Embracing Technology As A Nonprofit- DC Seminar 9.9.09

Embracing Technology as a Nonprofit:
5 Easy Steps
Brooke Csukas
Account Executive, eTapestry Division of Blackbaud
September 9, 2009

What is our history?

Founded by former execs of MSC
First “Software as a Service” solution for nonprofits in 1999
6,000+ Nonprofit clients worldwide
Became part of Blackbaud-August 2007

Agenda
Optimizing your Website
Attracting Donors/Support through Social Media
Collecting Information on the Web
Making your Database Work for You
Communicating with New/Existing Donors

How is the Economy Affecting Giving?
Image Source: http://www.emu.edu.tr/mbalcilar/econconference/index_files/global-economy_0.jpg

How is the Economy Affecting Giving?
52.3% of donors are still planning to give the same amount or more in donations for 2009—only 17% are planning to give LESS
Donors plan to give less through direct mail, telemarketing, door-to-door canvassing and MORE through online giving and in kind gifts instead of cash
*Overall Online Gifts have increased 26% in 2008
THE MORE PEOPLE DO WITH YOUR ORGANIZATION, THE LARGER THEIR GIVING AND ENGAGEMENT!
Source: Philanthropy In A Turbulent Economy: Penelope Burk
March 2009
* Source: NTEN Benchmark Study 2009

The Rules Still Apply
(It’s all about relationships…not technology)

Web Site Optimization

75% of donors will check your website before making a gift whether it is Online/Offline
If Relationships are Built on Communications . . . Set yourself up for success!
A Few Key Changes can Make a Huge Difference
Your website = tool for engagement

Web Site Optimization:
Before, After, and After!

Keys to Building a Successful Web Site
1.Learn from your content
(Start with Google Analytics to see how many unique visitors you have, how they found you,
what they viewed, where they stayed the longest, and what content produced actions.)
2. Make your content easy to consume
(Always offer RSS feeds in addition to various subscribe options. Make sure they are easy to find and use.)
3. Make your content ever changing
(Be brave enough to blog, show responses, share viewpoints, and utilize forums. New information needs to be added daily or weekly by you and your community. Why do you think millions go to Facebook or Twitter by the minute?)
4. Make your site easy to find
(Every NPO and those serving NPO’s should have a social web presence. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr are your outposts linking back to the web site hub!)

Top Ten Traffic Sources

Google Grant/Sponsored Links—How to increase your web presence/visibility

They’re at your website, now what do they do?
Can they engage?
Can they add content? (Web 2.0)
Can they give or volunteer?
Your goal – to get something from them!

Keep it simple & Make Integration a Focus
Website
Constituent
Use Email
Gather Information
Database
Database

Do you have an Online/Social Media Strategy?
Social Networks
E-mail Campaigns
Google Adwords
Media & PR
Banner Ads on Homepage, Blog and eNewsletter
Integration with Direct Mail

What is Social Media?
Social media is online content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. Social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content; it's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming people from content readers into publishers.
Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal, political and business use.
Source: Wikipedia, 2009.

Food for Thought….
Top 5 Most Visited Websites in the United States:
Facebook is #3
YouTube is #4
MySpace is #5
(Twitter is #14)
Source:
http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/US

YouTube!

Allows you to attract more traffic to your website
Videos can easily be posted on website or as a link within an eBlast or eNewsletter
FREE service to increase your visibility
Growing in popularity and becoming more accepted in the NP world as a method for reaching constituents

April 2009 Data comScore Video Metrix Service
Video now bigger than Search: 12 Billion Videos per month vs. 10.5 Billion searches conducted
78.6% of total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
Average video viewer watched 385 minutes of video, or 6.4 hours
107.1 million viewers watched 6.8 billion videos on YouTube.com (63.5 videos per viewer)
The duration of the average online video was 3.5 minutes
Source: BrightRoll

Video is a Magnet forYour Web Site!“Most viral videoof all time!” Could her storybe told in any other manneras strongly?

Real Life Example….
Dec 11:
Subject line:
Urgent Appeal: Your gift to CRS is vitally important!
Straight Appeal
Static donation form
Raised $112k
Source: Laura Durington: CRS Social Media Presentation-AFP Maryland

Dec 29:
Subject line:
Only 48 hours left to make a tax-deductible gift!
Added “hotspot” text
Added video message from our president (that plays right on the donation form)
Added a strong pull-quote
Raised $112k

Dec 31:
Subject line:
Final Deadline: Last chance to make a tax-deductible gift
New “hotspot” text
Kept video message from our president
New pull quote
Raised $119k

The Results…
Was CRS’s most successful online fundraising campaign to date (non-emergency).
Three e-mail messages in this campaign (based on a direct mail piece)
Posts on social networking sites advertising campaign
Coordination with Google AdWords
This campaign raised $594k online.

YouTube Takeaways…
“SHOP” Others
Identify a few constituents who would like to share their story with others & record a few different testimonials each year
Integrate with your website and eNewsletter blasts
Get Creative!!

FACEBOOK
What is Facebook??
A FREE, online social networking site that connects people through online communities
Facebook started out as a service for university students but now almost one third of its global audience is aged 35-49 years of age and almost one quarter is over 50 years old.
Non profits can use Facebook to:
Connect
Brand
Share your story
Fundraise

FACEBOOK Users

FACEBOOK Pages
Personal Page= Your Organization’s Official Page on FB
TIPS:

Invite colleagues, board members, and friends to become fans
UPDATE often
Start Conversations
Brand your page

FACEBOOK Pages Cont…
Facebook CausePage=Online Donation Tool (application) on FB
Also a Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Page since anyone can start/create a cause
TIPS:

Brand & Link to your Page
Provide Clear FR Goals
Give Supporters Updates on your Progress

FACEBOOK Pages Cont…
Group/FanPages=Tool for gathering people w/ like interests
TIP:

Ask supporters to start groups related to your Charity

FACEBOOK Takeaways…
Real Life Application
The Nature Conservency’s “Lil Green Patch” Case Study
Built a cause page on FB to attract users to support the Adopt an Acre program to conserve rainforests in Costa Rica & fight global warming
20K new cause members and $33K in support since Feb 2008
These results will most likely NOT be the case for your organization…
HOWEVER, creating an online, Facebook presence will not hurt
Creating a group of fans/people that advocate for your cause WILL increase your giving and support
POST YOUR ONLINE GIVING PAGE LINK ANYWHERE YOU CAN ON FACEBOOK
Have an intern or student volunteer create these pages foryou—they typically have the most knowledge and insight into what will sell to their generation of internet users!

Flickr, Podcasts, Message Boards, Blogs
Flickr—Photo Sharing Application
Podcasts—Short recordings about a variety of different topics that can be purchased, downloaded for free, or posted on a web page
Message Boards—A segment of a website that hosts an open discussion amongst users
Blogs—A portion of a website (or a separate entity altogether like Twitter) in which an author posts discussion topics or information to be shared with followers
Personal Blogs=Online ‘Diary’
Organizational blogs=Information sharing/News Updates

The Power of Twitter

Social Networks: Hints for Success
It is not FREE, resources are required
Being present is not enough, engage
Be authentic, otherwise you will be exposed fast
Endorsements matter, think forwarded emails!
Measure
Have something to say, must be regular or it dies fast
Stephanie Miller, Email Insider, 2009

Real Life Story via the “New York Times”…

“Web Site Story Continued”
Charity: water
* 11 Employees
* 500,000 Followers
on Twitter
* 500 Donors Cover
all Admin Costs
* Donors can Locate
Their Well on Web
via Google Earth

“Web Site Story Continued”
Charity: water
* Raised $250,000
via Twitterfest
* Raised $965,000
via Sept. Birthdays
* Tons of Video
* Easy to Engage
* Giving is Joyous
* Infectious with
Youth/Boomers!

charity: water
Was the $250,000 raised via Twitter the key fact?
Was the $975,000 raised from Sept. birthdays the key fact?
Is the way they have harnessed web/video technology the key?
How about how they show impact via Google Earth?
Communicating daily w/ 500,000+ followers!

Collecting information on your website
Ecommerce / Online Giving
Personal Fundraising
Shopping Cart

Ecommerce & Online Giving
Important Functions of your Online Donation Page:
Integrates directly into donor database
Requires no additional manual entry
Customizable
Are your website and database integrated?

Example

After selecting eTapestry in 2008, One Brick was able to increase its annual giving goal by $10,000. The goal was attained and then passed by $6,000.
The eTapestry solution has enabled staff to send emails from the CRM solution and increase the organization's reach.

Volunteers?
Events?
Sponsors?
Can we take it to the next level?

Online Giving with Recurring Gifts
Process recurring gifts directly from your ecommerce webpage.
Integrate into reporting and thank you letter processes seamlessly

Online Giving with Recurring Gifts
Recurring Gifts

Donors become investors
Steady stream of incoming funds
Larger amounts in total
Amounts are more manageable by the donors
Key ingredient to sustaining long term donors and constituent loyalty

Matching Gifts
Does your organization have a Matching Gift Campaign?
Do you know which companies in your area having a Matching Gift policy?
How do you track which donors work for a Matching Gift corporation?

Give your volunteers and members the opportunity to JOIN you in fundraising for the mission.
Capture the information of everyone who donates for future solicitation.
Does not have to be “event” related.

Volunteers send an average of 40 emails.
Almost all volunteers meet their fundraising goals.
The average online donation through personal fundraising is $57.
Source: Kintera

Shopping Cart

Items/Tickets
Customizable
Registration Fulfillment
Shipping/Tax

Shopping Cart

Capture demographical and purchase information.
Personally manage items and inventory directly from the database.

Where does the information go?
How do you track all of the information you know about a donor?
Can you store their interests, historical conversations, and all contact points in one location?
Is your institutional memory protected?
What are the benefits to combining all this information into one location?

Constituent Relationship Management

Relationships
How would tracking relationships increase your fundraising success?

Reporting
LYBUNT
Last Year but Not This Year
SYBUNT
Some Year but Not This Year
How does your organization identify Lapsed Donors?
Can you run a report to tell you who the Top 10 donors are in your database?

Reporting
How do this year’s donors compare to last year’s?

Database = Fundraising Tool
Only works if used daily by all
Must be consistent/accurate
Powerful Memory Supplement
Technology makes it easy

On the Road
Does your organization have multiple offices?
Can you access your organizational data from anywhere?
How do you track notes from major gift visits or events?
What needs do your organization have for accessing your development database?

Communications
People are connected 24/7
How can we be expected to communicate with so many people?
How can we personalize our message?

Why Has Email Become So Important?
People are busy…they want to communicate/interact on their own time
Email is inexpensive…
Email provides virtually instant access to friends and supporters
Email is a great equalizer
Email is measurable

Today’s Supporter

Reads email before snail mail
More comfortable online
Busy, satisfies interests on own schedule
Expects information to be personalized
Expects immediate feedback
Demands information on progress/stewardship
Wants a way to share experiences with others online

No Email List? No Problem…

Whether you have some contacts or are starting from scratch, anyone can grow a strong email list
The three most important factors in effective email list-building are:
Where and how you acquire the addresses
How you welcome each new subscriber
How you manage the relationship after the opt-in
Source: EmailLabs

Grow Your List Online
Direct staff and other close supporters (board, volunteers, etc.) to include subscription links in email signatures
Use Search Engine Optimization/Marketing to increase traffic and subscriptions
Investigate alliances or partnerships with similar or complementary organizations to reach common supporters
Advertise your newsletter/services/cause through a 3rd party list

Grow Your List Offline
Ask for email addresses at every touch point
Instruct staff to capture email addresses over phone when appropriate
Include your website address on all printed materials
Offer an incentive to register (contest, raffle) to collect emails

Now that I have permission…
Hook them early, and keep them engaged over time
Optimize the welcome message
Send follow up message within a week (or less)
After a few months of active email, survey lists to see if you are meeting expectations

Why Segmentation is Important
Segmentation breaks your audience into manageable parts
If the goal is building relationships, it helps to know who you are talking to
Segmenting your list will lead to more targeted messages
If you don’t segment, you are treating every one of your recipients like they are the exact same type of person

How to be a Good Sender
In your messages, always include:
The purpose; why you are sending it to the reader
A clear way to unsubscribe.
Consider offering alternative ways to receive emails, such as:
Receiving newsletters monthly vs. weekly
Change of address (home vs. business email)
Sign up via RSS
Link to your homepage
Privacy policy
Physical/street address of your organization
Don’t get caught in spamtraps

How Important is that Header?
80% of respondents decide whether to click on the "Report Spam" or "Junk" button without opening the actual message
73% based that decision on the "From" name
69% percent based the decision on the subject line
Source: 2007 Email Sender and Provider Coalition (ESPC) study

Use Landing Pages to Increase Conversions

So I got them to click…now what?
Landing pages are a natural extension of email, regardless of message
The goal of most landing pages is to persuade a visitor to complete a transaction
Landing page effectiveness is measured by conversion rate
You should test landing page elements like you would test email or direct mail

Example Landing Page

Designing for Mobile Devices
email (html)

Mobile readers are more likely to scan your email rather than reading
Include compelling call to action in the first 15-25 characters of your subject line
Avoid “top heavy” images in the design
In addition to testing email browsers, test messages in handheld devices

A Few Email Design & Usage Tips
Keep truly important items above the fold
Ask subscribers to add your from address to their address book
Host images on your web site rather than embedding them
Links to resources and to special landing pages on your web site are powerful (Especially “tell a friend” functions)
Develop your own writing style that readers will learn to love (people adore stories, so tell many . . . )

What Now?
1. Take a look in the mirror
How do you stack up?

Website
Database
E-mail/Communications
Social Media Presence

What Now?
2. Plan
Make it a priority

Set Aside Time for Review
Add to Board Agenda
Seek Professional Assistance

(Most companies will help you do this at NO COST!)

What Now?
3. Continuous Evaluation
Must be Measurable

Website Hits
Fundraising
Donor Retention
Communications
Cost vs. Results
Social Media “Friends”

What Now?
4. Have Fun!!!

Try New Things
Get Creative
Share your passion for your mission!

What Now?
1. How do we stack up?
2. Written Plan
3. Continuous Evaluation of Tools/Technology
4. Have FUN

Resources
Getting Started with Facebook
Beth Kanter Blog – How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media
Jay Love Blog – CEO eTapestry --- Jay Love Twitter Page
Blackbaud – Raising Money During Challenging Times
Getting Started with Google Analytics
LotusJump – Website Marketing Made Easy
eTapestry Home Page
Contact eTapestry for Guidance

Questions?

Thanks!
Brooke Csukas
brooke.csukas@etapestry.com
317.336.3912