Using The Internet for Good: Online Fundraising & Marketing 101 Alliance of Artists Communities Emerging Program Institute Charlotte, NC – February 17, 2009 Jono Smith Network for Good www.networkforgood.org/npo About Network for Good • Network for Good is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, founded in 2001 by AOL, Yahoo! & Cisco • Our mission is to make it easier for nonprofits to raise money online, and for people to give online • Network for Good has processed over $250 million in donations for over 30,000 nonprofits. • We manage all of the online fundraising on Facebook and MySpace Key Takeaways • Why online fundraising is the great equalizer • The basics of an effective online marketing and fundraising strategy • Selecting and implementing online marketing & fundraising tools • An introduction to Web 2.0 for Fundraisers & Marketers • The Case Studies – Email Marketing Best Practices – How TNC engaged a new audience on Flickr – To Blog? – How Kevin Bacon Flipped the Funnel for Nonprofits – What’s the deal with Causes on Facebook? • Bottom line: A few good ideas to try at the office Download the slides from www.fundraising123.org Downturn Strategy: Maximize Net Revenue Before you spend another dollar on marketing or fundraising, I would ask three questions: 1. Does it increase donations 2. Does it boost incremental revenue? 3. Does it protect an existing revenue stream? Why? Because most giving is from individuals 2006 charitable giving from Giving USA Total = $295.02 billion Corporations $12.72 4.3% Foundations $36.50 12.4% Individuals $222.89 75.6% Bequests $22.91 7.8% Because it costs less to get that $ online Giving Through Network for Good is More Efficient than Traditional Means* Costs to Raise $1 $2.00 $1.50 $1.25 $0.63 $1.00 $0.25 $.07 Cost to raise $1 raise Costto $0.50 $0.00 Direct Mail Direct Mail Professional Network for Acquisition of Renewal of Telemarketing Good / Online New Donors Existing Donors Sources: Fund-Raising Cost Effectiveness (James Greenfield), Cost-Effectiveness of Nonprofit Telemarketing Campaigns (Keating, Parsons & Roberts) and Network for Good. Why Online Giving is the Great Equalizer • At Network for Good, 50% the donations go to 1% of charities (excluding crisis giving) • The rest – 25,000 nonprofits – are spread out along the long tail • Small to medium-sized nonprofits account for 70% of giving via Network for Good How much can a small nonprofit raise? • Budget: under $250,000 • 1284 nonprofits • $9.2 million raised • Monthly average: $603 • Annual average: $7,200 – Network for Good (2007) Who Is Giving Online?* • Online givers are young (38-39 years old) • They are generous -- ($163) • Men and women give online in equal numbers • Virtually all (96%) have given to charity before, but 38% haven’t given online before *Network for Good Study, “The Young and Generous” Why Are They Giving Online?* • It’s easier than writing a check • It’s a fast way to provide disaster relief • It can be anonymous • They like recurring donations *Network for Good Study, “The Young and Generous” 10-Point Online Check-Up 1. Is your URL guessable? 2. Do you use website design strategically? 3. Do you provide relevant content? (Marketing + Journalism!) 4. Can you collect email addresses on your website? 5. Can you accept online donations on your website? 6. Do you tell your story through pictures, videos, or podcasts? 7. Do you have a blog? 8. Do you use email marketing to drive traffic back to your website? 9. Can people find your website in search engines? 10. Do your publish your URL on every communication, both online and offline? Rule #1: Make your Donate button obvious. Rule #2: Listen to Understand Tools to find supporters & monitor them Rule #3: Build your email list Still sending your newsletter from Microsoft Outlook? Six reasons you need an email service provider 1. Your emails may look terrible. 2. You may get blacklisted 3. Say hello to your recipients spam, junk or bulk mail folder. 4. Send emails to thousands of recipients, and you'll get all the bounce-backs and auto-replies from them. So much for free time! 5. You might be breaking the law. According to the CAN-SPAM law, if someone requests to be removed from your list, you must do so within 10 business days. 6. You won't know if anyone is reading your emails. Grow your Email List with Tell-A-Friend What makes a good email campaign? • Get serious about the subject line – February Newsletter – 5 Tips to Fight Global Warming • Focus “above the fold” – Most people use a preview pane when perusing their inbox, so it’s important when laying out your email’s content to put a lot of attention on the top four inches and use that prime real estate to the best of your abilities. What makes a good email campaign? • Personalizing beyond “Dear Bob.” – Personalization really does boost response rates. But don’t stop at a personal greeting. – Try segmenting your list by gender, geography or anything else you know about your recipients, so you can personalize the content based on the people to whom you’re sending. – After all, showing that you know someone’s first name is great; showing them you really know, respect and care about them is even better. Email Marketing & Online Advertising Message & visual consistency will provide a positive user experience and boost your conversion rates. Rapid Donor Cultivation (RDC) • In the online retail industry, savvy retailers noticed that online prospect affinity is typically highest for the first 30 days after the visitor opts in to the retailer’s email list. • This honeymoon period—the high-affinity phase—is characterized by higher email open, click, and conversion rates. Rapid Donor Cultivation (RDC) • It turns out that this behavior is also demonstrated by new nonprofit e-subscribers. • You can capitalize on this high affinity period by sending a stream of carefully crafted emails with select content and calls-to-action to the new subscriber over the first 30 days. • TIP: Test a 5 or 10-email stream, ending with a targeted fundraising ask. Sample RDC Campaign Issue 1. Welcome Read article on website 2. Elephants Visit blog 3. Elephants Petition 4. Whales Quiz 5. Whales Survey 6. Eagles Photo Contest 7. Eagles Audio 8. Puppy Mills Video 9. Puppy Mills Donate 10. Puppy Mills Donate RDC Results • The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) was the first organization to explore this innovative concept of Rapid Donor Cultivation – The time to first gift decreased by 17 days – Rate of conversion of subscribers to donors increased by 83% – Rate of conversion of subscribers to activists increased by 110% – Average value of first gift increased by 15% Summary: RDC Strategy For smaller organizations that lack robust email programs and struggle with staffing constraints, RDC is a cost-effective strategy to ensure that new subscribers consistently receive effective stewardship, and a high quality, timely fundraising ask. What about Segmentation? • Over 45% of annual giving via Network for Good’s donation processing system is during December; this percentage of annual giving has remained consistent within 5% since 2003. – Identify donors who only give at the end of the year, and reduce the number of appeals and newsletters they receive during the rest of the year. – Identify donors who only give to email newsletters, and reduce the number of direct-mail appeals they receive. – Identify donors who have a multiyear history of not giving during the summer months, and suppress them from all impacts during the summer. Seven strategies for success by Rory Starks. Outcomes, Feb-Mar 2009 What Other Email Fundraising Tactics Work? • Multiple Appeal Series. Messages sent as part of a cohesive, multiple appeal campaign over the course of three weeks outperform one-time appeals, resulting in both a higher response rate and a higher average gift. • Deadline-Driven. Appeals and series that included a deadline by which gifts must be made tended to be more effective than open- ended appeals without specific deadlines. • Matching Gift. The idea of making a donation that will be doubled by another donor (or group of donors) is motivational to many online donors. A matching gift campaign also provides the perfect rationale to introduce a deadline and to send out multiple appeals, both good ways to boost returns. Source: Online Fundraising Tactics – What Works? Rule #4: Make your organization easy to find Sponsored Organic Make your organization easy to find Sponsored Organic Rule #5: Put yourself in your donor’s shoes. • The biggest mistake you can make is making it about you. It’s about the audience. • Online marketing is not a monologue. • You are not the target audience The Mission Megaphone • Marketing is about looking at the world from the point of view of our audience rather than our own. Do you have a “call to inaction” problem? • Think About Your Audience • Who Is Your Audience & What Do you Want Them To Do? • What Is Your Call To Action? Think About Your Audience Marketing should compel action. WHO WHAT WE WANT FROM THEM (What actions do we want them to take) 60-year-old activist Volunteer time to recruit others to our cause 40-year-old long Give email address to your organization distance caregiver Sign up online for monthly giving Your Call to Action Must Answer 4 Questions! 1. Why Me? (Donor-centric) 2. Why Now? (Urgent) 3. What For? (Tangible) 4. Who Says? (Messenger) Tools to engage a new or existing audience Online photo management & sharing application—has two main goals: 1. We want to help people make their content available to the people who matter to them.