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Network for Good just release a new eBook  “The Online Fundraiser’s Checklist 2.0“. The eBook cover  tips on how to ensure success across online fundraising, email outreach and events management.

Inside this eBook, you’ll find 10 checklists that cover:

• Website home page
• Donation form
• Writing style
• Email lists and campaigns
• Thank-you programs
• Creating and marketing your next event

Download The Fundraiser’s Checklist

Between January 24, 2011 and February 10, 2011 NTEN, Common Knowledge, and Blackbaud surveyed 11,196 nonprofit professionals about their organization’s use of online social networks for the third annual Nonprofit Social Networking Benchmark Report.

As we can see from the chart above the most popular channel for nonprofits to promote their commercial social network communities was the charity’s own website at 78%, next with 62% emails to their e-subscribers and while 48% used face-to-face events. Online advertisements and search engine marketing (SEM) are less popular, used by just 12% and 6% of groups respectively.

How does your organization promote your social networks? Drop us a line and let us know!

First let me explain what a QR code is. A QR code or Quick Response code is a barcode or 2D code that is designed to be read by smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.

A new study release by comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, found that in June 2011, 14 million mobile users in the U.S., or 6.2% of the total mobile audience, scanned a QR code on their mobile device.

The largest population was male at 60.5%, ages 18-34 and had a household income of $100k or above.

The study also analyzed the source and location of QR code scanning, most users scaned codes found in newspapers/magazines and on product packaging and do so while at home or in a store.

How does your organization create QR Codes?

Creating QR codes is cheap most of the time free. In fact, many QR code generators are free. CNET offers a compilation of QR Code generators or most URL shorting services, like bit.ly create QR codes as well.

Has your organization tried out QR Codes? I’d love to know in what way.

For more information read: QR Codes: How to Read Them by interlinkONE, Inc.

The Page is an excellent resource for non-profits and other organizations.

There are over 30,000 non-profits using Facebook Pages. Through the application Causes more than $5M has been raised since 2006 benefiting over 150,000 different causes.

Visit the page

 

Credit: by Fosforix on Flickr

Cygnus Applied Research is releasing its 2011 Donor Survey this week. The 2011 Cygnus Donor Survey was conducted between February 7th and March 6th. Approximately 552,000 donors who made one or more gifts in 2010 and/or 2009 were invited to complete an online questionnaire. Over 22,000 donors responded from all over North America, including 17,605 from the United States. 83% of American donors who started the survey answered all questions, for a completion rate of 83%. The margin of error in this study is +/- 0.8%, nineteen times out of twenty.

Donors prefer online communication to print.

According to the survey, 69% of donors of all ages now prefer electronic over print communication.

Donors are increasingly favoring online donations.

Donors in every age category said they’d give online this year; 86% of young donors, 69% of donors between 35 and 64 and 53% of donors over 65. 26% said they plan to give less thru the mail this year, while 1% said they were going to give more via the mail. Also, according to the survey, 2011 will be the first year when a majority of donors in every age category will make at least one gift online.

31% of donors who prioritize giving online over other methods said that multiple forms of solicitation will not cause them to give more often or more generously, and an additional 49% said that soliciting them in ways other than online will actually persuade them to give less or stop giving altogether.

Donors are becoming more concerned about fundraising costs.

Cost-effectiveness is a major reason why online donors prefer online.

Negative response to token gifts.

77% of respondents have recent experience (within the last two years) receiving token gifts. The overwhelming response was negative to questions concerning whether donors appreciated premiums. As well, 63% said they do not want to receive token gifts of any kind so that as much of their gift as possible goes to the purpose for which they gave.

You can access the Executive Summary of the Report or purchase the full report here.

On Wednesday, Google released +1, a button, much like the Facebook Like button, that can be added to content pages. Users who click the +1 button are giving that content a direct recommendation to Google.

+1 is currently being rolled out as an experiment and you need to “Join this Experiment” with Google to have access to it.

In order to use +1 you will have to be logged in to your Google account. Once a your logged in simply click the +1 button next to a search engine result, Google will keep track of the +1 and highlight that search result if it appears for any of your friends.

Here’s a quick video:

The applications have been available for awhile now, but the upgrades include several additions. The new site streamline the application process for non-profits by creating just one form to access Google’s suite of tools and a new commitment to review applications in 30 days. The application also includes Google Grants a unique in-kind donation program awarding free AdWords advertising and video overlays which allow you to put a donate button on to your YouTube videos.

If a non-profit is approved (it must be a registered 501(c)(3) in the U.S. and not be a membership or religious organization), it will gain access to Google’s suite of non-profit tools:  up to $10,000 a month in advertising in Google AdWords, free or discounted Google Apps, premium features on YouTube and mapping technologies through Google Earth.

If you meet the criteria, you can to apply on Google for Nonprofits website.

What do you think of Google for Non-Profits tools? Will you be applying? Let us know in the comments below.

Blackbaud just released it’s 2010 Online Giving Report. The 2010 Online Giving Report combines findings from The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving with additional multi-year giving data to provide the most comprehensive analysis of online giving trends in the nonprofit sector. The Report includes 24 months of online giving data from 1,812 nonprofit organizations from The Blackbaud Index of Online Giving, online major giving data from 2,190 nonprofits, and both online and offline data representing $5.1 billion in total fundraising from 1,438 nonprofits.

As we can see 86% of online gifts were between $1,000 – $4,999. The largest online gift made in 2010 was $100,000 and there were 10 gifts of this size. This was up from 2009, when the largest online gift was $60,000. The median online gift of $1,000 or more was $1,250. Online gifts of a significant amount are likely to increase and be a greater source of fundraising results for nonprofits.

Download the whole report from Blackbaud’s website.

If you think Internet users waste their day on their smart phones, ipads or computers a new study by, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project may surprise you.

The study revels internet users are more likely to be active with some kind of volunteer organization or group. About 80 percent of Internet users participate in some sort of volunteer group, compared to 56 percent of non-Web users.

The increased participation might be due to the fact that volunteer information is so readily available on the internet. Of the 2,303 adults surveyed by Pew, 72 percent of Web users said the Internet had a major impact on their ability to communicate with members. Another 68 percent said it greatly impacted efforts to draw attention to an issue.

Download the whole report from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project’s website.

You’ve probably seen custom Fan Pages like those of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Make a Wish Foundation or the American Red Cross. When you land there, you start on what is essentially a mini website within Facebook, instead of the Page’s wall or feed.

These are often used to promote special events, an annual appeal or simply welcome visitors. Anyone with a Fan Page can create one, and it only takes a little effort.

Step 1 – Download the Static FBML application from Facebook.

1. Login to Facebook

2. Go to the Static FBML application page on Facebook.

3. Click ‘Add to my Page’ on the top left hand corner under the logo.

4. A popup window will open up containing pages that you’re the admin for, Hit the ‘add to page’ button next to the page you want to use Static FBML on.

5. Go to the Facebook page that you selected and look for the ‘Edit page’ link under your logo and click it.

6. Click the ‘Applications link’ on the left.

7. Scroll down until you see the FBML, Click ‘Go to Application’.

8. Change the Box Title and enter your html.

“Box Title” will be the name of your tab, I used ‘Welcome’.

The main text field is where your content goes, and you can add standard HTML to the page as you would any website, including images, text, links, and other formatting.

Note: Your images must be hosted elsewhere (on your non-profit’s website, for example) and only referenced in your HTML code.

9. Once you’re done click ‘save changes’.

10. Click ‘Edit Settings’.

11. A popup box will appear that lets you choose where to display your new application. Hit ‘remove’ for the box and hit ‘add’ for the tab. Then hit ‘okay’.

12. Click the tab to check that it all looks ok. You might need to go back into edit the page to tweak it and get it looking right.

Step 2 – Make your landing page automatically shown to new visitors.

1. To change this visit your page and again click the ‘Edit Page’ link under your logo.

2. Click ‘Manage Permissions’.

3. Find ‘Default Landing Tab:’ click the drop down box and select your new tab.

4. Click ‘Save Changes’

That’s it!!

Share your Facebook Landing Page

I’d love to see examples of your Facebook Landing Page’s. Feel free to link to your pages below by clicking the ‘link to this tab’ link in the FBML application.