Connections : nptech

Creating a Social Networking Strategy (Part 1)

Steve MacLaughlin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:15:00 GMT

This is a follow-up to Creating a Social Networking Strategy (Part 0) that originally appeared on this blog and also as a guest post on Beth Kanter's blog. One of the key takeaways from Part 0 is that once you stop just playing around with social media then you need to start putting together a strategy.

The first place to start is a proven and solid framework for your strategy. That bad news is that most people don't like "strategery" stuff. The good news is that a lot of the heavy lifting has already been done for you.

Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff's book Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies outlines a great strategy that nonprofit organizations can use. Josh was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Target User Forum. You can read an interview and write-up of his presentation on this blog.

In the book, Charlene and Josh recommend using the P.O.S.T. method for putting together your social networking strategy. P.O.S.T. stands for People, Objectives, Strategies, Technologies. And they are meant to be done in precisely that order.

People: Who are you trying to engage? Be specific and prioritize them. The answer can't be everyone.
Objectives: What are you trying to achieve? Is it about listening, talking, or energizing? How will you measure it?
Strategies: What will it look like when you're done? Start with the end in mind and how relationships will change.
Technologies: What are the tools you plan to use? Don't pick the tools first.

It sounds simple, but it works. Give it a try. Resist the temptation to jump right to the tools. Make sure you understand why you're doing this, how you plan to measure success, and identify your internal champions before you take advice from one of the 857 social media experts out there.

Social media and social networks are fundamentally a communications and relationship building channel. It's just on such a mass scale and full of plenty of sound, fury, and hype that we momentarily think the normal rules don't apply. They still do.

One of the first things that I recommend to nonprofits, after working through a quick P.O.S.T. exercise, is to establish your listening post. Before you dive into the conversation it's a good idea to know what people are talking about. Doing this also helps to acclimatize the people in your organization to how much is already going one in the social media ecosystem.

There may or may not be a lot of chatter about your organization, but there will certainly be activity related to your mission, cause, purpose, etc. It is important to tap into this because people are more interested in what you're actually doing instead of reading your mission statement. Read Frank Barry's blog posts "Set up Your Social Media Listening Dashboard in 30 Minutes or Less" and "I’m Listening, Now What? 5 Tips to Make Your Listening Worth It" to get started listening.

Use your listening posts to help guide your P.O.S.T. strategy. You are very likely to find insights into what topics, trends, and sites are closely aligned with your organization. As you work through developing your P.O.S.T. approach to using social media and networks you're likely to find a few scenarios that bring into question your strategy. Don't panic! There are always exceptions and special cases that come up.

Part 2 of Creating a Social Networking Strategy will cover a very popular question: How many staff members does this all take? Look for that post in the near future.

More NetWits Summer Camp Sessions Added

Steve MacLaughlin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:28:00 GMT

We must be on to something. In just two days, Blackbaud is close to completely filling up NetWits Summer Camp, our free five-day series of web seminars about how nonprofits can better use the Internet.

So we've gone ahead and added five more sessions during the week of August 24th to 28th. Visit the NetWits Summer Camp homepage to sign up for sessions about your website, email marketing, online fundraising, social media, and related metrics.

Websites Demystified
Monday, August 24 at 1 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL
Monday, August 24 at 3 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL

Email Demystified
Tuesday, August 25 at 1 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL
Tuesday, August 25 at 3 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL

Online Fundraising Demystified
Wednesday, August 26 at 1 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL
Wednesday, August 26 at 3 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL

Social Media Demystified
Thursday, August 27 at 1 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL
Thursday, August 27 at 3 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL

Online Metrics Demystified
Friday, August 28 at 1 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL
Friday, August 28 at 3 p.m. ET - SESSION FULL

Hope to see you there...

Is Your Website Broken?

Steve MacLaughlin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:03:00 GMT

Raheel Gauba's blog Sans Profit Design got me thinking about website usability. It's not a topic talked a lot about in the nonprofit sector these days. A lot of time, resources, and money is spent on lots of website initiatives and tools, but not enough attention is paid to simple usability.

It's Art and Science
After more than a decade of working on Internet projects one of the big realities is that good usability is both an art and a science. It's also less about the tools being used and more about the strategy, goals, and target audiences of the website. A recent report on donation form usability done by guru Jakob Nielsen and the Nielsen Norman Group shows how simple mistakes or slight changes make a big difference. The report is only $98 and would pay for itself in no time at all.

Some Usability Testing Beats None
Usability testing is one of the more under utilized things you can do to improve your online results. It doesn’t require a lot of resources or costs to do even basic testing. There are a lot of myths about usability testing, like the idea that you need hundreds of testers that fit a specific profile. Wrong. Many years ago I had the chance to be a peer reviewer for Steve Krug's book Don't Make Me Think. It is still one of the best books on usability for non-technical people.

Free Usability Testing Anyone?
I think usability testing is so important that I'm willing to do some of it for free. Readers can drop me an email at steve.maclaughlin /at/ blackbaud.com and I'll pick the first few that come in. We'll do some initial testing and I'll put the results together for a future blog post. Any takers?

Digital Leap Conference in London

Steve MacLaughlin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:29:00 GMT

Today is the Digital Leap conference in London. It's all about fundraising, social networking, and online charity success in the UK and Europe.

Digital Leap is being held at the ICO Conference Centre in central London. There are a great set of speakers at the event including:

Ted Hart, CEO, Hart Philanthropic Services Group
Alan Clayton, Director of Innovation, The Good Agency
Richie Jones, Founder and Creative Technology Director, Yucca UK
Robert McAllen, Programme Manager, Blackbaud Europe
Jason Potts, Director, Think Consulting Solutions
Reuben Turner, Creative Director, The Good Agency
Beth Granter, Social Media Marketer, Twentyfirst Will McInnes, Managing Director, NixonMcInnes

Be sure to check out the Digital Leap blog and follow the conference on Twitter.

Is 99% Failure Acceptable?

Steve MacLaughlin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:02:00 GMT

I am spending a lot of time these days looking at numbers. Lots and lots of numbers. Mostly because I'm working on a new book and exploring the wonderful and strange world of online fundraising metrics. (More on that in future blog posts)

One thing that has got my attention are some of the latest online fundraising benchmarks in the 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study done by M+R Strategic Services and NTEN. I also had a copy of the 2008 study and did a mash-up of some of the findings. All good studies raise questions and this one begs the following question: Is 99% failure acceptable?

Email Results Dropping
The studies highlight the performance of email fundraising appeals sent by nonprofits. To be clear, the studies also look at separate metrics for email newsletter and advocacy alert messages. The three year trend for email shows a drop across the board with the exception of page completion rate. Open rates can be deceptive, but click-through rates and response rates are very telling. And what they are telling us is that 99.88% of these fundraising focused emails failed to result in a gift.

Why 99% Failure is Acceptable
Some nonprofit consultants will point to direct mail where a 2% to 3% conversion rate has people popping the champagne. Others will add that the sheer volume of spam dilutes the potential effectiveness of email. Organizations might also claim that using email is still relatively new for many of them and they can't be expected to outperform more traditional channels.

Why 99% Failure is Not Acceptable
Email is not direct mail. While many of the same strategies apply, it is like comparing apples and iPhones. Email communication has more robust segmentation and personalization capabilities. It has faster response cycles, is more cost effective to test, and combined with higher average gifts it can have better ROI than traditional channels. Email isn't perfect or the Holy Grail of marketing tools, but having success less than 1% of the time shouldn't be acceptable.

What is Your Success Rate?
Go ahead and pick your side in the debate. But make sure you know how you measure up. How do your results compare to these benchmarks? Where is it today? How has it changed over time? Where do you want it to be? What's the value of the difference? Welcome to the beauty and importance of benchmarks. They establish a point of comparison over a period of time and help you measure your own performance against it. Benchmarks don't set your goals, but they can absolutely help drive your performance measurement in meaningful ways.

Results May Vary
All statistical averages hide the reality that some organizations are well above the benchmark and others are way below it. Successful nonprofits have learned that better segmentation, message testing, and integrating their efforts with other channels yields the best results. These organizations also don't push the send button without having a goal for the campaign, a targeted audience for the email, a clear purpose for the message, a measurable call to action, and a plan to monitor the results. 99% failure is not acceptable for these nonprofits.

Recent Required Reading

Steve MacLaughlin — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:02:00 GMT

There is a lot going on in the nonprofit world these days. Here are some excellent blog posts to keep you in the know.

Study Provides A Baseline for Nonprofit Use of Social Networks
Beth Kanter does a review of the Nonprofit Social Network Survey Report produced by ThePort Network, Inc, NTEN, and Common Knowledge. The survey examines the use of social networking as a marketing and fundraising tool.

My recent visit with Heifer International
Blackbaud's Raheel Gauba recounts his recent visit to this client in pictures and words. He talks about the work Heifer does as well as their green friendly working environment.

Blogger Outreach. Tread Lightly
Jocelyn Harmon talks about the mistakes made by so many organizations trying to get bloggers to pick up their story. What might work in traditional public relations or mainstream media does not work with social media. Want to get personal attention? Build a personal relationship.

Help a Nonprofit This Mother's Day
Blackbaud's Anthony Sicola covers some nonprofit websites and how they used ecards and tribute giving pages for a Mother's Day focused campaign. He gives plenty of examples and links to check out.

6-Minute Guide to Winning Fundraising Campaigns
Katya Andresen and Rebecca Ruby Higman discuss how the “if you build it, they will come" approach to online giving simply doesn't work anymore. They cover some recommendations for setting goals and using technology to engage donors in better ways.

Common Adwords Mistakes
Beaconfire's Brett Gerstein gives some advice about improving your Google Adwords campaigns. He covers the importance of keyword selection and how to avoid some common mistakes.

4 Keys to Building a Successful Nonprofit Web Site
Blackbaud's Frank Berry blogs about what it takes to build a successful website. He gives some tips on the best way to get the most reach and results from your online content.

2009 NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference - Day 3

Steve MacLaughlin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:40:00 GMT

It's the last day of the 2009 NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference is in San Francisco. Yesterday's plenary session by Clay Shirky was amazing. Read Chad Norman's 15 Clay Shirky Quotes That Blew My Mind at NTC blog entry.

Blackbaud has two speakers on today's agenda. Here are the details on these don't miss sessions:

What's It Worth? The Value of Online Fundraising
Allison Van Diest will be discussing what we believe to be the financial value of email, online event fundraising, websites, and social networks. Tuesday, April 28, 10:30 a.m.

Nonprofit Radio - How to Make Podcasts that Engage Supporters
This is THE session if you want to learn about podcasting. Chad Norman and Corey Pudhorodsky will be discussing how to produce a podcasts using free tools and from scratch, including pre-production, recording, editing, processing, rendering, and marketing (details). Tuesday, April 28, 10:30 a.m.

NTEN NTC Links:
Blackbaud at NTEN: http://www.blackbaud.com/nten
I'll be live blogging at: http://nten.org/ntc-stevemaclaughlin
Twitter Hash Tag: #09NTC

2009 NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference - Day 1

Steve MacLaughlin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:01:00 GMT

This year's NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference is in San Francisco and it's sold out. About 1,450 attendees will be here over the next three days for some great sessions, speakers, and lot of talk about technology.

NTEN is a membership organization of nonprofit technology professionals that share the common goal of helping nonprofits use all aspects of technology more effectively.

Blackbaud is a diamond sponsor for this year's conference. We have a few surprises in store for today's Science Fair and Opening Reception. Not your typical booth. Look for some photos later in the day.

NTEN NTC Links:
Blackbaud at NTEN: http://www.blackbaud.com/nten
I'll be live blogging at: http://nten.org/ntc-stevemaclaughlin
Twitter Hash Tag: #09NTC

Creating a Social Networking Strategy (Part 0)

Steve MacLaughlin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:15:00 GMT

For a while now I've been talking with a lot of nonprofits about using social media and social networking in their organizations. I thought it would be useful to blog about how to create a strategy for using these channels.

Before starting to create a strategy it makes sense to set a baseline. Where are we today? What's going on? Haven't we seen this before? Why does any of this matter? This is Part 0. Phase 0. Let's go...

Déjà Vu All Over Again
Web 2.0 in 2009 reminds me of Web 1.0 in 1999. Lots of talk. Lots of uncertainty. Lots of buzzword bingo. Lots of new vendors. Lots of tools. Few experts. Few owners. Few results. Many of the same questions are being asked. Will people give online? Will people give through Facebook? How can we use email? How can we use Twitter? Who owns the website? Who owns the blog? I've seen this movie before and you probably have too. Don't use the same thinking, structures, or processes as you did with Web 1.0. Don't repeat the same mistakes. This is evolutionary ― not revolutionary.

Silo Syndrome
And just like with Web 1.0, many organizations are initially focusing on using social media as a communication and awareness tool. I recently had a chance to discuss social media strategies with members of our Target Analytics Customer Advisory Board. Many of them expressed concerns that there is not an organization-wide strategy for using social media, and that in the absence of ownership there are more data and interaction silos being created. Don't fall into the silo syndrome trap. Learn from the mistakes of the past. Ask questions about the total relationship with the supporter now. Is that MySpace friend an activist? Is that LinkedIn connection a donor? Is that Twitter follower also on the direct mail list? And don't invest in solutions that only create more islands.

The Illusion of Control
Web 1.0 was about controlling the one-way message. Web 2.0 is about engaging in two-way messages. The only remaining control is the illusion of control. You can avoid having a conversation. You can even pretend the conversations aren't happening elsewhere. Good luck with that approach. I'm sure it will work out just fine. This is just as true as when I first blogged it. If you want to succeed using Web 2.0, then you need to give up some control. Control of the message. Control of the messengers. Control of the control. Lose control. Find success.

Friendraising Not Fundraising
If the reason why you want to use social networks is just to raise money, then stop now. It doesn't work that way. An article in the Washington Post notes that "fewer than 1% of those who have joined a cause have actually donated money through [the Facebook Causes] application." The premise of the article misses the point and ignores a fundamental principle of fundraising ― you need to build to build relationships with people before you try and raise money from them. Later in this series I'll go into some reasons why the thinking and practice around these kinds of applications are flawed. Focus on friendraising first. If you do a good job, then the fundraising will follow.

Hope from the Hype
So why does social networking matter? It's not merely just another communication channel. It's the most human channel. In the book People to People Fundraising, I talked about the "Changing Nature of Community" and how "never before have people been able to transcend the physical boundaries of location, language, or other limitations to connect with one another in such powerful ways." Communities matter. Social networking matters. The other important aspect is that social media represents a cost effective way to engage potential new supporters in large numbers compared to traditional channels. And it is the lingua franca for dealing with Generation Y and younger-minded supporters. There is still a lot of hyper-hype, but the opportunity and potential is very real.

The First Step
Get a champion in the organization. They don't need to understand the latest techno widget or the nuances of StumbleUpon vs. Digg. They don't have to be social media butterflies, but they need to have influence and support in the organization. Your champion is going to make some of the choices and challenges ahead of you a lot easier to overcome. Who's your champion? Find one now before Part 1 begins.

Taking Five Website Staples to the Next Level

Steve MacLaughlin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:03:00 GMT

Allison Van Diest, senior product marketing manager for Blackbaud’s Internet Solutions, has just published a new white paper called Beyond the Basics: Taking Five Website Staples to the Next Level.

The recommendations come in part from findings in the 2008 State of the Nonprofit Industry (SONI) survey.This paper shows how nonprofits can use five web staples to enrich current relationships, establish new relationships, and encourage constituents to interact and give online. Some of the findings and insights include:

Direct or mass email marketing — 79% of nonprofits say they are doing this, although only 58% claim their email address files have grown in the past twelve months, indicating much room for improvement.

Online fundraising — 68% of nonprofits provide the ability for a website visitor to make a donation.

Electronic newsletters — 59% of nonprofits send out an electronic newsletter, which means that right away, there is an obvious opportunity for the 20% who are emailing without sending e-newsletters to add one to the marketing mix.

Website usage reports — 49% of nonprofits are utilizing this absolutely essential (and often free!) tool.

Online event registration — 43% of nonprofits allow prospective attendees to register for events online, and 78% of nonprofits send event invitations through direct mail — this wide gap between online and offline is an area that screams for better constituent service.

Allison uses some of the findings in the SONI survey to make recommendations around improving email marketing, online fundraising, electronic newsletters, website usage reports, and online event registration.

"The most interesting thing our SONI surveys reveal is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Since nonprofits have been looking at the internet as a marketing and fundraising channel, they have consistently been looking for better ways to addresses the basics. This isn't to say that many organizations aren't finding success as they push the envelope into other areas online, but there is still so much potential for improvement - strategically and tactically - on the ground floor." - Allison Van Diest, Sr. Product Marketing Manager

You can get a copy of Beyond the Basics: Taking Five Website Staples to the Next Level by clicking here.

Internet Investments Survey

Steve MacLaughlin — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:33:00 GMT

Blackbaud is conducting a survey as part of our State of the Nonprofit Industry (SONI) series.

This SONI survey on internet investments hopes to help nonprofits better understand how much to invest in online marketing and fundraising and what to expect in return. In short, the results of this survey will help nonprofits better answer the critical question: What is the monetary value of being online?

Please take a few minutes to help the nonprofit community quantify the financial value of email, online event fundraising, websites, and social networks. In return, you’ll be eligible to win one of three (3) $100 VISA gift cards and will receive a copy of the final report. Your responses will be kept confidential and will not be used for sales purposes. Take the survey here!

The survey closes on April 17, 2009, 5PM EDT to allow time to compile results for the live unveiling at the NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference on April 28, 2009. The report will be published to survey respondents directly following that event.

2009 Target User Forum - Day 2

Steve MacLaughlin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:10:00 GMT

It's day two of the Target User Forum here in Boston. The morning starts off with the keynote session Josh Bernoff, co-author of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Josh is one of the most sought after speakers on the topic of practical, data-based strategies for getting results from social networks.

I had a chance to talk with Josh before his presentation. He took some questions that I thought readers of the blog would be interested in having answered. So here's a brief Q&A:

Q: What is a social media trend you’re seeing in 2009 that’s new or different than in 2008?

Quantitatively, despite the recession, companies are even more interested in participating in social media in 2009 than they were in 2008, and consumer growth in participation is also up. Qualitatively, businesspeople are starting to pay a lot more attention to Twitter and are less interested in blogs. Communities are extremely interesting to all sorts of companies right now.

Q: Many nonprofits are looking for the ROI on social media. Isn’t it more about Return on Engagement? How should they be thinking about the metrics behind all this?

Your metrics and ROI depend on your objectives, as we tried to hammer home in the Groundswell book. Every business investment should have a return, so ROI is important to measure. But if you’re looking to spread awareness, you’ll measure changes in buzz; if you’re looking to energize your biggest backers, you’ll measure how many friends they reach; and if you’re looking to support the people you serve, you might examine the number of participants. The important thing is to measure something that matters to you, not just traffic.

Q: Often times lessons learned in the for-profit world can be applied to the non-profit world. What is a trend or tactic you’ve seen that corporations have learned that nonprofits could benefit from knowing about? Are there any major strategies that might only work in the nonprofit space?

Non-profits have fans, just like other brands. You want to give your fans the chance to spread the word. While this is a great idea for Nike or Coca-cola, it’s potentially even more valuable for a non-profit. Also, we are slowly driving the fuzzy-headed thinking (“Hey, why don’t we do a blog! It’ll be great for us!”) out of marketers’ heads as they concentrate on getting real work done here. Non-profits that want to succeed should skip the fuzzy-headed part and go right to clear objectives and matching technologies to those objectives.

Josh's keynote was titled "Engaging Donors in a World Transformed by Social Technologies." He started off by noting that while we are in a recession, the same rules of marketing and awareness still apply. Josh talked about the funnel that people go through: Eyeballs, Awareness, Consideration, Preference, Purchase, and Loyalty. The problem in this environment is that there is a black hole between Consideration and Preference right now. And social media is what is influencing people about what they buy and where they give.

If you only focus on the technologies then you'll get "Groundswell Approach-Avoidance Syndrome" and this isn't good. The reason this happens is because people know something big is happening, but they don't understand what is really happening. Using an example from Comcast, he discussed how social media won't fix all your problems, but it will help fix your message.

Josh makes the point that this isn't just about the social networking websites. Search engines love social media content. And that means that your message get spread in lots of ways whether you like it or not. People don't take information from organizations anymore. They are now taking it from each other. The key point is to engage in the conversation. Embrace the groundswell.

He then went through the POST process that's outlined in Groundswell. People | Objectives | Strategies | Technologies. Josh spent some time talking about the different kinds of people that use social media. They aren't all the same. They are Creators, Critics, Collectors, Joiners, Spectators, and Inactives. The percentage of these groups keeps changing and the demographic makeup of these groups keep changing as well. "If you don't know anything else about your groups, then knowing their age can tell you a lot," says Bernoff. And then Josh showed how these groups apply to high net worth individuals, volunteers, and low income individuals. Some patterns in the storm with the numbers he presented. Matching these groups or roles to specific objecitves is the next key step.

Josh talked about a story from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and what they are doing online to engage cancer patients. It's an example of a very focused community, built with the help of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and it allows these organizations to listen to what patients are saying. What is the problem faced by your donors, volunteers, etc., and how can you help address them in an open way? Josh then talked about the US Campaign for Burma website and how this nonprofit has used social media to drive traffic, attention, and awareness about their cause.

The key is to engage, energize, and provide support for people. One example was from Massachusetts General Hospital and their use of carepages. The most surprising social network that Josh has seen is Homeless Nation from Canada. The Brooklyn Musuem is another example of how nonprofits are using social media to embrace people in new ways. They have built an online community that allows people in interact in very cool ways. Josh closed by noting that while the groundswell might be threatening — it is something that you can turn to your advantage.

(Updating and Tweeting Regularly)

2009 Target User Forum - Day 1

Steve MacLaughlin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:30:00 GMT

A lot of things are going on in Boston this week at the 2009 Target User Forum. It will be a busy three days of sessions, meetings, and getting to connect with some of Blackbaud's customers.

This morning starts off with the opening session called "Your Mission IS Possible: Blackbaud's Commitment to the Success of Nonprofits" and was presented by Target Analytics President Lee Gartley, Blackbaud CEO Marc Chardon, and Blackbaud CTO Shaun Sullivan.

Lee Gartley is giving some opening remarks. There are 40+ sessions at Target User Forum this year that include clients, partners, nonprofit thought leaders, and technology experts. The focus of the sessions are around Team Approach best practices, getting ready for Blackbaud Enterprise CRM, online fundraising and innovations in integrated marketing, and fresh ideas to help nonprofits fundraise more effectively. Lee closed with at quote from Louis Pasteur — "Chance favors the prepared mind."

Marc Chardon started by talking about the current fundraising environment and how it relates to sailing. He recounted some rough seas he once encountered off the coast of Ireland. Marc posed the question — If we were sailing, where would we be? The nonprofit industry has moved from "Clear Skies / Fair Winds" to "Stormy Weather" over the past year. There are changes and shifts in giving patterns, channels, and other donor activity. Some organizations are feeling it more than others. Some aren't being impacted at all. A key factor has been how well has the nonprofit built a stable base of long term supporters. There is an increased need for nonprofits to adapt to changing conditions.

Shaun Sullivan is up next and speaking about Blackbaud Enterprise CRM and the Infinity Platform. Shaun showed an example of a 3rd party developer who used the Infinity API to publish event information to Google. He demonstrated how the integrated platform allows for donor management, events management, wealth screening, online capabilities, and a bunch of other cool stuff all in one application. Shaun showed how both online and offline information is presented within the same platform for BBEC customers. He closed up his presentation by showing the reach capabilities of BBEC and how information can be passed dynamically to something like an iPhone.

(Updating and Tweeting Regularly)

2009 Online Giving Trends - Q1

Steve MacLaughlin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:03:00 GMT

The first three months of 2009 are over and there is some information that I wanted to share about online giving trends from Blackbaud clients. This is a follow-up to the 2008 Online Giving Trends that was released in January. This information comes from approximately 2,000 nonprofit organizations using Blackbaud's Internet solutions.

Online Fundraising Remains Strong
The analysis found that online transactions grew 68% for Q1 2009 compared with Q1 2008. Online revenue was up 57% over the same time period last year. This growth remains very strong despite economic conditions and other factors in the nonprofit sector.

Year Over Year Performance Grows
The analysis looked at a sub-group of 1,350 nonprofits to compare their online fundraising results from Q1 2008 to Q1 2009. These nonprofits had a 30% year-over-year growth in online revenue. This sub-group all used a combination of Blackbaud online fundraising, email marketing, and integrated CRM tools.

Average Gift Cycle Continues
The average online gift was $122.10 for the first three months of 2009. A review of online giving data from January 2004 through the end of March 2009 continues to show a cyclical pattern. Since 2004, online gift averages have declined from their peak in December through the first months of the year before bottoming in April or May. Averages in the analysis then grow gradually before making large jumps beginning in September through the end of the year.

Notes: All data is calculated directly from online transactions processed by Blackbaud. Online recurring gifts and pledges are not included in the data analysis. The single largest online gift ($50,000) and single smallest online gift ($1) were removed from the analysis.

PayPal and Blackbaud Partner to Help Nonprofits

Steve MacLaughlin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Blackbaud and PayPal have announced the launch of BlackbaudNow, an affordable solution to help new and growing nonprofits reach their fundraising goals.

"More than 100,000 nonprofits already use PayPal for payment processing, We know that our work with Blackbaud, a trusted partner of nonprofits, will allow us to better serve our nonprofit customers and help them achieve their fundraising goals.” - Glenn Lim, general manager of alliances and non-retail payments, PayPal

BlackbaudNow gives smaller nonprofits the tools they need to quickly and easily get their organization online and growing its donations today. This allows them to quickly and easily build a website by using prebuilt templates to establish an online presence and enable online donations in just minutes.

There are no programming skills or special technology required for nonprofits to use BlackbaudNow. Online donations are automatically processed and populated in your donor database. This enables these nonprofits to run reports, email constituents, and enable future fundraising campaigns.

BlackbaudNow is specifically designed for smaller nonprofits, with features such as:

WebNow — to create online presence and enable online fundraising, with point-and-click site design, and donations securely processed with PayPal
DonorNow — to track donor giving history and communications
EmailNow — to support email messages, e-newsletters and appeals With this affordable solution, nonprofits do not pay any setup or monthly fees. Instead, nonprofits only pay fees on a per-transaction basis.

Set up, hosting, and support are all free. Nonprofits simply pay a transaction fee of 4.95% and $0.30 per transaction for all online donations. Funds are deposited twice monthly to their nonprofit PayPal account. Nonprofits that sign up will also have access to a nonprofit community with the information, knowledge, and resources to ensure their success.

"We welcome the addition of BlackbaudNow to the marketplace and applaud both Blackbaud and PayPal for their efforts to provide the nonprofit sector an easy, cost-effective and secure way to take their fundraising and communications efforts online." - Rebecca Masisak, Co-CEO, TechSoup Global

In celebration of the launch, Blackbaud and PayPal are inviting nonprofits to participate in the BlackbaudNow Donation Sweepstakes. From March 30 to June 30, 2009, nonprofits that sign up for BlackbaudNow will be automatically entered in the sweepstakes. The first place contest winner will receive a matching donation of up to $2,500 and 20 additional nonprofits will receive matching donations of up to $500.