Tag Archives: Steve MacLaughlin

Highlights from My Twitter Stream

Jocelyn Harmon and Geoff Livingston had an interesting discussion this week on the perennial question, Is It Possible to Raise Money with Social Media?  As I’ve suggested, Geoff pointed out that while social media can be used for fundraising, its main value is in building a social community that is engaged with your cause.   While Facebook Causes has worked for some nonprofits, it doesn’t allow organizations to retain contributors’ contact information for further cultivation efforts.   A private, house network may also be a viable option;   Geoff offered the example of TuDiabetes.

At this week’s NYC 501 Tech Club meeting, I also gave a short presentation on the recently released Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report, which also analyzes the results of a survey of almost 1,200 nonprofit professionals conducted earlier this year.  Search Twitter for #501techNYC for more details on meeting.  Nten is also offering a webinar series which explores the State of Social Networking in the Nonprofit Sector 2010.

Another interesting topic is the intersection of Marketing and Fundraising, explored in the Fundraising Well (and also by Steve MacLaughlin in When Marketing and Fundraising Collide).   Nancy Schwartz offers four ways that these departments can work better together:

  1. Start at the top.  Your management team must support this partnership and establish a structure which facilitates collaboration.
  2. Articulate shared priorities to serve as the core of a common agenda.
  3. Focus on what’s working well in both areas – and do more of it
  4. Share success stories where collaboration has resulted in positive results with constituents.

Finally, has your organization considered mission inspired gifts / gift catalogs?  Also see 7 Tips for Successful Online Fundraising.

Please follow NonprofitBridge on Twitter for more.

Online, Social Media, Mobile Are First Response Channels of Choice

Blackbaud’s Steve MacLaughlin kicked off a Lessons Learned from Haiti webinar series today with an overall review of how many nonprofits responded to the recent earthquake in Haiti.  Some memorable takeaways:

  1. After a disaster happens, there is a limited window to reach and engage supporters.   It’s critical to act quickly.
  2. If you wait for an emergency situation to happen, it’s too late.  Be prepared with email templates, photographs and develop processes so you can quickly update web page / donation form content (this is not often the norm at many nonprofit organizations).
  3. Emergency situations can impact any nonprofit, not just those that traditionally respond to disasters, such as the American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders.
  4. Online, social media and mobile are first response channels of choice in responding to a disaster.
  5. Reliable people, processes and technology are critical
  6. Follow-up!  Reaching out to constituents doesn’t end after you’ve sent an email appeal immediately after the disaster occurs.
  7. Accountability is important;  make sure donors are told how their funds have been used.
  8. Plan in advance – make sure your web site / donation forms can handle temporary spikes in traffic.

Upcoming sessions in this series will focus on mobile giving as well as mobilizing your supporters using social media.  Register now for these free events.  Nonprofits play a critical role in disaster recovery efforts.  As Steve reminded us today, don’t wait for the next emergency to prepare your organization to respond.

Thoughts on Fundraising – Online, Mobile, Direct Mail

This week’s disaster in Haiti has again highlighted online fundraising, as well as an expanded role for text messaging to raise money.  Apparently giving through your mobile phone is now a viable option and doesn’t always involve large fees to carriers – see post from Tech Soup, interview with Katya Andresen and CARE2′s advice that it’s Time to Get Mobile.  How sad it is that logistics have made it difficult to get the help to those in need quickly (hopefully this will change shortly).   Whatever channel you prefer, please give to the charity of your choice.

Hopefully, it won’t only be disasters that sends donors online.  Network for Good offers 5 Trends That Will Affect Online Fundraising in 2010.

But please don’t throw out the old tools when implementing the new.  Direct mail still has its place but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try some new approaches.  As Steve MacLaughlin writes, Direct Mail is Not Dead, but single channel communication is.

Thanks to Katya and Jocelyn Harmon for this week’s session on how to thank donors.   It’s amazing to me that some nonprofits still don’t always acknowledge gifts, other than a generic auto reply (and sometimes not even that).   And don’t only communicate with your constituents when you’re asking for money – this is a year-round dialogue.

Best Nonprofit Strategies for 2010 and a Look Back at 2009

Care2′s Frogloop surveyed some of our brightest stars to summarize the Best Nonprofit Strategies for 2010.   Network for Good’s  Katya Andresen and Blackbaud’s Steve MacLaughlin provide some early statistics on 2009 online giving.   Convio, which offers a a 2010 Resolutions Guide to help plan online initiatives, recently asked nonprofits what they most want to focus on in the New Year:

  1. Reconnect with donors by giving new options of engagement
  2. Increase fundraising for participant-led events
  3. Use social media to reach the next generation of supporters
  4. Improve multichannel engagement/integration
  5. Evaluate website’s effectiveness

Some of my thoughts:

  1. Despite the recession, online giving continued to be a strong fundraising source.  If you already accept online donations and regularly communicate with your constituents, congratulations.  But if you haven’t worked to optimize your forms and don’t analyze how well your email marketing is working, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
  2. Don’t obsess about the ‘best’ tools to use for online fundraising.  It’s more important that you select a vendor / product that will likely be around for awhile (ask colleagues at other nonprofits for recommendations) and that you consider how it will connect to your other systems.
  3. Social networking is not a fad.  Yes, it’s still better to make sure your web site, database and email marketing strategies are in place first, but don’t overlook tools such as Facebook and Twitter.  Remember that conversations about your cause and organization are going on all the time;  make sure you’re a part of them.
  4. Fundraising is everyone‘s responsibility, not just the development department.  Ideally, marketing/communication and fundraising/development strategies should be planned together since one supports the other.
  5. Still think that your constituents won’t respond to online fundraising initiatives?  Think again;  use all available channels and let your supporter decide which to use – direct mail recipients often choose to respond online.

Just getting started online?  Here’s a helpful online fundraising primer.

Preparing for Philanthropy’s Black Friday

Most nonprofits get the bulk of their donations during December.  So what can we do to get the word out this month?

Heavyweight Salvation Army has stepped up its digital marketing efforts, switching its radio budget to online communications.  There is now an online version of the red kettle, which have already appeared at many locations I pass daily.  They’ve also embraced newer tools, such as an Iphone application and have established a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter.   After long relying on direct mail for new donor acquisition, Salvation Army is now focusing on online community building and on attracting younger donors through online strategies.

Convio estimates that more than 111 million constituents will donate over $4 billion online this holiday season.   At last month’s Convio Summit and Blackbaud Conference (oddly held during the same week in different parts of the country), the theme was the same – web giving continues to increase, even while overall donations have dropped a bit during the recession.  In his overview of online fundraising, Steve MacLaughlin suggested that we segment our audiences by generation – and communicate with them differently.  He also suggested we build relationships with constituents by asking for small actions first before asking for financial help.

How do you keep up with the many communication channels now available, e.g. email, RSS, Facebook, Twitter etc.   In her recent presentation at the Blackbaud event, Nten’s Holly Ross suggested we use filters to find what’s most relevant and not try to “keep up with everything.”  The volume of information available through social media can be overwhelming, but we have to find a way to keep abreast of conversations that are already taking place about our organizations and our causes.   Looking for a tool to integrate email with social media?  Take a look at Threadsy.

What’s the fundraising outlook for 2010?  According to Mal Warwick Associates, we should try to get donors to give more frequently, even if they can’t make the large contributions they’ve given us in the past.   In addition, we should continue to use a multichannel approach because “the number of donors who choose to respond by writing a check will only continue to dwindle.”

Wishing everyone a prosperous end of year fundraising season.

New Articles / Events on Online Fundraising

Nten offers two new articles covering online giving:  Steve MacLaughlin offers an optimistic overview, showing how online giving continues to increase despite difficult economic conditions and why an integrated (online + offline) approach is best;  Rebecca Higman and Katya Andresen discuss how nonprofits can continue to engage constituents after their initial online gift, promoting recurring gifts and by remembering to thank them for their support.

Two events coming up soon: nonprofit marketing guru Kivi Leroux Miller offers an online fundraising bootcamp on Nov. 4, focusing on optimizing your web site and online donation page, targeted email marketing and using social media;  her advice is always on target.  If you specifically need help with email, take a look at next week’s Boston Email Fundraising Bootcamp, featuring experts such as Idealware‘s Laura Quinn and Firefly Partners‘ Maureen Wallbeoff.  While social media is the hot topic of the moment, email will be with us for a long time and should be a centerpiece of your online strategy.

Why It’s Not the Technology

In preparing for its upcoming  Online Nonprofit Technology Conference, Nten has asked What’s Holding Your Technology Back? I’ve posted a lengthy response, but make sure to read through everyone’s comments to this interesting question.

If you missed last week’s Blackbaud NetWits Summer Camp, all sessions and slides are now available for review.  I’ve known Steve MacLaughlin for years and his insights are very helpful.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Does Your Nonprofit Operate as Constituents View Us – As One Organization?

Many of us in the nonprofit sector aren’t as effective as we could be in interacting with our constituents because departments of our organizations aren’t working together.  Often each department will have its own agenda, and offline and online strategies are handled by different areas.

In No Constituent is an Island, Steve MacLaughlin suggests that we stop thinking about offline and online and simply treat them as different channels.  Steve offers some interesting analogies, such as how we would react if we deposited a check at our bank but its online system had no record of it, or if you bought tickets online but when you arrived at the event, the box office could not access your purchase information.

Social media guru Beth Kanter offers a similar perspective in Silos Culture Inside the Walls of Nonprofits Prevent Effective Social Media Use.  She describes the experience of a nonprofit staff member who tried to promote a social media policy within their organization, but encountered departmental turf battles.  The volunteers who had asked to start using Facebook to promote the nonprofit eventually started on their own;  the organization only became involved later.   Social media brings up even more challenges since some of us still think it deserves a place with other tools we use to interact with our supporters.

With the increasing popularity of social media, some are asking if email is on the way out, e.g. Will eMail Fundraising Die.  But just as direct mail is still effective, so is email.   These tools work best when part of an integrated strategy.  To accomplish this, our nonprofits have to change how we’ve traditionally worked.  One way to do this is to have frequent cross-deparatment projects and meetings – not long, drawn out lectures but quick updates so each area is aware of what other parts of the organization are working on.   This is why project management is so important at nonprofits to help staff across departments and locations to learn to work collaboratively.

Constituents don’t view us as different departments but as one organization.  It’s time we started to treat ourselves the same way.

Notes from Fundraising Day, ePhilanthropy Symposium

I joined over 2000 colleagues who help nonprofits raise money at Fundraising Day last week.  Some takeaways:

Mark Rovner offered these tips:

  1. Ask When the Time is Right – when your organization / cause is in the news
  2. Avoid the Constant Ask
  3. Synchronize Your Channels – direct mail, email, web site
  4. Avoid ‘Soft Asks’
  5. Ask for Feedback – surveys, online focus groups
  6. Finish the Story, Close the Loop – don’t ask again after donation before informing how past donation was used
  7. Don’t Ask for the Wrong Amount – know what levels your donors have previously gave
  8. Recognize Cross Channel Behavior – many will donate online after receiving direct mail
  9. Make Sure You Thank More Than You Ask
  10. Test – Find Out For Yourself

Tom Gaffny demonstrated the value of asking for a specific amount for a specific purpose, rather than simply requesting a ‘general donation.’

A day later, I attended the ePhilanthropy Social Networking Symposium, where we debated the value of social networking tools to nonprofits.  Some highlights:

Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud‘s Director of Internet Solutions suggested that we ‘experiment first, plan later’ to make sure our organizations are represented in these new web environments.  He suggested a POST approach:

  • People - who are you targeting?
  • Objectives - what do you want to achieve?
  • Strategy - what will it look like when you’re done?
  • Technology - what tools will you use?

Philip King of Artez Interactive suggested the value of recruiting fundraisers instead of donors, and suggested that the ‘from’ line in an email will often be more important than the ‘subject’ line;  i.e. people give because of their relationship with people, not necessarily because they support the cause.  He also discussed the ‘game changing idea’ of Kiva, where people can donate without going through a nonprofit organization;  Oxfam Direct has also used this technique successfully.

To keep up with latest trends, many speakers mentioned the value of following sites such as Beth Kanter’s blog.

Strategies for Successful ePhilanthropy

Attended ephilanthropy.org’s eTour this morning which focused on how to use online strategies for fundraising, advocacy and engaging constituents.  Outgoing director Ted Hart offered a summary of ‘ephilanthropy 101,’ followed by Charles Riess (of RSM McGladsey, who hosted event), Blackbaud’s Steven MacLaughlin and Convio’s Bob Evans.

When it was suggested that nonprofits develop a specific online plan, I suggested that an online plan is useless unless it incorporates offline strategies.  However, this becomes difficult when offline and online responsibilities are handled by different departments that aren’t accustomed to working together.

When I retitled my blog, ‘Bridging Development and Technology’ earlier this year, I omitted an important part of the equation – Marketing & Communications.   For an organization to take full advantage of the ephilanthropy techniques described today, it’s important that Marketing/Communications partner with Development while using Technology tools. I am building a new web site at www.nonprofitbridge.com where I will further describe how this can be done.

Another worthwhile point: Every activity should drive traffic to your web site.  In addition to regularly updating content, it’s important for the web site to be a part of any organization initiative to attract and engage constituents.

Finally, it was suggested that organizations clearly list their objectives before selecting products and vendors.  I asked: so why do many nonprofits base their decisions strictly on ‘connections’ or on products they’ve used at other organizations?  After all, any vendor can fit the bill when you don’t know what your requirements are.

There are many ways to join the Web 2.0 world.  As was suggested by more than one speaker today, it’s better to start something and learn from your mistakes than to wait endlessly while you plan the ‘perfect’ solution.