Social Executive for the Social Entrepreneur

This would have gone well with my Event Invitation Mistakes post a few weeks ago but I didn’t make this mistake until recently. We have had a number of formal prospecting sessions and I have informally added a number of casually mentioned names. Recently I sent out invitations to our prospect list. At my next volunteer committee meeting one of the members asked me if I let each board member know when I invited their connections.

In the back of my mind, I had thought once a name had been mentioned I had the freedom to prospect and invite them as much as I wanted. That is not the perspective of the donor or volunteer. These prospects are often close friends and colleagues and it should be standard practice to let our volunteers know when their connections might be receiving an invitation.

Because I made the mistake of not letting our volunteers know, I missed out on a number of opportunities for cultivation. By letting the volunteer know it provides an opportunity for them to connect with the prospect. Your volunteer can encourage them to attend the event in a more personal way, which would improve the likelihood of their attendance. If you are cultivating the prospect for a gift, letting your volunteer know provides another opportunity for your volunteer strengthen the prospects relationship with the nonprofit.

Related posts:

1. Event Invitation Mistakes
2. Getting Started with Social Media Volunteers
3. Will You Be My Volunteer?
4. Linkage, Ability, Interest
5. More About Using Board Members & Volunteers

I am participating today in an annual tradition called the Nonprofit Blog Exchange, an event where nonprofit and philanthropy bloggers write about another blog. This year I am writing about Marc Pitman’s The Fundraising Coach.

Marc is a reputable expert and thought leader in the fundraising community. From his blog you can receive his regular weekly posts, connect to his podcast, or get his book with tips and tools for success. He writes about everything from SEO to Generating Leads. He recently started a section called Question Marc where nonprofit readers can ask him about fundraising and philanthropy.

I love his slogan, “Fundraising is an Extreme Sport.” It says to me that fundraising is not all rubber chicken lunches and coffee meetings. As an “Extreme Sport” there are all kinds of politics and posturing but also all kinds of victories for the underdog and triumphs of human spirit. In all of my interactions with Marc, he is enthusiastic and energetic and this comes through in his posts as well. The Fundraising Coach is a great blog, easy to read with insightful tips.

Related posts:

1. Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants
2. Nonprofit Carnival: Day in the Life
3. Reasons Your Organization Should Blog
4. Resource Round-up
5. Ingredients of a Successful Capital Campaign: Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants

Through eBay’s Giving Works platform shoppers contributed nearly $1.5 million dollars to Haiti. Eight US nonprofits have received more than $1 million. eBay is at the forefront of the e-philanthropy movement and I’m excited to bring you an interview with Robert Chatwani.- Jason

What is your role at eBay and how does that impact the philanthropic sector?

As eBay’s head of Global Citizenship, my focus is on harnessing the reach and scale of our core businesses – eBay and PayPal – to create a positive impact. This goes beyond philanthropy. We think about citizenship and sustainability in terms of People, Planet, and Communities, the latter being the part that directly affects the philanthropic sector. We do this by fostering entrepreneurship for global sellers, keeping goods out of landfills through the sale of pre-owned products, and raising funds for nonprofits through sales on eBay.

What does it mean to be the largest online engine for fundraising?

The eBay charity program was built to capitalize on the philanthropic instincts of eBay’s 89 million member community. We’re tapping into this amazing resource by providing a flexible platform for giving – an out-of-the box, commerce-focused solution for online fundraising. The program has provided nonprofit organizations around the world creative and highly flexible ways to raise funds at a time when charitable giving is declining. Based on their individual needs, nonprofits can adapt the eBay Giving Works platform to work for their unique business models.

Where do you see the future of online philanthropy? How do you see and hope to see eBay shaping that future?

In terms of giving – we see two large macro trends taking place. The first is that online giving is growing fast, at a rate that’s 7 times faster than offline giving. Given that contributions through eBay Giving Works have risen while the economy has declined, we see this as a sign that online giving is where philanthropy is headed more and more. The other trend we see is that many more consumers are thinking about social and environmental values when making decisions about what to buy. These consumers have new mindset, and they’re more practical and socially conscious than ever before. eBay empowers them to vote their conscience with their clicks.

Do you think the internet and social media has made philanthropy more accessible to the everyday person?

We have seen time and again that the everyday person appreciates flexibility and adaptability in their giving habits, especially in a recession. The eBay community has shown that even small actions, when brought to scale, can have a big impact. It’s what enables many in our community, both shoppers and sellers, to do good in whatever way is most comfortable for them. We’ve been very impressed with peoples’ generosity, particularly in a recession.

How can online giving be mobilized to respond quickly to disasters like the Haiti earthquake?

We have seen an incredible outpouring of support for Haiti relief efforts coming from the eBay community. More than 425,000 donors and sellers have raised nearly $1.5 million in support. This includes sellers who have decided to designate a portion of their final sale price to charities supporting the relief efforts, and everyday shoppers, who have given at checkout or through PayPal. Celebrities have also participated by selling items on eBay to support charity.

Related posts:

1. Business Giving vs Individual Giving
2. Online Strategy: Capital Campaign Interview
3. Integration & The Future: Solicitation Letters Interview
4. Campaign Strategy: Capital Campaign Interview
5. Next Generation of Philanthropy: Jolkona Foundation

Let me take a second to share with you, my reader, about a couple of different ways we can work together. I want this blog to be interactive and useful for you, and I encourage you to email me with ideas and input on new posts or other content at any time.

• Free Advertising for my Nonprofit Readers: If you check out the bottom of my left-hand sidebar you’ll see a link to a number of my readers’ websites. If you want to participate send me a 200 by 100 pixel jpeg and a url.
• Link Exchange: If you have a nonprofit or philanthropy blog I’d love to talk about including you in my blogroll. Link exchanges are a great way to increase your ranking on Google and other search engines.
• Online Awards: I want to be your go-to source for upcoming online awards that can benefit your nonprofit. If you hear about an award that I have not posted about please let me know so I can share it everyone.
• Featured Fundraiser: Every month (or so) I highlight different fundraisers from a broad range of career levels and backgrounds. I operate entirely on referral, so keep your ears open for someone you think I should feature.
• Online Fundraising Campaigns: In an effort to create best practices and industry standards for online giving, I’m collecting stories about what does and does not work in online fundraising. If you have participated in a successful campaign or know of anyone who has, please share your observations.

The Nonprofit Carnival

Every month a different blogger will post a link to a number of blog posts about nonprofits and giving. This March 31 I will be hosting the The Nonprofit Carnival. If you run a blog for or about nonprofits or fundraising, submit you post at blogcarnival.com or at nonprofitcarnival@gmail.com and I will try my best to include it in this month’s post. Closing date for submissions is March 28.

Related posts:

1. Nonprofit Carnival: Day in the Life
2. August Resource Round-up
3. Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants
4. Join an Interactive Community?
5. March Goodness & Pepsi

In a recent post, Who Talks to Your Donors, I mentioned two different styles of fundraising. One style involves board members soliciting donors, and another style involves staff cultivating and soliciting donors.

Does your organization primarily use Board Member or Staff to ask for donations? And, how do you think it should be done?

I see advantages to both sides. Can Board Members really know an organization like a staff member can? Is it sustainable to have staff solicit gifts when the average staff member stays at the organization less time than the donor?

Related posts:

1. I’m Not Here to Raise Money
2. Who Talks to Your Donors
3. Annual Board Solicitations
4. Characteristics of a Model Board Member
5. Cold Calling or Networking

March Goodness

Razoo is doing it again, this is year 2 in their March Goodness competition. But this year they are only letting in a small number of nonprofits. Check out the requirements to sign-up and submit your application before February 26. Grand prize is $20,000 with a number of prizes based on region around the $1,000 level.

Pepsi Refresh Project

If you are a person, business, or nonprofit with an idea to make a difference you should check out this project. Every month Pepsi will pick 1000 ideas which will be voted on and the top 2 will receive $250,000. For more information and to submit an application.

Related posts:

1. A Little Help: March Madness
2. Award & An Idea
3. Chase Gives $25,000
4. Grants & Awards Update
5. Awards Update

I’ve heard a lot of recommendations for nonprofits to rehash their old and current website content on their blog and through their social channels. This is a great way to find some information you can use to publish, but make sure to take a strategic look at your communications. Every organization has donors who are receiving more than one kind of update from the organization. There is a significant amount of overlap between donors who receive solicitation letters, and donors who become fans of your Facebook Page. (In fact, you should let your donors know that you have a social media presence and how they can sign-up.)

When you run a solicitation campaign, using multiple mediums can be a great technique to be successful. But, do not send the exact same information in the exact same format to each group of donors. Don’t send your solicitation letter at the same time as you send your Facebook update and email announcements.

Think through each touch point with your donors and use them to your advantage. If all of your communications happen in one day, then they can feel overwhelmed, like you spent too much time and money on them. If you send off a letter, and a week later follow it up with an email, then the email acts as a reminder. Often, people take one or two reminders before they follow through with what you’d like them to do. Make each communication a little bit different but with a unified message. No one wants to read the exact same words every time. Use your mail campaigns to go into more detail, and use your email to catch their interest and point them to your website or previous letter for more information.

Related posts:

1. Simple Solicitation Letters
2. Solicitation Letters & Direct Mail Interview
3. Frequency & Length: Solicitation Letters Interview
4. Integration & The Future: Solicitation Letters Interview
5. Some Good Businesses: Solicitation Letters Interview

I spoke with a local consulting firm a couple months ago about social media, and we started talking about social media etiquette. Because social media is so new and just starting to be widely adopted, there are not a lot of standards in place for etiquette. I was intrigued to find that one of the creators of Twitter has written a book that is becoming sort of the Strunk and White for Twitter, 140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form.

Social media etiquette is still so new we are creating and breaking the rules all of the time. I’m often asked by nonprofits, “What should I or should I not post?” And it varies in each community. As you grow and develop your community, it is important that you provide consistent messaging and that you set the style and expectations for your community. If your community is used to seeing new content and thought provoking conversation, and you start posting a bunch of books people should purchase or sponsorship information, your community may react poorly.

I’m also finding that people are still figuring out how they like to receive information. With so many different mediums, you can update your fans, followers, donors in many ways. From a Facebook Page update to a group email, from a causes announcement to a LinkedIn group update, there are many ways to send out information about your nonprofit. Because we are so early in the adoption of these technologies, we do not always know which one works the best or what kind of etiquette to use with each different way of communication.

My advice is to listen to your community members and ask them what they think. What lessons have you learned in social media etiquette?

Related posts:

1. First Social Media Club Experience
2. Don’t Start Social Media Too Late
3. Let’s Get Real: Why Use Social Media
4. Duplicate Solicitation Letters
5. Direct Mail Drop and Social Media Rise

I’ve worked with a number of board members over the years. A number of readers are board members and we could all benefit from thinking through valuable traits of board members. This is by no means a comprehensive list.

These characteristics are ones I have come to value. Leave a comment and share a few of your favorite traits of board members.

• Acknowledge the efforts of others: Whether it is the work of staff or of another volunteer, I love it when a board member shares the credit they receive with others.
• Are clear with staff about what they can and cannot do: My favorite board members are very clear about what they can and cannot do, about how much time they have to volunteer and, in-turn, how much time they can spend in meetings.
• Ambitious about creating success: The very best board members want to participate in making the organization successful, so they are often introducing new people to the organization or being diligent about making sure the organization is out talking with their community. (This same trait can become a problem if a board member wants to move before staff is ready to move or wants to work as a lone wolf without the strategic involvement of the organization.)
• Follow through on their assignments: My number one favorite trait of a board member is when they complete the assignments they have taken. There is nothing better than a board member you know will make a list of follow-up calls, write a personalized notes, or finish other action items.
• Consistent in personal giving: This fits with my last point on follow-through, it is wonderful when a board member gives his annual gift with minimal regular reminders.

Related posts:

1. Barometer or Board Member
2. More About Using Board Members & Volunteers
3. Using Board Members to Fundraise: Part 1
4. Using Board Members to Fundraise: Part 2
5. Annual Board Solicitations

This week’s Featured Fundraiser is Rochelle Zeidman.Thank you Katherine Wertheim for referring her to me.
If you ever would like to nominate someone for Feature Fundraiser just send me an email. - Jason

What kind of fundraising do you do and who do you do it for?

Strategy, campaign, foundation, corporate, individual major and principal gifts, and board fundraising are the kinds of fundraising I do for local, national, and global non-profits. Also develop fundraising products.

What keeps you going? Why do you keep working in development?

Development is a means to an end. I work in development because ultimately services depend on organizations acquiring resources. Development professionals keep the lights on in theatres, ensure food reaches those in needs, advance education for youth, help achieve solutions to pressing global health issues, and tackle so much more.
Conceptualizing and designing sustaining solutions keep me going.

What tips/advice do you have to other fundraisers in your field?

• Ours is a rapidly changing profession — stay tuned in to change so you will be an effective leader.
• Have a plan a, b and c for your organization and monitor closely.
• Your success is interdependent. Be active in your organization’s plans and actively network.
• Create opportunities for growth within your own organization.

What is the most frustrating or difficult thing about fund development?

A challenge about fund development is how other factors may affect results. That’s why it’s wise to take a broad view, look at trends, etc. Also your organization’s financials, visibility, reputation, relevance, social marketing, quality of programs, customer service, and technology can affect your fundraising.

Do you have any memorable donor visits or solicitations that you’d like to share?

My first week on a new job, our top donor passed away, and this gift was not endowed, which was a huge problem. I immediately created a challenge to five donors who were one level below to increase their gifts, which they did. In fact, several stayed at the new level. Long-term solution is to endow annual gifts to avoid this situation.

What is a funny story you’d like to share about a solicitation?

Funny story was a visit with president of my institution to a wealthy prospect who graciously offered us a beverage to quench our thirst — glasses of 150-year old scotch. I was eager to try this beverage but felt a quick small kick and urgent look from my president…and we politely refused. You guess: did we ultimately receive a gift?

Related posts:

1. Featured Fundraiser: Dan Smith
2. Janice Chan: Featured Fundraiser
3. Sylvia Allen: Featured Fundraiser
4. Economic Troubles: Featured Fundraiser Tom McLagan
5. Cass Wheeler: Featured Fundraiser