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More than 1 million users. Sixteen billion monthly page views. Ninety-nine percent user engagement.
If these sound like stats from tech companies, you’re right. Except these tech companies are nonprofits.
In Steve Case’s new book, The Third Wave, he argues that this next generation of the Internet will transform major industry sectors and become integrated into everything we do. We are already seeing the tremendous impact of software and the Internet transform one of the least discussed areas — the nonprofit sector.
With the growing ubiquity of mobile phones and the Internet, combined with plummeting connectivity costs and, in some cases, free infrastructure, it’s not surprising that organizations focused on scaling impact are integrating technology into the core of their solution. But you may be surprised to hear how deep technology’s impact has already been on the nonprofit sector....
Products of caring companies are seen as superior
New research just released shows that corporate social goodwill can elevate a company’s profits by improving consumers’ perceptions of its products, but only when it’s seen as genuine.[Chernev, Alexander and Sean Blair (2015), “Doing Well by Doing Good: The Benevolent Halo of Social Goodwill” Journal of Consumer Research Summary]
New research shows that social goodwill increases the perceived quality of your products
Your products will only be perceived as better when your Social Responsibility Policies are motivated by an authentic values-led strategy, rather than thinly-veiled self-interest and hopeful publicity...
Veteran nonprofit writers know that charities win credibility with strong writing and lose credibility with poor writing.
“Great content builds authority,” writes Caryn Stein, Director of Content Strategy for the Network for Good. “Great content reinforces trust.”
And with credibility, authority, and trust come grants, donations, influence, visibility, members, and volunteers — all the makings of a successful nonprofit organization.For those who practice the art of writing for nonprofits, I offer up these six deadly writing sins, which I know about only because I have, on occasion, committed every last one of them....
“Where does a phenomenon begin?” That’s the question ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi seeks to answer in a long SportsCenter feature on the ice bucket challenge, which has reportedly raised more than $50 million for ALS charities in less than a month.
...This origin myth, while heartwarming, just isn’t true. The real story of how the ice bucket challenge came to dominate your Facebook feed takes nothing away from Frates’ inspirational message, or the fact that his personal struggle helped draw celebrities to the cause and drive charitable contributions. But focusing on “one name” obscures another fascinating tale, one that illustrates how movements mutate and evolve as they travel across the Web....
Marketers use stories to draw the attention of a wider audience and to generate interest in your organization. In fundraising, including major gift fundraising, stories motivate donors to provide financial support.
Here are three tips for using stories to boost your organization's bottom line through major gifts...
UBC studies suggest all those ribbon campaigns might not be that effective in raising cash...
A study conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia came to some sobering conclusions.In a series of experiments conducted in the field and the lab, researchers asked participants to show their support for various causes. In one study, one group was given a poppy to commemorate Remembrance Day and asked to put it on immediately. Another group was given a poppy in a sealed envelope to take away with them. A third group, given neither a poppy nor an envelope, acted as a control. Individuals in all three groups were then asked to make a donation to support Canada’s war veterans. (The money raised was, in fact, donated.)
Individuals who had accepted the poppy in a sealed envelope donated significantly more than those in the other two groups....
29 nonprofit resources that tweet regularly on subjects ranging from fundraising to social media to mobile communications
Via Kimberly Flaherty
A new study highlights the realities of donor behavior and how organizations can redesign their outreach strategies to be more effective. Until recently the models that nonprofits used to find, engage, and cultivate donors, volunteers, and other supporters were reasonably straightforward. The first step was to use direct mail, phone calls, or other techniques to bring in large numbers of potential supporters at a low level of engagement. These supporters were sorted into neat groups, and the most promising people were continually moved up the pyramid or ladder and cultivated for larger and larger donations. It was an orderly and linear process. Today, the Internet and social media have permanently disrupted the traditional donor-engagement process. Online competitions, viral video campaigns, mobile giving—with each new way for organizations and donors to interact come increasingly complex entry points into the traditional models of donor engagement, greater variation in movement along the pathway to deeper engagement, and more opportunities for a person to be influenced by forces outside an organization’s control. To better understand the impact that social media is having on donor engagement, we conducted a nationwide research project. We learned that donor behavior and communications preferences have changed because of social media. And as a result, the traditional donor engagement models are no longer sufficient. In their place we need to create a new model of donor engagement, one that is more fluid and continuous, and that better reflects the growing importance that a person’s influence (and how she uses it) plays in the process.
Via Kimberly Flaherty
"We are continuing with our “Best of 2012” series that we started yesterday with the 10 Best Nonprofit Fundraising Posts from 2012 by ranking our best social media related posts."
Via Kimberly Flaherty
Using digital technology to tell stories can help charities with impact assessment, says Kieron Kirkland... Using stories to evaluate results? Quantitatively??!! You bet!! Here is a fabulous article after my quantitative heart. The author Kieron Kirkland talks about how the organization, Nominet Trust, worked with the org story company Cognitive Edge to capture stories and then have the story authors rank what their stories are about on a scale. Once the story was captured, there were several types of scales the storytellers ranked their stories on -- generating big data! See -- storytelling and evaluation can be done effectively if constructed properly. This article goes hand-in-hand with newer qualitative evaluation processes for arts-based techniques (like storytelling) talked about in one of my favorite books, Method Meets Art; Arts-Based Research Practice by Patricia Leavy (2009). If you struggle to connect stories about your projects to quantifiable results, then run to read this article. Having helped organizations articulate measures so they can see progress, the first critical area to tackle are which measures are going to be used that are the most meaningful, given the project's objectives. This article will give you several ideas for how to get started. Enjoy! This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it ;
[A must-read for storytellers who need an ROI ~ Jeff]
Why does it seem that raising money with social media is almost impossible? We all know that retweets can travel faster than an earthquake and Facebook is basically word-of-mouth on steroids. But why do most social media fundraisers fall flat? The answer lies in understanding exactly how people use social media, and why these tools even exist in the first place.... [John Haydon answers a provocative question for nonprofits ~ Jeff]
Redesigning your nonprofit organization to become more participatory, open, authentic, decentralized, collective, and effective—via social media, networks, and beyond. The environment in which nonprofits are doing their social change work has changed dramatically over the past five years. It’s more complex, online networks are central to our lives and work, and stakeholders want more involvement. Seeing tangible results from your organization’s social change efforts now requires two things to be successful: leading with a network mindset, and using measurement and learning to continuously improve. It is just not about using the tools—having a Facebook brand presence or tweeting as the CEO of your organization—it is a total redesign of your organization....
You’d think that a problem makes for an interesting story. But when it comes to telling the story of game-changing innovation, the “problem/solution” model is broken. This is why so many brands and causes have a hard time telling their story. When it comes to business, you want to introduce a paradox, not just a problem. What a great post from colleage Michael Margolis on how to re-think the problem/resolution elements of a story into presenting the possbility & then the obstacle being faced. This is an especially important insight for nonprofits to get because the problem/resolution set up starts out with a negative -- which can be a turn-off for people. As Michale says, we are surrounded by enough problems these days. So turn the problem/resolution dyamic on its head and shift to presenting the possibility/obstacle dynamic instead. That way you are leading with a positive, and then presenting the obstacle to overcome. Obviously then people's participation in the cause/business will help the obstacle be overcome. Or part of the obstacle has already been overcome with people's help. Now, I would suggest doing the same for any business -- present the possibility and the obstacle, and then the resolution or call to action. I be you'll feel better setting up your story this way, and so will your audience. Let me know how it goes!
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Cause based marketing is the biggest trend in the industry. The influence of Millennials is growing and attention spans are shortening, and leveraging socially positive causes has become one of the key methods for brands to be seen as benevolent, hip and relevant.
However, it’s not as simple as attaching a dollar figure to a cause, and it doesn’t matter if you wrap a bad campaign in a good cause, it’s still a bad campaign, which in the end will be more damaging to your brand. With this in mind, here are some of the best and worst examples of recent cause-based campaigns, as well as some key insights on what to do and what to avoid....
Since 2009, Bill and Melinda Gates have written a letter every January discussing the work of their foundation (which is to receive the bulk of his wealth). Last year, they wrote about why they believed that people around the world are doing better today than ever, despite some people's perceptions otherwise.
This year, on the Gates Foundation's 15-year anniversary, two of the world's biggest optimists are predicting a better future, often through interventions that seem basic, but will drastically improve the lives of billions of people around the world.
"The lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any other time in history," they write. "And their lives will improve more than anyone else’s."...
Eventually, every celebrity and politician (though hopefully not every brand) will have taken the Ice Bucket Challenge.
So, what next? The moment the ALS campaign went crazy, we braced for the inevitable slew of copycats.
Adweek takes a look at some of the contenders....
The biggest challenge with cause marketing is convincing businesses of the value of supporting a cause. Sure, it’s good for society, and that reason is as good as any. But businesses of all sizes need marketing to deliver a bottom-line benefit. They can’t make an exception for cause marketing.Businesses are smart to set the bar high for cause marketing. That’s why I’m sharing five reasons why they should support a cause...
Branding is also vital when your organization is launching specific fundraising campaigns, events, projects, or programs. An excellent example of a nonprofit with a well-known brand that helped one of its major campaigns is GiveCorps, which recently had a Giving Tuesday campaign called BmoreGivesMore.
The consistency of the branding for GiveCorps proved to substantially aid its messaging and helped form strategic partnerships with like brands. The end result of these efforts? Well, the organization raised $5.7M in one day (yep, one day).
Let's break down the organization to see exactly who they are and what has made them such a success -- including its branding techniques....
An exciting announcement came out of HubSpot last week that's got the inbound world buzzing. As you can see in the promotional video below, HubSpot is partnering with charity: water, "a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.” HubSpot is helping charity: water use the principles of inbound marketing to further spread the non-profit’s mission. Pretty cool, right? This is one thing I don’t hear discussed a lot in the marketing world - effective and strategic marketing tactics for non-profits. This new partnership got me thinking about it, and after looking through HubSpot’s fundamental inbound marketing principles, it became apparent how this practice philosophically and logically complements non-profit work.Here are three reasons why non-profits should take a nod from charity: water and look to inbound marketing tactics to spread their mission and accomplish their work....
Cultural organizations like theater companies, orchestras, and art museums are using the internet, social media, and mobile apps to draw in and engage audiences, provide deeper context, and disseminate their work beyond the stage and the gallery... A survey of a wide-ranging mix of U.S.-based arts organizations shows that the internet, social media, and mobile connectivity now permeate their operations and have changed the way they stage performances, mount and showcase their exhibits, engage their audiences, sell tickets, and raise funds. These organizations are even finding that technology has changed the very definition of art: 77% of respondents agree with the statement that the internet has “played a major role in broadening the boundaries of what is considered art.” “For most of these organizations, technology suffuses their operations and their engagement activities with their communities,” noted Kristen Purcell, research director at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, and a co-author of the report. “They are using the technologies to expand their offerings, grow and diversify their audiences, and bring technology users into the act of creating art itself.”
I have a short attention span, but I rock at multitasking. I may get bored easy but if you capture my attention, I could become your number one advocate. Please just cut to the chase, there’s no need for lengthy instructions; to me a picture’s worth a thousand words. At about 80 million strong, by 2017 these Americans, born between 1980-2000, will have more spending power than any other generationbefore us. You call me a millennial, but I prefer Rachael....
What does this mean for non-profits? If you figure out the secret sauce to reaching us now, not only will you execute better fundraising campaigns, but you increase your chances of creating lifelong donors. Here are 5 things you need to start doing if you want to captivate my fellow millennials...
Fundraising for non-profits is no easy task. No matter how noble the cause, getting folks to part with their hard-earned cash presents a tricky challenge.
But, more than ever, non-profits are relying on social media to reach their target audiences and help make the world a better place. Why social media? Because Facebook, Twitter and other networks are where the eyeballs are. In fact, socially shared content makes up 10% of all web content, at least according to analysis by the social platform ShareThis.
2012 saw more social effort and engagement than ever by non-profits, and the following infographic from MDG Advertising provides a handy overview. Based on statistics from a number of non-profit advocacy groups, it reflects a world of newfound potential for rallying people online for social good....
What inspires people to donate their hard-earned money to a stranger’s cause? And how do these people choose which of the thousands of noble causes to donate their limited resources to? It all starts with your fundraising appeal – it is your first and most important chance to connect with a potential donor. You have to accomplish a lot in your appeal: explain your cause, demonstrate why it’s important, and prove to your readers that their money will be best spent with you. Persuasive writing convinces people to make donations, plain and simple. If your fundraising appeal doesn’t have a clear point of view, specific asks, and good storytelling, you are not going to convince people to donate. Writing good copy is hard. Here are ten quick tips for getting started...
The nine reports cited in this story are a sample of the research available to nonprofits about online communications and fundraising, social media, and mobile technology. [Excellent social media resource for non-nonprofits too LOL - JD]
Via Kimberly Flaherty
The rapid advancement and growth of channels such as Twitter and Facebook has had a dramatic effect on our personal and professional lives, and, thanks to platforms such as Kickstarter, DonorsChoose.org and Pencils Of Promise, both users and organizations have been empowered to advance social change in education, as well as fundraising for good causes and other worthy projects. Indeed, four out of five adults believe that “I can make the world a better place by my actions.” But how? The 2012 Social Change Impact Report revealed that people do want to help out, even when times are bad, and this infographic from Best Colleges takes a closer look at how social media has led to social change.... [Interesting social-ology and insight for nonprofit orgs - JD]
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![How Social Media Leads To Social Change [INFOGRAPHIC] - AllTwitter | Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight | Scoop.it](https://img.scoop.it/E-uLFy8j5tZEAmLbdvxfczl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVvK0kTmF0xjctABnaLJIm9)
Technology is having a surprisingly big impact on nonprofits.