Big Fundraising

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? My Proposal: Well-Wishing Wednesday

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Spending time with loved ones, wearing turkeys on your head (see me and my family, right), eating and drinking whatever the heck you want...all without the extreme pressure of having to buy gifts.

Before I even have a chance to have a turkey sandwich on Thursday night (and watch my beloved Giants get killed by the Broncos), I am bombarded by messages to get out of my comfy chair and shop. Really? Did I ever tell anyone that I would give thanks for the opportunity to be at a big-box store at 3AM for a bargain? And what's "black" about it?

Once Black Friday's over, we're slammed by Cyber Monday. Is this the day we are all supposed to be robots? No...we're supposed to shop online this day. Oy. I'm already worn out and it's still November.

Here's my proposal. This Wednesday, December 2 should be "Well-Wishing Wednesday". Spend no money (who has money to spend, anyway?) buying stuff. Do not go to a mall. Do not shop online. If you feel an unquenchable need to spend cash, give it to charity. Lord knows they need it--demand for services is up, and fundraising is down. But I don't need to tell you that.

You may ask, "What should I do if I cannot spend $$?" Spend well wishes. Hold the door for someone. Smile at a stranger. Say "please" and "thank you". Post well-wishes on your Facebook status. Tweet some well-wishes. For goodness' sake, please do not spend money because the media and advertisers have spent the last week relentlessly ordering you to do so. Take control of this season, if just for one day.

If we can all do this, maybe Well-Wishing Wednesday will become my second-favorite holiday...

Soft Launch of New Web Site: Comments Welcome!

Just completed a major redesign over at BigFundraising.org. Would love to know what you think!

Visit www.bigfundraising.org.

My ongoing hunch re: motivation actually supported by science! http://bit.ly/DV7xg

Beneficial Tips On Designing a Non-Profit Website - Web Design - letscounthedays

One of the goals behind a non-profit website should be to inform visitors and provide them with valued content, ultimately motivating them to take action or to be encouraged by your undertaking, accomplishments, and possibilities.

via www.shayhowe.com

An interesting and timely follow-on to our home page discussion last week...

The Final Two Home Page Must-Haves

Here are the last two items on my list of Ten Things You Must Have On Your Home Page:

9. No old or outdated info.
I can't tell you the number of home pages I visited where I saw old events listed, old mission statements, outdated contact information. Take a moment right now to look at your home page, and get rid of anything there that's outdated.

10. Contact information.
Do not make anyone search for a way to contact you. I have visited more web sites than I care to count that made me surf through two or three levels before I found a telephone number, mailing address or email address. Make it easy for clients, volunteers, and donors to get in touch with you: include your contact information (telephone, mailing address, email) on your home page.

I hope you've found this tips useful. I encourage you to implement at least one of them right away, and watch what happens to your web traffic.

Here are the last two items on my list of Ten Things You Must Have On Your Home Page:

9. No old or outdated info.
I can't tell you the number of home pages I visited where I saw old events listed, old mission statements, outdated contact information. Take a moment right now to look at your home page, and get rid of anything there that's outdated.

10. Contact information.
Do not make anyone search for a way to contact you. I have visited more web sites than I care to count that made me surf through two or three levels before I found a telephone number, mailing address or email address. Make it easy for clients, volunteers, and donors to get in touch with you: include your contact information (telephone, mailing address, email) on your home page.

I hope you've found this tips useful. I encourage you to implement at least one of them right away, and watch what happens to your web traffic.

Still More Home Page Must-Haves!

Today we're looking at two of the items that you must have on your home page that must be updated fairly frequently.

7. Pictures of clients/successful outcomes for your organization.
In addition to the testimonials, you should include some visual representation of the success of your organization. Some people react more favorably to pictures than to text, and photos will appeal more to these folks. Try to gather photos on an ongoing basis, and rotate them as you rotate your testimonials.

8. Announcements of upcoming events.
Any upcoming events must be listed on your home page. If you're sending notices and/or invitations, people will come to your web site to find out more. An added bonus is if you can install the capability for people to signup and/or purchase tickets online. PayPal is a very easy way to do this; 1shoppingcart.com is a bit more complicated (but it has more flexible reporting capabilities). You can also use EventBrite or eVite.

Almost done...tune in tomorrow for the last to items!

Today we're looking at two of the items that you must have on your home page that must be updated fairly frequently.

7. Pictures of clients/successful outcomes for your organization.
In addition to the testimonials, you should include some visual representation of the success of your organization. Some people react more favorably to pictures than to text, and photos will appeal more to these folks. Try to gather photos on an ongoing basis, and rotate them as you rotate your testimonials.

8. Announcements of upcoming events.
Any upcoming events must be listed on your home page. If you're sending notices and/or invitations, people will come to your web site to find out more. An added bonus is if you can install the capability for people to signup and/or purchase tickets online. PayPal is a very easy way to do this; 1shoppingcart.com is a bit more complicated (but it has more flexible reporting capabilities). You can also use EventBrite or eVite.

Almost done...tune in tomorrow for the last to items!

Home Page Must-Haves 5 and 6

Our focus today is on actual content of your home page. Here are the two most important items you can include in the content of your home page:

5. Your Mission Statement
Seems obvious, doesn't it? Yet you'd be amazed at how many organizations do not include their mission statement on the very first page of their web site. If your home page doesn't include your mission statement, or you have an outdated mission statement up there, fix it now!

6. Testimonials
Many organizations include some testimonials on their site. I encourage you to have one or two short, powerful testimonials right up front on your home page. You may already have a file of testimonials from your clients; however, I encourage you to also include testimonials from your donors, volunteers and other community members as well. Since you can't tell why someone's landed at your home page, you want to information that appeals to as broad an audience as possible.

Tomorrow, we get into items seven and eight on this very important list of Ten Things You Must Have on Your Home Page.

Our focus today is on actual content of your home page. Here are the two most important items you can include in the content of your home page:

5. Your Mission Statement
Seems obvious, doesn't it? Yet you'd be amazed at how many organizations do not include their mission statement on the very first page of their web site. If your home page doesn't include your mission statement, or you have an outdated mission statement up there, fix it now!

6. Testimonials
Many organizations include some testimonials on their site. I encourage you to have one or two short, powerful testimonials right up front on your home page. You may already have a file of testimonials from your clients; however, I encourage you to also include testimonials from your donors, volunteers and other community members as well. Since you can't tell why someone's landed at your home page, you want to information that appeals to as broad an audience as possible.

Tomorrow, we get into items seven and eight on this very important list of Ten Things You Must Have on Your Home Page.

More of the Ten Things You Must Have On Your Home Page

Here are the next two items in my list of Ten Things You Must Have On Your Home Page:

3. Link to board and staff lists, with short bios.
Many funders will require this, and many will go to your web site to get it. This is one terrific way to make potential donors feel comfortable with the stability and professionalism of your organization. By including these lists on your web site, and making them easy to find, you'll go a long way to making a potential donor feel comfortable that their investment in your organization is worthwhile.

4. Link to your media room.
"What is a media room?" you may ask. This is one place where you include press releases, articles about your organization, and a summary of information about your organization. Any reporter (or blogger) who may be writing about your organization will go here to find pertinent information. Savvy donors go here as well to see how well you've been getting the word out about the good work you're doing. Make it easy for visitors to find out about your publicity efforts by including a link to your media room right on your home page.

More tips tomorrow...

Here are the next two items in my list of Ten Things You Must Have On Your Home Page:

3. Link to board and staff lists, with short bios.
Many funders will require this, and many will go to your web site to get it. This is one terrific way to make potential donors feel comfortable with the stability and professionalism of your organization. By including these lists on your web site, and making them easy to find, you'll go a long way to making a potential donor feel comfortable that their investment in your organization is worthwhile.

4. Link to your media room.
"What is a media room?" you may ask. This is one place where you include press releases, articles about your organization, and a summary of information about your organization. Any reporter (or blogger) who may be writing about your organization will go here to find pertinent information. Savvy donors go here as well to see how well you've been getting the word out about the good work you're doing. Make it easy for visitors to find out about your publicity efforts by including a link to your media room right on your home page.

More tips tomorrow...

A warm goodbye to Dougger...ninja dart champ supreme! He will certainly be missed :-(

The Importance of Your Home Page

I've been doing a lot of research lately on homepages of nonprofit organizations. Frankly, I'm shocked at how many of them create a terrible first impression. Badly designed, last updated two or three (or more!) years ago, no easy way to find out more about the organization, no way to give/support the organization up front!

The result of my research is my list of Ten Things You Must Have on Your Home Page. Over the next few days, I'll share this list with you, and give you some resources to help make your home page as effective as possible. Here are the first two:

1. Allow visitors to signup for a newsletter or other regular communication right from your home page.
Encourage visitors to learn more about your organization by signing up for your newsletter, or offering a special report on the state of your business/client base, right on your home page. It's fairly easy to create a simple signup box, through an autoresponder (that's a tool that automatically responds to signups). Several good ones are: AWeber.com, Constant Contact, 1shoppingcart.com

2. Include an online donation button.
This is so easy to do, I really don't get why every organization doesn't have one! You can easily set this up through PayPal or Network for Good. I even suggest including a "Donate Now" button on every single page of your site: you never know when or how people will be motivated to give!

Come back tomorrow (better yet, sign up for automatic notification of updates to this blog) for more of my Ten Things You Must Have on Your Home Page.