Using social media for fundraising!

I've mentioned many times on this blog about the necessity of social media in companies and organizations. I came across an article from http://www.blueavocado.org/ that showed a concrete example of what social media can do.

Nelson Layag was able to raise $1,000 on Facebook without breaking a sweat. He used the Facebook Causes Birthday Wish application to send out notifications to his friends to raise money for a local non profit, the Women's Cancer Resource Center. Instead of birthday gifts for his upcoming 40th birthday, he wanted a donation made to the non profit. In just 3 days he had raised $1,000!

Nelson reflected on a few things that he learned from his experience:

• A couple of his favorite non profits were not set up on the application so he could not select them
• He was surprised that no one from the Women's Cancer Resource Center had contacted him to acknowledge what he was doing
• Even people who he had not spoken to in years had donated to his cause

I realize that this method is not going to become the main source of donations for an organization but it is a great way to get people involved and "lets people hear about your organization from a trusted source." Even people Nelson did not directly interact with were willing to support him. It is an easy tool to utilize and every non profit should be set up on the application (it's free!).

This is a great example of how social media can give non profits the extra boost not only to raise more money but build an awareness and a sense of community. This is grassroots fundraising at its best!

Has anyone used the Facebook Causes application before? If so, what has been your experience with it? If your organization needs help setting this up, please contact me!

--L

DMI's Community Weekend - NF Walk Edition

Happy Friday! What are your weekend plans? If you don't have anything to do on Saturday, I have a great event for you to attend.

It is the Children's Tumor Foundation NF Walk!

It's a 5k walk that takes place at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. The event starts at 9:30am and you can register the day of the event on-site. Besides the walk "there will be a raffle, food, and fun for the entire family!"

The walk benefits the Children's Tumor Foundation who are researching to find a cure for Neurofibromatosis (NF). "NF is a lifelong disorder that encompasses a set of distinct genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow along nerves and can affect the development of bones and skin." This is a great organization and need your support!

So check out the websites and go out to Vasona Park on Saturday for a fun walk and enjoy the great weather!


--L

Guinness World Records!

Is everyone doing okay with all this heat? I'm starting to feel like I'm melting away.

To avoid thinking about the hot weather, I was browsing through a recent edition of Adweek, and came across an amusing article titled Record Makers. It was about companies setting Guinness World Records as a marketing ploy.

I started reading the article because I thought it was funny but then I realized that companies are actually benefiting from this type of marketing. They are gaining a lot of publicity and a lot of traffic especially through social media. Guinness spokesperson Jamie Panas says, "Record breaking is proving to be a unique promotional tool for companies looking to stand out. It's also a way to make a mark in actual history and be a part of something global."

Also I didn't know this but "brands holding official Guinness records are entitled to use that imprimatur in their marketing free of charge."

I immediately started thinking of things DMI could do, like producing the largest mail piece. I actually looked up the largest envelope record on the Guinness World Records website and the current record is 32 feet 9 in long and 23 feet wide. We could totally beat that!

Is there anything you would like to see DMI attempt? Is there anything that your company/organization has attempted or would like to attempt?

Maybe we can be in the record books together!

--L

Rise in Charitable Contributions

Happy first day of summer! As if we needed to be reminded that summer is officially here...the weather speaks for itself. Hopefully everyone is staying nice and cool!

Everyone knows about our down economy and fluctuating housing market but there is a bit of good news out there. According to a recent article in Reuters, there has been an increase in charitable giving overall.

"A Giving USA Foundation report released today shows total charitable contributions  -- for individuals, corporations, and foundations -- rose 3.8% in 2010 to an estimated $291 billion."

Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of National Philanthropic Trust, discussed trends in charitable giving in the article and one of the interesting points was about social media. She believes that although many organizations are just learning how to utilize social media in fundraising, "there is a way to feed young donors so when they mature, you can position yourself to use that relationship in a different way. I think the younger generation coming up, who do a lot of mission-driven work, will be the refiners of this and it's going to be very exciting."

Another interesting point, was about how charitable organizations need to evolve with the changes in society's needs. She feels that the change in an organization occurs at the leadership level. "It requires nimbleness of leadership. Boards need the foresight and the person they hire has to have the bravery to say to the board that things are changing and we have to change with them. It's a very human-driven thing."

It is a very tough time to be in fundraising but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Social media is a wonderful new tool to cultivate donors and spread the message of your organization. I believe that using it effectively will benefit your organization in the long term.

There also has to be a "nimbleness" in the leadership group as stated in the article. It is important to recognize changes not only in society but in your community and in technology. I think being able to adapt and embrace change will allow your organization to be successful.

What are some successes or failures of using social media in your organization? Do you feel that change is important or necessary in your organization?

--L

What has DMI been up to lately?

I'm sure most of you have been wondering what we've been up to lately! Well here are some things that we've done!

• We finally got our sign put up in front of our building! (Doesn't it look lovely?)

•  We've dropped 961,147 pieces in the mail since the beginning of the year. (Amazing!)

• We got new business cards to match our website (check us out at www.datamarketing.com)

• We have been attending lots of local community events such as:

Silicon Valley Duck Race & Festival

Rise & Shine Benefit Breakfast for Hope Services

Regularly attend the monthly AFP luncheons (DMI is also a sponsor!)

We are only halfway into the year and so far it's been a great! Looking forward to the 2nd half!

--L

The Haves vs. The Have Nots

I can't believe just last week, I was complaining about it being cold! Hopefully you are all enjoying this lovely weather!

So, I was given the San Jose Mercury Newspaper for an article about social media but there was another article right next to it that caught my eye. It was titled Silicon Valley's haves could save have-nots. It described a report called "A Portrait of California" which "was packed with conclusions drawn from Census Bureau and public health data."

The interesting takeaway from the report was that it showed there was a definite disparity in the Silicon Valley. That isn't real breaking news, but was interesting is that the disparity occurred in neighborhoods right next to each other.

"Tom Myers, executive director of the Community Services Agency, which provides emergency food and shelter in Mountain View," agrees with the report. "You find great disparity within this one community," he says. "What I tell everyone is you have a lot of wealth that is literally, often times very literally, right next door to poverty."

So what Myers and others in the Non Profit world believe is that those who "have" need to "help raise up the have-nots." "They are the solution."

But how does an organization go about sharing their message and vision to the "haves" in an effective way? Asking people to help their neighbors is a powerful message but is that enough to get people involved in your cause?

We at DMI work with many wonderful organizations and know that a clear, targeted direct marketing campaign is the most effective way to fundraise and to gain awareness.

Do you agree with this article? What are your thoughts about the "haves" and "have-nots"? Are people with wealth and education responsible for those who are not as fortunate?

Leave your comments below and please contact me for more information about our targeted direct marketing approach!

--L

DMI Community Weekend - Rubber Ducky Edition

I am really enjoying all this sunshine we've been having! The weekend forecast says we have more sunshine days ahead. One of the best ways to enjoy the nice weather is to go to the park and there's a special event at a local park this Sunday!

Vasona Lake County Park in Los Gatos is hosting the 4th annual Silicon Valley Duck Race & Festival this Sunday! The race and festival runs from 11am - 3pm.

People can "buy" rubber ducks and watch them race down Vasona Lake. "Whoever holds a winning duck's sponsorship number wins a prize. The more ducks sponsored (purchased), the more chances to win." There are a ton of really good prizes and you can sponsor a duck for as little as $5.

All the money from the rubber ducks go to support "16 local charities in Silicon Valley who give families, kids, and adults a better life in our community." Some of the charities are HOPE Services, Happy Hollow Park and Zoo, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice of the Valley, and many more!

Aside from the race, there will be plenty of other festivities such as food, music, bounce houses for the kids, and carnival games!

So check out the website for all the details:  http://siliconvalleyduckrace.org/

Quack quack!

--L

Better Know a DMI Employee!

Is everyone ready for another installment of Better Know a DMI Employee? I sure am!

Today's interview is with T from our Production Department.

L:  How long have you been with DMI?

T:  My whole life.

L:  Your whole life???

T:  My dad started the company 35 years ago, so when I was a little kid my parents used to pay me a penny a piece to seal envelopes.

L:  Wow! What is your favorite duty at DMI?

T:  I like to run the inserters when no one else is here because I can do it without any distractions.

L:  Yes, things can get a little hectic on the production floor. What do you do in your free time?

T:  I brew beer and play soccer.

L:  Tell me more about the beer!

T:  I started brewing about 4 years ago with my brother and it has become a passion of mine. I hope to one day open my own brewery.

L:  That sounds great. Hopefully I can get free beer from you. I noticed that from our last 2 interviews, a lot of people here have pets. Do you have any?

T:  Not currently but I am looking to adopt a dog soon.

L:  Any breeds in particular?

T:  I had a schnauzer when I was little so I'm partial to those but I'm not too picky, as long as the dog isn't over 50 pounds.

L:  I hope you find a dog soon! Thanks for a great interview and I'll be waiting for my beer!

I hope you all had fun getting to know another DMI employee.

To read the previous 2 interviews check out the links below:

http://datamarketinginc.blogspot.com/2011/05/better-know-dmi-employee.html

http://datamarketinginc.blogspot.com/2011/03/better-know-dmi-employee.html

--L

Does the weather influence our giving?

The weather has been a hot topic lately. Not only because it's been raining in June, but also because of all the weather related natural disasters that have been occurring all over the country. The weather overall has been really depressing.

Does this depressing weather put you in a depressing mood? A recent Wall Street Journal article has found some interesting results from several studies regarding behavior and the weather.

"Researchers affiliated with the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia Business School measured the public's changing attitudes about climate change. The team surveyed about 1,200 Americans and Australians, and the results were striking. Those who felt that the current day was warmer than usual for the time of year were more likely to believe in and worry about global warming than those who thought it was cooler outside. They were also more likely to donate the money they earned from taking the survey to a charity that did work on climate change." 

Another study "had a woman greet volunteers in the lobby of the psychology building. She carried a coffee cup, a clipboard and two textbooks. Sometimes her cup was hot, sometimes it was cold. During the elevator ride to the fourth floor, she'd casually ask the volunteer to hold her cup while she jotted down notes. Later, in the lab, the participants read a description of a hypothetical person and were then asked for their impressions. Those who had handled a cup of hot coffee rated the person as significantly warmer and more sociable compared to people who had held an iced coffee. Feeling a warm object also made volunteers more generous in a second study that involved giving a gift certificate away or keeping it for themselves."

What does this have to do with direct marketing? As both of these studies found, the weather plays a factor in giving patterns. In the first study, because people were directly feeling the affects of global warming (warm weather), they were more inclined to donate to a cause that dealt with that issue. In the second study, people were more generous after feeling a warm object. The unseasonably cold weather, especially here in the Bay Area, is having a negative impact on giving patterns.

Has the recent weather affected your mood lately? Has your organization experienced drops in donations this year? Let us know in the comments section below. I would love to hear some feedback from different organizations!

--L

DMI's First Annual Picnic Day!

Did everyone have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend? It was nice to have a long weekend.

On the Friday before the holiday weekend, DMI had our First Annual Picnic Day! The theme for this year was team building. The highlight of the day was a department vs. department relay race. Each department had to work together to complete various legs of a relay race.

 

And in the end, here is our winning team!

 

No picnic day is complete without a bbq and tons of food.  

 

Everyone had a lot of fun and I can't wait for our next picnic day!

                                                                                                                                                                                                  

--L