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Introduction to Online FundraisingMarch 25, 2008The Foundation CenterSan Francisco, CARobert WeinerRobert L. Weiner Consultingrobert@rlweiner.comwww.rlweiner.com
My Agenda Getting Started with Online Fundraising–––––Why Bother?Online DonationsEmail MarketingBuilding Your ListBest Practices Resources Q&AIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner1
Why Bother with Online Fundraising? Reason #1:– Internet use continues to grow. The adoption rate for adults55 years and older grew by 20% last year.Use the 6465 92%857237Household incomeLess than 30,000/yr 30,000 49,999 50,000 74,99961%7890 75,000 93Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project, January, 2007www.pewinternet.org/trends/User Demo 2.15.08.htmIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner2EducationalattainmentLess thanHighSchoolHighSchoolSomeCollegeCollege 38%678493
Why Bother? Reason # 2Target Analysis client benchmarking study: Median cumulative growth in onlinedonors has been 101% over the past three years, compared to 6% growth fornon-online donors.Source: Target Analysis Group: 2006 Online Givingwww.targetanalysis.comIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner3
Why Bother? Reason #3Convio client benchmarking study: Organizations with smaller online house filesexperienced faster growth than organizations with larger files.Total Housefile Growth by Email File SizeMedian % Change 1H 2005-1H .55%50.64%40.00%20.00%0.00%Overall Index 50K50-75K75-100KSource: Convio Online Marketing (eCRM) Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study:www.convio.com/onlinebenchmarks2Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner4100K
Why Bother? Reason #4Target study: 2006 median average online gift was 57, compared to 33average gift to all other sources. 2006 median revenue per donor was 114 foronline donors and 82 for non-online donors.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner5
What Does It Take To Raise Online? Technology to receive giftsTechnology to send appealsA mailing listGetting your messages delivered and readA compelling message– We won’t cover that today – But there will be resources for self-improvement.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner6
Online Donations: Do It Yourself Technical Issues: Integration withyour web site &design. Donations pagedesign. Secure web server. Payment gatewayor credit cardterminal.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner Merchant account. Secure connectionto bank. Receipting. Gift designationoptions. Recurring gifts.7
Do It Yourself : Pros and ConsPros: Complete control overdesign, text, donoroptions, and security. Can be inexpensive,especially if youalready have apayment gateway anda web designer.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert WeinerCons: Need to build, design, andmanage the systems. Must keep up with security. Need own merchant account. Usually not fully automated: Can’t charge credit card inreal time. Can’t take donations at 11:55pm on 12/31.8
Online Donations: Pay Someone Optionally, use their secure server.In that case it’s also their donations page.They charge the credit card.They email the receipt.They’ll send you a file that you might beable to import into your donor database.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner9
Pay Someone: Pros and ConsPros: Vendor providesserver, security. Manyprovide merchantaccount. Quick and easy. Most are designed forfundraising. Fully automated(though entry indatabase is usuallymanual or upload).Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert WeinerCons: Setup cost. May have monthly chargeeven if you don’t get any . Might not have control overdesign, text, and receipt. Credit card might listvendor’s name, not yours. Could be a delay in getting . If volume is high, could becheaper to do it yourself.10
Vendor Comparison: IdealwareIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner11
Vendor Comparison: Affinity ResourcesIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner12
Email: Do It Yourself (Outlook, etc.)Pros: You already ownit. It’s cheap.Cons: Limit on number ofmessages that can besent. Have to use BCC line? Risk being ID’d as aspammer. Have to deal with bounces& opt-outs manually. Too easy to hit Send. Can you send HTML?Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner13
Email Option 2: Use a VendorPros: Design tools. Can handle highvolumes. Automaticunsubscribes,bounce handling. Many vendors arewhitelisted bymajor ISPs.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert WeinerCons: Time required toresearch and test. Cost. Many vendors require100% opt-in lists.14
Email Marketing VendorsSample Vendors:Yahoo Groups, Google Groups, Topica Lists - freeplain text, designed for discussions, some have ads.Groundspring.org - 29.95/mo. 10,000 msgs.Topica Publisher - 49.95/month 5,000 msgs.Constant Contact - 112/month for 10,000msgs.Vertical Response - .015 to .0075 per 1,000msgs. 10K msgs. 120.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner15
Are Your Email Appeals Working?Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner16
Another Example of TrackingAppealUndergraduate AF SolicitationLaw AF SolicitationMedical AF SolicitationClass of 1999 AF SolicitationClass of 1997 AF SolicitationClass of 1993 AF SolicitationClass of 1995 AF SolicitationIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert WeinerNet Sent11758884719981068931864603# of 5689.72
Building Your List: Do It Yourself Signups on your website. Ask for email in allcommunications. Collect emailaddresses at events.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner18
Building Your List: Do It Yourself Online surveys,polls, andpetitions. Contests. Offer specialalerts,discounts andlast-minutedeals.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner19
Building Your List: Pay SomeoneList Brokers Yields and quality tend to be low. Not opt-out. Risk being seen as aspammer by recipients. Risk being blocked as a spammer by ISPs,Blackholes. One-time contact. Invite recipients to joinyour list — don’t just add them.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner20
Building Your List: Get HelpIntroductions From Like-MindedGroups or List Chaperones Minimal risk of being seen as a spammerby recipients. No risk that you will be blacklisted by ISPs— you’re not sending the message. Best chance that recipients will read themessage. One-time contact, unless you’re paying achaperone.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner21
Viral Marketing : The Holy troduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner22
Building Your List: What WorksOriginal chart courtesy of CARE2.comHighQuality10Collecting Opt-inson your site9Viral CampaignsFlash MovieList Swaps8Chaperoned listsGuerilla Marketing76Canvassing5Name Acquisitionfrom GeneralCommunityBanner Ads,AdWords, etc.43LowQualityList AppendList Brokers2112345678910Slow GrowthRapid Growth( 1k/month)( 8k/month)Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner23
Privacy Policies Develop and post a privacy policy.Customer Respect ame research bp privacypays.htmIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner24
Privacy Policies (2) DMA Privacy Policy Generatorwww.the-dma.org/privacy/creating.shtml Bottom line: make sure your audiencewants to hear from you.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner25
You Got Em — Now Keep Em First contact should not be arequest for money. Expect to spend severalmonths to a year building arelationship. Work on informing, engaging,and involving new constituents.Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner26
The Email Must Go Through Spam Filters Use a consistent and/or easilyrecognizable sender name. Ask recipients to “whitelist” you. Mention your org. in the subject. Test messages against spam ttp://spamcheck.sitesell.com/, www.spamassassin.org& major ISPs (AOL, EarthLink, etc.)Introduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner27
Spam Filters (2) Deal with “bounced” addresses. Avoid spam “trigger words”www.wilsonweb.com/wmt8/spamfilter phrases.htm Use a service that’s whitelisted with ISPs. Use opt-in lists. Always include an unsubscribe option. Comply with age5264.cfmIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner28
Think of the Reader Madeline Stanionis:– Be relevant– Tell a story Be brief“If I'd had more time I would have written ashorter letter.” — Mark TwainIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner29
ResourcesTechnical Stuff:Affinity Resources: Comparison of Online Donation .shtmlAlder Consulting: Accepting Credit Cards Online on Idealware: Selecting an Online Donation ve Advertising Bureau: Guide to Email /Whitepapers/IABEmailDeliverabilityWhitePaper Final.pdfTechSoup: Online Donations: Sorting Out the 208.cfmWeiner, Robert: Online Donations Checklistwww.rlweiner.com/clf/online donations checklist.pdfIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner30
More ResourcesStrategy:eROI: Designing and Coding HTML Emails - What Workswww.eroi.com/resources/emailDesign codingBestPractices.pdfFundraising 123 Case studies and tips:www.fundraising123.orgDonorDigital Case Study of /e-newsletters/dec02.htmlMadeline Stanionis, The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide toRaising Thousands (if Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars withEmail:http://www.emersonandchurch.com/direct response.html#thousandsMadeline Stanionis riting speaking/speakingMore online fundraising and email marketing resources are at:www.rlweiner.com/resources.htmlIntroduction to Online FundraisingRobert Weiner31
Introduction to Online Fundraising Robert Weiner 2 Why Bother with Online Fundraising? Reason #1: - Internet use continues to grow. The adoption rate for adults
