5 Ways To Make Your Visual Content More Stunning. Unless you’ve been living under a rock with no wifi, you’re well aware of how the internet has exploded into one big scrapbook. Instagram and Pinterest have grown at astronomic rates precisely because they allow people to easily create, curate and share pictures–something we’ve been doing since we were 9 months old! Facebook too has placed more importance on pictures, with cover images, full screen viewing, and newsfeed preferrences. So photos are huge. But simply posting photos is not enough.
You have to post awesome photos that get people’s attention! Here are five tips for creating photos that are stunning: 1. Forget the chummy picture of volunteers with their arms around each other. 2. The New York Times found that anger, awe and anxiety are the top emotions associated with sharing. 3. Many times a picture needs a few words to help the viewer along in the story, like in this photo from the Trevor Project. 4. 5. Create a series of photos that show a beginning, middle, and end. Advancing Philanthropy: Moving from Fundraising to Financing. Advancing Philanthropy: Moving from Fundraising to Financing By Nell Edgington Note: I wrote the following article for the Summer Issue of Advancing Philanthropy. You can download the Nonprofit Finance section of the magazine, of which this article is part, on the Association of Fundraising Professionals website here. It has been a really difficult few years for nonprofits, particularly their fundraisers.
In fact, traditional fundraising is holding nonprofits back by forcing them to wear out their boards, staffs, and donors, focus efforts on low-return activities, subsist with inadequate technology and infrastructure, and ultimately distance them from their missions. Nonprofits must emerge from the broken fundraising mold and instead develop a sustainable financing strategy that will bring mission to fruition. And this fundamental shift needs to happen not just because of a poor economy, but also because of deeper, long-term shifts in our world. Donors are changing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Willis Turner - How to Read a Direct-Mail Fundraising Letter : FundRaising Success. In the realm of fundraising senses - 1 Touch me right here! | Francesco Ambrogetti | Recently I had the fortune to work with Dan Hill one of the worldwide gurus on emotions applied to marketing.
Dan advises the top Fortune 500 companies and political candidates on how to effectively advertise and succeed using emotions. What surprised me talking to Dan is how advanced commercial marketing is compared to fundraising. They understand better how the brain functions (specifically how to use emotions) and are using neurosciences to develop relevant messages and tactics to sell more sodas, shoes and beers. Let’s have a look at the last Superbowl in the US. To air a 30 second ad it costs $ 30 million. Companies that invest this much must be sure that their commercial is not only cool and wins prizes at Cannes, but that it ultimately drives sales. How do they do that?
Emotions and therefore our decisions to give or engage with a cause are activated by a combination of sensory elements, primarily by what we see, what we hear, smell, taste and touch. Touch me please! Fundraising with Facebook pays off. Wild Woman Fundraising» Blog Archive » Want more donations? The SHAPE of your flyer matters! Should you use THIS Flyer or when communicating with your supporters? Which will get you more donations? According to a recent article sent to me by the fabulous @danibardgette Studies have shown that physical cues, presented in the immediate environment of an individual, influence his/her behavior later.
Source article here. Bottom Line? Make it heart-shaped, and you’ll get more donations. Another bottom line? Fundraise around valentine’s day with your local grocery store, get some heart-shaped pinups, and possibly you’ll get a better return than on another holiday! Test this and let me know what you find! Time for your Fundraising Oddity | Derek Humphries | By the time you read this, Commander Hadfield ( @Cmdr_Hadfield ) and his rather handsome moustache will have been back on our blue planet for a good few days. I was one of millions charmed and moved by his photos of Earth from space, and the accompanying captions: wry, poignant, poetic and incurably curious. Like many of you, my jaw slackened when I saw his rendition of Bowie’s Space Oddity (oh, just google it ). And through all of this, I found myself marvelling that this man was actually being allowed to be his unfiltered, quirky, human self – unfettered from the shackles of key messages, brand police, and impenetrable organisational jargon.
What I mean is, NO ONE STOPPED HIM. How many of our organisations, and their leaders, and their message frameworks, and their self-paralysing fears would have stopped him from communicating with such freshness, vigour, and humanity? Far too many, I suspect. So why was he so good: He shared his enthusiasm – a childish sense of wonder and exploration.
Are your nonprofit constituent experiences intentional? | Business Technology Partner. What does the future of your nonprofit look like? Is it focused on your mission AND design? The premise of this article is all about being intentional about the experiences your constituents are having. How many programs, products and services do you have? How many channels (Web, Social, Mobile, Call Center, Direct Mail, etc.) are you focused on? Do they all have a unified design and experience? Mission + Design = Intentional experiences. You are clear about your mission. If not, you aren’t ready to be the digital nonprofit. So here are a couple more of intriguing questions: How do you ensure that your constituents are having an amazing experience? Your focus and day to day work should be about creating “constituent experiences” in this new age of consumerism.
Consumers expect more from business (and hence nonprofits) than ever before. Here is the harsh reality. Like this: Like Loading... Direct Mail Won't Die - Especially When Personalized Like This — Karen Zapp - Nonprofit Copywriter. I like email. I like sending text messages. And I use both extensively. Yet neither of them grabs my attention like seeing someone’s handwriting on an envelope or note card that I receive. This is one reason I don’t believe direct mail will ever die, because it’s how we send each other handwritten notes, cards and letters.
And in the nonprofit world, I also believe sending a handwritten note is one of the most effective forms of cultivation available. Don’t think handwriting is important? Let me ask you this: Would you send a sympathy card with a typed message on the inside? Why exactly is the handwritten note so powerful? • Handwritten messages take more time to create – the manual writing; the care to not misspell because ‘spellcheck’ isn’t available; and the time to write neatly so it can be easily read. • Handwriting isn’t easy or time efficient.
. • It costs more – and people know this – especially as compared to email, text messages or a social media update/message. . • It’s tangible. What do we do about Phonathon? | CoolData blog. I love Phonathon. I love what it does, and I love the data it produces. But sad to say, Phonathon may be the sick old man of fundraising. In fact some have taken its pulse and declared it dead. A few weeks ago, a Director of Annual Giving named Audra Vaz posted this question to a listserv: “I’m writing to see if any institutions out there have transitioned away from their Phonathon program. If so, how did it affect your Annual Giving program?” A number of people immediately came to the defence of Phonathon with assurances of the long-term value of calling programs.
Audra wasn’t satisfied. I can’t disagree with Audra. When I contacted Audra recently to get permission to use her name, she told me she has opted to keep her Phonathon program for now, but will market its services to other university divisions to turn it into a revenue generator (athletics and arts ticket sales, admissions welcome calls, invitations to events, and alumni membership renewals). 1. I just don’t get it. 2. Are Your Nonprofit Emails Profitable? April 10, 2013 Are Your Nonprofit Emails Profitable?
Whether fighting world hunger or promoting a product, all marketers, nonprofit and for-profit alike, want the same thing: to establish a connection with customers. “The essential goal is largely the same, which is to maintain and develop relationships with your constituents, whoever they are,” says Will Valverde, VP of creative development at campaign strategy and service provider M+R Strategic Services. “[For nonprofits], there's a little bit of a different connection. And like their for-profit counterparts, non-profit organizations can benefit by connecting with their constituents via email. While Valverde acknowledges that many nonprofits build and buy lists, he says generating organic growth cuts down on acquisition costs and typically leads to a more engaged list.
But some issue areas received more email list love than others. “With environmental groups, they tend to get some really great advocacy response rates. Can Small Organizations “Compete” With Large Organizations? | The Giving Partner. Diversity: The Voices of Sarasota, a LGBT chorus that celebrates all of humanity and inspires our community to embrace equality, raised more than $7,000 in the Challenge. There is the tiniest little buzz we hear every so often, whispering that small organizations can’t compete with the large ones in fundraising opportunities like the 36-Hour Giving Challenge. Our response: success is a function of effort, planning and mobilization.
Do donors base their giving decisions on the budget size of organizations? Is there proof that only large organizations can mobilize effective teams because they have staff (or larger staff)? As we consider these ideas, let’s look at some examples from the 36-Hour Giving Challenge. How did we define small and large organizations in the Challenge? When you consider the amount of funding raised by small organizations vs. large ones, it’s helpful to also consider these dollar figures as a percentage of their overall operating budgets.
Like this: Like Loading... Charitable giving survey finds donors put off by lack of information | Society. London comedians making stereotyped jokes about Scottish stinginess, look away now. Scots give more to charity than the English and a third more than Londoners, a study of the habits and motivations of British philanthropy has revealed. People living in the south and east of England are giving less than those in poorer areas, according to the donor advisory group New Philanthropy Capital, which produced the study. The survey of 3,000 donors also found that most Britons do not see giving to charity as a duty. Less than half of those polled said others should give too if they had the means. The report has sparked fresh concern that charity leaders are failing to prove the effectiveness of their work; the British public, it appears, would give an estimated £700m extra a year in income if they were more convinced their donations were doing good.
"It is quite shocking that so few people feel there is an obligation to give," said Dan Corry, chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital. The Fundraising Collective: How to analyse your appeal letter. Would you like a tool that helps you simply see if your writing is simple enough, if you're focusing on your donor enough, if you're showing the need most clearly? It's called 750words. 750Words.com is a free website was originally created to help people keep track of their daily writing. The owner of 750words, Buster Benson, also created another website called HealthMonth, which provides a similar function to 750words.com, except it helps people track their healthy activities.
The concept behind 750words and HealthMonth is called “The Quantified Self.” This means measuring pieces of your personal life so that you can feel motivated to continue with a course of action, whether exercise, writing, eating better, or some other edifying pursuit. How can you measure running every day, or what you eat? You report back to these websites. I recently edited an appeal letter for H.O.P.E. The original letter began: I put their entire letter through 750words and here is the result of the analysis: Live Discussion. International News: Donations to charity rise despite fewer donors - Business - CBC News. Two Groups of Donors Annual Giving Must Address. When creating stewardship or solicitation plans for an Annual Giving portfolio, there are a variety of ways you can slice the data to make it manageable.
Data segmentation, as it’s most commonly referred to, provides you with the opportunity to tailor your interactions with donors based on groupings of similarities. One of the segmentations that I’ve found to be most telling and manageable for planning are the following two groups: One Gift Per Year Donors Many Gifts Per Year Donors These might seem like very broad segments, and I certainly wouldn’t disagree with that.
But the point is to start at a higher level before you funnel down to create a million different segments. . - The giving pattern in unwavering - Most likely making their gift in December - Probably giving for tax purposes or are motivated by the holiday spirit - Have a high level of engagement with your organization - Might be giving monthly, or whenever they receive an appeal Think about someone who gives once per year. P.S. Best 6 charity marketing campaigns from 2012 and announcing GBM’s new Shortcut series « Green Banana Marketing.
As the first chilly month of 2013 draws to a close, we wanted to present our list of what we consider to be the best standout marketing from charities in 2012. We have selected six campaigns, which we think are bold and different in what has been a challenging year. Brave souls out there are doing the best for their charity brands and we applaud you all. 1. Save The Arctic Save the Arctic, headed by Greenpeace, is a campaign to save the Arctic from industrial fishing and offshore drilling for oil. The campaign film, Vicious Circle is narrated by John Hurt and has driven an impressive 2.4 million people to sign the petition, to have the Arctic region declared a sanctuary by the United Nations. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. These are just some of things that inspired us from last year. Plot Your Course for 2013 Leadership and Major Gift Success | Karen Osborne | Sticking a pin in acquisition mail bloat « CoolData blog.
5 Resolutions to Amplify Your Nonprofit’s 2013 Fundraising Strategy. Why Do You Treat Me Like You Don’t Care? – Grizzard Communications Group. Precisely not how to figure out young-donor fundraising. Nearly $7-Million Raised in One-Day Online Contest - Prospecting. Seven Ways to Increase Your Nonprofit’s Donations in 2013. How to convert online supporters to donors. » Egyptian or Mayan? AnnualGiving.com.
Our 12 tips of Christmas… « The Bottom Line Ideas Blog. The Art of the Ask: Nonprofits must be mindful of audience’s desires. 8 tactics for integrated fundraising success. Take Your Holiday Fundraising to a New Level. Small charities lead the way when it comes to online donations | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional. SickKids - You Got It. A 2-step fundraising letter audit. Big Data is a pipe dream. The Pros & Cons of Telemarketing. Is announcing your goal killing your fundraising? Return to old-style fundraising.
Hazlehurst's Blog » Read ‘em and weep: Obama’s effective email fundraising strategy. Odd but true findings? Upgrading annual donors are “erratic” and “volatile” « CoolData blog. Employee Matching Gift Programs - An Untapped Source of Fundraising | Adam Weinger. Best Practices: Using Video To Promote Your Nonprofit. Targeting Those Who Visit Without a Donation. Video In Email. Fired-Up Fundraising: 20 Best Practices for Monthly Giving Programs | Fired-Up Fundraising | Gail Perry Associates. The Fundraising Collective: Excuse me, can I ask you a question? Good Works Co. - Your most important meeting is with yourself. Forget Apps: Young Donors View Web Sites on Smartphones - Marketing and Communications. Finding predictors of future major givers « CoolData blog. The Death of the Unrestricted Gift. Why donors don't want to hear from you - queer ideas.
Two truths you should be telling. Duals Asks « The Annual Giving Network. How nonprofits use analytics for fundraising. An infographic. How could I say no? | TheFundraisingFunnel.com. Segmenting your audience – Different communication for different people. Improve Your Nonprofit Email Open Rate by 2%: Go Mobile. Don’t Forget Your $1,000 Gifts. College giving rebounds as donor base shrinks - College, Inc. Ipsos%20Reid%20Revised%20What%20Canadian%20Donors%20Want%20Factum. Welcome to #fundchat! web event. 12 Elements of a Great Online Fundraising Campaign. Finding New Friends: The Art & Science of Acquisition. Three Classic Fundraising Images from SOFII - Fundraising Detective.
Best Practice in Action: Getting creative with your fundraising ideas. It's you, not me | Rebecca Davies. The #fundchat Daily. Future Fundraising Now. Fundraising Detective. The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits.