Todd Baker

Without hesitation, she pulls over, leaps out of her car and runs across four lanes of freeway traffic to save a lost and frightened dog. Why? Because she’s a champion for her cause; she knows nothing else … compassion runs through her Canadian veins and keeps her heart beating.

Not long ago, a few companies realized something profound about the human spirit in its pursuit of meaning and purpose. Then they quietly began to reinvent their reason for being in order to bring “meaning” to the lives of the people who buy their products.

Many nonprofit organizations define online success by its effectiveness in augmenting their offline fundraising. Certainly a level of praise is justified for such efforts, but to truly realize the full potential of the Internet we must go beyond mere integration of marketing.

A new perspective is needed … we must move the Internet from after- to forethought in our minds. Imagine if the Internet was your only way to communicate with donors. Suddenly, you would need to transform financial transactions into altruistic experiences.

In every successful nonprofit organization, there is a small percentage of donors that will support it no matter what. Usually, these donors (who are called many things, but mostly “major”) can account for approximately 75 percent to 85 percent of the charity’s total revenue.