Google

You use search engines like Google and Yahoo every day, and so do your donors. But what happens when a prospective donor types in the name of your nonprofit or your issue area in Google? Is your organization at the top of the results? The good news is that it can be, through search engine marketing (SEM). In a nutshell, SEM is a way to promote your website by increasing its visibility in search engine results.

Checked your spam folder lately? Probably not. Most people trust in their e-mail software or webmail provider to keep away messages from annoying advertisers or organizations you’d rather not hear from. However, as filtering algorithms grow more efficient and effective and providers pursue the cleanest, most appealing interface for readers, it’s possible that direct-marketing campaigns and other online outreach from nonprofits could end up diverted away from those who might be responsive to them.

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.

"You can't handle the truth!" is Jack Nicholson's memorable line in "A Few Good Men." Fortunately, your board members are a hardier lot than Tom Cruise's character. They can in fact accept the truth — in this case, three fundraising truths — if you carefully explain the validity of each.

Faced with high attrition rates, rising acquisition costs and increased competition for the donor dollar, today’s nonprofits must do everything they can to recruit new, high-lifetime-value online supporters and benefit from the positive impact that this has on both online and offline giving. Establish a goal for your donation page, and make sure all aspects of it (content, navigation, etc.) support that goal. As much as possible, get rid of anything that creates friction and is likely to run off potential donors. With easy-to-use tools, continually measure the performance of the page and make adjustments to optimize donor engagement and giving.

If our key priorities are increasing membership, increasing member engagement and demonstrating member value, perhaps you should create a blog or reinvigorate your existing blog. You may have lots of great content on your website, but it is static content that doesn’t enable two-way communication. A blog is an interactive tool. It offers a steady stream of fresh content through regularly schedule blog posts and also allows readers to ask questions, make comments, and share information or links through the blog’s comments. 

I've been talking to organizations recently about their mobile strategies. Many of them are of the belief that this means the ability for someone to access their website on a mobile device.

Google is shutting down Google Checkout worldwide and replacing it with Google Wallet Nov. 20, so at the very least those nonprofits taking advantage of YouTube’s Nonprofit Program that also take the necessary steps to accept donations through Google Wallet and YouTube, will be the best positioned when wallets go mainstream and transform online and mobile fundraising. That said, for your inspiration, below are five nonprofits maximizing YouTube’s Nonprofit Program and YouTube’s new channel design: ASPCA, Natrue Conservancy, Oxfam, SOS Children's Villages and WITNESS.

At Fundraising Day in New York, Clint O'Brien, vice president of business development at Care2, laid out acquisition techniques in today's fundraising landscape in the session, "Acquisition in Tough Times: Finding New Donors Without Breaking the Bank."

There is no secret formula, no magic bullet, no golden rule to a successful grant proposal. There are, however, a number of tools and approaches the creative grant writer can utilize to greatly increase the odds of success.