E-Philanthropy

In this May 2006 article, "All Hail the Mighty E-mail," Charlie Cumbaa, then vice president of products and services at Blackbaud, provides seven steps to mastering e-mail communications.

If you had to guess how much charitable giving grew in 2012, what would you say? What about online fundraising? 5 percent … 10 percent … 15 percent … 30 percent … more? Ok, now that’s I’ve got you thinking. Based on our fundraising research, charitable giving grew by 1.7 percent in 2012 — nothing to write home about. On the bright side, small nonprofits grew by 7.3 percent and online fundraising crushed it. Check out the full charitable giving report here. Let’s look at how online fundraising continues to take root.

The "donate" button on your nonprofit's website is big deal! Your supporters have become accustomed to it — they expect to see it when they arrive on your website. It's also the starting point for your online fundraising. Even though you may have other exciting campaigns going on, your "donate" button is a constant fundraising opportunity.

This simple button can be very effective — and we're here to help you perfect it! These questions may seem basic, but the answers could help make the difference in your 2013 fundraising.

The last days of December can mean high traffic for your nonprofit’s website and higher-than-usual online donation rates. Great news, right? Well, only if you offer exemplary stewardship to your online donors. Based on database settings for acknowledging gifts, this can be tricky group to capture.

When it comes down to it, crowdfunding is just a form of fundraising, reframed for the 21st century. Basic fundraising principles still apply: You have a cause or a project, you tell people about it, and they pledge their support. But there are some intriguing differences that make crowdfunding a very modern way of fundraising.

I get this question a lot: How often should we e-mail? What’s too much, what’s not enough? It’s a complicated question with lots of variables. For example, the more relevant and valuable your content is to those on the receiving end, the more you can e-mail them. You can make your content more valuable and relevant in a few different ways, one of which is by sending the right stuff to the right people. That requires you to track information about people so that you can segment your mailing list.

It’s 2013. As a nonprofit focused on fundraising, you’ve likely started making resolutions to improve, diversify or broaden your fundraising. As you plan or refine your strategy, I challenge you to consider these three simple changes to improve the results of your online giving!

And don’t fret. These tips are easy and completely doable without a ton of time or website expertise.

Editor's Note: FundRaising Success published its first issue in November 2003, which makes this our 10-year anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll be taking a look back at past issues throughout the year. Here's our July 2006 cover story, "Where It's @," a look at the state of e-philanthropy. It was a great read almost seven years ago; it's even better now.

E-mail is a great tool for engaging constituents, fundraising from donors and so much more. Here are five proven tips for getting visitors to subscribe to your e-mail list.

Amanda Foster, account manager at Salsa Labs, provides five keys to grow and retain your online donor file that helped KaBOOM! reach its goals.