April 27, 2011

 Twitter for nonprofit jobs

Executive Director - American Heart Association, Utah Division

The Executive Director identifies, recruits and manages volunteer leadership; supervises and coaches internal staff; and collaborates with staff and volunteers throughout the AHA organization to maximize efficiencies, effectiveness and fundraising efforts

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Picking The Best Social Network

Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In are the latest devices for philanthropy to share information and reach a wider audience. But using these websites without a plan can cause major problems for a nonprofit, according to Andrea Berry, director of partnerships and learning for Idealware, a nonprofit technology organization in Portland, Maine.

Nonprofits shouldn’t dive into social media websites unless they have a plan and set of goals to accomplish. But, often there are organizational leaders who believe they need to be on a social media website just because it is expected.

“Ideally it should be creating better opportunities to engage and listen to their community. Unfortunately, a fair number of groups are doing it because everyone else is doing it and they feel like thy have to,” said Ash Sheppard, project strategist for NPower Seattle, a nonprofit technology consulting firm.

Berry suggests that to not waste time, managers should create a social media strategy to increase the general public’s understanding of the mission and be able to use sites like Facebook as a tool. “If there’s no parameters it is hard to figure out what the return on your investment is,” Berry said.

Planned Giving ...
Opening conversations about bequests and other plans

Searching for the correct language to solicit bequest donations can sometimes be difficult but at the recent Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Conference in Chicago, Ill., session called “Language to Open Conversations About Bequests and Other Gift Plans, William D. Samers, vice president of the New York City UJA-Federation of New York, talked about some about the best strategies to use when approaching this topic.

The common type of bequests, according Samers, was revocable bequests. Revocable bequests are useful because they can add to future campaigns, allow you to stay in touch with your supporters, ensure future bequests, find donor interest and increase planned giving support.

In asking for these types of pledges, Samers advocated extending your personal life and values to those of the donor. Connect to your potential donors through appeal to their own values. It is also helpful to employ a donor-centered approach by showing how donors can achieve value goals through planned giving.

As “sales” and “marketing” have generally gravitated towards for-profit work, during a recent session called “Sales and Marketing are not 4 Letter Words,” at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Conference in Chicago, Ill., Jeffrey Mendola, director of development & external affairs for the Cheektowaga, N.Y., based Mercy Flight Western New York, discussed that with a reconfiguration of these terms, nonprofits can help achieve goals efficiently.

Realizing that nonprofits are not “selling stuff,” Mendola said it was important to remember that in fact fundraisers are selling “things.” Nonprofits are identifying prospective donors or “consumers,” telling donors about what you do and what you achieve, asking donors to support you financially and your donor is getting something in return.

Mendola suggested adhering to a pyramid that can help transform potential donors to actual supporters or constituents to your organization. The pyramid builds from awareness, to advocacy, interest and awareness. In creating awareness, nonprofits should focus on creating a positive impression, a consistency in their communication, frequency of communication and strengths of your organization.

Moving people up the pyramid can be accomplished through a healthy mix of marketing sales ideology. Use traditional methods like media, prospect mailings, outreach and events along with a fusion of social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Linked-In.

Finding new ways to reach out to your donors is essential in retaining and hopefully increasing any future donations.

During the 2011 Washington, D.C., Nonprofit Conference sponsored by Direct Marketing Association Sherry Minton of the American Heart Association (AMA) spoke of ways to reach out to current donors in hopes to receive future donations. One way is reaching out to 13-month donors via telemarketing. When AHA did it, the process resulted in:
* Subsequent revenue from those who received a call increased 35 percent;
* Dropping acquisition names based on contact frequency;
* Reduced volume without loss of donors or income; and,
* Increased responses: 1.4 percent from rental lists; 47 percent from warm prospects; and, 17 percent from lapsed donors

Minton’s most successful idea came from sending a handwritten thank you letter. The handwritten response would give the donors a warm feeling from the organization increasing the likelihood that they will make a future donation. In the case of the AHA, the letters:
* Increased response 100 percent; and,
* Donations were lower net due to the higher cost of the letters, but significantly more donors made a second donation.