Nonprofits and Social Media - Seth Godin's Comments and the Huge Response that followed

Seth Godin (famous social marketing blogger) wrote a blog not so long ago called "The Problem with Non" (as in nonprofits). He talks about how ineffective nonprofits have been in using social media to achieve their objectives and how most nonprofits are afraid of change. On the Midstream Corrections blog you can read the original post as well as find links to the barrage of responses...

Fundraising Via Facebook

I read an interesting case study on the Acronym blog this week that talked about how Feeding America has been successful in fundraising from Facebook. I like the way they leveraged between the real and virtual worlds to create an outcome. Very clever.

Want to maximise returns from charity races?

I found this interesting blog by Lori Rice that provides some good tips for people organising fun runs to ensure that their participants come back year after year. If you are involved in organising charity runs it is well worth reading her post "Keep Them Coming Back".

Sponsorship Spending On Causes To Total $1.55 Billion In 2009

An interesting report has been released from IEG has shown that North American companies are expected to spend a total of $1.55 billion on cause partnerships in 2009. This is a 2.2 percent increase from the $1.52 billion invested in those programs in 2008. They also found that some nonprofits that deal with poverty, hunger and other issues directly impacted by the economy have found increased corporate interest. ... read more.

Marketing through social media case study

Smartblog on social media has run an interesting case study on how the Lupus Foundation of America uses Facebook to raise funds. Considering the recent publicity claiming that Facebook is a bit of a dud when it comes to raising funds this is an interesting case study to see. However I did notice that while they reports at 790% increase in donations via Facebook I would be interested to see what the actual amounts were (afterall, a 790% increase from $1 would probably not justify the resources allocated to daily updates). I would be interested on your take on this article.

Activitating members to make a difference

I thought this article by Zelda Tupicoff on how Restaurant and Catering Victoria and StreetSmart Australia came together to raise money for a good cause was a fabulous example of how associations and charities working together can really make a difference. Click here to read the article.

Charity membership - is it viable?

For industry bodies and professional associations using membership as a tool to generate revenue, provide an “opt in” customer base for products and to give it a stronger voice when lobbying is a logical step. For charities and other public benefit organisations it is somewhat different. Membership is just one of many tools that can be used to both generate revenue and to gather a database of people interested in supporting your organisation. If you are thinking of a membership structure for your organisation then you may like to consider the following:

• Use appropriate language - If you need members to contribute funds, time or other resources to the cause consider calling them “supporters” rather than “members”. When you use the term “member” it creates the perception that the member will be receiving a personal benefit. If this is not the case then consider using the term “supporter” which more clearly defines their role within your organisation.
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  Consider the return from the investment – Membership is an expensive and time consuming tool, but it can reap substantial rewards when structured correctly. Sit down and work out the objectives you wish to achieve (eg: to generate funds, to build a database of potential donors and volunteers, etc). Identify all potential tools that could be used to achieve those objectives and the investment that each requires. In some cases membership may not be the most effective tool. But in others, especially where implemented correctly, it can work beautifully.
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  Ensure you have the appropriate back-end support – You can greatly reduce the pressure that a membership structure puts on time and resources by implementing appropriate back-end support. The benefits of a good database that is fully integrated with your website cannot be underestimated. It will greatly reduce the staff time required to manage the database, increase your accuracy and provide you with information to more closely target your messages and generate greater returns from your marketing dollar. If you do decide to invest in a good database then it is essential that you take the time to ensure that it is implemented correctly. After all, a poor database implemented well will outperform a fantastic database implemented poorly.