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In the last decade, crowdfunding, or the collection of small donations from a large number of people, has taken the fundraising world by storm. It’s projected to become a $90-96 billion dollar industry by 2025, and for good reason. By using the internet to rally supporters, you can reach an exponentially larger and more diverse audience while also streamlining the giving process.

Crowdfunding began as a means to raise money for for-profit creative ventures and personal medical or travel expenses, but nonprofits have recently jumped on the bandwagon, too. The process, however, is a little bit different for nonprofit folk. We’ll show you how to set up an effective campaign that brings in the money while staying within the bounds of the law.

Pick a project

The first step is choosing a project with a specific, measurable and time-oriented outcome. Although you may have a laundry list of tasks you want to tackle right away, you’ll get the best results if you narrow your focus down to one concept, event, product or service.

Then, decide on a realistic fundraising goal, taking into account any commission you may have to pay to the crowdfunding site (usually 4-5 percent).

Turn it into a pitch

Once you have your idea in place, you’ll need to transform it into something that’s tangible and compelling to your audience. Keep in mind, this audience isn’t going to be the one you’re used to. You’ll be reaching a wider scope of people, so make sure your pitch appeals to a broad crowd.

Use these tips to write a solid, captivating crowdfunding description. Then, if you want to go above and beyond, consider creating a promotional video to creatively explain why you need the money and how you’ll use it.  

Check state laws

As you could probably guess, most states have laws that require nonprofit organizations to register with a state government before asking its residents for money. So, what happens when your project is based in your own state, but will likely certainly reach potential donors across the nation?

The answer is that there is no answer—yet. As crowdfunding really only took off within the last five years or so, the majority of states are still in the process of determining how to regulate it. The good news is that you likely won’t have to meet the requirements of all 50 states.

While you may need to register the campaign in your own state, once you’ve received your employer identification number (EIN) from the federal level, you can legally crowdfund across America as long as you’re using a nonprofit-friendly crowdfunding site.

Keep in mind, we’re not lawyers. Make sure to double check your own state’s rules before you begin.

Choose a platform

There are hundreds upon hundreds of crowdfunding sites out there, but, again, you should select one that collaborates well with nonprofits. Fundrazr and GoFundMe’s Crowdrise are good places to start, but do some research to see if there are other platforms that better suit your cause.

Start your campaign

Finally, it’s time to start raising some money. It’s imperative that you market your campaign well—you can’t expect it to go viral without putting in some effort. Tell all your supporters ahead of time that you’re launching this new project and encourage them to share your giving page on their social media pages.

To really get your campaign off the ground, tell your most loyal supporters to donate the second you launch. If other, random online patrons see that a lot of people have donated in a short amount of time, they might feel obligated to give, too.

Keep everyone updated

As with any other fundraising effort, keep your supporters in the loop and make sure they know how appreciated they are. Use all your communication channels to track your progress and express your gratefulness along the way.

And that’s all there is to it. Even though most crowdfunding donations will be small, the fact that they were gathered from a mixed bag of people from all around the country makes this fundraising tactic both effective and unique.

The post Online Crowdfunding: A How-To Guide appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not important to bring home a sufficient amount of bacon, or that nonprofit workers shouldn’t live comfortably themselves. You want to make sure you have enough emergency funding on deck to keep your organization running and your employees happy.

Life, however, can sometimes interfere with that. When disaster strikes, you need to have a plan in place so you and your employees can recover with as little damage as possible. Here are some places you can find emergency funding if all else fails.

Emergency grants

There are plenty of organizations that provide last-minute grants. For example, since 2012, the Open Road Alliance (ORA) has provided over $13 million in emergency funding to organizations that might have otherwise gone under. ORA also launched a low-interest loan fund called Open Road Ventures in 2018, which plans to distribute an additional $50 million over the next five years. Look to them if you’re in a pinch!

You can also call the United Way and other community foundations, or search “emergency funds” in the Foundation Directory Online (FDO) to seek out grants when you’re on a time crunch.

Finally, consider the possibility of using discretionary funds, where foundations allow senior staff to give out small loans without going through the lengthy grant process.

Nonprofit credit

With a nonprofit credit line, you can set up a backup fund at no cost (until you use it, of course). The most popular and highest-rated credit line, Financing Solutions, has helped hundreds of nonprofits get by when their funding is delayed—like during payroll, at the end of the fiscal year or whenever else the world takes them by surprise.

Financing Solutions claims this is better than a grant in times of emergency, because instead of applying and waiting, you can be approved ahead of time to have money wired to your account immediately, and then pay it back once you’ve recovered.

However, just like a regular credit card, this does carry some risk. Keep careful track of your finances, pay your bills on time and only use the credit line in times of real emergency so you don’t end up deeper in debt.

Earned income

If your organization already sells a product or service, raise your prices. Just a small increase in cost can make a huge difference. And if you don’t, you might consider it. You can sell goods, like merch, or provide “backroom” services like human resources, office space, accounting or consulting. Earned income is becoming a common practice among nonprofits large and small—give it a try!

Shameless ask

While you may feel a little hesitant to admit to your supporters that you’re financially struggling, being transparent could save your organization’s life. After all, those who have donated to your cause in the past have already shown their support. They want you to stick around, so they might feel most compelled to give. So, shamelessly ask for help. If they say no, you’re right back where you were—no harm, no foul.

When the unthinkable happens, be sure to exhaust all of these resources before you throw in the towel. Although it can be tough for nonprofits to establish a rainy day fund, it’s also very possible—you’d be surprised by how many of your supporters want to see you succeed.

The post Emergency Funding: Where to Find It and How to Get It appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

Don’t just take our word for it—we’ll use our own website design as an example.

Check out this screenshot of nonprofithub.org from 2015. Can you believe this was just four years ago?

It’s not awful, necessarily, but if it still looked like this today, people—especially younger viewers—would spend a lot less time on our site. So, we gave it a makeover last year.

This website design is much more organized and eye-catching than the last. We modernized our display, replaced stock photos with simple, colorful graphics, imported external ads and made our internal ones look, well, better. It’s allowed us to draw new readers and followers to our site every day.

If you’re still not convinced, here are some reasons why it’s so important to have a well-designed website that’s modern and accessible.

First impressions matter

People will likely hear about your organization from the internet, which means the first thing they’ll see from you is your website—and they’ll judge it right away.

A bad first impression can mean they’ll close out the tab, and you’ll never receive another page view from that person again. A good first impression can lure them further into your site and open the door to potentially life-changing donations, volunteers and relationships. Yes, websites really do have this power, and design can be the difference between a bounced user and a donation.

Each time you open your site, view it in the eyes of someone who’s never seen it before. If you were an outsider visiting the page for the first time, what vibes would you get? Would you feel compelled to stay on the page?

Professionalism

Even if your organization has a sleek office and a formal dress code, most of your viewers won’t see it—they’ll see your website. Think of your site as a direct reflection of your nonprofit’s reputation and character. Take a good look at it and ask yourself, “Does this make our organization look trustworthy? Is this how we want to present ourselves to the world?” If you answer no to either question, consider making some changes.

Accessibility

Yes, good design makes your website look pretty, but equally important is its functionality. Your site is a tool that allows supporters to get involved with your organization, so set it up in a way that’s simple, direct and easy to maneuver.

When your call to action buttons (which urge people to donate, subscribe to your newsletter, volunteer, etc.) are clear and visually attractive, you’ll get more engagement than if they were hidden at the bottom of the page. Strive to make your website as user-friendly as possible so adolescents and grandparents alike can figure it out.

Of course, not everyone is a graphic designer or computer programmer. It can be a challenge to create a cohesive, accessible design for your site that’s also aesthetically pleasing, but all these things are becoming increasingly important. Whether you hire someone, use a simple web-building service like Wix or WordPress or simply try your best to make small improvements,  creating a website that’s both pretty and practical should be one of your top priorities.

The post The Ever-Growing Importance of Website Design appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

From social media analytics, you can uncover tons of insightful information about your organization’s online presence, from the best time of day to post, to which type of content your audience engages with most, to how much your accounts have grown over time—and so much more.

It’s important to understand a couple of important terms first:

Impressions are how many times your post showed up on someone’s timeline. This doesn’t necessarily mean the person actually took the time to read it, but an impression confirms that it did, in fact, show up on their feed.

Engagement is any interaction with your content, like Twitter favorites, Facebook shares and clicks.

Engagement rate is the ratio of total impressions versus total engagements.

Page views are rather self explanatory, but this is how many people have visited your profile page within a certain time frame.

Where are my analytics located?

On Twitter, click the profile icon on your home page to drop down the menu. You’ll find your analytics here:

Once you get there, you’ll see a general overview of all your content, including your top tweet, mention and follower, plus a broad recap of each month’s engagement.

To view each tweet in more detail, which you’ll need to do in order to view your engagement rates, click “View all Tweet activity” directly under the “Top Media Tweet” section.

On Facebook, your analytics tab is actually named “Insights.” Go to your organization’s page and select it from the toolbar. You’ll want to locate and pay special attention to the sidebar tabs “Reach,” “Posts” and “People.”

And, on Instagram, you can find your analytics on the top right corner of your profile here:

Note that Instagram analytics are a little simpler compared to the other apps because, since you can’t include direct links in your captions, “likes” are the main indicator of engagement.

Which information matters most?

Analytics pages will throw an overwhelming amount of information at you—some of it incredibly valuable, some of it not so much. All it takes is a close look at a few main factors to evaluate your overall social media performance.

Engagement

 The most important statistic you should examine is your engagement rate. The goal of social media is to lure people to your website so they make a donation, volunteer or somehow get involved with your organization, right? If no one’s clicking on your social media links, that means your website traffic is likely suffering.

Take a good look at each of your posts to determine which type of content usually earns you the most clicks. If you see a low percentage, don’t panic. Most engagement rates usually hover around 1 or 2 percent.

Post times

Analytics also allow you to see which time of day your posts receive the most impressions. On Twitter, you can find this chart on the right side of your profile (not your analytics page) when in desktop view. On Facebook, click the “Posts” tab in “Insights” and drag your mouse across the chart to view when the most users are online. From there, you can strategically schedule your posts for when the majority of your audience will actually see it, which will increase your chances for interaction.

Your audience

Another super valuable tool that analytics provide is a closer look at the people behind the screens. Through the “Audience” tab on Twitter, the “People” tab on Facebook and front and center in Instagram analytics, you can gather information about the types of audiences engaging with your social media content.

How old are they? Do you have more men or women followers? Where do they live? Twitter even lets you get borderline-creepy with your search, giving you information about your viewers’ interests, careers, lifestyles, average income and more.

Once you have a better feel for your audience, you’ll be able to use their background information to make your content more relatable and compelling to them.

General upkeep

You should also be keeping track of your social media’s all-around growth by keeping a close watch on your impressions, follower counts, page views, etc. It’s wise to document this on an Excel sheet or other database so you can easily compare your stats from month to month.

It’s also important to use common sense along with these analytics. If you’re seeing lots of negative percentages and red down arrows, you should reevaluate your strategy or mix up your content. If you’re noticing a lot of growth and green, keep doing what you’re doing!

Of course, this article is meant to serve as a starter guide to social media analytics. The internet is constantly keeping track of helpful facts and figures without you even realizing it. Take the time to explore all the other analyzations each app offers, and use them to make your content more timely and targeted. Good luck!

The post Social Media Analytics: The Basics appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

Good copy is an absolute requirement if you want your organization to stand out in the era of information overload. Hiring a copywriter who knows how to string words together in a way that compels your audience to action is invaluable. Here’s why.

Proper grammar=credibility

It may seem like a trivial element of communication, but if you’re trying to appeal to an educated audience, grammar can make or break you. Seriously—the second readers notice a grammatical error or two on your page, they’ll automatically view your organization as less credible.

A good copywriter has the power to make your brand sound trustworthy. The little things that most people couldn’t care less about—verb tense consistency, proper commas, using the right form of “your”—can damage your brand if used incorrectly. Lucky (or maybe unlucky) for copywriters, their brains have been trained to spot those errors in every piece of writing they see. Good copywriters are allergic to linguistic mistakes. No matter the size, mission or status of your organization, you need someone with that skill set on your staff!

Adaptable writing

We all know someone who changes their behavior depending on who they’re with. Usually this is seen as shady and fake, but copywriters are experts at using this skill for good. They’re able to predict how certain groups of people will perceive content and then tweak the messaging to best resonate with each subset of your audience. They’re word magicians, if you will. This can be used to your advantage so that everyone from Gen-Zers to Baby Boomers finds your advertising captivating and relatable.

Consistency

Copywriters are also the key to ensuring that your style and branding are consistent across all platforms. Though your content may be the brainchild of dozens of contributors, you don’t want some of it reading like a research paper while the rest sounds like a teenager’s Facebook status. A copywriter will help you strike that middle ground in order to portray yourself to the community in the best way possible.

Think about it: when you click on an organization’s Twitter profile, you get a feel for its personality after reading just a few tweets. Some accounts are filled with cute hashtags, exclamation points and reaction GIFs, for example, while others stick to the facts and hard-hitting headlines. There’s no right or wrong way to brand yourself—what matters is that you once you’ve chosen a style, you stick with it. Copywriters will help your organization’s content seem like it’s coming from a single, all-knowing source rather than a clustered compilation of thoughts.

More engagement

When used in tandem with captivating graphics, good copy is the key to user engagement.

If you only have a few words to get your point across, a copywriter will help you choose the right ones. A compelling sentence can lead to a click, a click can lead to a donation and a donation can lead to a lifelong supporter of your organization. And to think it all started with a 40-word Tweet.

In sum, copywriters are the unsung heroes of your organization. If you don’t have one yet, you should consider hiring one. In a world that’s positively overflowing with content, they’ll make sure that yours is engaging, consistent and, of course, grammatically correct.

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1. Easter Egg Hunt

With Easter just around the corner, this timeless, family-friendly event doubles as the perfect way to raise money for your organization. All you need are some plastic eggs, candy to fill them with and an open green space—and don’t forget to acquire the proper permits if you’re holding it at a park! Donations will come primarily from registration fees, but if you find yourself with some eggstra resources (get it?), you can hire an Easter Bunny and charge attendees to take pictures with him!

2. Golf Tournament

Encourage members of the community to hit the links for a good cause at a golf tournament fundraiser. The entry fee should get donors a round of golf, a cart, balls and a lunch or drink reception afterward (where you can sneak in even more fundraising opportunities, like a raffle or silent auction.) Your golf course of choice might even donate some of the associated costs! Make sure the winner of the round gets a cool prize!

3. Flower Arrangement Class

Nothing says spring quite like flowers, so host a workshop that teaches donors the basics of floral design. Charge a participation fee that provides guests with all the flowers and tools they’ll need to make an awesome bouquet, wreath or crown. Then all you’ll need is proper instruction and complimentary refreshments.

4. Community Picnic

Gather families in your town for one big picnic! Set up tables and chairs in an open space or encourage guests to bring their own blankets. Local grocery stores and restaurants might be willing to donate the bulk of the food. The menu is up to you, but it’s hard to go wrong with sandwiches or fried chicken. Potluck picnics can also help lower the cost and provide a larger sense of community. You can charge a general entry fee or encourage donations throughout the day.

Get as creative with this event as your budget allows—add yard games like cornhole and frisbee, a face-painting station, bouncy houses, live music or whatever else you can think of to spice things up!

5. Spring Cleaning

One of the reasons people put off their spring cleaning is because they don’t know what to do with all their unwanted stuff. So, if your organization is a homeless shelter or a community organization that gives to families in need, take it off their hands! Supporters can declutter their houses and drop it off at your door or arrange a pickup.

Or, if you’re the one with the junk, throw your own garage sale. Set up shop at your office or a well-trafficked public space and sell items in exchange for donations. Let your supporters know about this ahead of time so that those who have some things to give away can help you make some extra cash.

6. Egg Dying

Dying and decorating eggs can be just as fun as hunting for them. Promote the event in advance, then set up tables in your office space or a public garden or park. Provide dying kits, paint, glitter, crayons and, of course, hard-boiled eggs. Your donations will mostly come from registration fees, but you can add in a little competition by placing jars in front of each set of eggs and having attendees vote for their favorites with cash.

7. Field Day

Donors will love reminiscing on their elementary school days with a field day fundraiser! This idea is a little equipment-heavy, but it also has the potential to be the most fun. Include all the classics, like a water balloon toss, tug-of-war tournament, sack races, three-legged races and more. Guests can cool off and relax afterwards with a popsicle, just like grade school, or you can turn it into a party by selling grown-up drinks and snacks throughout the day.

If you liked these spring fundraisers, we’ve got you covered for the whole year. Check out our fundraiser ideas for the summer, fall and holiday season!

The post 7 Spring Fundraisers to Delight Your Donors appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

It won’t happen overnight, but having an effective leadership training program is an essential part of your organization’s longevity and prosperity. Here are some tips on how to create a good one.

Determine your leadership needs

First, keep in mind that leadership is defined differently by each organization because each organization has its own unique mission. Before anything else, determine which traits make up a good leader specifically for your nonprofit and its goals.

You can then evaluate any gaps you may have in your leadership, now or in the near future. If there’s anyone who may be leaving soon (say, for retirement or a new job), determine which aspects of their leadership would be missed if they left tomorrow. What would your company lack? Which traits do you value in that person the most? From there, you can focus on fine-tuning those qualities in their potential successors, and, vice versa, examining which new skills your future leaders will bring to the table that the person in the current position may lack.

Hands-on learning

Before you dump your entire leadership program’s budget into formal training, remember the 70-20-10 model for learning and development. Studies show that when it comes to retaining new skills, 70 percent of learning occurs independently through projects and practice, 20 percent occurs through personal instruction from peers and higher-ups and only 10 percent comes from formal instruction. However, organizations often allocate the bulk of their budget and time on that 10 percent.

Yes, things like training materials, conferences and lectures are helpful, but they’re inefficient on their own. Instead, make leadership development a part of your everyday process by providing your staff with projects that truly challenge them, and be there to give advice along the way.

Avoid tunnel-vision

One of the biggest mistakes nonprofit executives can make is having tunnel-vision when choosing their successors. Strong leaders can and will come from anywhere in your company, so give each of your staff members an equal chance to develop their skills. Some of your employees will be happy with the position they’re in, or would rather pursue a different, non-managerial path, so you won’t have to worry about an all-out brawl among your staff for a single position. But by ensuring that every employee is aware that these leadership training opportunities are available (and by encouraging everyone to participate in them), you’ll get a wider variety of applicants.

Lead well

On that note, the best way to create a staff full of strong leaders is to be one yourself. If you make it your mission to inspire your staff to become the next generation of nonprofit changemakers, they’ll follow your example. Show passion for your work, take risks and exemplify all the characteristics you’d like the future of your organization to uphold. Good luck!

The post How to Maintain Strong Leadership in Your Organization appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

Set goals

Ask your volunteers to perform purposeful tasks and help them visualize their impact through goal-setting. One of the main reasons volunteers may be unlikely to return to an organization is if they feel like their presence wasn’t necessary or worthwhile, so avoid assigning “busywork” at all costs.

With measurable, attainable goals—both long-term and short-term—your volunteers will feel the difference they’re making firsthand. Short-term goals will motivate volunteers during each individual session (for example, we want to feed X-many people today).

Long-term goals will keep volunteers emotionally invested in the results of your mission over an extended period of time. In other words, they’ll keep coming back for more. You’ll be able to form relationships with recurring volunteers and build a tribe of long-term supporters who provide consistent support and believe in your cause.

Make sure you’re documenting your goals, too. It’s important to know whether you met, exceeded or fell short of your goals in order to properly evaluate your volunteer program.

Make it fun

Volunteers volunteer because they want to do something for the greater good. But if your goal is to keep them around, you need to make it an all-around fun and engaging experience. Make sure whoever you’ve assigned to coordinate your volunteers is helpful and positive. No one should never feel like they’re waiting around for something to do.

Also, even the smallest of perks can go a long way. With their registration, give volunteers a shirt, a free meal, a drink ticket or anything else related to your event that might brighten their day. These extras, though seemingly unimportant in the grand scheme of things, will make your organization stand out among the rest.

Get a good database

Donors aren’t the only supporters you should be keeping track of. Volunteers have a huge impact on your organization, so it’s important to be organized when managing them. Use an old-school spreadsheet if you must, but a database will do much of the managing for you. With it, you’ll be able to target your communication to certain groups when sending event reminders, sign-up links, etc. It will also make it easier to eventually convert those volunteers into donors. Plus, having a streamlined database system like this means less time manually entering information and more time building real relationships with your supporters.

Follow up

Your volunteers should hear from you immediately after each time they help your organization. This is for a number of reasons, but primarily to thank them. They’re donating their time and talents to your cause out of the goodness of their hearts, so make sure they’re aware of how amazing they are for doing so.

Also in your follow-up, provide a rundown that gives information about upcoming volunteer opportunities, complete with registration links. And, at the end, always offer a feedback survey to gain insight about your volunteers’ experience and learn which areas you can improve going forward.

Volunteers can be an invaluable addition to any organization. Whether they comprise your entire staff or are only needed at the occasional fundraising event, creating a sustainable program for them will make the job easier for everyone.

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