Tag Archives: ephilanthropy

Getting Started with ePhilanthropy Webinar – Wed, Jan. 21 at 7 PM EST

Thanks to Allan Pressel of CharityFinders and Cristine Cronin of NY Charities for joining me at this week’s event at the NYC Foundation Center, Online Fundraising Strategies for Tough Times.  Over 120 attendees joined us for a two hour session on how to help our nonprofit organizations prosper, even in this difficult economic climate.  Thanks also to Charlotte Dion of the Foundation Center for hosting the event and allowing me to present.  If you could not attend, please view my slides, Ten ePhilanthropy Tips for Tough Times

As a follow up, I’d like to offer an one hour webinar, Getting Started with ePhilanthropy on Wed, Jan. 21, 2009 at 7 PM EST.  This will be the first of what I hope to be monthly online classes on how you can use online strategies at your small or medium sized nonprofit organization.  This month’s session will focus on inexpensive and easy ways you can improve your web site, utilize email marketing techniques and promote multichannel strategies.  Best of all, you can attend from any place where you have a phone and an Internet connected computer.  Register Now.

Learning about ePhilanthropy at Little or No Cost

I’ve learned much of what I’ve learned about ephilanthropy and using online tools for attracting and engaging constituents by participating in webinars from several organizations which are usually provided at minimal or no cost.  Some of my favorites are:

Nten – always has a full schedule of pertinent topics, such as this week’s session on how to get executive buy-in for technology projects.  The most cost effective way to participate is to purchase a block of three sessions or purchase an unlimited pass through 2009.

Idealware is the place to go to learn about software for nonprofits and also offers online seminars.  Try out a free session on Online Communications on a Shoestring next week.

Fundraising123, a service of Network for Good, always has interesting teleconferences available, usually for free,  If you can’t attend at the time they’re given, you can download slides and MP3 recordings and listen to them on your MP3 player, as I’ve recently started to do.

My suggestion: take advantage of the learning opportunities available and make sure that you participate in the discussion, either through online chat or phone chat.  Most presenters encourage interaction, and this is how you will get the most value from the information provided.

Taking ePhilanthropy to the Next Level

Tonight I attended the kick off event for a new ePhilanthropy book by Ted Hart, James Greenfield and Sheeraz Haji People to People Fundraising as well as an accompanying web site which describes itself as the next generation of ephilanthropy.  Through his previous role as founder of the ePhilanthropy Foundation, Ted has much to offer, especially to nonprofits that are still ‘testing the waters.’  Tonight’s event was sponsored by Craigslist Foundation, which clearly plans to become a major resource for nonprofits through an web site makeover planned in late spring 2008,

Some worthwhile tips from Ted:

  • Donors often go to a nonprofit web site first to evaluate charity, even if they eventually decide to donate offline
  • Social networking is worth doing, but not until a nonprofit has first done the basics: developed a content rich web site and a strategic email marketing plan (after collecting consituents’ email addresses wherever possible)
  • Asking is the key to receiving;  Thanking is the key to receiving again.
  • Inspiring your strongest supporters to encourage others to get involved with your organization is the essence of ‘person to person fundraising’
  • If your organization is a 501(c)3 and you don’t yet offer online donation, you can easily do so through services such as JustGive or NYCharities, both which offer rock bottom credit card processing fees (3%)

Also came across this recent blog posting which highlights best practices for nonprofits using web 2.0 strategies.