WelcometotheSAIFNewsletter Viewthisemailinyourbrowser
SAIF’snewlogoandwebsite:youropinion?
HaveyouseenSAIF’snewlogo?Whatdoyouthink?We’vealsorevampedandtidieduptheSAIFwebsite,whereyou’llst illfindloadsofinformationonfundraising:www.saifundraising.org.zaLetusknowwhetheryoulikethechangesyou’[email protected]
Remember,you’repartofourteam
Manyfundraisersarefinding2017tough.It feelsasthoughwearedoingtwicetheamountofworkforhalfthefunding.But,assomeoneeloquentlypointedout:justbecauseataskhasbecomehard,it doesn’t meanweshouldgiveuponit .SAIFisawonderfulresourcetoleanon.Whetherit ’sinformationyouned,training,networkingorsomeonetoshareyourchallengeswith,takeadvantageofeverythingthatSAIFoffersitsmembers.Remember,you’repartofourteam–sosendusYOURfundraisingstories.There’ssomuchwonderfulworkbeingdonebynon-profit organisationsofeverykind,andwe’dlovetoknowwhatSAIFmembersarebusywith.Sendyourpicsandstoriesto:[email protected]
Comingsoon:globaltrendsingivingTheinauguraledit ionofthe2017GlobalTrendsinGivingReportwillbereleasedon12September2017.Basedonthesurveyresponsesof4084donorsworldwide,thereportsummarisesdonordataacrosssixcontinentsabouthowonlineandmobiletechnologyeffectsgiving.Thereportalsoexaminestheimpactofgender,generation,andideologyupongivingandvolunteerism.KeepaneyeonNonprofitTechforGoodtolearnmore:http://www.nptechforgood.com
Donatingmorethanayear’ssalary
Ifyou’vebeenignoringindividualgiving,perhapsit ’st imetorethink.NewresearchintheUKfoundthattheaveragepersonwillgivenearly£30,000tocharityoverthecourseoftheiradult lifet ime–equivalenttomorethanayear’ssalary.Thesurvey,carriedoutbyHyundaiMotorUK,whichpartneredwithStandUpToCancertoraisefundsforgame-changingresearch,polledatotalof2800adults,with100respondentsin28cit iesacrosstheUK.Toreadthefullart icle,visithttp://bit .ly/2wBcMh8
FundraisingplatformWeBenefitinnovatesinfundraisingandprocurementfornon-profitsandschoolsDigitalfundraisingandprocurementplatform,WeBenefit ,init iallysetouttotacklethefundingchallengesfacingschools,butsoonrealisedthatit couldalsohelpnon-profit organisations.WeBenefit isusheringinanewwayoffund-saving–andfundraising.Withtheproliferat ionofloyaltyschemesandonlinefundraisingsites,it ’seasytomistakeWeBenefit asanotheroneofthose.Exceptthatit ’snot.Farfrombeingasimplefundraisingsite,WeBenefit leveragesthebuyingpowerinherentinschoolsandnon-profitorganisations(NPOs)toachievea15%savingonoperationalexpenditure.Fororganisationswithsignificantspendonroutineitems,thissavingcanthenbechannelledintomeetingotherexpenses.That’stheprocurementadvantage.WeBenefit alsoharnessesthebuyingpowerofanNPO’ssupporterbase,enabling‘ordinary’people–andbusinesses–tosignuponthesiteandelectanorganisationoftheirchoiceasthebeneficiaryoftheirpurchases.WeBenefit shares60%oftheprofitsofallpurchaseswithitsnominatedorganisations.Win-winProductsandservicesonWeBenefit areofferedatreducedprices–atlessthantheycostatretailers–andrangefromtoys,stat ioneryandfitnesstrackingdevicestoappliances,print ingandsolarsolut ions.Newproductsareaddedonanongoingbasis.Theindividualorbusinessbuysproductsatadiscountedpriceandthecauseoftheirchoicesimultaneouslyreceivespartoftheproceeds:it ’sawin-win.AremarkablefeatureofthesiteisitsSchoolFeeBenefit ,whichenablesparentstooffsettheirschoolfeeobligationsagainsttheirpurchases.Relat ivescanalsoelecttoallocatepartoftheproceedsfromtheirpurchasestowardsthechild’sschoolfees.Thisessentiallycreatesavirtualcommunityofsupportaroundalearner.ThisaspectofWeBenefit hasmassivepotentialforNPOsthatworkwithvulnerablechildrenandaresubsidisingeducationalcosts.Visit www.webenefit .co.zatolearnmore,oremailinfo@webenefit .co.za
Skillsforfundraisers
Newtothesector?Needtobrushuponyourfundraisingskills?Nowisthet imeandwehavetheplace!SuccessfulcompletionoftheAFPFundamentalsofFundraisingcoursecountstowards16.0pointsofCFRE(Cert ifiedFundraisingExecutives)withanopportunitytobuildcreditstowardsUnitsStandardsoftheFurtherEducationandTrainingCert ificateinFundraising(SAQA).Upcomingcoursedates:Johannesburg:3-5OctoberCapeTown-16-18October
Isyoursabalancedfundraisingbasket?Doyoueverlookatwhereyourmoneycomesfrom?Sit downwithyourdonorrecordsforthepastthreetofiveyearsandanalysethetrends,advisesMelanieJackson.Whatdoyousee?Whereareyouincreasingyourincome?Andwhereisit declining?Aretheresourcesoffundingthatyouhavebeenfocusingonthatarenolongerprovidingreturns?Isthereapotentiallylucrat ivesourceoffundingthatyouareneglect ing?
Accordingtotheexperts,yourfundraisingpiechartshouldhaveslicesthatareasevenlysizedaspossible.Thereasonforthis?Itspreadstherisk.Organisationsshouldseektocreateabalancedmixofincomestreams,enablingsustainabilityandhelpingtoresist shockstotheircashflows.CreatingtherightmixoffundraisingsourcesisnotjustavitalcomponentinyourNPO’sfinancialhealth,butalsoasignificantfactorinencouragingotherdonorstobecomeinvolved,especiallyoverthelongterm.NPOsshouldneverrelyonjustoneformoffundraising,anddefinitelynotononlyoneortwomajordonors–howeversecureit mayseem,asit leavestheorganisationvulnerabletodownscalingandpossiblyevenclosureasaresult ofthelossofoneormoreofthesesources.Ahealthymixofincomesourcesreducesthelikelihoodoffinancialcollapseandmayservetoencouragedonorstoinvestmoreinyourorganisationthantheymightotherwise.Conversely,companies,grant-makersandindividualsareincreasinglyreluctanttosupporttoNPOSthattheyfeararetooreliantonasingleincomesource.Allorganisationsaredifferent,witharangeoffundraisingchallenges,butaninternationallyacceptedinternalindicatorfortheindustryisthatthealarmshouldberaisedifanyoftheincomestreamsaccountformorethan30percentofthetotalincome.Therat ionalebehindthisisthatNPOswillbeabletoadaptiftheyloseupto30percentoftheirincome,butonceoverthist ippingpoint,closurebecomesarealconcern.Fundraisershaveawiderangeofoptionsintermsofsourcesoffunding–andthiswillbediscussedindepthinanupcomingnewsletter.It wouldbeatthediscret ionoftheorganisationtoselectthosesourcesoffundingthatarerightfortheirenvironment.
NPOsshouldselecttheincomestreamstheywishtotargetbyevaluatingtheirstrengthsandassets.Thesestrengths,whetheracommitted,involvedboardorstrongcommunitylinks,willhelpyoutobeabletoidentifywhichsourcesarebestforyourorganisation.
Yourwebsite:wartorwinner?
What’syourwebsitedoingforyoulately?Arevisitorslandingandquicklyleaving–oraretheycaptivatedbyyourcontent,signingupfornewsandshowingtheirsupportbydonatingonline?MarisolGutierrezsiftsthroughtheingredientsofwinningwebsites.It ’strue:theInternethasbecomeourgo-toplaceforinformationabouteverything–fromnews,reviews,t ipsandtravel,tolearning,inspirat ionandresearch.It followsthen,thatacharity’swebsiteisfrequentlythefirst stoponthesupporterjourney.Whetherthisisacaptivatingexperienceorexerciseinfrustrat ioncaninfluencesomeone’sdecisiontoengagewithyourorganisationmoremeaningfully–ormakeahastyexit .So,howcanyoutellifyoursiteisdressedforsuccessandwalksyourcause’stalk?Let’sstartwithascanofthemostcommonmistakeswesee.Someoftheusualsuspectsinclude:
Confusingnavigation.Toomanymenubuttons.Outdatednews.Textthat’stoolong,tootechnicalordifficult toread.Notmobileresponsive.Alackofcallstoact ionsuchas'subscribetoournewsletter’.Brokenlinks.Thedonatebuttonisnotprominentoneverypage.
Ifanyofthosewebsitewartscanbefoundonyoursite,fixwhatyoucanimmediately.Nowlet’sconsiderwhatmakesforawinningwebsite.Stunningsiteswillsharesomecommonfeatures,suchas:
Mobileresponsivedesign.Clearmessagingandgoodwrit ing.Longhomepages:scrollingdownthepagewithouthavingtoclick.Fewermenuoptionsfromtheprimarynavigationpage.Goodphotos,infographicsandgraphics.
Perhapsmostimportantly,greatwebsites(non-profit ornot)aredesignedfromavisitor’spointofview.Thisiswhy,ifyou’reabouttodiveintoawebsiteredesign,it ’simportanttosetasidepersonalpreferences(andtheopinionsofeveryoneelsefromthesecretarytotheCEO)toensurethatyoursitearchitectureiskeenlyvisitor-ordonor-focused.
Eventhemostgorgeoussiteisnogoodifitsfunctionalityisnotuser-friendly.Greatsitesareeasytonavigate;clickingfromonepagetoanotherisasmoothjourney–andyoudon’tfeellostinatangledwebofwilderness.
Thisneedforaseamlesstransit ionappliesequallytodonatepages.It shouldn’t takemorethanacoupleofclickstoconcludeanonlinedonationprocess.Makesurethisissetuptobesafe,speedyandsatisfying–andofcourse,animmediatethankyouforalldonationsisnon-negotiable.
Foregothetemptationtoaskyourprospectivedonorfortoomanydetails.Ifyouwantsomeonetoabandontheentiredonationornewslettersign-upprocess,presentdozensoffieldsallbeggingtobefilledin.Askforonlyessentialinformationandkeepit simple.Lookatyourwebsitecrit icallyandask:Isourmissioncleartovisitors?Doweshowtheimpactofourwork?Isnewscurrent?Isthereacalltoact iononeverypage?Aretherelinkstooursocialmediachannels?Doourphotostellstories;showproofofourwork?Isourcopycompelling?IsoursitePOPI-compliant?*Isit quickandeasytodonate?Dodonorsreceiveanimmediatethankyou?Canvisitorssignupfornewsletters?Ifyourwebsitemeasuresup,welldone–andcontinuetokeepyourcontentfresh,engagingandsharplyalignedtoyourmission.Butifyoursiteneedsanythingfromalitt letoawholelotofattention,gettherighthelptoensurethatyourwebsiteworkshard–andworkssmart–tofulfilyourcommunicationandfundraisingneeds.*ProtectionofPersonalInformationAct
Wordsofwisdom
Atrueconservationistisamanwhoknowsthattheworldisnotgivenbyhisfathersbutborrowedfromhischildren.
JohnJamesAudubon
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