What can nonprofits learn from the Haiti response that will translate into success for the rest of the year?

I’d like to take a minute to look at an article by Peter Schoewe about the fundraising outlook for 2010. By looking at his predictions in light of the Haiti earthquake, you can sharpen your fundraising over the next 11 months.

Schoewe says that nonprofits will have a greater opportunity to upgrade donors through frequency of giving instead of size of gift, especially because donors respond to urgent needs. Do you see a link to Haiti? An urgent tragedy presented itself and a nation trying to climb out of recession responded with record giving. Many of the gifts were small. Thousands of $5 and $10 gifts came in via text message.

He also predicts that there will be “fewer arguments about the viability of different fundraising channels.” Text message giving proves the point. 14% of all money donated for Haiti relief came via text messages. That, combined with the 28% that gave online and via email, means that 42% of gifts so far have been through new media channels according to the Pew Research Center.

It’s still too early to measure how the percentages will morph as direct mail results come in. But initial returns affirm that new media channels can raise substantial funds. That’s why it’s more important that nonprofits work to integrate both traditional and new media channels to maximize income.

The challenge now is to take these two lessons from the Haiti earthquake and build on them in your nonprofit throughout the rest of 2010. Remember to create urgency in your fundraising efforts. Don’t discount new media fundraising channels. The future of fundraising is multi-channel integration.

To read all of Peter Schoewe’s article click here.

The Web has revolutionized how we communicate. Here are a few ways that nonprofits need to adapt to today’s rapidly media-consuming culture:

• Nonprofits must become compelling storytellers. No amount of reducing and simplifying content will engage constituents, WITHOUT a compelling story behind it. The former is important in today’s culture, but the latter is critical.

• Nonprofits must use multiple channels in concert with one another. Donors are in the driver’s seat more than ever – they decide just when and where they want to interact with you. So make sure you’re giving them choices – direct mail, newsletters, email, Facebook updates, blog posts, YouTube videos, and so on.

• Nonprofits must learn to get to the point. If you haven’t read Made to Stick, read it. I’m particularly thinking of the section about simplicity, and finding the core . Content must cater to our constituent’s rapid pace of consumption, but it’s not just about shortening copy. It’s about finding the core of the message, and stripping everything else away.

It’s a great presentation – you should check it out, either below or at the TED website at http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/575.

Clay was the plenary speaker at the nonprofit technology conference I attended in San Francisco a couple months ago. His talk was so great that we included some of his main points in our latest webinar – 10 Keys to New Media Success in Today’s World from NTC09, namely:

• Fail informatively
• The loss of control you fear has already happened

Check out the webinar for full details…