Tag Archive for: nonprofit

The title of the article: Multi-channel marketing: The key to reaching supporters.

Multi-Channel Marketing: The Key to Reaching Supporters

Marketing researchers have found that it takes an average of eight touchpoints for a sales prospect to consider a purchase. This principle holds true in both the for- and nonprofit sectors, meaning your organization needs to reach your supporters where they are over and over again to inspire support. 

Contacting supporters across multiple channels is called multi-channel marketing, and it’s often the key to acquiring new donors. To strengthen and diversify your digital outreach strategy, we’ll explore why multi-channel marketing works and how your nonprofit can leverage it. 

Why does multi-channel marketing matter?

Multi-channel marketing is the practice of promoting your nonprofit across multiple communication platforms. For instance, let’s say your nonprofit creates a blog post promoting matching gifts. Then, you reformat that content and post it to Facebook, turn it into a fundraising letter, and create a truncated text message version. 

This is multi-channel marketing, and it accomplishes two things for nonprofits:

  • Reach a wide audience. The more platforms your nonprofit markets on, the more prospective supporters will see your content. Multi-channel marketing allows you to cast a wide net and connect with a range of audiences. 
  • Build brand recognition. Brand recognition works. When supporters are considering which nonprofits to give to, they’ll likely gravitate toward organizations they’ve heard of before. By getting your nonprofit’s marketing materials in front of the same supporters repeatedly, they’ll come to know and trust your organization. 

Whether a donor prospect sees your outreach for the first or tenth time, each view is an opportunity to engage with your organization. By making repeated calls to action across multiple platforms, you increase the chances that a supporter will act on them. 

Multi-Channel vs. Omni-Channel

Multi-channel marketing is closely related to another type of donor outreach: omni-channel marketing. Kwala’s guide to donor communications explains how these concepts work: “With multi-channel [marketing], you spread the same message across multiple platforms, whereas in omni-channel [marketing], each message builds on the one that came before it.”

Essentially, omni-channel marketing is targeted to specific donors to move them through their giving journey. For example, you might send a donation request via direct mail, thank the supporter with an emailed eCard, and send them a text message inviting them to engage with your latest blog content and follow you on social media. 

Both approaches are useful and can be used in tandem. When you’re looking to reach a wide audience and connect with new supporters, take a multi-channel approach. When you’re ready to deepen those relationships, switch to omni-channel. 

Marketing Channels

A multi-channel marketing approach can span across a wide variety of platforms. Select your outreach methods of choice based on what channels your audience uses and how confident your nonprofit is in its ability to maintain an active presence on that platform. 

A few top channels to consider include: 

Search ads

Google processes over 8 billion searches every day. This means the search engine commands a massive audience, and nonprofits can tap into that through search ads. These ads appear at the top of search results for websites related to the user’s query. For example, here’s a search ad for a nonprofit organization that explains the organization’s mission to combat adolescent depression and promotes multiple landing pages for learning more and getting involved:

A screenshot of a search ad for the nonprofit Erika’s Lighthouse. 

Paid advertisements can get expensive quickly, but fortunately, Google provides nonprofits with credits to spend on search ads through the Google Ad Grants program. Getting Attention’s guide on the subject explains further:

The Google Ad Grant program is a free version of Google Ads for select charitable organizations. While regular Google Ad accounts have to pay per ad click, Google Grant participants can display their advertisements for free… The grant gives eligible nonprofits $10,000 in free monthly advertising credits. As long as the organization complies with the program’s rules, the grant will automatically renew each month. Organizations can use their grant money to bid on different keywords and promote specific pages on their website through text-based ads on the SERPs for those keywords. 

Essentially, your nonprofit can create free Google Ads promoting your site content. To supplement your paid strategy, consider how you can also improve your SEO strategy. 

SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it’s the practice of creating content that is likely to rank well on search engine results. If content is optimized for search, it may rank highly on the results pages for relevant keywords, driving more traffic to your website. 

By combining SEO and paid search, your nonprofit can maximize its reach on search engines. 

Email

Overall, email has seen diminishing returns for nonprofits in the past few years. In 2023, nonprofits made $76 for every 1,000 emails they sent, a 20% decrease from 2022. Other metrics are also down, including overall revenue and response rates. 

However, that doesn’t mean nonprofits should abandon email. While numbers are down, email is still a core way for nonprofits to request donations, provide project updates, and educate supporters on your mission. 

You can improve your email strategy by:

  • Improving subject lines. Subject lines determine whether an email gets opened or scrolled past. Be conscious of screen sizes, and create subject lines of 70 characters or less to avoid getting cut off. 
  • Issuing just one call to action. Ensure every email is focused by including a single call to action. Emails that ask donors to take multiple actions like donating, volunteering, and subscribing to your newsletter may confuse recipients. 
  • Conducting an email append. If your emails have a high bounce rate, that means your subscribers list is out of date. Fortunately, an email append service provider can fill in missing emails and correct defunct ones. 

While fewer donations can be sourced directly to email, that doesn’t mean email no longer drives donations. In a multi-channel strategy, many touchpoints before a conversion can’t be directly accounted for but are still essential for driving the donor journey forward. 

Social media

Chances are that most of your supporters use some form of social media. However, deciding which platforms to focus on may be tricky. Here’s a brief overview of how nonprofits can leverage popular social media platforms:

  • Facebook. Facebook commands a massive audience, and while it doesn’t offer free or discounted advertising for nonprofits, its audience targeting tools can allow you to direct your ads to high-value prospects. 
  • Instagram. If your nonprofit’s mission lends itself to eye-catching photographs, an Instagram account can be fruitful. For example, the animal shelter Perry’s Place went viral for its “Naughty & Nice Cat of the Week” marketing campaign. 
  • X (Formerly Twitter). X has historically seen minimal returns for nonprofits, and many organizations have rolled back their advertising on this platform. Consider maintaining an X account but be cautious about paying for promotion. Additionally, keep an eye out for upcoming competitors like Threads and BlueSky. 
  • TikTok. Nonprofits have flocked to TikTok in the past few years. However, the future of TikTok in the United States is currently in question due to recent legislation. If your nonprofit still decides to pursue a TikTok strategy, consider signing up for TikTok for Good, which provides nonprofits with free marketing tools like donation stickers and fundraising livestreams. 

When it comes to social media, only create accounts if you know your organization will be able to maintain them. Even if your nonprofit is active elsewhere, abandoned accounts can make supporters question the health of your organization. 

Text message

Text messages connect you with your audience almost immediately, making it an effective platform for quick updates and urgent messages. However, while text messaging can be a powerful part of your multi-channel strategy, be aware that it’s also the easiest to overuse. 

Many people always keep their phones within arms reach, meaning they are likely to see your nonprofit’s messages quickly. While this is convenient for getting your message seen, it also means supporters will be extra aware of how often you message them. During busy times of the year for marketing, like the end of the year or during election season, it’s easy for your supporters to get overwhelmed with text messages.

As such, to retain donors, use text messages sparingly and only when an immediate alert to your audience is appropriate. 

Direct mail

While much of modern nonprofit communication is digital, there’s still a place for direct mail. In fact, receiving a letter in the mail can feel special and make your nonprofit stand out. When your nonprofit does something memorable, like sending a letter, supporters are more likely to take notice of your messages in other places, like on search engines and social media. 

To build brand recognition, ensure your direct mail communication has the same branding as your online marketing materials. This creates a consistent experience across platforms and presents your nonprofit as a cohesive, professional organization. 

Create a nonprofit style guide that includes guidelines for direct mail. This might include directions for font sizes, letterheads, signatures, and other specifics. 

By sharing your nonprofit’s messages on multiple channels, your organization can reach new supporters and reinforce your brand identity among current ones. Choose which channels you’ll expand to by assessing your audience’s interests, your nonprofit’s resources, and each platform’s outreach potential.

The title of the article, “How to Streamline Your Nonprofit's Payroll Process.”

How to Streamline Your Nonprofit’s Payroll Process: 3 Tips

Administrative tasks are the foundation upon which your nonprofit’s accomplishments are built. When your organization t operates efficiently, you can spend less time worrying about internal tasks and more time fulfilling your mission.

Administrative tasks aren’t strictly limited to organizing donor data or handling cash and non-cash donations. Recording financial transactions so that you can produce a financial scorecard monthly is just as important to long-term sustainability.

Payroll is one of the largest expenses a nonprofit incurs. Therefore, preparing it is an essential administrative process that often can be streamlined while still ensuring that your organization complies with legal obligations and compensates its hard-working employees. In this guide, we’ll explore three ways to streamline payroll.

1. Partner With a Professional Employer Organization (PEO)

When it comes to managing your nonprofit’s finances, you’ve likely considered outsourcing accounting to an experienced professional. But have you considered outsourcing your employment practices as well?

Professional employer organizations (PEOs) provide expert resources in payroll, human resources, tax compliance, and more. This enables your nonprofit to:

  • Lower the cost of benefits through economies of scale: Chazin & Company explains that PEOs leverage the collective bargaining power of multiple organizations to negotiate lower rates for health insurance and other employee benefits. As a result, your nonprofit can offer competitive benefits packages without financial strain and can even reallocate its savings toward your organization’s mission.
  • Reduce the risk of legal complications and financial penalties: PEOs are familiar with federal and state compliance requirements related to hiring and employment practices. Partnering with a PEO provides access to their expertise, often backed by years of experience and specialized knowledge.
  • Eliminate the need for an in-house HR department: Instead of developing an in-house HR department to hire candidates with adequate qualifications and conduct staff training, partnering with a PEO allows your nonprofit to access personnel support without needing to fund an entirely new department.

If your organization decides to work with a PEO, look for experienced and knowledgeable professionals with certifications in HR and payroll management. Certifications such as Certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) indicate that the PEO’s staff bring reliable expertise to the table.

2. Simplify Your Payroll Process

There are a lot of moving parts in a nonprofit’s payroll process. For example, you’ll withhold money from employees’ paychecks to pay certain taxes, but not from contractors’ paychecks since they pay their own taxes. Volunteers, on the other hand, shouldn’t be compensated at all, aside from non-monetary thank-you gifts.

Be sure to properly classify everyone who works for you to keep your records accurate. Also, track essential employee information, such as:

  • Social Security numbers
  • Withholdings
  • Benefits
  • Overtime
  • Bonuses

Along with keeping your records organized, compensation practices impact your nonprofit’s overall cash flow. As Double the Donation explains, a healthy nonprofit operating reserve should be sufficient to cover one full payroll cycle, including taxes. This means you’ll need data on each employee’s overtime pay and bonuses to accurately calculate your payroll obligations.

To make tracking compensation easier, establish a standard pay schedule for every employee. Standardizing pay periods reduces the amount of time spent tracking each employee’s pay. Plus, your team will know exactly when to expect their paychecks, fostering trust in your organization.

3. Maintain Compliance

As a nonprofit leader, you’re likely no stranger to the compliance requirements necessary for maintaining tax-exempt status. These regulations extend to payroll processes, as well, and can lead to significant financial penalties if not followed.

Specific regulations include:

  • Tax exemption: Just because your nonprofit has tax-exempt status doesn’t mean it’s exempt from paying all taxes. Organizations must withhold and file Federal Income Taxes (FITW) and Social Security and Medicare Taxes (FICA) on behalf of their employees. Additionally, most employers must match and remit FICA taxes withheld.
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): According to the Department of Labor, The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments. Non-profit charitable organizations are not covered enterprises under the FLSA unless they engage in ordinary commercial activities that result in sales made or business done, such as operating a merchandise shop or providing veterinary services for a fee. If your nonprofit is engaged in activities subject to the FLSA, you’ll likely need to familiarize yourself with this act’s provisions.
  • Wage requirements: Nonprofits must follow federal and state wage laws that require employers to pay minimum wage. When paying more than minimum wage, compensation must be reasonable but not excessive. To familiarize yourself with appropriate compensation amounts and potential overtime requirements, review your state’s laws and industry standards.
  • Unemployment compensation: While 501(c)(3) nonprofits are exempt from filing Federal Unemployment Taxes (FUTA), they must still adhere to their state’s unemployment program requirements. This means either contributing to the state’s unemployment program or annually reimbursing the state for paid unemployment benefits.

Compensation laws and regulations may change, meaning your nonprofit must check in regularly to determine whether there have been any updates. To check for changes, the IRS website is a great resource. Additionally, local and state government websites also lay out tax laws that vary by municipality.

You can also brush up on nonprofit accounting basics to learn more about compliance standards your payroll (and other financial) processes must follow. Also, consulting a CPA can help you access the professional insight needed to ensure your finances are in order.

Along with the benefits your nonprofit can realize from a streamlined payroll process, your employees will also appreciate their employer maintaining an organized approach to compensation. With the right practices in place, your nonprofit won’t just retain employees and boost team morale—you’ll do the right thing by taking care of the team that makes your mission possible.

The title of the article: Nonprofit Catalog: Volunteer Time Off (VTO).

Volunteer Time Off (VTO) – Nonprofit Catalog

30% of volunteers state that one of the main reasons they volunteer is because they have the time available to do so. Conversely, 49% of individuals state that their work commitments are their biggest obstacle to volunteering. 

Fortunately, some of your volunteers make time to volunteer with volunteer time off (VTO). VTO helps nonprofits earn more volunteers, meaning more hands available to run your programs, raise funds, and spread awareness of your cause. 

To get your nonprofit up to speed on VTO, this quick guide will go over how VTO works, how it helps nonprofits, and what your organization can do to leverage these programs.

3

What is volunteer time off?

Volunteer time off is a benefit some companies offer their employees where they can take paid time off to volunteer. This is different from voluntary time off, which is when a company allows employees to take unpaid time off but remain employed. 

A venn diagram showing the differences and similarities between volunteer time off and voluntary time off.

VTO is widespread, and many top companies offer some form of program where employees can request time off to volunteer. The majority of these companies offer employees between two and three VTO days per year, though some businesses offer as much as two weeks. 

What are the benefits of volunteer time off?

Here’s how VTO programs benefit everyone involved:

  • Companies offer VTO as a business decision. When employees take time off to volunteer, they’ll be more engaged, think of their employer as socially responsible, and feel increased loyalty to their employer. Plus, having their employees volunteer in the local community can improve the business’s reputation. 
  • Nonprofits earn extra volunteers from VTO programs. After all, if supporters have time off specifically to volunteer, then they are more likely to volunteer. Nonprofits can also earn highly skilled volunteers from professional and specialized companies that provide VTO.   
  • Employees get extra days off and the freedom to support the causes they care about. As such, VTO can be a major draw for job candidates looking for socially conscious workplaces. 

While everyone benefits from VTO, these programs are underused. This is why it falls on nonprofits to make their supporters aware of VTO, create positive volunteer experiences that encourage supporters to spend their VTO with their organization, and show appreciation for all volunteers.

Common Volunteer Time Off Guidelines

Different companies have varying VTO policies, and employee volunteers should check in with their employers to ensure they follow the right procedures for requesting VTO. That being said, most VTO programs focus their guidelines on the following criteria:

  • Employee status. Some companies only offer VTO to specific employees. For example, a multinational department store chain might provide VTO for its executive employees but not its retail workers. Or, a company might provide VTO to full-time but not part-time employees. 
  • Hours accrued. How employees earn VTO hours differs across companies. For example, one business might provide a set amount of VTO hours at the beginning of its fiscal year, whereas another might have employees accrue hours throughout the year. Additionally, some businesses may allow unused VTO hours to roll over from the previous year, whereas others may operate on a “use-it-or-lose-it” basis. 
  • Nonprofit eligibility. To prevent employees from misusing VTO on activities that should be covered by regular PTO, businesses often specify what types of nonprofits and activities are eligible. Commonly, most types of nonprofits, excluding political and religious organizations, are valid. 

Let’s look at a breakdown of a sample VTO request form:

An example volunteer time off request form that asks for information about the employee and nonprofit.

VTO requests are like regular PTO requests with one key exception: some companies may require employees to provide details about your nonprofit. Most information will be fairly straightforward, such as your nonprofit’s name and address. However, some companies might request the volunteer supervisor’s contact information or details about the activities the employee will perform. 

How to Educate Supporters About Volunteer Time Off

VTO programs are increasing in popularity. Around 65% of companies offer paid volunteer time off. However, the average participation rate is only 33%. This means there’s a good chance your nonprofit has several supporters who are eligible for VTO but aren’t taking advantage of this benefit. 

You can earn more volunteers for your cause by promoting VTO to your supporters. A few ways you can spread the word include: 

  • Add information to your volunteer page. On your volunteer page, add information about the different ways supporters can volunteer or supplement their volunteer efforts. This might include information about volunteer grants, team volunteering, and VTO. 
  • Include details in your regular messaging. If your nonprofit regularly posts on social media, sends an email newsletter, or updates its blog, consider creating content about VTO. For example, you might highlight a story about a supporter who made a difference by using their VTO, share research on unclaimed VTO, or call for volunteers and mention VTO. 
  • Invest in a corporate giving database. You can help your volunteers discover if they’re eligible for VTO by investing in a searchable corporate giving database. Since every VTO program is different, corporate giving databases compile company data on various employee giving and volunteer programs into one place. Your supporters can then enter their employers’ names to see what corporate giving programs they qualify for and how to apply for them. 

Additionally, be sure to educate your volunteer managers on VTO. This way they can answer supporters’ questions and encourage them to look into VTO, earning your organization more dedicated volunteers. 

More Volunteering Resources

Nonprofit Catalog – Read up on more nonprofit essentials by exploring our Nonprofit Catalog.

Volunteer Grants: Get More Out of Your Volunteer Program – Volunteer grant programs are another corporate volunteerism program that benefits nonprofits. Learn how to tap into these opportunities and generate revenue from your volunteer program. 

Employee Volunteer Incentive Programs: Get Your Team Active – Some companies offer programs to incentivize their employees to volunteer. Discover common volunteer incentives and what these mean for nonprofits. 

This guide explores the most important features nonprofits should look for in a nonprofit payment processor.

4 Features to Look for in a Nonprofit Payment Processor

From planning a fundraiser to promoting and executing it, your nonprofit likely spends most of its time thinking of ways to boost its revenue. From text campaigns to festive fun runs, your goal is to collect donations that will power your nonprofit’s mission. But communicating the importance of your mission and finding enthusiastic donors is only half the job!

Consider what happens after you swipe that credit card. Between the swipe and the funds landing in your account, a lot has to happen on the backend to ensure payments are processed securely and quickly—and preferably at a low cost to your nonprofit.

Your choice of a payment processor significantly impacts your ability to gain donors’ trust and collect donations with ease. That’s why we’ve compiled four of the most important features to look for when researching payment processors for your nonprofit. 

The choices, it can seem, are endless. There are nonprofit CRMs with built-in payment processors. There’s Stripe and iATS, Paypal, Fundly, and the list goes on. Think about your nonprofit to decide whether a CRM with a payment processor is the best choice, or if it’s easier for you to use a third-party system.

Regardless of which you choose, here are the four features you’ll want to be sure you pay close attention to as you shop around.

Security Certifications

Perhaps the most critical measurement you can take is how secure payments will be with any given provider. Fortunately for consumers and organizations, the Payment Card Industry has standardized security certification so you can tell, at a glance, how secure a payment processor is.

Payment processors should, at the very least, be PCI-compliant. If they have this designation, the payment processor adheres to PCI guidelines and will internally check their processes with a self-assessment. This compliance, achieved in about a month, means the payment processor has:

  • Taken a self-assessment to ensure it’s following the guidelines
  • Installed a firewall between their wireless network and the cardholder data
  • Implemented a strong vulnerability management program

The next step up from PCI compliance is PCI certification. This is a much more stringent certification and one that involves more steps to remain compliant. There’s a rigorous process that includes regular audits by a third party to ensure the software and security measures are safe. This certification isn’t common among payment processors as it takes about six months to complete—and the processor remains under careful watch to ensure compliance is maintained. 

If your payment processor is PCI-certified, it means that:

  • A qualified security assessor (QSA) has inspected and approved the software and security measures in place.
  • The QSA has researched how the software solution was developed.
  • The QSA checked the training the software developers have received.

Moving on from PCI compliance, some payment processors are SOC 2 compliant. A platform that is SOC 2-certified or compliant adheres to security standards that protect all the donor data you collect. Everything from network firewalls to encryption is evaluated to ensure that information about your nonprofit’s donors can’t be compromised.

SOC-2 certification and compliance are voluntary and are based on Trust Services Criteria determined by the American Institute of CPAs. Compliant processors are adhering to strict regulations about how they manage donor data. If you can find a payment processor that is both PCI-certified and SOC 2-certified, you’re looking at a processor that is much more focused on the security and safety of your donor data.

A final piece of the security puzzle is fraud prevention. It’s a fear of many nonprofits because when donor data or dollars are compromised, the reputation of your nonprofit can take a hit.

To give your donors peace of mind and protect their data, look for a platform that is regularly audited and held to the highest security standards. Many nonprofit CRM payment processors will offer some sort of fraud protection to their clients, and it’s advisable to seek out any level of fraud protection to keep your donors safe.

User-Friendliness

Can a payment processor be user-friendly? Yes, if you find the right one! 

Think about it like this: If a supporter donated just once at the end of each year, would they be familiar with the donation submission process? Or would they forget how to use the software after such a long time had lapsed and become frustrated with it?

Your payment processor should make it easy for donors to give, no matter how they choose to submit their donation. What makes it easy to give?

One-click giving, in which a donor enters a name and the system automatically populates the other fields, is a great way to offer donors a user-friendly experience. And having multiple options for donation types can help as well.

At a minimum, allow your donors to give via:

  • Credit card
  • ACH, or check/bank transfer
  • PayPal
  • Google Pay
  • Apple Pay

Other considerations include the ability to accept in-kind donations or donated stock/securities. And for donors worldwide, choose a payment processor that accepts multi-currency transactions.

Availability of Support 

When something in your payment processing software is confusing or just not working the way you expect it to, you’ll want to be able to pick up the phone or click a link and chat with someone.

How a payment processor views support tells you a lot about how the relationship is going to look, long-term. If they just want your signature on a contract, they might not be the best option. But if they offer a lot of support options: email, online chat, ticket system, and even the old-fashioned phone that actually gets answered, you might want to explore that relationship

Think of your payment platform as an investment in a partner who will support your fundraising ventures. This is especially true if you invest in an all-in-one solution that handles multiple fundraising tasks.

For example, if you are running a peer-to-peer campaign, you might appreciate a chat with someone who has seen dozens of nonprofit P2P events. If your nonprofit CRM is also a payment processor, they likely support their clients and offer a multitude of fundraising tools.

A tip is to look for a platform with a professional customer service team. Not only will you want the help to answer any questions you may have, but the right support team will:

  • Offer training: The support team should do more than crisis control—look for a provider who will help you learn the platform.
  • Answer at any time: Support should always be available and easy to reach.
  • Provide thorough information: More than simply answering your questions, the right help team will give you all the context you need to make the most out of the software.

Be sure that you can depend on the provider’s customer service team whenever you need help!

Leveraging a Subscription Billing Model

If you look at gyms or streaming services or the little front-door boxes with all the ingredients for a delicious dinner, you will see evidence of our (increasingly expected) subscription economy.

And what does that mean for your nonprofit? Donors are used to this idea of monthly giving. When your billing software supports automatic monthly donations or sustainers, or even pledges, you’re ahead of the game.

Don’t start your search for a payment processor by thinking about the donation process—observe your fundraising goals in their entirety. Your nonprofit will want to grow donations and retain donors. How can your payment processor support that goal?

According to CharityEngine’s guide to sustained giving programs, “Your nonprofit needs billing software created to maximize the dollars donated to your nonprofit.” To encourage recurring donations, your payment processor should offer a subscription billing model that allows for automated payments or online bill payments. 

Choosing the Right Payment Processor

Is there one payment processor that’s the best choice for every single nonprofit? No, but there is the best choice for your nonprofit. So once you’ve settled on the features that matter most, research your options and request demos from the providers that most impress you. 

More than anything, look for a partner. Check off these four features, of course, because you can leverage them to maximize fundraising. But listen to your gut when you’re asking about support. Having a partner that cares about your success is a sure way to win at the fundraising game.