A little care and feeding

No one wants or needs me to describe how the economy has beaten the stuffing out of some charities’ revenue streams. Not being a novel topic of conversation any more, its just not that interesting.

But what is interesting is watching how grassroots fundraising is once again on the rise, thanks to technology and the “new connectedness.” In vast numbers, regular, ordinary everyday folk like you and I can make (modest) donations instantly, and reach out to our networks of friends to follow our lead.

Charities are scrambling to find a way to access these legions of friends and potential supporters in the wired world. The question is not, “can we?” but rather “how can we?”

There are lots of ways to attract financial support, and boost public awareness of a charity’s work, through social networking. The key? It all boils down to care and feeding (which is probably not what you want to hear if you are looking for a quick fix).

Regardless of whether you are looking for a quick fix or long term solutions, build some common sense principles into your stakeholder communications and you will inevitably yield increased financial returns in fundraising. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Including people in a genuine two-way conversation about your organization’s worthwhile work is the most effective way to engage their long term (and financial) involvement;
• Donors want to hear from you more frequently than when its time to ask for another gift;
• Donors really never get tired of hearing you say “thank you” for their support (and advocacy);
• People want to know, specifically, how they can help. Large monetary contributions may not be what they have in mind;
• People expect to be able to tell you how, and through what channels, and with what information, you should communicate with them;
• You need to make that act of helping (giving, volunteering, advocating) a swift and simple process that provides them with instant gratification.
  

Keep those principles in mind as you move ahead in stakeholder engagement and you can’t lose.

What's being said about your organization in the wired world?

The wired world is also a viral world where blog posts, video clips, information and opinions can spread like wildfire. Many progressive organizations in the charitable sector are starting to engage social networking and electronic communication to connect donors and friends with their message and mission. But what happens when an event or opinion casts your organization in a bad light…and then travels with the speed of light around the Internet?
Network for Good’s Katya Andresen offers sage advice on minimizing your organization’s reputational risk on her Getting to the Point blog, using Google and Twitter alerts, YouTube monitoring. She also offers tips on how to respond when the worst happens.
And whether you are concerned or not about your organization’s vulnerability in the wired age, isn’t it just worthwhile to know what’s being said about it?

Virtual Volunteering

Ten years ago, articles about the untapped potential of virtual volunteer opportunities were being published on Charity Village's website, in Canadian FundRaiser magazine, and throughout other websites and publications frequented by those of us involved in the charitable sector. The realm of vitual volunteer opportunities being touted included:

• conducting on-line research
• providing professional consulting
• designing brochures, newsletters, logos, etc.
• translating documents
• maintaining a database
• electronically "visiting" people in hospitals or homes
• providing on-line mentoring or instruction
• supporting group members via chat rooms or newsgroups

In 2002, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada) published a study, Virtual Volunteering: Current Status and Future Prospects. At that time, the study revealed, only 16% of volunteers reported volunteering in a virtual capacity. Of those, only 11% of virtual volunteers were involved in fundraising, and social networking was not even on the radar screen - at least not as its own separate "task".

Today, we are surrounded by virtual volunteers - most of whom have no "formal" relationship with, or assignment from, a particular charitable organization. They are the Facebookers, the bloggers, the Twitterers, and the thousands of everyday people advocating and raising money and awareness online on behalf of their communities and the entire planet.

For charities, there exists a great opportunity to tap into the vast resources available through virtual volunteering. And for many potential volunteers, the virtual world has opened a door to volunteer opportunities that may not have been accessible to them before - due to physical limitations, geographical separation, scheduling conflicts, or a host of other impediments to on-site volunteering.

More on engaging, supporting, and recognizing virtual volunteers later this week. In the meantime, check out the February 2009 Twestival, which raised more than $250,000 for charity:

http://twestival.com/