The recently published 2018 Global NGO Technology Report includes a survey of more than 5,300 NGOs across 164 counties. In its third year of publication, the report reveals how organizations—large and small—use multi-channel communications ranging from websites, email, online fundraising, social media, and mobile technology like smartphones and tablets.

The top take-away?

A full 95 percent of the organizations believe social media is effective in raising awareness for their nonprofit organizations, but only 32 percent say they have put a social media strategy in place! This finding clearly marks failed opportunities for non-profits to earn a place in the win column, especially when it comes to marketing strategy and donor visibility.

The Global NGO Technology Report complements the Global Trends in Giving Report. Both reports come from Nonprofit Tech for Good; check out their website and other reporting data at www.nptechforgood.com

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Catch a new episode of Futures in Fundraising each month on Tuesdays at 10:00 am (EST) on Facebook Live.

To download this show and catch up on others, find us on iTunes.

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I admit, I am little skeptical of certain types of online fundraising.  I’m not a big fan of GoFundMe or any of those types of fundraising sites, as I never feel that they have the appropriate accountability checks in place – although I do admit I have given to one or two causes.  And, I am a firm believer that, as time has proven again and again, the best fundraising is done face-to-face through personal relationships.

However, with ever changing and rapidly evolving technology,  we also know that mobile and online fundraising is most definitely an area that is growing, and one of which we need to be cognizant as non-profits.  It can no longer be ignored and honestly, while I am not a fan of crowdfunding sites, there is a lot that we in the non-profit sector can learn from them. The active use of technology not only can make it easier for certain groups of people to give, but also can capture a demographic that possibly would not be captured otherwise.

I recently came across an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy entitled, “Follow the Leaders: Learn From Charities Making the Most of Digital Giving”.  Essentially, the article discussed several organizations that have made the best use of the internet and online tools to both gain support and to sell their particular cause to donors with great success.

I encourage you to read the full article here:  https://philanthropy.com/article/Best-of-Online-Fundraising-/236317, but I thought the authors summed up nicely 3 tips for moving towards online giving if you do not yet have these types of giving vehicles in place.

1. Keep it Simple:  The article touches on the fact that if you make things too complicated, donors will not be interested in giving digitally as it gets too difficult, or users may become frustrated with a tool that is meant to be easy to use.  As the article states: “Focus on what the user wants.”  An easy way to give!

2. Make it Easy to Give:  The article discussed one particular organization, the American Cancer Society which, rather than making things overly complicated by filling out donation details, only offers a small handful of four suggest donation amounts, ranging from $50 – $250 so that donors only have to essentially “tap to give” rather than get bogged down with filling out multiple pages or boxes full of information.  While this may not work for everyone, for them it has been a very effective means of digital fundraising.

4. Don’t be Intimidated:  For some of our smaller non-profits (and some larger ones too!), I think that it is easy to be overwhelmed with all of the technological tools at our disposal. But, as the article states, don’t be intimidated!!  Start small and work your way up from there, determining what tactics for online and mobile giving work best for your particular organization and what speaks most to your donors.
5. And I’ll add my own fourth tip to this list – Make it Visible:  We encourage some of our clients, through what we call a Search Engine Optimization report, to make sure that easy to find and easy to spot “Donation” or “Give Now” buttons appear everywhere on webpages and social media sites, making it both easy and visible to give.  Perhaps someone has never given digitally or given to your organization at all, and having a visible, easy to access place to give will surely result in addition donations to your organization to someone who may not otherwise have been inclined to give a gift.

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In recent years, we have witnessed how Facebook, with its more than 1 billion daily users, can serve as a vehicle for social good and charitable giving.

By placing solicitations in newsfeeds, the company helped raise money for emergency relief and response in the wake of disasters, e.g., when Facebook users donated more than $15 million to International Medical Corps for its response to the Nepal earthquake.  The company also helped to raise money for the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and for the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013.

In September 2015, Facebook formally announced the creation of its Social Good team under whose purview it is launching several initiatives that are vehicles for charitable fundraising.  A “donate now” button was made available in August for all groups’ Facebook pages and paid advertisements.  In that version, Facebook users are directed to organizations’ own websites to make donations.

In the effort to create a donation experience with as few clicks as possible, Facebook is piloting a new iteration of its charity donate button.  With the new donate button, if users have previously saved credit-card information in the Facebook payment system, they can click on the donate button and make their donation.

Naomi Gleit, head of the Facebook Social Good team, describes the new donate button as “retail giving” that is intended to “encourage a whole new wave of donors and donations.”

The new donate button is being tested with 37 nonprofit groups gratis and is scheduled to be available to all registered American 501 (c)(3) groups sometime in 2016 for a fee.

Although feedback about the donate button is overwhelmingly positive, one ubiquitous concern among nonprofits regards donor data, with respect to both accessibility and control.  If transactions occur within Facebook (as opposed to the previous iteration of the donate button that directed users to the organizations’ websites), then nonprofits will lack the complete information necessary to create sustained donor relationships.

As a result of this concern, Ms. Gleit has said that the company is testing versions of the fundraising feature that will allow users to opt in or share, by default, their email addresses with charities.

It will be very interesting to see how these fundraising tools evolve, but popularizing fundraising through Social Media certainly shows how Facebook indeed can have a positive social impact.

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By: David H. King,
President & CEO

By now you may or may not have heard the saga of Sweet Briar College. The cliff notes are that the college President and Board decided to close the women’s college after 114 years, because they believed it had insurmountable financial problems. The other side of the story is that, in the year leading up to that decision, they never took the time to inform their alumnae of the situation or seek their support. When the alumnae were blindsided, they rose up and formed an organization called Saving Sweet Briar, Inc. , which succeeded in keeping the college open.

Alexander Haas provided fundraising counsel and campaign management to Saving Sweet Briar and had a front-row seat as this miracle unfolded. In the coming months, we will reflect more on the process, challenges and immense acts of generosity that made this possible.

Few Interesting Facts – Saving Sweet Briar:

• Saving Sweet Briar raised more than $13-million in cash in just over 120 days, with no development staff or a staff or any kind. In the early stages of this effort, the organization had not received its 501C(3) status from the IRS, but people gave anyway, not knowing if gifts would even be tax deductible.
• More than 7,000 gifts and pledges were recorded from March 3-when the closure was announced–to September 2, when the final conditions of the settlement were reached.
• As part of the settlement to keep the college open, Saving Sweet Briar had to transfer $12-million to the college to be used for operations by September 2. They ended up delivering more than $12.1-million to the college.
• The largest cash gift to this effort was $2-million made by an alumna and the smallest was $1.50, the contents of the piggy bank of an alumna’s grandson.
• Saving Sweet Briar probably could not have happened 15 years ago, as social media-and specifically Facebook -provided a gathering place for alumnae after the initial announcement. It was from the “virtual” gathering and sharing a collective outrage that the Saving Sweet Briar movement emerged. It was also through social medial that Saving Sweet Briar kept alumnae updated on its efforts and its progress. Without social media, it would have been nearly impossible for alumnae from around the globe to unite behind this cause.
• Despite the fact that last year’s students and newly admitted high school seniors were told in March that the college would not open for them in September, the college did open in September with an enrollment of more than 320 students.

The future of Sweet Briar College is now in the hands of a newly elected Board and a newly appointed President. They all understand the challenge that lies ahead of them and are working hard to meet it.

Alexander Haas is proud to have played a role in giving them a fighting chance to Save Sweet Briar College.

Best regards,

David H. King

President & CEO

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But what does your social media platform do for your giving?

It certainly does not move the needle in terms of dollars raised but it does keep you in the forefront of the minds of your constituents.  Whether you are posting pictures of the construction from a capital campaign project or telling stories of how scholarships or endowments are being used, social media is best used to communicate with your donors.

Keeping your platforms updated regularly will ensure maximum exposure and create a cohesive look and voice, which will give your organization an identity. Showing your audience how raised funds are being used, what new projects are going on, or an exciting event that just happened are great ways to connect with donors and keep them involved.

Tailoring your message based on the platform has always been important to the success for the post; nowadays it is even more imperative to know through which channel your audience is viewing the post.

Recently at Alexander Haas, we started using bit.ly to post links on our company Facebook and Twitter accounts. Bit.ly is a tool that not only condenses your web links for Twitter purposes but also tracks total clicks, time of clicks, and what websites the viewer is referred by. Using this tool we have found that 68% of our traffic comes from mobile devices.

Becoming more aware of how our audience consumes our information helps to shape the way in which we post, and it can help you too. Because we have more mobile viewers, we tend to post pictures, links to blogs, and we keep our posts short and sweet. If your audience uses their computer and laptops more, you might want to develop longer posts and incorporate links to articles and news stories.

Whether it is viewed from a mobile phone or computer screen, it is imperative to stay current and post often. Facebook has drastically changed the way that they prioritize posts from Pages over the past couple of years and now, in order to be seen, you have to get likes. Facebook has taken the approach that fundraisers have used for years; people interact with and influence people.

All social media platforms act as a web connecting you to your donors, their friends, and even their friends. The more you tweet, post, Instagram, or blog, the farther your reach will grow. When used effectively and appropriately, social media can inform, excite, influence, and elicit a response. Getting your audience involved on a personal level will allow them to feel connected and influential. One of the most important rules when managing a Facebook Page or a Twitter account is always to respond. Whether it’s a “job well done” or a criticism of your organization, a response will show that you care and are connected to your audience.

Facebook is even making it easier to gain insights on your Page “likers.” Have you noticed your Page’s likes go down on Facebook recently? We sure have! Within the past week Facebook has done a major cleanup of voluntarily deactivated and memorialized accounts from Pages’ like counts. Facebook mentioned this on their blog from March 5^th saying they believe this will give an organization/business better and more useful data for who likes their Page and the demographics that follow the Page. Before the inactive accounts were skewing the data and now it will allow an organization to have a better understanding of who likes them.

Tell us, what social media platform have you found to be most effective when reaching your donors and friends?

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We hear it all the time. It has become the current buzz phrase within the non-profit sector: “Your organization needs to have a social media strategy”. This is completely, 100% true. Every organization needs to have a presence in social media. However, when it comes to fundraising, the most important part of this strategy isn’t just defining WHEN to use social media…it is defining when NOT to use social media.

Social media is a wonderful tool when used correctly. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…these resources are great for keeping donors and those involved with your organization informed of activities and events happening within your organization. Social media, combined with crowdfunding, can even be a useful fundraising tool…on a small scale.

When it comes to funding your organization, as a whole, you have to step away from the computer, close the apps on your smart phone, and call and visit your donors.  ESPECIALLY your major donors.

I was recently speaking with a dear friend of mine after one of his organization’s major annual events/galas.  He told me a story of how they had nearly alienated one of their oldest and most generous donors. Long story short: Someone decided to do the gala invites through Facebook – they thought that this would save time and money. And, while this certain donor DOES have a Facebook profile…he doesn’t check it. In fact, his profile was only created so that his children could share family photos with him and his wife.

Needless to say, he did not see the invite. Luckily, while looking over the RSVP list two weeks before the gala, the executive director noticed this donor’s name was not on the list.  He immediately called the donor and personally invited him to the gala. Had the executive director NOT caught this flub, there could have been major financial repercussions for the organization.

Yes, there were SEVERAL hiccups in this situation – but it all started with too strong of a reliance on social media. Remember this when considering, “To social media or NOT to social media?”:

Does it inform or entertain? Social Media DO!  Does it invite or solicit a major donation? Social Media DON’T!

Fundraising is still about personal relationships. New technology is constantly being developed to help us organize and save time, but fundraising is still about face-to-face, personal interaction and involvement.

So yes, create and maintain a presence on social media! It is a great way to keep those involved in your organization in the loop and abreast of what is happening within your organization. But you need to know when to close your web browser and call or meet face-to-face with a donor.

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Our visual nature (and constant need for entertainment) makes the rise in popularity of Instagram a no-brainer. A social media app that doesn’t involve much thought, and at your convenience you can browse all day through photoshopped pictures of your friends, family, celebrities, and what they are eating for breakfast?  Sign me up!

As of September 2013, Instagram announced hosting over 150 million monthly users – and this after only 3 years on the market!

I think it is safe to say this little app is going to stick around for a while, so the only question is, how can we best use Instagram for nonprofit marketing?

Instagram’s mission is “to capture and share the world’s moments.”

By capturing and sharing your nonprofit’s moments, you can make an insta-connection with your volunteers and donors.

Make a Personal Connection

Share pictures of your day-to-day operations, behind the scenes, and staff activities, and give your audience a personal sneak peek into the inner workings of an organization they love. Giving people a face to put with a name by highlighting staff and their work creates a personal connection with followers who might not otherwise see them.

Spotlight Your Programs and Impact

Post photos of what or who your mission is impacting and show the real life stories of where your work is going. Everyone knows a picture is worth a thousand words – use pictures to share emotion and inspiration. You can also add facts and statistics as a tagline to the photo.

Promote Events

Share pictures from your event, fundraiser, or gala while preparing for it, during, and after. Publicize a #hashtag beforehand, so your attendees can get in on the action. By attaching a hashtag to an event, other Instagram users can post pictures they take on their own accounts, tag them, and others view all pictures from that particular event.

Engage Your Volunteers

Take pictures of your volunteers mid-action and share them with the world. Or, have your volunteers take their own, and when they share them with a hashtag, spotlight them on your organization’s account.

Easy to use, free (for now) marketing, and a good way to target us tech-savvy Millennials, another benefit is that you hardly have to maintain an additional social media network.  Photos taken on Instagram can be automatically posted to your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, or other social media accounts, to reach all of your followers – who can then start following you on Instagram!

I know it’s almost laughable to think of all the new avenues of social media and online marketing that pop up almost daily, but laugh as you may, Instagram is here to stay – for now!

To get started using Instagram for nonprofit marketing yourself, browse through this compilation of 10 Inspiring Non-Profits on Instagram, then go forth and create your own inspiration!

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Before that, everyone who extolled the virtues of social media were seen as nerds or techy geeks while business leaders poo-pooed it as a fad that would soon wear out its welcome.

Fast forward to today and social has become, if not a major player in a nonprofit’s marketing toolbox, at least a secondary player.

The virtues are widely known: It is inexpensive, it truly makes the world flat, the barrier to entry is fairly low, and it helps an organization with limited resources spread the word.

But it also is impossible to control, takes a lot of time (the inexpensive part is using the tools), and requires constant upkeep.

The publishing shakeout in 2008 and 2009 was fueled, in part, by the rise of social media, which provided an opportunity to identify new areas where key messages could be shared and discussed in real time.

From a communications perspective, the feedback gained from donors, investors, employees, and boards is priceless, but the concept is the same as the more traditional tools. The power of social media must be harnessed to yield the most effective results.

Five Social Media Tips for Nonprofits

Following are some tips for nonprofits to keep in mind when using social media:

• Understand what you’re trying to achieve. Many organizations get on the social networks because they think they have to be there, but they don’t have any idea about what they want to achieve. Is it increased brand awareness? Is it to build your nonprofit’s credibility? Is it to create an easy way for donors to connect with you? Whatever it happens to be, spend some time in the beginning figuring out which social network(s) will help you achieve your goal.
• Involve your staff. It’s important to manage your online reputation, and it makes sense to have several eyes monitoring the social networks with their own accounts and even if you don’t have an account on all sites.. Training is necessary, as are proper boundaries on what employees can discuss, but a collective approach to your social media campaign can prove to be effective in the long run.
• Hire a pro. Whether you decide to take social media in house or not, keep in mind, it’s still a PR and marketing function that requires professional know-how. Depending on the presence you want to have on social media, hiring a professional to get you started on the right track is worth the investment.
• Use metrics to evaluate the campaign. Like any campaign, it’s important to understand the concepts of post quality, interactions, and comments on social media. Quality is more important than quantity in the long term, so focus on specific social media goals in order to achieve the most from your campaign.
• Monitor the conversations. Remember you can’t control the conversations, but you can easily monitor what people are saying. The best – and free – way is to set up Talkwalker Alerts so you receive an email anytime your search terms are mentioned online. If donors are talking to their friends about you, join the conversation. If people are talking about your competitors, find a reason to start a relationship with them to encourage them to check you out.

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