Online Giving Roundtable...

Jason Dick at www.asmallchange.net has done a good job rounding up some players in the on-line fundraising market to comment about trends in on-line giving.

The series of articles focuses on key questions surrounding on-line giving, such as:

• Should a non-profit have an online fundraising plan?
• What are some different strategies and models for fundraising online?
• What should the online fundraising plan look like?
• What are some key components to a good plan?
• What does the future of online giving look like?

I had a chance to respond as well, and I think you might find some of the answers surprising.

Read the article

Random Thoughts on the Road...

I'm writing this blog installment from an Amtrak train after visiting Wealth Engine in Bethesda, Maryland. I'm using a Dell Latitude D630, with a built in Verizon broadband card for Internet Access at 125 mph. Though I would never call it broadband, it is good enough for email and browsing the web, and works well on the train. Though the laptop was a good bargain (~$1000), the broad band access costs about $60/month. However, it pays for itself whenever I am on the road at a conference, because currently conference centers feel they can charge over $500/day for Internet Access for our booth. My Verizon card eliminates that cost, so maybe one day they'll figure out they need to reduce their prices, but I doubt it.

We continue to see resounding success with integrating Wealth Engine into our DonorPerfect systems. I had a chance to talk to their staff, and I feel very comfortable that we are all on the same mission- trying to help clients get the most out of prospect research without breaking the bank. Like us, they are growing very fast and though the partnership is already successful, I feel that 2008 will be even better.

One definite comment came up during our training- one of the database experts at Wealth Engine made the comment that our filter/query building process was by far the easiest and most comprehensive she has seen, especially compared to Raiser's Edge. She even said that most RE users have to ask their IT staff to pull the specific filters that they need- an unnecessary cost of time and money.

Fundraising software should be easy to use and comprehensive- without breaking your budget. I think Wealth Engine is on the right track, and I look forward to expanding our relationship with them.

The Case for American Express...

Since we've introduced WebLink, our on-line donation system over 3 years ago, we know that only about 1 in 5 organizations offer American Express as a payment option in addition to Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.

We believe this to be the case because American Express requires a separate merchant agreement, with separate monthly account fees, and typically costs a bit more (~3.5% vs. ~2.99%) to process donations.

However, I really believe this is costing non-profits money in missed donation revenue. If you do not give donors the ability to choose their desired payment method, some of them won't donate at all.

Recently, one of our smaller clients noticed that they had about 8% of their transactions proceed half-way through the donation process. I.E., the donor would designate a gift amount, fill in their personal information, but when it got to their credit card information, the donor stopped. WebLink easily identifies these incomplete donations, so the non profit contacted several donors and asked them what was going on.

What they found was surprising- the donor stopped because they could not use their American Express card. What was even more surprising was that while the donor had every intention of still giving with an alternate payment method, they admitted that they forgot to "get around to it."

Immediately, the non-profit obtained an American Express merchant account- it only took 4-5 days. They then identified those donors that did not complete a donation and sent them an email explaining that American Express was now available as a payment method.

Within just 30 minutes - yes 30 minutes- they received 5 donations, totaling more than $400, just from American Express users. This extra revenue already paid for any additional expense American Express created, more than justifying its use.

Don't let your organization leave money on the table. Make sure you offer all of the payment options, including American Express- it's worth it to give your donors the option to give however they want.