If you’ve spent any part of the past several weeks feeling helpless, you’re not alone—it’s so easy to get overwhelmed right now. But at Firespring, we’re not letting those feelings or this crisis we’re facing define us; in fact, we’re doing the opposite. We’re choosing empowerment. Now is a time to band together and become a stronger force than the one that’s crippling communities around the world. Firespring has partnered with our friends at Nonprofit Hub and Do More Good to create the #Nonprofit Matching-Fund Initiative. This project is part of the #GivingTuesdayNow movement on May 5 that’s been created to mobilize the...
As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the world, many organizations are requiring or strongly encouraging their employees to work from home. Firespring has nearly all of its team members at home right now, and we stand in solidarity with organizations facing these uncharted waters. Social distancing for the greater good requires a certain amount of sacrifice—we definitely won’t be taking a face-to-face meeting for granted anytime soon. When isolation is the name of the game, connectedness can be elusive. Still, we make do with what we have and rely on our secret weapon—technology—to communicate as normally as possible. Company culture is o...
One of the best ways to add fresh content to your nonprofit website is with a blog. This will add vitality to your site as well as position you as a thought leader in your space. You might be thinking to yourself, “I don’t know how to blog. How can I make this successful?” If you’re going to blog, do it right—don’t add content just for the sake of adding content. And, when you create a team blog, it’s not a major undertaking for any one person—the responsibility is shared. Here are three of six elements I believe are necessary for a great, well-written and effective blog. 1. Blogs...
If the sincerest form of flattery is imitation, you may want to pay these organizations a compliment. Each of them has a website with elements and features worth borrowing, customizing and implementing on your own. No matter where you are in the process of developing or optimizing your own website–even if you love exactly what you have–there’s always value in seeing how others are using their websites to capture attention and convert visitors into donors. Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center Who they are: Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (SWCC) in Scottsdale, Arizona...
Whether you want people to donate, volunteer, register or simply join your mailing list, landing pages on your nonprofit website are crucial for engaging your website’s visitors and getting them to take action. You may be wondering, “What is a landing page”? Think of a landing page as a customized ask; it allows you to have a single page that’s focused on one call to action (like Donate Now), and it helps to narrow your visitors in on a specific issue. If they’re designed right, landing pages will increase conversion rates more than simply directing visitors to your homepage and hoping they’ll take action on their own. It’s ...
The time is always right to Do More Good®, but never have I been more inspired to do so. We just wrapped up the inaugural Do More Good® Conference in May, and after three amazing days and 21 inspirational speakers, I feel even more energized to find ways to leverage Firespring’s people, products and profit to improve the lives of those around us. Thought leaders and folks from every corner of the country descended on Lincoln (which we’ve affectionately dubbed “The Middle of Everywhere”) May 15–17, bringing together the catalysts of social impact movements—including Benefit Corporations, Certified B Corps, Conscious Capitali...
Happy Earth Day! First celebrated in 1970 by primary schools and colleges across the U.S., Earth Day is now observed in more than 193 countries every April 22—and Mother Nature deserves it. This beautiful blue planet of ours should be celebrated every day, which is why our teams—and our print team specifically—are always looking for newer, better ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Sustainability in business is becoming more important to everyone, including the individuals who consistently need to order print products for companies and nonprofits. At Firespring, we define sustainability as making an effort to work systematically to...
This week we are excited to have our friend and partner Joanna Hogan, Strategic Fundraising Coach, take over our blog and share with you her expertise on how to get the most out of meetings with your donors. It’s often said, “If you can get the meeting you have an 85 percent chance of getting the gift.” Well, that’s only true if you’re strategic with how you plan the meeting and actually make an ask! Moving people closer to making a gift every time you meet with them is critical. And, the ability to transition from small talk into a comfortable and effective solicitation i...
Bring on the turkey and mashed potatoes. Table for 200, please. That’s exactly what we needed last Thursday when we gathered our entire Firespring family around one very long table at our headquarters to share a lunchtime meal and give thanks. It’s no small feat, but we’re pretty savvy, so we always find a way to make our celebration both festive and functional. This is a tradition that goes way back to the early days of the company when there were just a handful of scrappy team members. We continue to hold it near and dear to our hearts, no matter how large our family grows...
When it comes to making a valuable difference in your nonprofit’s community, you understand the influence a mission statement can have. A mission statement sets the tone for your nonprofit and gives it a goal to run for. However, when it comes to actually moving the organization forward in its efforts, nothing works better than a vision statement. While a vision and mission statement are similar, they also have very distinct characteristics. Mission statements are predominantly based on the present, while vision statements focus on the future of the organization. The mission state...
Online marketing matters. We all know that. We know the internet isn’t going away anytime soon, so for nonprofit organizations, having an online presence allows you to connect and engage with potential and current constituents through a platform they can easily access anywhere, anytime. What builds the biggest advertisement for online marketing efforts? Your website. Websites have become the most powerful online communication tool for small businesses and nonprofit organizations (NPOs) alike. So what does it say when your website is… not so great? How do you know when your website needs an update? Let us take a look the five signs tha...
As a nonprofit organization, your goal is to make a difference. But how can you tell if you actually accomplish that goal? By measuring. That which can be measured can be managed. Just like large companies or small startups, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) need to have metrics in place to measure outcome—how far along you are in fulfilling your mission, how much you have helped the community and how effective you are at accomplishing goals. By tracking metrics through self-assessments within your nonprofit organization, you can make consistent adjustments in order to further improve your results. What can your nonprofit take on, and how ...
When it comes to online marketing, the options are practically limitless for your nonprofit organization. Between search engine optimization, content marketing and social media, where do you start? In a world where technology is constantly expanding our connections, how can your nonprofit build personal relationships with constituents? By going back to the basics: your email newsletter. Over the years, only email has consistently delivered a steady return on investment and tangible results for nonprofit organizations. In fact, according to Nonprofit Tech for Good, despite the rise of social media usage, more online donations are made from...
Want to grow your donor base? Tap into people’s penchant to follow a crowd. With our new social share buttons for every Firespring website, each time someone makes a donation on your website, they can let their Facebook and Twitter networks know with a click by sharing their recent activity: “I just donated to YourNonprofit.com. You should too.” If you’re wondering if this is effective, the answer is absolutely. According to DonorDrive, 21% of peer-to-peer fundraising dollars are donated as a result of a direct click-through on social media. This is, in large part, because people tend to listen when their friends and family speak?...
“Do we have to register with our state in order to legally fundraise?” This is a question we get frequently from nonprofits that are either just starting up, starting to grow or simply wondering if their fundraising efforts are legal and on the up-and-up. Our standard answer is usually something like: “We’re not accountants or attorneys and can’t provide actual legal or financial counsel, but we’d love to direct you to a few resources on that topic.” Which is true—we’re not and we can’t. And keep reading: We’ll list a few resources at the end. But before we get there, we can provide you with a little more informa...
You’ve heard it time and time again: Your nonprofit should have a blog. Marketing your nonprofit organization is about more than just posting on social media or sending out the occasional email newsletter; it’s about telling your NPO’s story. A blog on your nonprofit’s website gives you the opportunity to tell that story time and time again, to update constituents on current events within the organization and to share about the significance of your mission. As our CEO Jay Wilkinson says, “You blog so that you can tell your organization’s entire story—not just one chapter. A blog allows you to tell your story...
Do you ever have those moments when you look in your closet and realize you have nothing to wear? None of your shirts seem as cute as they used to be, your jeans lost that extra flare you loved and your sweaters now seem dull. Apparently, you have to go out and buy something new if you want to show off your style. Compare this feeling to your nonprofit organization’s blog. Maybe you started blogging a while ago, and by now you have a generous amount of content built up. But when you look at your blog, it feels drab, outdated or even boring. Nothing seems to spark your creativity anymore. So, you feel the need to go out and write somet...
Ever have days when it feels like your brain is working overtime? It might behoove you (and actually boost productivity) to give it a rest. If you’re like most nonprofit employees, you wear a lot of hats, which can take a mental toll. Sometimes a break is just what your brain needs, even if it’s in the middle of the workday. The brain is much more active and more likely to tire than any other muscle or organ. Research shows that your brain cycles from highest attention to lowest attention every 90 minutes in what’s called an ultradian rhythm. You can only maintain focus for 90 to 120 minutes before it needs to rest. Honoring your b...
In December 2017, the governing board for Humane Society of the United States hired a law firm to investigate sexual harassment allegations against its CEO, Wayne Pacelle. The firm alleged that three women had presented credible charges of sexual harassment against him, and several more had been given settlements for retaliatory actions stemming from blowing the whistle on Pacelle. It was also publicized that a longtime vice president had faced similar charges in 2016, but had been allowed to continue as a vice president of a different department. (The Humane Society of the United States is not affiliated with local humane societies tha...
In a 2015 report, The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that approximately 35 percent of people in the United States don’t trust charities. From that same report, 25 percent of the population said nonprofits do a very good job helping people, but a mere 13 percent said they think charities do a very good job of spending money wisely. When it comes to building trust among your nonprofit’s constituent base, reports like that can be a pretty dismal sign. Unfortunately, nonprofits can face a whole mess of criticism, which often results in a lack of trust from many potential volunteers or donors. Why does trust matter, you ask? Well, when c...
When it comes to nonprofit organizations, there tend to be quite a few misconceptions. What does it mean to work for a nonprofit? How do NPOs spend the money they fundraise? What exactly makes it a nonprofit? Working within the organization, answers to these questions might seem pretty straightforward to you. But from the outside looking in, there tends to be a lot of gray area. What are some current misconceptions society might have about nonprofit organizations, and what can your nonprofit do to better inform outsiders on those myths? Let’s dive in to really understand what misinterpretations already exist about nonprofits, and what y...
When it comes to managing a nonprofit, establishing a board of directors sets a foundation for the future. The board members you choose sets the tone for the organization overall—making decisions on leadership personnel, putting out a vision for the NPO and leading the nonprofit in a specific direction. Your board matters, and the decision of who should be appointed to it should not be taken lightly. If you want a well-rounded nonprofit, then your board should be well-rounded as well. Diversifying your board of directors means more than just having a good mix of people—it means taking intentional steps toward diversity of every measur...
Once upon a time there was a wonderful nonprofit organization that shared its valuable mission with the world and promoted its cause to serve others in need. But it had to learn all about the scary new world of marketing in order to truly understand how to grow even bigger and stronger, so it could continue to help others. Storytelling is a powerful tool, and when it comes to nonprofit marketing, it can be even more impactful than we often consider. Your nonprofit has a purpose, and telling the story is a valuable content marketing tactic. How can you use storytelling to share your mission? Today we learn how. Sto...
