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Newsletter, September 2007
By Karen Graham, Client Development Manager
Nonprofit Neighborhood
Make sure your Databank is secure: what you can do
Your house list is one of your organization's most valuable assets. Make sure you are protecting it by changing your password frequently, and keeping user accounts up to date, especially if you have a change in staff.
With thedatabank, a ll data transmitted over the internet is encrypted using 128-bit SSL technology. It's protected by a password and maintained in a state-of-the-art data center, mirrored on multiple drives, and backed up on tape every day. We are currently auditing our system and tightening screws, so to speak, in order to make it even more secure.
PowerMail and Outlook 2007
If you have started using Outlook 2007, you might have noticed that some of your emails look a little...strange. Without going into great technical detail, the explanation for this is that the new Outlook renders certain HTML elements differently than it did before, and differently than other email programs do.
What does this mean for PowerMail users?
- If your enewsletter uses cascading style sheets (CSS), which is likely if your template was copied off your web site, Outlook 2007 might not display everything exactly the way you'd expect it to. You can minimize this by keeping your layout fairly simple and using the "font" and "font size" dropdowns in the PowerMail menu, instead of the "style" dropdown, to format your text.
- If you have created your enews template from scratch using our eMarketing Module and HTML editor, you may be able to avoid this problem completely. Still, simplicity is always recommended. Sign up for our next eMarketing Module Training to learn more about how you can create a very attractive, professional looking email message.
New clients
Florida Immigrant Coalition FLIC -
Florida Immigrant Coalition seeks equal rights for immigrants and integration into the civic and cultural life of our communities. We accomplish our mission through coordination of immigrant organizations and community education, organizing and advocacy. The Coalition believes in the empowerment of immigrants and the unification of immigrant communities to develop an amplified voice for immigrant rights. The Coalition fulfils this vision by uniting urban, rural, religious, legal, and community-based organizations to advance our mission. FLIC will use the Databank's eMarketing and Meetings & Events Modules to help fulfill its mission and vision. They will also use their new Databank to track Grants.
KIDS Center - The KIDS Center serves approximately 450 children annually who need evaluation and treatment for sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse, and neglect. We offer two main services: medical evaluations and counseling. Other services include coordinating the annual Blue Ribbon Campaign in April, coordinating the Deschutes County Multi-Disciplinary Team, and consulting/training for other counties in Central and Eastern Oregon. KIDS Center will be using their new Databank to track fundraising efforts, to managing meetings and events, and to send out and track HTML email messages.
Featured Resource
M+R Strategic Services provides integrated strategy, field organizing, communications, lobbying, online advocacy and fundraising services for nonprofit organizations, including a number of thedatabank's clients. Most recently we worked together on setting up action alert systems for Minnesota smoke free community organizations.
You may visit their web site, www.mrss.com , for more information. Thanks for M&R for granting us permission to reprint one of their resources in this month's Tip, below.
Tip du Jour
Frequency of Email
Could it be true that failing to communicate with your list members consistently might cause them to not respond to your organization's emails as consistently as they might if you stayed in better touch?
M+R provides some insight on this question, based on a study of four national nonprofits. Follow the link for the full article:
Do Email Silences Matter?
Karen's Blog
Voter engagement: focus on technology
Tuesday and Wednesday, I participated in a voter engagement training here in Minneapolis. It was organized by Progressive Technology Project , and the trainees ( Kentuckians for the Commonwealth , Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada , and Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform ) all happen to be clients of thedatabank. I was invited to talk about how an organization would use their Databank to support local voter engagement programs.
One of the questions we tackled was this: what does it mean to "win" an election as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization? One of the trainees answered this way: Winning means building the organization and building power in the community we serve.
In the portion I facilitated, I talked about how the Databank can be used to win in this context. Here is a typical story line, featuring the star of the show, your very own Databank.
- You identify a (precise) target universe and import those folks into your Databank, then use the Voter Management tools to run walk lists and phone lists for canvass activities.
- Volunteers or staff enter results of canvass, tabling, community meetings etc - using the Bulk Data Entry power tool.
- Use the Advanced Search and select hot prospects to follow up with, based on issue IDs and ratings, voter history and contact history.
- As you continue to cultivate relationships with prospective volunteers and donors, use the Databank to facilitate and track communication. Create mail merge files and mailing labels, phone lists, and send emails.
If your organization or coalition is planning voter engagement activities for 2007 or 2008, talk to us about it. We can further explain what tools thedatabank offers to facilitate this, as well as referring you to experts that will help you with strategy and data acquisition.
Karen
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