Start with a strategy to expand your reach to potential supporters

Guest post by Cassie Bair and Jenifer Snyder

The U.S. is going mobile. Even as people increase their number of mobile devices, many nonprofits are still hesitant about adding mobile to their organization’s initiatives. Misconceptions such as which tools are available through mobile for data collection, engagement and fundraising cause nonprofits to incorrectly believe that mobile can be a lot of work with little return.

The fact is, mobile is no longer just an exciting new addition to fundraising or engagement, but a tool that supporters expect you to have. The data around mobile proves it is a worthwhile venture for many nonprofits – beyond times of disaster. More than 20 percent of a typical organization’s web traffic comes from a mobile device. (Do you know your number?) Those users are generally more engaged online, through SMS, and donate via text as well as in other ways.

Before the thought of adding yet another piece to your fundraising puzzle becomes too daunting, here are a few important points about mobile from the mGive Foundation.

Mobile brings the world right to your donor

1You become a part of your donors’ world. Mobile phones are the centralizing point for many people’s day-to-day activities including social media, photo sharing, email, phone calls and text. People determine what information they want to receive via mobile – and how – and because of this, are very likely to stay engaged with a cause to take action when prompted. The power of how that technology can be used to benefit your nonprofit is truly just starting to evolve.

In order to reach the potential supporters you have at your fingertips, you need to have a fully integrated strategy – and mobile tools that can effectively do the job. Mobile technology is evolving, empowering supporters to cross communication channels and ultimately bring offline experiences online. With the power to post to social media from a text message or link to the mobile web from an email, to a multitude of other options—mobile is expanding the reach you have with both prospective and current supporters at all times.

Engage your next live audience through mobile

2Capture donor information and then add the info to your database. Asking people to fill out a form or to take an online poll still works in the traditional sense, but what if you could capture the information via mobile? Even better, what if you could collect the data shared in the heat of the moment vs. only when someone is online? Then use that data to drive awareness, giving and more when you combine it with information you already have about your supporters?

Organizations can use mobile to conduct polls, receive live feedback at events, track open rates of text campaigns, generate ROI for social media through giving apps and social sharing options, plus so much more.

In addition, nonprofits can gain a broader and deeper understanding of their supporters when combining mobile behaviors with more traditional information probably already housed in your CRM system.

Mobile is a pivot point for influencing supporter behavior

3The mobile device is a hub of activity for many people in the U.S. If your supporters own a mobile phone, they likely have a smartphone or will soon. Most probably use it for text, to visit websites, to post to social media sites, to email, to share photos and videos – and occasionally actually use it for phone calls.

If you could determine what supporters are doing, how they are doing it, when they are doing it and then ask for them to take action through mobile, you may be surprised at the results. So collect what you can, when you can about mobile behavior to run more robust reports and drive additional engagement.

It’s easy to find out how much a mobile donor likes you

4Mobile engagement creates a more personal relationship between you and your donor, but it’s also a relationship that you can measure. When your organization sends out a mobile call-to-action, the feedback you receive is more immediate and complete, allowing you to tailor your fundraising strategy for better results. By measuring opt-ins, click through to links, donations, and even opt-out numbers, you can more closely monitor the temperature of your donor pool, to create tactics that resonate.

Capitalizing on this mobile revolution is not just about increasing mobile databases or building more robust donor profiles, it’s about finding better ways to change the world. It has never been easier for donors to help those in need with just a few clicks on their mobile phone. Mobile allows everyone to become an everyday philanthropist and for your organization to benefit from the results.

Not sure where to get started with a mobile strategy? First, start by changing every form (online and offline) to capture a mobile number. Chances are, that’s the information you are collecting anyway but you may not have it labeled correctly in your system. If your data is only as good as what you put into your system, you sure want to make sure you are putting it in correctly!

Once you start collecting mobile data, start reviewing the profiles of donors and supporters with mobile numbers flagged in your system. You may be surprised at the trends around age ranges, giving rates, volunteer hours and more. That valuable information will guide you down the path of an effective mobile strategy for your organization.

The post How nonprofits should capitalize on the mobile revolution appeared first on Socialbrite.

Guest post by Kemper Barkhurst
HiDef

Irecently set up an online donation form for Rio Grande Community Farm, a nonprofit where I serve as board member and volunteer. This PayPal donation form was static and made me wonder about other ways in which nonprofits can raise money with online technologies.

After a little research, I found a few new tricks by which nonprofits can connect and accept donations from their supporters. These methods extend beyond just online payments or joining a social network. Check out the new ways nonprofits can collect donations from a mobile device, a text message campaign (SMS) and even social networks.

Credit card donations with Square

One of those emerging services is Square, a payment system that processes credit cards from a mobile device. This type of system will allow a nonprofit to accept on-the-spot donations. Imagine that your organization is tabling at an event and instead of having to rent a credit card terminal or go through a cumbersome paper-filled process, you grab your smart phone and accept a donation and email the receipt on the spot. There is a low transaction fee associated with each payment and is something that nearly any size, smart phone-equipped nonprofit can get started using fairly quickly once the service is fully launched. The only missing piece would be getting those donors automatically into a mailing list or in a CRM so you can follow up with them of the great work they are supporting (by the way, we can help with that).

SMS donations with mGive

Another way that nonprofits can raise money is through text message donations. A service such as mGive and a well-crafted campaign can open new fundraising opportunities. For a fee, nonprofits can receive text donations in increments of $5 or $10 sent to a designated number. This donation is then charged to the supporter’s cell phone bill, so money can be collected without credit cards or cash payments.

mGive isn’t for all nonprofits, however; service fees range from $400 to $1,500 per month in addition to a fee for each transaction. A free account for contact list building can get a smaller nonprofit started with SMS. This account also allows outgoing messages for a per-message fee. Outside of the free account, it might be difficult to make back the investment without a large media campaign. There are some successes, though, as mGive processed more than $37 million within three weeks after the Haiti earthquake. This is a good testimonial to the power of a well-crafted campaign.

Donations from Twitter & Facebook

Yielding a return on investment into social media networks is very important. Services like TwitPay and Causes allow you to turn these social networks into a direct fundraising mechanism. Nonprofits can now reach the crowds in social networks.

TwitPay and RT2Give

TwitPay, as the name suggests, works with Twitter. Their RT2Give service provides a quick way for getting supporters to donate. So not only do your supporters promote your cause through their tweets, they are just one step away from donating to your cause with a simple confirmation response. Currently a nonprofit must submit a request to access this service. It is recommended that you have at least 1,000 followers or work with a partner that can provide enough exposure.

Causes on Facebook

Causes is an application on Facebook that allows members to support their favorite causes. They can spread their support through their network by joining a cause. They can also quickly get to a donation page where they can show that support. There are currently over 20 million members of this Facebook app. To get started with Causes, a nonprofit can join as a partner or start immediately by adding a cause within the Facebook app. As usual, there is a transaction fee for each payment from your supporters.

Overall, these are all great and dynamic new ways in which a nonprofit can begin more actively connecting and hopefully receiving funding from their supporters. I plan to spend a little time in the next few months experimenting with these services with the farm. It will be interesting to see how a nonprofit can more directly connect with their supporters to keep them engaged.

Kemper Barkhurst is a designer at HiDef, a top-tier team that creates Web solutions for great causes.

Related

• 24 tools for fundraising with social media (Socialbrite)

• 8 tips for raising funds online (Socialbrite)

• How does mobile giving work? (Socialbrite)

• Behind the success of 10 top Causes (Socialbrite)

• 10 mobile apps for social good (Socialbrite)

• Fundraising stories on Socialbrite

The post New ways for nonprofits to raise money online appeared first on Socialbrite.

GoodGuide, Find Green, Give Work make Socialbrite’s Top 10 list

By Kim Bale
Socialbrite staff

Mobile applications are flooding the market at a dizzying rate — more than 150,000 now for the iPhone and tens of thousands for Android and Blackberry. And it’s important to keep in mind that only 18 percent of the phones in the United States are smart phones, as reported at yesterday’s Where 2.0 conference, so text-only SMS plays an important part in many of the campaigns run by nonprofits, NGOs and anyone interested in doing good.

In the past few months, though, a host of very cool smart phone apps have been released, making it easier for people and volunteers to carry their top-of-mind social causes in their pockets. And, take note, all of the iPhone apps listed here also work on the iPod Touch and the new iPad.

Here are 10 of our favorite mobile apps, from nonprofits and social change organizations, that are contributing to a sustainable economy of social good. This is by no means a definitive list, so please add your own favorites in the comments below.

Download the handout here (also at bit.ly/10mobileapps)

GoodGuide: Scan products for social responsibility

1Available in the iTunes App Store, the GoodGuide iPhone app allows you to scan the barcode of a product while you’re shopping and immediately receive ratings regarding health, environment and social responsibility. How cool is that? Other mobile users can text product information to 41411 to access ratings for more than 70,000 companies and toys, foods, health and beauty products — including an API that lets any website operator create a custom product directory that pulls from its database. GoodGuide on iTunes

Find Green: Locate nearby green businesses

2Locate green and sustainable businesses via the Find Green app for iPhone and Android from 3rd Whale. Looking for a farmer’s market within walking distance? Find Green will note your location and search their database of more than 60,000 businesses to help you find one. Submit your favorite locations, rate existing businesses and reap the benefits of sustainability living tips in the palm of your hand. Find Green on iTunes

The Extraordinaries: A way to ‘micro-volunteer’

3The Extraordinaries app for the iPhone allows anyone to spend just a few minutes of spare time completing missions for causes they’re passionate about. They even coined a term for it: micro-volunteering. On your commute to work, or waiting in line at the DMV, rate tweets from SXSW or tag photos for the Brooklyn Museum instead of racking up points in Solitaire. (Disclosure: I recently worked for The Extraordinaries as community outreach specialist.) The Extraordinaries on iTunes

Give Work: Crowdsourcing for good

4Created by CrowdFlower and Samasource, the Give Work iPhone app asks users to complete simple tasks that check the work done by Samasource’s refugee workforce. It provides a sort of quality assurance while increasing the quality of life for Kenyan refugee workers. To date, Give Work has been downloaded in more than 76 countries. Give Work on iTunes

Causeworld: Rack up donations through shopping

5Check in at your favorite stores via your iPhone or Android and rack up Karma points to spend on causes you’re passionate about. CauseWorld lets you offset carbon and donate to Chile earthquake relief without spending a dime, all while earning badges to represent your good deeds. Corporate sponsors provide the necessary funding that you give in the form of virtual Karma points to causes and organizations that matter to you. CauseWorld on iTunes

mGive: Donate to causes via SMS

6mGive puts the power to donate in the hands of anyone with an SMS plan. For a fee, nonprofits can register with mGive and then ask supporters to text donations in increments of $5 or $10 to a designated number. The donation is charged to the user’s cell phone bill and distributed to the organization. In just three weeks, mGive processed more than $37 million for Haiti, proving the costs associated with starting a campaign may be well worth it. mGive on iTunes

Frontline SMS: Help & engagement through text

7Another text messaging option, FrontlineSMS makes it easy for nonprofits and NGOs to keep in touch and engage with their community. Available to anyone with a cell phone, the service helps organizations share information with their community via text message. Uses can include sending daily notes of encouragement to disseminating calls to action to anyone with a mobile signal.

SnapImpact: Connecting volunteers with local opportunities

8SnapImpact is an app for the iPhone designed to connect potential volunteers with opportunities in their area. The app searches All For Good’s database of volunteer opportunities by location, providing users with a variety of options to give back to their local community. Applications for Android and Windows Mobile are in the works. SnapImpact on iTunes

Ushahidi: A platform for collective action

9This platform for crowdsourced crisis information can now be accessed via Ushahidi’s Apps for Android, Java Phones and Windows Mobile. Users can view real-time maps for crisis areas around the world and contribute crucial information regarding disaster relief. An iPhone App is still in development, and other mobile users can send SMS reports with crisis information.

MobileRice: Donate grains of rice to hungry

10The MobileRice app for the iPhone, powered by Free Rice, tests your vocabulary skills while donating grains of rice through the World Hunger Programme. Match words with their definitions or synonyms and help diminish hunger worldwide. The app is connected to the website, which has collected 77 billion grains in 2 1/2 years — enough rice to feed millions. MobileRice on iTunes

What are some of your favorite mobile apps for social good?

Related

• Net2 Think Tank: Apps for Good (NetSquared)

• Helping Haitians via mobile, crowdsourcing & social media (Socialbrite)

• The Extraordinaries: Building the ‘micro-volunteering’ movement (Socialbrite)

• All for Good: A Craigslist for Service (Socialbrite)

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