Chocolates and Roses are Fine but...

Why not rebrand Valentine's Day as Generosity Day - today?!

Check out the video below and sign the pledge.

I wish you a wonderful day full of compassion toward yourself and others.

Cheers!

Jocelyn

5 Ways to Keep Fundraising Results Up in a Down Economy

The economic news is not good. Across the globe, we continue to struggle with a recession that won't let up. Consumer spending is down. Retailers are nervous. No one knows what's to come of the 2011 giving season or 2012.

This is a tough time for nonprofits too. According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, "changes in giving are linked to changes in the overall economy. During good economic times, giving tends to grow robustly. However, when the economy grows at a moderate or slow rate, philanthropy continues, although at a slower rate of growth. In general, during economic downturns, giving tends to decline, after adjusting for inflation."

We've all heard the tragic stories of families and individuals rocked by job loss, protracted unemployment and upside-down mortgages. Maybe this is your story too.

You can't change the economy, but you can do your best to keep your fundraising on track. Here are five steps for fundraising in a recession and making the most of the year-end.

1. Keep asking

While your instinct may be to stop asking your donors for cash in a downturn, this is the worst thing you can do. Need doesn't go away in a recession; in fact it often goes up, and your donors know this. Give them the opportunity to say yes or no to your appeals. It is your responsibility to continue to tell your story, ignite passion for your cause and ask for support.

2. Think like a retailer

If you want to make more money at year-end or any time of the year, provide gift-giving opportunities in addition to opportunities for charitable donations. You don't need to create a four-color catalog today. You simply need to:

• Provide specific detail on what a $20, $50 or $100 gift will do.
• Provide a mechanism for generating gift receipts. This enables you to "double-dip," i.e., gain access to the holiday gift-giving and charitable-giving sides of your donor's wallet.

3. Focus on retention

In addition to bringing new donors into the fold on Dec. 30 and 31, make a huge effort to retain the donors you already have. Send multichannel appeals to lapsed donors. Call your current donors. Invite existing donors to respond to a matching gift. In short, do all that you can to keep existing customers in the fold.

4. Get their friends involved

You should have a peer-to-peer giving strategy year-round but particularly at year-end. One way to mitigate the financial burden of giving is to provide your donors with an opportunity to give together. For example, instead of asking one donor to contribute $100, ask each donor to rally five friends for the cause. Five $20 gifts enables you to meet your fundraising goals and provide new prospects for next year. Peer-to-peer fundraising also makes giving more fun.

5. Say thank you

According to Penelope Burk, author of "Donor-Centered Fundraising," "46 percent of donors decide to stop giving for reasons that are tied to lack of meaningful information or to a feeling that their giving is not appreciated." Saying thank you in a fast, friendly and fun way might be the single most important tool you have in your fundraising toolbox. Create a thank-you video from your clients and staff. Send handwritten cards. Write a thank-you song and link to it from a thank-you e-mail. There is no shortage of ways to show gratitude to your donors.

Fundraising in a recession is no joke. Donors are stressed, and chances are that your nonprofit is stressed too. We're all hoping for the bad times to end.

The good news is we have the tools to succeed. It's our job to use our ingenuity and resources to create a sound strategy to keep fundraising results up in a down economy.

Cheers!

Jocelyn

Help End Hunger This Holiday Season

What do Kevin Bacon, Lindsay Lohan, Jeff Bridges, Charlie Sheen, Jeff Gordon and John Stamos have in common?

They are all participating in a 6-day campaign to help end hunger in the U.S.!

From Dec. 1 (today!) until Dec. 6., these celebrities, their friends (and you?!) will be raising money to help end hunger.  A new charity will benefit each day. 

Check out the video below, learn more about the campaign and donate if you can.

Cheers!

Jocelyn

P.S.  Full disclosure: This campaign is powered by Network for Good where I work.

Thank You

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and not just because of the food.

What a great idea to dedicate one day of the year to giving thanks for life's many blessings.

I don't know about you, but I have SO much to be thankful for.  Here is a short list. I hope it inspires you to write your own.

Warmest regards,

Jocelyn

___________________

1) I am thankful for you dear readers.  Thank you for reading my blog (for four years!) and encouraging me to keep writing even when I fear there is nothing left to say.  I feel so privileged to have this small space in the Universe to express my feelings and share my thoughts. 

2) I am thankful for the crazy nonprofit capacity building community.  Thanks especially to luminaries like Katya Andresen (Nonprofit Marketing Blog), Holly Ross (NTEN), Beth Kanter (Beth's Blog), Allyson Kapin (Frogloop), Kivi Leroux Miller (The Nonprofit Marketing Guide), Alia McKee & Mark Rovner (SeaChange Strategies), and Allison Fine, who work tirelessly and passionately to help nonprofits build a better world.  I'm SO honored to be part of the crew.

3) I am thankful for my mentors, Clint O'Brien and Bob Gilbertson, who taught me what it is to be a good leader (and follower) and continue to inspire me with their leadership every day.

4) I am thankful for Fundraising Success, especially Margaret Battistelli Gardner, Editor in Chief, who gave me a chance to write for a magazine!  Thanks also to Katya Andresen for sharing her column with me.

5) I am thankful for my husband Dan Moore.  You are the world's greatest coach and have a beautiful heart and mind.  Thank you for  indulging my never-ending (often boring!) monologues regarding how to improve the practice of nonprofit leadership, marketing and fundraising.

6) I am thankful for a special nine year old girl, who asks the most remarkable questions.  You remind me to stay focused on the important things in life like pillow fights, eating pie and singing really loud!

Are You Happy?

 Are you happy?

• Do you spend time each week on important things like yourself?
• Do you have work or hobbies that you love?
• Do you make time to commune with family and friends?
• Do you spend your time, talent, and treasure wisely on things like helping others vs. buying more stuff?

If the answers to the questions above are YES, you get a hall pass.

If NO, keep reading.

I read a fascinating book this weekend called (what else?) Happy by Ian K. Smith.

According to Smith, 50 percent of our happiness is hardwired at birth.  (Yes, it's possible to be a natural born grouch!)  However, the good news is that the rest of our happiness is up to us!  And there is much that you can do to boost your happiness. 

You should read the book, but here are a few happiness boosting tips that jumped out at me.

1. Start a gratitude journal. - Make a few notes EVERY DAY about the things that you are grateful for.  In addition to boosting your happiness, a gratitude journal will make you a better fundraiser because you'll get better at thanking your donors, volunteers and employees.
2. Spend your money on things that last. - There is scientific evidence to show that how you spend  your money may be more important that what you make.  Spending money on others (aka CHARITABLE GIVING!) boosts happiness.  It makes those endorphins dance in our brain.
3. Spend LESS time on social networks and more time with friends and family IRL (in real life).  It's also well-researched that people with strong social ties are happier than loners.  Make time to nurture your close relationships and develop strong ties with others.
4. Choose your work wisely.  With commuting times at an all time high and work days growing longer in the U.S., where you work is key to your happiness.  We're not all lucky enough to get to choose our jobs but even if you aren't pursuing your preferred profession yet, find ways to make your current work day better.  Bring snacks for your team!  Send thank you notes to co-workers who brighten your day!  Take some time away from your work every day.  It's the small stuff that will lift your mood.

Happiness is not all up to us.  As mentioned, researchers believe that much of our outlook on life is hard coded at birth.  But the good news is that biology is only part of the story.  According to positive psychology, at least 40 percent of our happiness is variable and we can improve our own happiness by working at it every day.  

Make it a priority to make yourself feel better and by extension sow more joy in the world.  Being happy is your birthright, it's also a better way to live.

Cheers!

Jocelyn

Cool New Online Giving Infographic for You!

Every wonder how online giving has trended over time?  

If you're a geek like me, the answer is "YES!"

My company, Network for Good, has produced this cool infographic (feel free to share it with your fundraising friends!) for our 10th anniversary.

Check out how much online giving has evolved in the past 10 years.

My takeaway: Online giving is mainstream and it's only going to continue to grow! 

Translation: Get online today!

Cheers!

Jocelyn

What's Scary About Nonprofit Communications?

Halloween is over but chances are there are a lot of things that still scare you about the brave, new, world of nonprofit communications.

My frolleague (friend and colleague) Kivi Leroux Miller, author of The Nonprofit Marketing Guide has launched the second annual Nonprofit Communications Trends Survey to identify all those creepy, crawly, communications critters that get under your skin!

Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey and share your thoughts about what frightens and fascinates you about nonprofit communications.  Deadline is Friday, November 25.

Boo!

Jocelyn

What's Your Portable Potential?

Did you know that "in the U.S. more than a quarter of people own a smartphone" and "in the final quarter of 2010, smartphones passed global PC shipments for the first time in history?"

Clearly, we're going mobile as a society but what does this mean for your nonprofit?  

A: You need to determine if you need a mobile strategy and what mobile means for you!

According to the new e-book by Convio, A Guide to the Mobile Web: Best Practices for Nonprofits, you should be thinking about a mobile engagement strategy if one or all of the following conditions apply:

• 5 percent or more of total visits to your website are coming from mobile devices.  (Use Google analytics or another analytics program to evaluate visits to your website.)
• You have a robust social media strategy. According to Strong Mobile Trends for Leading Social Companies by Kleiner Perkins, "roughly 30 percent of Facebook's and 50 percent of Twitter's memberships are mobile users," i.e. it stands to reason that these constituents will access your site via their phones. 
• You're looking for younger, donors, activists or members.  
• You're planning on redoing your website soon!

Think that mobile may be right for you?  Determine the best mobile presence.

Now that you're convinced that mobile might be right for you, you need to determine the right mobile presence for your org.

My advice: Focus on mobilizing your website content first vs. creating an app or engaging in SMS/text. 

Apps are expensive and don't work unless you are super creative and find a really great hook for engaging your constituents.  SMS/text doesn't work either unless you organize BIG events with BIG stars or do disaster fundraising. 

What about content?

Going mobile is a GREAT exercise for a nonprofit because it forces you to determine how to STREAMLINE and SIMPLIFY your content to ensure that it is digestible and useful on a small device.  It also means thinking strategically about your top engagement priorities, e.g. e-newsletter sign-ups, advocacy calls to action, and donations.  (Important note here: You simply cannot smash all of your website content into your mobile site!)

You can mobilize your website by building a "basic browser-detection script" into your main website.  This may become a best practice in new website design. Another option (that I like!) is to build a 3 - 5 page mini site with opportunities for users to donate, take an action, read current news items, or share your cause with their friends.

Whatever you decide, mobile is here to stay.

Determine your portable potential and use this on-the-go, always-on, in-your-pocket channel to engage more people in your good cause!


Cheers!

Jocelyn

Are You Accountable?

You get up every morning.  You go to work.  You may even put in a longer day than most.

But are you accountable?  And to what?

Do you set goals and achieve them?  Do you deliver results?  Or are you just going through the motions?

I'm reading a great book by Denny Strigl, former CEO of Verizon called, Managers, can you hear me now?

Strigl, who transformed Verizon into the nation's #1 wireless carrier, says there is only ONE THING that will drive results in your business (and I would argue your life) and that is ACCOUNTABILITY.

Everyone says they want results. 

"We want to raise more money this year."  "We want to diversify our revenue."  "We want to create real value for our employees, clients and donors."  "I want to find a good partner."  "I want to eat healthier."  " I want to work out."

But if you dig a little deeper, you often find that there is NO PLAN in place to achieve these righteous results and worse, no one is ACCOUNTABLE for getting the job done.  No wonder that weeks, months and sometimes years go by with organizations and individuals stuck in the status quo.

On the other hand, I know many people and organizations that THRIVE in an environment where everyone is accountable to daily, weekly, and monthly results.  These individuals appreciate the transparency and clarity of organizational and personal goals and willingly step up every day to OWN their part of the puzzle.  

Why the difference?  And how can you create more accountability in yourself and others?

1. Be willing to fail.  It sounds counter-intuitive, but unless you are willing to take the risk of looking stupid or messing up, you are unlikely to embrace accountability.  Being responsible for a task, process, or policy is hard work (some people won't like you) and things don't always work out as planned.  But if you are willing to fail and to fail fast, then it doesn't matter if the road you choose leads to a dead end.  Part of being accountable means owning your failure and success. 
2. Be willing to make decisions.  Accountable people are willing to say what they feel and do what they say!  I can't tell you how much I personally ADMIRE this trait in others.  You should gather data and ask for feedback, but at some point you have to press GO!  Be decisive.  Be willing to make a decision and see if it bears fruit.
3. Be proactive.  Accountable people try to get ahead of the mess.  Because they take ownership of and responsibility for their work, they are always on the lookout for ways to improve and make things better.  This means knowing that SHIT happens and finding ways to avoid it vs. waiting for it to hit the fan.
4. Don't play the blame game.  This is the most unproductive and unattractive trait at work and at home.  Don't do it.  Nuff said!
5. Be confident.  It may sound silly but unless you believe in yourself and your own ability to affect change in your work and in the world, you'll never enjoy being accountable for tangible results.   Like the cowardly lion, you'll want to hide and you'll be wary of activities that put you in the spotlight.  Having confidence is the cure.  Believe in your abilities.  Believe in the good stuff that people say about you and be willing to act.  No one says you have to be perfect.  But you do have to show up and do your best.

I see too many organizations and people looking for change in the world without putting in the hard work to make it happen.  And it occurs to me that this is not because people lack good intentions, it's because they lack a practice of accountability.

Consider setting goals for yourself this week and working diligently to achieve them.  Want to write a blog post?  Write it!  Want to update your homepage?  Update it!  Want to ask for a raise?  Ask for it!

Practice accountability. 

Say what you want and do what you say. 

If you hold your feet to the fire, you'll boost your self confidence and you'll probably see the results you covet.  Either way, you'll be setting yourself up to grow.

Cheers!

Jocelyn

Thanks a Million: How to Thank Your Donors So They'll Come Back and Give More

I have the privilege of giving this presentation to a group of nonprofits today at a training for Give to the Max Day: Washington - a one day fundraiser to raise over $3 million for DC nonprofits.  You can watch the event LIVE here.

I'm speaking on the topic of saying thanks or showing gratitude to your donors.

Sounds sort of dull and obvious.  (Do we really need reminders and tips on how to say thanks?)

Unfortunately, Yes!

According to Penelope Burk, author of Donor Centered Fundraising, one of the main reasons that people STOP giving to charity is that their gifts are not recognized.  According to Burk,

"46% of donors decide to stop giving for reasons that are tied to lack of meaningful information or to a feeling that their giving is not appreciated."

That's a DISMAL statistic and so easily fixed. 

Here are some of my recommendations.

1) Be personal.  Do NOT send form letters.  Get your volunteers, board members, and staff to write a few thank you letters each day, in their own hand.

2) Be creative.  Make a thank you video from your staff.  Write a thank you song!  Watch this video from Charity: Water for inspiration.

3) Be tangible.  The other reason that donors STOP giving to nonprofits is because they don't understand how their gifts are used.  Tailor your thank-yous to the ask or how the gift came in and let donors know they great work you are doing with their gifts.

4) Be donor-centered.  Put your donors in the center of all of your communications, including your thank-yous.  This is not the time to wax on and on about your organization.  Make your thank-you about ME!

5) Be fast.  This is SO important.  Do your acknowledgements within 48 hours of receiving a gift, no matter the size.  Think about it.  If it takes you weeks or months (Yikes!) to thank me for my gift, that plants serious doubt in my mind about the efficacy of your work and does not make me feel valued.

We have a GREAT OPPORTUNITY as nonprofits provide our donors with an outlet for their altruism and to acknowledge their value as people!

Take every opportunity to lavish your donors with thanks and praise.  After all, their time, talent and treasure powers the work that you do.

Cheers!

Jocelyn