NevadaGIVES Presents How to Cultivate & Steward Online Donors nvbiggive.org How to Ask Online Donor Questions Quote Money is a current, a carrier, a conduit for our intentions. Money carries the imprimatur of our soul. Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money www.nvbiggive.org 1
Why Are Online Donors Important One study projects that by 2020 online donations will be the majority donor source if nonprofits invest the time and resources into establishing a strong website presence. Source: Building Multiple Revenue Sources Compassion Capital Fund National Resource Center Agenda 3 Mistakes Agency-Centered Appeals Make How to Change to a Donor-Centered Approach Most Important Donor Needs, Wants & Interests How to Differentiate Your Nonprofit from the Other 1,500,000 Nonprofits Cultivating Donors 3 Top Online Cultivation Strategies 5 Simple Words That Will Triple Your Money Action Steps for Donor Follow Up & Key Elements of Donor Stewardship 2 Upcoming Low-Cost Landing Page & Retention Trainings 3 Mistakes Agency- Centered Appeals Make 1. Field of Dreams Syndrome If you build it, they will come. 2. It s all about us disease everything reads like the About Us page (mission, purpose, history) 3. Call to inaction problem no clear call to action -Katya Andresen, Network for Good www.nvbiggive.org 2
How to Change to a Donor-Centered Approach 1. Answer the Why me? question. 2. Answer the Why now? question. 3. Answer the What for? question. 4. Avoid need-based asks. Focus on human interest stories, success stories & compelling photographs. 5. Boil It Down Donor Expectations 1. Be able donate easily and securely; 2. Dictate when and how often they will be contacted; 3. Find crucial information about the charity on its web site; and 4. Be inspired. Differentiate Your Nonprofit from 1,500,000 Nonprofits Watch for patterns Zig while their Zagging Provide a lower-cost alternative to usual higher-ticket donations (hospitals, universities, etc.) Add geographic keywords to your keywords in your meta keywords on your pages/posts foreclosure Las Vegas foster parents Reno Create Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Research comparable agency websites Strengthen your LinkedIn group & company page Strengthen your YouTube channel nvbiggive.org www.nvbiggive.org 3
3 Top Online Cultivation Strategies 1. Get donors to come to you What attracts donors??? Being part of a winner (Obama), see support/buy in, alignment with their mission Heart tugs, compelling, timely, impactful 2. Target donors in your board circle of influence Who do you know? Story behind 6 degrees of separation 3. Make it easy & friendly for donors to find you & donate How do they find you online? Google (SEO free & SEM sponsored) Build Credibility: GuideStar.org, CharityNavigator.com Start with $10,000/month in free AdWords Increase to up to $40,000/month in free AdWords Resource: GoogleGrants.org Google Likes High quality scores & landing pages Relevant and original content that is unique & substantial Transparency Your site should be explicit in 3 areas: the nature of your business, how your site interacts with a visitor s computer, and how you intend to use a visitor s personal info Navigability Landing page quality is influenced by Usefulness and relevance of information provided on the page Ease of navigation Load time How many links are on the page www.nvbiggive.org 4
Landing Pages 1 landing page per campaign to be reviewed. On landing pages, Google looks for content, transparency, navigation, and calls to action. Common landing page names /donations /events /volunteers /services, /projects or /programs /outreach /public-disclosures nvbiggive.org Assure Credibility & Security of Payment Donor Bill of Rights Policy of Donor Intent AB 60 Update Require solicitation training GuideStar.org Exchange Program Get 12-Month Free Subscription GuideStar Premium ($1,500 Value) Be seen by foundations and donors Save time in gathering key documents www.nvbiggive.org 5
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Reminder: How to Get Online Donor Handouts Public Disclosures IRS Letter of Determination* Articles of Incorporation (state)* 990 Form Employer Identification Number (EIN) Logo Mission statement Charter or Bylaws Policies Conflict of Interest Code of Ethics Whistle Blower Annual Report Board: Terms 5 Simple Words to Triple Your Money Story A Start Up Nonprofit IISA lunch Lynn Twist said, Why don t you lead with a donation. The rest will follow. I donated $500 to the Founder s Circle for agency. Would you join me? In 2 months 40 donors at $500 = $20,000 Why stop with 1-time fundraising? Add A Year For 3 Years Would you join me for $500 a year for 3 years? Who leads an online donation campaign? www.nvbiggive.org 7
Action Steps for Donor Follow Up Most wired wealthy donors want the following from their charities: a tax summary at the end of each year. a report on how their donation was put to good use. a renewal notice (try recurring billing for monthly and annually renewals) Donors want to be able to tell the charity how often it can communicate with them. 1. Relationship seekers (29%) the group most likely to connect emotionally with organizations online 2. All business (30%) not looking for a relationship or emotional connection, but a smooth and simple donation process 3. Casual connectors (41%) occupy the middle ground, showing some interest in sustaining an online relationship, but also wanting a smooth and simple process Nonprofits should create and provide options that let the wired wealthy customize their online experience with the cause. The most widely-held opinion about what charities should not do was finding a donor's email address by using commercial databases. This was considered very inappropriate. These donors want to opt in, not be forced onto an email list. ~Source: 2008 Survey Wired Wealthy by Convio, A Blackbaud Company Relationship Seekers This group is the most likely to respond to opportunities to connect emotionally with your nonprofit online. They are younger than the other groups (42% are between 25 and 44), and they spend more time online. Over 60% of this group like web sites. They are the most likely to visit your site after donating. They are more likely to view videos online; are multi-channel in that they give in a variety of ways; and say their online contributions will likely grow in the future. Attributes of this group include: represent 29% of the wealthy wired group with an average age of 48. 86% have given online. more than half say they prefer online giving. 16% visit a charity website once per month or more. 42% read most charity emails. 13% read blogs; 35% take political action online; 42% engage in social networks online. nvbiggive.org All Business These donors visit charity web sites to donate and that is all. They are not looking for a deeper relationship or emotional connection. This group is older with 57% between 45 and 64 years of age, and are really more comfortable with offline giving than online. All Business donors want a smooth and simple donation process, a tax receipt at the end of the year, and to be otherwise left alone. A telling comment from one of the All Business group is: I personally want to be left alone. That s my biggest problem with the charities. You send in a check one time and you get inundated with unwanted stuff. Actually, doing online giving seems to help that because you can check all the boxes that you don t want to be contacted. Attributes of the All Business group include: average age is 53. 75% have given online. 46% prefer to give online; 35% prefer to give by mail. only one percent visit a charity web site regularly. only nine percent read most charity emails. few read blogs, take online political action or engage in social networks online. speak of themselves as disciplined philanthropic planners who decide yearly giving in advance. www.nvbiggive.org 8
Casual Connectors Casual Connectors represent 41% of the survey respondents. They lie somewhere between the "All Business" and the "Relationship Seeker" groups. They are somewhat interested in an online connection with nonprofits. A Casual Connector in his/her own words: As a younger person, I want [charities] to know that I m different, and they don t have to resort to the typical styles [of solicitation]. And, to [keep me as] a lifelong donor, I would want them to evolve in their approaches to show me that they are constantly innovating, constantly thinking creatively about what s next, and not just dealing with what s here and now... Attributes of the Casual Connector group include: average age is 50. 80% have given online; 50% prefer online giving. only six percent visit charity web sites. 27% read most charity emails. few read blogs, take political action online, or engage in social networks online. Key Elements of Donor Stewardship Don't panic but don't be passive either. Wired wealthy donors are not greatly unhappy with online communications; but they are not inspired either. Make improving online communications, from the web site to email, a development priority. Segment your list. The All Business group (and the others too for that matter) want a smooth online donation process, and a great case for giving. All Business emails should be rare but do include an annual tax summary and occasional reports on where the money is going and what has been accomplished. Casual Connectors and Relationship Seekers are open to cultivation. Take the opportunity to tell stories, show evocative images, and report back at least once a quarter telling donors how their money is being used to help others. Develop some options such as video (YouTube channel), podcasts, a blog, and opportunities to take action. For Relationship Seekers, provide engagement by inviting these donors to blog about you, join your LinkedIn group, or review you favorably on CharityNavigator's new donor comment area (also Google Maps, Places, etc.). Solicit their ideas and suggestions. Key Elements of Donor Stewardship Make donor control easy. Provide donors with some control over the content and frequency of emails. Let the message drive the technology, not the reverse. Don't just follow the latest online fad. Don't replace quality with quantity. [Become familiar with the technology so that the message drives.] Pay special attention to incorporating video on your website [Animoto.com free charity service]. Test videos with groups of donors to see what they think. Listen. The donor participants in this study were quite vocal about their likes and dislikes. Keep up with the evolving nature of online communications and philanthropy by checking on your donors' preferences frequently. Three easy ways you can do this are: track "over the transom" (without solicitation or prior arrangement) comments [set up Google Alerts]; set up a donor advisory panel and survey them once a month about tactics, campaign ideas, etc.; and encourage feedback about your newsletters. Ask readers to rate each issue and also ask for open-ended feedback. www.nvbiggive.org 9
Landing Pages & List Building Trainings ANN Nonprofit Website Project 2.0 DVD ($47 for ANN members) AllianceForNevadaNonprofits.com Web Camp April 12-14 ($27/$97) PhilJohncock.com/go/WebCamp Armand Morin Summary 3 Mistakes Agency-Centered Appeals Make How to Change to a Donor-Centered Approach Most Important Donor Needs, Wants & Interests How to Differentiate Your Nonprofit from the Other 1,500,000 Nonprofits Cultivating Donors 3 Top Online Cultivation Strategies 5 Simple Words That Will Triple Your Money Action Steps for Donor Follow Up & Key Elements of Donor Stewardship 2 Upcoming Low-Cost Landing Page & Retention Trainings NevadaGIVES Presents How to Cultivate & Steward Online Donors nvbiggive.org www.nvbiggive.org 10