Columbus Foundation Launches PowerPhilanthropy

From time to time, you'll see organizations doing amazing things to provide great services to the community. The Columbus Foundation recently launched a new program that provides an excellent, user-friendly opportunity for community donors: Power Philanthropy

The following information comes from the Columbus Foundation website: www.columbusfoundation.org.

What is PowerPhilanthropy?
As someone who cares about charitable giving, you want to know that your efforts will make a difference. You understand that supporting a nonprofit organization is more than check-writing—it’s an investment in your community.

At The Columbus Foundation, we want to help build your understanding of nonprofits and topics that interest you, so you can give wisely. PowerPhilanthropy, a new online tool, was developed with you in mind.

As a simple, searchable database, PowerPhilanthropy:
Connects you with nonprofit organizations and programs that strengthen the community;
Enriches your knowledge of the nonprofit sector by delivering in-depth portraits of hundreds of local organizations. These comprehensive portraits tell stories and offer vital information about programs, finances, management, and services.

You’ll be able to easily manage your giving, safely and securely online, from anywhere at anytime. Start connecting to the nonprofit of your choice. Find out how you can experience the power of philanthropy.

This website highlights types of giving; how to make a gift; has information for professional advisors; has an outstanding knowledge center where you can download PDFs on anything from strategic planning to nonprofit governance; includes an event calendar; and has resources on grant making. And that's just in section 1 on "Find Information."

In the next section, "Connect with Idea and People", you can create a user profile and gain access to the following:

• PowerPhilanthropy Projects that have been reviewed and vetted for inclusion into our nonprofit database;
• Call to Action Projects that feature high performing programs that have received support from the Foundation; and
• Current Initiatives that have been cultivated by the Foundation to address broad community issues.

The final section, "Give Wisely" is the prize and not only educates donors on how to make a gift, but links them up to support various community charities.

This is a terrific "one stop shop" and an excellent example of using a website as a very useful tool to support the community. Kudos to the Columbus (OH - of course) Foundation for their thoughtful establishment of a digital tool that makes giving a simple task and for giving the community easy access to key information on charitable giving.

YouTube Welcomes Non-Profits

It's been far too long since my last post. No excuses except that a job change had me wrapped up in my own professional world getting adjusted to a new position. I've returned to the world of fundraising and am the new Director of Annual Giving for the Children's Medical Center of Dayton. But have no fear, my interest in utilizing emerging technology for fundraising has not diminished and I am returning back to the Electric Philanthropy blog.

And all in good time to learn that YouTube has set up a special program for non-profits. Check out the website: www.youtube.com/nonprofits.

This is a perfect scenario for those who want to launch an electric outreach campaign but may not have the resources to hire a company to create their materials. This gives your non-profit the chance to tell a compelling story without having to spend big bucks to do it.

YouTube allows non-profits to create their own "channel." It is your job to promote that to donors and constituents but it certainly provides a simple way to broadcast you messages and post videos with a strong message. Here's how they explain what is offered:

Your Nonprofit channel includes:
*Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity
*Rotation of your videos in the "Promoted Videos" areas throughout the site
* The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout "Donate" button

As an incentive, the first 300 non-profits to sign up will receive a video camera from Casio. You'll need to rush to it to quality. Join groups like the American Cancer Society, Autism Speaks, Friends of the Earth and several others that have jumped in and been an early adapter of this program.

Be adventurous and put your message out there in a new way. You may be surprised by who is watching your channel and can reach a whole new target audience.

Electric Philanthropy - Live and In Person

I will be giving a presentation at THE Foundations Seminar, hosted by the North-American Interfraternity Conference on August 24. This program, designed for inter/national fraternal organizations' development officers, will offer a number of sessions that you won't want to miss...especially mine!

Here's a teaser of what is to come:

Broadband technology has ushered in a new era of communication. Fundraisers have a wealth of tools never before available for donor cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. This session will explore how emerging technology can help you tell your story in new and powerful ways. See examples of how Web 2.0 can enhance and impact your development efforts. Learn if social networks, videos, blogs, interactive websites, email appeal campaigns, email stewardship programs, widgets, and virtual communities will work for your organization. Explore the value of building relationships through user-submitted content and viral marketing. You are guaranteed to see new things in this session and to take away ideas to grow your donor base of support.

If you are interested in having me speak at your conference, just say the word!

An Easy Way to be a Philanthropist

What is your definition of a "philanthropist?" Do you conjure up thoughts of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, billionairres committed to changing healthcare and poverty global-wide? Do you think of men like Rockefeller or Carnegie, industrialists who made so much money that it still goes to work today? How about the wife of McDonald's legend Ray Kroc who left millions upon millions in her estate to benefit education and other charities?

Do you ever think of the plumber who lives across the street? How about your mailman? Your hairdresser? Yourself?

WordNet defines "philanthropist" as someone who makes charitable donations intentended to increase human well-being. The American Heritage Dictionary has a similar definition: The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations. Note: Neither definition describes how much one has to give to be considered a philanthropist. My favorite description is "the love of humankind in general."

Anyone can be a philanthropist. It simply means you give to help others, primarily because it is the right thing to do.

I was recently watching a news show and it profiled an innovative charitable organization that is nearly entirely web-based called www.DonorsChoose.org. that allows teachers to post needed items for their classrooms. In an era of substantial educational budget cuts, many teachers are in need of equipment and educational resources for their classrooms. This is particularly true in poverty-stricken areas, inner cities, and areas hit by disasters such as school districts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The items posted are for things any philanthropically-minded person could support on any budget. Donors can search for projects to support based on geographic region, subject, special needs, amount needed for funding, or type of program. Donors can donate any amount that can fully fund a program or partially support a program. When doing a search, one can see what percentage is needed to complete a grant request.

The theory is simple: Teachers Ask. Donors Choose. Students Learn.

There are hundreds of requests to browse through. And making a donation to support an interesting project does not require a major gift. This is an extremely easy way for someone to make an online tax-deductible gift that can truly make a difference, even if the gift is small. Many of the projects can be fully funded with a donation for less than $200. Any project can be funded in part by donating $10 or $20.

Be on the lookout for a thank you note and a photo from the children you supported. Teachers are encouraged to communicate the results with donors of how your gift was put to use.

Have kids? Consider introducing them to the idea of charitable giving by having them select a project to fund with their allowance once a month. Make a gift to support these programs in honor or memory of someone. Want a creative way to recognize a special teacher? Donate to a project in that teacher's name.

DonorsChoose.org is one of the easiest ways I've seen for someone to make a gift in an amount comfortable for themself but have the opportunity to target it to a special program. Many charities would prefer unrestricted gifts, so if giving for a specific purpose to help children with their education is something of value, check out the website. Better yet, play around and actually make a donation. Not only will you feel good about your gift, you may be inspired by the creativity American teachers are demonstrating in an effort to help this country's most challenged students become interested and engaged in their learning. To date, nearly $13 million has been donated to 568,670 students just through www.DonorsChoose.org.

If you are building your own charitable giving website, give some thought to:

• Posting specific needs
• Allowing donors to restrict their gift to fund a specific project
• Allowing donors to make full or partial donations
• Display how much is needed to fully complete a project (take the % one step further and use a flash-based gauge to visually demonstrate progress)
• Browse projects
• Set up a gift registry so people may select projects they want to fund and friends can make a gift to support those favorite projects
• Establish a giving blog that allows donors to spread your charity's message to their own personal readers
• Make online giving simple with easy to follow steps
• Make it personal; have the beneficiaries write personal thank you notes
• Offer your donors a widget to download from your website; You can send updates via the widget to show how much money has been raised, send gift giving reminders, share a great story and keep people in touch with your message and organization
• Allow your donors to interact with you and help spread your message virally
• Create a MySpace page where donors committed to your organization can have your organization as a friend
• Provide donors with items (i.e. your logo with a key message, wallpaper, etc.) that they can copy the coding for their own MySpace page

There are endless ways you can create opportunities to interact with your donors and constituents. Find your favorite charities online and look at what they do to keep you engaged. Then look for ways your own organization can replicate the concepts. Be innovative and creative. Try to make charitable giving something fun for people of all means to become philanthropists and help humankind.

Web Communication Trends

In my position at MediaSauce, we are consistently asked to give presentations on the future of technology, web trends, and digital communication efforts. If you are reading anything in the news about the future of communication, you are seeing references to Web 2.0. The advances by Google, YouTube, social networking sites, streaming technology, RSS, Wikipedia, and many others are changing the way we communicate.

It won't be long until our communication vehicles all come with a screen. I recently read a blurb from Bill Gates indicating that text books will become a thing of the past. Students of all ages will have some type of personal gadget that will allow them to get everything online. Television as we know it today will probably become extinct and instead, tens of thousands of TV-like "channels" will be available on line. Billboards in Cincinnati are now digital. It won't be long until every car comes with a GPS and it will be able to target advertising specific to your interests. What will vary the most is the size of your screen.

As soon as one dares to post trends or best practices, things will be different. But for right now, give some thought to these suggestions as you develop your websites and digital communication messages.

Image

• Clean, simple design -- Don't clutter up every inch of space. Think about the value of white space just as you would in print materials
• Strong, bold brand image -- Let the world know who you are.
• Use graphics -- A picture can tell a thousand words. Let it. Don't list 1000 words of text.
• Easy navigation -- Direct the user where to go. Don't make them guess where something is on your page. Spend the time developing an organized site map. Make the site map avialable so if someone has a specific need, he can find it immediately
• Utilize a search engine -- A must!
• Provide accessible resources -- As a link. Resist the urge to post every single thing about your organization. If someone needs to find something with greater detail, let them know how or provide ways for them to delve into deeper information.
• Design material for the web -- Spend the time and money to develop things for the web and avoid putting things in PDFs.

Honest/Transparent

• Be Realistic
• Engage the user -- Have the user be a participant by viewing videos, downloading widgets, listening to podcasts, etc.
• Tell a compelling story -- No one wants to be bored!
• Change information frequently -- No one wants to come back and see the same information is there weeks/months/years later.
• Call the user to action to experience more -- Provide contact forms, blogs, response devises. Allow the user to interact.
• Feature real people -- Provide video testimonials, use candid photos rather than stock photos, use bloggers to post realistic experiences, etc.

Face-to-Face Connections

• Find a way for users to connect with other like-minde people
• Provide social networking opportunities
• Feature audio and video podcasts
• Provide streaming video
• Use blogs
• Develop virtual learning opportunities
• Develop a public site and a private password protected site
• Create community!

The web has really become a new community. Everyone can find other people they relate to and share things in common. Your website can be an extension of your organization but make it inviting and engaging. It should be more than a source for information. It should provide value and benefit for participants.

Take a look at websites that you like. Pay attention to those you don't like. Compare the two. Was one more interesting to look at? Was key information easy to locate? Did the search engine provide the results you were looking for? Did you get involved with the site? Would you go back? Did it provide useful tools?

Here's a few sites worth taking a look at:

Angie's List at www.angieslist.com is a membership-based site for you to get valuable information on home repair services. There is outstanding animated explanation of how Angie's List works, clear navigation, and extremely useful content, especially for those who are willing to pay the membership fee. And why wouldn't you? It is a good value.

Butler University's College of Business wanted to provide a realistic look at college life. They profiled two first-year students for their first semester at college through a 12-part "vodcast" (video podcast) series. It is fun, engaging, educational, interactive, and provies a realistic view of the first-year experience. Check out www.butler.edu/vodcast.

Educating young people about peer pressure is an important goal. Above the Influence provides a great, creative website that truly engages the user. There is a lot of ways for participants to interact: quizzes, games, downloads, podcasts, dynamic flash content, photo galleries with the opportunity to send in photos, and useful educational material. Take a look at www.abovetheinfluence.com.

If you don't know where or how to start, just ask people, particularly those who use your site. Measure the performance through a system such as Google Analytics to track the traffic, to assess which pages people are using, to determine what is the most useful content. If no one ever links to something, then why have it on the site? Clean it up.

Looking to take the next step? MediaSauce can help. We help businesses and organizations communicate their message in a powerful and effective way. We specialize in the use of emerging technology. Our creative and technical staff members are the best at what they do. And best of all, MediaSauce will be your partner. We will be as committed to your success as you are. For more information, go to www.mediasauce.com and let us help you.