Givemn Advanced Webinar

Maximizing YourGiveMN.orgPartnership
Nonprofit training to help establish the online destination for creating change in Minnesota

Jeff Achen
Interactive Media Strategist
Dana Nelson
Executive Director
GiveMN.org Partnership
Special thanks to Target for making this presentation possible.
Brought to you by your partners at GiveMN.org
2

Maximizing YourGiveMN.org Partnership
This course is divided into 5 main sections:
Why GiveMN.org?
Learn how GiveMN.org supports your nonprofit and can help you be even more successful.
Key Development Strategies
Utilize GiveMN tools to increase your nonprofit's visibility and fundraising.
Clear Communication
Learn how to communicate your nonprofit’s mission and goals effectively.
Donor Relationships
Learn how to build strong relationships with your donors.
Next Steps
3

Section 1: Why GiveMN.org?
Section Objectives
When you complete this section you will be able to:
Describe why using GiveMN.org is beneficial for nonprofits.
Describe the difference between fundraising and fund development.
4
Section Preview
Review how the giving landscape is shifting as donors’ needs and expectations change. Learn how GiveMN.org helps you respond to these trends.

The GiveMN.org Goal
5
To host the most dynamic giving marketplacein the country that is the destination for charitable giving in the state of Minnesota.

What is GiveMN.org?
GiveMN.org is a free, online giving marketplace that connects donors with nonprofits.
6
There is no cost to your nonprofit to participate in GiveMN.org, and it will continue to be the most efficient way for Minnesota nonprofits to fundraise online.

What is GiveMN.org?
GiveMN.org gives nonprofits…
7
Opportunities to dramatically increase giving through promotions such as the annual Give to the Max Day (November 17, 2009).
Event results eclipsed those of previous local and national giving events
Helped nonprofits attract new donors and moved donors toward online giving

What is GiveMN.org?
8
GiveMN.org gives nonprofits…
Opportunities to reach new donors.
Publicity surrounding Give to the Max day brought out many donors, and many organizations indicated that they found new donors.
Donor traffic continued to grow following Give to the Max day as more donors learned about GiveMN.org.
Future promotions will provide additional opportunites.
* These figures are self-reported.

So NOW what?
Fundraising “as usual” has changed forever:
It moves faster
It must be fresh
You MUST include “multi-channel” efforts
9

Fundraising vs. Fund Development
Fundraising: The raising of assets and resources from various sources for the support of an organization or a specific project.
Development: The total process by which an organization increases public understanding of its mission and acquires financial support for its programs.
~ AFP Fundraising Dictionary, (Association of Fundraising Professionals)
Shift your focus to fund development
10

Why Use GiveMN.org?
Driving traffic to your GiveMN.org page can help with fund development:
Build your donor base by being part of a community of nonprofits.
Enhance relationships by using multiple channels.
Involve donors in creating fundraisers.
Take advantage of the trend toward more giving online.
Online giving grew 46% in 2009 compared to 2008
~ 2009 Online Giving Trends, Blackbaud.com, Jan 04, 2010 by Steve MacLaughlin
No transaction fees on donations through GiveMN.org right now!
11

Section 2: Key Development Strategies
Section Objectives
Identify important elements of key development strategies.
Use GiveMN.org to support your fundraising and fund development.
12
Section Preview
Explore six key development strategies, and learn how GiveMN.org can help support these strategies.

Key Development Strategies
A few key strategies will help ensure success in your fund development and increase the funds raised:
Have a Plan
Thank Donors
Measure Donor Contacts
Use Multi-Channel Approaches
Customize Messages
Share News
13

Have a Plan
Take the time to create a plan
Create a plan for development and communications annually.
Involve staff, board, and volunteers.
Most important is to know HOW MUCH money you need to raise from all sources for each program every year...because this changes.
Work the plan
The anchors on your plan are your regular fundraising activities (online and mail appeals, campaigns, grant writing, and special events) with the financial goal for each.
Include both financial goals AND the communication to support for each element of your plan.
Stay with the plan through the whole year
Use GiveMN.org to provide opportunities for donors to give throughout the year.
14

Create an Online Fundraising Plan
An important part of your develoment plan is your online fundraising plan
Define your fundraising goals
Example: 40% of individual donations will come from online sources.
Identify tactics
Example: Start an email newsletter and promote online giving on GiveMN.org.
Implement tactics in a way that can be measured and tracked
Example: Measure size of list vs. donations received after 6 and 12 months.
Assess Tactics
Example: Look at cost per new subscriber and donor.
15
~ Tips for Creating an Online Strategy, by Abny Santicolapublished on FundraisingSucessMag.com, September 1, 2009

Thank Your Donors
Send a thank you from your organization to the donorin addition to the confirmation emails sent from Razoo and Network for Good.
Make it personal
Make it meaningful
Be prompt – research shows that this increases the likelihood of receiving future gifts from the donor
Email in within days
Mail within two weeks
16
Whether you send the thank-you by mail or email may depend on the address information provided by the donor. Consider email only thank you letters for gifts under $100 or if you have a very small staff. Many donors give prefer email acknowledgements over paper – especially if they’re giving online.

Thank Your Donors – Example
17
Customized thank you letter from your nonprofit
Email notification from Razoo of donation processed
Email receipt and thank you from Network for Good

Measure Donor Contacts
Use your data to learn more about your donors:
Monitor activity regularly.
Document your donor contacts (phone, email, newsletter, etc.).
Track followers and conversions to donors.
Engage lapsed donors (find out why).
18
Click the “download the Excel spreadsheet” link on your donations page.

Donor Database
If you have more than 100 donors it’s time to get a database!
Get help selecting the database that’s right for your organization:
19
GiveMN.org provides your donation data in CSV (comma separated values) format so you can view it in a spreadsheet or import it into a database.

Using Your Data
You can use a database or a spreadsheet to analyze your data and answer questions about your donors to tailor your appeals to them:
When do they donate?
What Program and Fundraiser pages are most effective?
Where do they live?
20
Remember that all of your users that have claimed administrative access to your GiveMN.org site will have access to the donor data.

Use Multi-Channel Approaches
Reach out to donors in as many different ways as possible
Integrate online and offline efforts to touch donors in a variety of ways (Internet, phone, direct mail, face-to-face).
Keep your nonprofit visible with regular contact.
Using multiple channels can yield significant increases in overall revenue.
Keep the messaging consistent across all channels.
21
“Adding the online channel helped us raise 40% more revenue at year-end than we would have if we had only used direct mail.”
~ Understanding the value of multi-channel fundraising, published on NetworkForGood.org, Mar 18, 2009
By Andrew Olsen, Fund Raising Executive for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, St. Paul, MN

Promote GiveMN.org on Your Website
22
Promote
Even if you have a website that handles donations, you can benefit from being a part of the GiveMN.org community – at no cost.
You can add a link to your GiveMN.org page by adding a button on your organization’s website.

Augment Your Online Giving Strategy
23
No transaction fees
New donors that you don’t know can find you on GiveMN.org
Take advantage of GiveMN.org publicity and promotions
Easier for donors

Promote Everywhere
Promote your GiveMN.org page at every opportunity because that’s where the giving happens.
24

Customize Messages
Use your donor data to customize messages to all donors.
Send a special message to new donors at least once or twice a year.
Key stakeholders and major donors deserve a little extra attention.
25
Automate some of your customization: use the data you’ve downloaded from GiveMN.org to customize online or print messages by merging it into a form letter with your word processor or database.

Share News
26
Provide a compelling reason to give.
Use a photo or video to provide a human connection.
Provide synopsis of your organization.
Share information about your current funding needs and challenges.
Answer questions:
What does your organization do?
How does it do it?
Who does it effect?
How successful has it been?
What's the latest news?
Keep your profile fresh by updating your picture, video, or news reglarly, and be sure to identify the people and how your organization helped them.

Section 3: Clear Communication
Section Objectives
Describe communication channels available on GiveMN.org.
Use online writing best practices and multimedia to tell a compelling story.
Involve users to help tell your nonprofit’s story and raise more money.
27
Section Preview
Learn how clear communication supports your fund development and how how GiveMN.org augments your communications.
Learn important elements to help clearly communicate your nonprofit’s goals and needs.

Communications must beclear and bold
46% of donors stop giving for reasons that are connected to “a failure to communicate.”
~ Penelope Burk & Cygnus Applied Research
28

Describe the Need
Make sure your site provides information on what’s missing:
What do you want me to do?
Why?
What will it cost me?
Humanize it by using interesting or startling facts such as:
Cost of service per person
Waiting lists
Examples
Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners
At IOCP we know what people need and we are able to help out. And so we do.
For more than 1500 families each year. And we are only scratching the surface.
For every person we help there are five more in the community that we are not able to serve because we have maxed out our resources.
Säjai® Foundation
We turn away more than 700 communities each year who have a need and desire to use our Wise Kids® programs.
Just $750 provides the Wise Kids® program to 30 children. That’s an investment of just $25 per child for a nine-week program whose benefits last a lifetime!
29

Engage Your Audience
30
Tell your story with a photo or video and succinct narrative:
Focus on your impact and what it accomplishes
Share why you need financial support – people give to people
Be concise – that means short!
Use keywords to facilitate searches
Video is the most compelling way to tell your story in a way that engages your audience. Remember to adhere to all copyright laws – you should own or have express permission to use all photos and videos.

Section 4: Donor Relationships
Section Objectives
Identify important aspects of building donor relationships and using those relationships to build successful individual donor campaigns.
Promote your organization using GiveMN.org links.
31
Section Preview
Explore how building relationships supports your fund development, and learn how to use GiveMN.org to enhance relationships.
Learn key elements of successful individual donor campaigns.

Maximizing Donor Relationships
Powerful contributions are made when:
People are in touch with their purpose, their vision, and with the difference they make.
People see that the work you are asking them to fund really makes a difference.
People see that their money makes a difference.
Someone asks, giving them an opportunity to contribute.
82% of all funds raised by nonprofits comes from individual donors (including bequests)
~ Giving USA, July 2009
32

Getting Others to Take Action
Use GiveMN.org Projects, Fundraisers to keep donors engaged and teach them how THEY can better use your GiveMN.org page.
Stay connected to your GiveMN.org donors with special messages once or twice a year.
Have a well defined goal, with a specific timeline, creating a sense of urgency to encourage people to create their own Fundraisers.
Make users who create Fundraisers feel special and prepare them to continue giving.
Create an emotional connection – making it personal for people to participate.
33

Use Multiple Channels
Email
Twitter
Facebook
34

Send Email
Enter email addresses or use your address book from Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail.
Add some additional text to your message if you wish.
Click the Email icon on one of your pages
35

Post Twitter Tweets
Click the Twitter icon on one of your pages
Before you can post updates on Twitter, you will need to create an account at twitter.com.
Log in to your Twitter account
Edit the text for your tweet as you wish
36

Post Updates on Facebook
Click the Facebook icon on one of your pages
Before you can post updates on Facebook, you will need to create an account at facebook.com.
Log in to your Facebook account
Edit the text for your News as you wish
37

Next Steps
What’s coming on GiveMN.org?
Upload multiple pictures and videos.
Sending out customized email notifications/automated thank yous to donors.
Improved searching and browsing.
Shopping cart to allow donors to donate to multiple organizations at once.
Recommendations to help users find more giving opportunities.
38
Section 5: Next Steps

Moving Beyond the Basics
For organizations that wish to do more with their GiveMN.org site, Razoo offers premium services:
Static Landing Page
A static landing page can serve as a one-stop shop for your organization's project pages or fundraising pages.
Campaign Pages
A dynamic landing page could be a great solution for your organization if you’re running a campaign or contest and want real-time updates or a leader board.
A dynamic multi-organization landing page can showcase several nonprofits raising funds for a singular cause or running a matching grants campaign.
39
Premium services are priced on a case by case basis depending on the level of customization required. For more information, contact bizdev@razoo.com or visit their web site: www.razoo.com/p/nonprofits_premium_solutions

Next Steps
What’s next for you and your organization?
Use these ideas to enhance your GiveMN.org online giving strategy.
Stay connected to your donors and drive traffic to your ever-changing page.
Keep the stories about why you exist clear and compelling.
Publicize your page everywhere.
Acknowledge donors quickly and in a meaningful way.
40
It is recommended that you use Firefox (3.5 and later) or Internet Explorer (7.0 and later) for working on your GiveMN.org pages as the site is optimized for those browsers.

Create Project Pages
The story provides the argument for others to come on board, and different stories appeal to different audiences.
Use GiveMN.org project and fundraising pages to tell several stories for your nonprofit.
41

Turn Projects into Campaigns
Convert Projects into Campaigns to raise a certain amount of money by a certain date.
Edit a Project page and then enter the campaign information at the bottom of the page.
42

Encourage Fundraising Pages
Fundraising pages turn donors into advocates
Donations are tracked for each Fundraiser. They can compete with each other to see who raises the most money!
Fundraisers allow users to tell THEIR story of their relationship with your nonprofit.
Fundraising pages create a community and draw in more donors
43

Run Matching Campaigns
Find a foundation or large donor to offer matching donations for your spring and fall campaigns.
Use the word “match” in your project Title or Summary to facilitate searches.
Giving Levels can be used to provide examples of how the donations are used, but you can NOT sell items such as tickets, memberships, gifts, etc.
Include details about the matching conditions such as the total amount, ratio, deadline, and such.
44

Final Notes
Thank you Target! Target is a proud sponsor of outreach and training for K-12 education organizations on GiveMN.org.
Follow the latest GiveMN developments on the GiveMN blog (RSS), on Twitter, and on Facebook.
Contact MAP for Nonprofits for assistance with donor databases.www.mapfornonprofits.org
Special thanks to nonprofit fundraising Coach Lori Jacobwith for her help developing this presentation. www.lorijacobwith.com
45

http://blog.givemn.org	87
http://www-mardag6.dev.clockwork.net	7
http://www.slideshare.net	1

Givemn Advanced Webinar

by Jeff Achen on Feb 25, 2010

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

3 Embeds 95

Statistics

Givemn Advanced Webinar — Presentation Transcript