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Rad Campaigners always have their finger on the pulse of the latest news, research, and best practices in nonprofit technology, web design, web development, online marketing, online fundraising, social media.

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Social Media
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Women Rule Social Networks

Posted by Rad CampaignAllyson Kapin on 06/25/2011

Women are valuable stakeholder to nonprofits. They make contributions to twice as many charitable organizations as men do, and they are more likely to take greater risks in organizations with a strong vision for change, according to Lisa Witter and Lisa Chen, co-authors of The She Spot: Why Women are the Market for Changing the World and How to Reach Them. “Women also volunteer much more than men do. Thirty-two percent of women, compared to just 25 percent of men, volunteer across every state, age group and education level,” said Jocelyn Harmon.

Did you know that women also dominate social networks? According to a Pew study, in 2008 women comprised 53% of social networking site users. Over the past two years, women have increased their social networking usage and now comprise 56% of the social networking consumer base.  Men’s social networking user base has dropped to 47%. The study said that Linkedin is the only social networking site where men dominate.

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Non-Profits
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Netroots Nation Conference Highlights

Posted by Rad CampaignAllyson Kapin on 06/21/2011

Netroots Nation, one of the leading conferences for activists to gather and participate in 70 panels and 30 training training sessions, caucuses and strategy sessions wrapped up on Sunday and had some terrific take-aways. Participants from across the U.S. discussed building long-term capacity within the progressive movement, pushing the practice of online and offline organizing forward and changing the debate on policies. Check out some of the highlights from some of Care2's Frogloop favorite campaigners.

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Social Media
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Five Social Media Myths You Need to Know

Posted by Rad CampaignAllyson Kapin on 06/18/2011

A new study by ComScore says that US Internet users spend 1 out of every 6 minutes online engaging with social networks.  This is a significant increase from 2007 when ComScore reported that Internet users spent 1 out of every 12 minutes online using social networks. As savvy marketers and nonprofit campaigners know, numbers can be sliced and diced. Unfortunately many of these studies never tell the entire story. For example, the latest ComScore study says "Facebook now reaches 73% of the total U.S. Internet population each month."

As you read that stat, you’re probably saying to yourself "wow, that’s impressive. We really need to have a better Facebook strategy for our own organization." And while it maybe true that your organization needs a better Facebook strategy, it’s also important that you dig a little deeper into social media stats. For example, Facebook shares different types of statistics on their own site that I think are more useful when thinking about the role of social media. Facebook has 150M U.S. "active" users, which is 48% of the U.S. population, yet only 50% of active users login any given day. So 24% of the U.S. population logs into Facebook on any given day to check or post updates.

As more marketers release their own social media studies and statistics, the more pressure organizations face to build and/or refine their own social media engagement. As you continue to plan and evaluate social media’s role in your organization, arm yourself with the right knowledge and memorize these five social media myths.

1.    A Facebook page can replace your website.

THAT IS THE WORST IDEA EVER, said Maggie McGarym, the Online Communications and Social Media Manager for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

“Lets be perfectly clear: while Facebook can certainly be useful as an outpost to your company’s website, it could not and should not ever replace it. Thinking Facebook could take the place of a company’s website is like saying your car is so great soon you can just live in it and get rid of your house,” said McGary.

Check out McGary’s full post here.

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Fundraising
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Multi-Channel Fundraising: Magic or Myth?

Posted by Rad CampaignAllyson Kapin on 06/15/2011

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard that multichannel fundraising, i.e. enabling your donors to give via postal mail, your website, telemarketing, social media, etc. is the answer to all of your fundraising woes.

But what if you don’t have the budget or staff to focus on eight (or eighteen) different giving channels? 

And, what if you are “firing on all cylinders” but you’re still not seeing magical multichannel results?

We can help!

Join us on Wednesday, June 29 from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET for Multi-Channel Fundraising: Magic or Myth?

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Fundraising
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Make Your Donors Feel Like Rock Stars

Posted by Rad CampaignAllyson Kapin on 06/11/2011

Have you ever made a series of small donations to your own organization or made a “significant” donation to another organization whose mission you are totally passionate about? What was the experience like?

A)    “Awesome, I felt totally appreciated. A staff member followed up right away to thank me and kept in touch to inform me how my money was spent. I feel like they know who I am.”

B)   “Mediocre. I got an automated thank you message and I can’t remember if they ever told me how my money was being spent or how the campaign went. They did send me more fundraising appeals though.”

C)   “Terrible. They never even thanked me and just kept asking me for money.  I feel like they think I’m an ATM machine.”

 

If your like most donors, your experiences probably fall somewhere between answers B and C. Nonprofits spend a lot of time and money acquiring new donors, but they’re falling short on the most important part of turning donors into lifetime supporters – treating them like rock stars. If nonprofits invested as much resources into building meaningful and long-term relationships with their donors, organizations would raise a lot more money and have a lot less churn rates.

 

Five Tips to Making Your Donors Feel Like Rock Stars

1. Thank Your Donors

You maybe thinking “duh” who doesn’t thank their donors? Frankly a lot of organizations don’t personally thank their donors fast enough or at all. If a donor is moved by your mission enough to write a big check for $10K or make a $50 online donation, follow up with them ASAP and thank them from the bottom of your heart.

2. Shower Them With Love

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