DonorDreams – Page 11 – The Healthy Non-Profit

Introducing “O.D. Fridays: Non-profit Style”

March 2, 2012 DonorDreams organizational development

One of my dear friends recently joined the blogosphere. His name is John Greco, and he is an organizational development professional. His blog — “johnponders~ about life at work” — deals with issues like change, leadership, organizational structure, culture, and communication. Needless to say, I subscribed right away because I can listen to John talk about these things all day long. But then it struck me! Non-profit organizations deal with these issues every single day.

So, an idea was born. Every Friday for the foreseeable future, I will pick one of my favorite blog posts from johnponders~ about life at work and extrapolate on it from a non-profit perspective over here at DonorDreams blog. Thus, we should all now refer to Fridays as “O.D. Fridays”. 😉

Today, I want to talk about one of John’s posts titled: “The High Wire Act of Organizational Change“. When reading it, I found myself thinking about all the planning processes I’ve been a part of throughout the years (e.g. strategic planning, resource development planning, annual campaign planning, board development planning, succession planning, etc).

In my opinion, the common denominator to ALL planning processes is “CHANGE,” which many people seem to be allergic to undertaking. I wonder if it genetic or biological . . . hmmmm?

With so many non-profit organizations always stretching resources, it seems like many agencies are constantly trying to undertake some kind of change initiative (e.g. adding a program because of a grant, bringing on new board members, etc).

Whenever I’ve participated in planning processes, I’ve noted exactly what John references in his post. There is a dynamic tension between “preserving order” and “striving for change”. It is those non-profit professionals who can walk this fine line that always seem to be successful. When I think about what I see those successful individuals doing, they always seem to be operating with a plan on how to conduct a planning process. With this in mind, I’ve decided to share with you the “Six-Stage Process for Leading Change” that I once learned about at a Linkage training (source: predicated on the work of John Kotter and the works of Kouzes and Posner, Bennis, and Sayles):

Make the case for change
Enlist stakeholders to develop a vision and strategy
Communicate the vision and strategy
Remove barriers
Set milestones and acknowledge progress
Reinforce change

When you start a planning process at your agency, do you do so with a plan? To John’s point, how do you try to “preserve order amid change” AND “preserve change amid order”??? Please scroll down and use the comment section to share your thoughts, experiences and questions.

Oh yeah, by the way . . . if you have room in your inbox or RSS feed for one more blog, I strongly encourage you to flip over and subscribe to johnponders~ about life at work. I promise that you won’t be disappointed (and he doesn’t bite). 😉

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

And the Oscar goes to . . . Take Three

March 1, 2012 DonorDreams Uncategorized

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve had to endure listening to someone rant about how dysfunctional non-profit organizations are compared to their for-profit counterparts, then I’d be a very rich man. Sure there are countless non-profits out there who struggle to survive. They stretch their resources so thin that it is a miracle whenever they achieve their program outcomes or community impact. However, this isn’t ways the case. In fact, there are very large non-profit organizations that no one really recognizes as “non-profit,” and they even do some very big and amazing things.

Nearly 40 million people witnessed one such example last Sunday night when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences produced a little known show that is informally known worldwide as “The Oscars”. That’s right . . . <gasp> that major production was put on by a “non-profit organization”.

So, as it typically does, my curiosity got the best of me and I found myself on Guidestar.org looking up the Academy’s 990 tax return for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. I thought I’d share a few interesting observations with you from my nosing around:

The organization’s total revenue according to its last tax return was $86,847,054 with expenses of $67,324,191.
Interestingly, they don’t have any traditional resource development program in place. Of course, it is the $81,344,127 they generate from their world-famous television show that brings in the bulk of their revenue. I was disappointed that I didn’t find a clever little special event fundraiser idea or a new twist on an annual campaign, but I guess I’m not surprised.
I was guessing that their board of directors would’ve been full of famous movie stars with deep pockets. While I wasn’t surprised to find Tom Hanks listed as First Vice President or Annette Bening and Henry Winkler listed as Governors, the list didn’t sparkle and struck me more as a group of earnest professionals from every walk of Hollywood.

For me, the act of looking up the Academy’s 990s helped me draw two conclusions:

I bet there are very functional (and sometimes large) non-profit organizations that we interact with on a daily basis. I wonder how many benchmarking opportunities exist out there?
I keep forgetting how wonderful Guidestar.org really is. I know that the 990 tax returns provide too little information, but even a little bit of transparency can feel refreshing.

What other large non-profit organizations have you seen that deserve spotlighting? Have you ever contacted another non-profit (or even a for-profit) and engaged in a benchmarking project designed to help your agency improve and reach for the stars? If so, let us know how that turned out for you. Finally, how do you find yourself using Guidestar (e.g. finding similar agencies for benchmarking purposes, compensation survey review, etc)?

Please scroll down and share some of your questions, thoughts or observations in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

And the Oscar goes to . . . Take Two

February 29, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, technology

Yesterday, we talked about how donors are like a Hollywood movie and act as a mirror for your non-profit organization (e.g. reflecting what you’re about, who supports you, what messages resonate and which ones don’t, etc). If didn’t get a chance to read that post, click here and check it out. Today, I want to extend this conversation and talk about the power of testimonials and using video to capture them.

If you watched the Academy Awards on Sunday, then you may have noticed the myriad of “testimonials” sprinkled through out the television production. There were short little snippets showing Brad Pitt or George Clooney or Angelina Jolie or Sandra Bullock, and they were talking about their love of making movies. While watching those testimonials, here were some of the things I noticed:

Their words seemed “powerful” and captured my attention. They caused me to reflect upon why I love movies.
There was a sense of honesty in their words. It felt like they were bearing their souls.
I felt a connection to that person. It was almost an intimate conversation you have with a friend or family member.

That was my experience . . . I’m not sure if you felt the same thing. Did you feel it or was I drinking too much wine?

This experience got me thinking . . . why can’t non-profit organizations do the same thing? Interview donors on video. Ask them to recount the first time they were asked to donate to your organization? Why did they do it? Why do they continue doing it? What about your mission inspires them?

Sure, I can hear many of you already mumbling about costs and time, but does this need to be something really expensive or time-consuming? I own a flip camera and tripod. Microsoft MovieMaker isn’t that hard to use. Hasn’t technology come far enough where almost anyone can produce something like this without it looking like a train wreck? I think so. Don’t believe me? Then go spend a little time on YouTube. Sure, some of it is crap, but some of it isn’t all that bad either.

As I contemplated all of these thoughts yesterday, the most amazing thing happened. It was almost like the blogosphere gods were listening to my thoughts because one of my favorite bloggers — Jeff Brooks at Future Fundraising Now — posted his blog titled “How to make nonprofit videos that people share” and it landed in my email inbox. WOW!

Jeff shares 10 tips on how non-profits can produce great videos. I urge you to read Jeff’s post, and then circle back here to DonorDreams blog and share your thoughts and experiences using the comment box below. Has your agency done a similar project? What were the results? Were the time and money obstacles too high to overcome? What are the obstacles keeping you from doing something like this? Please remember that we can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

And the Oscar goes to . . .

February 28, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

On Sunday night, I found myself at an Oscar party with some of my favorite local non-profit mavens. There was great food, great wine, and great company. I’m thrilled to report that I won the “voting contest” and walked away from the party with some very nice parting gifts. However, more so than anything else, I came away from Sunday with an epiphany about Hollywood and philanthropy.

This epiphany started with the realization that most of the films nominated for Best Picture were set in the past and a celebration of “where we’ve been” rather than future focused and a look at “where we’re going”. I thought . . . “Hmmmm, the film industry is like a mirror and reflects the mood and values of our society.”

At this point, I started wondering about what Hollywood has captured in past years on the big screen about non-profits, charitable giving, donors, and philanthropy. So, I of course Googled it and surprisingly found very little on the subject until I used the following search words: “movies about giving back”. Ah ha . . . eureka! As you can imagine, there are a number of movies that are either themed or have threads of “giving back” as part of their plot.

In April 2011, FilmBuff blog shared what they thought were the top five films about “giving back”:

Pay It Forward
It’s a Wonderful Life
Milk
Young Mr. Lincoln
Exit Through The Gift Shop

My very next thought took me back to the final scene in It’s a Wonderful Life, when George Bailey is in his living room surrounded by all of his friends and neighbors and they are supporting him and “giving back”. It made me think that movies aren’t just mirrors, but so are the people who surrounded us . . . and . . . for non-profit organizations those people are our donors.

This thought smacked me upside the head and the following questions rushed forwarded:

What do your donors look like? Are they men or women? Are they white-collar or blue-collar? Are they old or young?
What are those donors telling you? Are they saying that you solicit them too often or not enough? Are they asking lots of questions about what you do with their dollars?
How often do your donors stick around? Have they been giving to your agency for a long time or do many of them just give to you once?
What would your community look like if your non-profit organization had never been born?

The reality of the situation for many philanthropy driven non-profit organizations is that donors represent the real life motion picture films unfolding all around us. So, without the benefit of filming those interactions, how does your agency capture those pictures? Is your donor database like a video camera? Do you use tools like interviews, focus groups and surveys much like film directors use scripts, storyboards, and dress rehearsals?

If you are “recording” all of these things, then what are you doing with the information? Are you folding it into your resource development planning process? Are you using it to adjust your strategies and tactics? Are you using it to engage others around your mission? Are you monitoring and tracking your results? If so, what have been your results?

Lots of questions today! Do you have some of the answers? If so, please scroll down and share them by using the comment box.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to ask . . . What is your favorite movie of all times that deals with non-profits, charitable giving, donors, philanthropy or giving back?

Here’s to your health!

How to Use Social Media to Plan and Promote Special Events

February 27, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa

This past week, Erik dedicated his posts to discussing unique special events. In this, “Mondays with Marissa” post, I thought I’d continue the subject to explore some social media tools that you can use when planning and executing your upcoming event.

Google Docs

Collaborating with co-workers and volunteers is a huge part of planning an event. Google Docs makes collaboration easier. By using Google’s free suite of products teams can collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms. An entire team of people can be working on the same document at the same time.

Facebook

You can’t deny it, Facebook is what most people think of when they hear the words “social media”. So, how can you use it to your advantage when it comes to event planning?

Invite people – Create a public event and invite everyone that has “liked” your page. Not only will this give people the logistics of when and where the event will be held, but this Facebook function includes a “wall” where people can post updates. This allows you to create a dialog and converse with donors. It also empowers supporters to invite other people to attend the event with them.

Share photos – In the days preceding the event, post photos of decorations, raffle prizes or any other items you think would entice people to join you at the event. Furthermore, you can also encourage attendees to take photos during the event and tag your agency in the post.

Update your status – This seems like simple advice, but Facebook is only a powerful social networking tool if you use it. Don’t forget to let people know what’s going on and consistently update the status on your page.

Twitter

Twitter is a great way to get the news out quickly. Here’s a simple tip to make twitter a tool for your event:

Create a hashtag – A hashtag is found at the end of a tweet and is a phrase with a pound sign at the front of it. Why is this important? Hashtags make searching Twitter easier. (Maybe you’ve seen Jimmy Fallon play the hashtag game?) Creating a hashtag is as simple as typing, nothing special needs to happen. Twitter will just highlight the hashtag and link all tweets that contain it. By creating a hashtag for your event, you can easily see what people are saying about it. Also, if you get enough people to tweet with your hashtag, it may become a “trending topic” and show up on the twitter homepage.

Here is a thought . . . post different mission-focused factoids around the room and ask participants to “tweet” the fact (using the hastag, of course) every time they find one. The person who ends up tweeting the most number of agency facts receives a special recognition at the end of your event program.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a “check-in” based social network where users can earn points and badges by checking-in to different places. Here are some tips on how to use Foursquare for your event.

Create your own venue – create a venue within Foursquare for the site of the event. This will allow Foursquare users to check-in. Make sure you also claim ownership of the venue as well.

Leave a tip – Part of the fun of Foursquare is finding out what people are saying about places. You can leave tips for attendees such as “Check-out the wine tasting package in the silent auction . . . such a value!”

Create a badge – Foursquare users LOVE badges. You can create you own badge that people can earn just by checking in. The badge can even have your logo on it and be tailored to the event.

Specials – Business owners are allowed to create specials that give Foursquare users extra perks while checked in. Here are two ideas that could become another revenue stream for your event:

secure a sponsor that will make a donation every time a donor “checks in”.
give your supporters another entry into your raffle when they check-in on Foursquare from your event.

Whichever social media tool you choose, there a few key points to keep in mind:

Everything is public – encouraging donors to use social networking to benefit your special event increases the public knowledge of your event. This can be a great thing or a not-so-great thing. Just be prepared to monitor what people are saying and be involved in the conversation.

Learn about the event after it is over – the great thing about social media is that most of it stays out in the open for a while. Make sure you and your team look at the photos posted by attendees, read the tweets, accept new friend requests, read the foursquare tips and so on. Use all of this information when planning your next event. Post-event evaluation is a best practice, and using information secured via social media is just one more thread of data that needs to be reviewed.

Have you used social media to promote or plan your event in the past? What worked best for you? Let’s discuss in comments!

It’s a party! Non-profit special event tips and tricks

February 24, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

Welcome to non-profit special event season. At least that is the case where I live. Over the course of this last week, we’ve examined FOUR very special and unique special events. Today, we’ll end all of this “party talk” by discussing a few tips and tricks.

However, before we start, please read this quick disclaimer:

“If your agency is small (e.g. too few staff, too few board members, too few volunteers, too few donors, etc) and you need to raise some SERIOUS money, then STOP thinking about throwing a party to raise money! Remember, CharityNavigator.com studied the return on investment (ROI) question and found that the average non-profit will spend $1.33 (direct & indirect costs) to raise $1.00 using a special event vehicle.”

So, if this disclaimer describes your non-profit agency, then I urge you to round-up a small group of volunteers (e.g. those who REALLY believe in what you’re trying to do) and organize them into a group that asks their friends-neighbors-family for direct contributions. Yes, this approach is scary for a lot of people, but it is more effective and you’ll raise more money with less effort.

With that disclaimer out-of-the-way, the following are a few special event observations, tips and tricks for those of you who aren’t quite so desperate and might already have a comprehensive resource development program in place:

If you look around the table and see more staff than volunteers during the planning phase, then please STOP and go recruit more volunteers. This isn’t hard. There are so many people out there who love to plan and participate in a party (at least more so than there are people dying to work pledge cards).
Remember, special events that make crazy sums of money typically do so because of corporate sponsorship and not because a lot of people purchased tickets. Yes, you need people to attend, but make sure to focus your energy on selling sponsorships.
Speaking of sponsorships . . . make sure there is VALUE in those sponsorship packages. Remember . . . companies give you money for different reasons than individuals. So, sit down with your corporate prospects and figure out what they value. Once you figure that out, you’ll easily be able to sell them a sponsorship or craft one around their needs (e.g. marketing impressions, employee involvement, etc). The key here is talking to them in advance AND listening to them AND giving them what they want and need.
The first three letters in fundraising are F-U-N, and special events should personify this word. If you and your volunteers aren’t having a blast planning, organizing and running a special event, then you need to STOP and figure that out! There are so many ways to inject fun into your event: theme, contests, recognition, etc. However, it doesn’t happen accidentally. Non-profit and fundraising professionals set the stage with their demeanor, attitude, approach and ideas.
Infuse mission into your fundraising event. Your special event is a great opportunity to “cultivate” new prospects and “steward” existing donors. This is your moment to shine and educate. Sure, playing 18 holes of golf is fun, but if you can’t find fun and ways to talk about your mission and get people excited about what you do, then I suggest not doing the event.

I don’t have unlimited space to share an infinite number of ideas with you. So, the following links are just a few additional fundraising professionals and organizations I suggest you check-out and read as you strive for creating bigger and better special events: Joanne Fritz, Convio & Event 360, and Andrew Olsen.

If your “fundraising strategy” is predicated on using special events to bring money into your agency, then you’re heading down the wrong fundraising road. Special events don’t make you much money when it is all said and done. I’m not saying “don’t throw a party;” however, I am saying “throw a party for the right reasons.” Sure, you’ll bring some cash into your bank account (not accounting for indirect costs, of course). However, special events are very effective when there is another step (or two or three) in your resource development program that you can transition your event donors (e.g. annual campaign, mail campaign, etc).

Here’t to your health!

It’s a party! Unique non-profit special event fundraisers: Part 3

February 23, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Uncategorized

Welcome to non-profit special event season. At least that is the case where I live. So, my partner and I have been making the rounds, and I thought I’d share some of the more unique special event ideas I’ve seen throughout the week. Today, we’re talking about TWO very special and unique special events put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands (Omaha, NE). Tomorrow we’ll wrap up all of this event mania with a post on how to replicate some of these unique ideas from the last few days back home at your agency.

A Chair Affair

For 10 years, the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester has built a unique special event fundraiser they call “A Chair Affair”. While I have never attended, I’ve heard lots and lots about it from staff and volunteers throughout the years. In a nut shell, local (and even not-so-local artists) decorate a wide variety of chairs, and the Club invites donors to bid on them in both silent and live auction formats. Click here to check out some of this year’s interesting selections.

As I have done the last few days with other special events, I’m going to offer my observations on what I see in a “just the facts ma’am” format:

I see a sold out event and hear lots of chatter and enthusiasm!
The Club uses technology to promote this fundraiser. It is on their agency website. The event has a stand alone website with lots and lots of information. They use Facebook to promote this as well.
There appears to be many revenue streams woven throughout this event including: sponsorship opportunities, tiered ticket sales for VIP vs general admission, and different auction formats including silent, almost-silent and live)
There appears to be a FUN theme, and this year’s theme revolves around a Masquerade Ball concept. There is unique event logo every year that matches the theme.

Please join me in congratulating this organization’s new Chief Professional Officer, Jodi Millerbernd, and her amazing event volunteers for a decade of creativity and a SELL OUT event set to go off without a hitch this Saturday!

Stock Market Challenge™

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands (Omaha, NE) runs a special event called the Stock Market Challenge™ . I will leave the explanation of this event to the Club:

“The Stock Market Challenge™ is an electric ride through the ticker tape of the stock-exchange floor! It is the most high-tech and chaotic event offered to non-profits, and is the only fundraiser that doubles as an educator for students, who will gain more insight and understanding regarding the fluctuations of the Market by participating.”

Again, here is what I see:

Not surprisingly, this Club uses technology to create a buzz and promote participation. It’s on their website. They produced a YouTube video to promote participation and give corporate sponsors marketing impressions. Knowing this Club, I’m sure they tweeted it, talked about it on Facebook, and were very innovative with their social media approach.
As with all of the events we’ve looked at this week, there appears to me multiple revenue streams tied into the event (e.g sponsorships, price of admission, etc).
There is a myriad of sponsorship levels with tiered benefits tied to marketing, room placement, and advantages in the stock market game.
The biggest and most refreshing thing I see with this event is that it is seamlessly woven into the fabric of this organization’s MISSION! Club kids are assigned to corporate teams. Kids learn about the stock market. Donors get to interact with the kids. Donors get to help teach kids a thing or two about investment.

It doesn’t get much more mission-focused that this. Congratulations to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands for amazing outside-the-box thinking on this unique special event!

So, this week I’m trying something different. Rather than spell out what I think the “lessons learned” and “best practices” (or not so best practices) are around special event fundraising, I thought I’d turn that opportunity over to you. What struck you as interesting? What takeaway lessons do you see? What best practices were used? Did anything about this event make you nervous? If you’re intimidated and don’t want to critique a fellow agency, please feel free to share best practices (or lessons learned) that your non-profit agency uses during the implementation of your events?

Please scroll down and use the comment box found below to answer any and all of the these questions.

Here’s to your health!

It’s a party! Unique non-profit special event fundraisers: Part 2

February 22, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

I must admit upfront that I’ve never seen a non-profit fundraiser quite like this one; however, a Google search reveals that this event is a little more common than you might think. Regardless, it is very hard for me to put it into words. For this reason, I thought it best to simply provide the language provided in the event program from that evening:

“The Sweetheart Auction includes a variety of activities, including a live auction for date packages. Each date package is represented by an eligible single. Bachelors and bachelorette are community volunteers who have agreed to appear in the event on behalf of The Larkin Center. Bidding is for the entire date package and can be bid on by any of our guests with a bidding paddle. Each package includes dining certificates and tickets to an entertainment venue. People appearing in the auction are representing the date package only and are not required to participate in the date package.”

On the ride back south, my partner and I talked about what we saw, and I thought you might want me to share (please note that this is just the facts ma’am):

We purchased our tickets online via the agency’s website and were redirected to PayPal. An email was sent after completing the transaction informing me that my credit card had been billed. I received my two tickets at the door upon check-in and was asked to provide whatever contact information I felt comfortable giving the agency at that time (e.g. address, phone, email).
As with most non-profit fundraising events, there were many different revenue streams associated with the event. There were sponsors with ads in the event book. There was a silent auction that complimented the actual “sweetheart (live) auction”. There was even a heads-or-tails raffle.
One free alcoholic drink was offered to those who showed up during the first hour that the doors were open.
I saw a number of paid staff in attendance and working the event (e.g. check-in, bouncer, accounts reconciliation, possibly even someone in the auction, etc)
There weren’t any pictures of kids or mission-focused factoids. However, the absence of kid pictures could probably be attributed to HIPPA laws. There might have also been a decision to downplay mission-moments due to the adult-nature of the evening.
There was a disc jockey (are they really still called that nowadays) and dancing after the auction.
There were 10 bachelorette who got up on stage and “encouraged” bidding on a variety of date packages. There were also six bachelors who did the same (albeit with more machismo and gyrating).

Those were just the facts, ma’am. So, I bet many of you are probably wondering if I did any bidding. Well, I cannot tell a lie. I did bid on two of the available Bachelors. I even won both of those bids. One beau is none other than the almost-famous Jason Pawlowski, who is the Promotions Coordinator for Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) in Elgin, Illinois.

If you can keep a secret, I have already been in contact with Jason and plan on taking him and his boss Tonya Hudson out on a lunch date in mid-March. Shhhhh! Please don’t tell my partner and the love of my life. AS you might guess, John is the jealous type.

Ok, ok, ok . . . truth be told, I did buy Jason … errrr . . . I mean to say that I purchased the AWESOME Chicago Blackhawks game package that he represented, but the mid-March lunch date is simply my attempt to slip Jason and Tonya some of my new business materials. 😉

Please scroll down and use the comment box found below to answer any and all of the these questions.

Here’s to your health!

It’s a party! Unique non-profit special event fundraisers: Part 1

February 21, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

This last Friday John and I climbed into our car for what we thought would be a “Thelma & Louise” moment. For those of you from outside of the Midwest, please understand that Illinois residents are not very welcome north of the border. It should go without saying that it was scary for two guys to cross that state line at night in search of a little wine and cheese. 😉

When it was all said and done, the Club ended up raising more than $100,000 that evening. We walked away slack-jawed, impressed, and with our Illinois tails between our legs. (Note: Cheeseheads call us FIBs . . . can you guess what the “F” stands for?)

I mean “come on” . . . how do you raise that much money with a little bit of wine and some cheese?

On the ride back south, John and I talked about what we saw, and I thought you might want me to share:

The event was held in a hotel in the shadow of the historic Wisconsin statehouse. I don’t know about you, but I love events staged in and around seats of power and influence. They always seem to set the stage for me.
We purchased our tickets online (just like you would for a music concert from Ticketmaster). We printed those tickets from our home computer, and the online ticketing system sent us reminder emails as we got closer to the day of event.
There were many opportunities to give your money over and over and over again. There was a special VIP reception ticket that could be purchased. There was a main event ticket. There were silent auction tables with fun little packages. There was a live auction with even bigger packages. The program book illustrated plenty of corporate sponsorship packages (of all sizes).
The media was there in force. Television cameras were filming and a local radio station provided emcee and auctioneer services. It felt like a place for important people.
Speaking of people . . . the room was packed! There might have been close to 500 people in a room that would’ve been better suited for 300 people. Before you wrinkle your nose and judge that as being bad, let me just say that the buzz and electricity that comes with being in an undersized room shouldn’t be under-estimated.
Miss Wisconsin was on site and anyone wanting their picture taken with the beauty queen was able to do so.
There were two different slide shows continuously cycling through pictures of kids and mission-focused factoids.
There was a live band in the background setting the mood and generating excitement.
The Wisconsin Attorney General showed up and briefly spoke about the importance of the Club and announced that he was giving all of the Clubs throughout the state a grant to help underwrite an internet safety program.
The U.S. Department of Education showed up and announced a huge multi-year federal grant to help underwrite educational programming and collaborations.
Various other donors periodically interrupted the wine and cheese tasting experience to share tidbits of good news and tell the packed room why they invest in the Club.

Wow! I never would’ve believed that a little wine and cheese could create so much magic. Congratulations to CEO Michael Johnson and his board on putting together such a great event!

Rather than spelling out for blog readers what I think the “lessons learned” and “best practices” are around special event fundraising, I thought I’d turn that opportunity over to you. What struck you as interesting? What takeaway lessons do you see? What best practices were used? Please also feel free to share best practices that your non-profit agency uses during the implementation of your events?

Where should you provide answers to these questions? Please scroll down and use the comment box found below.

Here’s to your health! Tomorrow, I talk about the “Sweetheart Auction” we attended on Saturday. (Oh yes I did) 😉

To Pin or Not to Pin. Is Pinterest Right for Your Non-Profit?

February 20, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa, technology, Uncategorized

There’s a new kid on the crowded social media block, and she’s turning heads. By coming in ahead of YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace in website referral traffic at the start of this month – Pinterest has certainly arrived.

But just because it’s popular, is it right for your non-profit agency? Let’s find out.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is the cyberspace equivalent to the cork bulletin board hanging on the wall in your office.

Upon signing into Pinterest, you will see a collection of photos that other “pinners” (people who you’ve chosen to follow) have pinned to their boards. You can “repin” a photo, adding it to one of your boards. When a user clicks on one of the photos in a pin, they are directed to the website from where the image originated. For example, if you see a photo of the most delicious chocolate cake you’ve ever seen and would like to make it for an upcoming party, you can repin the image of chocolate cake to your “Party All the Time” board so you can refer back to it later. Additionally, original content can be added to a board by clicking the “pin it” bookmarklet.

Currently the pins that seem to be the most popular include recipes, outfit collections and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects. However, businesses are getting involved. Recently, it has been observed that Pinterest is driving web traffic to retail sites.

The majority of users on Pinterest are females between the ages of 25 and 44. On all other social media sites, the average user is a male between the ages of 18 and 24. An older demographic usually means there is more disposable income available even in these hard economic times – which is good for retail.

If the for-profit world can benefit from Pinterest and see an increase in traffic, why not the non-profit world? After all, the more people who visit your website, the more potential donors or volunteers you can reach. Right?

Concerns

Let’s start with the fact that Pinterest has only been around for 6 months. While it seems that Pinterest’s momentum could take it far, I wouldn’t blame you if you took a wait-and-see approach.

Much like Google+ when it first started, Pinterest is currently an “invite-only” community, which is a double-edged sword regarding your reach. However, with 10.4 million registered users, chances are you’re already connected to an active pinner. Of course, even if you can’t identify a pinner in your social network, you can request an account directly from the site.

Another recent concern raised by some is the issue of copyright laws. For example, the photos on Pinterest are usually the property of someone else. So, make sure you are properly pinning by linking to a website or giving credit where credit is due. You can read more about this debate here.

Should your non-profit agency jump on the Pinterest bandwagon?

In my humble opinion, the simple answer is yes, at least in one of the following ways:

Claim your name. Whenever a new social media site comes along I make sure I sign up for it before another Marissa Garza can claim the username or space on that site. Do I use every site I sign up for? No, but the important thing is that I am in control of it if I choose to participate.
Become an expert. Pinterest allows you to curate resources into different boards. Remember that each pin has a website associated with it. Websites come up in search results. So, if a person is conducting a search on non-profits with your type of mission, and you have an entire board set-up with ideas focused on your mission and agency’s services, then Google might just point that person to your Pinterest account.
See what people are saying. If you visit pinterest.com/source/website, you can see if people have pinned things from your website. You can then connect with users on the site by either commenting on one of their pins or following their boards.
Yet another way to fundraise. Last week Erik talked about how non-profits can incorporate selling into their fundraising plans. John Haydon recently blogged on a number of different ideas on how non-profits can use Pinterest. One example included adding a “$” symbol in the description of a pin, which results in it automatically being included in the “gifts” section of the site.

That being said, I know that time is limited for many non-profit staff. Joining and cultivating a community on Pinterest takes dedicated time. As with any social media site, make sure you have integrated this site into your written ePhilanthropy and online fundraising plan (e.g. who is going to make posts, how often posts will occur, etc).

While Pinterest may be a great resource with lots of potential, it might not be the right time to implement involvement. If you can’t fully commit to being involved in Pinterest at this time, but feel like you would have an audience there, make sure that you add a “Pin It” button to your website. If you can’t pin things yourself, you might as well take advantage of Pinterest’s popularity and make it easy for visitors to your website to pin things for you. (Note: you may have to create an account to do so.)

What do you think? Will Pinterest be a part of your social media strategy? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Further Reading:
42 Creative Pinterest Ideas for Nonprofits
Nice Uses of Pinterest for Nonprofits
Example of a Pinterest Users Non-Profits/Charities/Social Causes board