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Come visit us at our new Nonprofit Bridge blog, now powered by WordPress.  Posts from this blog will be moved there over the next week.

I've learned much of what I've learned about ephilanthropy and using online tools for attracting and engaging constituents by participating in webinars from several organizations which are usually provided at minimal or no cost.  Some of my favorites are:

Nten - always has a full schedule of pertinent topics, such as this week's session on how to get executive buy-in for technology projects.  The most cost effective way to participate is to purchase a block of three sessions or purchase an unlimited pass through 2009.

Idealware is the place to go to learn about software for nonprofits and also offers online seminars.  Try out a free session on Online Communications on a Shoestring next week.

Fundraising123, a service of Network for Good, always has interesting teleconferences available, usually for free,  If you can't attend at the time they're given, you can download slides and MP3 recordings and listen to them on your MP3 player, as I've recently started to do.

My suggestion: take advantage of the learning opportunities available and make sure that you participate in the discussion, either through online chat or phone chat.  Most presenters encourage interaction, and this is how you will get the most value from the information provided.

This recent OnPhilanthropy article suggests that Web 2.0 technologies are now in use by all ages of Internet users, not just the young.  More 'traditional' email appeals aren't having the same impact, with open rates dropping to 14% in the latest Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmarking Index Study.  Facebook Causes and YouTube's nonprofit channel have started to play a large role in online fundraising and constituent engagement.  Yet Harry Lynch of SankyNet says the email is not dead yet in this AFP article, Isn’t Email Just Like Regular Direct Mail—But on Steroids.

Nten's WeTheMedia Project offers an interesting challenge this month to Create the Ultimate Nonprofit Social Media Toolbox, categorizing web 2.0 tools by:

• listening - monitoring conversations, using RSS readers and social bookmarking
• participating - commenting on conversations
  
• sharing your story - using blogs / podcasts and sharing photos / videos
  
• spreading awareness, generating buzz - accessing 'crowd sourced' news and content, using micro media to broadcast content to targeted communities, and using a 'life stream'
  
• social networking for action and fundraising - using social networks and fundraising widgets / applications.

My take: when even the value of email communications is being questioned, it's time to sit up and pay attention to the many new ways a nonprofit can develop ongoing relationships with its constituents.

Addendum 10-15-08
Social networking expert Beth Kanter offers How Much Time Does It Take to Do Social Media, - apparently enough to fill a full time position.

Since learning about search engine optimization (SEO) techniques at my first nonprofit job, I've long been a fan of Jill Whalen and her site High Rankings.  Below are her tips for what not to do on your web site which appeared this week on SearchEngineLand:

1. JavaScript or other crawler-unfriendly navigation that may impede indexing.

2. Navigation that buries important pages within the site architecture. The deeper that pages are buried within the website, the less importance they are given (and the less likely that visitors will find them).

3. Same content appears under multiple URLs, often caused by content management systems.

4. No keyword phrase focus in the content or conversely, keyword phrase stuffing. Keyword phrases must be used within the content and must be different for each web page.  You can't use the same phrases all through your site.

5. Only optimizing the home page for search engines, but not paying attention to interior pages.  When your site visitors find your site through search engines, many won't enter through the home page.

6. Additional domains owned by the company are not properly redirected.  Jill suggests using 301 redirects to the main web site.

My additional tip: if you're planning a web site redesign, make sure you pay attention to SEO during the process not as an after thought after the new design has been rolled out.

On Sep. 19 I attended the NYC Project Management Institute's Professional Development Day.  Below are some of my takeaways:

Donald Gardner, Gardner Project Integration Group suggested that we avoid assuming that project team members and stakeholders are "just like us," stressing the importance for different styles of communication.  In dealing with virtual teams, he suggested the simple step of posting pictures online to get to know people better who you may never meet in person.  (In my support of nonprofit staff across the US, I may not even say hello to someone when we do have an opportunity to meet because I have no idea of what they look like, only their voice.)  He also suggested we not say to someone, 'come back to me if you have a problem.'  Most people won't - you have to reach out to them.

Lisa DiTullio, Lisa DiTullio & Associates, described her role in restoring Harvard Pilgrim Health Care from the brink of collapse to industry leadership using project management.  This was especially interesting to me, as I've previously spoken on how nonprofits can make better use of project management techniques.  Lisa suggested usng simple project tracking tools, using green/yellow/red to quickly summarize a project's status.  When I asked how to move to a more collaborative organizational culture which allows project management to succeed, Lisa pointed out that Harvard Pilgrim Health Care almost went out of business before they could change their styles of interacting.  Responding to a criticism I sometimes hear about project management, Lisa described PM as not a way to introduce more work, but a way to change the way work is done.

Ronnie Battista, MISI Company spoke on one of my favorite topics - usability.  Ronnie suggested that users be involved in all stages of project planning and implementation, not just at the beginning.  He asked, "When is the last time you talked to a user," adding that 85% of usability problems can be solved by speaking to five users.  I agree - nonprofits often put too much emphasis on what staff members think, and not enough on interacting with their target audiences.  Jakob Nielsen has long been the authority on this topic.

Why do projects fail?  Lou Gasco, Muto Performance.offered ten reasons why.  A few highlights:

• 'spontaneous requirements' (a.k.a. scope creep) - adding in more requirements after the project scope has been defined
• 'invisible' requirements' - no one has taken the time to define what the project will specifically achieve
• disappearing sponsor - project sponsor can't be reached or otherwise loses interest in project
• minimal / nonexistent testing - testing isn't considered an integral part of project implementation

Thanks to program speakers for their valuable insights and to PMI for putting this event together.

According to the Foundation Center's Philanthropy News Digest. "some of the nation’s largest charities...have seen only modest gains in online donations...because many of them have been slow to embrace or aggressively market their Web sites as a platform for giving."  So this may be more a result of a lack of marketing than to a slowdown in the growth of online fundraising.

In Fundraising Success, Steve Kehrli suggests that there's no such thing as a free donation, The costs of ephilanthropy usually include:

1. e-commerce platform integrated with your constituent database.
2. creative team that creates effective copy, images and video
3. production department that standardizes email content.
4. list of online prospects that eventually become donors
5. consultants and analysis that provide actionable recommendations.

Steve suggests that there are other costs, such as the correspondence team that responds to inquiries and training / developing staff that are also part of developing effective online strategies..

Pew / Internet released a report on cloud computing that estimates 69% of online users are now using hosted applications and/or storing data online, but many are concerned about how this information will be used by online vendors.

eJewishPhilanthropy's Brand Sharing 2.0 suggests that to make the most of Web 2.0 tools, nonprofit organizations give up some control over their organizational identities and "allowi their strongest supporters to use these organizational brands as an extension of their own personal online branding efforts," offering examples from the Salvation Army, National Geographic and the World Wildlife Fund.

Finally, marketing guru Seth Godin gave a stimulating talk this week as part of Network for Good's wonderful Nonprofit 911 series on how to become a 'purple nonprofit.'

At my current organization, we've just rolled out our first week of going live with Convio for our national walks program, which raised over $6 million in the past year.  Having worked with many online services products, below I offer some tips in maintaining a successful relationship with your vendor:

1. Take advantage of any training that is available to learn the product.  This enables you to deal with issues more quickly and avoids the situation where support staff impatiently tell you to 'read the manual'
2. Develop a rapport with your account manager or whoever has been assigned to handle your relationship.  This includes asking not only what the vendor can do for you, but what your responsibilities are in using the product and dealing with the vendor's staff.
3. Document problems over the web;  Convio provides a Salesforce enabled support system which allows me to review calls I've placed, and add updates.  If your vendor doesn't provide this, use your own tracking system, as I did in the past with a product like Elementool.
4. Be respectful about prioritizing issues.  If a problem is affecting a major application and / or many of your co-workers, make sure the vendor knows this and use escalation procedures.  (Make sure you specifically ask about how to escalate issues.)  If you make every problem into an 'emergency,' then nothing will be treated as a high priority.
5. If you're dealing with a vendor like Convio that has many modules, learn which products are most actively supported (preferably before you've decided on a vendor);  you can find this out by asking which modules are used by the most large clients.
6. When rolling out a new application, be sure to test exhaustively.  We're dealing with a problem this week that we might have avoided had we tested a bit more extensively.
7. Develop a relationship with other nonprofits that are already using the product and take advantage of any online forums (either promoted by the vendor or not) to learn from others and share your own experiences.
8. Be careful of criticizing your vendor to internal staff.  Even if you're feeling frustrated on a particular day, don't vent to your co-workers;  you want them to feel positively about the product you've selected despite any occasional glitches that come up. 
   

More from Craigslist Foundation's recent NYC Nonprofit Boot Camp;  Big Duck's Farra Trompeter offered an engaging session on social networking - is this a tool that nonprofits should be taking full advantage of now?

If your organization does take the plunge, expect that it will require a 2-3 hour investment daily.  A recent feature at Philanthropy Journal confirms this, also describing who is best suited to fit this role:

• Knows and enjoys social media
• Is tech savvy (but doesn't have to be a geek)
• Knows your organization and is committed to its mission
• Has a personable, outgoing writing style

Is your main goal is to raise funds or to attract and interest current / prospective constituents?  So far, few nonprofits have successfully been able to prove that the potential return is definitely worth the dedication of resources to social networking activities.

Farra recommended these first steps in Facebook:

1. find out whether other organizations with compatible missions are already there, and what they are doing
2. create fan page
3. create cause

Some nonprofits have been also to receive donations through text messaging, although this also is a relatively new initiative.  Twitter is already used by nonprofits such as Red Cross and ASPCA to distribute information.

Starting and maintaining a presence on social networking sites confirms the trend that your constituents may never find your organization's web site, so why not go to where they already are?

Other good resources on this topic:

• Beth's Blog - How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media
  
• Media Rules - book & blog 
• Nten's We Are Media Project - social media starter kit for nonprofits
  

Thanks to the CraigsList Foundation for hosting the NYC Nonprofit Boot Camp on Aug. 16.  Miriam Kriegel of BBMG led a particularly interesting session on 'brand driven communications

Miriam stressed the importance of nonprofits identifying what they stand for, what their unique difference from other organizations with compatible missions and realizing that branding is not simply your logo.  She also suggested that narrowing your focus makes your brand stronger.  In addition, if you don't already have a well known brand, "create a new category in which you can claim leadership."

In contrast to building multiple web sites to address different audiences, Miriam suggested using a single web site which is associated with a strong branding message. This presents an interesting challenge - can we serve all of our constituents differently yet have them all view our organization with a consistent identity?

As I've advocated elsewhere, Miriam also stressed the importance that all touch points have similar messaging, e.g. web site, direct mail, telephone, events, board interactions with the public as well as that a brand be presented consistently over time.

These principles are often used in for profit organizations, but they clearly can be used effectively within our sector.  What is it about your organization that makes it unique?  Having a clear mission which staff and board can clearly articulate helps, but creating a strong brand is a critical component of any nonprofit's communications strategy.

Probably the best book I've read on how the Internet has changed our world is Groundswell, Similar to my posting last week on how donors are bypassing traditional nonprofits to make direct contributions, authors Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff define groundswell as a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

The main idea is how organizations can use tools such as blogs, social networks, wikis,  forums and other web 2.0 technologies to listen and to communicate with customers.  Many examples are offered such as Salesforce's IdeaExchange and Dell's IdeaStorm where customers participate in an online community to help develop products.  This is a very different approach to how communication and branding have traditionally been handled since no longer is the organization controlling the messaging vehicle and the content.

How can we apply these ideas to nonprofits?  By engaging with our constituents all year, not only when we are seeking a donation.  By having a presence on social networking sites.  By communicating through blogs and paying attention to what others are blogging about our cause.  By rewarding constituents who not only support our organizations, but also spread the word to others.

It's not so important that we figure out which tools we should use, but instead utilize whatever technologies are available to connect with our audience.  As the authors point out, Even though you may have a clear vision of what the company needs to do, getting the company to embrace the groundswell will take a lot of small steps and a lot of time.  The first step is to find others in your organization who already understand the value of these strategies and can help win management support, which is essential for successful implementation.

See the Groundswell blog for more ideas on how to get started. .