To the Point : What Can *YOU* Learn From Obama?
Politics aside, the president-elect's historic campaign offers tips for nonprofit fundraisers.
January 2009 By Jocelyn Harmon4. Your donors are your best fundraisers.
Obama’s individual supporters greatly extended the reach of the campaign by self-organizing political dinners, canvassing and raising money. People were awed by how quickly the Obama campaign and movement grew.
Use the Internet to help your supporters help you. Write sample e-mail text for donors to send to their family members, and include “tell-a-friend” in all your e-mail communications. Finally, promote the use of charity widgets like www.sixdegrees.org to enable your donors to raise money online for you.
5. Google is the key influencer.
Google has fundamentally changed the way we shop and learn. According to Pew Internet & American Life Project, search now vies with e-mail for the top spot regarding what people do online. Make sure you have a plan in place for getting discovered via search engines. This way, you will be top-of-mind when people search for information about your cause.
6. The Internet is leveling the playing field.
Now, even the smallest nonprofits have the opportunity to talk and be heard. While the Obama campaign spent an unprecedented sum of money on traditional advertising, it also made excellent use of the Internet. Follow suit. If you aren’t online today, get online! Build your Web site and keep it updated, enable online donations, comment on people’s blogs, and/or start your own. And be sure to stay in touch with your supporters by any means necessary. It’s a new world, and you don’t want to get left out.
Jocelyn Harmon is the director of business development at Triplex Interactive, and keeper of the Marketing for Nonprofits blog. Reach her at jocelyn.harmon@infousa.com
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