Fundraising and Online Giving Strategies

Direct mail and online resources can be difficult to manage, especially because the data seems be in constant flux.  To keep us one step ahead, Blackbaud INC has some important advice to give us.  Here are some highlights from their 2012 study, specifically how to use technology to strengthen donor loyalty.

1)  “Develop a Branded Sustainer Program”

What do one-time donations and sustainer donations have in common?  In 2012, they are on the rise!  One-time donations rose by 10% and sustainer donations increased by 27%!  Make donating to your organization an interesting and engaging experience by providing benefits to various levels.  At last year’s giving day, New England Public Radio did a mini-version of this by creating an excellent graphic and creative campaign to attract sustain donors.

2)  ”Narrow your Focus on Donor Appreciation”

Create a gratitude strategy that shows each individual donor how important their donation is to your organization.  Megan from The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts watched the clock on Valley Gives Day 2012 and sent out a personal thank-you email immediately after…

Send Us Your Pictures

To all the nonprofits who participated in Valley Gives last year: Did you capture some of the exciting moments of 12.12.12?  We need your help. If you took good quality pictures of any of your activities on Valley Gives Day, we are asking you to share for possible use in Community Foundation/Valley Gives publications (with appropriate authorization and credit, of course). Or if you have a story of the impact you were able to realize because of the money raised that day – we would love to see pictures of that too! We can’t tell the story of the success of this initiative without all of you – the nonprofits who made it happen.

Email pictures to valleygives@communityfoundation.org. Or if the files are too large to email, just drop us a note and we’ll figure out the easiest way to collect them.  Thanks!

A few nonprofits have asked about the fee change that Razoo announced shortly after the last Valley Gives Day and what the plan is for this year. Our team carefully researched giving platforms this year to find a partner that would best serve the unique program goals of Valley Gives. Even with a fee of 4.9% (inclusive of credit card fees), our research shows that Razoo remains very competitive in the online crowd-fundraising industry. We have been working very closely with their team to build product and service enhancements to the platform based directly on feedback from nonprofits and donors.

We recognize that online giving and the Give Day platform have costs. The Valley Gives training and program are designed specifically to  help our participating organizations realize benefits that justify the costs of participating in Valley Gives. We appreciate your feedback as we go forward and remain committed to work with our nonprofits toward continued success.

This is a 24-hour online fundraising event intended to provide a very unique opportunity for nonprofits to build a new audience and engage their donors online for a single day. We encourage every nonprofit to give careful consideration to the pros and cons of Razoo or any other provider offering year-round online contribution processing.

Save the Date: Valley Gives Day 2013

Since 12.12.12, we have been listening, learning and working to make this year’s Valley Gives Day bigger and better.  Many of you participated in our surveys, focus groups, or just sent along your thoughts about what you liked and what we could do better.  Thank you all for sharing your feedback!

Here is what we heard from over 200 donors and over 200 nonprofits who completed surveys:

• Enhance the website, including fixing the gift scheduling function and encouraging gifts to multiple nonprofits.
• Nonprofits want more time to plan and build social media and related strategies to make the most of Valley Gives Day.
• Nonprofits want more training opportunities and support.
• The year-end timing was both helpful and challenging. While the giving season motivated donors, it is a busy time for nonprofits.
• A third of surveyed nonprofits reported that at least 40% of their donors on the day were new to the organization.
• Consider new ways to award and share prize money.

Here is what we are doing:

• We have been working to enhance the user experience and fix identified problems on the website.
• We are sending the date out now: 12.12.13 to give you plenty of time to plan. Sign-ups will also take place earlier than last year.
• We will offer more training this time around and  earlier in the process. Course offerings will include social media for beginner and advanced, fundraising and stewardship basics, and how to integrate Valley Gives with other fundraising efforts.

Now that the date is set, it is time to start planning!

Please sign up for our blog, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to stay connected and informed as this process gets underway.  Questions? valleygives@communityfoundation.org

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for our Valley Gives blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,200 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 7 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

GET THE MONEY YOU RAISED on 12.12.12

Razoo disburses donations on the 10th of each month – participants in Valley Gives will receive their disbursement around January 10th. You have the option of signing-up for electronic funds transfer (EFT) or can receiving a check disbursement through the mail.

If you would like to have your donations from Valley Gives donated directly into your bank account, you have until January 2nd to sign up for EFT. Just head to this link: EFT – Valley Gives

How can we track our progress? (REPEAT POST)

Some folks have been asking about what the Valley Gives website will look like on the day of.  Here’s a repost of a previous entry on the subject:

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Just to give you an idea what the Valley Gives website will look like on 12.12.12, here are a few links to show you what a leaderboard looks like and how you’ll see participating organizations ranked.

Match Day Milwakee

Spring 2 Action Alexandria

On the day of for Valley Gives, we’ll have four leaderboards ranking Most Donors (budgets >$500K and budgets <$500K) and Most Dollars Raised (budgets >$500K and budgets <$500K).

THE MOBILE Giving stations Itinerary

We’ll have three teams roaming around western Massachusetts, spreading information about Valley Gives as well as travelling with iPads to help passersby make gifts to their favorite nonprofits!  You’ll be able to find us at:

TEAM A
MONARCH PLACE, DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD: 7:30 am – 9:30 am
TOWER SQUARE, DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
UNITED PERSONNEL & FRIENDS/1350 Main Street: 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm
BIG Y, WEST SPRINGFIELD: 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm

TEAM B
WHOLE FOODS, HADLEY: 8:00 am — 10:30 am
UMASS AMHERST/Worcester Dining Hall: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
HOLYOKE MALL/Target Entrance: 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm

TEAM C – The Peter Pan Bus team!
GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE: 10:00 am – 11:30 am
THORNES MARKETPLACE 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

ALL TEAMS ASSEMBLE AT
MAMA IGUANA’S, Springfield: 7:30 – midnight

A poster for you to use!

Download this .pdf of a Valley Gives poster that you can add your message and logo to and use for your promotional purposes.  Don’t forget that you can download the Valley Gives logo and create any materials you need.

Vallet Gives Participant Poster

VALLEY GIVES PRIZE POOL NOW $200,000!

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5 DECEMBER 2012
MEDIA CONTACT
Michael Kusek at communication angle
413.575.1435/michael@communicationangle.com – or -
Caroline Deltoro at the Community Foundation
of Western Massachusetts
413.732.2858/CDeltoro@communityfoundation.org

WITH ONE WEEK TO GO UNTIL VALLEY GIVES, PRIZE POOL NOW $200,000!

New gifts add $50,000 to the amount that local nonprofits will be competing for during Valley Gives

Springfield, MA – With just one week to go until 12.12.12 – when over 260 local nonprofits and programs will participate in the first 24-hour e-philanthropy event in western Massachusetts – thanks to some last minute gifts from donors, Valley Gives has been able to add an additional $50,000 in gifts, raising the prize pool to an amazing $200,000.

When Valley Gives was announced earlier this fall it had $150,000 in unrestricted cash prizes and bonus matches to be given out randomly to nonprofits as well as to those that inspire the most donors and raise the most money.

Thanks to generous sponsors and donors, the current prize structure is:

• Nonprofits in two budget categories (budgets greater than $500K, budgets less than $500K) will compete for bonus grants presented to the top three slots for “Most Money Raised” and for “Most Donors.” (First place $15,000, Second place $10,000 and Third place $5,000).
• In keeping with our 12.12.12 theme, nonprofits in 12th place in each category will get a $1,200 bonus grant.
• Hourly, beginning 11:00 AM until 11:00 PM, a randomly selected donation to a participating nonprofit will have $1,000 added to the total.
• Throughout the day there will be Golden Tickets added to randomly selected donations:
  • 1 x $5,000
  • 2 x $10,000
  • 1 x $15,000
  • 1 x $20,000 - This $20,000 Golden Ticket award is dedicated in memory of Meredith “Merrie” Wood. Merrie was a leader in the region’s philanthropic, cultural and educational activities. This special award will be added in her honor to a donor’s gift on Valley Gives Day to reflect the values of generosity, involvement and inspiration that were the hallmark of Merrie’s life in service to nonprofits in the Pioneer Valley.