The word optimization is creeping more and more into my everyday vocabulary - to the point where I now refer to those items at the back of my fridge as sub-optimal. In Fundraising, optimization is not just bluster and buzz though. It’s creating real results and deserves to occupy some of your thought. [More]

The Almighty Open Rate

All nonprofits need and want to communicate with their supporters, but when it comes to email, there is one thing standing in your way - the inbox. In the world of email statistics, we all worship at the altar of the open rate. While open rate isn’t completely indicative of overall engagement with your mailing, it is the most ubiquitous statistic and applies to all types of mailings. Furthermore, the inbox is a very impulsive place - suggesting if you could just put the right combination of words in the subject line you could basically get something (opens) for nothing. Because of this, guides to increasing your open rate proliferate the net like ads for Viagra in your Spam box. Here’s a small sampling of Email Subject Line Best Practices summarized from other articles... [More]

Love them or fear them, the story of your Fundraising Program comes down to the numbers. As a Fundraiser, there’s increasing pressure to tell that story, not only internally, but also to be transparent to your stakeholders.

Not surprisingly, a good deal of what is useful in your Fundraising Stats is dependent on how you input the information into your database. Yes, you can put all of your transactions into an undifferentiated lump, but you miss out on important analyses that allow you to make data driven decisions regarding your future efforts. It’s also possible to go too far the other way and not only waste time entering your data, but also make it more difficult to access your information in a meaningful way when you need it. [More]

Text to Donate is a tantalizing option for many Nonprofits seeking an extra channel to engage donors. The most appealing aspect of the Text To Donate mechanism is that it couldn’t be any simpler: All a donor has to do is text a short code to a special number and they are automatically billed for the transaction. Because donation is so easy and the dollar amounts involved are typically low, this type of giving can bring in a large number of new donors to your organization. [More]

This year thedatabank is holding our 3rd Databank User Conference in Minnesota for our clients. While we haven't released this year's sessions yet, I can be so precise as to inform you, I will be holding a session on email templates. As I dive into the rabbit hole of just what this means, I’ll be generating a series of blog posts along the way about email templates. Can't attend our User Conference? Not to worry, clients and non-clients alike will be able to benefit from these posts, and after the session I'll post a recap here. [More]