Online Monthly Giving – A Review of Nonprofit Programs
Monthly giving (also known as a recurring donors or sustainers program) has come a long way from the early days of child sponsorship. Now a centerpiece of many direct-marketing programs, monthly giving provides a reliable, low-cost stream of revenue that sustains...
Going Beyond Fundraising Appeals to Reach an Online Goal
I wanted to share some interesting information from a successful online fundraising campaign we launched on June 7th for our client, the Save Darfur Coalition (www.SaveDarfur.org). The campaign focused on the coalition's Divest for Darfur advocacy campaign although...
Digging into eNewsletters
"Urgent vote TOMORROW!" "Your account balance is overdue." "Hurry, final sale ends tonight!" With so many other, potentially more urgent messages competing for your email list members' attention, what can nonprofits do to maximize the likelihood that their...
Online Fundraising Tactics – What Works?
When it comes to online fundraising, there is no “one size fits all” magic formula to inspire list members to give. However, some tactics do work better than others. In an attempt to find out which strategies work best and when, we reviewed more than 180 fundraising...
Review of Recent Online Communications Benchmarks Studies
As more and more organizations turn to the Internet to enhance and expand their fundraising, advocacy and communications work, a number of key questions have arisen, including: How does our online program compare to other programs? What are reasonable goals for list...
Do Email Silences Matter?
Are you one of the many email fundraisers, organizers, advocates or marketers who view their online statistics with a sigh? Do you fantasize about sky-high open, click-through, and response rates… a list with zero unsubscribes? If so, you are not alone. Nonprofit...
Do Images Help or Hurt Your Email Campaigns?
Once upon a time in cyberspace, we assumed that including an image in an email action alert or fundraising appeal would make it more effective. But that era may have come and gone. Several recent tests we’ve conducted on behalf of our non-profit clients indicate that...
Why Open Rates are Dropping and What it Means for You
Open rates are dropping like flies. When we examined data from 15 national non-profit groups we found a steady, striking decline in email open rates across all the groups over the past two years.
Entertain the Vote: Tips for Developing a Flash Animation
What can animated cartoons really do for a campaign and how should you use them? Check out our tips for setting expectations, developing a work plan, and evaluating the success of your next Flash video cartoon campaign.
Cultivating New List Members
Want to Cultivate New List Members? Skip the Small Talk! Thinking about sending out a carefully crafted welcome message to help introduce new list members to your organization and get them engaged in your work? Better think again! If your goal is to cultivate good...