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The last few weeks have seen unprecedented discussion in the sector around the
global recession and its potential effects on fundraising. Minor scares in past years
have gone pretty much unnoticed and people have tended to keep their heads down
in the belief that things will change or go away. The current climate is very different,
as is the reaction. Any switched on marketer or fundraiser knows that the current
climate WILL impact on their fundraising and their portfolio of techniques.
So how do we find our way through the morass of opinion and advice? It’s a
confusing time and so I hope the following will suggest some practical actions you
can take…
And it is time to act, but the actions we take must take account of the pressures on
our own unique portfolio of funders, the maturity and fundraising activity of our
organisations and our appetite to face up to the impact of the global crisis in our
market whether it lasts one year or three. Most of all we will need to change our
behaviours and those of our organisations to stand the best chance of surviving and
perhaps even thriving during this recession.

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RECESSION Watching Is Not An Option - A Thought Piece By Tony Elischer

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Abstract
This study by Collactive is the research of a correlation between social media visibility on YouTube and fundraising efficiency of large nonprofits in the US. The result is that such a correlation indeed exists and that high social media visibility goes hand-in-hand with efficient fundraising.

Key Findings

• Most nonprofits are barely scratching the surface when it comes to social media marketing. On YouTube in particular, with communities of tens of thousands, we expect nonprofits to attract tens of thousands of views per movie on average and not a few thousand at best.
• The top social media savvy national nonprofits are 13% most efficient fundraisers than the average national nonprofit. This means that an organization with a viable social media marketing strategy is more efficient than the average organization.
• Lagging social media performers are 17% less efficient fundraisers than the average nonprofit. This means that organizations without a viable social media marketing strategy are less efficient than the average organization.

Download the research: Between Social Media Visibility on YouTube and Fundraising Efficiency

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different than you and me.”
“Yes. They have more money.”

The Wired Wealthy. Using the Internet to Connect with Your Middle and Major Donors.
March 24, 2008
An in-depth survey and study by Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHARITIES AND CAUSES
Following are recommended strategies and tactics for organizations committed to building stronger relationships with their wired wealthy donors. Some of these recommendations are equally applicable to all online donors, and indeed to all online constituents. And while it certainly makes sense to adopt most of these recommendations universally, from a financial point of view, it is the wired wealthy whose happiness will contribute most to your bottom line.
Unfortunately, there is no obvious shortcut for separating the reclusive All Business donors from the eager Relationship Seekers and so forth. What you can do, what we urge you to do, is create and provide options that lets the wired wealthy customize their online relationship with you. As one donor we interviewed asked, “Why are my only choices either email me or don’t email me?” If we offer one overarching recommendation, it is to find a way to get beyond this all or nothing choice.

• Don’t panic … but don’t assume doing nothing is an option. Most wired wealthy donors are not fundamentally unhappy with online communications. But they aren’t delighted either. Using the online channel better should be a development priority. And, recognize that your middle and major donors are coming to your web site, and what they see may influence their giving decisions. Ask yourself: Is our web site up to the task? Are our emails inspiring?
• Segment your list. Your best donors want different things from you.
  • Your All Business group – and probably the others – want the smoothest possible online donation process, and the best possible case for giving on your site. Emails for All Business should be scarce, but should include an annual tax summary and periodic donor reports on where the money is going and what you have accomplished
  • Your Casual Connectors and Relationship Seekers are open to cultivation. Look at your emails and your home page as opportunities to inspire.
  • Tell great stories, both on your web site and in your emails. Use powerful, evocative images.

• Report back to donors via email at least once per quarter detailing some of theways you have used their donations.
• Provide and promote some engagement options, including video, podcasts, your blog, and action opportunities. Permit donors to opt out of communications promoting these special engagement options if they are not interested.

Finally, that all-important group of Relationship Seekers is looking for engagement. In addition to the engagement options above:

• Invite highly motivated donors to blog about you, join your LinkedIn group, or review you favorably on CharityNavigator’s new donor comment area.
• Recognize donors who have been giving for some time, or who have helped to recruit others.
• Solicit ideas and suggestions from donors on a regular basis.

• Power to the people – make donor control your new mantra. If at all possible, provide donors with some control over the content and frequency of emails. Create email options for your wired wealthy donors. Let them choose between a minimal package of emails that includes an annual renewal reminder, a tax summary and more comprehensive email options. Ask donors for their information and frequency preferences and create customized emails that reflect content interests.
• Let the message drive the technology and not the reverse. For this group of donors in particular, don’t get stampeded into whatever the latest thing is online. Don’t replace quality with quantity. Don’t communicate when you have nothing to say, just because there is a scheduled email. Try to segment emails by interests, but don’t assume you know what those segments are; ask your donors. Make inspiration a metric that guides much of what you communicate.
• Pay special attention to video. Maybe this is the single exception to recommendation four. Relationship Seekers are heavy users of online video and express significant interest in seeing more. Hire a professional producer, and ask a test group of donors what they think before launching to a wider audience. No single video is going to change everything; a series of modestly produced short videos will get more mileage than one blockbuster. Most “viral videos” never go “viral.” Don’t measure success merely by looking at how many times a video has been viewed. The real measure is whether the right people – your wired wealthy Relationship Seekers – have seen it, and whether it has inspired them.
• Make listening an every day tactic. We found the participants in this study to be not at all shy about expressing their likes and dislikes. With online communications and philanthropy in general in a state of flux, keeping close tabs on the evolving preferences of your constituency will be critically important. Even the act of asking has cultivation value; donors will be pleased you are listening. Here are three ways to make listening a key element of your communications plan:
  • Track “over the transom” comments. Chances are your organization already gets a fair amount of unsolicited email from list members and donors. Are you seeing it? Is someone at least distributing summaries of the issues that are coming up repeatedly? A handful of emails may represent a much larger group of folks with similar concerns.
  • Establish a donor advisory panel. This is rapidly becoming a fixture in the commercial sector. Recruit a few hundred donors (and possibly list members) to serve as a sounding board for future issues, tactics and campaign ideas. Survey them at least once a month so they feel like they are being utilized.
  • Ask for feedback in your newsletter. Ask readers to rate each issue, and then ask for additional open-ended feedback.

Download the full research >>>

A majority of donors say it is important for non-profit and charitable organizations to use social media to communicate with their supporters (52%). Higher level donors show greater interest in being kept informed through social media than lower level donors. Half of high level donors (51%) say they are interested, compared with 43% of medium and low level donors.

Supporters cite a variety of types of information that they would be most interested in being updated on by an organization’s blog, social networking site or RSS feed. These include news and announcements (39%), success stories (36%), opportunities to volunteer (35%), and views on current events relevant to the organization’s work (30%).

These are some of the results of The Donor Pulse® survey conducted online by Harris Interactive® between December 27, 2007 and January 7, 2008 among 2,275 engaged U.S. adults, those 18 and over, who volunteered, donated or advocated for a nonprofit or charitable organization within the past twelve months. This survey was conducted in part in collaboration with Virilion.

Michele Salomon, Research Director, of Harris Interactive comments: “These findings suggest that newly emerging outreach techniques are important to keep an organization’s supporters listening. This seems more pronounced among the most financially supportive.”

Dan Solomon, CEO of Virilion comments: “For charitable groups, this survey points the way to remain relevant and continue to engage supporters. The Internets’ ability to build communities and deliver in-depth information on demand is driving this reliance.”

Read all the article…

In the for-profit dot.com world, the bottom line is easy to measure — it comes down to dollars and cents. For nonprofit organizations, success is more difficult to define. How many people were educated? Informed? Served? Engaged? Activated? How much money was raised? Did legislative policy change? Corporate policy? Public opinion?

Download the eNonprofit Benchmarks Study by M+R