Getting Past Governments Grants and the Annual Gala – Get Related

A great article from the 501(c)3 Blog – http://www.501c3.org/blog/get-more-out-of-your-fundraising-efforts/

The following article restates my mantra:  Track all donations, thank all donors, focus on your Portfolio fundraising, be, genuinely, everyone else’s fan, build community and partnerships for the long term, take no one for granted.   I’ve dumped two organizations as clients recently because they would not implement these simple relationship building behaviors.  They could not move past grants, ‘what can I get’, and gala.   Neither of them tracked any donations.  Neither of them could. in integrity, create a communications campaign that got beyond the emotional ‘cry’ of need or beyond what the founder ‘wants’.   It’s embarrassing to be affiliated with any charitable organization that is on the ‘take’.  If I thought it was only a matter of misunderstanding and time, I would have taken different action, but after working with them over time, I realized, they were committed to what they could ‘get’ from people.   Not functional, not ethical, not pretty.   Best practices and management are so vital to good nonprofit relationships.

Get More Out of Your Fundraising Efforts

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Greg McRay, EA

Let’s face it.  Times couldn’t be tougher for many nonprofits, especially when it comes to raising money.  And in the nonprofit world, things often run in inverse proportion:  The tougher the economy, the greater the need…and the scarcer the resources.  So what can you do to beat the odds and secure the necessary funding to run your programs?

Let’s try a little exercise.  Grab a piece of paper and write down 5 creative ideas for raising a significant amount of money for your organization.  Now, take a look at the list.  What do the 5 items have in common?  If you are like most people, your list is mostly populated by event ideas.  I bet that half of you wrote down a golf tournament!

First of all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with events.  Events, such as golf tournaments, can indeed be successful exercises that raise your organization’s profile, as well as some money.  But events are costly, both in terms of overhead and labor.  Large events can take months to plan, scores of volunteers to pull off…and may or may not end up netting much money.  Nothing like having 6 months of planning go down the drain when it rains on the big day!  If you want to see big improvements in your fundraising ability, you simply must learn to think differently.  Think relational instead of transactional.

Consider how much time and effort went into your last major event.  Now, imagine that same effort strategically targeted toward cultivating a lifetime donor…a fan who loves and supports your mission over the long term.  This single concept, so often ignored, can make the difference between surviving from event to event and having a steady stream of program-sustaining money coming into your nonprofit.  Nothing will net rewards with your donors like relationship building.

But how do you do it?  Here are some key principles you can leverage in building these relationships:

Track all donations. By tracking, I mean know who gave what, when.  That’s where it starts.  Frankly, that is your minimum threshold anyway when it comes to recordkeeping and proper acknowledgement of donations.

Thank your donors. Sincerely, creatively…and often.  Every time they give they should be getting a “thank you” letter letting them know how much their gift is appreciated and what it helps your organization accomplish.  You simply cannot slack on this one.  Studies have shown that donors who are thanked are much more likely to give in the future.  Another tip is to give thanks in the manner the gift was received.  For example, if you got a check by mail, it is best to mail a thank you letter.  If the donation was made online, it is entirely appropriate to acknowledge that donation by like means.  And, don’t send the same letter each time.  Change it up.

Focus on your big donors. Who are your biggest donors?  Hopefully you know this already, but maybe you don’t.  If not, find out.  How often do they give?  Once a year…quarterly…annually?  Is it in response to targeted solicitations or general fund requests?  Once you know these things, then your goal is to find out why they are giving.  You cannot assume this.  Truth be told, you are likely to assume incorrectly anyway.  My Dad’s favorite quote is, “Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge”.  How true!  Spend real time building relationship with these individuals.  Find out what motivates their giving.  Take the time to forge real bonds with these people.  You will be amazed how far this can go.

Make fans of everyone else. You do that by communicating often.  Start a newsletter.  Let your supporters know what is happening with your organziation…your successes, your plans, your needs.  Just be careful how you communicate need.  People much prefer to give to vision, not bills.  Explain what their giving can help you achieve with regard to your mission.  Don’t tell them you need support so you can afford rent.  Message is everything.

Using your time and energy to build relationships will go much farther in the long run to help you establish a stable support base.  Once you have done this, then you are in a much better position to return your attention to events and other transactional fundraising efforts.

With acknowledgments to fundraising consultant (and our good friend), Sandy Rees, who teaches these concepts at our Nonprofit Boot Camps.

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Founders: The One Woman Org – Cut it Out

The thing I tell people in my Board Development, Fundraising, Budgeting, and Marketing and Social Media workshops,  all of them, is,
“If you think you are running this show, you may as shut your organization down now.”  What runs your nonprofit are market conditions, changing needs of your clientele, changing board dynamics, how well your organization is moving toward your long term vision, or not.

The Founder or Executive Director often thinks, they are running the show.  They are not.  If they maintain that course, they are going to make a lot of people, ie. staff, donors, community, clientele, board members, very unhappy over time.

Beth Kanter’s latest social media blog post speaks to how to use social media to stop doing it all yourself.   As she so astutely points out, if you don’t think you have time to explore social media, you may be creating quite a crisis for yourself down the road.   And, why would you think YOU have to create your social media structure and campaign structure yourself anyway?  You’re not even qualified.

Get resourceful.  Create a task force.  Create an entire committee and give them a goal.  A great goal to give them would be a “We want to raise $25,000 via social media in the next (whatever time frame).   Get on it.”  goal.   And of course, you’d want to enroll and enlist people to that task force that would love playing that game.   Not you, the founder, who thinks social media is something your grandchild does when he should be, well, whatever you think he should be doing.   I mean how long does it take to create a good committee.  Well if you go to your existing board and lazily expect them to reorganize themselves into a new function, well, you’ll never get a social media program going.  If you give the matter just half an ounce of thought, you’ll realize,  we can create this committee and recruit some spectacular local talent, they get to know us, we get to know them.  Our board is educated as well left unburdened.  We have fresh dynamic energy flowing the the top layer of our organization for the duration of the project, win, win, win, win, win!  Don’t burden your board with yet another task.  Bring them a present and don’t let them turn the present down.   Think for a minute on what you want social networking to do for your organization and assign a team of fresh people to get it done.

Beth’s articles are always on the leading edge, relevant, related and implementable.  http://www.bethkanter.org/simplicity-netnon/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bethblog+%28Beth%27s+Blog%29 Enjoy.

Using Social Media To Accomplish More With Less

I don’t have time for social media

Join me on Tuesday, July 14 at 1 PM EST/1o am PST for a webinar hosted by Networked for Good “Using Social Media to Accomplish More with Less.”    It’s free and three lucky participants will win a copy of the book.  I’ll be talking about some of themes in the book and sharing some tips for streamlining your social media use.

One of the most common questions I hear is when I do workshops is, “How much time does it take to do social media?”.  It is usually followed by an observation that the organization is so resourced and time strapped that they can’t invest time doing anything that doesn’t provide an immediate and maximized return.   So, they don’t go further with their social media.  A common mistake.

One of the thing that Networked Nonprofits have in common is simplicity.   It clarifies organizations and forces them to focus their energy on what they do best, while leveraging resources of their networks for the rest.   Simplicity powers more informal connections between people, blurs boundaries, and enables nonprofits to scale efforts better than a single organization could.

Embracing simplicity helps nonprofits move from scarcity lens to that of abundance and allows them to leverage their networks through social media.  Here’s a couple of examples:

The SFSPCA has connected with social media savvy volunteers that now create content and manage some of their social media channels such as the Litter Did You Know blog and YouTube Channel.

Los Angeles Universal Preschool Parent Ambassadors on Facebook

Los Angeles Universal Preschool mission is to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in Los Angeles County, regardless of their family’s income.  They have a group of parent ambassadors who work on land to spread the word about high quality preschool.  This group also has a Facebook Fan Page where they provide the same role online.

Preschool California uses Twitter to connect with journalists.  They discovered that Tweets are more informal, less time consuming than email so journalists may be more likely to read.   Despite only having a few interactions with reporters, Preschool California still retweeted and commented on a number of articles, garnering responses from other advocates and interested Twitter users, which helped increase their issue exposure to a larger audience that focus on early childhood education and are using Twitter.

Using social media can help nonprofits find people and other organizations with good ideas an interest in working together.  This is the leverage that they need to stop doing everything alone while ensure that a lot is getting done in their networks.     These organizations and people are right there, in the network, on Facebook or Twitter, waiting to connect with and support your organization’s efforts.

How are you using social media to accomplish more with less?  Have a story?   Leave it in the comments below and win a free copy of the book or this nifty Networked Nonprofit t-shirt created by NTEN.

Benevon

Nonprofits, if you have not researched Benevon or explored the Benevon Model.  Please do.

The following are many examples of Benevon programs, trainings and resources.

July 12, 2010

It happens. Five years ticks by quickly. Before you know it, those wonderful donors who made those generous five-year pledges (of $1,000 or more per year) to join your Multiple-Year Giving Society™ just made their third year’s pledge payments and no one from your organization has gotten to know them yet. In fact, they are still complete strangers to you. Take this as a serious wake-up call and get to work. Set up your donor cultivation plan now, starting with the donors who are nearest to the end of their five-year pledge payoff cycle. If you don’t get to know them and cultivate them systematically now, you will lose most of them at the end of the five years, if not before. I’m always surprised when people tell us they don’t want to “bother” these loyal Multiple-Year Giving Society Donors. They think they should invoice them dutifully each year, call them at the start of the sixth year, and ask them to re-up on their pledge. That is precisely the opposite of what is needed. The whole purpose of having donors who make five-year pledges at this level is not for your organization’s financial security. After all, if a donor does not pay their annual pledge, you are not going to take legal action against them. Rather, the purpose of the giving society is to identify those donors who want to be closer to the organization. They don’t have to make a five-year pledge. They could give the same amount one year at a time. By opting into your giving society they are communicating something critical: they want to give to your organization, they want to stay connected to you over the next five years, and they expect you to give them updates, ask for their advice, and include them in major milestones that the organization is facing. To read the rest of this article, please visit our Current Feature Web page. This article is available until July 25, 2010.

Message From Terry Axelrod Five Tips for Cultivating Expiring Pledge Donors Get to know your expiring pledge donors.
Announcements Benevon Monthly Introductory Session Conference Call Join us for this special call on July 22. Getting to Benevon 101: Building Your Team and Finding the Funding Join us for this special call on August 24. Conference Call for Implementing the Benevon Model in These Challenging Economic Times Join us for this special call on August 25.
Ask Terry Acknowledging Donors Who Don’t Want Communication Recognizing donors who don’t wish to receive e-mails or phone calls.
Coaching for Sustainability Sharon Ervine Table Captain Backfill.
Introductory Sessions September 8—Tampa, Florida

Benevon Monthly Introductory Session Conference Call Learn how to become more effective at inspiring others about the mission of your favorite nonprofit organization and to leave a legacy of sustainable funding. This conference call will introduce you to the Benevon Model—a systematic process for engaging and developing relationships with individual donors. Listen and ask questions about how to customize this model to the unique needs of your nonprofit. You are encouraged to invite other staff, board members, and volunteers to engage them in this practical and effective new approach. Join us for the Benevon Monthly Introductory Session Conference Call on July 22.

Getting to Benevon 101: Building Your Team and Finding the Funding The two biggest challenges groups face once they decide they want to implement the model and come to Benevon 101 are putting together a team and finding funding. This call will give you practical tips and solutions for how to overcome both of these challenges. Current Benevon participants will talk about how they tackled these issues, got their team to Benevon 101, and are now on their way to sustainable funding. Join us for the Getting to Benevon 101 call on August 24.

Conference Call for Implementing the Benevon Model in These Challenging Economic Times Join us for a special conference call to learn about how to implement the Benevon Model to build sustainable funding for your nonprofit during these challenging economic times. Learn how to engage your community in your organization’s mission and to inspire giving, even in a lagging economy. Listen and ask questions as our alumni guest speakers from other nonprofit organizations discuss their success with this no-pressure, mission-centered approach. Join us for this Conference Call for Implementing the Benevon Model in These Challenging Economic Times on August 25.

Q: How do we handle long-term, extremely generous donors who want absolutely no communication (i.e., letters, direct mail, newsletters, etc.)? Do we even attempt to call them and acknowledge their generosity, or just accept that they want no contact? Michelle in Minnesota A: Begin by asking more questions about this donor. How did you determine that they do not want any contact? How long ago was their most recent donation, and when were they last contacted by someone at your organization? Use the person at your organization that is closest to the donor to re-connect with them, using the medium they prefer (e.g., phone, e-mail, mail). It’s possible that this donor may be OK with an occasional one-on-one contact, but would just prefer to avoid more general communication, such as newsletters and direct mail.

For information about submitting Ask Terry questions, read our guidelines for submission.

Our fundraising coaches inspire and motivate nonprofit organizations of all sizes and types. This week, Benevon Curriculum Director Sharon Ervine discusses Table Captain Backfill Strategy. I often stress to my groups the importance of the Table Captain Backfill Strategy, because it is such an excellent method for both filling your Point of Entry® Events and ensuring that you have enough “ripened fruit” at your Ask Event™. This strategy involves having all of your Table Captains invite guests to Points of Entry prior to the Ask Event, so that the people at their tables have all been introduced to your organization and cultivated. Here are some important tips for successfully implementing this strategy: : Work with each Table Captain to establish goals and specific deadlines for achieving these goals. Give each Table Captain a deadline for having all of their guests attend a Point of Entry. Aim for having all guests attend by six to eight weeks prior to the Ask Event, so that you have time to follow up and cultivate each guest. Give them cards with dates of your regularly scheduled Point of Entry Events for them to pass out to their guests. Encourage them to host a private Point of Entry in a Box for their guests at their office, home, etc. They can partner with another Table Captain to co-host a Point of Entry. Learn more about Sharon and our other coaches on our Meet the Coaches page.

We currently have live, in-person sessions and conference calls open for registration, including: September 8 —Tampa, FL For information about in-person sessions in your area, go to our Introductory Session calendar. For conference call listings in your area, go to our Conference Call Calendar. Watch our free online video, Seventeen Minutes to Sustainable Funding.

Stop Asking your Donors for Money, Offer them Something!

Fundraisers don’t ask for money, we offer opportunities. – Doug Lawson

This is one thing heartfelt cause-driven nonprofits often leave out of their thinking.   Asking for money is really not about what you can get.  It’s about what you are offering your donor, in the way of a social engagement, an opportunity to make a tangible or direct difference for someone, an opportunity to engage in a community they would otherwise not have access to, all kinds of opportunities the list is endless.   Instead, amateur fundraisers still give out their need-based cry of  “HELP US!”  and the donors all say… “Again?”

We have now entered the Social Media era, which is experience driven, so, offering books, calendars, chachkis will only work on the over 60 crowd and I guess a couple of other people who like ‘stuff’.   But, for the rest of us we want to KNOW our dollars did SOMETHING.  So, include us in an experience, take us with you on a service run whether by video or by an authentic photo in our thank you letter.   Show us THE toothbrush you handed a homeless person and some smiles.   Let us choose the country we are going to provide assistance to.   This kind of donor care takes effort, but it can save you millions in postage in no response Direct Mail letters.

Your donors are worth attending to.  The average online gift is $83 dollars.   You can offer your donors a much higher level of participation by connecting to them online.   At the very least, establish a competent task force that begins to move your organization to creative, high level, on-line donor participation.  It will really provide a higher level of creative stewardship and donor appreciation in all of your fundraising programs.

In true social media form I’m stealing a post from Barbara Talisman, who borrowed her gems for her post from Author and Fundraising Veteran, Doug Lawson.  Enjoy and learn from two pinnacles of fundraising on The How of being a Great Fundraiser.  http://talismantol.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/great-fundraiser-2/

To Be a Great Fundraiser – Thanks Douglas Lawson

July 8, 2010 <!–Barbara Talisman–>

Continuing on my thoughts about being a great fundraiser, I have been inspired by a generous sharer Chris Brogan in the previous post and today by an icon in the nonprofit sector, Dr. Douglas M. Lawson, Founding Chairman of Lawson Associates, Inc.

I had the great, good fortune to hear Dr. Lawson speak about the art of being a great fundraiser. This is not the first time I heard Doug speak. I was fortunate to learn from him early in my fundraising career. I have a resource file and STILL have a copy of his article “The Artful Asker” published in Fund Raising Management, April 1996. It is one resource I have kept all these years because it stands the test of time. Doug writes about what makes a successful major gift fundraiser. And if you have not read his book, More Give to Live: How Giving Can Change Your Life, get it and read it now!

To follow up from my post on Nonprofit Fundraising = Confidence and Conviction – Doug shared his vast experience and inspired ideas about how and what it takes to be a great fundraiser. (Italics are my additions)

Doug shared what he thinks (and I agree!) are the skills needed to be a great fundraiser:

• It’s helpful to have a humanities background
• Some finance background is good – But can certainly be learned
• Sales and marketing focus – We must be able to communicate our message effectively
• Life of giving is necessary – This rule must start with us. How can we ask, train or empower others to give when we have not done so ourselves or can understand the power and feeling you get from making a gift that makes a difference?

Doug says GREAT fundraisers:

• Listen more than they talk – It is ALL about donor interests and we need to find out what they are.
• Participate in cultivation and solicitation process – As well as supporting, train and lead volunteers
• Inspire and inform – Doug talks about offering opportunities – not about asking for a gift.
• Experience the joy of giving – see above on a life of giving

Doug inspired and engaged me while he talked. He shared generously of his experiences, mistakes and successes. One of his many pearls of wisdom,

“Fundraisers don’t ask for money, we offer opportunities.”

It was like a lightning bolt – for many years I have said we (fundraisers) offer opportunities and education. NOW I remember, it was Doug Lawson who said the same thing at a session I attended when I was a new fundraiser many, many years ago. It stuck in my brain. At the time, I may not have fully comprehended what he was saying. Today, I know what it means, practice offering opportunity all the time and inspire volunteers, leaders and donors to do the same.

If you see Doug Lawson on a conference roster, hear about him speaking somewhere near you – run, do not walk, to learn from him! He is a great fundraiser and generous speaker. I have always been energized, excited and honored to be a fundraiser – Doug reminded me why.

Social Media Update

These two links offer simple, important and easy fundraising tools to execute and manage.

One of  the easiest and most responsible things a fundraising nonprofit can do is set up the simplest of social media, brandbuilding, fundraising and community message and relationship tools.  You only need two or three good ones.  Beth Kanter is THE social media strategist for the countries biggest nonprofits, and smallest.

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/five-essential-apps-for-your-nonprofits-facebook-page/

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/five-most-common-mistakes-made-by-nonprofit-admins-on-facebook/

A standard set of fundraising programs are a Major Giving program, a Bequests and Planned Giving program, a Community Builder fundraising program (your Social Media structure is at the heart of this), an Organized Volunteer program, a Corporate Matching program.  Merchandise Sales, Community Events.

Some notes on effective Social Media Fundraising: http://blueskycollaborative.typepad.com/blog/2009/07/top-10-reasons-why-your-nonprofit-should-have-a-viral-fundraising-campaign.html

Some notes on developing any fundraising program: http://ecsg.alliance1.org/content/taking-your-planned-giving-program-idea-reality

Weekly Blog Review

Nonprofit News

A retro photo from my era via Flickr

This week: Staffing

From The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Peter Panepento is hosting a LinkedIn discussion on staffing trends.  How do organizations retain their best talent and survive the remainder of this economic recovery?  Is that the real issue?  The Chronicle has posted a survey and would like to know how your organization is handling staffing concerns in the down economy.

Another discussion leads to a little fundraising tool that could be very effective for social savvy nonprofits.  The tool allows staff members and supporters to generate revenue for your cause with every web search they perform.  I used one of these for a charity recently and earned them a dollar in 24 hours.  I then updated my Firefox browser and the search tool disappeared.  I’m sure we’ll reconnect soon.

My new favorite nonprofit blog, Barbara Talisman’s Talisman Thinking Out Loud My favorite category on her blog is Engaging Volunteers. My favorite article, which may become increasingly important over the next 18 to 24 months, Interview Preparation, detailing best interview practices and practical considerations when interviewing with a nonprofit.

Follow Barbara Talisman @ BTalisman and at her website www.3talisman.com

Finally, a note from Jeff Bula’s Internet Marketing Blog: “Is Twitter Dysfunctional?”  I’ll  let you read his assessment for yourself.

Last week: Beth’s Blog

Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Effectively Use Twitter Hashtags – Leveraging Hashtags

So You Want to be a Philanthropy Consultant – 15 Things to Do Now & Considerations

Social Networking Tidbits

50 Ways to Get to Get Your Give On a blog article from Mashable published last year.   You could triple this list by now.  There is some good stuff here.

Facebook now has 200 Million ACTIVE users.  If you think that’s not a giving market ripe for the picking, I don’t know what to do for you.  Facebook, in true Millennium Values fashion, continues to add features and apps for charity fundraising.   People like to give and Facebook is adding ways to play.  New Charity Fundraising Apps from Facebook.

Featured Nonprofit Blog

Pangeo, “The Travel Blog of Jeff Powers… US Mobilization Director… Global Hope Network International”

An excerpt from Jeff’s latest post:

“The biggest roadblock to humanitarian work around the world is lack of local ownership. Throwing western aid at poor countries actually fosters that mentailty.

That’s why in our TCD model we don’t do ANYTHING in a village unless they have decided it needs done and have invested of themselves FIRST.”

This blog serves most obviously as an accountability record of the consistent and tangible progress this organization makes in restoring villages and communities that have been impacted by war, illness and famine.   This blog features stories from the field effectively keeping donors and volunteers educated, informed and up to date with program outcomes and upcoming projects.  It’s attractive and always accurate. Zero fluff here.

Tweaked My Heartstrings This Week

I fell in love with these and have to share them.  These just look like cookies you’d eat on a Summer afternoon.  Got to get that last little bit of summer in.   Banana Flip Cookies

Collaborating for Budget Maximization

Collaborative programming, collaborative services, collaborative marketing.  It’s a time for making dollars stretch.  Nonprofits are collaborating as a means for responsible budget management and also as a way to powerfully maximize a donated dollar.

This is a must read article:   http://www.minnpost.com/scottrussell/2009/08/21/10990/nonprofit_entrepreneurs_ponder_joint_website_to_boost_business

The 5 Stages of Fundrasing: A Guestpost

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kelpie1/345205926/

There is a feeling in the nonprofit fundraising world that all the causes are looking for the same piece of funding pie, market share, volunteer pool.  The idea seems to be carrying into the online fundraising arena.  What is actually available, though, are new levels of engagement with people who you may never have had access to before and the opportunity to mobilize them on your behalf at unprecedented levels.

I stole this post from Beth’s Blog, the ‘go to’ resource for nonprofits using Social Media.   This copy below is a chunk from the original post.  It lists and describes the 5 stages of building a relationship with donors.  I wanted to share it.   It is edited for brevity, you can read the entire article here.

The Five Phases

Online movements are successful because they marry the right set of opportunities for engagement with a level of awareness and passion among the target audience.

Let’s review: Its not about the technology.

Strategic organizations must move through five phases of relationship building in order to establish a trusted relationship with a long term giver or supporter: 1) Listening, 2) Introduction, 3) Education, 4) Engagement, and finally 5) Mobilization

Listening: Before you launch any communications effort, it is necessary that the organization understand more thoroughly who the online audience is, what their interest and willingness to participate in your efforts might include and are driven by, and what will drive them to engage and take action around this issue.  The social rules now are continuously changing so stay plugged in.

Introduction: Organizations need to find ways to put issues in front of their target audience – to generate interest, prompt curiosity, and begin to build awareness.  Introduce key voices representing the organization and their work. Seed discussions about your issues by participating in existing  social networking and community conversations and sites where the target audience is likely to spend time.  Reach out to bloggers.   Encourage supporters to speak for your cause.  A strong introduction and increased attention fuel what follows.

Education: Cause administrators  often underestimate the complexity of their issues.  The result – low levels of participation and limited impact.  The solution – when issues are complex organizations need to spend significant time and energy educating. Engage your target audience, with response driven content, polls, public inquiries, live forums, interactive blog posts.  Regardless of  form, the results of target audience education and self education should be in place before any significant outreach effort has begun.  This allows, effective use of time and resources, invested audiences, accuracy of intent and participant ownership in the cause or endeavor.

Engagement: Engagement happens at the level of signing a petition or recruiting a friend  to empowered citizens creating and initiating new  actions to help grow and expand a campaign.  As awareness and understanding about the issue grows, it is possible to engage the audience more deeply, and to further expand the reach and impact of the campaign.  Until that happens, moving quickly to request action or financial commitment from your audience won’t work.   A single donation, particularly one resulting from a relationship to someone who is already part of your network, does not mean that your new supporter is interested in a relationship with your organization.  Organizations need to identify ways the target audience can engage and participate meaningfully and provide interactive tools and support to make that possible.

Mobilization: Finally, organizations will need to identify ways to activate and mobilize its audience,  beyond building a large list, sending emails to Congress, or signing a petition.   Those activities are not  sufficient to bring about the level of engagement that builds large sustainable action groups.   In fact, the very nature of Facebook Causes — and its ability to standardize and simplify the ways that audiences can get involved in issues online — now means that every group needs to find new and better ways to distinguish themselves and their work.

The challenge seems to be developing engaging strategies to  continuously engage and reengage those one time givers and clickers to come back for more.  Have participation centers, like blogs, microblogs, wikis, pages, and groups.  Offer subscribers and followers something in the way of video, education tools, events, tours, or benefit programs to keep donors participating.  Schedule your ask events as or at the culmination of a series of other events.   Make your cause their cause.   Your job is to empower your target market to actualize your policy and fundraising objectives.  They won’t do that if you’re not standing with them.  Get to know your audience and what is important to them so that they’ll know what’s important to you.