Quick Tips: Wordle

In my consulting work, I spend a lot of time on storytelling.  If you want to figure out a strategy forward, it helps to agree on who you are and what you do now...and getting stakeholders to tell their personal and institutional narrative is a great start towards that agreement.

One of the things I frequently do after getting a bunch of people to write down answers to a few questions (nothing particularly complex - things like "how would you describe your organization to a friend?" and "what are the values of your organization in 140 characters or less") is run those answers through Wordle.

People think it's magic.

I feel conflicted about damaging my mystique here, but I'm sharing this little tip because it turns out that a lot of my former clients are taking this brilliant (FREE) web tool and using it to make graphics for various communications, from printed material to social media.

Check it out.  www.wordle.net

Simply enter a bunch of text (survey answers are super handy if you've recently asked relevant questions, or you can feed in your last couple of development pieces - case statements are great for this), tweak your colors, and voila - a free graphic that reflects language you use when talking about yourself or your mission.

Also...what if you don't identify with what comes out when you pop in your development narratives?  You might want to use that as the starter for a serious conversation about a disconnect between your organizational identity and your fundraising strategy!

Don't forget to laugh

Someone forwarded me an article yesterday on sleep deprivation and mothers of young children.  A sweet and hilarious personal essay recounting great stories like "I walked into a wall and sent my kid to school with an onion instead of an apple" and "that time when I almost fell asleep while walking a couple of blocks with my kid in a baby carrier."  When you truly love the best parts of your job (yes, being a mom is a job - though it won't pay the bills and it's *really* hard to quit), you can laugh at the ridiculous bits.  You know, the ridiculous bits that test your every limit and make you want to cry or hit something; the ridiculous bits that might make someone who's never experienced such a thing smile, but makes instant compatriots out of those who share the experience and gives members of the sister/brotherhood a chance to laugh loudly and deeply, with real guffaws.  I personally laugh in the face of utter exhaustion.

Which is all to say: Fundraisers have a lot to laugh about.  This gig (paid or volunteer) is crazy.  It's hard.  And people are crazy, which makes asking them for money even crazier, and harder.

You need a good laugh.

I can't recommend fundraisergrrl strongly enough for a quick pick-me-up.  I have smiled, I have laughed out loud.  Yes, I say, yes!

Go check her out at fundraisergrrl.tumblr.com

Quick Tips: Shake up your mailing calendar

A lot of folks use the summer to plan their full calendar of mailings.  Are you still sending two big mailings a year, once in December, to capitalize on the tax year ending, and once in the late Spring, before the summer but a reasonable distance from that holiday mailing?

You've got plenty of company, which may offer some comfort...but a lot of folks in nonprofit management positions (including development) tend to be very risk averse, so "best practices" and "wisdom of the masses" tend to get conflated.

You don't NEED to shake things up.  But you do need to think about whether you're sticking to a particular mailing schedule for the right reasons, rather than comfort with routine.

Here are some ideas that are perfect to toss to your development team for a conversation right about now, mailings that separate themselves from the herd and have worked exceptionally well for others.

• Everyone and their mother will make an ask near the end of the calendar year, to capitalize on the end of the tax year, when a lot of folks make all their philanthropic decisions.  It's very hard to stand out, and the likelihood of your bringing in a lot of new donors is low - you're expecting annual gifts from your known supporters (be they consistent or every other year or two donors).  So...if you can find another way to give those folks a reminder that they need to make their regular gift (could be switching to a cheaper mailing, could be switching to email, could be switching to a phone-a-thon by board members...how many folks are we talking about for you?), you can shift those resources elsewhere.
• October 31.  Halloween.  Trick or Treat.  Unless you count UNICEF, no one is known for their Halloween solicitations.  If you've got a constituency that is likely to have fond memories of trick-or-treating, or is currently enjoying this American pastime with their kids...try designing a mailing around this holiday instead!  Bonus points for creatively utilizing a "free-mium" (like the labels so many folks include in their mailings) - they're reported to be annoying, but they do work, particularly if your base is over 50, and the cute aspect of tying this to Halloween may warm the hearts of your youngest donors too.
• February 14.  Valentine's Day.  A genuinely fun and warm valentine arriving as a surprise is going to stand out in most people's mail, in the very best way.  Connect it to your identity and mission and you're golden.
• Are you a religiously affiliated organization?  Use that to your advantage.  Rosh Hashana has long been used by Jewish organizations for their fall appeal; Christian organizations might think about Easter instead of Christmas; etc.  Guru Purnima works well for academic organizations (though you have to have a way to connect with the cultural/religious implications respectfully).
• Summer.  Most folks avoid summer mailings for very good reasons.  People are on vacation.  Productivity (which impacts things like "remembering to put a check in the mail") goes way down.  Peoples' minds tend to be elsewhere.  But those are general assumptions...are they true for you?  If you have a donor base (or a segment you can reach separately) that is aching for a summer distraction because they're not on vacation or working less even though it's light until 8:30pm, summer is a great time to reach out.  
• Maybe even get away from mailings...hopefully you're doing some regular analysis on how effective your direct mail program is.  There are lots of other ways to reach supporters, there are lots of ways to solicit them.  If you're not satisfied that direct mail is getting the financial return you want, if you aren't retaining donors at great rates, if you aren't acquiring enough new donors to sustain your strategies...don't hold anything sacred, including the notion that you need direct mail.  You might.  But if it's worth re-examining your assumption that the summer is a bad time for a mailing, you should be asking if mailings themselves are still working for you.

Quick Tips: One Click Retweets

Want to mobilize your existing supporters to help you get the word out about something?  Could be a big piece of news, an exciting opportunity you're promoting, even a plain old solicitation...

If you want people to help you, you have to make it easy for them.  Very easy.  

We'll talk social media theory some time soon...maybe I'll dedicate a week to figuring out social media strategies in general as part of my fundraising 101 series.  I know that in my life as a consultant, this is something I often get behind closed doors - a confession from an accomplished professional that trying to keep up with every new form of social media makes them feel like a crotchety old geezer demanding help sending a telegraph, followed by the expectation that there's a simple answer that they just don't have time to find on their own...but that's a longer conversation.

For now, let's just be clear: I'm not making the blanket recommendation that you should be using twitter.  That's something you need to figure out separately! 

If you use twitter, you're going to want your followers to retweet you on occasion.  Some of that will (hopefully) happen naturally (if it doesn't, you're doing it wrong!), but you will have some tweets that you really want to get pushed out, past your direct network.  That's when I recommend using ClicktoTweet.

Check it out here: clicktotweet.com

Pretty simple.  Three steps (laid out on the front page), and now you're able to tweet a link that allows your followers to instantly send your message to everyone they know on twitter with just one click.

One click.   

Makes all the difference.

Quick Tips: Learn How to Give from the Buffetts

Talk about a sincere and thoughtful philanthropist: Warren Buffett.  Oh, wait...we're not talking about him, even though he's a bit more famous than his older sister, Doris.

Doris Buffett and her grandson, Alex Rozek have been interested in making more people into philanthropists - people who are not just charitable with their money, but think strategically about how to support the causes and organizations they care about the most. [Aside: the development shrink has chosen not to be the grammarian stickler - but there's a part of me screaming to correct the above sentence to "...about which they care the most."  But it just doesn't sound good, even if it's proper.  Forgive me!]

Anyway, Doris and Alex have been funding college courses to teach philanthropy for years.  This summer they're embarking on a very exciting new chapter of that work: the first Philanthropy MOOC.


MOOC stands for Massively Open Online Course, and it's all the buzz in higher education at the moment, as all the big players try to figure out how to use this new tool and reach the masses with their offerings.  But this is, obviously, a pretty big deal - they're launching this through their own foundation, with some impressive universities as partners.  They genuinely want to reach anyone and everyone who's interested.

You should be interested.

Not only is this AT MINIMUM a great way to gain some insight into how (some) big philanthropists think, it's a chance to put yourself in the shoes of someone giving away money rather than asking for it, and will help you refine your message when you go back to fundraising.  AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, it sounds like they've figured out a way to keep the most unique part of their standard college course: giving students a pot of money to distribute.

Read more about the Learning by Giving Foundation here: www.learningbygivingfoundation.org

I signed up.  Hope to "see" you in class!

Quick Tips: Getting Online Donations Up and Running, ASAP

A friend/reader just took a summer internship helping a small organization to think about their fundraising strategy.  He's young (as you might have guessed from the internship bit), so the first thing the board did was assume that he knows a lot about "online stuff."  Kids today, right?

Their top priority for him was to figure out how to get the organization to a place where they could accept online donations.

There's more to having an online strategy than simply being able to take a credit card donation online...a LOT more, honestly.  Bottomline, being thoughtful is worth more than being an early-adopter of new technologies.  Always.  But ideally, you want to be thoughtful and take advantage of new tools.

Here's a very practical (if also very incomplete) listing of a few quick ways to "get online" with your donations, and I'll trust you to not jump to any irresponsible uses of technology!

• If you have your tax-exempt status, you are already eligible to receive online donations through some third-parties.  My typical picks (below) represent a good sampling of the field, and will give you some hints at things you should be evaluating when figuring out how to get online, fast.
• Network for Good - this site allows people to make donations to anyone in the Guidestar directory of verified tax-exempt entities.  There are pros and cons here - it's not the most customizable interface, and from a user perspective, it's most convenient for folks who are making a bunch of small gifts to a bunch of organizations at the same time (think year-end).  The fee structure varies from 5% of gifts to 3% + an annual fee + setup, and is likely evolving, which is not outside the typical range of fees.  Still, you can "be online" immediately - just find your organization's Donate Now page and link to it as a way of driving traffic.  If you don't have a strategy yet, but have an immediate need to be able to take someone's online gift, this is a great option.  Use it, and move towards a more strategic solution forthwith.
• FirstGiving.com - this platform has just one advantage over Network For Good: the turnaround time for donations.  With a fee structure of 5% + 2.5% credit card fee + $500 annual fee, they're on the higher side of fees...but depending on your cashflow needs, they promise weekly dispersal.
• Fundraise.com - If you've got a little more capacity for strategy, this third party has a more aesthetic interface, and one which you can customize quickly without having a high level of technical knowhow on your team. People who can use a Facebook page (upload photos, enter content with an eye towards web formatting (when/where should hyperlinks be added, use bitesized paragraphs, etc.)) should be able to customize this platform reasonably well.  They help out with some email management so you can publicize your campaign(s), and they do occasionally turn up new donors for you who are looking at the Fundraise.com homepage to discover projects that are a good fit for their interests.  Fees are reasonable (4.5% + credit card fees) and they have a 30 day dispersal schedule, which is also quite reasonable.  This is my pick, in general, if you want to maximize a very limited tech capacity.
• Facebook Causes - speaking of being able to use Facebook, this runs through Network For Good on Facebook.  If you're one of the growing number of small/startup nonprofits that have a Facebook page but no website, this is an obvious choice for you.  It can also be a good way to get your Facebook followers and friends to utilize this particular social network for you by making it very very easy.  On the other hand, if you have a database of donors who may or may not use Facebook, it's something that needs to be maintained that only reaches a subset of your supporters, and will never be something you fully control (Facebook is not infinitely customizable as your own website would be; it will continue to roll out changes that you'll have to adapt to, with or without notice.)  You need to figure out if this fits with your plans for solicitation - how are you going to be encouraging people to give money online?  If it's almost all Facebook, this might work for you.
• If you don't have 501c3 status yet (it's pending, or your goals are so modest that you just don't want to deal with the bureaucracy - fine as long as you're not misrepresenting yourself) you still have options -- and both of these work even better if you DO have tax-exempt status.   For these, you're trading convenience for control.  If you are able to take advantage of that, I usually recommend the tradeoff, but it's important to be honest with yourselves when making the decision one way or another.
• Braintree Payments - I used to love Google Checkout as a convenient and functional widget that could be added to any website.  Not the prettiest, but very very practical.  Unfortunately, that's been discontinued and the Powers That Be at Google recommend you take your business to Braintree Payments.  Early reports are pretty good - their customer service gets high marks, and they seem to be gentle and generous in providing set-up support.  It's always good to be able to keep people on your website to make donations, instead of sending them to a third-party.
• Paypal - without Google Checkout, Paypal is a reasonable substitute, and usable for anyone, with or without tax-exempt status.  After all, people can just give money to other people - Paypal just provides the mechanism.  You have to keep abreast of all the technicalities and stay within legal boundaries (e.g., obviously, you can't offer tax-deductions if you're not tax-exempt; if you're selling raffle tickets make sure your raffle is legal; etc.)  Fees are reasonable if you file the paperwork to get recognized as a tax-exempt entity - 2.2% + .30 per transaction as long as the donations total less than $100,000 per month (and let's face it - if you're clearing more than $100,000 online per month, you shouldn't be cobbling together this particular solution!)
• Best possible solution:
• Most fundraising database software solutions these days have an online payment component.  If you've got a website and can hook a fundraising page to that which will automatically enter new gifts (and new donors) into your database (as well as logistically enable the payment), that's the neatest solution in almost all cases.  If you're committed to the database already, it's either a sunk cost or very small marginal cost, you're saving on the man-hours otherwise needed to get these gifts recorded in your database, and you've got a good amount of control over your donors' experience.  If "fast" is by far your most important criteria, and your database doesn't offer this option, you'll need to use something else as an intermediary (see above), but this is likely to wind up being your ultimate destination.

Did I miss your favorite platform or service?  Tell me about it (or your experiences, good or bad) in the comments section!

Quick Tips: Email Strategy

Email is a great tool.  But like everything, you have to know how to use it well if you want it to be effective.  One of its huge advantages, the very very low cost per email (for most of us, it's just the staff time spent putting together the list above the sunk costs of having an email management system) makes us a little less cautious about how we structure and plan our mass emails.

Here's a great recent post from techcafeteria (aka Peter Campbell) with some cautionary thoughts.  Basically, he reminds us that we're not the only folks tracking the number of people who open and read our emails - that statistic has bearing on how the major email services categorize your messages...you're much more likely to wind up in spam filters if you have consistently low rates of opens and clickthroughs.

http://techcafeteria.com/blog/2013/05/31/everything-that-you-know-about-spam-is-wrong/

It's something to think about.  Certainly, you shouldn't let fear for your sender score (terminology Mr. Campbell describes - it's what you think it is) cripple you...if the rest of the world is anything like me, whether or not I open an email from the organizations I support has less to do with them and more to do with what else is in my inbox and what else is going on in my day.  Aside from trying to anticipate what you can (eg - don't send an email you want me to read the day after a long weekend.  My inbox is guaranteed to be full and I'm going to be having a hard time getting my head back into work mode.  Always.) you have to accept that you can't fully control these things, and email is ideally suited to mass outreach.  But being aware of the implications of the techniques you are weighing is always a good thing.

Three super quick takeaways:

1. Think carefully about your mailing lists.  Just because you don't have to write a check every time you hit "send" doesn't mean there's no cost to sending emails, and it's not as simple as "so they won't read it if they're not interested."
2. Be sure your emails have value.  Best way to get people to open your emails consistently is to develop a track record of sending emails that are worth reading.  (Of course, that's a complicated thing to figure out...what has value to both your organization and your supporters/followers?  If it were as easy as all that to figure out how to implement that kind of platitude, I wouldn't have paying gigs...but at least this kind of advice can prevent you from being reckless!)
3. Stewardship is a great use of email - if all of your emails boil down to a direct solicitation, people will stop opening them unless they want to make a gift immediately.  Also, you should be sending your solicitations to lots of people, not just your guaranteed supporters, so if that's all you send, you'll wind up ignoring all of the good advice in Mr. Campbell's article.  But when you use email to thank and engage your supporters, you'll be rewarded with higher open rates and all their benefits.  (Blah, blah, you still have to do it right, and points 1 and 2 still apply, but if you're looking for a great way to engage in a productive conversation about email strategy with your board, boss, staff/team, etc., start here.  How can you better use email for stewardship?)