Everyone's looking for advice on what fundraisers should do in a down economy. Here are some thoughts from Vinay Bhagat of Convio, in FundRaising Success magazine: 10 Tips for Fundraising in Tough Times.
Vinay's ten tips all pretty much boil down to one: Get serious about online fundraising.
I agree, for two reasons:
- In a tough fundraising time, going online will bypass the rising costs of paper, printing, and postage.
- And you'll reach a new kind of donor who just isn't responsive to direct mail
That said, don't abandon your traditional fundraising channels. That's where most of your donors still are! Add online to your portfolio. Learn how to use the medium effectively, as it will continue to be the preferred giving and communication channel for more donors all the time.
Technorati Tags: fundraising, recession, nptech
The fact is a useful e-mail, whether for-profit or non-profit, must have some basic customer service tools embedded into it. This comes from experience, but also from training and outside learning. I found a great survey hosted by MindShare that goes through a few things we can do to be better at customer service. It does take some application of abstract ideas, but it should be useful. Some areas focus on the business aspect, but most deal with the inter-personal relationships we must develop.
Posted by: Vin Subrajmanan | 30 June 2008 at 13:39