17. 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. Mastering Mobile – 3 Options
• Text to Give
• Smart phone apps
• Mobile Websites
33. Questions for you?
• What are your online 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?
38. 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?
44. 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?
Editor's Notes
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 decided last night that I want to dedicate this talk to Rachel Beckwith.I don’t know Rachel, I just *met* her online a few days ago while doing research for this presentation. She’s the model I think of great philanthropy – of inspiring others to give generously of themselves. Of inspiring others to CARE deeply about other human beings.But you decide for yourself after you hear her story.-----On June 12th 2011, I'm turning 9.I found out that millions of people don't live to see their 5th birthday. And why? Because they didn't have access to clean, safe water.So I'm celebrating my birthday like never before. I'm asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday. Every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater projects in developing nations. Even better, every dollar is "proved" when the projects are completeand photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth. My goal is to raise $300 by my birthday, June 12, 2011. Please consider helping me.Thank you so much!!!----I’ve very sad to tell you this but according to the nonprofit, Charity Water, that she was raising money for, Rachel died in a fatal car accident a few weeks ago. But people around the world picked up where she left off.Her birthday wish to bring clean water to people in need has touched thousands and raised $862,440 so far!>>>>>In response to this outpouring of generosity which Rachel inspired, her mother – Samantha - posted this comment on July 25.I am in awe of the overwhelming love to take my daughters dream and make it a reality. In the face of unexplainable pain you have provided undeniable hope. Thank you for your generosity! I know Rachel is smiling!
So where are we now? And how do we inspire the kind of giving that Rachel inspired in us, everyday.It’s helpful to start with a baseline so that we can get a context and understand where we are going.According to Giving USA – and you also have this information on your table – 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.
Couple this with the fact that the nonprofit marketplace is BIG. According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics there were 1,046,719 public charities in 11/2010.
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.”Embrace the changing demographics of our country, especially as it relates to reaching out to people of color, younger donors and women.Embrace technology and leverage it for giving – STRATEGICALLY!Embrace social giving.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. It’s no longer a nice to have, it’s a imperative 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 PianaAssociates
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 and I see that you have a workshop later today on this issue isWomen’s power!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 #2 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 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!
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.
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.
And, not much for nonprofits to do on it yet, but you may want to keep your eye on Google+.
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 3rd and 4th 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.
I already told you about Rachel’s story. Again, it’s a great example of social fundraising in action. 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.
Causes on Facebook is another example of a social fundraising site.
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.
At my previous company,our members accrue points when they take certain actions on our site. We then offer them a chance to redeem these butterfly points for very tangible donations to nonprofits.
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!
And, so now that is what I would like to say to you.Thank you for making a difference in the world.Thank you for getting up every day and giving people an opportunity to share their time, talent and treasure with others.I salute you!
