I read a blog post today over at MarketingCharts.com about how many non-profits miss out on the opportunity to connect with so-called “wired wealthy” donors online.
A Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research study showed that “wired wealthy” give an average of $11,000 per year, are active online and becoming more so.
Donors prefer donating online as it reduces administrative costs, and non-profits must learn how to connect with donors online to encourage donation. Not surprisingly, many don’t understand how to use the web as a marketing tool. The study showed that most non-profit sites don’t make an emotional connection, aren’t inspiring, and less than half of non-profit sites are well-designed.
There are opportunities to market to donors via e-mail as they are receptive to donation reminders and updates about how past donations were spent.
Having worked at a non-profit for a couple of years, I think that non-profits need to think more like businesses. There have been multiple comparisons between non-profits and small businesses, and I think this is a good comparison because non-profits can improve donations through entrepreneurial thinking. Non-profits don’t have to sacrifice their social cause by marketing more aggressively to donors and potential donors. More aggressive marketing doesn’t necessarily mean more frequency of message — it means finding new ways to solicit donations and make connections.
Perhaps non-profits should re-define themselves as “social entrepreneurs,” learning how to better support their cause through blogging, e-mail marketing, viral video, sponsorship opportunities, mobile marketing and other new, emerging technologies. Yes, and having a compelling, effective web site doesn’t hurt either.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Michael Vandergrift says:
On the whole I tend to agree with your thoughts, and the general assertion that most NPO’s sadly lack in having a strong web presence (if any at all). And of those that have websites, as you point out, most are poorly designed and maintained. Yet, there are those of us in the in NPO world that see the advantages and strive to keep up with the curve, if not occassionaly pull ahead of it.
“Perhaps non-profits should re-define themselves as “social entrepreneurs,” learning how to better support their cause through blogging, e-mail marketing, viral video, sponsorship opportunities, mobile marketing and other new, emerging technologies. Yes, and having a compelling, effective web site doesn’t hurt either. ”
I would encourage you, to visit A Grace Place’s website. Please forgive the “donate now” button’s incongruity, it was supplied by the vendor and is presently being redesigned. Other than that, and the need to update the blog more regularly (staff driven = time crunch), we’ve had a very positive response from our visitors. Once you’ve visited, consider this: our organization has been able to accomplish the website within the confines of an operating budget that directs 86.1% (FY08 budget) of all revenues to direct care. This only allows for 13.9% of our cost to be spent on administrative overhead, including fundraising & marketing.
We are working to drive individuals to the website, and our plans including more email marketing for that purpose. Our biggest obstacle has been that for almost 40 years, we were one of Richmond’s best kept secrets…it’s hard to have an audience when you don’t tell anyone you’re here! We’re also taking baby steps to incorporate social networking, viral fundraising, as well as podcasting & video content for our website.
I’m sure I had a point other than self-promotion. Oh! yeah - one of the hurdles in front of progressive minded staffers of NPO’s is that many of the CEO’s & senior managers view websites, online donations, even email as “new and emerging” - nevermind everything else that truly is new and emerging. I’m lucky - my CEO didn’t understand all of the concepts, but she was willing to trust her staff.
As for the rest of the NPO’s out there, there’s a familiar phrase: “money talks.” Too much of the NPO world is based on reaction not proaction, and unfortunately that tendancy results in “missing out on donations.” Thus, ironically, it is the donors and potential donors who need to step forward and say “If you want my money, this is what you need to do to reach me.”
March 26th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Michael Hoffman says:
Nice post. You are totally right about thinking more like a business, though not all nonprofit activity can be measured the same way you can measure sales success.
The best way to make the emotional connection is through online video. As the infrastructure of TV and the web come together nonprofits need to be thinking about their sites like it’s a channel. A PDF isn’t going to cut it.
There are some good example of nonprofit video at DoGooderTV. (http://www.dogooder.tv)