Embracing Technology as a Nonprofit:

5 Easy Steps

Mark R. Scott III, MIS-MPA

Account Executive, eTapestry Division of Blackbaud

October 22, 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

1. Optimizing your Website

2. Attracting Donors/Support through Social Media

3. Collecting Information on the Web

4. Making your Database Work for You

5. Communicating with New/Existing Donors

How is the Economy Affecting Giving?

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 BurkMarch 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!Web Site Optimization:

Before, After, and After!

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!)

Keys to Building a Successful Web Site

Top Ten Traffic Sources

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

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

They’re at your website, now what do they do?

1. Can they engage?

2. Can they add content? (Web 2.0)

3. Can they give or volunteer?

Your goal – to get something from them!

Keep it simple & Make Integration a Focus

Constituent Website

Gather Information

Use Email

DatabaseDatabase

Do you have an Online/Social Media Strategy?

Media & PR

E-mail Campaigns

Social Networks

Integration with Direct Mail

Banner Ads on Homepage, Blog and eNewsletter

Google Adwords

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.

Which of the following types of social media does your charity currently use?

33%34%32%

41%

26% 25%

13%

79%

57%

30%

36%

79%

16%

11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Video Blogging

SocialNetworking

Blogging Podcasting Message/BulletinBoards

Wikis Do Not UseAny

2007

2008

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 Datacom Score 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 for

Your 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 formRaised $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-quoteRaised $112k

Source: Laura Durington: CRS Social Media Presentation-AFP Maryland

Dec 31:Subject line: Final Deadline: Last

chance to make a tax-deductible gift

New “hotspot” textKept video message

from our presidentNew pull quoteRaised $119k

Source: Laura Durington: CRS Social Media Presentation-AFP Maryland

• 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. Source: Laura Durington: CRS Social Media Presentation-AFP Maryland

The Results…

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 Cause Page=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/Fan Pages=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 for you—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 Webvia 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: water1. Was the $250,000 raised via Twitter the key

fact?

2. Was the $975,000 raised from Sept. birthdays the key fact?

3. Is the way they have harnessed web/video technology the key?

4. 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?

Ecommerce & Online Giving

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.

Ecommerce & Online Giving

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 have a Matching Gift policy?

•How do you track which donors work for a Matching Gift corporation?

Personal Fundraising

•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.

Personal Fundraising• 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

Personal Fundraising

• Capture all THREE levels of Fundraiser Donations: Participants, Teams, Donors

• Report on Team Success, Individual Success, and overall Fundraiser Success

• Begin harvesting relationships w/constituents that donate/participate for the first time.

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

•How does your organization identify Lapsed Donors?

•Can you run a report to tell you who the Top 10 donors are in your database?

•LYBUNT•Last Year but Not This Year

•SYBUNT•Some Year but Not This Year

ReportingHow 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 does 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

• 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

Today’s Supporter

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

• 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• Use “alt-tags” on images• In addition to testing email browsers, test

messages in handheld devices

email (html)

A Few Email Design & Usage Tips

1. Keep truly important items above the fold2. Ask subscribers to add your from address to their address

book3. Host images on your web site rather than embedding them 4. Links to resources and to special landing pages on your web

site are powerful (Especially “tell a friend” functions)5. 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!

Mark R. Scott III, MIS-MPAMark.Scott@etapestry.com

317.336.3857