Taking ePhilanthropy to the Next Level

Tonight I attended the kick off event for a new ePhilanthropy book by Ted Hart, James Greenfield and Sheeraz Haji People to People Fundraising as well as an accompanying web site which describes itself as the next generation of ephilanthropy.  Through his previous role as founder of the ePhilanthropy Foundation, Ted has much to offer, especially to nonprofits that are still 'testing the waters.'  Tonight's event was sponsored by Craigslist Foundation, which clearly plans to become a major resource for nonprofits through an web site makeover planned in late spring 2008,

Some worthwhile tips from Ted:

• Donors often go to a nonprofit web site first to evaluate charity, even if they eventually decide to donate offline
• Social networking is worth doing, but not until a nonprofit has first done the basics: developed a content rich web site and a strategic email marketing plan (after collecting consituents' email addresses wherever possible)
• Asking is the key to receiving;  Thanking is the key to receiving again.
• Inspiring your strongest supporters to encourage others to get involved with your organization is the essence of 'person to person fundraising'
• If your organization is a 501(c)3 and you don't yet offer online donation, you can easily do so through services such as JustGive or NYCharities, both which offer rock bottom credit card processing fees (3%)