Richard Davis, Chairman and CEO of Avectra, shares his news and views from inside Avectra, as well as the association and nonprofit world at large.

I have a number of significant announcements in this issue of my CEO update, which I believe is an indicator of the vibrancy of our industry. Things move fast these days and there’s always something new on the horizon. I encourage you to be proactive and take advantage of every opportunity you have, as an organization, and as an individual professional. So be sure to sign up for events, conferences, training opportunities, white papers, articles, etc. Then, watch, read, listen, observe, engage, and be ready to adapt to changing circumstances and new industry trends. We live in the information age and Avectra prides itself on being your partner in making the information work for you.

Bloomerang Announcement

Earlier this week Jay Love, senior vice president and head of Avectra’s nonprofit group, announced his new venture. Jay’s new product Bloomerang, which will launch in 2013, is a fundraising solution designed specifically for small- to mid-size nonprofit organizations to help them focus on donor retention and loyalty.

Jay will continue to lead Avectra’s nonprofit practiceand focus on delivering innovative donor management and fundraising products that deliver value with a unique combination of comprehensive donor management functionality and social engagement tools to enhance their advocacy, outreach, fundraising and giving efforts

AUDC 2013 Registration Opens This Month

The countdown has begun for our Annual Users and Developers Conference: AUDC 2013, which will be held March 3-5. Registration will open early in October and the AUDC 2013 website will be live within the next few days – watch for the announcement! We’ll be introducing new educational tracks, sessions and features, along with all the old favorites (like great networking opportunities) to make this the best Users Conference ever. If you have any questions about AUDC 2013, please contact Larissa Fair.

Here’s a tip: sign up early for the conference and secure your hotel room at the conference rate. The room allocation fills up quickly and I don’t want you to miss out.

SWAT Training Days

Given the positive reviews of our Success With Avectra Technology (SWAT) training days earlier this year, we’ll be holding Avectra Pro customer SWAT Days in our McLean, VA office, November 7-9 and November 13 -15. The SWAT days offer two options of full-day training classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced level users at a cost of just $175 per attendee.

Our Avectra trainers will also be visiting other cities in the coming weeks and months to offer Pro SWAT day training, including: Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles, Dallas, and more.

In December, we’re planning a special Enterprise SWAT day in the McLean office, prior to the ASAE Technology conference.

Look for Avectra at these Industry Events

Look for us (in the purple shirts) at the following events and be sure to come and say “Hi”. We’re showcasing our Social CRM Solutions at several industry eventsin the upcoming months, including:

Social Media for Nonprofits- Washington, DC – we’re a sponsor and we will have a (tabletop) exhibit.

October 5, 2012

Intacct Advantage2012, Orlando, FL – Avectra is a sponsor and attendee at this event.

October 17-19

DMAW Monthly Networking Lunch – we are sponsoring and attending.

October 18, 2012

AFP Leadership Academy – we are sponsoring and John Clese will be presenting a session titled: Leading your Organization through Moves Management and Engagement Scoring to Increase Donor Participation and Giving.

October 18-20, 2012

ITA Fall Collaborative – We’ll be attending this event. Note: the Information Technology Alliance (ITA) is a valued Avectra customer and we are pleased to support their event.

November 4-6, 2012

Never Stop Learning

As you can probably gather from the training and events (above), here at Avectra we believe that learning should never end. So we like to enrich your professional life by providing new educational, and sometimes, inspirational, programs, materials, and resources year-round.

If you’ve never taken advantage of any of our (free) offerings, I encourage you to check them out. This month we are offering a trio of Web Presentations. We also regularly offer White Papers, Published Articles, Books of the Month, etc. Or visit our website to see what is available. There’s always something new coming up, so be sure to visit regularly and when you sign up for a webinar or white paper, prepare to be delighted by our insider offerings too – such as Fresh Idea Fridays!

This is the first of four blog posts about cultivating Multi-Channel Outreach in development campaigns. We will explore strategies to create, measure and increase constituent impact for delivering on your fundraising goals. To begin, let’s establish a framework for your success.

I remember when life was simpler. I only had three dials to turn; one each for the television, the radio, and a rotary telephone. Then computers, cellphones and the Web ushered in a myriad of online communication tools such as email, texting, and social media. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of stuffing envelopes, adding a stamp and inviting others to a fundraiser! If you feel the same way, or perhaps even a little overwhelmed, you’re not alone.

Then again, who wants to lick envelopes, especially given how effective online outreach can be? Yes, modern technology involves multiple dials, but it also can be extremely effective. According to the e-Nonprofit 2012 Benchmark report, during 2010-2011 online donations increased by 19 percent. Although one-time gifts represent the largest source of online revenue, monthly giving programs are growing faster, with a 5 percent increase over the previous year.* When put together properly, multi-channel outreach can leverage any marketing budget and help build a more sustainable donor relationship (more on that later).

Before twisting another dial, consider how multi-channel campaigns may require collaboration across your organization. Others may bring insight and analytics to your campaign, but only if they’re involved from the beginning. After all, most nonprofits have limited time and resources to dedicate to any one campaign, so coordination matters.

So how might we simplify?

Below is my Ten Dial Dashboard to help establish your framework for success. To help illustrate these concepts in action, I will reference a recent $2 million campaign launched by “Water for People”.

1. Go for big impact. When setting your campaign goals, chose one big audacious goal (and maybe a couple of secondary goals). Identify a few key metrics to know if you’ve reached your goal. Water for People set the following goal in their “Time Well Spent $2 Million Challenge:”

“We need to raise $1 Million during September 2012 to match another $1 Million already pledged by amazing donors. Every donation has double the impact up to $2 Million!”

2. Seek out a match. Perhaps it’s just a matter of your nonprofit board members committing their annual donations as an incentive for others to give. Or, consider other donor groups, such as corporate partners, that might be motivated to commit money upfront. Matches motivate giving as well as extending your reach.

3. Limit the length of the campaign. Did you notice that the Time Well Spent $2 Million Challenge was initially only one month long? This communicates a sense of urgency.

4. Make the key message meaningful, crystal clear and with punch so as to easily connect donors to your campaign. Time Well Spent ties perfectly to the sad fact that “women and children spend an average of four hours a day getting water” in the developing world. Clearly, this is not time well spent and has dire consequences for these women and girls. The campaign then poses the question to the potential donor: “What is four hours worth to you?” The obvious answer is that it’s hard to imagine spending four hours fetching water.

5. Organize your home webpage. Water for People’s Time Well Spent campaign is top and center on their site, with two rotating headlines, a photo, and orange, white, and gray copy on a black background. You can’t miss it.

6. Make the Donate and Donate Now buttonz easy to find.I counted three donation buttons (in addition to the option, “Help Us Fundraise”) on Water for People’s website.

7. Connect The Donation Page to the Campaign.Wow! What a landing! In addition to the same pleasing graphics as on the home page, the donation page boasts multiple giving levels and a one-time and/or monthly donation option. A giving level is already selected when the page opens.

8. Create a Compelling Email Template.In 2011, 35 percent of online revenue was sourced from email solicitations**. Consider the cadence of email communication and design a series of emails. Zak Barron, area director of Constant Contact strongly advised at a recent AFP Colorado conference: “Know your key message- –the ‘thing’ you want most to communicate!”

Create a look and feel for these emails that is consistent with the visuals and messaging of the campaign. For example, Water for People uses the same young girl’s picture throughout its outreach.

Remember to create a compelling Thank-You email as well. One that keeps donors emotionally connected to your cause and demonstrates impact.

A Secondary Goal of the Time Well Spent Challenge was to build the email list. A “Sign Up for our Email List” call to action was visible above the fold of the homepage.

9. Prime your Social CRM.Remember the first principle of BIG IMPACT? It describes setting an audacious goal with accompanying metrics. Although there are seemingly countless ways to slice and dice donor data, keep your focus on the big picture. Ask yourself the simple question: What do we hope to achieve in this campaign?

Once this is identified, you can turn your attention to the necessary business of donor segmentation. Here your CRM will become your best friend. With your BIG IMPACT in mind, start delivering relevant communications to receptive segments of your donor population using the correct medium. Your CRM will also provide the feedback necessary to optimize future campaigns. Identifying your major donors and understanding which online tools increase their engagement will influence the planning for your next multi-channel campaign.

Holly Ross, executive director of NTEN made this point another way: “Though many of us think of data as a tool for reflecting on what HAS happened, I prefer to think of data as a way to create a better outcome in the future.”***

10. Integrate Social Media. Social Media strengthens outreach and is synergistic not only for re-enforcing your campaign’s key messages, but also when working across silos in your organization. Everyone can help.

Better yet, social media allows you to engage donors directly. Pose questions and solicit donors for their ideas. For example, Water for People asked, “What is your best example of Time Well Spent? Share in the comments below.”

Don’t forget your Social CRM. Add an overlay of social media metrics to your constituent data.

Some Additional Dials to Consider

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising. Water for People is working with peer-to-peer fundraising site, Crowdrise. Multiple teams are raising money and competing for fun prizes. Using individual fundraising pages extends Water for People’s reach with the added benefit of potential media exposure.

Marketing Partners.Water for People has two main corporate sponsors for this campaign. They are featured on the campaign “banner” which repeats itself on other landing pages and in emails.

Do the Dials

It’s time to dive into multi-channel outreach. Use these ten dials to establish reliable groundwork and simplify the process. Ten might become the new three!

Notes:

* page 12 and 15 respectively, eNonprofit Benchmarks Study; M + R Strategic Services and NTEN; http://www.e-benchmarksstudy.com.

** Page 17, 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study; M+R Strategic Services and NTEN

***NTEN Connect: Data More Than an Indicator Newsletter, Introduction by Holly Ross, http://www.nten.org

Amy Quinn is a respected speaker, consultant and most recently, author of Fundraising Innovators: Leaders in Social Enterprise Share New Approaches to Raising Money.  While she’s passionate about fundraising, if it’s snowing, she’ll be hollering down the ski slope with her husband and two children.

Have you ever dealt with a disgruntled group of industry professionals who created a rogue website providing access to one of your members-only benefits?

Who would do such a thing? I’m sure that’s what the Modern Language Association (MLA) wondered when they learned the website was stealing their job board listings. A member blogger speculated about their motivation: “Last year the MLA claimed that the job list would be open access, as in available to anyone, so to some the fact that accessing the database still required a subscription seemed problematic.”

The MLA replied that the people behind the rogue website are mistaken. MLA grants access to member English and foreign language departments — 88% of degree-granting departments. The departments are supposed to share database access with their faculty, students, and alumni. People without institutional access can subscribe for a small fee.

“The subscription has for years (decades, really) been one of the core member benefits of joining (MLA sub-groups), and the organizations—like many member organizations—have cause to worry that if they make member benefits totally open to the world, the impetus to join disappears.”

But people don’t get access from their departments, a blogger reported. Why not only charge those who place the listings, not the job seekers who often can’t afford to pay?

Despite the outcry, many in MLA’s community don’t support the rogue website. One pointed out the hypocrisy of an anonymous group calling for transparency from MLA.

What issues does MLA’s situation raise?

How relevant are your benefits?

There’s nothing wrong with the “pay to play” principle of members-only benefits. But, if other websites post the same jobs, does this members-only benefit still hold as much value as it used to? What if additional value for job seekers were added? Would that be worth paying for?

Job board business model

Who should pay – job seekers through membership dues or subscriptions, job advertisers, or both? Limiting access to job postings limits the audience. Is that a good deal for advertisers?

When MLA launched their online job board, there probably wasn’t much competition. But now, job seekers have many options. Is it wise for a budget to still rely on job board revenue?

Growing pains

MLA got kudos earlier this year for adopting open access: “a new author agreement for its journals that will leave copyright with authors.” Now some accuse it of “open-washing” since it hasn’t opened its jobs database as well.

One commenter encouraged patience: “But with all the recent changes to MLA’s organizational ethos, one might be generous and give them a *little* more time to work out how they might incorporate the (job information list) into that plan without going broke in the process. They’ve said they’re working on it.”

 When an association is in the midst of change, how do you manage expectations? Some won’t understand the difficulty in shifting a traditional culture and governance. These are not nimble creatures.

Listen to frustrations

In blog comments, I sensed a frustration about MLA’s hand in too many parts of the career process, like many academic associations. Graduate students and PhD candidates may no longer be dependent upon associations for job postings, but job interviews are a big part of conferences – a more expensive “pay to play” piece of the hiring process.

Recently I saw the same frustration in the comments and tweets of the members of another academic association. Their conference was scheduled in New Orleans for the days Hurricane Isaac was due to hit, and they took far too long to make a cancellation decision. In the interim, job seekers scheduled for interviews felt compelled to go forward with travel plans despite the difficulty and expense.

I was floored by the anger these young members directed at their association. Do relationships like that ever repair themselves? Maybe, once they’re more secure in the profession and can afford to forget. But is that any way to build trust?

One step back, two steps forward

One rogue website might seem like a minor annoyance. But when your industry’s press, blogs, Facebook pages, and discussion forums jump onto the issue, minor becomes major. All of a sudden, members who didn’t have a problem with your association see it through a different lens, however accurate or inaccurate that lens may be.

Use these situations as an opportunity to take a harsh, unbiased look at the issues underlying member frustration. Don’t hide behind process and policy. It’s okay to be wrong; you can fix things. Get your member leadership out in front. Let them talk member-to-member to help diffuse the “us versus them” feelings out in the community.

Deirdre Reid, CAE is a freelance writer who, despite her love of history, wishes she had majored in English.

You may have seen the announcement today on my new venture, Bloomerang. I’m so glad that Avectra and I will continue to work together to bring an even better solution to the market.

As you know, the fundraising industry is my passion, and I could not just “rest on my laurels” as they say and watch as what should be a booming industry is forced to slowly shrink away due to a dearth of options. The industry deserves more than that for all of the good it produces, and I’m glad that companies like Avectra and Bloomerang can offer a fresh (and I think stronger) solution to all the charitable organizations out there.

Why Bloomerang?

Bloomerang was born to address fundraising organizations that need just the basics. It’s an out-of-the-box fundraising solution that was built specifically for fundraisers who did not need a lot of customization or complicated donation structures. Bloomerang helps small- and mid-size nonprofits reach, engage and most importantly, retain the commitment of the people who share their vision. By focusing on donor retention and loyalty, Bloomerang will help those organizations reach and keep their most valuable donors.

The most revealing metric, as well as the one least mentioned to board members, is that the average donor retention rate from year to year is 60 percent or less. Our goal is to provide a true web based product which is easy enough to use without days of training, which guides the user on how to improve this vital retention metric. Just a small improvement of 5-10 percent can literally DOUBLE the lifetime value of any charity’s donor database! Just think what that would mean to any organization’s mission.

Stronger Together!
I joined Avectra to get back into the fundraising space, and the fact that their product was built with fundraisers in mind made it an easy decision for me.

Avectra’s solutions were originally built for associations and member-based organizations. But after almost 20 years of market innovation and thousands of successful customers, they extended their product to address the needs of today’s nonprofits. I quickly understood Avectra knew technology, their dedication to product innovation was unwavering and they were committed to the fundraising and nonprofit community.

The most recent release of their enterprise constituent relationship management solution (CRM) contains donor management and fundraising functionality that is very appealing to even the most complex fundraising organizations. Couple the traditional donor management functionality with Avectra’s innovative social tools (social media management and monitoring & constituent communities), donor engagement scoring, open APIs and a growing partner network, it is clear to see why Avectra was an easy choice, not only for me, but a growing number of nonprofits looking for a technology partner to increase their fundraising efforts and drive bottom-line results.

Together, we’re poised to offer a full range of options, as Avectra will be the exclusive re-seller of Bloomerang. By addressing the needs of today’s smallest to largest nonprofit organizations, we have something for everyone!

What Now?

So, what happens next? Sign up to receive updates of Avectra’s latest fundraising news and check out their donor management and fundraising solutions—you won’t be disappointed.

Plus, Bloomerang is currently seeking organizations for the BETA version of the program, and you can sign up here. Our goal is to offer the first qualified (as in, their needs fit our product) nonprofit to register in every state a free beta copy for three months with full implementation help at a greatly reduced rate. Please hurry, so we might have a chance to show you what improved donor retention can mean for your mission!

I am so glad to be able to have this unique relationship and opportunity with Avectra and Bloomerang, and to work full-time on what I love the most.

Stay tuned for more!