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The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports (subscription required) on a recent study conducted on donor behavior by Mindshare Interactive Campaigns and Harris Interactive.  Here are some of the big nuggets:

» Donors, volunteers, and advocates consult online sources before donating. Nearly 40 percent of people who support nonprofit organizations consult online sources of charity information before making donations.  I’ve heard as high as 60 percent from other sources.

» The more involved a person is, the more likely they are to check you out online. For those who donate, volunteer and advocate, the figure of those who consult online sources before donating jumps to 55 percent.

» As income increases, so does the likelihood that they will go online first. While only 24 percent of donors who earned $15,000 to $24,999 consulted online sources, 45 percent of donors who earned $75,000 or more went online first.

» Bigger givers spend a surprising amount of time online. Donors in the survey who gave $5,000 or more in the past year reported spending 19 hours per week online.  (I wonder if that means the more time I spend online, the wealthier I’ll become . . .)

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE NONPROFIT FUNDRAISER?

» People are checking you out online as a result of your offline efforts. You can no longer assume anything you do happens in isolation.  When you send out that direct mail acquisition, or show up on TV, people will look for you online first.

» The BIGGEST donors are more likely to check you out online. The bigger the donor, the more they are going to do their homework on you. Warning: Don’t assume that all they are looking for on your site is ECFA certification and financial ratios however — big givers are moved just as much by heart and emotion as anybody else.

» The BEST donors are more likely to check you out online. And by “best” I mean the most engaged (i.e., donate, volunteer, advocate).  The more engaged the donor, the more valuable.  And the more likely they are going to get their first impression from you online.

IF THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING TO YOUR WEBSITE — ARE YOU PREPARED?

Now that we’ve talked about what New Media is, the next logical question is why does it matter?  I mean, we’re all sure that New Media must somehow matter to the big corporations with big budgets — but why should nonprofits care?

Why should New Media matter to me?

1) The way in which people communicate is changing.  And I don’t just mean that people are more and more comfortable with text messaging or online social networks.  Now, more than ever, supporters want a dialogue.  Your story hasn’t changed, but the way in which you invite people into it needs to.

2) Traditional ways of telling your story (television, radio, direct mail, etc.) are getting more expensive and less effective.  It wasn’t too long ago that the idea of losing money in acquisition of new donors was preposterous.  But over the years we’ve come to celebrate making back eighty cents on the dollar in acquisition, with the knowledge that over time that investment will pay off.  With costs rising and response declining, this is only going to get worse.

3) It’s a way to reach people you never could have reached before.  Because New Media is about a dialogue, never before has there been such an opportunity to tap into the social networks we all inhabit.  If you move me, if I feel like I am a part of your cause, I am going to tell everyone I know about you.  Which leads me to the next point . . .

4) It creates the perfect environment for the best kind of marketing — word of mouth.  How many times have you seen a really great direct mail piece from an organization you support, and felt so compelled that you took it to 20-30 of your closest friends and shared it with them?  I venture to guess you haven’t (unless you’re in the business of creating it, like me).  But while that idea is ridiculous to think of happening in direct mail, it is completely within social norms that I would forward compelling content online to my friends.

5) Your constituents want to be a part of your story, with their friends. Have I mentioned “DIALOGUE” before in this post? I meant it!  While good fundraising has always been about the donor and not the organization, this is only going to become more true as time goes on.  Your supporters do not ultimately care what you do for people around the world — they care about what they are doing for people around the world through you.  And they want to involve their social circles in what they are doing too.

6) It’s about survival.  We have to invest now.  All the signs point toward a dramatic shift between traditional and New Media in the coming years.  And if we don’t begin to at least put our toe in the water and begin to test what works and what doesn’t now, it will be a struggle just to maintain status quo in the years to come, let alone grow.

What about you?  Other reasons New Media should matter?  Or points you disagree with?

There was some good news for companies like mine and some bad news for nonprofits today.

NTEN is reporting a new study about Web 2.0 adoption by nonprofits published by the Overbrook Foundation.

The line that will grabbed my attention: “I’m in a perpetual state of anxiety about which tools I’m supposed to be paying attention to.”

Originally posted on Silas Notes a blog of Trinet Internet Solutions.

New Media? Web 2.0? Social media? Digital media?

No matter the buzzword, the bottom line is what is it and does it matter?  This is an important question given all of the demands for attention facing non-profit leaders and development professionals today. And even more so with budgets being tighter than ever.

Let’s first address the question of what New Media really is.

What is New Media all about?

A dialogue.  And about the technology available today that makes that dialogue possible.

New Media generally includes things like:

• Web Sites
• Email
• Social Networking
• Wikis
• Blogs, Vlogs
• Podcasts
• Online Video
• Widgets
• Mobile

Next — why should New Media matter to non-profits today.

Some ministries look at email as a fire hose — it is either on or it’s off. For the most part this is going to get people soaked, but not satisfied.

What you need is a soda fountain. Your constituents deserve the kind of control you have at any fast-food restaurant. They should be able to mix and match the communication they want to meet their needs. I recently came upon two ideas to think about as you set up your email soda fountain.

Originally posted on Silas Notes a blog of Trinet Internet Solutions.

A few weeks back I posted that Kintera might open up their platform a bit, well today the door got a little wider.

You can read more on their site, and NTEN has some more on this as well.

Originally posted on Silas Notes a blog of Trinet Internet Solutions.

From what I’ve read so far it seems promising, but it’s a “show me the money” moment. I’ve already contacted Kintera asking for documentation and code samples. A completely open API would be launched with all of this publicly accessible — that would have been a miracle.

Mashable is reporting that free Feedburner Pro features will be added to free accounts. Woo Hoo! That’s what happens when Google buys you.

Read more of Feedburner gets more free

Google Earth is a free piece of software that allows you to browse the globe from your desktop. Recently, Google was in the news for adding information to Google Earth on what is happening in Darfur.

Read more of Google Earth adds charities

I’ve posted about Twitter and how your ministry could use this technology to quickly update your constituents. A company called Frengo has launched a new way for ministries to create a mini Twitter network of their own, thanks to Mashable for the great write-up.

Originally posted on Silas Notes a blog of Trinet Internet Solutions.

Confusing your ministries speech with normal everyday speech can be a big problem on the web. It can make a well-designed website into a mess for an end user. We do a few things to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Read more of No Jargon in Your Navigation