A Flitter over Twitter

OK, one week away from NTEN's Conference and I'm hooked on Twitter again. Granted, I don't have as much time to update my status as I'd like, but I love following organizations like Global Giving and TechSoup. I've been on the fence about Twitter for awhile. I even remember reading its obituary last year. I still meet people who are very enthused about it and some who are over it. And, I've met those who think it's a great channel for organizations to communicate to active online constituents.

However, you might ask: What is the real ROI of Twitter? Yes, it's fun to network and meet people and keep in touch almost instantly but does it work? Well, that depends on what your organization is trying to acomplish.

Twitter can fulfill one of the big buzz words being tossed around right now: groundswell. If your organization is a 501(c)(4) that heavily relies on social networks to get the word out, then you should start an account immediately and start encouraging your constituents to do the same. It may take some time to build a network, but you can build a very responsive network in cities and towns just by pulling in a few dedicated followers. So, when you need a groundswell for hitting the phones or attending a rally, it can really work for your org.

Can you raise money online with Twitter? Perhaps. You could create a following and then create a sense of urgency with a specific campaign. If your .org have to raise $25,000 in a week, then mobilize your Twitter devotees to hit their networks for you. Your organization can create a single login and keep it updates with event and campaign information. You might be surprised by the results.

However, that said, if your staff is already pushed to the limits and you can barely make site updates without hassle, then keep Twitter in your back pocket for now. The key part of social networking is being social; some .orgs have discovered that it's hard work to keep up with all the networks, posts, and feeds, even with updates from your devices. Perhaps you have a verby volunteer who would love to keep our .org's Twitter page a-titterin'. If you can make the most of social networks, then try to fold them into your overall ephilanthropy plans. Who knows, your .org may become Twitter-aholics.

www.twitter.com/garthmoore

NTC 08: A Few Updates

A few thoughts and announcements as NTC 08 wraps up here in New Orleans today:

* DoGooderTV has posted the winners in the 2008 Video Contest. Congratulations to the Humane Society of the United States for their Best Overall Video win.

* Best Overheard Quote and Overall Sentiment: "Don't judge ROI by donor dollars, judge it by the results of the lives you change and how you make your donors feel about this change." Well put.

* Best Treats: Coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde and Jelly Bellies from GoLightly. Both were addictive.

* Check out the blog posts on Technorati for more feedback from NTC 08.

* Finally, one of the best sessions came from See3's Mike Hoffman on video for nonprofits. A great session and I'm glad they posted it:

2008 NTC Day Two Wrap-Up

Day two: Sessions, sessions, sessions!

NTC 08 Day Two started off with a hilarious plenary speaker, New York Times Tech guru David Pogue. Pogue spoke about the three trends for the future: cell phone technologies, television and movies whenever you want them, and Web 2.0 user content. The most interesting example he gave was Google's Grand Central, a service where one phone number will ring or text any phone in your life, which means you are always accessible, whether you like it or not! Pogue ended his talk with a grand piano performance of his famous (at least for NYTimes site junkies like me) iPhone song (And yes, I held up my iPhone for the ballad). Here's the video of Pogue in action:

There were plenty of breakout sessions today ranging from communications, IT, fundraising, and community building. The morning sessions focused heavily on e-mail campaigns, mobile phone fundraising, analytics and social networking. The afternoon sessions continued the Web 2.0 discussions and discussions built on analyzing campaigns. The key question that seems to be on a lot of minds is understand the value of social networking. Does it work? Does it build awareness? Does it raise money? How do you measure the ROI of social networks? Should your organization be doing social networks? How will it affect your organization?

A lot of organizations were quick to share their stories and curious to hear feedback from what other have done. It's a bit unruly and uneven to navigate, but the social network gurus gave strong advice for sticking to your guns and pursuing new audiences with these tools, even though the ROI was difficult to measure. Of course, onLine always says go for it! If you can build an online with social networks, social bookmarks, or any micro-group, you should pursue it. You never know when a channel could open a very big door. It's all trial-and-error and even the best experts can't predict which organization will have a groundswell.

The evening wrap-up featured afternoon ice cream and a Network For Good-sponsored reception, followed by a night out on the town in New Orleans. I have a feeling I may be one of the few people at the morning sessions.

2008 NTC Day One Wrap-Up

Ah, New Orleans: the palm trees, St Charles Avenue streetcars, the Mississippi River and rolling, morning clouds, and the more than 1,000 techies who descended upon the Sheraton New Orleans for NTEN's NTC '08. The tech conference started with a Day of Service, as more than 80 tech professionals helped almost 30 local groups and organizations. Check out Beth's Blog for more information on this great service from NTEN.

Today's sessions focused on Affinity Group Meetings, ranging from an informal gathering of the Information Systems Forum group to discussions on Salesforce.com and Google Apps groups. If you don't belong to any affinity groups, you should. Join a listserv or online group and expand your techie or service knowledge with your peers. These groups can help you find a solution to your particular tech issue without having to do all the research or re-invent the wheel. Very informative peer groups today and a nice serve-up for tomorrow's big sessions. Plus, as almost moderator mentioned, it's all about networking.

The day ended with this year's Science Fair, as vendors and service providers set up their booths to show their wares and expertise. Food and drinks were served as bags and bowls were filled with business cards and pamphlets. The best tchotchke of the event was the red, flashing antennae from digital media platform gurus Red Antenna--very cute.

The big push this year was all about open source tools and how you can tie them into social networking tools and databases, whether it's MPower, Convio, or Salesforce. There were also groups like NPower, TechSoup, and Network For Good promoting their networks and services. Whether you were a social networker, fundraiser, database manager, or a communication manager, there was something for you to see and learn.

Tomorrow, the big sessions, with more chances to hear what challenges nonprofit techies and vendors face and more solutions.

Last Call for the DoGooderTV Video Awards

I finally checked out the finalists in the 2nd Annual DoGooderTV Video Awards. I won't tell you who I voted for--you have to see them yourself. I can tell you that one of the videos made me laugh quite a bit (you'll know which one). But, I really liked them all and I'm glad more organizations are using online video to reach out to constituents and enter these types of contests. DoGooderTV had more than 160 entries in this year's contest--an astounding number. Plus, DoGooderTV is a really great place to post and stream your online videos.

Voting is open until Thursday, so go now. This year's contest has video choices in three categories - PSAs; short videos from a minute to four minutes; and long videos over four minutes. You can vote on one overall winner across all categories. Winners will be announced on Friday, March 21 at NTEN's National Technology Conference. We'll post the winner here at onLine and on our media> blog. Hopefully, this will inspire you and your organization to grab a camera, find some creative thinkers among your staff, and get to work for next year's contest.

Join onLine from 2008 NTC Central in New Orleans

Join us this week as onLine's Garth Moore blogs every day from NTEN's 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans. More than 1,000 attendees will come from organizations and vendors far and wide to connect with colleagues and share information on technology, communication, fundraising, and more. This year's plenary speaker is New York Times personal technology guru David Pogue.

If you can't make it to this year's event, then stay in touch with onLine this week for news, analysis, and photos from the conference. And, if you are at the conference, say hello to Garth Moore as he bounces between sessions and the coffee stands.

ePhilanthropy During Tough Economic Times

It may be tough to think about raising money online during our less-than-desirable economic times. However, right now is the perfect time to push your online giving programs and drive offline marketing to your website. Direct mail is becoming more expensive with the rise in fuel prices and, as a result, the rise in postage. Plus, your members, donors, and constituents might not like all the trees being razed for those hefty envelopes. You can really push your e-mails, social networks, and blogs to drive folks to your giving areas and make your case.

Check out Convio Founder Vinay Bhagat's sage wisdom piece 10 Online Marketing Strategies for Fundraising in Challenging Times; great advice for initial steps and solidified basics for your online fundraising programs. It definitely keeps in mind with everything we've been saying here at onLine for the past year.

Remember, tough times won't necessarily shut down your operations. In fact, these times will help your organization discover its true supporters and networks. Be sure to give them good reasons to bookmark your site.

Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

How often have you asked your volunteers or constituents to help with your online fundraising? Yes, that can be a scary thought at first; but, there are probably a few people out there who love to help your organization with a friendraising campaign, creating a tribute fund, or helping raise friends and funds through a social network. These peer fundraisers can be the best connectors for your organization.

The success of the recent America's Giving Challenge campaign exemplifies how peer-to-peer fundraising can be effective. It's easy to get started: start with an online survey or announcement in your online newsletter or enlist active members of your online social networks to help. Ask them about their experience with online tools and technologies--they may know more than you! Introduce them to your online fundraising or event tools and get them involved.

Sarah Hoddinott, Fundraising Product Manager at Advanced Solutions International, offers a few best practices for successful peer-to-peer fundraising, regardless of what technology you use to facilitate it:

Integrate peer-to-peer fundraising into your current fundraising strategies.
Inventory your current communications tactics (email, physical mailers, website, etc.) and examine the messaging. Has it been watered down to reach many different audiences? Through peer-to-peer campaigns, you maintain the core messaging but enable your donors to personalize the message for their own networking and recruitment efforts.

Introduce online events to the list of ways a donor can help.
A-thon-based events can be launched and managed online far quicker, with less overhead cost, than multi-location physical events. Peer-to-peer Internet-based events eliminate the need to physically go to an event, allowing participation from across the globe, right from their computers.

Identify campaign ‘champions’ and give them the tools to rapidly expand the donor network.
Take the time to find your top supporters, reach out to them first and show them how to use peer-to-peer tools.  Once they understand how easy it is for them to create their own personalized campaign website, carrying their own messaging, they will be able to reach out to their networks far quicker, and with no added costs.

Understand, motivate and thank your donors.
In peer-to-peer fundraising, you can easily focus on keeping your participants involved in the campaign by quickly sending them personalized automated emails that provide fundraising tips, solicitation reminders, encouragement and your gratitude. Traditional means of communicating with donors are costly, time intensive and slow.

Create friendly competition and build individual and team incentives into your campaigns.
Create accurate, real-time responsive leader boards that allow campaign champions to see how their fundraising efforts stack up against fellow champions. Offer prizes to the top fundraisers and top teams.  Encourage team captains to motivate their team members and offer them easy ways of communicating within their team. 

Reduce unnecessary administrative efforts from each campaign.
Peer-to-peer tools automate many administrative functions of fundraising programs. Donor communications becomes automated, personalized donor websites can be created by the donors themselves, tax records and receipts are automatically generated and distributed. By using online-based events, the costs and coordination associated with physical venues is eliminated.

Automate your donor acquisition strategy.
Peer-to-peer tools that fully integrate with your donor management systems will allow you to capture new donor information and donation habits. By allowing your donors to create their own online networks, all donors that interact with those personalized websites can be captured, collecting money and expanding your database at the same time.

FOWA's Top Ten Web Apps

The Future of Web Apps conference was recently held in Miami, where they announced the winners of the top Web apps (www.webappcharts.com). The Web App Charts winners were selected by FOWA readers. Voters selected some usual suspects (Gmail, Twitter, Facebook) and some ones I really like (Basecamp, Last FM). Ravelery.com was a bit suspect, but I'm not a big knitter. Frankly, Digg and YouTube should have also been on the list, but that's the great thing about online voting, you can give it a spin.

What are your favorite app? Tell us with your comments.