The concept of multichannel fundraising isn’t new, but it has certainly evolved to new levels of relevance as the result of the recent advances in and proliferation of mobile and social media. The three phases outlined below highlight the evolution of multichannel fundraising.
It’s quite possible that the direction Facebook is heading with Timeline Apps will help Facebook make good on the promise of social media becoming an important, productive and measurable channel for fundraisers. So what’s the big deal? Why is this announcement potentially so important for fundraisers? Here are five reasons why I think this announcement will make a difference for the nonprofit sector.
If your organization already has an online holiday campaign underway, congratulations and best of luck this season! If not, hopefully this offers some inspiration for planning a winning holiday campaign next year. Remember, the first step is putting a date on the calendar next summer to plan!
Fundraisers typically don’t give much thought to this part of online donation processing systems until something goes wrong, as it has recently in several high-profile cases involving major for-profit companies. The reality is that online credit card processing is very safe and secure, thanks in large part to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) created by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC).
QR (quick response) codes … you have probably seen them and perhaps didn’t even notice. They are those funny, pixilated squares you may have seen on posters, magazines or product packaging. They have been described as looking like a cross between a barcode and a Rorschach test.
The online tools you use help make your event fundraisers’ jobs easier, but most volunteer fundraisers need your help and coaching. Don’t depend on the technology tools to do all the work.
We're now seeing fundraisers use Facebook exclusively (no e-mail) as the way of reaching out to their friends and families. It's great to see Facebook start to realize its fundraising potential. Even still, it's just the beginning.
As you plot your fundraising strategy for 2011, it will become important to give some thought to how and if mobile giving might fit into your overall planning.
Memorial donations are not a new, but like most areas of fundraising, memorial donations are benefiting from the Internet and other advances in technology.
These five common online fundraising themes prevailed at the ArtezInterAction Conference.
Workplace giving is an important part of philanthropy in North America, as it has been for a long time. It has been, and continues to be, driven by deductions automatically taken from an employee’s payroll. This makes it possible for people to give a greater amount via monthly deductions, and it also makes the giving process simpler for those employees with such a program.
It’s happening all around us — marketing is changing. It has to. Many traditional marketing methods (where we pushed our messages at the audience) are becoming more expensive and less effective, as people get better at tuning out marketing messages blasted at them. For example, we use TiVo to record TV shows and fast-forward through the commercials, and we use caller ID to screen phone calls and spam filters to protect against unsolicited e-mails. More and better tools help us screen out messages we don’t want — and other tools have emerged to help us find the stuff we are interested in. Our ability to screen out the "noise" and find the "good" stuff forms the underpinnings of inbound marketing.
Never before have the barriers to online fundraising been lower. Over the past couple of years, the challenges associated with the cost and technical expertise required to deploy online fundraising programs have just about disappeared. These developments have changed the rules of the game for professional fundraisers—putting the power of online programs firmly in their hands. Getting creative and demonstrating the courage to try new things have instead become the barriers.
In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, important lessons are unfolding that underscore how the nature of fundraising is evolving as a direct result of technology and social media.
