Communication In An Electronic World

There are varieties of web-based or on-line communication methods being employed by non-profits.  How well non-profits use each of them depends on three things, (1) recognition of the changing world we live in, (2) buy-in by leadership, and (3) strategy definition.

Katrina Round-Up

A slight diversion from the typical topics here and a quick post of non-profits with work continuing in the Gulf Coast region one year after the devastation of last year’s hurricanes.

• Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund
• Habitat for Humanity
• Mercy Corps
• Red Cross
• United Methodist Church
• World Relief
• World Vision

I am sure there are others – lots of them.  But these are what I found during a quick search today with specific one-year updates on their websites.  The need continues.

Old Into New

How do you take an old, tried-and-true payment format (the paper check) and create something new and meaningful in today’s electronic world?  Well there are some options that are finding increasing levels of acceptance and implementation. 

Beyond Telemarketing

The following is an article pulled from an e-newsletter that I receive from a friend and former associate.  What is particularly interesting about this perspective is the new paradigms that technology is bringing to the fundraising/development arena.  Please enjoy.

SMS Fundraising:  Could it get any easier?

What is it?

It’s not SOS, but SMS (Short Message Service), that is a relevant acronym to modern, tecnologically-accustomed donors.  On the day of Live 8, 26.4 million people worldwide sent a text message calling for an end to world poverty.  Following the tsunami, TV and radio ads all over the world invited people to send a text message which would cost more than a regular message and count as a donation towards the relief efforts.  Many charities have stepped into this area, from the Red Cross to ‘Help a London Child’, utilising this easy, quick and cheap method of tapping our philanthropic inclination.

Who might use it?

Everyone who’s anyone has got a mobile phone, right?

Mobile phone owndership continues to grow, and is now edging the saturation point in many areas.  Among 11 to 16-year-olds, future young donors, the proliferation is even greater.

Pros

• The mobile phone is usually close at hand.
• Texting is easy, simple and familiar for most mobile phone owners, especially young people.
• It’s significantly less hassle than writing a cheque or giving your credit card details.
• It’s an easy way to collect donations from crowds, for example, at large events like Spring Harvest, at concerts or youth Bible weeks.
• As donations are usually small, it avoids arousing displeasure of being asked to support ‘yet another’ charitable cause (some people’s bugbear).

 . . . and Cons

• The ROI for the donor on a text message currently seems to be around 60-70%.  One company which sets up SMS services for charities pays the charity £2.06 from a £3 donation.  The reason is that texts are treated as other Premium services for tax purposes (not as much a factor in the US).  This status may change in the future.

Is SMS fundraising good for your organization?

The main consideration would be the nature of your mass donors – are they modern and mobile or tend to be conservative pensioners happy with their cheques and direct debits (EFT)?  If you host large gatherings or do a lot of promotions, SMS could be effective.

In short, its a donation channel which accesses new demographic segments through new media, bringing in funds you may not have tapped into otherwise.  Try casting your net.

By Jon Wright, McConkey/Johnston International UK Associate

I hope you find the article interesting and helpful.  It does provide a new perspective and a new channel into a demographic that many non-profits are finding difficult to reach.

Just a thought.

On The Cutting Edge

Just a quick post on something radical that has some unexplored potential in the non-profit world.  Video game promotion.  A 2004 article on MSNBC pointed to a Nielsen survey that stated “a startlingly high 70 percent said they favored in-game product placements.”  And that was over two years ago.  Toyota is taking the concept to a new level with this program for the 2007 Yaris.

Obviously some games are appropriate for non-profit promotion and others are not.  But in the world in which we live today, is there room for recognizing the good work of non-profits in the gaming world and maybe encouraging a fresh look by those who often “live” in the electronic realm?  The concept gives me all sorts of vibes of potential.  And I dare the corporate world to try to do some good with the advertising dollars they are generating.  (Hint:  Free spots.)

Just a thought.

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Update – 10/11/06 – Found this article through Beth’s Blog about Second Life.  Is it coming to being?  Not sure – but what a concept. 

Survey Your Website

When was the last time you ever did a survey of your website visitors?  Have you ever done a survey?  Now, I am not advocating a survey for the sake of keeping some poor web designer busy.  But ask yourself the question, is there something on my website that does not need to be there?  And the ancillary question, is there something that my website doesn’t have that it should because it would be helpful/valuable to my constituency?  Again, it comes down to strategy.  What are you trying to accomplish with your website and is your constituency intuitively in tune with that strategy?  Aside from the demographic questions (which may or may not be relevant to what you need to know) here are some questions to consider:

What A Concept

How would you like to encourage others to do your work for you?  Sounds good doesn’t it?  Anyone reading this post who might happen to be a fund-raising professional should sit up and take note!  A recent study by Network for Good highlights 9 key findings from donor activity through their giving portal during 2005.  Finding # 6 was particularly interesting to me.  “The Internet has created a new type of donor:  the citizen philanthropist.”  The executive summary of the study can be found here.

It was especially interesting to me to read from other sources of this new paradigm in fund-raising.  Maybe it has been there for some time but where I work we are really becoming aware of this “movement” to be involved.  We have grabbed the term “Ambassador” to describe donors who want to be involved with what we do by raising funds to benefit a particular project.  Part of my responsibilities is to manage these developing relationships.

What we are noticing is that these types of relationships come at various levels.  Everything from a website-to-website link to concerts and even newspaper ads.  The challenge with managing the process is that a charity needs to balance state fund-raising regulation with donor relationships.  And all of that within the context of the charity’s own DNA.  Here are some ideas on how to make the process easy for your donors but retain the ability to manage the quality of the activity.

Non-Profits and Web 2.0

Marketplace technology can help you reach millions.  Without spending a dime!  Okay, a little overblown claim, but think about it a little.  The internet today allows individuals to access information that previously would have taken months if not years to accumulate.  So how does a non-profit stand out in the glut of available information?  By using technology that allows people to connect!  And keeps them coming back.  Technology will provide the access.  It is up to you to create the content that will keep them connected.

Here is a great article on a concept called Godcasting.   I like the concept because again, it places resources in the hands of your constituency that hopefully they will find helpful and bring them back to your website.  This is done in a number of ways from the more sophisticated “self-hosted” to the uploading onto service sites such as iTunes.  Mark Batterson’s church in D.C. is a great case study in the strategic application of technology for reaching his particular constituency.  Check out his blog for more information.

Now, going back to my earlier comment about doing it all without spending a dime.  Resources like WordPress.com are great for getting started and testing new concepts.  Adding a blog to your website can be done without having to create much in the way of infrastructure.  You can create the blog on WordPress, Blogger, or other hosting site and then just provide the link on your website.  And it’s free.  You can then test the concept and adjust as needed before full implementation.

Non-Profit Websites

Here is a list of top charitable websites that I like for what they have and do not have.  Compare them to some of the earlier posts and see what you can find that they are missing:

1. Samaritan’s Purse
2. World Vision
3. Mercy Corps
4. Compassion
5. Habitat for Humanity
6. Trinity Western University
7. Care2
8. Red Cross
9. World Relief
10. Doctors Without Borders

Evaluate.  Think.  Strategy.  Implement.

An Illustration

Here is an illustration of how donors might interact with your website.  This diagram was originally created to provide a visualization of some concepts that we were trying to communicate to some others here in the office.  I doubt it takes into consideration all of the ways that interaction might occur.  For instance I have not included RSS on the diagram or del.icio.us or other socialization tools.  (As I write this I am making a mental note to go back and update the illustration.) 

 

But I think it makes the point that I have been trying to communicate through other posts – think strategically about all of the donor touch points you have to encourage donors to make use of your website and to interact with it.  You will be amazed at the returns you start to see from your website activity.

You may need to download the picture so that you can view it in a larger format.  Sorry for the upload quality.  Will work on it again.