Wired Causes

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but she’d really have preferred not to have this as an inspiration.  There is no excuse for the decision of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, until now a respected source of information and funding in the fight against breast cancer, to defund Planned Parenthood‘s program of providing breast exams to poor women. In fact, [...]

While I was living in Ukraine, the government tax authority launched a campaign to motivate taxpayers to stay honest and continue paying their taxes. The tax authority developed several ads. One was a cartoon illustration of a bee in front of a hive with a slogan celebrating the fruits of a collective contribution to the government. It looked like an ad for Honey Nut Cheerios with worker bees starring as the cereal mascot.  Another was a photograph of a new well and water pump where city residents could fill containers with fresh water from the well. An accompanying slogan thanked taxpayers for making the well and other city improvements possible. In one of my trainings, I placed the ads side by side and asked a roomful of Ukrainians which was more effective given the tax authority’s marketing goals. Not surprisingly, they were unanimous in their judgment that access to fresh water was far more personally relevant, and therefore motivating, than a role in building a metaphorical hive.

This example seems obvious, yet in our communication we often focus more on hives than on wells. We talk about saving the earth, ending poverty, or creating a great society. Every day, we have to remind ourselves that the hive is what we’re building; the well is what our audience needs to see.

At this week’s Social Media for Nonprofits conference, Paull Young of charity:water shared what he’s learned about digital engagement in his work over the past two years, and it reminded me of my story of the hive and the well.  Charity:water has done 6,165 water projects over the years - which is a lot of wells - and the exceptional job they do in talking about their work holds lessons for us all.

Paul shared five keys to success:

1. Be positive: Inspire and create sense of collective impact.  Don’t lead with guilt and sadness—it is not the stuff of a long-term relationship, nor the kind of content people will want to share with others.

2. Focus on stories not money: You do better as a fundraiser telling great stories about your work rather than spotlighting the dollars.  (Charity:water never asks for money on social media or in their emails.  I wouldn’t go that far but agree with the overall principle that you should focus on the good you do rather than what you get.

3. Do it wrong quickly: Try a lot of things - with the Internet economy, it’s quick and affordable to test.

4. Be personal - and that doesn’t just mean using a donor’s name.  Charity:water made videos singling out and thanking 250 supporters - each staff member participated.

5. Focus on impact - wells, not hives!  This is where charity:water shines.  They have great photos from the field, GPS coordinates for donor projects and an overall amazing donor experience.

No doubt about it - charity:water is well worth emulating.  Think about them when you’re gravitating toward the hive.

Infusing Social Into Social Justice Organizations – Guest Post by Daniel Jae-Won Lee, Executive Director of the Levi Strauss Foundation Time Magazine provocatively named “The Protester” as its 2011 “Person of the Year” for its riveting influence on last year’s social and political events. As courageous citizens connected with each other to express dissent and organize [...]

I heard a great presentation yesterday from DonorsChoose at the Social Media for Nonprofits conference.  Marketing Manager Anna Doherty shared six lessons her organization - which is fantastic at engagement - applies to its social media work.

1. Join the conversation around the cause: She listens first - always a good rule for social media - and chimes in on conversations others are having about her cause.

2. Share content and collateral that’s unique to the organization.  One of the strengths of DonorsChoose is its stewardship.  When you donate more than $50, you get wonderful thank you notes from students helped by your contribution.  She posts some of the best (and cutest) notes on the DonorsChoose Facebook page.

3. Celebrating big news.  Don’t be meek about posting good news - like crossing fundraising milestones.  Give your community cause to celebrate.

4. Share staff culture.  DonorsChoose staff tweet each other messages about birthdays and other events to reflect their fun, tight-knit culture.

5. Remember the medium.  Think big picture – people on Facebook respond to different things than Twitter.  Anna tried trivia questions on both, and they were popular on Facebook but flopped on Twitter. 

6. Balance quality and frequency.  Don’t just post for the sake of posting.  Anna learned the hard way that if she posted because she felt she must and the content wasn’t meaningful, it lowered engagement levels.

Good advice.

And although this wasn’t on Anna’s list, she was doing it, so I’m adding it:

Set a goal and test and measure against it.  DonorsChoose counts conversion to donations - with followers or likes secondary aims.  That helps them know where to focus, what to do and how to measure. 

Content Curation for Nonprofits View more presentations from Beth Kanter Here are my slides and curated resources materials for a talk called “What Can Nonprofits Learn from Robin Good,  the Best Content Curator on the Planet?” that I will be presenting at the Social Media for Nonprofits.   This area, content curation, is a social media competency that [...]

One of the best books I have ever read to strengthen my marketing skills was Influence, by Robert Cialdini.  If you’ve never read this book, you really should.  In the book, Cialdini covers six principles of persuasion:

1. Reciprocity - People tend to return a favor, thus all those annoying address labels charities send out as a fundraising ploy.

2. Liking - People are easily persuaded by other people whom they like. That’s why you want your champions spreading the word about your cause among their friends and family.

3. Scarcity - Perceived scarcity fuels demand. “Only four memberships are left” prompts action!

4. Authority - People will tend to obey authority figures.  Just check out the well-dressed man in a suit jay-walking in the below video.  Everyone on the street corner follows.  When he wears a sweatshirt, no one follows. That’s the principle of authority at work.

5. Social Proof - People will do what other people are doing. That’s why it’s great to show who is taking action for your cause - others are likely to conform.

6. Commitment and Consistency - If people commit to an idea or goal, they are more likely to follow through.  I’ve covered that several times on the blog lately.  It’s why pledging is a great option for people who aren’t ready to take action.

If you don’t have time to read the book, watch this wonderful 30 minute interview with Cialdini from Swedish television (don’t worry, it’s in English).  He walks through each principle, with vivid examples of these ideas being used for social good, for manipulation and for propaganda.  It’s well worth your time.

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With the Network for Good team, I just created a mini-course on thanking donors.  It’s a self-guided tour to writing great thank-yous and treating donors well all year - so they will give again!  (It’s not free, but I immodestly think this guide to stewardship is worth every penny.  Learn more here.)

So do you treat your donors well?  To figure it out, take this quiz.  (It’s free.)

And remember the rock bottom, bare minimums when it comes to donor stewardship!

1. ALWAYS THANK YOUR DONORS: Always.  No exceptions.
2. THANK THEM EARLY: You should thank your donors within a few days of their gift. 
3. THANK THEM OFTEN:  Thank your donors several times, over time, and keep reporting back on the difference they have made.
4. THANK THEM ACCURATELY: Make sure you have correctly spelled the donor’s name, stated the amount and date of the donation, included appropriate language for taxes and carefully noted if the gift was made in honor of someone else.

If I had a dollar for every charity that didn’t do these four things when I gave…