18. Questions for you?
• What are you doing to respond to the
demographic shifts shaping your city, state,
and county?
• Specifically, what are you doing to connect
with
– people of color,
– young people
– and women philanthropists?
32. Yikes!
• 98% percent of visitors to an organization’s
donate page LEAVE before making a donation.
• Remember: Offline donors are researching
your organization online too!
33. 8 Must-haves on your donation page
1 One-page form.
2 An “ask string.”
3 No unnecessary fields. Hint: Don’t ask for my first-
born!
4 No non-giving options. Your donation form is about
DONATING!
5 Intuitive layout.
6 Don’t make me create an account to donate.
7 “Secure transaction” graphic and a link to your
privacy policy.
8 Contact information!
34. Other important elements
• Branded donation page.
• Recurring gift options
• Impact donation labels
• On behalf of/in honor of
• Third-party endorsements like Charity
Navigator and donor testimonials
43. 6 Ways to grow your email list
1 Collect email addresses on your website.
2 Leverage offline communications and events.
3 Engage in online advocacy.
4 Get found in Search.
5 Engage in list swaps or chaperoned emails.
56. Mastering Mobile – 3 Options
• Text to Give
• Smart phone apps
• Mobile Websites
57. Questions for you?
• What are your online/digital fundraising
goals?
• How can you use technology to raise more
money, acquire new donors and retain the
ones you have?
• What is your staff capacity for managing new
media?
• Do you have the basics in place, i.e. is your
website and email list up to snuff?
62. Questions for you?
• How are you building a network of volunteer
fundraisers for your organization?
• How are you enabling your best fundraisers to
raise funds for you?
• How are you staying connected to these new
evangelists who are connected to each other
but might not be connected to you?
67. Questions for you?
• How can you personalize the giving experience
for your donors by giving them options for
how they express their generosity?
• How can you draw them closer to you by
making them feel like the special, valuable and
unique individuals they are?
68. Resources for you
• Online Giving Study – Network for Good
• 2010 Online Giving Report – Blackbaud
• 2011 donorCentrics Internet & Multichannel Giving
Benchmarking Report - Blackbaud
• 2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study – NTEN and M+R
Strategic Services
• www.marketingfornonprofits.org - by Me!
• www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com - Katya Andresen
• Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to
Web Usability – Steve Krug
• Flipping the Funnel – Seth Godin
Thank you so much for inviting me here today!I’m really excited to talk about the changing face of philanthropy. It’s so important understand and embrace the changes shaping our field and to use this information to improve ourselves and our organizations.
I want to dedicate my talk today to the people who lost their lives in the horrible shooting last week in Wisconsin.If you like me what to do something about this tragedy and help stop hate crimes or if you just want to send your condolences to the families, visit http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1607/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6445
It’s helpful to start with a baseline so that we can get a context and understand where philanthropy is headed.According to Giving USA total charitable giving increased 3.8 percent between 2009 and 2010. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the modest economic recovery underway after the prolonged recessionary period from late 2007 to mid-2009.The challenge is that from 2008 – 2009 contributions decreased by 6.5 percent from 2008. So if we look at charitable giving since 2008, giving is still down by -3.0 percent.
This will not be news to you! Almost 75% of charitable giving is done by individuals not corporations or foundations.
Here is the rub, the nonprofit marketplace is BIG. According to Giving USA there were 1,280,739 in 2011.
Welcome to the fundraising smack-down. With giving down and 1M+ nonprofits, we’re all competing for funds, for the attention of donors. It’s not a great way to live.
They only way we can succeed is by understanding and embracing the changes before us. AND, instead of fighting over the scraps, we need to ENLARGE the pie of potential donors AND help to UNLEASH GENEROSITY in ourselves and others.We also need to make the structural and cultural changes necessary to embrace our “new normal.”
So today, I want to dig in a little to 4 key trends that are changing the face of philanthropy. I also want to leave you with some key questions that you can take back to your organization and you grapple with the “New Normal.”1. Embrace the changing demographics of our country.2. Embrace technology and leverage it for giving – STRATEGICALLY!3. Embrace social giving.4.Personalizegiving options for your donors and make them feel like the unique, special and amazing people that they are!
This looks like my daughter’s classroom.We live in Montgomery County, MD where we just graduated that last MAJORITY WHITE CLASS at our local High School.I tell my friends and family that my daughter’s school feels a little like the United Nations to me. There are black kids and white kids and Hispanic kids and Asian kids and they are all growing up TOGETHER.While the demographics of my county are not representative of the country as a whole YET, the demographics of the U.S. are changing rapidly.According to the Census Bureau by 2042 the U.S. will be majority people of color.
Here is the challenge. Most nonprofits, especially the bigger and national ones are not diverse. According to the Racial Diversity Collaborative & the Urban Institute, “92 percent of national nonprofits headquartered in Washington, DC are led by white executive directors.” And, I probably don’t have to tell you this but nonprofit boards are worse. This is something we really have to look at as nonprofits, because diversifying our workplaces is going to become a matter of survival if we want to remain competitive and attract new donors.
Here is an example of an organization, that many of your are familiar with – Susan G. Komen for the Cure that is reaching out to Black Americans and educating them about their risk for breast cancer. I’d like to see many more organizations, building bridges to communities of color.
The other demographic shift that is happening is that the the Millenials are entering the workplace and they are proving more diverse (and open) than any preceding generation, with many more young people of color, first- and second- generation immigrants and mixed-race individuals.” - Convergence: How Five Trends Will Shape the Social Sector, La Piana Associates
As you know, Millenials are also reshaping philanthropy via their savvy and native use of TECHNOLOGY, which I’ll discuss in the next few slides.Again, it’s imperative that we all have our eyes on these dynamic young folks. They may not be huge givers yet, but they are the philanthropists of the future and they do not give in the same ways that we do.
The final demographic shift that all nonprofits should have their eye on is women!Women’s power is also on the rise, not just domestically, but globally. A report from the consulting firm, Booz Allen Women, called “the Third Billion” shows that globally women are the next emerging economy.”
Many nonprofits and causes like CARE, Camfed, and the Girl Effect, pictured here are educating the public about how to unleash the power of women and girls. But we also need to understand that critical role that women play and will continue to play as philanthropists.
According to Women Give 2010, a study by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, women give more than men AT EVERY INCOME LEVEL but one.
And, while this fact is not widely known, women actually control 51.4% of personal wealth in the United States.76% of Americans believe that men control more wealth than women. But a new survey of Federal Reserve Board data reveals that women actually control 51.3% of personal wealth in the United States. Many Americans believe that whites give a greater percentage of their income to charities than minorities. The poll show that most Americans believe this. However, in families with incomes of $25,000 or more, Black women are more likely to give to charity than White women are, and give in excess of $1,000. In addition, minorities are more likely to give when asked for a donation, but are asked less often than whites. ("The Contemporary Charitable Giving and Volunteerism of Black Women, 1986, Gallup.
Trend #1 that is changing the face of philanthropy is TECHNOLOGY.Raise your hand if you have a cell phone in your pocket or purse?Raise your hand is you’ve made a donation online?Raise your hand if you’ve made a donation via text?Raise your hand if you’ve dated online? Gotcha!The best fundraisers going forward will leverage technology to extend their work and bolster their success.But they will do it STRATEGICALLY instead of getting caught in “shiny object syndrome.”
So how much money was given online last year? Don’t look at the slide!
20 billion dollars and online giving grows incrementally every year.Source: 2010 Online Giving Report, Blackbaudhttp://www.blackbaud.com/onlinefundraising
It’s also important to note that according to new reports and this research from Blackbaud, 88% of nonprofits had at least one online gift of $1,000 or more.So if you’re thinking that major gifts still only happen face to face, it’s just not true.Source: 2010 Online Giving Report, Blackbaudhttp://www.blackbaud.com/onlinefundraising
Still, online giving has NOT trended as fast as online banking and online shopping,And this is why you need to be VERY STRATEGIC in your approach to raising money online!Source: 2010 Online Giving Report, Blackbaudhttp://www.blackbaud.com/onlinefundraising
Before diving in… do your homework.Also, there is an order you should follow if you want to raise money online.
Website first!Your website should still be the hub of all your online communication activities. Make it EAY for people to understand in 1 minute or less what you do.Next make it easy for people to donate.Also, make it easy for people to repurpose your content, i.e. if they seem something that they like on your site, make it easy for them to SHARE it with others.Finally, learn to write for the web! People don’t READ websites like they read text. When in doubt, remember that LESS is MORE!
98% percent of visitors to an organization’s donate page LEAVE before making a donation. Remember: Offline donors are researching your organization online too!
Next, if your want to raise money online, you have to have someone to solicit.So build an email list.Also, buy a commercial email services platform. Do not use Outlook for blast emails.And, make it easy for people to subscribe. Put an email sign up on every page of your website.
This is true of events too. Always give folks a way to connect with you online!
One of the best tactics for both ACHIEVING YOUR MISSION and growing your email list is to engage in online advocacy. Here is an example of a current campaign being run by Emily’s List and MoveON. Again, the “ask” is very clear and they only ask for 4 pieces of information. I also like how they provide a brief video if you want to learn more about the War on Women. You can test whether adding video to your advocacy campaigns detracts or enhancing the sign-up process for users.
I know that some of you are probably thinking – my organization doesn’t DO POLITICAL advocacy. That’s ok. Here is a great example from America Cancer Society of an “advocacy” campaign called Join the Movement for More Birthdays. The KEY point here is that you can think of advocacy more broadly as a way to ENGAGE people in your work. (add definition)
Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to wade into social media. There are SO many social networks out there that it is totally paralyzing. How should you choose which social networks to embrace?Go where your donors already are?Here is the trick about social networking. It’s a way to grow a community.However, and this is a big however, you don’t really own people who “like” you on Facebook until they join your list. So as you develop deeper relationships with people, try to bring them over to your list.
Twitter is a great tool but you won’t make much money with it.Use it if you have the capacity to use it.Twitter is great for seeing who is talking about your issue right now. It’s also good for reaching new audiences. When I first joined Twitter I found that it enabled me to connect with people – like journalists and key bloggers – who wouldn’t return my email. I’m not sure if that is true now that the medium is more mainstream. But you can try.
Here is one thing that I wish for every nonprofit. I wish that every nonprofit had a video to tell me what they do in 2 minutes or less. Here is an example of a great video from a nonprofit called Charity: Water – a nonprofit that brings water to people in the developing world - that makes a very strong and compellng case about what water really means and why it’s SO important for people to support this cause.
Finally, I know you’re hearing a lot about mobile these days. The speed of mobile adoption is really a fascinating phenomenon in our time.According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), we are likely to see the number of cell phone subscriptions across the globe hit 5 billion sometime in 2010!And of course, afficianados of mobile say that our phones will enable us to do EVERYTHING some day. I paid my first parking meter fee with my iPhone last week!In the last few years, mobile donations have been growing at a much faster pace than other donations channels when they were first introduced. For example, in 1998, the year after online donations first became a viable fundraising channel, $350,000 was raised via online donations. Compare that to this number: In 2009, the year after mobile donations were first introduced, more than $1.5 million in funds were raised via text-based giving. In 1999, after people had been donating funds online for three years, $1.1 million was raised via the online giving channel. In contrast, in 2010, the third year that donations could be made via mobile phones, a whopping $42 million was raised. So three years after text-based giving first became available, the mobile donation fundraising channel has already raised more than 30 times as many dollars as the online donation channel did when it was in its infancy.This is a testament to how quickly text-based donations are growing.
Here is a quick quiz, how many cell phone subscriptions were there in the world in 2010?Don’t look at the screen.5 billion!
When people talk about mobile marketing and fundraising they are really talking about 3 different things. And, we can’t get into it all here but I want to give you a taste.You have 3 options when approaching mobile for fundraising. You can do a text to give campaign. However, it’s only an option if your charity has annual revenues greater than $500,000. And, the carriers limit the amount of the donations you ask for.Smart phone apps are another option but think about it. What would make your app so compelling that people would download it and use it regularly. You have to create something that has great utility for consumers, like google maps for driving directions or those all important games that my husband LOVES to play.If you’re dying to get into mobile now, a mobile website is probably the way to go because it will enable people to properly and effectively view your website via their phone. And, as you remember, your website is your home base on the web.With a mobile website, you can control the donation options and you can also share your content with people right when they want it.
The next two trends which I want to talk about are social giving and personalization.Social giving is NOT new. Right?We have always raised money for family, friends, colleagues in need. However, technology has significantly enhanced our ability to reach many more people than ever before and it has significantly lowered the cost of peer-to-peer fundraising. It seems like every day I see a new social fundraising site. They all have funny names. Six Degrees, Crowdrise, pictured here, First Giving, Razoo, Fundly, and Rally and, of course, Causes on Facebook are just a few of the sites out there.Here is what is so cool about these sites, they enable anyone to become a fundraiser on their own. ---Social giving can be so powerful because, as you and I both know sometimes that MESSENGER is more important than the MESSAGE.There are 2 tricks with social fundraising.Finding the influencers in your network who are willing to help you spread the word. Finding a way to stay connected to people who give through friends and family – because they are not necessarily connected to your organization or even your cause. They are connected to their friends. Nonprofits, even those that don’t have missions that lend themselves easily to social engagement, need to find ways to enable social giving.In the future, in addition to being fundraisers, we are going to have to become FACILITATORS of others’ giving by encouraging them to spread the word and help move our causes forward.
Causes on Facebook is another example of a social fundraising site.
Charity: Water has been smart to enable peer-to-peer fundraising functionality via their site and to encourage people to use special events in their lives, like birthdays, anniversaries and such to raise money to bring clean drinking water to more people.
Your Cause is another site that lets anyone, anywhere become a fundraiser.
Finally, and I have to admit, I’m not sure if this is a welcome trend or not, but charitable giving is becoming much more personal experience and I think this trend is likely to continue into the future. My daughter’s best friend Olivia showed up at camp this year with custom Nikes. I’m so out of it that I didn’t even know that you could customize Nikes.So my thinking is that If I can personalize my sneakers, why can’t I personalize my giving experience?Personalization or restricted giving is something we hate as fundraisers but I’m not sure that there is anything we can do about it.Find ways to MERCHANDISE what you do. Here is what I mean.Personalization can be abetted by technology. For example, my daughter’s friend Olivia showed up at camp this year with custom Nikes. I love Amazon. I feel like I have a personal relationship with them. EVEN though. I’ve never spoken to an Amazon.com rep. They use the power of segmentaiton and personalization to “speak” to me directly. They recommend books that are similar to ones I’ve already read.They ask for my recommendations on books I’ve purchased.Of course, this benefits them to because the create a virtuous cycle. I purchase more books, I enhance their referral engine.Donor’s choose does this too. As soon as I donate on their site. They feature a testimonial from me about why?
Donor’s choose is the gold standard for offering concrete giving opportunities to donors. Donors, especially younger donors, want more choice. They want to really understand what their giving does and how it can be spent. It’s up to us to show them where there dollars go.
Global Giving gives you’re an opportunity to give to really discrete projects and needs in the developing world.
Oxfam will even let you give the gift of poop!
And of course it goes without saying that sometimes the most personal thing that you can do for your donors is to simply say a genuine, heartfelt thanks!
Network for Good helps over 6,000 nonprofits raise more friends and funds online through simple, affordable and effective online fundraising services. Since our founding by AOL, Yahoo! and Cisco in 2001, we have processed over $650 million in donations for over 80,000 nonprofits!
