Blackbaud

Blackbaud announced the winners of its annual Nonprofit Impact Awards. The awards honor organizations that use technology to make a positive impact on their missions, constituents and society. Seven organizations were recognized as part of this year's awards: Heifer International, the Tenement Museum, Central Park Conservancy, ANERA, St. Joseph's Indian School, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Human Rights Campaign.

It’s pretty safe to say that every nonprofit wants more donors. As you know, getting more donors is easier said than done. During BBCON, Rosita Bradham, principal consultant at Blackbaud, and Jeffrey Leib, principal consultant at Jeffrey Leib Consulting, took on the issue of taking people who have interacted with your organization once and turning them into subscribers or members.

The presentation was kicked off with common obstacles to turning people into members, including a lack of necessary information, uncooperative staff and a lack of institutional support for promoting memberships.

Ted Hart speaks with Blackbaud's Katie Beth DeSchepper, Tammy Radencic and Mark Davis, along with Rebecca Bramlett, director of annual giving at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, live from bbcon 2013 on his Nonprofit Coach radio show.

Recently, the New York chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals hosted a terrific event focusing on the younger donor pipeline. Each of the three panelists bared all of the details of their young patrons' programs — from strategies, budgets (very low!) and staffing to the databases and e-mail systems they use. Here are a few takeaways: Younger donor programs are a long-range strategy. While each of the three organizations featured have specific income and membership targets for their young donor programs, they are a fraction of the organization’s overall operating budget.

Modern crowdfunding first emerged in 1997 when the British rock band, Marillion, used online fan donations to fund a $60,000 reunion tour. In 2000, ArtistShare became the first official crowdfunding platform.

Want your donors to sustain you? Then you can’t consume them in five minutes. Yet all too often nonprofits treat their donors exactly like a gumball dispensed from a machine. Chew it up. Spit it out. Done. If you’ve been treating your donors like gumballs, start tomorrow with these five tips: 1. Thank them immediately and with gusto. 2. Pay attention to any particularities. 3. Develop and implement a donor stewardship plan. 4. Wrap engagement opportunities into your stewardship plan. 5. Always be donor-centered.

The Blackbaud Index reported that overall charitable giving increased 1.8 percent and online giving increased 14.5 percent for the three months ending July 2013 as compared to the same period in 2012. As reported in the Charitable Giving Report, overall giving grew approximately 2 percent for the full year 2012 and online giving grew by about 11 percent in 2012 compared to 2011.

All generations are not created equal! But you knew that, right? Understanding the multichannel preferences and charitable habits of Generation X, Generation Y, baby boomers and matures could have a significant impact on your nonprofit’s fundraising performance, but it could also leave you frozen, retreating back to the familiar. What’s a fundraiser to do? Here are a few fundraising ideas.

Blackbaud released a must-read report — findings from its Next Generation of American Giving study on charitable giving trends and engagement behaviors and attitudes across matures, boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. There are two critical findings I want to share with you ASAP: 1) It’s more important than ever to get to know your donor base and prospects, use your understanding to shape messages and choose channels, and to keep that understanding fresh. 2) Multichannel is the new normal, but the ideal mix varies from generation to generation.

Nonprofits can learn from e-mail campaigns corporate marketers are sending. Corporate e-mail programs have focused on delivering value. They test offers, messaging and more. They send relevant content based on subscriber interests, preferences and actions. Think about what’s in your inbox. Daily deals, airfare price alerts, offers from favorite retailers and social media alerts. Add in family and friends and the inbox has become a competitive place.

So, how can your e-mail campaigns stand out? Here are three ways: use personalized messaging on different audiences, test subject lines and calls to action, and follow up.