Net Gain: ‘Major’ in Online Relationships

Online programs and benefits. Provide increasingly higher-value online content and features to donors as they move up the donor pyramid. Provide services that help to expand the reach of your organization as well as offer more value to your most valuable donors.

Online communities. Connect visitors to each other. Allow them to contribute to blogs, make posts in a forum or chat directly with others who have similar interests.

Online stewardship. Major donors want to know how their gifts are being used to make an impact on a cause. By providing a link to real-time information such as news, testimonials, webcasts and interactive reports, you can show donors how their donations are being used. Qualitative reporting on results, such as a live video feed of a construction project in progress or a blog written by beneficiaries of the gift, can be just as meaningful as financial information to a major donor.

With an exponential increase in Internet use and online donations, it’s important for nonprofits to realize the true power of adding technology and e-philanthropy to their development tools. It’s critical to ensure that the appropriate infrastructure is in place: technical and support elements, quantifiable goals to measure progress, and the right technology partner. Having a single customer-relationship management solution for online and offline contacts can help personalize content, provide a holistic view of constituents, and meet needs and preferences for messages and communication vehicles.

Nonprofits are facing more and more competition for support everyday. Many successful organizations are turning to the Internet to better differentiate themselves, increase fundraising and operate more efficiently.

By leveraging the Internet, organizations have the opportunity to build stronger relationships with their constituent community — including major donors — to support their mission today, and in the future.

Charlie Cumbaa is senior vice president of products and services at Blackbaud Inc. Contact: www.blackbaud.com.