Knowing what you don't know: a followup posting to my latest one

In my last installment to this blog I mentioned people who don't know what they don't know.

Once in a while I am fortunate enough to run into someone who says, "I need help with online donations and don't know where to start. Can you help?"

I was asked for help after I completed a presentation at a conference in May and yesterday visited with the Finance Committee of the Board to explain all that they needed to know about online donations. I brought an esteemed colleague who is an expert in an affiliated area in which they needed assistance as well. A dynamic duo!

The potential client was warm, honest, engaged and curious.

They admitted they needed to know. It was a pleasure to educate and inform rather than hear skepticism and misunderstood concepts perceived as fact. They were invigorating!

PayPal wants your checking account PIN

For shame! The invisible folks at PayPal now think that in order to verify your credit card payment/donation on a PayPal page, you should voluntarily give them your checking account number and personal ID number (PIN) to assure them you will pay.

I am not the only one taking exception to this.

The New York Times ran an article in the Sunday Business section on March 26th. They think it's foolhardy too.

Why would anyone ever give more personal information that is absolutely needed?

The combination of your street address, zip code (called Address Verification in the e-payments business,) coupled with the CVV (3- or 4-digit code on the back of Visa/MasterCard/Discover cards and front right corner of American Express cards, respectively) is plenty of identification in almost all cases, in my opinion.

The real effect of asking all this information PLUS your checking account number and PIN, is to drive e-tail purchasers and online donors, away from PayPal payment pages. While this appears to hurt ecommerce and online donations, to quote Martha Stewart, that's "a good thing!" for you. Really.

Why?
PayPal is expensive, allows no customization and lacks efficient client service (according to my clients). I have lots of other reasons too, acquired from former PayPal clients.

Now they want your personal ID number and checking account number! C'mon...

Speaking of LinkedIn...

I am speaking a lot about LinkedIn these days. A lot. Everywhere I can, in front of groups, teaching in small virtual classes, and offering suggestions to those in my leads groups. LinkedIn, for me, is a PROVEN a way to access any number of the 55 million businesspeople around the world seeking community from the expertise that people truly engaged in social networking can provide.

And what's in it for him? you might ask, why the heck does he spend the time speaking about LinkedIn?

Because it opens lots of doors to generate new business and get my brand out there. As an example, a large nonprofit umbrella organization asked me to teach my hour-long "LinkedIn for NonProfits" to its member organizations and as I spoke and showed my LinkedIn profile, they saw the types of work I do.

The next week they called me in to advise on a much-needed redesign of its online donation and class registration, a project I won in December. Finished on time and within budget, they were thrilled with the end result. So much so that they referred me to a couple of other potential clients.

That's reason enough to evangelize on LinkedIn. The network grows...

BTW my LinkedIn profile can be found at www.linkedin.com/in/marchalpert

What to Say When You Are STILL Talking to Yourself

When I first started in business for myself I was given the book "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself" by Shad Helmstetter.

It was perfect for me at the time: I had just left the big corporate culture in which people to speak to, and conversation with them, were abundant.

On my own, new in business, what do you say to yourself in the deafening silence?
"How do I keep my focus, outlook, and attention without any sensory inputs?"
What was I saying to myself?

Now, over 7 years later, yes, I still talk to myself. In between, the phone rings a lot, I speak publicly (next one 11/19 at AFP CT Philanthropy Day conference in Waterbury) and now I also give webinars.

Thanks to my colleague Geri Stengel at Ventureneer in NYC, I am giving my third free webinar on Wednesday November 18th from 2 to 3:15 pm ET, this time "LinkedIn for NonProfits."

As of last night we have 134 people registered. Wow. We may have hit a nerve out there: nonprofit social networking tips and techniques seems to be a hot topic, based on the registrations.

So as your webinario, I am ready to speak to the attendees that afternoon directly from my office, speaking into my headset and showing my presentation slides from my desktop. Right on your screen and into your speakers or phone.

Without the benefit of ascertaining facial reactions when I teach or make public presentations at conferences, the webinar will be the latest chapter in my continuing habit of talking to myself: 134 new colleagues will actually be listening to me as I talk to myself, no one else in my office, about something that may help them.

And...even if you cannot attend on the 18th, the webinar will be recorded and available on my LinkedIn page and Ventureneer.com. Funny: in that situation I will be speaking without even being present: my presentation coming at you 24x7x365 and I am not even talking to myself!...ah technology...

Guest Blogger Howard Levy with some great tips on direct mail fundraising

I get to know some dynamic people who show great expertise in their fields. One of them is Howard Levy, who hails from Orange, CT but is providing sharp branding services for nonprofit out of Red Rooster Group, his marketing design firm in NYC. Howard is sharing a posting as my guest blogger today and I think it contains great tips that make paper mail solicitations much more effective:

"I just received a direct mail piece from Audubon that I think is effective (of course I don’t know what actual results were). Here are the elements and graphic techniques that I think make this piece appealing:

1. An enticing outer envelope. First, the package gets your attention. No mailing can be successful unless the recipient is compelled to envelope. This outer envelope is printed in full color with a lush image of an egret (which appeals to their members) and has a seal enclosure that looks like a label which gives it a special caché that elevates it above other fundraising appeals (the envelope flap is actually die cut). Also, notice that the offer to “Double your impact” is on the envelope.
2. An appealing offer. Due to a Challenge Grant by a large donor (made to several organizations), all donations made will be matched. Double your donation is a very compelling offer, especially in this recession.
3. Graphic demonstration of the offer. Not only does it tell that it will double your money, it actually shows you what those amounts are to make the offer more tangible. The piece is designed as perforated vouchers with the amounts pre-printed, no doubt based on the recipients’ previous giving levels to motivate donors to give a levels that are comfortable for them.
4. Repetition of the message. The Challenge Fund is presented in an elegant seal-like crest that makes the package feel special, with the words “Match My Gift” prominent on every voucher.
5. Effective design. Overall, the piece conveys an upscale look that reinforces the positive impression that Audubon is a professionally-run organization that will put the money to good use. Instead of many different fonts, lots of indents indents and use of yellow highlighting typical of fundraising letters, in this package the typefaces are kept to a minimum and the colors are restrained to Audubon’s signature green and an accent yellow to create an upscale, consistent look.
6. Comfort for the donor. Notice the Better Business Bureau logo on each form to provide an endorsement for the charity. Every bit of credibility helps when you are competing for funds."

Thanks, Howard!

Adoption Adaption

This week's spotlight is on Jewish Family Service. one of whose programs is a full-service domestic or international child adoption service.

The staff at JFS could not be more sincere in their desire to help couples adopt children. The experience was so favorable that a friend who used the JFS adoption services became a Board Member and cannot say enough about how well it all went.

Experienced, consultative, supportive and professional, JFS guides couples along the way, making a vulnerable emotional time much more enjoyable.

They remain engaged as the new parents adapt, the child flourishes and the agency has performed its mitzvah (good deed) for couples of all faiths and backgrounds.

What could be better? Encourage friends and family members thinking of adopting to contact JFS by phone at 203.366.5438 or via the website. Adoption and adaption all under one roof.

Female Soldiers: Forgotten Heroes

Until I came in contact with Homes for the Brave in Bridgeport, CT I didn't know that:
1) that an estimated 7,000 – 8,000 female veterans are homeless in the U.S., the most in the nation’s history.
2) their numbers are expected to increase as more women return home.
3) women make up about 5% of homeless veterans, up from 3% 10 years ago.
4) a woman who has served in the military is up to four times more likely to be homeless than a nonveteran woman.
5) female veterans are more likely to experience severe housing cost burden than male veterans. They represent only 7% of veterans but 13.5% of veterans with severe housing cost burden.
6) lack of affordable housing is a primary catalyst for homelessness amongst all veterans.

Of the 8,000 soldiers from Connecticut who are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, 25 percent of them are women. With more veterans due to return stateside, there is an extreme shortage of transitional housing for female vets in CT. “Female Soldiers: Forgotten Heroes” would be the first transitional living facility for homeless female veterans in the state.

The urgency for supporting these homeless female veterans is extreme and your financial support is needed. Please contact Amanda LeClair at aleclair@homesforthebrave.org or 203.338.0669.

At a theatre near us

The Community Theatre Foundation in Fairfield, a gem of a cultural attraction in the midst of Fairfield, CT is this week’s featured nonprofit client. It is a foundation, supported solely by movie ticket sales at well-below market prices, and donations from the people who love it. Unfortunately its expenses exceed its donors’ generosity and in these rough economic times, its needs have ballooned. Operations and maintenance expenses are sapping its stability.

Folks, this is a different kind of place. The seats are comfortable, the moviegoers are your neighbors, and the operation is staffed by high school volunteers who are getting great work experience.

For these reasons, I really don’t think it gets any better than this; they give back to the community and now need our help.

Donations can go to https://secure.modpay.com/vterm/vterm1.cfm?an&nan&ae=1&clientcode=1C65A547.
Please help.

What if they don't come back?

The hard part of receiving online donations is getting the donors to come to your website. If you tell your story well, they will feel compelled to give online. You worked so hard to tell your story, but do you make changes to the website and in your marketing to keep it fresh?

An article in today's New York Times shows how nonprofits miss a great opportunity to keep their donors continuously interested and driven back to the website, where a fresh story, anecdote, video, etc. can make them feel the need to come back and contribute.

Couple a fresh face on the website with an email blast, a paper mail campaign, phone-a-thon, anything to get them to revisit the website...and you are using efficient marketing methods that businesses use all the time. It's all part of making your nonprofit act more like a business.

We love creating online donation pages, but it's up to our nonprofit clients to urge the donors to come back again and again.

We have some tools and experience in how others have made this successful. Please ask us.

Charities are going bankrupt...

Banks are spoken about being nationalized.
What's next?

The New York Times on 20Feb08 ran an article about the struggle nonprofits are enduring, forcing many to close, entitled "Charities Now Seek Bankruptcy Protection" by Stephanie Strom in which she said:

"While no one has compiled data on how many charities have turned to courts for protection, experts in the field say it has become more common as nonprofits have been pressured by donors to operate more like businesses."

That's what we do-help nonprofits think and act more like businesses, especially in their cash flow. Can we help you?

Fear of the unknown

Franklin Roosevelt in his 1933 Inaugural Address said

"...The only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

Fear of the unknown, the comfort of the old way, retard progress and make us fearful of change. This familiar quote (at least the first part of it; I find the second part of it much more intriguing) was printed on the wrapper on my free Starbucks coffee yesterday, free because I pledged to spend 5 (only 5!) hours to helping a community nonprofit organization.

A small commitment by each of us pays off in mighty ways, if more than just a few people make this promise. Go to http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp. Make a stand to make a change in someone's life that needs your selfless help.

Community groups and nonprofits have been hammered by the economy, Madoff, unemployment and malaise. I hear this everyday from my old and new nonprofit clients.

Stand up. Make a daring change to help for more than 5 hours, or even just 5 hours! It's more than about the free coffee. Sign up in any Starbucks store until January 25th. Do it now, because YES WE CAN make a difference, one by one.

Upsetting

It's upsetting that some people out there purport to be helpful in givng you the ability to accept credit card payment, when in fact they are charging outrageous prices. Namely, (well, I won't really name names...)
1) There is a .com doing so at 5.5% on each transaction. That's DOUBLE what it should be!
2) There is another.com doing this for nonprofits alone, at 4.75% (a bargain, huh?)and they mail you a paper check once a month. That's not fair! They are earning money on the nonprofit's donations!
I am sure there are more.

Questions? Ask us.
Caveat emptor!

It really IS better to give than receive!

Science proves what we have been helping nonprofits do for 6 years: receive from their donors in a smarter way.

Donors feel better (see article) and nonprofits keep more of the donations.

Everyone feels better this way!

Have a nice holiday weekend.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Good-to-Give.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=better+to+give+than+receive&st=nyt&oref=slogin