By Wayne Elsey
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NonProfit PRO recently released a study called “2018 Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study: A Look at the Challenges Nonprofit Leadership Is Facing and How to Address Them.” One of the findings of that report was the fact that:
- 63 percent of respondents to their survey stated that digital fundraising accounted for less than 20 percent of their total revenue.
- 20 percent of those who responded said that digital fundraising accounted for 21 to 30 percent of their total revenue.
Not prioritizing technology is a missed opportunity!
Why Mobile Matters
I say it often, mobile, mobile, mobile. It’s all about mobile, and in the quick-paced environment of today, even in the nonprofit sector, the organizations that are succeeding are those that are putting aside the traditional fundraising solutions and embracing technology fully, especially and including mobile.
As reported by August Ash about global mobile facts, in October of 2016, there was more traffic on mobile to access the internet than there was on a desktop. Further, as was stated in the article, “By 2019, mobile is predicted to account for 79% of all web traffic. This could mean that only 20% of the time people spend on your website will be from a desktop computer.”
Mobile matters. Period. And, nonprofits that are not optimizing their websites for mobile or investing in technology are going to be left behind. Donors who search for your organization are likely doing it on a mobile device, and if your site is not mobile-ready, they will close out in seconds.
Why Mobile is Important for Nonprofits
Unfortunately, old habits die hard, and the nonprofit sector tends to resist change. The attitude of doing things the way they’ve always been done remains alive and well in the industry. However, technology is pushing nonprofits to change, and as technology and mobile-only become more ingrained in our day-to-day lives, it’s going to be much more difficult to not adapt to the change.
The reality is that donors and supporters expect instant gratification and communication that conforms to the ways they operate. Social media and the digital world have made on-demand a regular occurrence in our lives.
The NonProfit PRO study also suggested, rightly, that we live in a world of quickly developing and advancing technology. So, it stands to reason that those organizations that do not prioritize and focus on investing in technology will find themselves in due time further and further behind, including in fundraising. Why should a donor who spends the vast majority of his or her time communicating and doing business with their mobile device (including paying bills or giving to charity) have to support a group that isn’t keeping up with the times when there’s likely another across town with a similar mission that has embraced technology?
If you do not think technology is an essential aspect of a nonprofit operation in the digital age, you’re demonstrating that you’re old school and can’t be forward thinking or adaptive to change.
We are not at a place where we should say that mobile and technology should supplant other fundraising techniques, such as face-to-face fundraising. However, nonprofit leaders must seriously consider at this juncture how they will begin to integrate technology into their overall operations and also fundraising. Yes, it means it’s vital to have a mobile ready site, but it also includes thinking about how to use platforms such as Facebook for fundraising.
Ensuring that technology is an essential element of your marketing and fundraising mix will open up more opportunities for brand awareness and marketing dollars.
Author of “Not Your Father’s Charity: Grip & Rip Leadership for Social Impact” (Free Digital Download available at http://notyourfatherscharity.com/free-resources/ )
2018 Wayne Elsey and Not Your Father’s Charity. All Rights Reserved.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Wayne_Elsey/2016149
http://EzineArticles.com/?With-Technology-Your-Nonprofit-Will-Raise-More-Money&id=9949057
Do Nonprofits Really Need Nonprofit Websites?
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Nonprofit websites are websites for nonprofit organizations. Such organizations include charities, different religious organizations and churches and any organization that does not issue stocks, its surplus funds are not distributed to shareholders or owners can be called nonprofit organizations (NPO).
Many of such organizations are charities who collect money usually through donations and use the profits for some noble causes or goals of those organizations.
You might ask if your Nonprofit Organization (NPO) really needs a nonprofit website. For so many years such organizations have existed and successfully have been achieving their objectives without any nonprofit websites. So does an NPO needs such a website? The answer is “yes”. Although there are some NPOs that still don’t have websites, their influence and successful activities are limited without a website for nonprofits that clearly states the goals of the organization.
Through the internet NPOs nowadays can reach easily millions of people very quickly. People are busy nowadays and they are bombarded every day with tones of information and news. They like to learn about things and get the information through the internet. So by using the internet you can spread your message to many more people than through the off line media. It is also much cheaper to use the internet than for example TV. Although TV can also reach a lot of people, it is much more expensive.
Through your website you can keep people well informed about your goals and activities, and you can also find volunteers who will help your organization to achieve the organization’s goals. It is even more important to have a website if your nonprofit organization like most NPOs depends on donations to achieve its goals. Having a website makes it much easier to collect donations. You can place donations buttons in visible places on many or even on every page of your website, so people will know that they can donate through your website.
For people it will be much easier to donate funds to your organization if they can do it using PayPal or their credit cards and pay through your website, than go to the bank or use any other methods of transferring their funds to your organization.
Now once you are convinced that you need a website for your NPO, you should think about getting a really good looking, attractive website specially designed for a nonprofit organization. There are so many websites, that any website won’t do. The websites for nonprofits are not like any other ordinary websites. Your website must carry the look of your mission and goals, so you really need to get a professional nonprofit website design.
To get such a website, you will need to buy a domain, get a web hosting where your website will be hosted online, and get a website design. If you are not very knowledgeable about all those terms and you don’t have much idea how to get it done, don’t worry. Nowadays there are also websites that specialize in designing, building and hosting websites specifically for nonprofit organizations. They even have hundreds and some of them thousands beautifully designed templates for organizations like yours. You will simply need to choose a template and they will do the rest.
For more information visit Nonprofit Websites.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Chris_M_Green/1065860
http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-Nonprofits-Really-Need-Nonprofit-Websites?&id=6665569
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