Have you read the Wired Wealthy yet? If not, Tom Belford in his popular blog, the Agitator
provides a great framework of questions to keep in mind as you read the paper.
“I finally got through my reading pile to a report released about three
weeks ago by Convio, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research. The Wired Wealthy is
an important study of the online behaviors and preferences of major donors
(i.e., individuals giving cumulatively $1000 in a year to a given cause,
through any means).
Twenty-three nonprofits provided research access to their donors in this
category ... typically the 1% of donors in their universe who give almost
one-third of the money.
The report drips with valuable data and insights. In fact, if you raise
charitable money and do not read this report, you oughta be fired!
On the other hand, the firms and individuals who produced this report, of
course, deserve a raise! And kudos too to the groups who shared their donors
for the project.
No single blog post can do justice to the richness of information in The
Wired Wealthy. So I won't dribble out a bunch of teaser factoids here.
Instead, to encourage you to read it yourself, I'm simply going to list some
of the questions you will find answers to (or at least guidance
on):
- Can you treat all your
"Wired Wealthy" alike? The authors found
three segments within the Wired Wealthy universe -- Relationship
Seekers, All Business and Casual Connectors. What are their critical
differences and what are the implications for communicating with each
segment online?
- How do these donors relate to
whiz-bang online stuff like videos and social networking tools and sites?
- How do they grade (your)
nonprofit websites? How often and why do they visit them? [Warning: some
depressing news here.]
- How much of (your) email
communications do they read ... and how do they grade them? [More
depressing news! Clue: the report refers to an "inspiration
gap."]
- What kinds of online
communication would be welcomed by all three segments of the
Wired Wealthy?
- Do they expect to be giving
more money online in the future? How do they feel about direct mail?
- What online activities do
they undertake in support of the causes and charities they contribute to?
- Just how important is it to
be responsive to the individual preferences of these donors and to
customize communications accordingly? [This is a Pass/Fail question!]
- To what degree are nonprofits
honing special online approaches to the Wired Wealthy, and are the
right people involved?
If these questions -- and insight into their answers -- are not important to
you, then either you are not a fundraiser, or you are not a fundraiser with a
future! Read The Wired
Wealthy!"