Fundraisers from all walks of life are encountering many challenges these days, but what do the C-level executives see as the most important issues facing the sector? At the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation’s 2010 New York Nonprofit Conference, three top nonprofit executives joined moderator Tom Harrison, president and CEO of Russ Reid, to discuss these issues in a two-part session, “Cracking the Shell: Open Dialogue & Discussion With America’s Top Nonprofit C-Level Executives on the Sector’s Most Pressing Issues."
Social Media
How many times have you heard people say, "Think of all charities can learn from the corporate world?" Now, it appears that nonprofits might have something to teach their for-profit marketing counterparts. According to a survey from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, charities are outpacing large and small businesses in adopting social marketing.
When the Haiti earthquake hit back in January, the outcry and response were swift and plentiful. In this new era of the iPhone and other mobile devices, the biggest buzz in the fundraising sector was generated from the mobile-giving explosion following the disaster. But the biggest takeaway for fundraisers — all of them, not just disaster-relief organizations — is that donors have certain, higher expectations these days, and your organization must meet them.
Among 76 organizations responding to a survey of the 200 largest U.S. charities based on a listed compiled annually by Forbes magazine, 65 percent are blogging and 42 percent report social media are very important to their fundraising strategy.
The share of charities using some form of social media, known as Web 2.0, is up 8 percentage points and 22 percentage points, respectively, from similar studies in 2008 and 2007.
A social-media enthusiast breathes, sleeps and eats social media, and also tends to have a niche within social media. The trick is finding the perfect enthusiast for the job. Here are a few tips on finding your perfect match.
My friend Denise is a loud, lovely, bawdy powerhouse of a woman. Every time I see her I think, "Everybody should have a little Denise in her heart." She has more love, passion and zest for life than one human body can contain, so of course it's always spilling out onto those around her.
Thousands of people find the Partnership through its social- media outreach efforts. On Facebook alone, the organization has nearly 4,300 Causes members. Here, Joe Keenan, executive vice president and director of digital product development for the organization, shares insight on how other nonprofits can leverage social media for increased awareness.
So with all these great, new outreach and engagement tools at its disposal, how can your organization harness this still-new medium to empower constituents on your behalf? There are many strategies and initiatives already playing out all over the fundraising sector — with plenty more new and unforeseen ideas still to come. Here, FundRaising Success highlights some creative and successful ways organizations are using social media to raise awareness and funds.
The days of organizations standing on a mountaintop and broadcasting their messages for the world to consume are rapidly evaporating. No longer is control solely in nonprofits’ hands, no matter how much they wish it was. To truly succeed in raising funds and solving the world’s problems, nonprofits must work in concert with networks of social changemakers — passionate individuals and organizations, among others.
Until recently, people were not used to having true, two-way conversations with their fundraisers. Social media has changed all of that. It's also made mobilizing supporters to act on organizations' behalf easier than ever.