This document provides 7 starting points for online fundraising: setting goals; reflection; website; email lists; e-communications; fundraising campaigns; and staffing, budgeting, tracking, and reporting. It also discusses best practices like keeping communications personal, timely, consistent, and action-oriented. Lessons learned include starting small, managing expectations, being willing to fail, and planning is key. Helpful resources like websites, articles, and books are also provided.

1. Fundamentals of Online
Fundraising - Getting Started
Magnolia Web Strategy
www.magnoliawebstrategy.com
worktogether [at] magnoliawebstrategy.com

2. Overview
7 Starting Points
Best Practices
Lessons Learned
Helpful Resources

3. Starting Points
#1 - Goals
“If you don't know where you're
going,
any road will get you there”

4. Starting Points
#2 - Reflection
Step back and reflect:
Evaluate your current fundraising process.
Look at your organizational profile and
direction – align plan to organizational
work.
Look for opportunities to incorporate online
activities into your offline activities and/or
campaigns.

5. Starting Points
#3 - Website
Drawing on your reflections:
Who is your target audience?
Are you speaking to them?
Secure online donation processing.
Extra Credit:
Site analytics, statistics and conversion
goals.

6. Starting Points
#4 – Lists, Lists, & Lists
Make sure emails lists are:
Current, clean, and GROWING.
Growth important to fundraising returns.
Segment your lists.

7. Starting Points
#5 – E-Communication
Email is where most online
fundraising happens.
Always use an email service provider.
Track your results.
Keep it short.
Drive people back to your website.

8. Starting Points
#6 – Fundraising Campaigns
Develop specific online fundraising
campaigns.
Special appeal that's promoted vigorously.
Choose the tools to fit the campaign (not the
other way around).

9. Starting Points
#7 – Staffing, budgeting,
tracking & reporting
Who will do the work?
Plan & staffing must be aligned.
Track your progress: always be aware of
your goals and match your numbers
monthly.

10. Best Practices
Keep it:
personal.
timely.
consistent.
action-oriented.
Create relationships.
Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Watch the numbers to determine what is and
isn’t working.

11. Lessons Learned
Don't be afraid to start small
Don't oversell expectations while
underselling the work involved.
Don't be afraid to fail.
Planning is EVERYTHING
Choose social media tools to match your
plan, not just because they're popular.

12. Helpful Resources
Websites & Articles:
http://www.madelinestanionis.com/writing_rules_article.html
http://www.madelinestanionis.com/writing_sixways_article.html
http://www.fundraising123.org/article/10-things-avoid-email-campaigns
http://www.frogloop.com/care2blog/2009/6/3/why-nonprofits-need-to-
grow-their-online-lists.html
http://magnoliawebstrategy.com
Books:
Raising Thousands (if Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars
with Email – Madeline Stanionis
Nonprofit Internet Strategies – Hart, Greenfield, Johnston
Fundraising On The Internet – Warwick, Hart, Allen

13. Credits
resources used in preparation of this presentation
Network For Good (http://www.fundraising123.org)
Echo Ditto (http://www.echoditto.com)
John Kenyon (www.johnkenyon.com)
Frogloop Blog (http://www.frogloop.com)