May 30th, 2006 at 07:49pm
Under fundraising
Special events are an important part of how many nonprofit organizations raise money, strengthens its brand, and maintains donor relationships.
The online environment can be a more important part of the future of events for your organization and I’ve got a few recommendations in this area.  Â
Most likely, your events program has a supporter base that will not convert quickly to online giving. Like converting donors from single gift giving to a monthly committed giving plan, the conversion is incremental and small.
The future success of your online giving program doesn’t lie in your existing event database.Â
Your event donors should be given every opportunity to give online. A valuable incentive is to offering them an online receipt. Some of your donors may choose to switch to online giving in order to take advantage of an instant receipting for their records.Â
In addition, the event donors can be told that giving or registering online is the most efficient way to help your organization and that “their money will go to work faster†if they register/buy tickets/give online.
I usually recommend that an organization provide event donors every opportunity to give online and provide information on instant receipting and buying tickets online. This way you will encourage some of your donors to move to the online environment.Â
Most likely, your current prospective and past event goers receive a text-only email that reminds them to buy their tickets and to participate in a particular event. They do not have the opportunity to use their credit card and buy tickets through a real-time transaction online.
Your event emails sent out currently are probably text only and have a hypertext link to a PDF form. A wonderful improvement is to send an HTML email with key points and linked calls to action in text only with the overall look and feel in HTML. If you’re already there, what the heck are you reading this for?! 
As an example of best practice online promotion of fundraising events, HJC would like to highlight the work of Rethink Breast Cancer, an innovative fundraising organization that concentrates solely on helping young women, and their families, who struggle with breast cancer. Their constituency is largely younger and they have created effective online promotions of their events.
The following examples should inspire your organization in the creation of HTML, and perhaps Flash, promotions for its events:
The use of a link in an email invitation can lead to fun, cool, and hip use of Flash. If you go to http://oxygen.ca/clients/rethink/discoball.html, you will see a great use of animation to sell a unique event:Â The Little Sweetheart Ball, an event for young parents and their young kids. The end of the animated promotion piece also gives high branding position to the corporate sponsors.
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The use of graphics and a forward-this-to-a-friend function gives this invite a powerful viral marketing ability and gives it a hip look. Try it out for the right event and the right group!
By Michael Johnston
May 30th, 2006 at 07:19pm
Under fundraising
Can Bloggers Make Money for Charities?
 Blogs are great for an endless stream of electronic media but will it make a difference offline? A recent New York Times article stated: “Online politics can’t flourish in the virtual realm alone, any more than an online romance can be consummated through instant messagingâ€. I think there’s something there for fundraising too. Virtual fundraising is probably stronger when it can also be connected to a real voice, or a visit, or an event. Hear Hear I say – the web doesn’t replace the public square, it drives people to it. You just have to look at recent pro-immigration rallies that used both radio and the online environment to get people to the streets.I believe deeply that technologies change and different philanthropic trends come and go, but the essential process of giving endures – people helping people. One medium may replace another over time but that’s all it does – replace it – with people still giving…Â
Free Advertising
 It’s true that personalized fundraising pages (and blogs) have allowed citizens to use marketing and advertising tools to raise money and awareness ON BEHALF OF charities.Now PSAs and DRTV may be the next step.In the commercial world, Converse has allowed individuals to make commercials for them with editing/content tools. When GM allowed people to make SUV commercials, some peopleturned out anti-SUV commercials. People are calling these opportunities as “co-creationâ€. In the commercial world, Converse has allowed individuals to make commercials for them with editing/content tools. When GM allowed people to make SUV commercials, some peopleAre we ready for co-creation in the nonprofit sector? Anything would be better than most of the crappy PSAs that are out there! Firefox, the web browser of Mozilla Corporation asked people to submit broadcast quality 30 second spots. There were 280 submissions judged by industry experts in advertising. It gave aspiring artists a chance to show off their work and the company got free ads. Co-creation goes hand in hand with co-marketing.Shouldn’t some charities do this? How about your organization doing this? And what about fundraising content on mobile phones? Some estimates put the market at 27 billion dollars by 2010.
About 3-5% of North American cell phone users view mobile video content.
In the US, “Sway’s Hip-Hop Owner’s Manual†had an MTV show host interviewing people on the streets of LA. He was close to the camera – popping out – and that’s probably the way for fundraising on the mobile to come – “the whites of their eyesâ€.
How will they be made:
1.    Close up
2.    limit zooming, panning, quick movements
And Apple’s ipod is turning out more successful for video downloads than thought – 15 million shows downloaded in the first six months.
Europeans are quite advanced but one NA executive said, “Great technology, but it’s a bunch of naked people swearing… not gonna work here.â€
So… it looks like we’ll have to make up this mobile fundraising content ourselves – or we’ll just hand over the content provision to the supporter and let them make our appeals!
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By Michael Johnston