tothepoint: Online Fundraising Changes to Make Now

This is especially true online. With most of what we do online — Facebook, Foursquare, gaming, etc. — being highly personal and extremely interactive, we have to provide a more intimate and involved experience for our supporters with our technological tools. Otherwise, we will alienate nearly everyone.

3. CHANGE TO MAKE:

Do the marketing so 
the technology works

You can have a huge "donate" button on your home-
page or a snazzy Facebook page, but that does not mean anyone is coming or clicking. Unfortunately, a "donate now" button is not filled with donor-attracting potion, and social networks aren't magical money machines. They don't work without great messaging, compelling engagement and marketing savvy. I fear we've gotten so enamored with the tools that are available — and the seeming ease of adopting them — that we're forgetting the hard thinking that has to go into making them work.

This year, make sure that all the online outreach you are performing has the necessary thinking behind it. To compel donors to give online — or anywhere, for that matter — you need to always be relevant, compelling, specific and use trusted messengers.

4. CHANGE TO MAKE:

Get more tangible 
and impact-focused

Here is another paradigm shift required this year: from need to impact.

Fundraising is not about what you need. Really. It is about what the donor — through you — can achieve. It's about giving donors the gift of knowing they changed the world for the better. It's not about our goals; it's about our donor's aims.

Everyone knows you need money. So do the other 1.8 million nonprofits in the United States — and the millions more around the world. If that's all you've got to say, you are just another organization with yet another appeal.