Be More Multi-Channel

Got an old school direct mail junkie on your team? Use this 2-minute video from the President of a 93-year-old direct marketing firm to help support your argument that consumers are becoming more multi-channel in their daily lives, and expecting more from the brands (& causes) they engage with. I’m guessing they’ll listen to Debbi Barber from Grizzard Communications.

And if your team is onboard, but you had a colleague at the last AFP luncheon who was crying on your shoulder about being stuck in the fundraising rut, forward on! 

Client Success with Meals on Wheels & More

We have added a new client success story our arsenal! Meals on Wheels and More (MOWAM) is a multi-service organization that seeks to nourish and enrich the lives of the homeless and other people in need through programs that promote dignity and independent living. In addition to preparing close to one million meals a year, MOWAM also offers many other programs designed to keep people healthy and living in their own homes including outreach programs to nearly 4,000 Austin, Texas residents.

The Challenge:

• MOWAM's data was dispersed across multiple spreadsheets and a database, making it difficult for the organization to manage donations and have a true view into their constituents.
• Struggled managing the number of donations, especially during the holidays.
• Needed a more seamless, integrated database that allowed them to enter donations and send acknowledgements quickly.
• Needed an easier way to track and report on grants, prgrams, constituents and fundraising activities.

The Solution:

• By choosing Convio Common Ground®, MOWAM consolidated multiple spreadsheets of constituent data into one integrated donor database.
• In addition, MOWAM was able to build customized fields and page layouts giving donors the option to memorialize a single donation to multiple persons.

The Results:

• Now the organization can customize and send targeted communications and track contact information so they can better tailor future communications to recipients based on interests.
• MOWAM now saves valuable time and money with the ability to input donations more efficiently.

Check out more of their incredible success story here!

Herding Cats, er, Bloggers

Image from wodongatafe.wordpress.com

At Convio Summit last year (that’s right, 2011 is already “last year”) I was asked for tips on managing a blog team. Good question! When you have a large team from all different areas of a company, it can be challenging. In fact, sometimes the marketing team not so secretly refers to blog team management as “herding cats.”

To be completely honest, when I started managing Connection Café I didn’t have much of a plan for how I would motivate and coordinate my team. I just started doing stuff, hoped it would work out and since have tweaked as necessary. I’ve been pleased with the results – as I hope my team is as writers and you are as a reader. And while I know the same approach won’t work in every organization, I’d like to share five tactics that I think work well for us.

1. The Blogger Alias. We have a blogger alias set up in Outlook that allows me to easily communicate with team members. Since we’re a very email heavy culture at Convio (what office isn’t?) I use this sparingly with the hope that my bloggers will know if I’m sending something to all of them, it must be pretty important.
2. Semi-Annual Meetings. Just like we’re email heavy, we’re meeting heavy. Since my blog team has other responsibilities, I try to be very respectful of their time and only host two blog meetings per year. I also employ a concept I learned while on staff at Girl Scouts: cookies make everything more fun.
3. Ed Cal Planning. At our semi-annual team meetings, we plan our editorial calendar for the upcoming six months. Each team member provides me with a “date-ish” (some give specific dates, others say “the week of” and still others say “any time in X month") and I coordinate the behind-the-scenes magic of who writes what when. I then send out the calendar to everyone.
4. Reminders. I’ve sent them the calendar but let’s be honest, very few of us revisit emails that are multiple months old. Because I want to make their blogging experience as easy and enjoyable as possible, I send reminders every Friday to the next two weeks worth of bloggers. This is the tactic I have received the most positive feedback on.
5. Saying Thanks. I’m a big fan of saying “thank you” and to date, showing appreciation has never failed me. In every reminder email, at every meeting and as often as I possibly can, I tell my blog team thank you. Every three months we also recognize the most popular post of the quarter and at our meetings I share our successes with the whole team. I may manage the blog, but they provide the smarts.

That’s only five ideas and I’m willing to bet there’s a hundred more really great tactics out there. Please share your ideas in the comments so we can all learn from each other.

Happy Blogging!

Nonprofits: Diversify!

A recent article from The Wall Street Journal offered up a compelling argument that nonprofits should be operating more like commercial businesses — using similar efficiencies, disciplines and strategies. As I pondered this idea, I read yet another article published recently by David Sharp with the Associated Press about how Native American tribes are starting to look beyond casinos for revenue sources; they’re considering diversifying through initiatives such as commercial wind farms, bottled water plants and maple syrup production. A very businesslike approach.

As a consultant working with nonprofits, I agree with this strategy. I find that a lot of the organizations I work with have traditionally relied on a single stream of revenue, which could put them in jeopardy if economic or other conditions change. With an eye on their long-term financial health, I encourage them to “think like a business” and diversify, so they aren’t so reliant on one revenue source. 

If you aren’t varying your income streams, consider branching out. Here are a few ideas:

Expand your fundraising outreach: You’re likely already accepting donations through your website, and likely requesting donations via a few key fundraising events or programs. But, there are many options for driving additional funds. For example, start asking your donors to set up recurring (monthly or quarterly) gifts that automatically charge to their credit card. Reach out to donors who have shown support in the past, but haven’t given within the last year (they may have just forgotten to give this year). Or, start using social media channels to get the word out about your organization, its mission, and its need for support.

Look to grants: Grants can be a major source of revenue for nonprofit organizations. If you aren’t applying for grants, start small and then build your grant pipeline. Spend some time checking out government grants and grants from foundations, and also check with your city’s chamber of commerce for any information they may have on city and local business grants — it might pay off!

Throw a party: Not quite ready for a gala? How about encouraging your strongest supporters to host dinners at their house to increase outreach and raise funds? Or, try partnering with a local restaurant for an evening in which you help drive diners to their place and in return, they pledge a portion of their nightly proceeds to you.

Build your network of peers: The ideas are flowing in the nonprofit sector, and you just need to tap into them. Consider establishing relationships with organizations in other cities that have similar missions as yours. You’ll not only get fresh ideas for new revenue streams today, but you can also challenge and learn from each other over time.

This post is by Sandra Jensen, Co-Founder of KELL Partners, a Convio partner.