Helping nonprofits succeed online.		October 2006
Online Donations		Training & Workshops		Nonprofit Resources

In this issue: ePhilanthropy Awards Refer a Friend and Get 30 Days on Us! Fall Fundraising Campaign Ideas Classes: Internet Academy Featured Customer: National Radio Project ePhilanthropy Awards Network for Good received the 2006 ePhilanthropy Award for Best Online Donations/Fundraising Campaign for last year's Holiday fundraising initiative, raising over $7 million more than 8,000 nonprofits in a 5-week period. To view a list of all award winners, visit the ePhilanthropy Foundation website.		Calendar of Events October 17, 2006 Internet Academy Session 1: Introduction to Online Fundraising October 19, 2006 Internet Academy Session 2: Creating an Effective Website October 24, 2006 Internet Academy Session 3: Driving Traffic to your Site October 26, 2006 Internet Academy Session 4: Online Donation Strategy and Vendors October 31, 2006 Internet Academy Session 5: Email Strategy and Vendors November 2, 2006 Internet Academy Session 6: Data Integration/Creating the Successful Internet Strategy & Online Campaign
Refer a Friend and Get 30 Days on Us!
Attention current Groundspring Customers—for every new nonprofit customer you refer to us in 2006, you can BOTH receive up to $44.90 toward your monthly fees. Send the following link http://www.groundspring.org/services/taf_instructions.html on to your nonprofit friends this holiday season.
Fall Fundraising Campaign Ideas
With the advent of Fall and the busy holiday season fast approaching, it's important to remind your donors why they should support you. The following is a collection of seasonal campaign ideas that can help cultivate new supporters and generate awareness for your mission. Tips, Tricks and Treats: Offer helpful ideas in a "Trick-or-Treat" style awareness campaign sent via email or direct mail on issues that you support. Combine your tips & tricks messaging with "the treat" - an offer to receive a small gift or other incentive in exchange for their donation. Harvest Event Campaigns October is a fun time to have themed campaigns that involve younger supporters. Find a local harvest fair or carnival in your community and ask to have a booth for your organization. Offer kid-friendly treats, games and information on your organization for children AND parents. Offer a sign up form for future events, volunteer opportunities or petition to capture contact information - then follow-up within a week or two afterwards. "Giving Thanks" Campaign: Frequent communications often translate into increased dollars for your organization. A brief thank you letter to your donors timed just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday can be a very effective way of reminding donors to support you before the end of the year without a hard solicitation. You may include ways to support with your messaging, but make sure the recipient feels that the focus of your letter is sincere gratitude of their generosity. Plan to send your year-end appeal 2-4 weeks after your letter of appreciation to improve the impact of your direct ask. Acknowledgement Dinners: Demonstrate your appreciation for your largest supporters by offering a dinner in their honor. Use this opportunity to share what their contributions have meant to your organization. Include appreciation awards, stories of your events/programs and your latest news. Don't forget to tell them how their future gifts of time and money can further aid your organization's mission. Tell-a-Friend Campaigns: As you head into your end-of-year gift campaigns, you will want to gather contact information from as many people as possible. Often the number one method of engaging new supporters is by word-of-mouth from current ones. Create an email referral campaign that spurs energy and buzz on a specific topic related to your organization. Ask recipients to pass your email along with messaging that will entice others to take action. These actions should be designed to capture contact information such as signing an online petition, subscribing to your newsletter or registering for volunteer opportunities and events. For best practices on integrating online and offline campaigns, visit our Learning Center.
Groundspring's Fall Internet Training Academy
Educate yourself on the web strategies used by Internet-savvy nonprofits without ever leaving the office! From developing a more donor-friendly website to using email more effectively, the Internet Academy gives you the knowledge and tools to succeed online. Classes start back up on October 17th. For details and webinar schedule, please visit: http://www.groundspring.org/training/online_training.cfm
Featured Customer: National Radio Project
The National Radio Project, producers of the syndicated "Making Contact" series provides a weekly dose of independent voices on 200 radio stations and via podcasts to enhance information resources for the American public. Showcasing voices and perspectives rarely heard in mainstream media, Making Contact focuses on the human realities of politics and the connections between local and global events. National Radio Project upgraded to Custom DonateNow for a seamless look and feel on their giving page. Every week they use EmailNow to alert their nationwide audience about upcoming programs and point them back to our website and our on-line donation capabilities.