It's not unusual to get phishing scams in the form of lottery "winnings" or that appear to come from legitimate businesses or nonprofits (see the Habitat for Humanity job offer scam).  But this scam is more creative than most.  It arrives as a nice-looking 4-page PDF attachment from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (well, nice looking if you ignore the creative spelling and the fact that the typeface and font color changes with every paragraph).  It starts out "PLEASE HELP PROTECT/SAVE OUR PLANET" and has a photo of Nelson Mandela and Bill Clinton walking arm-in-arm.  It then informs me that the "NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION and WILLIAM J. CLINTON FOUNDATION in Collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has held an Internet Raffle Draw" and selected my email address!   And it's signed by Desmond Tutu.  Of course, they need my contact info, including:

1. Full name...............................
2. Country..................................
3. Contact Address.....................
4. Telephone Number.................
5. fax Number............................
5. Marital Status.........................
6. Occupation.............................
7. Date of birth......................
8. Sex.................................
9. Alternative email address…………………….

I hope the wild variety of fonts and colors alone are enough to tell the world this is a scam.  Here's what it looks like:

I get a lot of emails like the following from small nonprofits:

We desperately need to get a new donor database and most of them are totally unaffordable!!

Looking at the Idealware Low Cost Database report, I find that there are so many considerations that it is quite complicated to make a choice. I am tending towards (system x) because it would seem to match what we need right away, and we could afford it. 

Could you please advise me as to whether this is a good choice, or whether we should consider other options as well?

Here's how I respond to questions like this:

I can't say whether (system x) would be a good fit for you. As you said, there are a lot of considerations. I'd need to spend time learning about your organization to make any kind of informed recommendation.

You said you've read the Idealware/NTEN Consumer's Guide, so you know that (system x) got a strong rating there. And many of my clients use (system x) and like it. But none of that means it will be right for you.

The only way I know of to answer your question is to go through these steps:
Write down what you need in a database, in as much detail as you can. Then identify the deal-breakers on that list. A deal-breaker is a feature you truly cannot live without. Even if the database could do everything else on your list, was easy to use, and the price was right, you couldn't use it without this one feature. For instance, you might need the ability to target direct mail (and email?) to constituents based on factors like past donations, interests, event attendance, recency of gifts, lifetime giving total, etc. Or you might have some reports that are mandatory, like a lapsed donor report.

Once you know what you're looking for you need to test vendors against those needs. You can start by sending out a Request for Information or Request for Proposals with some yes/no/maybe questions about your top needs (e.g., Can we send mass emails directly from the database? Can your system accept donations online?, etc.). I view this step as optional, but it can help you eliminate vendors that can't meet your top needs, or include vendors you didn't previously know much about.

You also need to know what it costs to get started with your system (purchase, conversion, training, etc.) and what's the 5-year cost (some systems cost a lot in year 1 but not much in subsequent years, some don't cost to get started but the annual costs can add up). This step is not optional. It might be part of the above RFP or RFI, or you might just ask about costs.

Next, you need to see the vendors demonstrate how their systems will meet your needs. Give them a list of features they need to show or steps they need to go through (e.g., show how to send a mass email, or show how to enter a donation that will be split between 3 funds, or between 3 donors).

Next, you need to get a demo copy of the database and do your own testing. How easy is it to do things you'll need to do regularly, like enter gifts, look up donors, change addresses, and run reports.

Then you need to check references. Talk to organizations with similar fundraising programs, staffing, IT support, etc. Ask each one the same questions and compare the results.

Last, you need to get a contract that shows you all of the costs, including setting up the system, converting your data, (ideally) documenting your data entry processes, and training your staff.

FYI, Idealware has a webinar on this topic coming up in September:
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/957/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=61562

They also have recordings of past webinars. Here's one of mine:
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/957/l/eng/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=37802

And here's one by Eric Leland, the main author of their Low Cost Database guide:
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/957/l/eng/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=29015

I hope this helps.

Jay Love, the founder and CEO of eTapestry (and before that, of Master Software), is leaving Blackbaud to become CEO of Social Solutions:
http://www.nptimes.com/10June/news-100608-2.html

I spoke with Jay yesterday and he says that Blackbaud is committed to etapestry and will continue to invest in the product. Time will tell.
 

Tags: Donor Databases

Yesterday I spoke on a fundraising panel at Compasspoint's Silicon Valley/Peninsula Nonprofit Forum and mentioned a variety of resources. Here they are, with links:

Donor Retention
AFP's Fundraising Effectiveness Project: http://www.afpnet.org/Audiences/ReportsResearchDetail.cfm?itemnumber=3113
The Agitator’s post “No New Donors!” http://www.theagitator.net/dont-miss-these-posts/no-new-donors/

Attracting New Donors
“Homer Simpson for Nonprofits: The Truth about How People Really Think and What It Means for Promoting Your Cause”
Ebook: http://web.networkforgood.org/201002ebook/
Archive of their workshop at the NTEN conference: http://bit.ly/cTvvSq

Donor Databases
Idealware's "Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems"
http://www.idealware.org/reports/consumers-guide-low-cost-donor-management-systems

Social Media
My own resources page: http://www.rlweiner.com/resources#social%20media  It includes links to articles like:
Should Your Organization Use Social Networking Sites?
Before You Jump in with Two Feet in Social Media - Important Boring Basic Stuff First
Tips for Entering Your Nonprofit into the Social Media Environment
Using Social Media to Meet Nonprofit Goals: The Results of a Survey
The ROI of Social Media
The Six Signs That Twitter Isn't For Your Nonprofit
Ten Things a Nonprofit Should Do Before Setting Up Social Media

Tags: Donor Databases, Fundraising, Social Media, Web 2.0

I just spoke on a fundraising panel at Compasspoint's Silicon Valley/Peninsula Nonprofit Forum.  One takeaway: some California cities are finding that they need to raise private funds to make up for cuts in State and local funding.  This means thinking and acting like nonprofits.  The city department in question has no board and no staff who know how to solicit donations.  The panel responded that the department head needs to devote at least 25% of her scarce time to fundraising and convene a board that's willing to help.  Of course, this means they'll be competing with local nonprofits for donations.

Tags: Fundraising

Have you successfully moved from paper-based direct mail fundraising to digital tools (email, websites, video, social media, widgets, and/or mobile)? Want to gloat about your successes and possibly make some (more) money as well?

The Paperless Choice Challenge is rewarding successful, creative, replicable campaigns that use electronic  fundraising tools by giving away eight prizes totalling over $20,000. Entries can be submitted between June 15 and September 15, 2010. 

For more information go to http://www.paperlesschoice.org/. And while you're at it, check out more resources on going paperless from the GreenTech Initiative's paper reduction campaign.

read more

Tags: Email Marketing, Fundraising, Green Tech, Online Fundraising

There are a few RSS feeds I don't want to miss.   I have an RSS feed reader but I often go for days without looking at it.  The surest way for me to be sure see new items is to have them delivered as email messages. 

Some RSS feeds offer email subscriptions, but most don't.  However, I found a way to do this even for feeds that don't offer email delivery by playing with these instructions for setting up a Google FeedBurner subscription for one's own web site: http://wordpress.jdwebdev.com/blog/feedburner-email/

1) First, you need to go to FeedBurner and set up an account.  Once that's set up, click the My Feeds link in the upper-right corner.

2) Next, you need the RSS feed address for the page you want to track.  Open a new tab or browser window, find the page you want to track and look for an RSS logo or link.  I'll use Leah Garchik's Twitter feed of public eavesdropping as an example.  On her Twitter page http://twitter.com/leahgarchik there's a link in the lower right corner saying "RSS feed of leahgarchik's tweets".  Clicking on that link takes me to http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/70746464.rss 

3) Copy the RSS feed URL, go back to FeedBurner's My Feeds page, and paste the URL into the box labeled Burn a feed right this instant.  Click Next. 

4) You should see a page saying Welcome! Let us burn a feed for you.  Click Next.

5) You should see a page saying Congrats! Your FeedBurner feed is now live.  Click the link that says Skip directly to feed management. 

6) Click the tab at the top of the page that says Publicize.

7) On the left side of that page click the link that says Email Subscriptions. 

Click the button that says Activate.

9) You should see a panel labeled Subscription Management. Now comes the tricky part.  FeedBurner's instructions are designed for someone posting an RSS feed link on a web site.  But you can skip that part by clicking the link in the middle of the page that says Preview Subscription Link….  Paste your own email address into the Email Subscription Request box and enter the wavy CAPTCHA letters.  You'll get a confirmation email at the address you entered. 

10) Click the verification link in the email and you're done.  You'll start getting email notifications when new content is published on this feed.

Tags: Email, Web

I received an email newsletter today with the following pitch for a web-based donor database (perhaps you can guess which one):

The Cloud offers you constituent relationship management (CRM) software that's less expensive, easier to maintain, more accessible, more intuitive, and with greater flexibility and capacity than you've ever seen before.

How much would you pay for such a system?

Would you believe me if I told you...you can get it for free? Yup, free.

When talking about "free" software I think it's important to define the limits of free. There's free-as-in-beer and free-as-in-puppies. Defining business rules, codes, and reports, converting data, configuring screens, and training users on the new system and policies are not simple tasks. I keep hearing of small nonprofits that chose a database because it was "free," became overwhelmed, and dropped it.  Donor databases need care and feeding during implementation and throughout their lifetimes.  This often requires hiring consultants who have experience with these systems free.  "Free" can quickly become expensive.

Tags: Cloud Computing, Donor Databases, IT Management, Nonprofit Technology

It's the season for a slew of reports analyzing last year's online giving results. Convio released their 2010 Online Nonprofit Benchmark Study in March, based on results from nearly 500 clients. Its findings included:

• 14% growth in online giving overall. 

• 69% of the organizations they looked at raised more online in 2009 than in 2008, while 31% raised less. 

• Donors were still giving, but in smaller amounts. The average gift size was $80.80. Most organizations saw declines in average gift size

• Small organizations grew fastest. This has been the finding of several studies over the past few years, and isn't surprising. When your list is small it's easier to rack up big percentage gains.

• Email open rates remained steady at around 20% but click-through rates declined.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual assessment of online giving came out in April, based on data from 176 of the largest nonprofits in the U.S. Its findings included:

• The 151 nonprofits that provided data for both 2008 and 2009 reported that overall donations fell by a median of 9% while online gifts grew by 5%.

• As Convio found, average gift size declined. More than half of the nonprofits that reported the size of their average online gifts saw decreases in gift size.

  read more

Tags: Online Fundraising

I received the following email from Keith Heller, a database consultant who works with Raiser's Edge and Common Ground clients:

We’ve been involved with responding to many RFPs over the years and I have a general inquiry that is in your bailiwick. I often see RFPs that are quite lengthy and well-considered, and looking for a system that has huge strategic value to an organization, but the required turn-around time to respond to the RFP is very short – often only 2 or 3 weeks.  I then see software vendors, who are already busy with other prospects, scrambling to pull together responses and often (quite frankly) not able to deliver their best because of the timeframe. Finally, I’m often witness on the client side to the returned RFP information languishing for weeks beyond their own deadlines (and/or this being characteristic of earlier deadlines in designing the RFP). What’s the thought behind requiring quick responses from the vendors? Or do the clients often not understand that vendors are working with multiple other organizations at the same time? It seems to me that if response deadlines were less compressed, vendors could craft a more appropriate response in a less stressful manner and that organizations would get higher quality and value from the responses.

My response:

Hi Keith,

You know the office proverb: "Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." But if you're a vendor it often does.

In most cases I don't think nonprofits understand what they're asking of the vendors. I advise my clients to allow 2 weeks for a simple Request for Proposals and up to 6 weeks for a complex one. At the same time many nonprofits don't understand what's involved in reviewing RFP responses. They haven't thought about how they'll score each one, and may not have set aside staff time (or enough staff time) for the task. So even if the turnaround is driven by real deadlines on the client's side, they're too overwhelmed by the responses to turn them around quickly.

A more cynical possibility is the dark side of RFPs -- the winner was predetermined but the organization was required to get multiple bids. That could explain the unrealistic turnaround time--the organization knows the chosen vendor can meet the timeline (and the RFP may have even been created using a template supplied by that vendor). The delays in getting back to bidders could still be legitimate overwhelmedness. They could also mean that the other bids weren't that important to begin with so there's no rush to respond to those vendors.

What do you think?   If you're with a nonprofit, do you think your RFP deadlines are reasonable and realistic?  If you're with a vendor, how do you cope with these sometimes-artificial emergencies, and with the RFP process in general?  Are you one of the many who simply do not respond to over-the-transom RFPs?

Resources:

My article Finding the Perfect Fundraising Database in an Imperfect World includes a section called "To RFP or not to RFP"

Idealware article: The Perfect Fit: A Guide to Evaluating and Purchasing Major Software Systems

Techsoup article: The RFP Process: An Overview

Techsoup article: Nine Tips for Navigating the RFP Research Phase

Tags: Databases, Donor Databases, IT Management, Nonprofit Technology, Software