What we’re here to talk about today has really been a hot topic lately. It’s something that everyone seems to be talking about regardless of your age or demographic. Something that people tend to have varying opinions on, but it’s really something that we can’t ignore.
We are going to cover several aspects of technology as it pertains to fundraising. In the past, we’ve struggled to simplify this enough to be able to cover it all in one session. Now, we feel like we’ve been able to effectively summarize all of these separate avenues of technology but most importantly paint the picture of how all of these tools can come together and work for you, regardless of shape or size.
Forcing organizations to change the ways of thinking and operating In our experience, organizations that are forging ahead and continuing to invest in their mission are beginning to emerge Open the floor for opinions on how the economy has affected overall giving
There is a much larger emphasis on the cultivation and retention of existing donors rather than acquiring new ones – so it’s understanding that and thinking about how technology can allow you to do that MUCH more easily
The first place of focus for ANY organization should be with your website. *QUESTION --- is anyone hear completely happy with your website or your portion of your school’s website? Why not?
The general look & feel should be the first thought. You want your site to represent the school, the work that you do, and really welcome the donor or potential donor to want to interact with you.
Key steps to building/maintaining a successful website
To audience: Has anyone heard of Google Analytics? eTapestry web services inserts this into every page we build & suggests that our customers use this info
You get a nice, clean report of how people are navigating to your site. A lot of information that can help you to adjust your strategy or identify weaknesses or areas that you can focus on
Some really neat information will be made available to you – all geared towards helping you to understand what is working and what isn’t working with your website
Of course, folks need to be able to find your site – and things like Google Grants & Adwords can help your chances. *Question - How many of you have typed your name into Yahoo or Google??
Now they are the creators of content
Social Media by definition More than anything, it’s the use of technology for the real-time sharing of information among millions of people!! Connecting People and RECONNECTING people
Whether you are or aren’t utilizing Social Media – your initial expectations should not be that these forums will dramatically increase your fundraising revenue. Instead, focus on these areas ---- which will ultimately lead to that support or interaction
Umass and Dartmouth joint study of the 200 largest charities in the US
Universtiy of Massachusetts and Dartmouth study of the top 200 npo’s
google.com Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include PageRank, caching and tra... Morenslation of results, and an option to find similar pages. The company's focus is developing search technology. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 2 facebook.com A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and ... Morevideos. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 3 yahoo.com Personalized content and search options. Chatrooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 4 youtube.com YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your... More videos worldwide! 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 5 wikipedia.org An online collaborative encyclopedia. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 6 craigslist.org 3.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 7 blogger.com Free, automated weblog publishing tool that sends updates to a site via FTP. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 8 ebay.com International person to person auction site, with products sorted into categories. 2.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 9 live.com Search engine from Microsoft. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 10 amazon.com Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and disc... Moreover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Site has numerous personalization features and services including one-click buying, extensive customer and editorial product reviews, gift registries, gift certificates, wish lists, restaurant and movie listings, travel, and photo processing. 4.5 Stars Search Analytics Audience 11 myspace.com Social Networking Site. 4.0 Stars Search Analytics Audience 12 twitter.com Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface.
Provides a strong avenue for your organization to broadcast testimonials and describe how you are serving the community
To Audience: Have you heard of Broadcast your cause? Specifically built for Nonprofits
PODCASTS! Who does these?? The neat thing about these is that you can take a good look at these, and borrow some ideas.
Scott Harrison – 5 yrs. Ago owned a nightclub in Manhattan
A key function of your website is gathering information of those who support you – which will act as the foundation for maintaining and strengthening those relationships *** Who here provides the ability for folks to donate through your website? Where does that information go?
In an ideal situation – your donation page should: (Read)
Incorporate those Social Media concepts we discussed earlier. Make it come full circle.
Another potential revenue generating tool when it comes to your website might be to sell apparel, other goods, or event tickets. *Question – is anyone doing this?
Jay’s major giving at Butler story.
Your database should essentially serve as your central location for all of the data you have.
Does your organization track relationships in your “database” now?
END WITH: How many people here are currently utilizing a web-based application for database purposes?
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Besides social media platforms, communications in general have seen a HUGE transition. Donors still expect to be communicated with. The obvious answer for most seems to be E-mail.
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
This is why your E-mail list MUST be connected to a database. Otherwise, the segmentation opportunity is not there
We’re sending them as an HTML-formatted e-mail
To audience: Has anyone here ever tested a mass e-mail on your PDA’s or handheld devices?
In the database, you get reports with complete click-through statistics
Something tangible – a plan of attack you can take home and use