online fundraising and social media for nonprofits

Lisa Hodges, Online Fundraising and Social Media Workshop 24.10.09

Online Fundraising and Social Media Workshop

14.10.2009

Lisa Hodges, Joint Leap TechnologiesPoonam Chengappa, CRY India

Presented by SAFRG



Let's meet!

Flickr credit: gopal1035


Email Blasts

Online Fundraising:1. Strategy

2. Tactics Website

3. Metrics(and then start again...)

Social Media


Why is all this important?


“In 2008, non-profits got about 10% of their donations online, according to a survey by Target Analytics. Given the high growth rate for Internet donations, we estimate that they'll constitute the majority of donations by 2020.”Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/nonprofit-donations.html

“India would become the third largest country in terms of Internet users across the globe [by 2013], according to a forecast by Forrester”Source: http://www.egovonline.net/news-list/34-news/7371-india-to-have-3rd-largest-internet-users-by-2013-report.html


Strategy: What is this online fundraising business and where do we start?

Flickr credit: Stefan Baudy


Fundraising

Offline methods:-Direct Mail-Events-Etc.

Email Blasts

Online Fundraising:1. Strategy

2. Tactics Website

3. Metrics(and then start again...)

Social Media


Multiple Outcomes

Brand/Cause Awareness (Scale!)

Fundraising

Increase volunteerism/more interaction

Credibility/Transparency

Flickr credit: MoBikeFed


Start from the end and work your way back.

Flickr credit: markhillary


First, define your goals.

Flickr credit Vadim Lavrusik


Who are you trying to target? Be specific!


What tactics are you going to use?

(Email Campaign, Facebook, Blogging, etc.) We'll cover these strategies today.


Determine who in your organization will be involved?

Who will be responsible?

(This is where you might want to bring in that intern who spends her free time blogging...)


How will you know if you've succeeded?

(We'll talk about this later in Metrics.)

Flickr credit: kevinzhengli


Review:

Four initial questions:Why are you sending this campaign?

What are you sending?

How – what action do you seek?

When do you need a response?Source:http://reson.us/2009/08/four-basic-questions-to-ask-when-designing-campaigns/

I would add: How will you measure results?


Activity 1:

Plan your own goals and who you are going to target.


Specific Tactics: Website


Often the first point of contact. Very important!

Flickr user whiteafrican


“Highly satisfied visitors to nonprofits are 49 percent more likely to donate money to the nonprofit and 38 percent more likely to volunteer when compared to dissatisfied visitors.”

Source: http://www.foreseeresults.com/Form_Nonprofit_Apr09.html


Activity 2: Analyze two websites.

What is important to you for an effective website?


Here's my list:Mission/cause should be very obvious and engaging.

Pictures! Video!

Clear, simple design

Obvious which people should go to which part of the site (i.e. volunteers, donors, people you are serving, etc.)

Minimize content

Content Management Systems a plus

Donate button easy to locate (before the fold)

Keep it updated


A Note on SEO.


Online Payment Gateway (or, how to take donations online).

Your website

Merchant Account


Do a test! Walk through a donation and make sure the process is easy for donors.

Can you:-suggest an amount?-customize text/look and feel?-allow for recurring donations?-offer gifts in someone's honor?-automate receipts?


Email Blasts/Campaigns

Flickr credit: Tim Morgan


The basic tools: Your list and anEmail Service Provider.

Flickr credit: L. Marie


Email Service Provider: Great for tracking and managing campaigns.


Managing and Growing your list:

Make sure people can get on and off. Have signup on your website.

Always collect email addresses!

Encourage “Send to a Friend” option.

Segment list: do tests.


Content:

Simple, short paragraphs. Tell stories!

Don't just ask for money. Have other calls to action.

What unique content can you provide?

Use the word “you” as much as possible.

Subject line important

Control “From” field if you can (campaign specific).

Timing is important (not on Friday afternoon!).


Note: For email campaigns, plan the whole thing before you start!


Should drive back to website.

If you can, create a landing page

The website should drive email signups


Activity 3:

Plan an email campaign


Social Media: It's not just a fad.

Flickr credit: MaximeF


First, let's define “social media”.

(Sometimes referred to as Web 2.0)

What does it mean to you?How is it different from other media?

Is that significant?


Note: You are ahead of the curve in India.


What does this have to do with fundraising???

Flickr credit: alicejamieson


Start by using these tools to listen. They are great sources of information for you and your cause.

(Thanks to Beth Kantor for this great insight!)

Flickr credit: vieux bandit


Let's talk about some listening tools.

RSS feeds

1. Find blogs. (Google blog search, Technorati, Blogrolls, Alltop.com, etc.)

2. Set up an RSS Feed/Aggregator. (I use Google Reader.)

3. Keep reading!


Other listening tools:

http://search.twitter.com/

http://www.google.com/alerts


Blogging.

Flickr credit: antigone78


Blogging:

1. Why should my organization blog?

2. How do I get started?

3. What do I write about? What are the best practices?


Social Community sites:

Facebook

Orkut

Twitter


Facebook: Even your mom is on it.

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics


Setting up Facebook Page for your organization

Pros and Cons of Facebook


Twitter: i would tell you about it, but i only have 140 characters. so to be brief, twitter is a very powerful tool that does many things like


I Twitter!

Why?Access to industry leadersIncredibly 'viral'Easy to use and experiment withGreat source of information and learning

Tips:#@RTFollow other people's followsTime of day mattersConversation/personal


http://www.reddit.com/r/nonprofit/

Social Bookmarking sites: Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit.Ahhhh!


Multimedia:

Video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)Example: Bell Bajao Campaign

Photos (Flickr, Picassa, etc.)

Slideshow (Slideshare)

Audio (Podcasting)

These are great- and free- tools to host multimedia. They are also communities!


Fundraising Widgets:

http://www.chipin.com


A word on mobile.

Flickr credit: mrbill


Don't feel overwhelmed!

Start by slowly becomingfamiliar with the differenttools.

Find someone (young intern?) who uses these tools for personal use.

Flickr user: Flying Kites


In general, this will be more successful the more people you have on board in your organization.

Get your executive staff to be personally get excited about it.


Remember, this is about personal connection.

Flickr credit: Pink Sherbet Photography


Metrics.

Yawn.

Flickr credit: dominiqs


Go back to your goals.

Look at the different elements you can measure.


Tools: Google Analytics


Email Tracking: As before, use metrics from Email Service Provider.

Social Media ROI

...then integrate your data to get the complete picture!


Wrap Up:Write down list of priorities for going back to your organization. What are you going to bring back?

Flickr credit: Muffet

online fundraising and social media for nonprofits

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