Many non-profits struggle with website redesign projects because they are such a huge undertaking. They can be both time and labor intensive – involving numerous stakeholders (board members, department directors, and key staff) and often you don’t see results for more than a year.

Convio’s proven methodology, ensures that clients take a more iterative, quick hit approach that allows them to see results faster while tackling the larger web presence redesign in parallel. 

Project HOPE is a Convio client I work with who recently re-launched their site after only working with our interactive agency practice for 4 months. The new site has immediately improved the user experience and increased donations.  The client worked with us on a quick turnaround redesign project which we started by conducting several interviews with key HOPE stakeholders. Armed with increased knowledge of the organizational goals and priorities, we developed a new information architecture and wireframes for the site. Then, since any successful web site redesign (even a quick one) should incorporate feedback from real users, we tested out the wireframes with some of HOPE’s target constituents. Once finalized, we designed a sharp new look and feel, which is live on the site today.

Katya Andresen gave kudos to Project HOPE for the effort thus far, but what people may not realize is that the team is working on a bigger launch in another few months where we will infuse even more user research and data with the stakeholder input driving the larger initiative.

Keep your eyes open for the next launch and thanks to the Project HOPE team for their great work in the Haiti Earthquake response.

While writing about multi-channel engagement, I couldn’t help but to think that each lesson learned applied mainly to supporters who are actively engaged with your nonprofit organization. But what about those donors who have seemingly fallen off the face of the planet? Well, last year, I learned that there are many options when you’re trying to reconnect with donors.

Top 5 Lessons Learned in 2009: Reconnecting With Donors

1. Remind them that money is not the only option. In challenging economic times, many donors might not have extra funds to give to your organization. These individuals might wrongly assume that a donation is the only way they can help. Of course, this is far from the truth. Your organization survives and thrives thanks to a combination of dollars, volunteer hours, and other generous support. Of course you know that there are other ways that lapsed donors could support you, but do they know? Don’t make any assumptions. Lay out the options in clear, non-financial terms.

2. Dangle a carrot. Premiums and incentives can go a long way with some donors, including lapsed ones. It might be enough to bring a person back into the fold, and prompt them to support your organization financially once again. 

3. Speak to them directly. Use the information you have about your lapsed donors to write a message in which you acknowledge that they’ve been MIA, and that you would love to reconnect with them again. Don’t make it all about the money. Your goal in the short-term should be to rebuild your relationship, not to ask them for a donation.

4. Showcase your progress. You might never know what prompted a donor to stop giving. However, you do know that at some stage, they had a tie to your cause. Use this fact to help you reconnect with your donor by sending a message that shows how much progress your organization made last year with the donations it received. (This could be conducted in conjunction with lesson #3.) A meaningful photo and a heart-warming story might be just what the individual needs to remind them why they cared in the first place, and that they should get involved once again.

5. Don’t be afraid to sever the ties. You need to take a step back first and approach this segment carefully and wisely, with a view towards your return on investment. These might not be the people you want on your direct mailing list because you might not see the return you’re looking for. Of course you need to make an informed decision before you remove a person from your list, but at the same time, you need to be smart with your limited budget.

If you’re looking for additional tips on this topic, take a peek at the 2010 Nonprofit Resolutions Guide. It contains a few nuggets that will be useful to those of you who are trying to come up with new ways to reconnect with donors.

Photo by Ruben

Do you remember when Mobile was just a kid with a dream, and nobody believed in him besides himself? Well, he’s grown up a lot lately and proven his worth. I’m happy for him. I really am, but I hope he doesn’t let it go to his head. He has more growing to do.

Sure, he raised over $20 million for Haiti and an impressive array of non-profit organizations including American Red Cross, Oxfam America, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, International Rescue Committee, and the United Nations Foundation  used his services. Good for him. But is that it? I mean, seriously, is raising money all he can do? Is that all he wants to do?

He may have you fooled, just like all the famous TV curmudgeons with hearts of gold. Mobile can do more, and he can do it pretty well. He has people using him for a lot of other purposes geared toward engagement beyond donations.

• Consider the Humane Society of the United States, who used a text message to give a heads up to their constituents that an email fundraising appeal was coming to their inbox soon. The people who got both the text and the email were 77% more likely to give.
• Consider how Shedd Aquarium, using an integrated approach, had TV spots that asked people to send a text message to enter a contest. They also had TV spots that drove people to a website. The text version of the TV spot outperformed the others by a large margin.
• Consider how The Blue Ocean Institute uses text messages to inform their constituents about the kind of fish it is OK to buy or eat.
• Consider how It’s OUR Healthcare!  used a text to screen campaign to empower constituents to text in healthcare related message to a huge TV placed in front of the California Statehouse.

You see, he has game in other ways besides mobile giving. And I wonder what he has up his sleeve. He doesn’t hang with me as much as he used to because he has been spending a lot of time with iPhone, Black Berry and Droid. I’m not jealous. It’s kind of his job. They seem like they are cooking up some big plans.  I heard them talking (I couldn’t help it, they were loud. I wasn’t eavesdropping):

• Applications seem like a pretty cool way to present specialized experiences on the phone, especially now that applications can push messages out to you. I haven’t seen any applications on my phone that let me find volunteering opportunities near me this weekend. I have seen a super cool application for the Houston Zoo that tells me all kinds of good things about the animals there.
• Location-based services are going to be big too. You know, the ones who ask if they can use your current location and then show you all of the other people who are in the Mobile Fan Club within a 5 mile radius. That technology could be put to better use, like CauseWorld is doing, letting me check into places I like to go to anyway, and have some big corporation donate to my cause because I probably bought their beer while I was there.
• Mobile giving through special mobile-browser optimized forms, where you can give more than $10 at a time. Really, why can’t I give more than that each time? Just give me a form and I swear, I’ll donate more.
• Augmented reality applications, where you can see data overlays of the very world in front of your eyes. For example, I look at a library through my phone and I see data that tells me how many illiterate people there are in my city and where I can volunteer to teach people to read.

Yessiree, I like that Mobile kid. I think he got a bright future. Not to sound like too much of a fan boy, but he is the coolest. If you haven’t met Mobile yet, you should. Let me know, I’ll hook you up.

• A Career Center : Arguably one of the largest and best know career resources for people interested in starting or enriching their career in the nonprofit sector.
• The Public Service and Graduate Education Resource Center (PSGERC): Articles and help for those considering returning to school for a graduate degree in public service.
• Mentoring and Teaching tools : Inspiration for up-and-coming leaders and tools to help teachers introduce youth to public service are just a couple of the items that you'll find to help the next generation of do-gooders get fueled.
• Nonprofit Organization libraries : The Nonprofit FAQ answers common questions that organizations run into and there are resources for all kinds of staff from webmasters to volunteer managers. 

Over the past ten years, most of our funding has come from the small fees we charge organizations for posting their jobs on Idealist. By September 2008, after years of steady growth, these little drops were covering 70% of our budget.

Then, in October of that year, the financial crisis exploded, many organizations understandably froze their hiring, and from one week to the next our earned income was cut almost in half, leaving us with a hole of more than $100,000 each month.

I’m connected in different ways to numerous nonprofit organizations. On the professional side, I’ve interviewed many industry professionals for articles, case studies, best practices guides, white papers and more. On the personal side, I’ve donated, volunteered, taken action, and raised money. From my interactions with them over the years, I became aware of how these organizations could engage me more effectively so that I feel even more committed to supporting their cause. And with the publishing of the 2010 Nonprofit Resolutions Guide, 5 main lessons learned in the way of multi-channel marketing were evident in 2009.

Top 5 Lessons Learned in 2009: Multi-Channel Engagement

1. Coordinate your efforts. Two emails from the same nonprofit in one day? Both asking me for money? I replied to one of the senders and gave them a heads-up about the overlap because I knew that if I was annoyed by it, many others likely were as well. She thanked me for my input and apologized for bombarding me with emails. This simple oversight on the nonprofit’s end reminded me how important it is for an organization to coordinate messages across departments. Even if you operate in silos, try to create the illusion that you don’t.

2. Use the data you have about me.  You should be collecting information about me – donations, interests, communication preferences. So, please use it to your advantage. If I donated $50 last year, don’t suggest that I give $25 this year. Instead, remind me that I gave $50 last year, and then ask me to give the same again or more this year. I’ll appreciate the personalized message and the fact that you remember the amount, because I probably won’t!

3. Tell me what else I can do. If you tell me about other ways I could get involved with your organization, then I probably will. The reason that I typically open my wallet first is because that is what you tell me to do. So tell me to do something else. My son’s preschool, which is a nonprofit organization, is a perfect example. Since he started there in 2008, my family has made several donations to support the school. Last week, I received an email asking me to donate earthquake supplies. This was not a generic ask, it was a specific list – from duct tape and shovels, to blankets and flashlights. In the wake of the Haiti earthquake, the message was timely and reminded me that in the case of his school, I can do more than give cash. I can donate specific items and even join the earthquake preparedness committee to ensure that my son, his peers, and teachers, are well equipped if an emergency arises. They asked. Now I’m inspired to deliver.

4. Respect my preferences. You’ve told me that your organization’s fundraising results were down because of the economy, and that my donation – no matter how small – will make a difference. I’ve told you that I’m most responsive to email (as long as you don’t send me two of them on the same day). Yet over the holidays, I received a fancy direct mail piece from you. The attractive double-sided, full color piece on high-quality card stock might inspire some people to donate, but for me it made me feel as though you aren’t listening to what I’ve told you in the past. So, please choose your communication channel more carefully when you reach out to me. If you do, then I’m more likely to keep supporting your cause. 

5. If you insist on contacting me offline, then please tell me how I can respond online. I realize that sometimes you will contact me by mail. When you do, please give me the option to respond online and make it clear how I would do it. If there’s a special campaign, then include the link to the donation form in your direct mail piece. If you’re looking for volunteers, then point me to the volunteer sign-up page on your website. I’m more likely to come through for you if I can fulfil your request through your website.

We all know that you’re doing your best, but we want you to do even better by taking the time to listen to our feedback and then incorporating it into your multi-channel engagement strategy.

Even more tips and lessons learned for Multi-Channel engagement can be found in the 2010 Nonprofit Resolutions Guide. Have something else that works well for your organization? Share them here!