What we’re here to talk about today has really been a hot topic lately. It’s something that everyone seems to be talking about regardless of your age or demographic. Something that people tend to have varying opinions on, but it’s really something that we can’t ignore.
But in all seriousness, this is an important shift that can really change the way that we do everything. As of today, in our experience - a lot of people are on board with the whole idea, but there are still quite a few that don’t think it’s the best possible thing looking forward
We are going to cover several aspects of technology as it pertains to fundraising. In the past, we’ve struggled to simplify this enough to be able to cover it all in one session. Now, we feel like we’ve been able to effectively summarize all of these separate avenues of technology but most importantly paint the picture of how all of these tools can come together and work for you, regardless of shape or size.
Economy a hot button now and it seems to be sort of the underlying theme in most presentations these days. Forcing organizations to change the ways of thinking and operating In our experience, a lot of gloom and doom, but we are already starting to see that organizations that are forging ahead and continuing to invest in their mission are beginning to emerge Open the floor for opinions on how the economy has affected overall giving
1. We’ve seen a significant increase in Online Donations. Not sure how much that is connected to the economy but people are more inclined than ever to find out about you and support your mission online To audience: Have you stopped giving? Have you changed the way you give? 2. Giving is down Average gift size is down Number of givers is down While we are only expecting fundraising to go down about 1% from the previous year, in typical years fundraising grows 4%. That means, we are working with a 5% deficit You have to be able to maximize your relationships with the donors you have so you can keep them Donor Fatigue You must be able to keep supporters engaged and inspired without over soliciting them You must be able to better target them for the appeals they are most likely to give to Increased competition Differentiate yourself by personalizing contacts you have with your supporters Position yourselves for the turn of the economy Increased need for services Despite the changes in the economy, you don’t get a pass Your community will need you now, more than ever and you are forced to do more with less Increased need for accountability Provide excellent stewardship to keep those relationships strong People are only going to keep giving if they know their gifts are being put to good use
There is a much larger emphasis on the cultivation and retention of existing donors rather than acquiring new ones – so it’s understanding that and thinking about how technology can allow you to do that MUCH more easily
A few tips that can keep your donors engaged and keep those donations coming in year after year
Now when we talk about the technology side of fundraising --- we are talking about much more than just a website, or just e-mail. We are talking about a true technology strategy involving all of these difference pieces of the puzzle. Placing a focus on each of them but ultimately making them work together to really improve the donor experience and make life much easier for you.
The first place of focus for ANY organization should be with your website. *QUESTION --- is anyone hear completely happy with your website or your portion of your school’s website? Why not?
The general look & feel should be the first thought. You want your site to represent the school, the work that you do, and really welcome the donor or potential donor to want to interact with you.
Key steps to building/maintaining a successful website
To audience: Has anyone heard of Google Analytics? eTapestry web services inserts this into every page we build & suggests that our customers use this info
You get a nice, clean report of how people are navigating to your site. A lot of information that can help you to adjust your strategy or identify weaknesses or areas that you can focus on
Some really neat information will be made available to you – all geared towards helping you to understand what is working and what isn’t working with your website
This type of measurement and analysis seems to be a big underlying theme with a lot of what we talk about. We think that’s really the case with most of what is involved with increasing revenue – from a For-profit or Nonprofit standpoint. So we’ll continue to look at some ways technology will make that easier for you.
Of course, folks need to be able to find your site – and things like Google Grants & Adwords can help your chances. *Question - How many of you have typed your name into Yahoo or Google??
Now they are the creators of content
Getting someone to your website is goal #1, but more importantly – the engagement is what you’re striving for. That can come in many forms.
It shouldn’t be difficult for the end user to figure out how he or she can interact via your website. Make these actions as prominent as possible on your site. Capturing the information and allowing the end user to support your organization with little to no work on your part. You can also see on the screen shot that this organization is incorporating other means of communicating with supporters. They’ve got a link to YouTube – which is excellent. How can you be expected to maintain and manage all of these sources of data?
Keep it as simple as you can – and make integration a focus. Ultimately – using some or all of these vehicles to drive traffic back to your website. One of the best ways to engage your alumni or supporters is through the use of social media. ***Question: Anyone ever heard that word before ?
Social Media is certainly something that most of us have heard about, possibly used in our personal lives, and is something that can really serve as a tool in both increasing awareness and ultimately fundraising if used properly. Lets talk a little bit about what Social Media is.
Social Media by definition More than anything, it’s the use of technology for the real-time sharing of information among millions of people!! Connecting People and RECONNECTING people
Whether you are or aren’t utilizing Social Media – your initial expectations should not be that these forums will dramatically increase your fundraising revenue. Instead, focus on these areas ---- which will ultimately lead to that support or interaction
google.com Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include PageRank, caching and tra... Morenslation of results, and an option to find similar pages. The company's focus is developing search technology. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 2 facebook.com A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and ... Morevideos. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 3 yahoo.com Personalized content and search options. Chatrooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 4 youtube.com YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your... More videos worldwide! 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 5 wikipedia.org An online collaborative encyclopedia. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 6 craigslist.org 3.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 7 blogger.com Free, automated weblog publishing tool that sends updates to a site via FTP. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 8 ebay.com International person to person auction site, with products sorted into categories. 2.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 9 live.com Search engine from Microsoft. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 10 amazon.com Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and disc... Moreover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Site has numerous personalization features and services including one-click buying, extensive customer and editorial product reviews, gift registries, gift certificates, wish lists, restaurant and movie listings, travel, and photo processing. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 11 myspace.com Social Networking Site. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 12 twitter.com Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface.
Provides a strong avenue for your organization to broadcast testimonials and describe how you are serving the community
To Audience: Have you heard of Broadcast your cause? Specifically built for Nonprofits
PODCASTS! Who does these?? The neat thing about these is that you can take a good look at these, and borrow some ideas.
A key function of your website is gathering information of those who support you – which will act as the foundation for maintaining and strengthening those relationships *** Who here provides the ability for folks to donate through your website? Where does that information go?
In an ideal situation – your donation page should: (Read)
Another more-recent tool we’ve seen used widely by our client organizations is the concept of personal or peer-to-peer fundraising. - Has anyone ever received an e-mail from a friend or colleague attempting to raise money for a specific cause?
Coming back to the viral concept
Incorporate those Social Media concepts we discussed earlier. Make it come full circle.
Another potential revenue generating tool when it comes to your website might be to sell apparel, other goods, or event tickets. *Question – is anyone doing this?
Jay’s major giving at Butler story.
Your database should essentially serve as your central location for all of the data you have.
What information do you want to know “at a glance” about one of your constituents?
Does your organization track relationships in your “database” now?
END WITH: How many people here are currently utilizing a web-based application for database purposes?
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Besides social media platforms, communications in general have seen a HUGE transition. Donors still expect to be communicated with. The obvious answer for most seems to be E-mail.
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
This is why your E-mail list MUST be connected to a database. Otherwise, the segmentation opportunity is not there
We’re sending them as an HTML-formatted e-mail
To audience: Has anyone here ever tested a mass e-mail on your PDA’s or handheld devices?
In the database, you get reports with complete click-through statistics
Something tangible – a plan of attack you can take home and use
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