NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network

2009 NTEN Member Appreciation Month: Let the Festivities Commence!

Annaliese — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:06:26 -0500

Welcome to November. I think we can officially call it a tradition now: November is Member Appreciation Month. This month is all about YOU, NTEN members!

Just what does "appreciation" mean, you ask? Well:

> Every weekday in November leading up to Thanksgiving Day, we will give away special prizes to randomly selected NTEN members.

> The November webinar line-up is stacked with special "Member Appreciation" programming that is exclusively for members, and totally free.

> A special all-member contributed e-Newsletter.

> New this year: NTEN Gives Thanks Day. You will get the chance to give shout-outs to each other.

> NTEN Appreciation Grand Prize: members who renew before December 1st (that includes those who renewed in October) will be entered into a drawing for a huge NTEN thank-you pack of NTEN Gear, a 2010 Season Pass, and a free NTC10 Registration. That's like $700 worth of prizes, y'all!

How do you take part in all the festivities? Simply by being a member, you're already included. Stay tuned to our blog and your email -- and don't forget to sign up for our e-newsletter, if you're not getting it already.

If you're not a member of NTEN yet, maybe this is what you've been waiting for: join today!

Finally, don't forget to update your NTEN contact information so that if you do win, your gift will get to you.

What's Up With All the Guest Blog Posts? Member Appreciation!

Brett — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:02:57 -0500

For the 3rd year running, the November edition of NTEN Connect will be filled with content written entirely by our Members -- but with a twist.

Last month, we put out a call for articles, and received 21 submissions from NTEN Members. Those articles are now up on our blog, and the most popular -- as determined by page views, time on page, and number of comments and retweets -- will be featured in our November newsletter later this month.

That's a lot of knowledge to drop on you all at once, but like 2Pac said:

So listen up to the flavor I gave you, now dropping it.
We folks know, ballers know, no stopping it.
Dropping knowledge like the a-bomb dilly as napalm.

Okay, that really doesn't make any sense in this context. So, without further nonsensical digression, we give you, in reverse alphabetical order, your 2009 NTEN Member Appreciation Month articles:

Thanks to everybody who submitted! Now, help us get the word out...

2009 Member Appreciation: Daily Member Prize Winner for 11/5

Annaliese — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:44:16 -0500

cafepress.com/ nten I don't know about the rest of you, but I still feel a little giddy from all the #ntenthanks love that was shared online yesterday via Twitter and our Facebook Fan Page during our first ever NTEN Give Thanks Day, a new addition to our annual Member Appreciation month festivities. (By the way, folks are still giving #ntenthanks, I see, so feel free to keep sharing!)

One of the things we do during this special month is give prizes away every work day leading up to Thanksgiving to randomly selected NTEN members. As you might have guessed from the pic above, today's prize is some NTEN gear. We are so pleased to send some to:

Jory Cunningham, Malaria No More!

Thank you, Jory, for being a member of NTEN and doing the work you do.

But you don't have to be Jory to reap the benefits of member appreciation today. Here's some more free stuff any NTEN member can take advantage of:

> Free webinars:

2009 Member Appreciation Month: Day Three

Annaliese — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:57:12 -0500

Flickr: vernhartThere are 3 great things happening on this 3rd day of our 2009 Member Appreciation Month:

First, our daily NTEN member prize (we're giving NTEN prizes away each week day leading up to Thanksgiving, randomly selected from NTEN members):

> Joe Keenan, from Partnership for a Drug-Free America, you're getting an NTEN webinar on us! Thank you, Joe, for being a member of NTEN!

Second: free webinar today for ALL NTEN MEMBERS!

> The State of Online Fundraising, 11 PT/ 2 ET, today!

(If you can't make today's webinar, no worries: check out the line-up of free Member Appreciation webinars this week and for the rest of the month!)

And, finally:

> It's NTEN Give Thanks Day!

You can read all about it in Holly's post here, but really you should just get involved! It's easy: go to our Facebook Fan Page and give thanks to a fellow NTENer who has helped or inspired you, or maybe just makes you laugh (in a good way)!

I'm thankful for all NTEN members for their generosity and passion for the nonprofit technology community! #ntenthanks ;)

Give your #NTENThanks Today!

Holly — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:24:21 -0500

if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('8c0e03fb-448b-42b3-a3ca-14a84817146f');Get the Holly Ross (ntenhross) on Twitter widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)

Just in case you hadn't heard, it's NTEN Member Appreciation Month, also known as November! We spend all month doing our best to thank folks who provide the financial support that makes all those NTEN reports, discussion groups, webinars and more available to the entire nonprofit community.

Of course, not only do you help NTEN, you guys also help each other -- a lot. It's a realy joy to watch so many people in the NTEN community share their frustrations, triumphs, tips and tricks. We figured it's good for you, too, and that you might want to spread a little love yourself.

So today, let's cause a thankful ruckus!

All you need to do is tell the world which NTEN member you're thankful for and why. You can do it on Twitter or our Facebook Fan Page Wall - just be sure to include the hashtag #ntenthanks so we can follow along.

BONUS! The folks that give and recieve the most thanks will get a special NTEN prize pack!

2009 Member Appreciation: Daily Member Prize Winner for 11/3

Annaliese — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:12:06 -0500

I'm hoping you've already heard some of the buzz about this, but in case you haven't, November is all about NTEN showering our members with appreciation (and free stuff!). You can read more about it in my earlier post.

But now I'd like to get down to the important business of announcing today's daily member appreciation winner.

Toay was a special "NTEN Tweeps" drawing -- I announced, on Twitter, that I was giving away the Ben Rigby book: Mobilizing Generation 2.0, and the first NTEN member to reply with why they should get it, would get it. And,voila:

So, congrats, Ashli Cooper, from Eckered Youth Alternatives, you're getting the book, which was donated by Wiley/Jossey-Bass.

But more good news: all NTEN members can get this book at 20% discount from Wiley, by using your member discount.

Same bat-channel tomorrow, kids!

2009 Member Appreciation: First Member Winner

Annaliese — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:04:58 -0500

It's the first Monday in November, which means the first of many daily give-aways.

Today's prize is a free webinar coupon. The lucky NTEN member can apply it to an NTEN webinar of his/her choice. (Hint: don't pick a webinar that's already free for members.)

Drum roll please.

Today's winner -- picture me reaching into the hopper -- is:

Adam Bricker, from World Vision International!

Congratulations Adam, and thank you for being an NTEN member! (Check your email inbox for your coupon :)

Don't forget that all our members are winners this month, with free Member Appreciation webinars, starting with these this week:

Weathering the Economic Storm: Your Online Community and Bottom Line (Tuesday, Nov 3)
The State of Online Fundraising (Wednesday, Nov 4)
Everything You Need to Know about Launching an Online Community (Thursday, Nov 5)

And if you're a new member or curious about NTEN membership, you can join me this Friday for an NTEN Member Q&A session to learn more!

Same bat-channel tomorrow for the next give-away! (HINT: I'm going to select tomorrow's winner from Twitter, so if you're not already, follow me!)

Case Study: Inside an Integrated Holiday Fundraising Campaign

Brett — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:36:53 -0500

Ali Cherry, Beaconfire

[Ed. note: This article is part of NTEN's Member Appreciation Month spectacular. The most popular pieces will be featured in our newsletter. You can read all the details here.]

It seems like "integration" has joined "strategy," "social media" and "ROI" as part of a family of words that we all agree are important to online fundraising campaigns but everyone seems to use slightly differently.

In addition to combining the traditional tried and true with experimental techniques, we have seen four different approaches to online fundraising integration. If you can achieve all of these at the same time, bravo because for most nonprofits, integration is a goal with many challenges.

Online/Offline: Messaging supporters and potential supporters with messages to do something offline from an online message or to do something online from an offline message. The goal is to get supporters and donors interfacing with the organization both online and offline. (Some say on/off integration is synching the communication to have the same message, graphics, etc. through both channels, though that is really layered marketing or fundraising, also an effective technique.)

On site/Off site: Using your own website and email list are necessary. But reaching beyond low hanging fruit to the social media space, bloggers, Twitter, advertising, etc. to drive supporters to campaign landing pages, or better yet to allow them to do something within that off site space, is critical to reaching new audiences.

Individual/Corporate: Some of the best online fundraising campaigns have the support of a corporate partner who is willing to donate X for every Y thing done by an individual supporter. We all know matching campaigns work. Soliciting corporate donations alongside individual donations using incentives like a match encourages both to give more to your organization.

Dollars/Action: Photo, video, advocacy petitions, interactive games -- all of these things are part of a large toolbox of things to get people to take action in support of your cause that do not involve contributing a monetary donation. We work with clients to use creative approaches to bring new supporters in the door and then to measure which actions increase their propensity to donate and how soon after the action to ask for a gift. In general, getting a supporter to take an action increases ownership in the cause and likelihood to donate.

Certainly, not every organization has a corporate partner lined up or the capacity to take on off-site social media promotion, but pursuing even one of these approaches to integration will go a long way to improve your online fundraising campaign.

Last year, we worked with the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) to develop and execute their integrated year-end fundraising campaign. NPCA spends most of the year cultivating their email list with regular advocacy actions like sending letters to Congress or signing petitions to provide funding to protect -- and complete -- our national parks. The year-end campaign is an opportunity to convert their loyal supporters to donors and get existing donors to renew or make an additional donation.

The campaign had three key components:

Matching gift offer of up to $100,000 by a single, anonymous major donor. Though a match from a partner who can help promote the effort to their supporters is where many organizations get the most mileage, any added incentive to donate is enormously helpful to a fundraising campaign.

Four message email series asking their supporters to make a year-end, tax-deductible donation before the end of the tax year. They strongly emphasized the matching gift offer. They advertized this in their newsletter and on their homepage in addition to specific emails.

In addition to the email series, there was an overlay on their homepage to drive visitors to "Act fast to double your support." By mid-campaign, 40% of their donations were driven from the overlay, and they credited it with focusing site visitors on donating. This approach funneled users into the year-end campaign, versus their standard donation form, and helped their matching gift efforts.

With these techniques executed well -- the "tried and true" combined with a matching gift and layered messaging -- NPCA managed to improve their online donation results even in a down economy! Keep on integrating.

Ali Cherry is the Online Campaigns and Marketing Director at Beaconfire Consulting, where she helps nonprofits grow their supporter networks, enhance engagement and convert donors.

Twitter: I think I get it. Now what do I tweet?

Brett — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:07:46 -0500

Elizabeth Ricca, Big Duck

[Ed. note: This article is part of NTEN's Member Appreciation Month spectacular. The most popular pieces will be featured in our newsletter. You can read all the details here.]

A little while ago, we got a question from a client about Twitter. They have the basics down pat: they know the lingo, and they understand the importance of conversation. But they were curious about what kind of content they should tweet, and how to strike the right balance between carrying on conversation and self-promotion.

It’s a good question, and it got me thinking about the kind of content nonprofits might want to share on Twitter on a day-to-day basis, and how an organization can get the most out of microblogging.

(Disclaimer: this post assumes some familiarity with Twitter, so if you need an overview first, skip down to the links at the bottom for some Twitter 101.)

Reaching your goals online: a balancing act.

Hopefully, if your nonprofit is getting started on Twitter, you’ve identified some goals you’re hoping to reach: raising awareness of your issue, connecting with current constituents, gaining followers and encouraging them to take action or donate, etc. Whatever your goals may be, it’s likely that you’ll need to do at least some talking about your organization and the work you’re doing in order to achieve them.

But wait—I thought Twitter was all about conversation and making authentic connections. How can my nonprofit talk about itself without being too self-promotional and driving followers away?

I have two words for you: balance and value. Strive to create a helpful balance between information about your organization and content that has value for your audience. Ideally, you can deliver both at once.

Give your followers what they want.

It’s not easy to offer value, and it’s especially hard in 140 characters or fewer. But while your followers may have interest in hearing about your programs occasionally, they’ll likely be looking for a more compelling reason to keep an eye on your updates. What do you have to offer that they want or need? Below are a few ideas to get you started.

Link to relevant news stories or blog posts. Odds are, if your followers are interested in your organization, they feel strongly about your issue and would welcome information that you identify as interesting.
Ask thought-provoking questions, ideally ones that relate to your issue. Consider setting up a weekly yes-or-no poll question that you send out every Thursday, or leave it open-ended and invite followers to message you with their replies.
Retweet others. Used strategically, retweets can be a simple way to share useful/fun/relevant information and promote conversation at the same time.
Recommend other individuals or groups to follow. In combination with retweeting, this tells your followers that your updates are worth following, because you’re constantly giving them new reasons to check back.

Share; don’t self-promote.

Giving your followers what they want is great, but you still have tangible goals to keep in mind. Once you’ve figured out what you can offer value, how can you talk about your work without talking about your work? I’ve thrown out some ideas below—feel free to add others in the comments.

General updates about your programs and events: “Our workshop season starts today! Learn more or sign up”
Casual/conversational mentions of your work: “Just wrapped up a great event with our wonderful volunteers! See pictures on our Flickr stream”
Facts or stats that your audience might find interesting: “X% of Americans are affected by Y every year. Click here to learn more”
A simple call to action: “Click here to sign our petition”

Eeek. All of this sounds like a lot of work.

It sure can be. But if you’re hoping to cultivate an interactive, conversational, meaningful community on Twitter, there’s a lot of work involved. Someone at your organization will need to search for and identify content to share and retweet, or come up with questions or tidbits that might be interesting to your followers, and someone will have to make sure all that stuff is posted, questions or comments are answered, followers or retweeters are thanked…the list goes on.

If this feels overwhelming, keep in mind that Twitter may not be quite right for your organization at this point. Perhaps building and cultivating the kind of community you want would take more time than you have, which means that now isn’t the right moment to dive in.

Or perhaps you’re already doing everything that you have time for on Twitter, and it isn’t generating the kind of interest and buzz that you want, in which case, it’s not worthwhile. Be prepared to be flexible and change your approach once you see what works and what doesn’t.

How does your organization strike the balance between conversation and self-promotion? Do you have suggestions for types of tweets a nonprofit organization might consider? Please share in the comments.

If your organization is just getting started on Twitter, here are some links you might find useful.

What’s More Awesome than Sharing? Publishing, with Facebook Connect

Brett — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:07:26 -0500

Matt Koltermann, Cross-Cultural Solutions

[Ed. note: This article is part of NTEN's Member Appreciation Month spectacular. The most popular pieces will be featured in our newsletter. You can read all the details here.]

Facebook is kind of a big deal.

With two billion pieces of content shared every day on Facebook, influentials confirming that Facebook has been the largest gainer of online usage over the past three years, and recent deals with Microsoft and Google to bring public status updates to search results, getting your nonprofit organization to appear in Facebook’s news stream needs to be a marketing priority for the new year.

There’s a pretty good chance your website or blog already has a “Share on Facebook” icon or button that offers your visitors a dead-simple way to share your site with their peeps on Facebook, so that’s a great start. With a little technical savvy, you may have even figured out how you can control some of the content that appears in what’s shared to Facebook, such as the thumbnail image and the link description.

If you delight in keeping-up with tech news, you may have also heard that Facebook recently relaunched its “Share” button to include customizable text and a handy little count bubble that shows how many times a link has been shared, which is pretty nifty.

As great as all this sharing is, though, what if you could have even more control over the content that’s shared, increase your brand’s visibility, add a call-to-action, and get started on creating a deeper level of engagement? You can do all that with Facebook Connect.

If you’ve ever logged into another website using your Facebook account, that’s an example of Facebook Connect in action: it’s a secure way for you to authorize other websites to access your identity and connections on Facebook without needing to hand over your login information to yet another third party. With your consent, Facebook Connect also allows websites to access a user’s news stream to publish content—and that’s where things get exciting.

If you have a website where visitors complete actions—like to donate, enroll, volunteer, become a member, RSVP, request information, sponsor, etc.—make sure you provide them with the opportunity to tell people what they just did. On the page that thanks people for their donation, for example, encourage them to tell their friends on Facebook that they just did something great to support your organization. Similarly, make sure that they can easily share their enthusiasm after they’ve just signed-up for your program. You can do this by adding a button to these pages that leverages Facebook Connect to share a chunk of pre-defined content.

Implementing Facebook Connect can be a bit tricky, so I’ll take you through five steps to get it done. With a bit of geeky self-reliance and motivation, you can totally do this yourself without the assistance of a Web developer.

So, here we go!

1. Run the Facebook Connect Wizard.

This process creates the Facebook “application” that your website needs to communicate with Facebook. Enter your site info, upload the xd_receiver.htm file to your root directory, and test the connection.

2. Add a spiffy icon to your application.

Yay! Your application is now “Connect-enabled” and ready for a lot of awesome.

But, take advantage of a branding opportunity here by adding an icon that becomes part of your published content.

Go to your Developer Dashboard, click on “Edit Settings,” and then the “Change your Icon” under “Basic Settings” to upload your 16 px × 16 px icon (which is the same size as a favicon except it needs to be a GIF, JPG, or PNG).

3. Create the content you want published to the news stream

Now, it’s time to visit Publishing to Facebook and create your first chunk of shared content.

See how I’ve added the “Subscribe” link so Facebook users can subscribe directly to Nonprofit Geekery right from the news stream? Once you’ve entered your info, click the “Preview dialog” button to see exciting things.

If you’d like, click “Publish” to send it to your profile and news stream.

See how it all comes together? With Facebook Connect, you control the link, the title of the link being shared, the description, the image, the icon, the name of your organization, and the call-to-action! Admittedly, my example is pretty lame since I’m just sharing the homepage with a generic description about the site, but there’s lots of opportunity here to customize the content based on the action your website visitor has just taken.

4. Insert the code that makes it all work.

Once you’re done being wow-ed with your work so far, it’s time to grab the code and put it on your site.

First, copy and paste the first chunk of code you see on that same Publishing to Facebook page and place it in your HTML just after the <body> tag on the page.

The code your website needs to communicate with Facebook

Next, copy the code that renders all that lovely content you just created and paste it where you want the button to appear.

5. Make it look pretty.

Since that “Preview Dialog” button looks like it got beaten with an ugly stick, let’s dress it up in two steps. First, add these styles to your site’s CSS file.

/*FACEBOOK CONNECT BUTTON*/
input.fb-publish {
background: #617aac url('http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/zAB5S/hash/4273uaqa.gif') no-repeat 5px;
border-bottom: 2px solid #33332f; /*Separate border styles give a simple 3D effect*/
border-left: 1px solid #33332f;
border-right: 2px solid #33332f;
border-top: 1px solid #33332f;
color: #fff;
margin: 10px;
padding: 5px 5px 5px 25px;}
input.fb-publish:hover { /*Adds neat-o hover effect to the button*/
border-bottom: 1px solid #33332f; /*Separate border styles give a simple 3D effect*/
border-left: 2px solid #33332f;
border-right: 1px solid #33332f;
border-top: 2px solid #33332f;}

Then, add the “.fb-publish” class defined above to your button…

Add the "fb-publish" class to your button's HTML

…and edit the “Preview Dialog” text.

Change the "Preview Dialog" text to something less awful

Save the files back to your site, refresh, and behold the transformation!

Your pretty new button!

To see a working demo in action, check out my sandbox.

I would really love to hear all the creative ideas other nonprofit geeks have for putting this to use. Have you implemented Facebook Connect on your nonprofit’s website? What are your suggestions for how this can be used to get into the stream?