The Paradigm Has Shifted

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The Time is Now
The Time is Now

While most of us in the nonprofit world may still be debating the viability of direct mail (snail variety) versus online giving, statistics have been released indicating social media participation has now surpassed — even email. You cannot ignore the buzz about social media any longer — it’s here, and it’s powerful.

Last month, the New York Times reported that time spent engaged in online communities increased 883% between February 2003 and February 2009. Time spent viewing video online increased 1905% between February 2003 and February 2009. Combine this with NTEN’s 2009 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study revealing that online gifts in 2008 increased 43% over 2007, with total dollars raised online increasing 26%–and you have a reason to pay attention.

Still, with this explosive growth in use of social networks, so many organizations are asking “How do you effectively deploy a social media strategy, and what is the return on investment (ROI)?” The trouble with social media to date has been that it’s difficult to measure results.

No doubt, many executive directors have been heard to proclaim, “We need to get on the Twitter!” But the important question to answer first is “Why?” It’s so easy to fall prey to the “Latest Big Thing” Syndrome, whether you are a nonprofit, political organization, or company. Diving headlong into the latest technology or social media tool without asking those basic questions—Who, What, What, Where, When, How, and Why?—can lead to frustration and failure. That old adage comes to mind, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you.”

Think ROI – Investment divided by return.

And, don’t forget expectation. The return may be only partially monetary. Objectives may include anything from building awareness, getting feedback on project relevance, expanding prospects/followers, or raising money. Here are some useful ways to think about effectiveness:
• Conduct awareness studies—prior to launch and at milestone intervals, such six months, year, etc.
• Track referral sites—identify the “web destinations” of people who respond to your message.
• Track traditional site metrics, such as unique visits, page views, and time spent on your site.
• Monitor your Net Promoter Score (customer loyalty scale of 0-10 that asks how likely you would be to refer an organization to a friend).
• Benchmark the number of friends/fans/followers on a particular social network or community.
• Measure the number of gifts made or dollars raised within a certain time frame or in response to a specific appeal.
• Measure brand visibility.
• And, of course, does it satisfy the boss?

This is not a comprehensive list, but it is a great place to start. The next step is to develop smart ways to integrate your social media combustion into your other marketing initiatives to turbo-charge your impact.

Finally, as you ponder your course, let me remind of the 2008 presidential campaign—not Barack Obama, but Ron Paul. It was a small scrappy campaign. And it all started with the infamous “money bombs,” the initial supporter-driven efforts to raise millions in a single day—Nov. 5th, 2007. Now, that’s a measurable result. This occurred without huge email lists, paid media, or even strategic campaign leadership. The result as $4.3 million raised in a single day. They repeated it later with $6 million raised in a single day. Anything is possible.

Do you have examples or thoughts? Comment below. Or, if you want to begin expanding your social media reach today, contact me — ellagantz(at)sbcglobal.net

Changing the World with Social Media

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Beth Kanter is always on the leading edge of social media adoption and integration. She is the ultimate nonprofit social media maven and was recently featured on Mashable. Here are some of her fundamental assessments of ways social media is shaping the nonprofit world: earth-day1

Giving the message intimacy and relevance.
A few weeks ago, the March of Dimes supporters came out in droves for a networked memorial service for a toddler named Maddie. The community raised tens of thousands of dollars for the March of Dimes in Maddie’s memory as well as covering the funeral costs for the family. The organization did little to stage this event. The March of Dimes has embraced openness and inspired their stakeholders to feel empowered enough to take action on their own.

Making birthdays matter.
Social media is enabling individuals to create, join, and grow groups around issues they care about. I love the way DonorsChoose providing a way to make birthdays a reason to give. And Stephen Colbert is setting the pace with “Birthday Give Back” . And as Beth says, keep an eye out for more social apps with a conscience that will offer even more creative ways for supporters to self-organize and take action around causes. As non-profits begin to engage their own communities in these online conversations, they are able to reach more people than ever before, and using less effort doing so. As Maddie Grant, a partner at SocialFish, observes, “We can all be change agents and that has to be good for the entire nonprofit industry, as long as organizations adapt to this new way of being part of a two-way conversation and groundswell of social responsibility.”

Integrating media.
An interesting example of crowd-sourcing by a nonprofit comes from Michael Tilson Thomas, artistic director of the San Francisco Symphony with the recent performance of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. The performers were selected from thousands of video auditions from around the globe. The finalists were winnowed down by a jury of professional musicians, not unlike a traditional audition, but the winners were crowd-sourced by YouTube users via online voting. The resulting “mashed up” symphony orchestra, had more than 90 players representing over 30 countries.

Driving social change “in house.”
Danielle Brigidia, who is responsible for social media strategy for National Wild Life Federation , says “Internally, we have started to focus on cross-promoting our ideas and programs more thanks to social media tools like Yammer (internal Twitter).” Carrie Lewis, social networking strategist for the Humane Society of the US, observes how their Internet is now working differently. “We have daily 9 minute meetings. Short meetings have helped them be more efficient and effective with every aspect of social media campaigns.”

It’s going to be an exhilarating ride. Join us — and share your stories.

The “Noise” is Coming

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Serve America Act
Serve America Act

This week, I attended an event at the Communities Foundation of Texas in Dallas. explaining the nuances of the Service America Act, signed April 21, 2009, by President Obama. Rosa Moreno-Mahoney, Associate Director of Service and Volunteerism for One Star Foundation in Austin, Texas, presided and peeled away the layers of the complex story like an onion. The bottom line seemed to be that the Act promises to expand possibilities for capacity-building funding for nonprofits, but it’s really all academic until the actual appropriations are approved. The legislation has no teeth until the money arrives. The intent is there. We just need engage, share our voices, and make sure the piper is paid—or at least appropriated.

I am particularly intrigued by the integration of various social media tools — offering platforms for conversation and feedback. Obama appears to be walking his talk with regard to reclaiming our governing process as citizens. There were many interesting nuggets of insight to take away from this presentation, and many of them I did not expect:

Nugget Number One: “The Noise” is Coming
Wow. What an electrifying, yet oddly disconcerting, concept. Rosa Moreno-Mahoney contends that the stampede of service is building momentum. She called it “the noise.” Volunteer mobilization is becoming not just a priority—but a requirement. We can either be part of it or let it wash over us due to lack of relevance. It is just a matter of time, and she issued what seems like a warning to nonprofits to be prepared. Know how to engage volunteers effectively–to ensure fulfillment and optimal organizational impact. Service Nation is driving tidal wave of community engagement programs and passion.

Nugget Number Two: Reframe Your Approach to Volunteer Management
Due to the current social engagement imperative, volunteers are becoming the new philanthropic capital. Grants to recruit, manage , and support volunteers—strengthening volunteer infrastructure and mobilizing volunteer efforts— will help position organizations for “the noise” that is predicted. Rosa said that the days of considering the volunteer coordinator as the expendable staff member are over. She recommended that the volunteer director be a senior, management-level position –driving innovation, planning, and execution of mission-critical projects.

Nugget Number Three: Maximize Federal Draw-Down
Funding will favor unique programs that streamline and increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations in paradigm-exploding ways, with particular interest in leveraging public/private partnerships to launch entrepreneurial solutions. Apply to private foundations, such as the Meadows Foundation, one of Dallas’ most venerable funding sources. Bruce Esterline, VP for Grants at Meadows, suggested that asking for matching funds for the Service Act grants could double or even triple “Texas’ federal draw-down.” He confided that he cannot ever remember seeing a proposal for matching AmeriCorps Fund. (Consider this your inside scoop.)

Get ready to make some noise!

Social Savvy 101: Knowing When to Propose

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You’ve heard the ongoing debate about the effectiveness of Facebook and social media for fundraising. Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t. But perhaps, the greater question is one of expectations. We flirt before we date. We date before we propose. Likewise, maybe the accurate way to view social media is related more to courtship than to marriage. It’s the preamble to commitment.

We are still pretty captivated by the glitz and glamour of social media. However, even with its vast viral landscape of possibilities, it is not a panacea. It’s not replacing anything. It’s simply an additional tool—a way to enhance the impact, sophistication, and power of your organization’s communication plan. Since the beginning of time, nonprofits have recognized the importance of engagement and participation—the foundation of donor cultivation. Use Facebook and focused online social communities to update and turbo-charge those engagement efforts.

Latest Nonprofit Stats
Latest Nonprofit Stats

Think of it as the “new intimacy” of one-on-one constituent communication—a way to expand the reach and soften the touch of your development officers. Just remember to set reasonable expectations. Is money the only thing you’ll measure? Is there value in word-of-mouth, marketing or growing awareness of your mission? Because there’s no dispute over its popularity.

In a recent NTEN survey, almost 1,000 nonprofit professionals answered questions about their organizations’ use of social media. And they said loud and clear that they’re using it. Some highlights:
• 86% have a presence on commercial social media (74% are on Facebook).
• 81% said their primary purpose is marketing.
• 81% allocate at least one-quarter of a full time employee to social media management.
• The average Facebook community size is 1,369. (If you count the three big organizations the average skews to 5,391).
• The average Twitter following is 291; LinkedIn is 286, and YouTube is 268. And MySpace comes in at 1,905 members— though its popularity is waning.

Your constituents are on Facebook. Your competitors are on Facebook. And the medium is the message, as Marshall McLuhan said more than forty years ago. Only now, it’s the social medium. And Facebook, Twitter, and social activism sites like YourCause.com are not just about donations. They are very much about marketing your organization and engaging new supporters. It’s “interactive public relations.”

Thanks to this NTEN study, you can measure your organization against industry benchmarks. And, you can prove your success and relevance in social media in other quantifiable ways. Track the numbers of Facebook Fans and their demographics (via improved Insights reporting on Facebook Pages), the number of Followers and @ mentions on Twitter, and the click trends of short URLs in tweets. With donations dwindling in this tough economy, it’s important to keep supporters engaged, even with brief status updates of “what’s on your mind” and tweets about “what you’re doing.”

Ninety-five percent of nonprofits said they are either maintaining or increasing staffing resources given to social networks over the next year.
Everybody’s doing it. Make the commitment to building your community today.

Clarifying Nonprofit Transparency

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magnifyglass (2)Transparency is the media buzz word du jour—for our government, the Wall Street bailout, and for nonprofits. But I think the meaning and precise implications are a bit murky. Perhaps we need some transparent clarity? How does the call for transparency really apply in a practical way to nonprofits? As fiduciaries of organizations held in the public trust, how do we effectively translate the value for donors, development officers, and nonprofit organizations?

Guidestar.org recently conducted a study on nonprofit transparency. A review of 1,800 nonprofit websites revealed good news and bad news about the state of nonprofit transparency. In this context, Guidestar was actually assessing disclosure practices. They found that 93 percent of the nonprofits surveyed disclose information about their programs and services online.

However, they questioned the relevance of the actual data provided. The bad news was that only 43 percent posted their annual reports; 13 percent posted their audited financial statements, and a minuscule three percent posted their IRS letters of determination. Here are Guidestar’s steps for increasing transparency:

• Nonprofits should regularly update their websites with current, detailed program and evaluation information.
• In addition to posting names and titles of board and key staff members, nonprofits should post brief biographic information for these important leaders.
• All nonprofits should post these documents on their websites: annual report (if produced), audited financial statement (if available), copies of current and recent 990s, and IRS letter of determination.

And one additional note— if you use a third-party, social media tool to help you generate engagement and donations that is powered by Network for Good.org, http://www.networkforgood.org, be sure to register for Donor Tracking reports.

Whether you use Facebook Causes, or YourCause.com, it’s essential to know exactly who is making the contributions through the social media portals—giving you the opportunity to do proper stewardship and cultivation. And speaking of transparency, this is particularly critical with an organization such as Network for Good, which is technically a nonprofit organization, as well as a conduit for nonprofit giving. We as professionals must require full contact data disclosure on donors through these sources—including donors who have requested that their gifts be listed as anonymous—since we maintain the same vigilance about honoring those wishes for donors who make donations directly to our organizations.

What do you think?

Social Media Engagement: From Buzz to Benefit

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Just as you figure out what’s happening on Twitter, the next iteration of social media is dawning. It is no longer enough to stay in the loop—you need to be out in front of it. Check out the slide show above. It is a great review of where we have been and where we are going. Here is a summary of the Web’s hyper-speed trajectory to provide some context:

Web 1.0: The Information Source
• Creating your own message and your own content online.
• Categorizing the worldwide web in directories.
• You manage your own little corner of cyberspace—you Web brochure.
• Static and segmented.

Web 2.0: The Social Platform
• Building community, interactivity, and scalability.
• Validating and creating through the power of community.
• Integrating “hooks” for future integration – RSS feeds, APIs, etc.
• Chaotic and overwhelming.

Web 3.0: The Harmonic Convergence of Technology, Content, and Participation
• Networked applications and content repositories creating more seamless interoperability and integration between the complete range of devices.
• True data portability through open identity, APIs, and data formats
• Implementation of a consistent Web language
• Intelligent agents, natural language processing, and machine learning
• Making the Web more relevant and individually defined.

Social media tools are born from technological advances, but they are rooted in the most basic elements of human communication – conversation, curiosity, caring, and connection. I guess you could call them the four “Cs “of social media – a girl’s “second” best friend, I suspect.

In any case, we should all view social media as simply another tool in our communication and fundraising arsenals. So, approach with the same intentions. When you think about diving into Facebook, Twitter, or other online universes, you may be thinking, “Where do I begin?” The exciting thing is that we are staking the trail. It’s a brave new world, and it’s all about trial and error. Be willing to fail—and learn. You date before you pop the question, so think of social media relationships the same way. Get to know your “friends” before you ask them for anything. Here are some places to start:

• Comment on and reply to other people’s observations, posts, and ideas. Participate.
• Proved personal anecdotes about the impact of your cause or organization, and empower your volunteers and supporters to do the same.
• “Retweet” someone’s status message in Twitter.
• Initiate conversations around specific topics – in small groups or forums online. Build community around your organization or issue on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Ning.
• Share good information freely, such as pointing to great blog posts, ideas, or articles.
• Make virtual introductions when you see obvious like-minded people who could do to know each other.
• Create useful media like blog posts, ebooks, or videos that help people.
• Find mutual interest points and talk about them.
• Remember things about the other people, such as whether they have big meetings or if they are dealing with sick children.
• Help when someone is promoting a big event. Spread information for other people liberally.
• Reply to people and build conversations.
• Recognize those who are making a major impact—volunteers, donors, and angels.
• Thank people.
• Share.

Contently Managing Social Media

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Domino's Debacle
Domino's Debacle

It’s here—the social media tidal wave. You know you need to dive in, but where and how? How do you start? Do you “Tweet,” “Facebook,” “Friend,” “Blog,””Post,” “Follow,” “Poke,” or “IM”? There’s a whole new list of verbs my high school English teacher never even imagined. When do you do it? How often? What is the message? How do you monitor, and how do your manage it all? All of these questions can stop you in your tracks. And for good reason. But the power of social media is undeniable—now a potent, mainstream driver of connection and engagement. However, like any high-octane tool, you should consider and plan for the consequences—intended and unintended.

Even Oprah’s doing it. According to market tracker Hitwise, traffic to Twitter went up 43% in a before and after survey of the “Oprah Effect.” Additionally, on April 17th, the day of Winfrey’s first Tweets, 37% of visits to Twitter.com were new visitors, Hitwise says. By comparison, Hitwise says Facebook’s ratio of new visitors in March were 8%. And Ashton Kutcher’s recent competition with CNN put charity tweeting on the map! He emerged victorious in his broadly publicized race to be the first to line up over one million followers. Now Mr. Kutcher, or for the Twits out there—@aplusk, will donate $100,000 to the “Malaria No More” fund to diminish the spread of the deadly disease through net distribution.

Still, the question looms large— How do you maximize the impact without jeopardizing your carefully crafted and protected nonprofit brand? You may have heard about the Domino’s pizza employees who caused the company severe heartburn recently with their less-than-tasteful YouTube video that featured disgusting food-handling techniques. (We’ll just leave it at that.) Here are the details if you are so moved. It had hundreds of thousands of views before Domino’s reacted with a positive message on YouTube where this started. So what if something like this happens to you? Here are some recommendations:

1. Set up Google Alerts. Monitor what people are saying about your organization online. Keep tabs on Twitter (via Tweetbeep )and YouTube.
2. Assess the message, the messenger, and the audience. Are you dealing with one crazy loose cannon with no audience? Or if you feel the message is hitting your audience or it is picked up by traditional media, you may want to draft release a credible response. Ignoring it could backfire.
3. Respond quickly and responsibly. Slow reactions have a negative public relations impact. Web 2.0 replicates messages exponentially. You don’t want something to expand outside your sphere of influence. Just be authentic and sincere. Avoid a defensive posture. “We are addressing this issue or the source of this misinformation, etc.”
4. Respond in the right context. Respond to a Tweet on Twitter or to a video with a video on YouTube—thus containing the controversy in the community where it originated.
5. Stay in the conversation. You cannot spin it with a press release. Invite response, address questions transparently—and be prepared to engage in a continuing dialogue.

How are you monitoring your brand and your message on the social media frontier?

Are you listening to your life?

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buechnerI have an amazing gift — my church, Dallas First Presbyterian Church and Pastor Joe Clifford. I do not consider myself a proselytizer. In fact, I see myself on an inclusive, open spiritual journey. And Joe has an extraordinary capacity to inform and enrich my path in ways that are difficult to articulate. Today was an excellent example. He talked about the celebration of Easter wearing off as we entered a week punctuated by the bleakness of tax day, difficult professional challenges — real life, etc. Then, he said a “friend” forwarded him the Susan Boyle link on Wed — the astonishing performance of the unassuming 47-year-old on Britain’s Got Talent, who has captured the world’s imagination. He says he does not have time for all the forwarded email he receives, but he opened this one.

He said he wept — and he asked the congregation how many of us had seen it and wept. Most of those present raised their hands. He went on to describe theologian Frederick Buechner’s take on the origin of these tears. I now cannot get enough Buechner. He ponders:

“How do you listen to your life? How do you get into the habit of doing it? How do you keep ears cocked and your eye peeled for the presence of God or the presence of anything else? One thing I have said, which I think is true, is to pay attention to any of those moments in your life when unexpected tears come in your eyes. You never know when that may happen, what may trigger them. Very often I think if you pay attention to those moments, you realize that something deep beneath the surface of who you are, something deep beneath the surface of the world, is trying to speak to you about who you are.

You never know what may cause them. The sight of the Atlantic ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you’ve never seen before. A pair of somebody’s old shoes can do it. Almost any movie before the great sadness that came over the world after the Second World War, a horse cantering across a meadow, the high school basketball team running out onto the gym floor at the start of a game. You can never be sure. But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention.

They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are. More often than not, God is speaking to you through them of the mystery of where you have come from and to summoning you to where you should go to next.

And I wondered why. I think I know why. I think what happened was that we were remembering Eden. This marvelous dance of humans and beasts and joy and freedom – and God was certainly present there this joy and freedom from so many things that plague us. It is where we all started from, I think, in some fashion, some odd way. It is where, by God’s good grace, we are all headed. Just this glimpse of it was more poignant than grief and something I’ve always remembered. That is an example of what I mean by listening to your life. It would be an example of the best advice I can give you. If anyone wants to start listening in a new way, keep track of those moments when something brings those tears to your eyes.”

I thought about some tears that have caught me off guard in my life:
1. The full crescendo of brass while singing “He is Risen” last weekend. Gets me EVERY year — no matter what’s going on in my life.
2. The song “One Day More” — also from Les Miserables. (And many other songs.)
3. Many of Joe’s sermons.
4. Some moments of triumph in movies or plays. Ian, my son, always asks, “Are you really crying, mom?” I always answer, “Happy tears.”
5. A passionate kiss.
6. The laughter of my sons.
7. Looking out across the meadow at Mo Ranch on Sunday morning.
8. The kind words of a friend.
9. My father’s tears when he heard my mom was going to be OK.
10. The embrace of my sons.

Joe said we have a profound, spiritual reaction to joy — to God. And it’s not enough to experience the moment — we must use it as a way to discover our own life’s calling — what God has called to do and be.
Are you listening to your life — and your tears?

Culivating Serious Online Relationships

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Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company, recently released the 2008 donorCentrics™ Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis. The findings confirmed that online giving is becoming an “increasingly significant source” of funds for nonprofit organizations. This is really no major revelation. The stats validate the results of the recent Presidential Campaign, as well as other research — including the 2008 AFP Survey, revealing that the only area of fundraising that tracked an increase over 2007 was online giving. Still, the challenge remains—how do you integrate online and offline fundraising channels to optimize long-term success for your organization? “With direct mail, the blueprints for success are well-known, but in this new multi-channel world everything is new and many strategies are still unproven.” said Rob Harris of Target Analytics.

Key findings from the 2008 Internet Giving Benchmarking Analysis:
• Online giving still represents a relatively small portion of donors and revenue at most organizations, but it is growing rapidly and is becoming an important source for new donor acquisition.
• Online donors are younger and have higher incomes than traditional direct mail donors.
• Online donors give larger gifts and, as a result, have a higher overall long-term value than donors to more traditional giving channels like direct mail, but they are less loyal in terms of repeat giving.
• The online giving channel must be an integrated part of an entire direct marketing program.
• Donors in the southwest and mountain regions of the United States are disproportionately more likely to give online.
• Differences in revenue per donor and retention rates between online and offline donors are consistent across geographical regions.

Interestingly, offline donors do not generally migrate to online giving, but online donors do migrate to offline channels in large numbers. Therefore, it’s important for your organization to have a donor “moves management” strategy in place to keep your online donors engaged and giving. It’s all about the relationship and potential donor value. One-time gifts are nice, but they will not do your organization any good in the long term, because online donors tend to downgrade—even disconnect when they move offline. Cultivation is key.

Other interesting findings:
• Even with its recent growth, online giving is still dwarfed by direct mail in aggregate.
• Online donors have a slightly lower retention rate than traditional donors. Perhaps it’s the difference in attention span?
• Online giving is not a strong renewal channel. Large numbers of online donors migrate away from online giving and to other channels, primarily direct mail.
• Direct mail donors rarely give online.
• Having an email address on file makes a positive difference in the giving behavior of offline donors.

Study background:
Over the past three years, Target Analytics held a series of annual meetings with twenty-four national nonprofit organizations on the subject of online fundraising. The primary purpose was to give each organization participating the information needed to benchmark its own online fundraising program performance against those of peer organizations—and to provide a forum for sharing best practices about online fundraising tactics and integrated marketing strategies.

How do you make the most of online giving?

elaine

Secrets of Soliciting the Wired Wealthy

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The International Association of Fundraising Professionals Conference in New Orleans last week was rich in practical information, memorable speakers—and luscious culinary delights, of course! One of the most “meaty” presentations I saw was given by Vinay Bhagat, founder and chief strategy officer of Convio; Colleen Mc Culloch-Learch, senior research analyst at Edge Research, and Beth Wallace, vice president of digital marketing at Conservation International, on using the Internet to connect with donors.

One of the most useful pieces of intelligence emerging from the Wired Wealthy Study they discussed involved segmentation. Until now, we have tended to segment or donors demographically – “Younger females respond this way, and older males behave that way.” This new study actually uses psychographic “cluster” analysis to categorize donors by behaviors. Here is the breakdown for the nearly 3,500 respondents who contributed $1,000+ over an 18-month period:

• Relationship Seeker (29%): Most likely to respond to opportunities to connect emotionally with your organization online. However, they delivered the
lowest average gift.

• All Business (30%): Do not appear to be looking for a relationship or emotional connection. They are purely transaction-oriented. They seek ease, clarity, and functionality.

• Casual Connector (41%): The largest of the three clusters, this group appears to “split the difference” in terms of attitudes and preferences. As group, they need more hand-holding. They are more difficult to predict and satisfy—often seeking an “intellectual connection.”

Across the board, donors are expecting a “high quality of engagement “and a pleasant user experience. Interestingly, these respondents are left “generally uninspired” by website appeals. They feel many nonprofit websites are not well-designed, do not make it easy to give, and are not user-friendly. They do not want to wade through screens of dense copy. Attention spans are limited. And among these donors, there is a strong appetite for chats, photo-sharing, video, blogging, and IMing—particularly among “Relationship Seekers.”

Another significant finding was that donors want more control over the specifics of the communication—with lots of opportunities for opting in or out, selecting content, and specifying schedules. Most of all, they really like tax receipts, progress reports—and lots of success stories. So, know your donors and understand how they behave and prefer to communicate—online and off!

In addition, the study suggested that it is useful to look at all of your major donor touch-points. Are they relevant and effective. Hone your value proposition and core message. Key here is to “sell on steak, not on sizzle.” Use your online communication to build confidence and cultivate relationships. And shy away from including major donors in your online giving strategy. Here are a few other important points to remember:

1. Treat online donors as partners.
2. Create and sustain a disciplined narrative with complete story lines.
3. Build a high ratio of cultivation messages to appeals.
4. Nurture 2-way communication.
5. Provide easy ways to pass the word online.
6. Use video.

In general, get smart, deliberate, creative, and strategic about your online communication plan.