Key Performance Indicators

Today, we have many things to worry about, watch for, measure, monitor and just deal with in general. With the increased social landscape, it seems like there is just so much to think about, but how do you identify what to prioritize

Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, should be quick, easily understood, and comprehensive. A tall order I know. There are several that should be standard like gross revenue year-to-date, year-over-year, number of donors, average giving, total number of unique contacts, and I would stick my neck out there and say, net revenue year-to-date (a tricky one for sure). 

However, there are several KPIs that we all monitor and measure in our daily lives that translate well into additional KPIs that I would recommend. Do you know what portion of your revenue year-over-year is coming from each channel?

Do you know what portion of contacts come from each channel? Do you know the value, conversion rate, frequency of action or giving each of those contact groups account for? 

As you can see from the chart above, 50% of the revenue to the organization is stemming from 38% of the donor base. With this knowledge, you can start to think about the next drill down to make sure that this group is doing well and its portfolio is healthy. The KPIs to monitor this group should include portion of acquisition source, retention rate, value-to-date, average gift, and frequency of giving. If we are to see that this group stems mostly from a channel that is not performing well today, it would have a higher sense of importance to fix it or provide it more focus?  Understanding its value and relative importance to the bottom line of today will help us make better decisions tomorrow.

Think about what channel gives you the biggest bang for your short and long-term dollar. By highlighting these new KPIs, it is a point-of-view allowing you to manage and diversify your donor portfolio.

You Kids Stay Outta The Spam Folder

Spam. Nobody likes receiving it, nobody likes being considered a spammer. But as users of any email marketing tool can tell, sometimes constituents will mark your messages as spam anyway.

Why? Well, it goes to constituent perception. You may have heard the expression "Spam is in the eye of the beholder." If someone doesn't believe that they signed up for your list - even if they did - and it's too hard to find the unsubscribe link, then they're just as likely to hit the "REPORT SPAM" button.

As numerous procedural crime dramas have noted, the human memory can be notoriously faulty. Someone who signed themselves up for an email list can forget they did it - especially in the year 2012 when electronic and web signup forms are pervasive.

In the interests of staying out of the spam folder, here are some tips:

Problem 1 - long lag time between paper signature collection and welcome email. If you're collecting signatures on a paper petition, make sure you data-enter those names right away. If you send them to a data entry firm, they key them in upload them to the donor database and sync to your email system, 4-8 weeks can pass between the time of signature and the first welcome email. That's way too long - who will remember signing the petition at the street festival two months ago?

Solution - do data entry the next day directly into the email system. Even though it's harder to do diligent data entry every night, it will go a long way to reducing your spam rates. And you might even see an uptick in engagement and donations by the prompt followup if you strike while the iron is hot!

Problem 2 - generic welcome message that doesn't trigger the memory of having signed up. Many organizations put a lot of time into designing their welcome series, and want to get the most mileage they can out of it. When faced with a large number of new names from a specific event or online channel, it's tempting to just dump the names into the generic welcome message stream. But if the person is already having memory problems, a generic message won't help.

Solution - state the event or channel in the welcome message. Luckily, if you have a solid welcome message, you can alter it slightly. Just add an introductory paragraph - sometimes called a "love note," if it's located above the email stationery - that states "Thank you for signing up for our email list at the Earth Day 2012 Celebration in Sioux City" or "Thanks for joining our email list through the signup box on our coalition's website."

Problem 3 - can't find the unsubscribe link. Most organizations make their unsubscribe link a sutble design in the footer of the email stationery, and that's okay. But it can be hard to find, and if someone's in a hurry, they might not bother looking.

Solution - add an unsubscribe link in the body of the first paragraph. Add a sentence to your love note: "If you changed your mind and don't want to be on the list, just click here to unsubscribe." Yes, you don't WANT them to unsubscribe - but do you want an unhappy person on your list, or for them to hit the "Report Spam" button?

Put these methods into practice and monitor the results for 3-6 months. I'll bet that you'll see improvement!

What are some other ideas you've tried for reducing spam complaints?

Back to School

Freshly sharpened pencils.  Check.
Notebooks.  Check.
Scientific Calculator.  Check.
45 pound backpack filled to zipper ripping capacity.  Check.

The kids are back in school. Which means that fall is upon us and end of year fundraising is right around the corner. Are you ready? Do you have your end of year fundraising checklist?  Well if not, then put on those new school shoes and get ready!

September: Clear the Decks

• Conduct a database audit: make sure supporter records are up to date and identify any missing data records and amend them
• Make sure you have email, street addresses and phone numbers for supporters—when you get ready to run a multi channel campaign is NOT the time to discover you don’t have more than one way to reach a supporter.  Plenty of appending services out there that can help you with that NOW.

October: Plan for Year End Greatness

• Identify campaign concept and case for support
• Write campaign copy and design creative
• Define segmentation strategy
• Discuss matching program with board members
• Plan messaging within other stewardship pieces and website

Next month in our quarterly magazine, npENGAGE, we’ll have November and December specific tips and action items for a successful end of year campaign. And if you are coming to bbcon (Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in DC), lucky you – you’ll get a first look! 

Facebook Marketing Cheat Sheet

You want to learn everything you can about marketing your nonprofit via Facebook. But you don’t have all day to learn it. No worries. I’ve done the searching, so you can do just the reading.

Quick & Dirty How-Tos

• A Simple 6 Step Plan to Creating a Facebook Page That Works
• How to Create a Cover Photo for Your Facebook Timeline
• How-to Start Marketing on Facebook

Idea Mega-Lists

• 22 Ways to Stay Connected to Your School's Alumni on Facebook
• 8 Ideas for Social Media Rewards
• 50 Social Media Content Ideas

Stats & Research

• Nonprofits Value a Facebook Like at $214.81
• The World is Obsessed with Facebook
• Stats on Facebook 2012 [Infographic]

You can also check out Sarah-the-intern's "How to Increase Facebook Engagement" for more ideas.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

I don’t know about you, but I grew up in a house that really prioritized thank you notes.  There were other things that were stressed, but I think writing thank you notes was one of the most important lessons that my mom instilled in us.  She made writing thank you notes enjoyable—good note cards, fun pens, festive stamps.  And she also saved the particularly nice or well written or beautiful thank you notes she received.
I think there is a great lesson that non-profits can learn from my mom (well, there are many lessons you can learn from her, but this one is particularly fitting).  If someone makes a donation of time or money to your organization, you should send a thank you note. 

• Consider asking board members to write thank you notes (yes, this is the online marketing and fundraiser in me suggesting handwritten notes sent offline) to major donors, sustaining donors, or first time donors. 
• Set aside 20 minutes during your next board meeting and supply the names and mailing addresses of folks who would be a good fit for a handwritten note.  I received one from another organization last month and was so pleased that there was no ask in the note, just a plain and simple thank you. This really stuck with me.
• Make sure your donation auto-responder is alive and well.  Double check that it is visually pleasing, and provides an overview of what will be done with a donation.  Make your overview tangible and very specific (“We’ll serve 71 guests dinner with your gift.”) 
• Consider the timeline of your note.  Use the one year anniversary of someone becoming a sustaining donor to thank them, or perhaps sending them an e-card thank you note on their birthday.
• Thank people over social media! If an organization gives an in kind gift, tag the group in a photo or tweet. If someone becomes a sustaining donor or a first time donor, ask to tag them and put a real face on the people who are helping to support your organization.