Monday, October 27, 2003
Online e-newsletters and non profits
Good article from OnPhilantrophy on how newsletters should be integrated with the marketing plan and strategy of your whole website and not just seen as an afterthought:
"Newsletters should be part of a nonprofit's integrated marketing plan, and as such should be consistent with the main themes of its Website. Visitors originally asked to receive the newsletter because there was content on the site that interested them. They will expect this same level of quality and substance with subsequent articles. Do not disappoint.....
It is important to include a donor piece in each issue. The ultimate goal of an online newsletter should be to increase one's donor base, and therefore, one's donations. Each newsletter should demonstrate the nonprofit's need in a specific way, perhaps highlighting a particular success story from the previous month, or profiling someone who will directly benefit from the generosity of the readership. End the article with a soft ask, or a donate now button."
Read more...
Friday, October 17, 2003
'Is Your Fundraising Illegal?' - Seminar from The Institute of Fundraising IT Special Interest Group
Three speakers will discuss three new issues currently causing concern to fundraisers, particularly from an online and emarketing perspective.
Mike Walton from Think CS will discuss the scope and potential impact of the new email marketing directive which will mean unsolicited email marketing cannot be practised from December 2003.
Solicitor Julia Wylie will present an insight into the legal situation surrounding online shopping and catalogues.
The third talk, on the benefits and legal concerns of Gift Aid.
The event is on the Tuesday 2 December 2003, at 6pm in Central London
For more details - click here...
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Search Engine Optimisation
Useful article in the American Charity Channel today on optimising your site for search engines. You probably won't learn much more than the feature in this site, but at least you will see the importance of optmising your site so that it appears in a high position in the search engines, and the fact that to do this well you will need to spend some money on this:
"The process of SEO has spawned an industry of its own, in which firms and individuals charge anywhere from $300 to tens of thousands of dollars to optimize your Web pages. In competitive markets, a superior SEO firm can mean millions of dollars in revenue to a company. In the non-profit world, it could mean that a new major donor will find your Web site!"
Read more...
Monday, October 13, 2003
Always check the small print
There are many online organisations around which offer "great" returns for charities, but many of them may be actually using the charity's name to get publicity and sympathy with the public. The Guardian recently reported that Casino For Charities was not totally upfront by spelling out how much a charity would receive in return for people taking part in a newly launced online lottery.
"Casinoforcharities.com, (launched in late September) by internet gambling firm Gaming Corporation, pledges to donate 10% of gross profits to charities.......
"But the site fails to make clear that 97% of the money staked by players will be paid out in winnings, leaving just one-tenth of the remaining 3% to be distributed to charities - 0.3p in the £1.
"The 97% figure is cited in a statement issued to journalists but is not advertised on the website.......
"Only one charity - Christies Against Cancer, which supports the work of the Christie Hospital, Manchester - has so far signed up with Casinoforcharities.com. The charity is featured on the site as its "charity of the month" and its logo is prominently displayed. A Casinoforcharities press release describes Christies as "one of the first charities to take donations from the site".
But a spokesperson for the charity said it had not agreed to take a percentage of proceeds. "Christies Against Cancer is receiving a one-off £500 donation to mark the launch of the website. Charities cannot turn down a donation. Therefore every donation we receive is gratefully accepted and used to the best possible effect."
Read more...
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Free seminars on website legalities
Law Firm, Masons, are holding free seminars on what your organisation should know about setting up and running a web site to comply with the law: the rules on web site accessibility, intellectual property, linking policies, chat rooms, bulletin boards and more. The events are being held in October in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.
Read more...
