by Charlie Hullihen, Client Services Manager/Communications Writer

According to the 2011 Millennial Donors Survey, 56% of modern-day donors learn about charitable foundations from friends. Furthermore, 57% give to particular organizations because of being personally asked to do so. These numbers point to one very important fact about modern-day nonprofits: peer-to-peer fundraising is the most practical way to raise money for your organization. And the best part about this is that peer-to-peer fundraising can be pretty darn easy.

Now, you may be wondering what exactly peer-to-peer fundraising is. Well, to put it simply, peer-to-peer fundraising is a form of fundraising that empowers individuals and groups to raise money on behalf of your organization. You inspire them to promote and solicit for your foundation and they, in turn, spread this message across their own network.

Peer-to-peer fundraising has a number of advantages over conventional fundraising methods. In older approaches, the message being delivered was from one to many, making for a signal that is controlled and impersonal. Furthermore, traditional methods such as television and radio ads can be considerably expensive.

On the other hand, peer-to-peer fundraising prompts lots of people to give your message to, well, lots of people. According to the Millennial survey, 77% of participants said they would give to an organization if it was endorsed by either a close friend or family member. Obviously, word-of-mouth is essential here. This method is also inexpensive, interactive, personal and uncontrolled. And if you are afraid of losing control of your message, don’t be. Today’s audience doesn’t like being told how to think. They enjoy interacting, providing feedback and making decisions for themselves. Allowing the public to do this is something that is sure to pay off and will create a community, increase engagement and, in turn, create a feeling of collective good amongst your patrons.

There are a few essential practices that can lead to a successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. It is important that your organization provide a compelling story, a clear message and an honest report of where a donor’s money will be going. People will be more likely to give in the future if they have a clear idea of how helpful their donation was. A good way to do this is to send than you notes along with stories of how their specific donation made a positive impact on your organization’s mission. Doing this will further engage your supporters and help build a lasting relationship.

An important factor in starting your peer-to-peer marketing campaign is clearly designating a community manager for your Facebook, Twitter or other social media outlet. This person can help patrons get excited about upcoming events, set-up fundraising pages and provide lead tips to your solicitors.

In short, it is much more useful for your nonprofit to find fundraisers than it is for them to find donors. Think about it in terms of agriculture. You can work really hard with one crop and have a plant. Or, you can spread the seeds around and have a garden. Your success will be determine by how YOU decide to send out YOUR message.

Has your organization had success utilizing peer-to-peer fundraising?  Do you have any further questions?  Let us know in the comments or email me directly at chullihen@intelmarx.com. Thanks for reading and keep checking back for more blogs!

It’s hard to believe we’re already one month into 2012. So far, we’ve had the opportunity to blog about a number of interesting topics. We’ve given readers a good idea as to what to expect throughout 2012, covered Google’s new search algorithm, gave some advice on content creation, and voiced our opinions on SOPA and “slacktivism”. However, before we permanently say goodbye to January 2012, let’s take a look at our five favorite blogs from what has been a very productive month of blogging!

5 Predictions for 2012

As we wind down 2011, it is a good time to look ahead to some of the things that we can expect to see next year in 2012.  With changes and improvements occurring more often than we’ve ever seen before, 2012 should be an exciting year.

Full Article

SOPA and PIPA Have Been Halted…For Now

As you may already know, January 24th was supposed to be the day the United States House Judiciary Committee would make its decision regarding the Protect IP Act (PIPA). However, in light of website blackouts and a number of protests, both PIPA and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) have been frozen until a more consensual decision can be made.

Full Article

Is “Slacktivism” a Good Thing?

A few days ago, a local business made a pledge on Facebook.  A long-time customer’s house was unfortunately destroyed in a fire.  The local business promised that for every “Like” they received on that particular post, they would donate one dollar to the family.  Thinking I could easily take a few seconds of my day to help out, I “liked” the post, as well as shared it on my wall.  It was then that a few friends commented and said they felt the business was exploiting a tragedy in order to promote themselves.

This got me thinking.  I know I’ve seen similar tactics on both Facebook and Twitter before, and I thought nothing of it at the time.  However, I wondered if my friends may have been right.  Was this local business using a customer’s disaster for their own gain?

Full Article

Adapting Your Web Presence to Google’s New Search Algorithm

Last November, Google made some monumental updates to its ever-evolving search algorithm. The company claims these changes impact 35% of its web searches. These changes are a part of the colossal search engine’s ongoing mission to make its results fresher in terms breaking news, current events and the latest product reviews.

Full Article

Sit Back and Relax.  You Don’t Have to Do All the Work.

As we’ve preached to many times in this space before, content is king. Creating and sharing new, original content is what makes social networking – well, social. But here’s the thing. You don’t always have to take it upon yourself to do all of the work. You’ve created a community with great members. Tap into that resource. Let’s take a look at several ways to generate content by having your community do some of the leg work.

Full Article

As you look ahead to February and the rest of 2012, be sure to keep these tips in mind.  As always, you can find additional reading for these topics, as well as many others, at www.non-profit2point0.com.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jbeemiller@intelmarx.com.

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

As January is quickly coming to a close, it is time to look ahead to February. Last month, in January, we talked about reaching out and thanking those that made contributions to your organization over the last year. This month it’s time to start beating down doors again. But it’s not necessarily about asking for donations. While that’s your ultimate goal, work on fostering the relationship first. So what are some good ways to get out in front of those donors?

Thank Them

Yes, I know it was a large part of January’s responsibility but it can’t be done too often or too much. After all, they are giving you their money. Remind them how much it means to you and what good it has done in your organization.

Give Updates

Now that we are in a new year, everyone is anxious to see exactly what you have planned for 2012. Show them. Fill them in on your big plans, so that they can get excited about it right away. The more excited they become, the more personally attached they will become to the cause. When it comes to recruiting and retaining donors, a personal attachment can not be emphasized enough.

Make it all about them

It’s not a secret that people love to talk about themselves and your donors are no different. The purpose is to have their stories heard. You want to know why they’ve taken such a vested interest in your organization so give them the opportunity to share. It will mean the world to them that you’ve taken your own personal time to hear their stories.

Feedback

Feedback is something that we should be constantly looking for in our online efforts but still, nothing replaces face to face. Ask them for their feedback about how your organization is performing. Are you meeting their expectations? Have funds been used appropriately? What are some initiatives they would like to see in the future? Then act on it. There is no reason in asking for the feedback unless you are going to use it.

Expanding Donor Base

For those that you have a particularly strong tie to, approach them about aiding in the expansion of your donor base. Get together and come up with a plan of action as to how you would like their assistance in expanding your network. For those that have personal interests in your organization, they will feel honored to reach out into their own network on your behalf.

Those are a few ways to get out in front of donors for reasons other than asking for a handout. What are some of the things that you might do?

By Josh Beemiller, Director of Marketing

A few days ago, a local business made a pledge on Facebook.  A long-time customer’s house was unfortunately destroyed in a fire.  The local business promised that for every “Like” they received on that particular post, they would donate one dollar to the family.  Thinking I could easily take a few seconds of my day to help out, I “liked” the post, as well as shared it on my wall.  It was then that a few friends commented and said they felt the business was exploiting a tragedy in order to promote themselves.

This got me thinking.  I know I’ve seen similar tactics on both Facebook and Twitter before, and I thought nothing of it at the time.  However, I wondered if my friends may have been right.  Was this local business using a customer’s disaster for their own gain?

What do you mean, “slacktivism”?

Before we answer that question, let’s first look at why companies use this tactic, known around the web as “slacktivism”.  This term refers to the large number of people who want to take some kind of action, but do not donate or volunteer.  These actions include retweeting, liking on Facebook, and signing online petitions.

Many have wondered if these “slacktivists” are actually helping.  However, studies have shown that they are just as likely to donate in the future, twice as likely to volunteer their time, and three times as likely to solicit donation on behalf of the nonprofit than those that do not participate in social media promotions.

Back to the question.

As I mentioned earlier, the “You Like, We Donate” tactic is nothing new.  In the aftermath of the earthquakes in Japan in early 2011, Microsoft, through it’s Bing twitter account (@bing) pledged to donate one dollar for every retweet.  This is almost an identical tactic.  However, this was also poorly-received, especially after a tweet from comedian Michael Ian Black stating Microsoft/Bing should “stop using a tragedy as a ******* marketing opportunity”.  Following Black’s tweet, a large number of @bing followers also voiced their displeasure.  Microsoft then offered an apology, and donated $100,000 of their own money to Japan’s disaster relief efforts.

So are these campaigns wrong?

These campaigns are absolutely fine (and very effective), provided the right message is delivered.  Companies must make sure that they express concern and a genuine desire to help.  In the two examples above, the message is very vague, and can easily be interpreted as “just another marketing ploy” used to gain likes, page views, or followers.  Companies must make sure that they express concern and a genuine desire to help when working with such sensitive topics.

by Charlie Hullihen, Client Services Manager/Communications Writer

Introduction

As you may already know, today (January 24th) was supposed to be the day the United States House Judiciary Committee would make its decision regarding the Protect IP Act (PIPA). However, in light of website blackouts and a number of protests, both PIPA and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) have been frozen until a more consensual decision can be made.

SOPA and PIPA: What are they?

PIPA, a bill designed with the intent of stopping online piracy, attempts to give the US government and copyright holders better tools in blocking access to rogue websites dedicated to infringing activities or counterfeit goods.  SOPA, similarly, aims to help the UnitedState’s law enforcement combat the online trading of digital copyrighted content.

In short, both bills would make it unlawful for payment facilities to work with infringing websites. This would also prevent search engines from linking to these pages. Additionally, these laws would make the streaming of copyright material an offense that could cost violators up to five years in prison.

Those in favor of the bill say they will protect intellectual property, maintain jobs, and put a damper a foreign website’s ability to distribute American copyrighted content for free. Opponents say the bills violate free speech, give the government too much power, and censor the (mostly) free internet.

Because the language in these bills is so vague, protestors say these will give the government the power to shut down websites without an investigation and a fair trial, therefore being able to remove from the internet what they do not want its citizens to have access to. Many believe this would make sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter (in which not ALL user generated content can possibly be controlled) easy targets for being blacklisted from the World Wide Web.

Websites such as Google, Wikipedia, and Reddit (amongst many others) have voiced opposition to the proposed bills. However, companies such as the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America have expressed strong support for the bills.

What could bills like these mean for nonprofits?

Contrary to what some believe, nonprofits would not be immune to the effects of bills like SOPA and PIPA. Under laws such as these, any nonprofit site the government considers to have suspicious looking links could be shutdown without a fair trial.

Furthermore, nonprofits could miss out on donation opportunities as SOPA would block suspicious website DNS servers. DNS servers, in short, translate domain names into IP addresses. Interfering with DNS servers may also make sites more vulnerable to identify theft and cyber attacks.

Are there any alternatives?

A much more sensible solution, the OPEN (Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act) has been backed by sites such as Facebook and Google. The OPEN Act would allow copyright holders to report websites that violate copyright laws to the US International Trade Commission. This would then lead to an investigation seeking to find out whether or not US payment processors and online advertising networks should be forced to cut funding to these reported sites.

An approach such as this is much more logical and tolerable. It puts protecting copyright in the responsibility of the creators and prevents the government from having too much power and shutting down websites without fair trials and investigations

Conclusion

As the United States House Judiciary Committee tries to come up with a better solution to fighting piracy, we can only hope that they come up with something fairer and less invasive. The ongoing fight against copyright infringement is sure to be an interesting one regardless of what decisions are made. What are your thoughts on combating online copyright violation? Are there any alternative solution you would like to see put in place? Thanks for reading and be sure to comment!

sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/sopa-could-affect-nonprofits_n_1211237.html

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

As we’ve preached to many times in this space before, content is king. Creating and sharing new, original content is what makes social networking – well, social. But here’s the thing. You don’t always have to take it upon yourself to do all of the work. You’ve created a community with great members. Tap into that resource. Let’s take a look at several ways to generate content by having your community do some of the leg work.

Guest Blogs

With all of the intelligent people you have in your community, there should be no shortage of options when it comes to looking for guests to post on your blog. Aside from giving you a break from blogging, it will reflect positively in the eyes of your community. When they see that you respect them enough to allow them to use your platform to be an authority on your case, it will go an enormous way in creating brand loyalty among your followers.

Photo Contest

After the successful dinner that everyone is raving about, start a photo sharing contest. With niche markets such as Pinterest and Insagram exploding, it can be a fun way for your community to get exposure to some of the newer social mediums in a fun and slightly competitive manner. You could decide on what prizes would be most suitable for the contest. They could be tangible items, experiences, or even recognition. Then you can take the content that is generated on those sites and spread it across the rest of your marketing channels.

Testimonials

Testimonials are nothing new. Various organizations have been asking for them for a long time. But what is the most common form of receiving a testimonial? In paper form written by a member of the testifying organization. While that is great and still appreciated, it’s a little dated by now. With it being so easy to record videos online now, ask for video testimonials. Followers are more likely to watch the testimonial videos than read them and they’ll also be able to see and hear the enthusiasm that is being shared.

Community Interviews

Maybe you’ve already done the guest blog thing, or maybe no one really feels comfortable developing a post all by themselves. You can guide a post by interviewing several members of your community. The interviews can simply be a platform for members to get to know other members such as a “Highlighted Member” feature. It can be to get their point of view on a given topic. Or it can be to gain feedback on your organization, it’s mission, what is done well, and not so well. The possibilities are endless.

Personal Stories

People love to hear feel good stories: especially when those success stories are a result of actions taken by them. If you have been campaigning for a particular cause for an amount of time and a great result has come out of it, ask the beneficiary to share his/her story. Not only will everyone appreciate seeing all of their hard work pay off, it will motivate to get right back to work on the next great cause.

These are just a few ideas. The possibilities are endless and really can be anything that results in your users generating new content for you. Have you found any other methods to be useful?

By Josh Beemiller, Director of Marketing

Where are my sites?

If you are trying to visit some of your favorite sites on Wednesday, January 18, you might be out of luck. Major sites such as Wikipedia, Major League Gaming, and the sites of the Cheezburger Network will be “blacked out” that day to protest the pending SOPA and PIPA legislation. Many other sites, while not participating in the blackout, are openly voicing their opposition to the bills.

What are SOPA and PIPA?

SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act. It is derived from the earlier bill PIPA, or the PROTECT IP Act. These acts were originally written in order to combat piracy and protect intellectual property.

What’s the big deal?

While these bills sound great in name, they contain language that would essentially let the Government shut down websites if they believe copyrighted material was shared illegally. Still doesn’t sound bad, right? But let’s think of a situation that could very easily happen. Think of all of the videos that are uploaded to YouTube every day, especially television shows, movie clips, and music videos. I’m sure you’ve seen more than a handful that aren’t officially licensed. Under SOPA/PIPA, YouTube itself could be shut down because users are uploading copyrighted material without permission. Now, YouTube should be protected by copyright laws, but because Internet Service Providers are given immunity if they independently block sites with illegal content, YouTube may be at the mercy of every ISP in the country. Now you are starting to see why the entire infrastructure of the internet is in jeopardy.

Where can I learn more?

You can view the official SOPA bill at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-3261 and PIPA at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-968. If you are looking for an explanation of the bill in layman’s terms, I recommend checking out Wikipedia’s entries for both, just not on January 18.

Let us know your feelings on SOPA and PIPA in the comments below!

by Charlie Hullihen, Client Services Manager/Communications Writer

Last November, Google made some monumental updates to its ever-evolving search algorithm. The company claims these changes impact 35% of its web searches. These changes are a part of the colossal search engine’s ongoing mission to make its results fresher in terms breaking news, current events and the latest product reviews.

To put it plainly, a “search algorithm” is used to determine which results show up in a web search and how high or low they will be listed in the ranking.  So, Google’s search algorithm determines the results you see when you use their website to look for something on the World Wide Web.

According to Google, the new changes weigh a user’s search based on whether the site thinks the search best calls for information that is most recent or information that is most popular. For example, a search about cultivating a home garden may continue to yield a frequently-read article that has been on the web for a few years now, while a search regarding an unfolding news story will present the results that have been most recently published.

This means that users no longer need to freshen their searches by including specific dates or keywords that point to the newest content. When somebody searches for something that is currently happening (an award ceremony, an ongoing trial, a football game) Google will automatically assume that you are looking for the most up-to-date information.

So, at this point you’re probably wondering whether or not these updates affect your web presence. And the answer is yes, they do. But there’s no reason to redesign your entire website, become terror-stricken, or lose faith in your organization’s ability to show up in a search result ever again. The best way to remain fresh in Google’s search results is to, well, be fresh.

If you regularly update your website and publish new content, there is no reason to fear these algorithm changes. To stay current, your site should regularly post blogs, promote these blogs and try to work out a way to get more inbound links (hyperlinks on other websites that lead to your website). You can even use this new algorithm to your advantage. You can strengthen your search results by carefully choosing your keywords. To do this, be specific, see what keywords your competitors are using, and monitor your success by regularly checking your site’s analytics.  If a certain keyword is not bringing in users, it might be time to stop using it.

There are sure to be more changes in Google’s search algorithm made throughout 2012, and staying on top of them is definitely a good idea. The decisions they make are guaranteed to have a lasting effect on the way searching the internet is done.

What types of changes would you like to see Google implement? How do you determine what keywords your organization should be using for its web content? Thanks for reading and be sure to comment!

by Charlie Hullihen, Client Services Manager/Communications Writer

It’s no secret that regularly publishing interesting content is one of the best ways to keep clients and patrons active, attentive and aware. It’s also an incredibly effective way of attracting new followers. Unfortunately, coming up with publication ideas can sometimes be difficult. You may even find your organization producing redundant pieces because of the dangerous combination of needing to write something and having nothing to write about; and publishing a piece of writing with nothing to say is as useful as paying for a billboard and leaving it completely blank. It’s going to engage no one.

If your organization encounters this road block, there is no reason to panic. There is an efficient solution to this issue, and it’s surprisingly simple. Putting together an editorial calendar can make regularly publishing interesting content a smooth and manageable process.

An editorial calendar is used to control the publication content of different media such as blogs, newsletters and Facebook pages. It determines when articles are to be published and what topics they are going to cover. You can even go more in depth if you wish by including information such as titles, authors, and priority levels. Your editorial calendar can be filled out in a number of ways, including spreadsheets, Word Documents, or on a good old-fashioned dry erase board. You have a lot of freedom here so do whatever you are most comfortable with.

Once you decided what you want to use to create your calendar, it’s time to start filling it out. A good way to start this process is by considering the holidays. When a holiday is approaching, it’s often a good idea to somehow connect it with your published content. For example, an animal shelter may release a newsletter about giving adopted pets to animal-lovers as Christmas gifts. By coming up with holiday-themed ideas, you’re sure to have at least one concept for every month, which means you’ve already got a great foundation for what your published work schedule is going to look like throughout the rest of the year.

Once you have taken care of all major holidays, you can begin considering important events that can be tied in with your organization’s publication. Some examples include the Super Bowl, the Olympics and National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Of course not all of these (if any) may directly correlate with your organization, but that’s not necessarily a problem. By applying some creativity, building an article around events such as these can be a breeze. Take, for instance, a religious organization. A faith-based group may use the Super Bowl as an opportunity to research and write about athletes of faith and how they apply their beliefs to their lives both on and off the field. Events like these are popular for a reason. People like them, and incorporating them into your written word will help keep the attention of your readers. Professional writing does not always have to be completely serious. Sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to do something laid-back and fun.

Following this step, you can begin narrowing your focus even more by seeking out events that pertain specifically to your organization. Some examples include conferences, product unveilings and conventions. A hospital may want to write about upcoming blood drives while a technology-based organization will want to cover the latest product unveilings from Apple. If you’re having trouble coming up with things, a quick Google search should return a number of important dates for nearly any professional category.

After previous stage, you should have a good majority of the year taken care of. To fill in the remaining gaps, it’s a good idea to get together with some of your staff members and have a brain storming session. See what topics your calendar has not already covered and come up with ways to write about them.

Once you have finished your editorial calendar, there are a few rules you should follow to ensure getting the most out of what this great tool has to offer. It should be determined ahead of time which staff person is going to be assigned to each article. This will prevent any last minute confusion, such as two people unknowingly writing drafts for the same assignment. And, speaking of last minute, to make sure your articles are well written, well researched, and thoroughly proofread, it’s a good idea to write your articles at least one week in advance whenever possible. No one enjoys reading sloppy, inaccurate information; and rushing to get things completed can lead to exactly that. And, finally, be sure to reach the most number of people possible by printing and/or linking to your pieces in all appropriate places such as newsletters, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. After all, you are writing these things for people to read. It would be a real shame and a waste for no one to see them.

There you have it. Creating an editorial calendar really is that simple. Now, will you absolutely always 100% of the time stick to your editorial calendar once it’s finished? Probably not. Unexpected things happen. Sometimes priorities may arise that prevent a certain blog from being written, or a more important topic may emerge that takes the place of what is filled in on the calendar. But, regardless, an editorial calendar is an incredibly useful resource. It will keep your writing relevant, consistent, and punctual, which is very important when it comes to upholding your organization’s reputation. Thanks for reading, be sure to write some comments and keep checking back for more blogs!

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

Here we are again at the beginning of the year. It’s time to start discussing with your organization what your social media strategy is for the upcoming year. Every decision you make as it relates to your strategy must have a calculated purpose. To help make the planning a little easier, check out this list of social content necessities that will keep you in good G.R.A.C.E.S. with your audience.

Goals

Like any initiative you are taking on, you must have clearly defined goals. First, let me define what your primary goal is NOT. You’re primary goal is NOT to drive sales or raise more money. That is secondary. The most important goal of any social media plan is to become the go-to, trusted, authority on a given topic. It is very simple, get people to trust you and two things will happen. First, people that trust you and your brand will become your most avid spokespeople. That will result in bringing more people to you. Second, those same people will be most likely to come to you first whenever they have a need.

Reinforce

A consistent message is of the utmost importance when implementing a strategy. There can not be any questions in your audience’s mind when you engage with them. They must know exactly who you are and what you are about. Inconsistent messages will lead to doubt in the minds of those who you are trying to gain trust. Constantly reinforcing your message and mission will show you are confident in what you do and will erase any questions that may otherwise be asked.

Action

Not all of the work is on you. If you are doing your job right your audience will find it necessary to do their part. However, at times they need to be reminded of their duties. Make sure there is always a call to action. Those outside of your organization need to know to spread the word about the event coming up next month. They need to know that, given that most of your work gets done with the help of volunteers, volunteers are always needed. Don’t be shy about letting others know about your needs and what is desired of them.

Create

Create great content. While there is nothing wrong with sharing the content of others from time to time, no one will ever take you seriously if you can’t generate your own, original content. It doesn’t even have to be that elaborate. Just make sure that you are keeping people current on what is going on with your organization, mission, and industry. It all goes back to the need to become an authority and authoritative figures create original content.

Empower

By sharing responsibility with those outside of your organization, they have a vested interested to see that you are successful. Allow them to relate to your organization on a personal level so that they feel compelled to have to share what you are all about. If there is no emotional attachment, there is a significant chance that they will not feel empowered to spread the word about who your organization and why it should be important to others.

Share

This is one of the most important aspects of a social media strategy. After all, this is social media. Set a defined plan for what types of social media outlets you are going to utilize. Once you know what tools you are using, make sure that you are active on them. Nothing is worse than a lazy social media initiative. Showing people that you’re only half engaged can be worse than being not engaged. In addition, share other relevant content. While you may be the leading expert in your field, you’re not the only expert. Realize that and share the perspectives of others.

Those are six key components to keep you in the good G.R.A.C.E.S. of your audience. What would you add?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

What a year it was!  You had a banner fundraising year and you want to pick up right where you left off.  Don’t let the dullness of January make you lose that momentum.  While most people are hesitant to get out there check books in the beginning of the year (especially those you squeezed the last few pennies out of before the holidays), this is a great time for two things: giving thanks and building on any newly developed relationships.

Give Thanks

All of those people that gave so graciously to your organization over the past year want to know how much you appreciate it, so be sure to tell them.  Since January is typically a slow month for all with everyone winding down after a busy December, this is an excellent time to share your gratitude.  Here are a few ways to reach out:

• Send them a personal thank you from a beneficiary of your gift.  If your organization is supporting children in need, request that they write thank-you letters showing how much the donation meant to them.
• Show them exactly what their funds were used for.  If you were raising money for a new addition for your organization show them the progress with pictures of the project.
• Create special features on your website, Facebook page, Twitter accounts, etc highlighting various donors.  They will love the individualized attention.

However you decide to thank them, make sure it is personalized.  Don’t send a form-letter that looks generic.  You want your donors to feel as though you are speaking to them as individuals, not a collective group.

Build on relationships

If you were as busy as you should have been over the past year and particularly in December, chances are that you attracted a few new members.  Take the time to reach out to them and make them realize that their participation did not go unnoticed.  Invite them to lunch.  Have them as special guests at your next event.  The individualized attention will give them a sense of belonging and will let them know how much their gifts mean to you.  Your goal is to create a personal relationship with each of your donors so make sure you start off on the right foot with new ones and make sure they know how special each and every member is to your organization.

January is a slow and uneventful month for a lot of people.  Make sure that you utilize this lull appropriately to ensure that you don’t lose any momentum that you gained over the past year.  Taking the time to thank your donors personally and invest your time with them will pay off throughout the year as you begin to pick up fundraising again.

What are some ways you utilize your time during slow periods?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

As we wind down 2011, it is a good time to look ahead to some of the things that we can expect to see next year in 2012.  With changes and improvements occurring more often than we’ve ever seen before, 2012 should be an exciting year.

1. Equalization of Twitter and LinkedIn

Aside from MySpace’s fairly short-lived reign, Facebook has been the dominant player in social-networking for a long time.  As more and more people begin to understand the importance of social networking that, by default, will help the other networks grow.  Twitter and LinkedIn both have seen significant growth in the past year and I suspect that will continue to happen through 2012.  Both have niches that Facebook has not yet been able to effectively tap into.  Twitter is continuing to emerge as the microblogging leader and LinkedIn is the go-to for working (and non-working for that matter) professionals.

2. Google+ may not only survive, but thrive.

I’m still very skeptical of this platform and I have already declared its death in this space before.  I wasn’t sure that I was even going to include it in my list.  I still feel that it doesn’t provide any real added value from the already existing platforms.  However, I can’t ignore the data.  Google+ is continuing to quietly attract new members at a very quick rate.  It has now reached over 65 million users and has not even been live for a year.

3. Location-based services.

I believe that this is the area that will see most significant improvement in 2012.  As marketers, business owners, etc. continue to tinker with services such as Foursquare, they will play a more prominent role in their lives.  Mobile internet is continuing to change from commodity to necessity which will make it easy for this industry to thrive.  It’s the best way to date to take online activity and social interaction and convert it into a real transaction or customer experience within your store/organization.  Also, the reach that each user has is significant.  Friends are friends because they have similar interests.  If people see a friend continuing to check-in at your food drive, they will take note and look into attending as well.  Allowing organizations to tap into the networks of its followers will be key moving ahead in 2012.

4. The power of influence.

With so many blogs and media outlets and resources on the web it’s becoming very difficult to separate the real from the real fake.  Anyone can have a professional-looking website or blog these days and those same people can claim to be experts on any given topic.  They may or may  not be, but the truth of the matter is that we really don’t know.  With the immersion of sites such as Klout, we can begin to separate those who really know what they’re talking about from those who have no idea.  For those that have not yet been introduced to a site such as Klout, it is a service that gives you a score, based on several indicators including the size of your network, how often your content is share or commented on, those that are in your network, etc.  The system is far from perfect, but is absolutely a step in the right direction.  Look for this to emerge over the next year.

5. Facebook stunts its own growth.

Of all of the predictions, this is probably least likely to happen, however I have been suspecting this for the past couple of months and would feel that I cheated you if I didn’t mention it.  First, here is a brief explanation as to why this may appear to happen.  Facebook has already tapped into a very significant amount of the internet’s population and seeing that it is still banned in one of the world’s largest countries, it has little room to grow.  Facebook’s growth, if any, will most likely begin to come from a much younger population – an age that is growing into the internet.  From those that are now becoming of age that their parents are permitting them to create a Facebook account for example.  However, this is why I feel Facebook has the potential to lose popularity unless something is done quickly.  It’s becoming too difficult to use!  It’s that simple.  If we have learned anything from Steve Jobs and Apple over the past decade or so it’s that if you want to create a product that appeals to the masses, you must create something that the least intelligent person in the room can operate.  Look how easy it is to use any of Apple’s products – most of which only really have ONE button.  They’re simple. With each new version that Facebook launches, it is becoming more difficult than they previous one.  You can now actually Facebook while you Facebook via the Facebook ticker in your upper right corner.  It is becoming increasingly difficult to control your privacy.  I spent almost an hour a few days ago trying to figure out how to hide some of my information and I like to think that I’m pretty knowledgeable in social media applications.  If Facebook doesn’t begin to make its product simpler to use, people will become impatient with it and ultimately leave.

These are five things that I believe will become hot-button issues as we move into 2012.  Are there any that you agree or disagree with?  What else do you see changing this year?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

At some point in time we, as humans, began recognizing these arbitrary numbers as important “milestones”.  As with nearly everything else, that has spilled over into online communities.  I see Tweets all the time that say “Be our 1,000th follower!” or status updates that say “Almost to 10,000 Likes!  Who’s next?”  Here’s my question; Does it matter?  What changes over those last few members that put you past that milestone?  Anything?  Who cares if you get that coveted 100,000th follower?  There is no award or cash prize.  You are not in any special club or have gained any more respect.  It’s irrelevant and is only self-serving!

Now that I’ve got you completely against milestones, understand that they can be great tools if used correctly.  Instead of celebrating your 1,000th follower, celebrate your 1,000th hour of serving your mission.  Instead of celebrating 500 members, celebrate 500 families fed.  Let’s look at a few ways to make milestones useful:

1. Have a big event.  Let’s assume your organization provides meals to those less fortunate.  You’ve been doing pretty well and realize that you are on the verge of serving your 1,000th family.  Now that is a milestone to celebrate!  It would be an amazing opportunity to have a large fundraiser to serve that 1,000th family.  You could invite all of the families that you have helped over time so that they can partake in the celebration.  Invite people throughout the community so that they can see what amazing service you are providing.  While yes, one could argue that this may be self-serving; it is certainly done with the right intentions.
2. Have a match.  You have been raising money for the homeless all year and you’re so close to $1 million – a milestone that you have never reached before.  With a month left in the year, you’re just a little over $75,000 away.  It’s crunch time, so pull out the stops.  Contact local businesses that you feel would support your cause and would match any donation generated for the next month.  You would not only generate interest within your own community but would tap into the following of the local businesses who may be unfamiliar with your work.
3. Everyone loves a contest.  Sticking with the fundraising theme, let’s say you’re half way through the year and you decide you want to make a run at a banner year.  You want to crack that $1 million mark for the first time. (I know I just used $1 million but it’s a good milestone.)  Separate your team into groups and divide the appropriate amount of funds evenly among them.  Provide them with a reward that you know they will be motivated by and then stand back and watch them compete with each other.  Wait until you see the creativity that comes out of your team as they try and gain the upper hand on their counterparts.

The idea behind all of this is that celebrating the right milestones is a great thing.  No one cares about your 10,000th member but people will pay attention when you say you just helped you 10,000th person in need.  How have you been able to effectively celebrate milestones?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

Hard to believe we are sitting here in December again.  The year is winding down and there is little left to do other than attend a few Christmas parties, right?  WRONG!  December is as good of a time as any to finish your fundraising strong for the remainder of the year.  Most people are in the giving mood this time of year and this is an excellent opportunity to solicit those last minute donations.  Let’s look at a few ideas:

Christmas Party

Everybody loves a good party and their spirits and good-will are typically very high at this time of year.  Have an open invitation for the members/donors of your organization to join you in celebrating the holidays together.  While at the event allow as many opportunities to give as possible.  Raise awareness of your cause by showing what you have been able to do over the year and what you plan on doing in the near future.  If potential donors are able to actually see what you plan on doing, they are more likely to give.

Reach out to existing donor base

It happens every year that for one reason or another, some people just haven’t gotten around to being able to donate this year.  Reach out to those individuals with a friendly reminder of how important their donation is to your organization.  Sometimes that’s all they need.  As I mentioned above, remind everyone what their donation is needed for and the visualization will help prompt the action on their part.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is something.  It is too easy to fall into the trap of shutting down for the remainder of the year and waiting to pick up after the first.  Do you have any big plans for December or are you content on starting over next year?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

It is true.  Our attention spans are diminishing.  We can largely thank social media sites like Facebook and Twitter that have required us to condense our thoughts into 420 and 140 characters or less respectively.  If you couple that with the fact that people’s time is more divided now than ever before, you’ll come to the realization that you need to start presenting information in a different way.    The infographic is the perfect solution.

Nothing has changed.  You still need to communicate your message, mission, strategy, needs, etc. but you need to do it more effectively and in a shorter amount of time than ever.  Check out these infographics.  Like any good inforgraphic, they do a great job at taking otherwise dull and, at times, wordy information and turns it into a visually appealing graphic that is much less painful to interpret.  In their simplest form, they are pie charts and graphs.  But with a little creativity they turn into a wealth of information that capture the attention of it’s readers.

Additionally, infographics are easy to share.  It is more reasonable to expect that someone would share a graphic than a long, wordy document.  Of course that’s assuming the reader would even make it through the wordy document.

Let’s quickly look at a few tools that can assist you in your creation of infographics.

Hohli 

Hohli is a tool that enables you to input your data and create a customizable ven diagram.  Ven diagrams are often used as the foundation for good infographics.

Wordle 

Wordle is a great tool that can take the most commonly used words on any website (or choose from a list of your own) and turns them into powerful graphics.

Visual.ly 

Visual.ly is a brand new tool that builds inforgraphics from start to finish.  It takes the technical side out of preparing the inforgraphics and enables less experienced people to develop them.  It is still currently in beta stage so to get an invite to try it out, visit their website.

Again, the infographic is one of the hottest new tools to add to your arsenal.  Have you been able to successfully use them yet?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

This whole social media thing is tough and can be very intimidating to those lacking experience.  Chances are that with the limited resources most organizations have now, most organizations split the social media responsibilities with whoever has the most “free time” on their hands.  That doesn’t usually mean that the most appropriate people are given that responsibility.  In order to provide a little assistance to the less-experienced, let’s look at a few tools that will make everything a little easier.

1. Addictomatic

This awesome tool allows you to type any topic such as the name of your non-profit organization.  It returns a list of numerous mentions from various sources around the web.  You can see who is talking about you and what channels they are using.

2. BlogPulse

BlogPulse is a search engine for blogs.  You can track what topics are trending on which blogs in real time.  This is a great way to gain an understanding about exactly what your audience is talking about so that you can add your take. 

3. CheckFacebook

CheckFacebook provides an excellent insight to the user demographic on Facebook.  You can see age, gender, location and much more of those that are currently on Facebook.  As we’ve talked about before, unless you understand what demographic you’re actually talking to, it is difficult to market effectively.

4. Qwiki

Qwiki is another search engine.  The awesome thing about it and how it sets itself apart is that it returns your searched topic in a pictorial slideshow and audio format.  Of course, you can link the results of your pages to Facebook and Twitter for your followers to view.

5. HootSuite

Instead of constantly switching from site to site to make the same updates, you can do it from one, easy-to-use interface.  Post to multiple accounts such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FourSquare, etc all from one website.  HootSuite accommodates location-based updates, file attachments, and allows you to schedule your updates throughout the day.

There are literally hundreds of useful tools out there that will make your social media endeavors more manageable.  These are simply a few of them.  What tools have you found to be useful?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

It doesn’t matter what relationship you are trying to develop, first impressions are crucial.  Whether you are trying to catch the eye of that girl across the room or meeting someone for the first time in an interview, you want the interaction to be as favorable  as possible.  It’s no different online.  When people interact with you or your site for the first time, you want to offer a superior experience that will leave them wanting to return again and again.  So what does that positive first impression look like?  Let’s look at a few suggestions.

Make your site visually appealing.  Let’s be honest, one of the things that draws us to one another is a certain amount of attractiveness.  If your site is not visually appealing then people will not stay there long.  We have all been to sites that looked like they were straight out of the late 90s.  How long did you stay?  Probably not long.  The content was all static.  The images look like something you made in your junior year technology class.  The bottom line is that if the site is unappealing to the visitor, they aren’t going to stay.

Give them something to do.  Pictures, chats, links – anything that’s interactive.  It’s no longer acceptable to simply have a site with content but now you have to be able to entertain your visitors as well.  We live in a society that has a very short attention span and if you’re not entertaining those that are visiting your site they will go somewhere else to satisfy their needs.

Talk to them.  Much like meeting people in real-life, you must be able to converse with them.  Visitors will want to visit your site and read your content, but they also want the ability to respond to it.  This is great, because that’s what your ultimate goal is!  In order for that to continue, you must be sure to respond back to them.

What are some things that really turn you off from a website?

by Luke Sackandy, Social Media Systems Analyst

Quality over quantity.  It’s such an old and often over-looked cliche, but rings so true when it comes to soliciting volunteers.  When I worked in the staffing industry, there were few things I disliked more than filling the same position multiple times.  As I gained more experience, I became better at placing workers.  The following is a list of things I found useful and believe will lend themselves well in recruiting volunteers.

Get to know your people

Don’t just put someone in a role simply because that’s where you have a need.  Get to know them.  Further digging may uncover that the given role may be a terrible fit for them.  Setting someone up for failure will create much frustration and ultimately lead to their departure.  Learn their strengths so that you can properly utilize them and if you need to move some people around, then so be it.  After all, everyone is working for the benefit of the cause not themselves.  If you’ve got the right people, they will understand that and be more than adaptable.

Be a headhunter

Don’t be shy about going out and getting who it is you think you need.  If you find someone you think would be a tremendous asset to your organization, go get them!  It will impress the individual that you think enough of them to approach them for a specific opportunity rather than waiting for them to approach you and giving them whatever is left over.

Be where your volunteers are

If you’re going to find suitable volunteers, you need to be where they are.  What I mean is; while you’re friends are great people, they may not necessarily serve as the best volunteers for your organization if they don’t share your passion.  Go to where those people who share your passion and vision are.

Make it fun

When you are asking people to give up your time for little or, often, nothing in return you have to make it an enjoyable experience for them.  Make it seem less of a job and more of a hobby so that it is something that they can find comfort in and not stress.

What strategies have you used to solicit volunteers?