With so many nonprofits rethinking their digital strategies following the challenges of the last year, it’s important to remember the opportunities that are there for those that are ready to make change, writes Twilio’s Michael Read more…
As the invite-only audio app begins rolling out to Android users, find out how your organisation can get on board. What’s the big deal, anyway? Clubhouse arrived at the right time. Launching as the coronavirus Read more…
A question I hear often amongst my fundraising peers is whether Facebook fundraising is growing or already starting to recede. Now, in my opinion, some in the sector would love Facebook fundraising to be a Read more…
Development audit after development audit of small- to mid-sized organizations reveals that while donor retention remains a critical issue there is also another that is equally as important. Far too many groups are not focusing Read more…
Influencer marketing leverages the power of popular figures to engage new supporters and lend authority to your nonprofit. Influencers: global word of mouth marketing If you know the term ‘influencer’, it might conjure up images Read more…
“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back.” – Chinese proverb. Last December I was invited to give a keynote speech on “Fundraising: Trends and Challenges in the Changing World and China” at the Read more…
Digital channels have changed the ways we work with fundraising, but how is it disrupting the donor relationship?
Facebook Birthday fundraising has not yet come of age. There is still plenty of time to make the most of this opportunity.
Find out how to fast-track fundraising innovation with three interesting facts about why charities need to innovate around fundraising.
Wouldn’t you like to relax and have a digital strategy that works, rather than chase the latest new social media channel and always wonder if you’re spending your time in the wrong place? You can Read more…
At every conference I have ever been to there has been a session called ‘the next big thing’ and delegates turn up expectantly hoping for a silver bullet that will give them all the answers. Read more…
No one can doubt that the mobile phone is now a firmly established fundraising tool. As a sector we’re taking full advantage of the opportunity. Text to donate asks appear on trains, the tube, the Read more…
If you find Facebook is not really working for your organisation, I am willing to bet that it is not Facebook’s fault – it’s yours. Too many take too lightly on their social media work Read more…
Think back to Christmas when you were a kid. What did that look like? How did you celebrate? How much of your Christmas shopping was done online? How many relatives did you Skype with on Read more…
We’re not in a competition, nobody’s shouting who is the most important asset inside a nonprofit organization. No one should do this. Because deep down we all know it. A nonprofit cannot exist, cannot reach Read more…
It’s the dream of any fundraiser: something just magically raises millions in a few days. Like Nomakeupselfie in the UK, and the cold water challenge that suddenly swept Norway. Literally millions suddenly flowed to unsuspecting Read more…
Part 1. Successful mass participation relies on behavioural insight
I’m sure you’re aware of campaigns that started with the intention of “going viral”; if you haven’t worked on one. I know I have. It never works.
They fail because they try to force-feed the public with a key message, or get people to do an activity that’s somehow ‘relevant’ to their cause. But asking people to alter their behaviour is a big request. Only your die-hard supporters love you enough to do that – and that normally means it’s not enough people to form a critical mass. (more…)
I’ve just got back from the wonderful IFC conference in Holland. Tuesday to Friday was a blur of chats, sessions, drinks, chats, more sessions and a lot of laughs. The IFC is one of my Read more…
What’s not to like about our donors?
Sally Field is almost as famous for her 1985 Academy Award-acceptance speech for Places in the Heart as she is for her entire acting career: “I can’t deny the fact that you like me,” she gushed. “Right now, you like me.”
Flash forward to 2013 and thanks to Facebook, we all get a chance to be Sally Field on our very own stage nearly every day. (more…)
In February I met with fundraisers in Amsterdam to brainstorm how we could engage our various supporter relationships (‘leads’ or prospects) to move them to become donors to our organizations.
And while I suspect that most came to the session “Turning Likes into Cash” to hear the closely held secret to raising donors via social media (spoiler: there isn’t one), I would like to think that most participants left with at least one practical idea that they didn’t have before the session. (more…)
I spent my entire summer in a summer course studying digital innovation with a bunch of 19-20 year old university undergrads. Apart from making me feel very, very old, they also taught me a few very valuable lessons.
Watching them all getting writers cramps one by one during the written exam – which at the LSE is a deliciously 20th century style affair done by pen and paper – taught me the most valuable lesson of all: It is dangerous to abandon your analogue skills even in a digital world. (more…)
Every nonprofit fundraiser should know about the power of matching gift programs as they’re one of the most prevalent types of corporate giving. But are you doing the most to maximize the number of incoming donations being matched? Read more…
I’ve been reading Peter Drucker lately. In case you don’t know, Peter Drucker was one of the first management gurus of the 50’s, and one of the most influential of all times. As Mr. Drucker got older, he turned his talents to nonprofits, first opening a foundation for nonprofit management, and then donating his own time and energy to the social sector. His book, Managing the Nonprofit Organization, first published in 1990, was a seminal work in our field.
In 2005, just after he died, Bloomsberg News posted a fundraising challenge to the NGO world: “Convert donors into contributors”, Drucker had said in his last days. “If nonprofit groups are to acquire more financial resources, those who give will need to feel more like participants.”
So, has this advice from the sage of NGO management held up? Are today’s NGOs creating more – or better – donors using methods of “engagement”? It’s definitely the buzzword of the social-media decade, but is it working? Or rather, how is it playing out? (more…)
Collecting Facebook pagelikes must not be your key objective any longer. In 2013, your focus should be on improving the interaction with your Fanbase. In this blog we’ll introduce IPP, an effective KPI to monitor Read more…
As a fundraiser you’ve probably heard it before: crowdfunding. Did you know that in 2011 almost $ 1.5 billion was raised through crowdfunding platforms worldwide? And the sky seems to be the limit with this fundraising technique. (more…)
