Why You Must Work with Network for Good and How to Follow Up with Donors

Yesterday in “10 Donations. 3 Thank-Yous. 7 Failures to Communicate,” I shared the results of my recent giving experiment, where only 3 out of 10 national nonprofits acknowledged my gift with a thank-you.

These results mimic last year’s, and in the comments on last year’s post, a few people suggested that the fact that the donations were processed by Network for Good may have been part of the problem, because Network for Good may not be the nonprofit’s preferred way to process online donations or because the Network for Good system is too cumbersome for some nonprofits.

I don’t know if the same issue will come up when discussing this year’s experiment, but I do know this: Whether you prefer to work with Network for Good for your online payment processing or not is a moot point.  Whether you’ve even heard of Network for Good or not is moot.

Full disclosure: I like Network for Good. I recommend their free and their paid services and they provide an incredible amount of top-notch communications and fundraising training to nonprofits for free. Katya Andresen, their chief operating officer, and I are friends. She wrote the foreword to my upcoming book. We sometimes do business together. She’s an awesome blogger.

But even if none of this were true, I would give you the exact same advice, because you as a nonprofit manager don’t get to make all the decisions about how people donate online to your cause.

You can certainly guide them down your preferred path, which may be a “Donate” button on your website connected to some other processing system. But if a donor wants to support your cause through Facebook Causes, Guidestar, CharityNavigator, Change.org, Capital One’s Giving Site (which I used for my experiment), or through Network for Good itself, then Network for Good is processing that donation for your donor and for you.

Some of you are wondering who and what the heck this Network for Good is. It’s a nonprofit itself, founded by AOL, Cisco, Time Warner Foundation, and Yahoo! to make it easier for nonprofits to fundraise online and for individuals to support the many causes they care about. If you file a 990, you are in their system, because the IRS sends your 990 to GuideStar, and GuideStar shares the resulting database with Network for Good. They’ve distributed over $370 million in online donations to more than 50,000 different nonprofit organizations. In January of this year alone, they collected $398,000 dollars for charities per day.

Bottom line: No matter how big or how small your organization may be, some of your donors will contribute to you via Network for Good.

Here is what Katya Andresen says Network for Good is doing to make  information about these donations available and accessible to you:

“Real-time reporting is accessible for organizations that receive donations through our site or our partner sites where they can view donor details (they can also export that information). A staff member can elect to get an email notification with a daily summary of donations made to the organization.

Nonprofits can elect to have payments deposited by EFT. Otherwise a check is mailed, which includes an insert with details about the payment, how to find donor information for acknowledgements, etc. In addition, we have a check website at networkforgoodcheck.org dedicated to explaining how donations are processed and where charities can find more information.

Lastly, we have free training and tips on how to communicate with donors at fundraising123.org.”

You should work with Network for Good to turn these one-time donors into life-long supporters.

Here’s what I wish the seven nonprofits who didn’t thank me for my gift would have done, and what I recommend you do too:

1. Make sure your profile in GuideStar is correct. You can update your profile here. That’s where Network for Good gets your mailing address and it’s what donors see too. Some organizations, especially those with chapters, may be listed in GuideStar under several different names. Make sure your main listing has “headquarters” or “national office” or something like that in the listing.

2. Sign up to get the daily email notification of any donations received for your organization by Network for Good. Sign up here.

3. Send a thank-you note to the donor within a week. Do not wait until you actually get the money from Network for Good! I made my donations on December 9, but because Network for Good only sends the donations to nonprofits once a month, the nonprofits didn’t get the donation until January 15. Now, I know how this system works, but most donors won’t. They’ll think that extra time is you not being responsive. And since you can get the data from Network for Good daily, it really is up to you to stay on top of it. (FYI, donations made through Network for Good are non-refundable in all but a few rare cases, so odds are extremely high that you will get the money. No need to wait to send the thank-you.)

Network for Good does send an automated email on your behalf immediately after the donation, so the donor knows the transaction was successful. It says “Thank You for Your Support” on it, but it’s really just a receipt. It’s up to you to send a genuine thank-you from your organization.

4. Add your new donor to your e-newsletter mailing list. Donors can decide whether to share their contact information with you or not. If they share an email address, put them on your email newsletter list. This person has already expressed support for your work through the donation, so it’s a pretty safe bet that they want to hear from you about the good work you are doing with their money. Communications with first-time donors is what turns them into second-time donors. They can always unsubscribe later if they want.

Of the 22 national organizations I gave to in this experiment last year and this year, only one put me on their email newsletter list (way to go St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital!).

5. Ask for another donation. After thanking your donor and communicating with him or her about the results you are producing, ask for another gift. Treat this person like any other donor.  With the exception of some soft asks in the St. Judes’ email newsletter, none of the 22 organizations I’ve donated to through this experiment has asked for another gift.This is even more mind-boggling to me than the lack of thank-you notes!

Next week I’ll share some tips on writing a really good thank-you letter.

P.S. Here’s what’s coming up on our webinar schedule . . .

February 23: How to Make Your Website More Interesting

March 9: Integrating Your Online and Offline Marketing and Fundraising Campaigns

March 18: On-the-Spot E-Newsletter Makeovers: Get Your E-Newsletter into Better Shape

March 23:  Getting Your Nonprofit Started with Social Media

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End-of-Year Appeal Letter Procrastinators – Reserve Your Spot Now!

Santa’s elves help him meet his year-end goals. Need a little help meeting yours? Join us! Registration is free, with a $10 optional donation requested.

Haven’t written your end-of-year appeal letter yet?

That’s OK. You still have a little time. You can stop worrying about it and relax over the holiday weekend, if you take a minute now to register for my free conference call on Tuesday, December 1 called Procrastinator’s Special: Writing Your Year-End Appeal Letter. It will take place at 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT).

During this conference call, you’ll . . .

• Hear about trends we are seeing in year-end appeals so far this year. Are nonprofits talking about the economy, and if so, how?
• Get suggestions for ways to start your appeal letter and to end it – those are the hardest parts to write, aren’t they?
• Chat with other nonprofits in small groups so you can share your favorite tips with your peers from around the country, and get their tips in return.
• Learn about some great resources available to help you plan your end-of-year appeal, even at the last minute.

The Format. This interactive conference call will be Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s first use of a new training system called MaestroConference. It’s not a webinar — it’s a phone-based conference call where we have the ability to speak to everyone as one big group and to create break-out groups where you can speak privately to a smaller group of participants.

We hope this format will let us share our advice with you, while also allowing participants to share directly with each other in small groups and then report back the best of those small-group discussions to the larger group. We’ll also leave plenty of time for questions.

The Registration Fee. In return for this advice, I’m requesting a $10 charitable donation that I will pass on 100% to Positive Wellness Alliance, a nonprofit working to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. This is a free-will donation, however, and you may register for free if you choose.

I have only 200 lines, and about 50 people have registered so far, so reserve your spot today before you leave the office!

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Fundraising from Out-of-State? An Update on Registration Issues

As you get your online fundraising programs in place and start connecting with people through social media, the liklihood that you will raise money not only within your home state, but in multiple states, goes up. Diversifying your pool of donors is great, but it also comes with some additional legal responsibilities. To help explain all of this in plain English, I asked Tony Martignetti, Esq., the author of Charity Registration: State-by-State Guidelines for Compliance, to provide this guest blog post for you.

If you have questions, please leave them in the comments.

~ Kivi

You’re Soliciting In Our State. Did We Say “OK?”

If you’re sending donation requests by email then you need approval from officials in states where they land.  Ditto if you send appeals through the Postal Service.  If you have online giving then there are a bunch of states that must say “OK” before your “Donate Now” button goes live.

These are all examples of solicitations under the Charity Registration laws.  Under these laws-which, sadly, differ in each state-your non-profit must have approval before it can conduct its solicitations.  In some states, like Florida, Arizona and Pennsylvania, there are criminal penalties with fines for non-compliance.  There are civil penalties in California, New York, Illinois and many others.  Under principles of fiduciary liability, your board members can be liable for your organization’s criminal or civil wrongdoings.

On top of all this the IRS has stepped in.  The new Form 990, which non-profits raising over $25,000 must file annually, asks two questions about your compliance with registration laws in states where you solicit.  The 990 is signed by an officer under penalty of perjury.

The definition of ’solicitation’ varies across the states.  In states like Florida, Georgia, Arizona, New Jersey and New York, the mere existence of a website that accepts donations triggers the registration requirement.  Add the likes of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon and Utah if you’re using email, U.S. mail or advertisements to induce their residents to your Donate Now button.

In every state, postal mail, meetings and events that include an appeal for gifts are registration-requiring solicitations.  It doesn’t matter how a state looks at your website if you’re dropping mail or meeting people there.

If your organization is small and most of your gifts come from just a few states (or maybe only one), here’s an enormous time-saving tip.  Put a disclaimer on your giving page, stating that you only accept gifts from certain states-and name them.  That way you don’t have to register in any other state; you’re no longer soliciting in those states.  Because I’m risk averse, I recommend going one step further if you use drop down menus.  In the state menu, only list the states you’re accepting gifts from.

The best way to get started is by following the adage ‘charity begins at home.’  Register with your home state.  I hope you see how this is different than incorporation.  It’s also different than registering a charitable gift annuity program if you have one, and if your state regulates gift annuities.  This is an additional layer of home-state law for you to comply with.

Next, register in states where you conduct the most solicitations.  If you’re strictly doing web based fundraising, with no inducements to your site, start with the most populous state (California) and see if it considers the existence of a website, without inducements, a solicitation.  California does not.  Continue in the same fashion with the second most populous state, then the third, etc.  The Census Bureau is an authoritative source for state population.

If you solicit in other ways, with or without a donation-accepting website, then query your own database.  Select those you solicit and pull their state of residence, listing the states in descending order by frequency of constituent.  The first state will be the one where you send the most solicitations.  Start there and work your way down.

Most states, but, sadly, not all, have exemptions based on charitable mission, gross revenue or in-state revenue.  You might be exempt in a good number of states.  Be aware that in some states exemptions have to be approved — you can’t just decide you’re exempt and move on.  They don’t make this easy.

Plan to do this over 12 to 18 months.  There’s no way you’ll be in full compliance immediately.  But you’ll be on your way with your most important states, in the right sequence, if you follow the plan I laid out above.

Eventually, you need to be in compliance to protect your non-profit from fines and other penalties, and your board members and officers from liability.

Tony Martignetti, Esq. has been supporting the fundraising needs of non-profits since 1997.  He is the author of Charity Registration: State-by-State Guidelines for Compliance and Managing Director of Martignetti Planned Giving Advisors, LLC.  His two websites are www.StateCharityRegistration.com andwww.mpgadv.com.  You’ll find Tony on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. To contact Tony, email him at tony@mpgadv.com.

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5 Spots Left in Online Fundraising Bootcamp E-Clinic Weds.

There are five spots left in this Wednesday’s Online Fundraising Bootcamp – a special e-clinic limited to just 20 nonprofits. Want to join us?

End-of-year fundraising season is upon us. Are you ready to raise as much as you can online? If not, don’t worry. That’s what the Online Fundraising Bootcamp E-Clinic is for.

During this three-hour e-clinic (we’ll take two short breaks), you’ll learn about the must-knows and must-dos of the three elements of successful online fundraising today:

(1) A website with a great home page and a great “Donate Now” page.We’ll look at what you need on both your home page and your Donate page to inspire donors to give — and what you need to leave off. We’ll also discuss fundraising campaign landing pages. For those of you who don’t currently accept online donations or who are unhappy with a current provider, we’ll quickly review your options.

(2) A targeted email marketing program. A robust and healthy email list is directly tied to online fundraising success. We’ll review what goes in a good fundraising email message — and what goes in all of the other email messages you should be sending in between the times you ask for money. We’ll also review appropriate ways to say Thank You for an online gift.

(3) A social media presence to help spread the message. While email is essential to online fundraising, social media can also significantly boost your results, while adding new people to your circle of friendly supporters. We’ll look at how you can use social media such as blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to support your fundraising campaigns.

Registration is $75 — a great investment in your online fundraising program. Learn more and register here.

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Day in the Life of a Fundraiser

Jason Dick at A Small Change is the host of this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival, a monthly roundup of goodness from the nonprofit blogosphere, where this month’s topic is A Day in the Life of a Nonprofit Fundraiser. Check it out and add to the discussion by leaving a comment about what your days look like. Thanks for hosting, Jason!

Next month the Carnival travels to Getting Attention with Nancy Schwartz. I’m sure Nancy will be putting out a call for posts soon on some interesting element of nonprofit marketing, so keep an eye out.

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The First 100 Hours – Turning Media Spikes into Fundraising Leads

On Tuesday, August 4, Alia McKee of Sea Change Strategies and Kevin Gottesman of Gott Advertising will present a webinar for us called Beyond Viral: Building Your Email List through Paid Marketing. If you are wondering how the leading nonprofits in U.S. expand to their email prospect lists to hundreds of thousands of people, Alia and Kevin will let you in on how it’s done.

I asked Alia to share some of her lessons learned about capitalizing on media coverage. Just how do you turn those viewers and readers into members of your mailing list? Read on, and register for the webinar.  Here’s Alia . . .

Growing an email list is a crucial element for nonprofits to build their movements, cross-promote their social media, and raise more money. Every email list member is a prospective activist, volunteer, donor, and sneezer – someone who can help spread the word on your behalf.

Typically, any surge in media attention, regardless of subject matter, causes a surge in related web traffic.  So for instance, when your organizations’ report on Iraqi refugees launches, you can expect two things to happen:

• More people will visit your website;
• More people will search on Internet search terms such as “Iraqi refugees,” “Iraq war refugees,” “Iraqi resettlement,” etc.

Generally, both of these secondary effects of media coverage are short-lived. Unless the report really takes off, the media coverage will peak within 3 or 4 days.

Our experience is that as the media dies down, so will the traffic.  The challenge therefore, is to use the window of opportunity – roughly 100 hours –  created by the earned media spike to convert as many visitors as possible to list membership – which is the gateway to participation with your organization.

The current industry-standard best practices for doing this would include:

The following is an excerpt from the Marketing Sherpa Landing Page Handbook, considered the bible in the field:

“We suspect some marketers truly believe that if their outbound campaign is good enough, the creative will pre-sell prospects on the offer no matter how lame the landing page is. In other words, many marketers think the outbound campaign is doing the heavy lifting, and the landing page exists simply as a passive collection cup for all the sales or leads generated by the campaign.

The exact opposite is generally true.”

General guidelines for a good landing page are well-documented and include:

• Suppression of global navigation
• Minimal choices
• Collection only of information viewed as appropriate by the visitor

Conclusion

Many organizations fail to maximize the 100 hours of PR opportunity in converting traffic to leads.

It is critical that your organization work across the “departmental divide”  – meaning communications, marketing, programs, advocacy, and fundraising work together to anticipate media spikes and create integrated marketing plans to convert those spikes into real live leads.

It’s Kivi again . . . pretty good stuff, eh? Join us on August 4 for more in-depth advice like this, along with real examples from Alia’s and Kevin’s work.

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Trying to Raise Money Through the Mail? Learn from the Master

If you want to raise more money with your fundraising letters, set aside Noon-1:00 p.m. Eastern (9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Pacific) on Thursday to learn how to do it right. That’s when Mal Warwick will be presenting in our Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar series.

Mal is the author of the best-selling How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters and also published Fundraising When Money Is Tight: A Strategic and Practical Guide to Surviving Tough Times and Thriving in the Future earlier this year. His fundraising company is celebrating 30 years of helping good causes raise lots of money through the mail.

I took a look at his presentation today, and it’s packed with great tips. Mal will share the basic components of a direct mail appeal (it’s much more than a letter) and his eight steps to creating successful fundraising appeals. Writing the body of the letter is actually the last step, so if that’s where you are starting, you should join us on Thursday and see why Mal says that’s the last (and easiest) part of the package. He will also share his eight cardinal rules of great fundraising letters (and when you can break them).

Join us on Thursday and I guarantee you’ll get some great tips, no matter how long you’ve been working in the nonprofit world!

As always, the webinar is $35 for everyone in your office who can fit around one computer and it’s also included in the All-Access Pass.

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How to Share Your Results with Donors

Penelope Burk of Donor-Centered Fundraising fame spoke at the Planned Giving Days conference in DC that I also spoke at yesterday, and one of her main themes was that donors really, really want to hear about what you did with their money in specific, measurable, and meaningful ways before they will give you another gift. (I tweeted highlights from her talk – she’s full of great info, if you aren’t familiar with her research.)

The problem, of course, is that providing solid results is a lot easier said than done. Many of the issues that we work on in the nonprofit world will never be “solved” and those baby steps we are taking toward those big solutions sometimes don’t feel all that significant. Much of what nonprofits do simply can’t be measured effectively in numbers. Much of our success also comes from partnerships or helping other people who are really doing the hard work in their own lives. Taking credit for those results can be tricky too.

One of the better solutions to this results dilemma is to use storytelling to give donors examples of the good work you are doing — examples that are really emblematic of your larger accomplishments, especially when those larger results are hard to quantify or explain.

I’m teaching a webinar on Tuesday, May 19 called Boasting without Bravado: How to Share Your Success Stories.  During the one-hour webinar, you’ll learn how to

• separate your real accomplishments out from all of your activities
• emphasize the parts of your success stories that excite your supporters the most
• take credit by giving credit to others
• build a choir that sings your praises
• use stories to make complicated or esoteric accomplishments easier to grasp
• capitalize on your current successes to build support for future work

We’ll review not only how you write up success stories, but also where and how you can use them to encourage your existing supporters to stay with you and to connect with new supporters too. I hope you’ll join us on Tuesday!

P.S. Get the All-Access Pass now and you can attend the Success Stories webinar, Mal Warwick’s webinar on writing successful fundraising letters (Thursday, May 21) and everything else we host for the next 12 weeks, all for $97.

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