| Have a question or problem using DonorPerfect Online? Don't forget that DPO has its own tech support services available to answer your questions. This support is included in your annual maintenance agreement, so take advantage of it! Email them at
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| Submit a question about fundraising and alumni outreach to be answered by the Tech Program Team, a Mentor, or one of your peers! We'll include one Q&A in each future issue of the eNewsletter. Check out this issue's Q&A below. | |
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Online Giving |
Is your camp accepting online donations yet? There are a number of services out there that make it easy to offer a big "Donate Now" button on your website and collect donations online. Companies such as JustGive and Network For Good offer relatively simple options for accepting online gifts. The costs are fairly reasonable as well. Our Technology Program also offers an online giving option through Sage Payments and the Alumni Portal. And, of course, the Causes application in Facebook has had some mixed success.
As people have become more acclimated to (and trusting of) online shopping and online banking, they now expect an option to give online. Although traditional fundraising channels are by no means going away, some constituents want the convenience and immediacy of giving online.
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Message from Sue Kline, Director, GIJP |
This month, our eNewsletter focuses on online giving. We  provide you with some information about why it's important to offer an online donations option, as well as information about some providers of this type of service. Our Mentors and Technology Program can help you consider online giving and how it fits within your overall fundraising/solicitation plans and goals.
The most important things to keep in mind re: online giving are:
2) It doesn't replace your existing, traditional cultivation and fundraising channels; it simply complements them.
Remember that this eNewsletter is for you. Please submit a question to our experienced staff so that we can best serve your needs. I would love to hear any other feedback you have about this eNewsletter as well - let us know what kind of content you'd like covered in future eNewsletters.
Please continue to contact me or the Technology Program team with any ideas to improve the offerings of the Program. |
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Technology Program Transition |
We are committed to finding a Business Systems Analyst who can offer you the service and support you have come to expect from the GIJP Technology Program. In the meantime, Kevin will manage all questions/issues with DPO and the Alumni Portal. We will keep you posted with our progress.
As always, please contact Kevin with any questions or requests for assistance. |
| DonorPerfect Online eNewsletter |
If you are currently a DonorPerfect Online user, make sure you are receiving their eNewsletter. It has some good tips for using the software as well as updates about new features. On the DonorPerfect Online website, you will find a place to sign up for the eNewsletter and view a list of previous eNewsletters. |
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Tip of the Month from Scott Price, URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp |
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Scott uses the Pledge Processing feature in DonorPerfect Online (DPO) to automate sending pledge payment reminders to his constituents and tracking that these reminders have been sent in DPO.
To run pledge reminders, simply go to Mailings --> Pledge Processing in DPO. Select the appropriate options to determine those constituents you want to remind about their upcoming pledge payment. When complete, click OK; a window pops up asking you to save the resulting file. Scott mentioned that you have to be sure to save this file to your computer and then open it with Excel. Use the Import Wizard to make the file readable and useable.
This resulting file, which includes Total Pledge Amount, Bill Amount, Frequency, Start Date, and contact information (in addition to a LOT of other information), can be used to create a mail merge of the appropriate pledge reminder letters. You can find a document explaining how to run a mail merge in Word with this file here. Once the mail merge is complete, the letters can be sent out to your constituents.
Other donor management systems should have similar functionality. Check their help files or customer support to find out how to take advantage of this feature. It saves Scott time and headaches and can help you, too! |
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This Month's Q&A - How Can we Effectively Use Facebook Causes for Fundraising and Outreach? |
Question: I have seen a lot written about Facebook Causes, but don't know much about it. What is it and how can it help my camp?
Answer: Causes is one of many applications you can add to your personal (or organization) page in Facebook. Causes allows its users to create a "Cause" associated with any 501c3 nonprofit and then promote it via their Facebook page. Facebook (and MySpace, too) users can "recruit" people interested in the Cause (they show their interest by adding it to their Facebook page). In addition, Facebook users can donate directly to the 501c3 associated with the Cause by clicking on the application in Facebook. For more information about how to create and promote a Cause, check out this blog post on the Wild Apricot Blog. This article also talks about how some nonprofits are using Causes.
Donations are managed by the nonprofit organization Network For Good. The processing fee for each donation is 4.75%. Network for Good will periodically send the total of all donations (less the processing fee) to the 501c3. They use the official address and information as found in the GuideStar database.
My recommendation? If you have a large group of constituents organizing on Facebook, give "Causes" a try. However, instead of running a version of your offline annual or capital campaign on Facebook, test a smaller, focused "Cause" that can be "owned" by the Facebook community. For example, a "Facebook Scholarship Fund" or a set of new computers "sponsored by the camp Facebook community" might help you reach some in the Facebook community who have not been reached in the past via more traditional channels (direct mail, email campaigns, etc.).
If your camp has had success with Facebook Causes, please let us know! |
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What's Next? |
In our next eNewsletter, you MIGHT learn about:
- GIJP's new Technology Assessment services
- Ways to cross-promote your various online channels
- and more!!
Is there another subject you'd like to learn more about? Please contact us with suggestions. | |
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