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Volume
8, Issue 1 - January 2006 |
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Toni Paglia,
Director of Development, The ARC
Syracuse, New York |
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Make the Internet Work for You |
Happy New Year! Let’s all resolve this year to take a good look at how we might better serve our clients, our donors, our staff and volunteers so that we can better serve our mission. This might mean taking new approaches to traditional fundraising...
Our cover article this month is written by Fletcher Kent of cMarket, a terrific Internet resource for nonprofits. I thought you might enjoy hearing about this interesting opportunity to take advantage of a potentially profitable fundraising scheme.
Today's fundraisers are faced with reduced government spending, a rising or stagnant economy, and more nonprofit organizations emerging every day. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that leaders in the fundraising profession are increasingly leveraging the Internet to gain a competitive advantage in the process of soliciting donor dollars.
In 2004, over 25 million people used the Internet to make charitable contributions, according to a recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. In particular, this medium has helped offset the recent donor drain resulting from repeated disaster relief needs by maximizing a charitable organization's reach and exposure.
One Internet-based fundraising vehicle rapidly gaining popularity is the charitable online auction. This exciting new blend of philanthropy and entertainment has the power to increase the fundraising opportunity by attracting a wider array of participants than would be possible with a live event and dramatically escalating the overall results.
For example, bidding on a lunch with Theo Epstein, the former Red Sox General Manager who led the team to its historic 2004 World Championship, started at $100, rose to an astonishing $16,100, and finally doubled to over $32,000 when Epstein offered to dine privately with the second highest bidder as well.
The lunch was one of the key items offered in the online holiday auction to benefit children at risk at the Boston-based Home for Little Wanderers. Hosted by charitable online auction provider, cMarket, it was the company’s online auction platform that touched off a bidding war when word leaked into the media about the online auction, attracting the attention of two philanthropists who drove the price to stratospheric heights.
Though online auctions are not new, charitable online auctions are in their infancy with only a handful of companies, including cMarket, charting this new fundraising frontier. Comments Lisa Rowan-Gillis, Home for Little Wanderers Vice President of Communication, “We're just thrilled with the results. You can bet we'll be doing another online auction next holiday season.”
About cMarket: cMarket is a leading provider of charitable online auctions. Since 2002, more than 930 organizations have chosen cMarket for over 1,000 fundraising events to raise more money by building stronger relationships with their communities. Customers include nonprofit organizations in the arts, education, healthcare, recreation, faith-based, corporate philanthropy and public broadcasting arenas. Visit them at
www.cmarket.com to learn more about their services.
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Why You Should Get Smart about Internet Fundraising
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In December, the Association of Fundraising Professionals reported that more than 26 million Americans have now made a charitable gift online, according to a recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The number grew from 11 million Americans in 2001 to about 17 million by the end of 2004. Since the beginning of 2005, the number of Americans who say they have made an online donation has increased by 53%!
According to a survey of 400 nonprofits conducted by Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org), donations made online by credit care clear faster and for larger amounts than those made by check or other offline means. The average donation to the site’s charities was $121, nearly five times the average offline donation, the survey found.
Another online charity clearinghouse, JustGive.org (www.justgive.org) recorded more than $1 million in credit card donations in 10 days, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
Although credit card companies typically charge a fee of 2% - 3% of the donation, that’s far less than the costs of processing checks and is more than offset by the greater generosity of online donors.
In an article in Nonprofit World magazine, Sylvia Dunnavent, executive director of Celebrating Life Foundation in Dallas reporting on success via the Internet. Previously, their simple web site didn’t let people register for events or donate online.
After a demonstration, the Board agreed to upgrade their site to include event management modules, email communication, fundraising capabilities, event registration, an integrated database, and peer-to-peer online donation solicitation services. In a few weeks after their web site was up at
www.celebratinglife.kintera.org, people began to donate and register for a fundraising event in record numbers. Periodic email reminders kept the event visible. Easy-to-use tools let donors send solicitation emails to their friends, reaching a whole new range of supporters. As a result, this small nonprofit received $60,000 in donations, up from $30,000 the year before.
For tips on receiving donations online, see the following articles in Nonprofit World magazine: “Fundraising on the Internet: Three Easy Strategies” (Vol. 17, No. 4); “Cyberactivism: How a Web Site Can Make or Break Your Organization” (Vol. 21, No.4); and “Fundraising on the Internet (Vol. 22, No. 2).
www.snpo.org/publications/nonprofitworld.php.
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Critical Success Factors for Internet Fundraising
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Three Keys to Cultivating Donors Online. Network for Good's success is rooted in three principles of online outreach, which are key to any nonprofit focused on cultivating donors on the Internet.
1) Reach out to audiences when they already feel an impulse to give.
Nonprofits should capitalize on moments when people are reading about, hearing about or thinking about their issues.
2) Make transactions easy and convenient. When donors are inclined to give, the act of making a donation should be as simple, secure and easy as possible. This is one of the most promising aspects of online giving -- it's instantaneous, efficient and convenient for donors and nonprofits alike.
3) Remind donors of the benefits of online giving over time. The Internet offers great possibilities for cultivating donors once they've contributed to a cause, as long as organizations are scrupulous about honoring donors’ wishes about when and how they wish to be contacted.
Bill Strathmann is chief executive of Bethesda, Md.-based Network for Good, a not-for-profit, e-philanthropy Web site where individuals can donate and volunteer with causes they care about. He can be reached by visiting
www.networkforgood.org.
What You’ll Need to Make it Work
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Up to date Web Site that motivates visitors to donate, register for an event, or volunteer.
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Secure shopping cart. I use Americart, which is reasonable and transparent to the web visitor.
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Credit card/merchant account with a bank to process transactions.
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And, an excellent system of recognizing, acknowledging and thanking online donors.
The Virtual Handshake!
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Society for Nonprofit Organizations (Nonprofit World Magazine):
www.snpo.org.
Nonprofit Times: www.nptimes.com.
Network for Good: www.networkforgood.org.
National Center for Charitable Statistics:
www.nccs.urban.org.
GuideStar: www.guidestar.org.
Council on Foundations: www.cof.org.
Independent Sector: www.independentsector.org.
Grant Station: www.grantstation.com.
The Foundation Center: www.fdncenter.org.
National Charities Information Bureau: www.give.org.
American Institute of Philanthropy: www.charitywatch.org.
Charity Navigator: www.charitynavigator.org.
Remember, if you aren’t spending time on the Internet every week, you are leaving valuable information on the table - resolve to stay ahead of the game in 2006!
If you run across good sites for nonprofits, please let me know and I’ll
include them in an upcoming issue.
If you find a broken link on
the site, please send me an email () and let me know. Thanks!
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HOW CAN I HELP YOU?
TAKE THIS QUICKIE QUIZ
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Please give me a call if you want to turn any NO into a YES. I can help
with:
- turning your Board into a dynamic group of volunteers,
- facilitating a strategic planning session,
- analyzing your current fundraising and suggesting some new ideas, and
- training volunteers and staff in becoming more effective fundraisers.
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Here is what people have said about my training and facilitation:
“You certainly shifted my paradigm. After hearing you last
Friday, it is the first time in 11 years as an ED that I was excited abut
fund development. And you got my Board members to that point as well. “
Kay
Hopper
RDC for Children, Richardson, TX
“Your seminar in Dallas was the best I ever attended. You
are wise and hilarious.”;
Mary Jo Dorn
Catholic Charities of Dallas
"Jean conducted an extremely well
organized and productive [Board] retreat, one that I can
say with confidence that our members count as the finest
ever conducted for us. Jean's follow-up report was
in-depth and meaty, and both Board and staff have
referred to it time and again. The knowledge of
boardsmanship the members took with them has made a
remarkable difference in their levels of commitment and
support."
Eileen Cook, Executive Directorr
Casa Esperanza
"Jean Block is a powerhouse in the
Non-Profit world. You don't move about these circles long before her name is
prominent in the conversation. Her commitment to training, fundraising,
motivating, and cultivation is unsurpassed. To say she is an influence is
to miss the point. She gives new meaning to the word enthusiasm! You don't
know Jean, you experience her! She is a force unlike any other I have every
met."
Randy Gleason
Randy
Gleason Consulting, Inc.
“Your training was invaluable to me. I dreaded doing this
because I couldn’t even sell someone a candy bar in the past but I was
inspired by your advice to try. I raised about $377,000!
Joan Shepack
Keystone Botanical Garden, El Paso,
TXX
"I attended the Corporate Sponsorship Workshop - WOW! You
were amazing! What an OPPORTUNITY for me!
Your presentation style was EXCELLENT. By far the best
workshop I've been to in a long time (content and style both!)."
Vicki
Kopplin
Epilepsy
Foundation of Minnesota
"As a senior-level development officer, I have a hard time
finding useful workshops. Jean's programs should be required for even us old
CFREs."
Trisha Dunbarr
Visiting Nurse Association,
Dallas, TX
Jean Block
Consulting, Inc.
7915 Cliff Road NW
Albuquerque NM 87120
(505) 899-1520
Fax (505) 890-5285
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Toni Paglia,
Director of Development, The ARCRC
Syracuse, New Yorkk |
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