Kintera Inc.

Web site architecture and design can significantly improve your online fundraising success. In the session, “How You Can Dramatically Increase Your Fundraising Success by Improving Your Website’s Information Architecture and Design” at the Kintera 2008 User Conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, attendees were given tips to effectively evaluate and utilize Web site architecture and design to boost online fundraising. Here’s a quick summary: 1. Help people find and do what they want quickly. Effective information architecture and design is reflected by intuitive, easy-to-use navigation. A Web site with high usability navigation helps visitors, regardless of the type of information they are

“It’s not Moves Management for humans where once you have a relationship you’re going to move your donors around like chess pieces. No, no, no! Amazon doesn’t tell me what to do; I tell Amazon what I want to do. Then I let Amazon make suggestions about what I should do.” — Kintera Vice President of Market Strategy David Lawson on the importance of donor-driven relationships, speaking during his session, “Test for Success: Constructing Campaigns for Future Success,” March 20 at NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans.

“If you have a donor that sends you a change-of-address form, send that donor flowers. That’s a donor who loves you.” — David Lawson, vice president of market strategy, Kintera, speaking during his session, “Test for Success: Constructing Campaigns for Future Success,” at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans March 19 to 21.

The Web 2.0 phenomenon has empowered organizations to more easily employ viral-marketing tactics. Constituents can forward messages, advocate and become virtual marketers on behalf of their favorite organizations. But sometimes we can get caught up in the technology frenzy and lose sight of the basics. Below are some best practices to keep in mind when using viral marketing as a fundraising tactic.

Few universities are as indebted to their alumni as the University of Notre Dame. Case in point: In 1879, when a fire destroyed its Main Building — which at the time housed virtually the entire university — only 35 years after it was founded, it was alumni from Chicago who rallied to raise funds to rebuild it. Their support not only got the university back on its feet, but it also set it on a path of growth that hasn’t yielded to this day.

Trends, by definition, come and go. Some are worth more time and money than others, and some can be just another … well … trend.

Fundraisers don’t have the time or money to spend on just another trend — they need results! For most nonprofits, resources are at a premium, and organ- izations have to figure out how to make the most with the least.

Savvy nonprofits have seen both the vision and value of multi-channel fundraising and are actively using multiple mediums to support their fundraising efforts. The process of integrating channels — that is, working to ensure all mediums used in a campaign share the same message, branding and call to action — is not without its share of challenges. In fact, it’s not enough for nonprofits simply to use e-mails, Web content and direct mail in a fundraising campaign; the mediums must work together to support the same end goal.

Whether the mission of your organization is to raise awareness, support a cause or help find a cure, raising money will always be a major need. For nonprofits, finding and keeping donors is one of the essential keys to success. But donor retention is not always easy. A good way to increase your donor pool is to examine your constituents and identify those already invested in your organization. Your activists are therefore key fundraising prospects. Follow these basic guidelines and expand your donor list significantly. 1. Identify your goals. Develop an image of what success looks like and determine how you will measure your

The wonders of online marketing give nonprofits the ability to reach out to millions of potential donors. But organizations seeking major and planned gifts often struggle with prioritizing the large amounts of data that result. It’s no great surprise that, after a while, all that data starts to run together and all those donors start to look alike.

When it comes to technical phrases such as “data integration” and “on-demand export,” most fundraisers go running for the hills. What many don’t realize, however, is how critical successful database integration can be to their jobs — and that information resulting from integration can make their jobs easier and more effective.