Slides from today’s Shine Brighter Series presentation ‘Tap into New Donations with Noncash and Online Giving’

How Nonprofits Can Optimize Their Social Media Efforts

Guest Blogger, Randy Vaughn, Marketing Twins:  Randy Vaughn is currently Dallas-Fort Worth’s only Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultant.  Randy works alongside his identical twin brother, Donny, in their Fort Worth marketing agency (where they are known as “The Marketing Twins”).  The most unique thing about Randy is that he and his family spent 10 years as a missionary in French-speaking West Africa. 

Randy will be the guest presenter for the October 23 Shine Brighter Series presentation “5 Ways Nonprofits Can Get More Likes on Their Facebook Page.”  You may register here.

Nonprofits are not unlike small businesses in trying to optimize their presence on social media, especially on giants like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.  The former, currently with over 1 billion users worldwide, remains a mysterious laboratory where organizations make repeated marketing mistakes in efforts to tap into the potential viral power these social networks possess.  Notably, many of the communication blunders made on social media are the same ones made offline, too.

THINK STRATEGICALLY

This sounds like a no-brainer, but you’ve got to keep this one simple, too.  Identify your ideal audience with whom you want to join in expanding your cause.  Determine their behavioral patterns for charitable giving and volunteerism.  Segment your audience (i.e., young audience with no kids, empty nesters, male-female, etc.) and know what they love, what fuels their passion and how they communicate.

TALK EFFECTIVELY

Drive your nonprofit message to these specific profiles with resonating messages that match their passions.  Connect via the channels where they communicate.  No one may see that new photo gallery you put up on your website if you don’t tell them on Twitter about it, or on Facebook or through email marketing.   Consider the age-old question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”  Apply that and ask, “if I launch a small fundraising campaign targeting millennials but only put it on my website, will it have any impact whatsoever?”  You may find that while it is necessary to have it on your nonprofit website, it may be equally (or more) important to build the campaign around Twitter or your Facebook page, depending on the audience you are wanting to reach.

TELL ME WHY

You are passionately “competing” with other nonprofits for donor dollars.  While maybe not as cut-throat as in the business world, if your nonprofit provides an indistinguishable service in a cause that similarly can be performed through any number of other nonprofits (i.e., how many dozens of nonprofits are building water wells in Africa – they are everywhere), a donor has no motivation or urgency to donate to you as opposed to the other guys.  Showcase the unique way you do this, highlight the unmatched zeal or the extraordinary people behind the organization, and prove to each donor that their dollar could not be better spent anywhere else.

TELL ME WHAT TO DO

With each campaign, with each piece of marketing content, and with every emotional touch point, tell the audience what you want them to do.  Donations are often made with emotion (particularly small ones), so tell me where to text my donation, where to click to donate or how to sign up to volunteer.  If you post a video on Facebook, use overlaying annotations or on-screen text to drive me to the action step.  Don’t tell me to vaguely “visit our website for more information” because I will likely “do it later” (aka, “never”) or simply surf around yet never making a commitment. With the right stories and clear call-to-action, your message will compel me to take action.

Once you get the communication strategy in place, consider posting consistent content that showcases stories of the 3 most important groups your audience needs to hear about:

1. STORIES ABOUT BENEFICIARIES – obviously your most common content will be consistent success stories and compelling case studies that promote your nonprofits’ capabilities of changing the world or transforming the lives of people in your community.  Clearly communicate the pain at the time they met you, the solution you provided to alleviate their challenges, and the hopeful enthusiasm with which they see their lives now.  This is the magic formula for the perfectly riveting testimonial about which potential donors need to hear.
2. STORIES ABOUT DONORS – speaking of the givers, your audience needs to hear about the impact your nonprofit has made in the lives of its regular contributors.  When a potential donor examines your nonprofit, not only may they be moved by the emotional stories of the beneficiaries, but the resounding reviews from other donors testifies to your nonprofit’s credibility and trustworthiness.  Capture testimonials in written, audio and visual format to serve as endorsements that will solidify a new philanthropist’s commitment to give.
3. STORIES ABOUT VOLUNTEERS – possibly not the heaviest hitters in your database (though there are some exceptions), volunteers champion a “grassroots” effort in terms of word-of-mouth marketing, especially in these days of social media.  Representing the unbridled enthusiasm of these committed servants serves to strengthen your organization’s case when talking with donors about their participation.  Generous givers love to see an enthusiastic base already in place.

Nonprofits offer massive social networks the perfect opportunity for people to digest stories that enrich, encourage and inspire.  Whereas businesses can mistakenly push unwelcomed promotional interruption into our online news streams, nonprofits tug at our hearts and consequently redirect our focus and action to the more important things.  Your social media communication plan must be clear, targeted and all about the stories.  When you contribute the necessary altruism to our daily conversations and consciousness, your nonprofit will enjoy a healthy online presence needed to expand and extend your organization’s impact.

Powerful, Cloud-based, and Totally Revolutionary

We’ve published a new white paper titled “Powerful, Cloud-based, and Totally Revolutionary” to showcase the benefits of Software as a Service (SaaS) for nonprofits.

Running a nonprofit or charitable organization has never been exactly easy.  And today, it may be as challenging as it has ever been.  Not only are you wrestling with a tough economy, but at the same time you’ve got to manage your current information technology assets while facing a welter of new and emerging technological opportunities and challenges.

Normally, nonprofits and charities have acquired and implemented technology solutions piecemeal, as needs and budgets allow.  The almost universal result is a group of specialized tools that perform each function well, but are structurally unable to share data, and so make automation of many routine operational tasks difficult or impossible.

This white paper helps to shed light on what we aspired to accomplish with Orange Leap On Demand.  We hope you find it helpful – download here.

The Third Quarter Release of MPX is Available for Your Production Environment!

Version 10.2.4288 is the official PCI Compliance release. All credit card numbers are now tokenized and are no longer stored in the database. Now when a credit card is entered into MPX, that number is sent to the payment processor for storage.

There were also over 60 enhancements made in this MPX release including the ability for the MPX user login process to use integrated Windows security. To enable this you need to set the following config setting both in the client and the server. Other highlights include distribution list updates, forms for postal code validations and exceptions, report enhancements, as well as a variety of donor and transaction screen updates that improve efficiency.

There is a change to downloading the MPX Release Version 10.2.4288 and it’s release notes. These can now be downloaded from Confluence, which requires a login. If you do not have a login, you can self-register. After you register, please email support@orangeleap.com and let them know your credentials so you can have the access to the MPX folders. Once you’ve signed up, you can access Confluence anytime or for a complete list of all changes and enhancements go directly to the MPX 10.2.4288 release files.

Orange Leap On Demand v14 is Here! What’s New?

We have made several improvements and incorporated new features throughout the product.  The following list highlights some of the major features and enhancements included in this release:

Redesigned user-interface 

A major improvement with Orange Leap On Demand has been the user interface.  All of the functionality is still available, however, how you access the information is redesigned to be easier and more user friendly.

Search Functionality

The search functionality is located in the same place — on the top right in the title bar area.  However, there are a couple of key improvements:

1. Search Auto-complete — As before, the default search is a fuzzy text search, however, as you type results will start to display records that match what you are inputting.
2. If the record you are looking for appears in the list, you can click on it to navigate directly to it.  If an exact match is not found, the constituent search results will display.

Import Functionality

The import functionality provides an auto-cleanse option to automatically cleanse the data and to resolve common formatting issues, such as dates and check box values, with imports. The check box associated with this feature is checked, by default. If you do not want to use the auto-cleanse feature and allow the import to work similar to how it was previously, you will need to uncheck the associated check box.

Events Module

Sections called Event Goals and Event Details have been added.  There are Event Goal Category and Event Attributes associated picklists for you to input the types of goals you might have for the event; there are also Event Goal Category Items and Event Attribute Details that have values dependent upon the Event Goal Category or Event Attribute Details that you selected. 

Sponsorship Module

Additional attribute grids are available on the sponsorable record, program, and home screens.  Their setup is similar to the additional constituent attributes.  There are picklists associated with each attribute list and attribute details can be added based on the selected attribute.

NEW Modules!

• Prospect Research: We have a new module, Prospect Research, the purpose of which is to give you tools to help you understand your donors and potential major donors and their ability and probability to give.  This module will often be used in conjunction with complementary products such as Wealth Engine or Donor Tools.  If the module is enabled, it renders as an item under the Constituent’ Profile menu.

The Guru

• Enhanced Charting: For all charts, you can now add a Title, Subtitle, an X-Axis Label, a Y-Axis Label, There are several new chart types supported, including 3D charts.
• Enhanced Postal Radius Criteria: The Postal Radius custom filter criteria is now available on the Constituent & Primary Contact data source.

For a more in-depth review of all the product and feature enhancements log on to confluence and view our Orange Leap On Demand and Guru Feature Release pages.

Orange Leap Announces Email Integration With 2Dialog

We are pleased to let you know about the release of 2Dialog’s integration with Orange Leap’s MPX and Orange Leap On Demand.

2Dialog offers a suite of online fundraising and e-Communication tools. One of2Dialog’s online communication tools, called Billboard, embraces all aspects of direct response marketing strategies. It enables organizations to easily create and execute effective email campaigns through the use of microsites and landing pages in order to maximize donations. 2Dialog has a lot of functionality in one stand-alone tool which now seamlessly integrates with both MPX and Orange Leap On Demand.

The benefits of the integration include:

Donor Data Synchronization

• Data segmentations created in MPX and Orange Leap On Demand are available in Billboard for emailing campaigns.
• Donors in MPX and Orange Leap On Demand are synchronized within 2Dialog.
• Important campaign data captured in Billboard is automatically transferred back into MPX and Orange Leap On Demand.

Email Deliverability System

• Ability to send email fundraising and marketing campaigns to your constituents and donors.
• Campaign effectiveness and donor behavioral analysis can be done within2Dialog, MPX, or Orange Leap On Demand.

Microsites/Landing Pages

• Quick deployment of e-campaigns through the use of campaign specific microsites/landing pages and forms created within the Billboard tool.
• Transactions done in Billboard are instantly available to be viewed in MPX and Orange Leap On Demand.
• Data captured within these pages are automatically transferred back into2Dialog, MPX, and Orange Leap On Demand.

Common Vision

• Business and Product Development Goals and future direction are shared between both partners.
• Relationship established in 2009. Product integration began in 2010 and was demonstrated with MPX at OrangeCon in 2011.

For more information, please contact orangeleap@2dialog.com.

Orange Leap — Simple

A simple explanation of how Orange Leap On-Demand software can help organize and manage constituent and donor relationships for non-profit fund raising organizations.

Tanzanian rats sniff out mines (and they use Orange Leap as their CRM solution!)

A project in Tanzania is teaching rats how to save human lives. Blessed with a keen sense of smell, they are being trained to detect land mines and have so far helped clear nearly two million squared… Find Out More

Dallas Contemporary Chooses Orange Leap to Enhance All Aspects of Member Marketing, Events, and Fundraising

DALLAS, TEXAS (October 18, 2010) – Dallas Contemporary — a non-collecting art museum presenting new and challenging exhibitions from regional, national and international artists — has selected Orange Leap On Demand as its platform for managing the growth of their member marketing, events, and fundraising efforts.

Orange Leap provides a highly innovative and easy to use software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that strengthens relationships between an organization and its constituents and donors. Used by organizations around the world, Orange Leap On Demand is a powerful, full featured, constituent relationship management solution designed specifically for nonprofits.

Having recently moved into a beautiful new facility in the vibrant “design district” and with the addition of new Executive Director Peter Doroshenko (recently President and Artistic Director at the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kiev), Dallas Contemporary finds itself in a wonderful position of growth and change.

“In the past we’ve had a donor database which holds donor information and gift history — with Orange Leap we’re adding a solution that not only captures all our constituent information, but also automates our member marketing and donor fundraising efforts both online and off”, noted Database and IT Administrator Christos Polemenakos.

He continued, “In addition to a powerful business rules engine which gives us room to grow without adding staff, Orange Leap On Demand is easy to use and manages our online marketing and fundraising without having to build and manage complicated integration between Orange Leap and our website”

Dallas Contemporary is another example of a nonprofit organization who has grown tired of the expensive and complicated standard offerings for nonprofits and selected Orange Leap over competitive constituent management solutions because of the powerful automation, ease of use, and robust feature set – all in a true online software-as-a-service platform.

“This is clearly an exciting time for Dallas Contemporary, and we are very honored to partner with them in their growth”, said Randy McCabe, Founder and CEO of Orange Leap. “With our innovative product that actually automates a lot of the fundraising and communications delivered in a true software-as-a-service platform, more and more nonprofits are recognizing that moving to Orange Leap is the smartest and safest thing they can do to help them grow.”

About Dallas Contemporary

Dallas Contemporary is a non-collecting art museum presenting new and challenging exhibitions from regional, national and international artists. The institution is committed to engaging the public through exhibitions, lectures, educational programs and events. Recently relocated in a repurposed industrial building at 161 Glass Street in the Design District, Dallas Contemporary is a unique artspace with a rotating schedule of dynamic exhibitions. For information, please call 214-821-2522 or visit www.dallascontemporary.org.

About Orange Leap

Orange Leap energizes nonprofits, making it easier for them to achieve mission success. The Dallas-based company (formerly known as MPower Open) offers innovative yet simple to use software-based solutions that strengthen relationships with constituents and other nonprofits. Orange Leap’s ever-growing community collaborates on advanced technology and smarter practices using Orange Leap’s open-source code. Nonprofits big and small, with a wide range of missions and constituencies, choose Orange Leap to move their organizations forward.
For more information, please visit www.orangeleap.com.

Orange Leap Announces 100% Sales Growth

DALLAS, TEXAS (October 12, 2010) — Orange Leap, a leading provider of automated constituent relationship management solutions for nonprofit organizations, today announced sales results for the third quarter 2010 in which they achieved significant growth both quarter over quarter and year-to-date over 2009.

• New users added during the third quarter were 30% greater than the same quarter last year.
• New sales booked during the third quarter were 41% greater than the same quarter last year.
• New users added year-to-date are 30% greater than year-to-date for 2009.
• New sales booked year-to-date are 100% greater than year-to-date for 2009.

Orange Leap provides a highly innovative and easy to use software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that strengthens relationships between an organization and its constituents and donors. Used by organizations around the world, Orange Leap On Demand is a powerful, full featured, constituent relationship management solution designed specifically for nonprofits.

“We are thrilled about our sales growth for the quarter and the year-to-date trend that continues to validate our Orange Leap On Demand product and software-as-a-service business model,” said Randy McCabe, Founder and CEO.  “It is refreshing to see so many forward-thinking nonprofits who are discarding the labor-intensive manual techniques of passive data repositories in exchange for active automation that allows them to focus on their mission.  At the same time, we are humbled by the trust these new customers are putting in our organization.  We are grateful for their business and will continue to work aggressively to honor their decisions.”

About Orange Leap

Orange Leap energizes nonprofits, making it easier for them to achieve mission success. The Dallas-based company (formerly known as MPower Open) offers innovative yet simple to use software-based solutions that strengthen relationships with constituents and other nonprofits. Orange Leap’s ever-growing community collaborates on advanced technology and smarter practices using Orange Leap’s open-source code. Nonprofits big and small, with a wide range of missions and constituencies, choose Orange Leap to move their organizations forward. For more information, please visit www.orangeleap.com.