides technology, cash and equipment grants in these 3 areas. In addition, they have an employee-giving program.

International Business Machines (IBM). One of the oldest tech companies, IBM addresses important issues, such as community economic development, education, health, literacy, culture and the environment. Through its foundation, IBM International Foundation, and matching program, IBM donates approximately $150M annually in technology, talent and cash to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.

Dell Computer (DELL). Through its foundation, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Dell awards technology and funding grants to nonprofit organizations that benefit underserved children and communities. These grants address basic needs such as food, shelter, safety and health care. In addition, they partner with non-profits organizations to deliver computer labs in communities with limited access to technology. According to its website, the foundation “has committed more than $650 million to assist nonprofit organizations working in major urban communities in the United States, South Africa and India.”

Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about Apple. Back in February, I was helping a board of young professionals put together a benefit event for a local organization in NYC. Although I could not find any information online, I went ahead and wrote a letter (with budget and proposal included) to Apple asking for sponsorship. To this date, I have not heard from them. How come a company with revenue of $15.68 billion (stats 2009) does not support social causes? There is no Apple Grants for Nonprofits or an Apple Foundation. In fact, Apple has been called out as one of America’s least philanthropic companies.

Many argue that Apple is helping to better our society by ensuring good working conditions, caring for the environment and supporting Bono in his Product Red campaign to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. But did you know that only a small percentage of the revenue generated from Product Red products is given to the Global Fund? Given the lack of transparency of this campaign, it is impossible to know how much they make from Product Red products, and whether they spend more money on programs in Africa or on advertising. The way I see it, Apple gains significantly more from participation in Product Red through market exposure than the Global Fund gains from their contributions. Mark Rosenman from The Stanford Social Innovation Review writes, “[Product Red] is an example of the corporate world aligning its operations with its central purpose of increasing shareholder profit, except this time it is being cloaked in the patina of philanthropy.”² The fact is that companies can market themselves as socially conscious in order to increase sales without really being so.

On occasion there have been signs of generosity and philanthropy from Apple (e.g., iTunes donations for Haiti and discounts for schools and educators). But their philanthropy tends to be narrow and episodic. Apple, when did you abandon your “think different” slogan? And where, as Jake Shapiro asked Steve Jobs, is Apple’s “genius when it comes to supporting nonprofits?”

I love Apple products. But I prefer buying products from more socially responsible corporations and Apple’s competitors are far more advanced in this area. I wish Apple could find a way to marry its technological genius with a genius for philanthropic giving – we all would benefit!

1. Apple’s No-Donation Policy for Apps is a Cop-Out, Jake Shapiro, 2010.
2. Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Patina of Philanthropy, Mark Rosenman, April 11, 2007.

Related posts:

1. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response
2. Using Social Media to Mobilize Supporters and Resources (Part I)
3. Are Nonprofit Executives Leveraging the Power of Social Media?
4. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors
5. Making Social Media Work for Your Nonprofit

If you haven’t gotten out your year-end online appeal yet, don’t worry! You aren’t the only procrastinator – your online donors are just like you. At Network for Good, my nonprofit, we process donations for about 40,000 nonprofits annually, and every year, the biggest two donation days are December 30th and 31st. Generous procrastinators like to get their gifts in at the last minute for tax purposes. So it’s not too late to be successful. Here are the top four things you need to remember:

1. Strike now and then again at the last minute: The best piece of advice I can give you at this time of year is this: Send out an appeal soon – then send out a last-minute reminder appeal the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Surprisingly few nonprofits send out appeals then, so you get the double advantage of gaining visibility and reaching donors when they are most inclined to give.
2. Craft a great ask: Forge an emotional connection right away that tells the donor why they should personally care and what tangible difference they will make. Then put that appeal in the mouth of someone the prospective donor trusts.
3. Make sure your donate form is in perfect working order — easy to find, quick to use, and full of security assurances. You want it to feel simple and safe to give. Ask one of your more technically challenged friends to make a donation and see if they can do it. If they can’t, fix your form.
4. Receipt and thank quickly and graciously: Send out the receipt instantly and thank profusely. Remember: the number one irritation of donors is lack of gratitude or information on the impact of their gift. It’s the season to ask for money, but it’s also the season to give thanks.

Related posts:

1. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response
2. Mobile Giving: Meet James Eberhard
3. Increasing Online Giving: 10 Tips to Optimize Your Donation Landing Pages
4. Twitter Tips for Sucessful Nonprofit Fundraising
5. 10 Easy Tips to Optimize Your Donate Now Button

People, aided by social technologies, are coming together to support causes they care about. Nonprofits can reach thousands of people with a “tweet” instantly. Physical and language barriers are no longer an issue. You can post a quick “update” right from your desk, home or on the go. Similarly, people can get your updates on their computer, mobile phone or PDA. Tweets can now be sent and received in over five different languages. Twitter has become an important part of any nonprofit social media strategy.

But it takes more than posting multiple tweets a day to get the job done. It is not quite as simple as informing followers that you need some money.  Below are a 10 tips (best practices) which may help your nonprofit increase its fundraising success on Twitter.

1. Cultivate a community. Asking people for money can be daunting. For this reason, it’s important to build a community of people interested in your content and cause before asking for anything.
2. Make the message clear. State your purpose clearly and concisely. Highlight the “why” and “how” when making a call to action.
3. Create hype and excitement. Generating buzz and excitement around your cause is imperative. It’s important to stand out and set your nonprofit apart from the rest. Hashtags and unique avatar ribbons are simple features that can be incorporated to your initiative and to involve supporters. Be creative. Put an open call out to people to use their unique skills and talents. Get them involved. Get them excited.
4. Report regularly. Tell your network about your progress. Run donation totals on regular basis in order to maintain momentum and keep everyone excited about the cause.
5. Make your messages meaningful. Do not waste people’s time.  Don’t ask for donations on every tweet. The most basic of fundraising secret is that people give to people. Twitter is simply one more tool to help your nonprofit connect with its supporters. Remember, social media networking sites are about relationships.
6. Ask your network to “retweet” (RT) your messages. A study conducted by Dan Zarrella finds that “calls to action (“Please ReTweet”), while they might sound cheesy, work very well to get ReTweets.” This is viral marketing as its best!
7. Timing is essential. People are less likely to donate at particular times of the year such as right after Christmas, during the Super Bowl or national holidays.
8. Give praise to volunteers, supporters and donors. These are your most important nonprofit resources. People want to know that they are making a difference. Showing appreciation also encourage a continued effort on everyone’s part.
9. Back up words with action. Use Twitter to let followers know what your staff is doing to help. Create a sense of community around the change you seek. Connect with your network members to build trust and maintain credibility.
10. Tweet about your cause in general. After the campaign is over, update people on the current state of the cause in general. Let them know where and how their efforts have made a difference.  This keeps your nonprofit in peoples’ minds and primes them for the next round of fundraising.
11. Authenticity before marketing. Traditional marketing, development and communication strategies do not work on social networking sites. Web 2.0 is much more about having personality and building online community. Nowhere is this more true than on Twitter.

Twitter is a powerful and cost-effective social media tool for nonprofit organizations. It can help you boost donations and connect to your donors. Before Twitter, and other social media, there was no economical way for a fundraising appeal to spread like wildfire. Now it’s incredible how many people a nonprofit can reach with very few resources. Experiment with it and give your supporters the opportunity to get involved quickly and easily with your nonprofit and your cause.

Related posts:

1. Formulating a Sucessful Social Media Strategy for Your Nonprofit
2. Creating an Effective Twitter Profile
3. Got Stories? 3 Secrets to Successful Fundraising
4. Increasing Online Giving: 10 Tips to Optimize Your Donation Landing Pages
5. Tips to Collect and Track Social Media Data to Further Your Cause

Everyone is familiar with charities that present us with a story of a child in an underdeveloped country for whom only a few cents a day could bring food, shelter and clean water. Stark photographs are shown in order to add vividness to the story. This strategy emphasizes desperate circumstances and gives a glimmer of hope by showing that a different story — a better story — can be written, if only more volunteers and donors would join the cause. This is the combination typically used, but it may not be right for your nonprofit branding or fundraising efforts.

I tend to lean towards positive stories, those of success and transformation. They provide a sunnier side and are filled with hope and vision for the future. Positive stories lift people’s spirits and move them to wonder what they can do to help. An example of this comes from the world of guerrilla marketing, where the Dubai Autism Center created a shopping bag featuring an image of a happy child reaching up with her little hand towards the handle of the bag so that, when the bag is carried, it appears as though the girl is holding the shopper’s hand. This story telling strategy stands a good chance of attracting more donors because it ignites people’s curiosity and moves them from knowing about problems to addressing them.

New York Times columnist and author Kristof Nicholas says, “Good people engaging in good causes sometimes feel too pure and sanctified to sink to something as manipulative as marketing, but the result has been that women have been raped when it could have been avoided and children have died of pneumonia unnecessarily—because those stories haven’t resonated with the public. So for God’s sake, let’s learn how we can connect people to important causes and galvanize a robust public reaction.”

So, what does it take to tell your stories successfully? Kristoff offers the following insights:

• Look for heroes, not victims
  Search for positive, heartwarming accounts of triumph. Kristoff writes “we wanted to call attention to sex trafficking, acid attacks, maternal mortality, yet we knew a focus on such a litany of horrors would go unread. The solution we came up with was to find stories of women who had overcome adversity rather than succumbed to it. We explored sex trafficking through the story of a teenage Cambodian girl who was imprisoned in a Malaysian brothel—but who, after escaping, became a very successful businesswoman with the help of an aid group, American Assistance for Cambodia.”

• Focus on an individual, not a group
  Kristoff tells us of an experiment in which they asked people to donate to help hungry children in West Africa. “One group was asked to help a seven-year-old girl named Rokia, from Mali. A second was asked to donate to help millions of hungry children. A third was asked to help Rokia but was provided with statistical information that gave them a larger context for her hunger. Not surprisingly, people donated more than twice as much to help Rokia as to help millions of children. But it turned out that even providing background information on African hunger diminished empathy, so people were much less willing to help Rokia when she represented a broader problem.” Thus, you should try to build your story around one particular person. People want to help particular individuals, not causes. Give people a “face” they can relate to. As Mother Teresa said, “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.”

• Make donors feel good
  The secret to successful fundraising is securing gifts that donors enjoy making. So stop sending those “guilt” letters. While raising money to accomplish your mission is part of the job, you should do everything possible to make sure your donors also come out feeling like winners. Make people feel lucky that they have an opportunity to help others. Donors want “an emotional ROI.” Tell them how they can help not how dire your circumstances are. Make it about them.

Stories are a powerful way to engage people in what you nonprofit does and help them understand the meaning of your work. Stories help people gain perspective on an organization’s work and impact. What is your story?

Related posts:

1. Twitter Tips for Sucessful Nonprofit Fundraising
2. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response

The key to creating successful, effective email marketing campaigns is tied to three critical (but little known) techniques:

1. Segmentation. Stop blasting emails to your entire contact list. Use segmentation to send ONLY relevant messages. As you might be aware, permission-based marketing is very important. It’s imperative to get permission before sending emails to your supporters. Even with permission, however, you’re still sending people emails they don’t want to receive. The solution: segmentation. Stop blasting emails to your entire contact list. No single email will be relevant to EVERYONE on your list. It does not matter how great your content is or how fantastic your fund-raising appeal is. The truth is that you will only reach a handful of interested people. All others will get irritated and either unsubscribe or completely ignore future emails.

Effective email marketing requires you to know as much as you can about your contacts. You need to know their interests, particularly as they relate to your programs and services, their donation history, the amount they donated, and whether they opened and clicked through the emails you have sent. The more details you know, the higher the chance you have to send targeted, relevant messages. This segmentation is what makes the difference between you and millions of other small nonprofits.

2. Consistency. Keep your email marketing consistent. I know most nonprofits are strapped for time and resources. However, this doesn’t mean you should neglect your contacts. They deserve consistent, relevant communication from you. Your contacts are more likely to donate, sign a petition and spread the word about your nonprofit if they trust you. But this trust can not be earned by sending them an email once in a while. Once in a while does not build relationships. Ironically, most nonprofits only send emails as part of a fund-raising event or campaign. A bad practice that views contacts only from the perspective of their pocketbook and risks turning off potential donors.

Devote the necessary time and resources making your email marketing consistent. If you promise to send a monthly newsletter, then you better send out a newsletter. Follow up with your contacts about upcoming events, program news and highlights, and even articles or news reports related to work your organization does. The point is that there’s no excuse for losing touch with your contacts. Consistently sending emails to your constituents on a segmented basis will help enhance your relationships and lead to a significant increase in donations, brand visibility and support.

3. Integrate your email campaign with other marketing channels. Show your contacts that they are more than just a name on a list. Send a postcard (along with an email) to remind people of an upcoming event. Send a letter and gift to new donors, followed by a phone call (or voice message) asking if they received it. Tie everything together and you’ll get a powerful, reinforced campaign.

At some point, of course, you’ll want to examine those smaller details, like the best words to use in a subject line or how to address your contacts. But for now, focus on implementing the three critical email marketing techniques and you will see a significant increase in response, donations and community engagement.

Related posts:

1. Email Marketing: 7 Easy Ways to Decrease Your Newsletter Unsubscribe Rate
2. 10 Essential Social Media SlideShare Presentations for Nonprofits
3. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response
4. What’s the Buzz All About? Nonprofits and Social Media
5. Google Apps for Nonprofits

Today, “command and control” communications is slowly becoming outmoded. Social media is the new way to communicate with supporters. Why? Because it allows organizations to connect with potential donors, volunteers and constituents on a more personal level. Failure to realize the power of social media can cost your organization in the long run.

How does this shift in communications affect your nonprofit and how can social media strategies and tools help you raise money, recruit volunteers and increase brand visibility? These questions are explored in-depth on the video presentations below. Experts from around the country discuss the dynamic and expanding opportunities for nonprofits to capitalize on social media. What are you waiting for? Watch them now!

Gear Up for Giving: The Click Daly Show on Social Media for Nonprofits

Social Media Strategy for Nonprofits

Creative Fundraising Online

What the Heck is Social Media

Using Social Media for Good Causes

5 Facebook Tips for Nonprofits with Randi Zuckerberg

Transforming Your Cause Through Social Media

Nonprofit Defining Success Online

Using Video to Promote Your Cause

Guide to Online Video for Nonprofits – Marketing Your Campaign

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2. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors
3. Making Social Media Work for Your Nonprofit
4. Formulating a Sucessful Social Media Strategy for Your Nonprofit
5. Putting Out Social Media Fires: What to Do When a Crisis Breaks

Most companies and organizations want as much marketing coverage for as little money as possible. Well, who wouldn’t? Social Media allows organizations to easily access huge numbers of potential and existing constituents at little or no-cost. Social Media is driven by word-of-mouth, one of marketing’s most powerful tools, so why aren’t more nonprofits getting involved in this spanning media outlet?

There are several major nonprofits engaging in Social Media such as the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, March of Dimes and City Year. However smaller and more local nonprofits have yet to understand the benefits of using Social Media and how to take advantage of this growing market.

There are three major “benefits” for the nonprofits that use Social Media:

1. Growth in online revenue: Online revenue has grown about 50% since 2008
2. The target market prefers to contribute via the web: 70% of the “Wired Wealthy” has claimed they would rather submit donations online
3. More effective form of communication: This market doesn’t want to be advertised to, they want to be connected with.

Online Revenue Growth

A recent report, released in March 2010 by Blackbaud, a software and service provider for nonprofit organizations, has shown that online revenue has grown 46% from the year before. Accordingly, nonprofits have reported a 65% increase in online revenue compared to 2008. These nonprofits also had a 21% year-over-year median growth rate in online revenue. That is a considerable amount of available and possible donations that any nonprofit not using Social Media is missing out on.

In 2009, Epic Change created Tweetsgiving which used Twitter to raise over $11,000 in just 48 hours to help build a classroom in Arusha, Tanzania. Over 98% of the donors had never donated to Epic Change before. Another example of a successful campaign using Social Media was “Dollars for Darfur” which raised almost $150,000 in 2007 to help stop genocide in Sudan. The Facebook group currently has over 5,000 student members and over 22,000 “likes”.

Target Market Expectations

A research study administered in March 2008 by Convio, a fundraising software and research company for nonprofits, revealed background information about nonprofits’ broad target market that’s already using and donating to nonprofits online. The study surveyed more than 3,000 donors from 23 major nonprofit organizations who donate a minimum of $1,000 annually to a single cause. These donors are considered the “Wired Wealthy.” The surveys revealed the demographics of this Wired Wealthy market. 25% of those surveyed were found to have household incomes above $200,000 per year, were predominantly baby boomers, have been using the Internet an average of 12 years, and were online an average of 18 hours per week. This market pays bills, banks, gets their news and makes purchases all online.

The Wired Wealthy, for the most part, wants their contributions to be instant and efficient. 51% of those Wired Wealthy surveyed said that they would rather make their charitable contributions online versus through the U.S. Postal Service. Their reasons are speed, efficiency, and instant gratification. 70% of Wired Wealthy explained they would rather contribute online because it allows gift giving to be immediate and when it is on their mind, which otherwise, they might forget.

Effective Communication

The Wired Wealthy, like most consumers today, want to be communicated with, not just spoken to. They are tired of constantly being advertised to, they want to be engaged with, they want the companies to understand and connect with them. Social Media allows organizations to engage with their viewers by reading what their target market is talking about and responding as a company.

Nonprofits, similar to other businesses and organizations, can reach their market using Social Media simply by joining in on the right conversations and engaging in what’s important to them. “Communications is about reach. Communication is about relational dynamics between people. Social media provides the means to effectively communicate with [the target] market.”

If nonprofits engaged with their target market through Social Media they would be connecting with them in a way that this market wants to be connected with, therefore making them more aware and active with the organization.

Related posts:

1. Designing Your Website to Draw in Donors
2. 10 Must-See YouTube Presentations on Social Media
3. What’s the Buzz All About? Nonprofits and Social Media
4. 10 Essential Social Media SlideShare Presentations for Nonprofits
5. Making Social Media Work for Your Nonprofit

According to a report from The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 4 out of 5 donors have made a gift online. Donors also prefer to use the Internet for donations. These statistics supports the trend in online giving. In 1997, online donations in the United States accounted for $300,000. By 2007, online donations totaled $314 billion. For many large nonprofits online gifts account for more than 30% of their new revenue.¹ Your nonprofit can take advantage of this opportunity but to do so you need to prioritize and focus on building a great website.

Here are ten simple ways to assess your website’s ability to help you raise money.

1. Basic contact information. Your website needs to state what your organization does, where it’s located and ways to get in touch with development staff. Your organization’s full name, address, telephone and email address should be displayed on your website’s contact page and on the bottom of every page.
2. Donation information. Provide your website viewers with easy access to information on how to donate and get involved. Don’t make them look around for it. Website users, in general, want to find information within a few seconds of entering your site. Otherwise, they are gone.
3. Tell where the money goes. Donors want to know how their money is spent. Provide a “donor update” every month or so.
4. Include a call-to-action. Lots of people miss the boat when it comes to this point. The goal is to convert visitors into supporters and donors. Insert subtle cues throughout your content and give visitors incentives to make that initial contact. Suggested reading “Increasing Online Giving: 10 Tips to Optimize Your Donation Landing Pages.”
5. Increase donor confidence: Place your Charity Navigator and Better Business Bureau badges prominently on your homepage and donation pages.
6. Integrate your online giving with other marketing channels. E-mail marketing still works. E-mail (e-newsletters) can feature content on your website. Always leverage offline promotion to compliment what you are doing online.
7. Freshness. Provide fresh and up-to-date content.
8. Use social technology. Provide tools for your visitors to share what they see via social networks. An easy and inexpensive way to do this is to include Twitter and Facebook buttons. There are also free “Tell a Friend” scripts that you can integrate on your website. Statistics show that word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools. People react positively to recommendations from their friends and colleagues.
9. Acknowledge your donors. Find a space on your website to publicly thank your donors.
10. Track users. The only way to improve your pages is by knowing your user’s preferences. Use a tracking tool to know where viewers go within the site and know how successfully you are leading them to donation or involvement options.

In sum, your website design should acknowledge your donor’s experience. Put yourself in their shoes and understand how they will interact with your communication. Your website design is experienced in stages — from the first impression to the last click. It is not just about your donation page. Recognize that more and more donors are taking action online. Use the 10 tips above to enhance your messaging or engagement strategy today.

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1. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors
2. 5 Must-Have Google Tools to Rock Your Website
3. Tips to Successfully Redesign Your Nonprofit’s Website
4. 10 Easy Tips to Optimize Your Donate Now Button
5. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response

Although it may sound silly to you, the donate button your nonprofit is using can greatly affect online donations. If you are using the small, gray standard “Submit” button, you might be waving good-bye to a lot of donations. A study conducted by Donor Digital finds that color, size and the copy on the donate button are crucial in enticing people to donate.

Take a look at a few tips about optimizing your donate button. Remember, small changes to your web donation page can dramatically increase the number of visitors who actually make a gift.

1. Location. Put your Donate Now button “above the fold.” Eliminate the need to scroll to find the button. The upper right corner is prime website real state. Make it obvious. Make it impossible to miss.



2. Use large Donate Now buttons. Donor Digital finds that size does matter. Similar to the industry learning that large font is more eye-catching, we’ve learned that bigger donate buttons help convert more donors.
3. Use color. A little color goes a long way. Colorful, high-contrast donate buttons work better than gray buttons.
4. Use specific language. Buttons with a specific call-to-action (“Donate Now”) perform better than a gray button that says “Submit.”
5. Stand out. Make sure your “Donate Now” button stands out from the rest of your website.



6. Frame the button in a compelling way. Make it about the donor. Why should they care? What can they help accomplish? Make sure you have a strong persuasive message above the call to action. Use it to persuade donors on the fence.



7. Test your links. Once it is up on your site, make sure it takes donors where it should. There is nothing worse than a broken link.
8. Put it on every page. The act of giving is immediate. We can not predict what page someone will be on when they are inspired to donate. Increase your chances of receiving a donation by putting the button on every page.
9. It is not just for your website. Include the Donate Now button in every communication (blog, e-newsletter, email signature).
10. Test it out. It shouldn’t take someone more than 3 seconds to find your “Donate Now” button.

Take away: If you want to see an increase in online donations, you need to optimize your donate now button, not just your website and your donation landing pages. Give your button the emotional tone that touches people and invites them to donate.

Related posts:

1. Increasing Online Giving: 10 Tips to Optimize Your Donation Landing Pages
2. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response
3. 10 Tips to Effective Search Engine Optimization for Nonprofits
4. Tips to Successfully Redesign Your Nonprofit’s Website
5. Designing Your Website to Draw in Donors

Do you find yourself a bit envious of all that money and manpower of bigger nonprofits? Don’t be. Optimization can be the field leveler you need to compete with large companies.

If you spend most of your time thinking about developing compelling campaigns on and offline, and finding new ways to engage supporters, as well as writing great fund-raising letters, your web donation page design and content is probably the last on your list. Yet, studies have shown that a well-optimized donation page can help you convert visitors into donors.

Most organizations (including large ones) have donation page conversion rates below 20%, some even less than 10%.  These poorly designed pages are driving away potential donors. Why should you care about that? Improved conversion on these pages mean more dollars raised with no increases in outbound marketing.

10 Tips to Optimize Your Donation Landing Pages

1. Use large donate buttons. Larger donate buttons convert more donors than smaller buttons.
    
2. Use color. Colorful, high-contrast donate buttons work better than gray buttons.
    
3. Simplicity. Flash designs are very often the culprit to a low converting landing page. Simplify the design utilizing static images.
    
4. Streamline your forms. Remove unnecessary fields from the personal information form (such as “title” or “suffix”).
    
5. Stay focused. Give your landing page visitors only one action to take, not multiple actions.
    
6. Avoid distractions. Don’t give your visitors a reason to detour from the page before completing the action you want them to take. In other words, avoid putting full site navigation and links on a landing page that will encourage visitors to abandon the page.
    
7. Write donor-friendly content. Generally, when it comes to content, it’s best to keep it short and simple. Use concise language that’s easy to understand and straight to the point.
    
8. Show where the money goes. Use charts and diagrams to show donors how their money will be used. donors want their philanthropic investment to have a measurable, significant impact on a cause they care about.
    
9. Prominent email capture. Not all visitor will be convinced to donate right away. Ensure you give them easy alternatives to engage with your nonprofit. Then work on the relationship.
    
10. Say thank you. By showing appreciation, you invite donors into the “organizational family” and increase their sense of participation. Saying “thank you” will go a long way toward securing the next gift.

Take away: spend some time clicking around your donation landing pages. Take the time to evaluated each page against above 10 optimization elements.

Related posts:

1. 10 Easy Tips to Optimize Your Donate Now Button
2. Make the Case For Giving – 7 Tips to Help Your Nonprofits Increase Its Year End Appeal Response
3. Top 4 Things to Ensure Last-Minute Giving Success
4. Mobile Giving: Meet James Eberhard
5. Changes to Facebook Pages: What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know!

Social media is all about relationships. It  started in the mid-90s when AOL introduced the idea of chat rooms online. Although it seems like a long time ago, it was only 15 years ago. Today, there are a number of social media channels or social networking sites. Here are some of the biggest players:

Boasting millions of users, these social networking sites are rapidly replacing traditional media. Over one-third of Americans are spending more time on social networking sites than watching television, reading newspapers or listening to radio. How does this translate into opportunities for nonprofits?

It may be confusing at first glance but the bottom line is simple: social media is about people making new connections and maintaining their current connections. It’s about growing and cultivating a network of contacts. Fundamentally, it’s about people and relationships. Millions are using social networking sites to share content and have conversations online. This brings us to the main point of social media: conversations and the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

Word-of-Mouth

This is not a brand new concept. Word-of-mouth marketing has been around since time began. It is the most effective way to persuade and influence other people. Numerous studies have shown that word-of-mouth marketing is better than advertising and even better than public relations. It’s people influencing people, friends influencing friends. Peers and colleagues hold more influence over their friends’ purchasing and donating decisions than any other source of information.

How do you harness the power of social media? To start, all you need is “real estate,” or a page, for your nonprofit. Having “real estate” in the social media community comes at no price. It’s absolutely free — you just need Internet access to set up a profile. What do you do next? You start sharing information in real time with your “fans”(Facebook) and “followers” (Twitter). Each one of your fans or followers have their own Twitter and Facebook friends. They have a whole different universe of friends, in many cases maybe hundreds and thousands. When your nonprofit sends a message out (a post update on Facebook or a Tweet on Twitter) it can quickly ripple out to thousands, even tens of thousands of people. The reach of your message could be exponential.

Marketing As Its Best

If it is of interest, your message has the possibility to get re-posted and re-tweeted from friend to friend to friend. If nonprofits use it wisely, social media will let your organization cultivate your audience and stay on their radar screen.

As nonprofits, we want to engage new people. We want to capture their attention. Ultimately, of course, we want them to donate money, volunteer and attend our fundraisers. The way to get there from where you are right now is to make friends with them and to keep that friendship alive through regular communication. Just like you would do with any friend.

Social media marketing works. It works because when social media channels are handle and managed well, it creates what feels like a very personal connection. Here are some interesting numbers to consider:

• In 2005, 8% of all adults online had a profile on a social network site. Today 50% do.

• In 2007 total online giving in the USA reached over 10B dollars, which is a 52% increase from 2006.

• 51% of wealthy donors prefer to donate online. Half of them use Social Media to do that.

Social media is a very personal thing. It levels the plain field for small and medium nonprofits. Through social media, nonprofits can cultivate relationships with people who will enthusiastically spread the word about the work your organization does. And do it for free, which is about what most nonprofits can spend on marketing and advertising.

Related posts:

1. 10 Essential Social Media SlideShare Presentations for Nonprofits
2. 100 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits
3. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors
4. 10 Must-See YouTube Presentations on Social Media
5. Making Social Media Work for Your Nonprofit

Marketing and advertisement are often the last priority for small and medium nonprofits. After all, resources are scarce and much needed to fund core programs. Yet, most nonprofits have a development or fundraising program in place. Usually, the development officer focuses on already existing donors and funding sources. Once in a while, however, through a special appeal (holidays, anniversary, events) the organization gains a few new donors. Although this is great, it is not nearly enough to significantly increase your donor base and take your nonprofit to the next level. If this sounds like the story of your nonprofit, then you need to read this entry.

There is no a magic formula how nonprofits go from being a small, hardly-known organizations to becoming a major player in their field. But there is one thing that major organizations have in common: they have an effective and aggressive marketing plan. At some point they were able to cross the “invisibility” threshold by adopting a strategic marketing and communications plan.

The question you are probably asking now is, “How can my small nonprofit put in place a marketing and communications plan when it is dealing with a limited budget?” The answer is Google, the world’s most popular search engine.

Google in-kind advertising services for nonprofits gives FREE ADVERTISING up to $10,000 per month to selected nonprofits. Google does this through its advertising program called AdWords. Through this program your organization can take its fundraising goals to the next level. Google gives you the same marketing potential and outreach that major nonprofits and big business with large marketing budgets enjoy.

When users use Google to do a search, they are presented with a list of text ads related to their search. These ads appears on the right hand side of their screen, and sometimes above the main search results. When users click on one of the ads, they are brought to the website being advertised.

Lets take a look at an example. If we search for “world hunger” on Google, we get the following screenshot:

Text ads related to your search “world hunger” are shown as “sponsored links” on the right side of the screen, and above the main search results. Google AdWords in-kind advertisement provides an opportunity for your nonprofit to boost website traffic, donations and increase brand visibility.

1- Be a U.S. organization that has current 501(c)(3) status
2- Have a functional website
3- Serve communities in art, education, health, science & technology and volunteerism

The application process is rather simple, but requires a basic understanding of Google AdWords program. Don’t panic if you don’t know much. You can go to the Google Grants webpage to learn more about how it works (guidelines, examples, etc) and to fill out an application.

Related posts:

1. Google Apps for Nonprofits
2. 5 Must-Have Google Tools to Rock Your Website
3. The Nonprofit Power User Guide to Google Docs
4. What’s the Buzz All About? Nonprofits and Social Media
5. Email Marketing for Nonprofits: 3 Essential Techniques

Social media has become an integral part of the private sector’s marketing strategy. Businesses use social media to promote their brands, keep in touch with customers and advertise new products. They have learned, rather quickly, that social media is a powerful tool. This brings us to the question, why is the nonprofit sector lagging behind? This is the time for nonprofits to jump on the social media wagon and use it to bring about change, to make a positive and profound impact in the lives of people, to reach out to new supporters, to raise more funds and, yes, to increase brand visibility.

Social media is FREE and EASY. Everyone can use it. In fact, almost everyone in the United States is making use of it (3 out of 4 Americans use social media and 87% of Facebook users are participating in social causes that are new to them since their involvement in online communities began). If you are a nonprofit executive still wondering if this is something you should take on, I invite you to look at the numbers.

Let’s take Facebook for example. This social networking site has more than 350 million active users with 90 million users in the U.S. alone. Most of its users are college educated, well-connected and more affluent than average internet users. Today, Facebook ranks as the #1 social networking site.

Twitter, on the other hand, has over 40 million users. Statistics show that more than half of Twitter users don’t even go to a company (in this case nonprofit organization) website, but instead use Twitter to get their daily updates.

And, of course, nonprofits and charitable organizations have the issue-focused networking site Change.org. This site promotes causes ranging from animal welfare and disaster relief to poverty in America and HIV/AIDS worldwide. Nonprofits can post updates, petitions, raise funds and even recruit volunteers.

Nonprofit organizations can use the same tools and techniques that the for-profit sector uses to build awareness, recruit volunteers, connect with supporters, promote events, collaborate with similar organizations and even raise funds. We do not have to reinvent the wheel.

Whether you are a big or small nonprofit, this is the right time to start using social media.

Related posts:

1. 10 Must-See YouTube Presentations on Social Media
2. Are You Listening to Your Supporters?
3. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors
4. What’s the Buzz All About? Nonprofits and Social Media
5. Are Nonprofit Executives Leveraging the Power of Social Media?

Until this year, Rosa wouldn’t have devoted space to the laws that vary widely across all states—and Washington, D.C.—that require nonprofits to register in each state where they solicit donations.  The laws have been around for decades and ignored due to lack of enforcement.  Nobody cared.

This year, the IRS stepped in with its vastly revised Form 990.  It contains two questions that pointedly ask about your compliance with state Charity Registration laws.  An officer signs your 990 under penalty of perjury.  Add to that a couple of recent enforcement actions and you’ve got a timely guest blog explaining what this is all about and why you need to pay attention.

You’re required to register in states where you solicit.

In states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, the mere existence of a “Donate Now” button triggers your registration requirement.  One of Rosa’s posts tells you how to optimize your donation page.  If you’ve got one, recognize that it has implications for registration.

If you’re inviting people to your website with email, U.S. mail, telemarketing, ads, events or meetings, you’ll need to register in the states above, plus the likes of California, Texas, Utah and others, if your inducements find residents of these states.

Every state considers paper mail, telemarketing and advertising that seek donations to be a solicitation.  So in the states where you’re using these methods, it doesn’t matter whether you’re using online giving.

Here’s an enormous timesaving tip for a small nonprofit that takes donations on its website.  If you get all of them from just a few states (or only one), put a disclaimer on your donation page.  Say that you only accept donations from those states.  Go one step further and remove the other states from your pull down menu, or only accept the right state names in an input field.  Now you’re only soliciting in the couple of states that mean the most to you.  The laws of every other state are irrelevant.

You know, if you’re not following the laws where you solicit, your board members could be liable.  They’re fiduciaries to your organization.  Under principles of fiduciary duty, they can be personally liable for the misdeeds of your charity.

In a good number of states, including Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania, failure to register is a crime, either a felony or misdemeanor.   In a lot of other states there are civil, not criminal, penalties.  In October, the Secretary of State in Georgia fined a nonprofit $25,000 for noncompliance with the state’s registration statutes.

There are some bright spots in all this.  A lot of states have exemptions.  They vary wildly based on mission, gross revenue, fundraising revenue and in-state revenue.  You might qualify.

Also, compliance isn’t complicated.  It’s just time consuming.  It’s the perfect project for a detail-conscious volunteer or intern.

Here’s a plan for getting started.  First, register in your home state.  Then, look at where you solicit the most.  If you’re accepting gifts online, your solicitations are based on state populations.  Start with the most populous state, California, and work down, registering where online giving is a solicitation.  Remember, by limiting the states that can donate online, you’ll save considerable time.

If you’re fundraising by paper mail, email, phone, advertisements and meetings, query your database for your constituents’ states of residence, ranking the output file by descending frequency of constituents.  At the top of the list will be the state in which you do the most solicitations.  Start there and work down.  Remember, you might be exempt in some states.

Eventually, with time devoted to one or two states per month, you’ll get your nonprofit into compliance.  That protects your board, your officers and your organization’s reputation.

About the Author
Tony Martignetti, Esq. has been supporting the fundraising needs of non-profits since 1997.  He is the author of Charity Registration: State-by-State Guidelines for Compliance and managing director of Martignetti Planned Giving Advisors, LLC.  His two websites are www.StateCharityRegistration.com and www.mpgadv.com.

Related posts:

1. Designing Your Website to Draw in Donors
2. Using Social Media to Connect with Wired Wealthy Donors