“[MemberSuite] came into this space with the premise of providing software as a service to the member base organization space and provide new technology,” explained Natalie Cheney, CEO of MemberSuite. While association management software isn’t new (according to Cheney it’s been around since the 90s), MemberSuite is a fresh take on a relatively unchanged industry. MemberSuite was able to disrupt the space by providing cloud-based capabilities that their competition didn’t have.

In Use:

Association management softwares (AMS) are platforms that companies use to manage day-to-day business. Whether for-profit or nonprofit, AMS can benefit all organizations. MemberSuite offers tools and services to benefit all aspects of a nonprofit. Software consist of a robust CRM, an e-marketing tool where users can design and create a variety of emails; and services such as data migration.

Ease of Use:

MemberSuite offers customer service in the form of ready-to-help experts and webinars along with educational assets such as data sheets and infographics. These assets help users familiarize themselves with the products. While some reviews state MemberSuite software is easy to use and intuitive others have found it hard to use and confusing.

Technology Used:

One of the reasons that MemberSuite disrupted the industry is that their product was cloud-based from the beginning. Many of their competitors had to adapt to the cloud space which created numerous growing pains and networking issues. MemberSuite provides nonprofits with numerous capabilities. From donor portals to finance tools and analytics. On the donor-facing platform, donors can renew their membership, pay for a donation, or sign up for a fundraising event allowing members to self-service on everyday activities. “All of these actions are happening 24-7 by clicking on a few buttons, providing capabilities so staff can engage their members,” Cheney states. With these self-service tools, nonprofits can go back to helping their constituents and worry less on the day-to-day responsibilities of running a nonprofit. Cheney refers to industries such as e-commerce and airlines who adopted a similar self-service module. “Consumers are demanding it from nonprofits and it’s expensive. It is up to us to provide that technology,” Cheney said of MemberSuite.

Recap:

MemberSuite is an association management software platform with numerous capabilities to assist nonprofits to manage their business. In fact, CEO Natalie Cheney acknowledged that nonprofits need an AMS but often don’t have much money to spend on one. Most of the nonprofits that purchase MemberSuite are positioned in the middle and upper market with revenue of around $2 million. Cheney noted that other nonprofits that fall into the $1 million range take advantage of MemberSuite through a monthly solution.

Advantages:

• All-in-one software that includes finance, event registration, and donor management software
• Customer support and educational tools to help charities comprehend the software
• Monthly services and yearly subscriptions are available to meet nonprofits needs
• Dedicated in providing nonprofit with the technology they need to run their organization

Disadvantages:

• Too expensive for small nonprofits
• Users state that it’s not user friendly and the interface could use a facelift.
• Reporting capabilities could be more robust

My Opinion:

Often when I review a software that is used by both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, nonprofits are just an afterthought. That was not the case when I talked the CEO of MemberSuite, Natalie Cheney. She was dedicated in creating a software that had the capabilities that nonprofits need to run their organizations. While it may be too expensive for small nonprofits, medium to large charities can benefit immensely from the numerous different tools and products that MemberSuite offers.

Personify is a software suite that is compact with tools and products that enable nonprofits to manage their donors and grow their organization.  Through their various products, charities can connect with their donors and grow their reach. For This review will be focusing solely on Personify360- a robust constituent management software for nonprofits and charities.

In  Use:

With Personify360, charities can manage their constituents, drive revenue, and expand their reach.  With backend dashboards and reporting capabilities, nonprofits can track metrics that can help them with future campaigns.

Nonprofit organizations can take advantage of Personify360’s four key features.  Nonprofits can see their constituent information using the Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) tool; get strategic consulting services and support through eBusiness; browser-based client through PersonifyGO; and analyze statistics and map trends through their Analytics feature.

Ease of Use:

It does take some time to familiarize yourself with the software. It has been described by some users on Capterra as clunky and not so user-friendly. Other reviews have had no problem maneuvering around the platform. It may essentially come down to how techy savvy one is.

Technology Used:

Charities can roll their needs into one sophisticated platform. Need to get in touch with constituents? Need to analyze constituents’ wants and needs? Having trouble understanding how to manage your constituents effectively? Personify360 can get a nonprofit organization on the right track to solving issues that arise when managing a nonprofit.

Recap

According to Personify360, a nonprofit’s first focus should be on their constituents. With their products and solutions they hope to enable a charity by giving them access to technology that will help their organization thrive.

Advantages:

• Free demo to see if the platform is right for your organization
• All-in-one tool that lets your streamline your organization- you don’t have to constantly switch between software to manage donors, constituents, and run reports
• Analytics capability to track metrics and statistics

Disadvantages:

• Platform has been described as clunky and not user friendly

My Opinion:

I think nonprofits will like the fact that the software is all in one. It’s time consuming to have to constantly switch from one software to another. With Personify360 they can manage their constituents, track metrics, and get advice using the same software. Personify offers a free demo, so I would encourage any charity who is interested in growing their reach among their community to give the demo a try.  My only hesitation is that it’s been described as hard to use and clunky. It appears that it will take some time to get use to the software. A nonprofit has to make sure they have time set aside to learn the tool in order to get the most out of it.

“We make excel reporting fun!” Biznet’s website boasts. That’s a tall order considering a person only has to type the words, “hate excel” in any web browser to get a long list of articles and rants on why Excel is literally the worst. There’s even a book by Kelly Conaster and Patrick J. Burns entitled, I Hate Excel. So the real question is, does Biznet live up to their claim?

In Use:

Biznet software aims to help nonprofits save time on their monthly reporting. According to Sr. Global Alliance Manager Randy Smith, utilizing Biznet in lieu of Excel can save organizations 80% of time they would normally spend on these reports.

Biznet offers their customers three different products. Their main software, BizInsight helps nonprofits build reports more efficiently overall enhancing the experience. Once a report is built, a user can save the template and come back to it. If data changes, the whole report refreshes saving the user a significant amount of time. Their other two tools revolve around connecting data and sharing data. BizConnector allows users to get data from a dataset and filter it depending on what information is needed. With BizBroadcast, users can send the same report to multiple users in varying degrees. For instance a user can send one person a single sheet of data while sending others highly sensitive information from the same document that is also password protected. This saves the user time from having to send multiple versions.

While Biznet technologies are not solely for nonprofit organizations, Smith believes they offer a competitive price that organizations around the country can afford. The platform will cost users a minimum of $780 a year per user or $65 a month.

Technology Used:

Charities who wish to use Biznet software must download Excel. If an organization has Excel on-line, Biznet won’t work. This usually isn’t a problem as many organizations invest in Microsoft Office for day-to-day activities.

Biznet products directly integrate with over 35 different platforms such as Blackbaud, Epicore, and Microsoft Dynamics to make a seamless integration.

Ease of Use:

If a nonprofit has worked within Excel before, Biznet’s software is relatively easy to use. Smith stated that there was a minimal learning curve for those users who already have knowledge of Excel. For those who need a bit more help Biznet offers support, training and a video library that users can access.

Recap:

Biznet has found a way to not only make Excel fun but to save users time. Their tools enable nonprofits to analyze their data efficiently; connect datasets from outside of Excel; and distribute reports with ease.

Advantages:

* Saves users a significantly amount of time on monthly reports

* Excel users will find this software easy to use

* Multiple integrations including Blackbaud

Disadvantages

* While larger nonprofits may be able to afford $780 a year per user, small to medium organizations could not.

My Opinion:

Unlike the numerous users that loathe Excel, I actually really like it. I love to scrub my spreadsheet from unnecessary data. I love to filter data, sort it from A-Z…and don’t get me started on pivot tables. I could pivot for hours. One of the reasons I like Excel is because there’s a formula for everything. And if I don’t know a formula, a simple search can solve my problem.

I understand the lure of Biznet software, but I think $780 per user per year is pretty steep for many nonprofits. I would suggest investing in an Excel course and utilize one of the numerous Excel training videos on the internet.

For the past five years, Verified Volunteers has been the only volunteer management platform that exclusively serves the nonprofit community. This has enabled nonprofit organizations the ability to connect with volunteers in their area. With an easy-to-use dashboard and the ability to be notified if a volunteer’s status has changed, Verified Volunteers offers inexpensive, fast, and secure service to national and local charities around the country.

In Use:

On the surface, one can assume that Verified Volunteers well…verifies volunteers. But the management system does much more than vet volunteers. The idea for the software was born after extensive research and consultations with the nonprofit community. The question became, “How can we build a portal background check that can be shared and save communities some money?” During the early planning stages, Verified Volunteers realized that many businesses would conduct an initial background check and then be finished. What they discovered was that nonprofits needed to make sure that their volunteers were in good standing during the entire time they volunteered with the organization whether that spanned a single day, three years, or a decade. According to Executive Director, Katie Zwetzig; Verified Volunteers conduct monthly screenings for all volunteers in their system. If something changes, both nonprofit and volunteer are notified.

Another dilemma that Verified Volunteers solved was the cost associated with screenings. A background check can cost anywhere between $7 and $40 dollars depending on how in-depth the screening has to be. Zwetzig mentioned that many of the 400 nonprofits they initially consulted with noted these costs weren’t feasible. To solve this issue, Verified Volunteers created unique payment options where nonprofit organizations could have the volunteers pay for their background check themselves. For those organizations that didn’t feel comfortable asking their volunteers to purchase a screening, they could ask for a contribution from the volunteer. According to Zwetzig, when asked for a contribution, about 30% of volunteers donated.

Ease of Use:

In order to be vetted by the management company, a volunteer follows a link to Verified Volunteers’ website. There, they follow a four-step process that takes between 3-5 minutes to complete. The volunteer enters in their personal information in the first section, followed by their address, their consent, and the payment option. The process is secure and all background checks comply with state-by-state regulations. This is especially key for national organizations that have volunteers around the country.

Pertaining to the dashboard that nonprofits use to review the results, it integrates with numerous systems such as event management company VolunteerHub or management tool Better Impact.

Technology Used:

Verified Volunteers is based in the cloud and anyone can access the platform with internet access. The software offers a toll-free number if users run into an issue on the backend. Verified Volunteers also recently enabled a chat box for easier service.

Recap:

Verified Volunteers is a volunteer management software that enables nonprofits to vet their incoming volunteers while connecting those same organizations with volunteers who have already gone through the vetting process. The software is exclusive for nonprofits all over the country and is available to all local and national nonprofits regardless of size.

Verified Volunteers’ platform utilizes many tools such as their ability to do monthly checks for volunteers, the ability for volunteers to pay for their background check as well as purchase a “Fast Pass” which gives volunteers the ability to share their background check with numerous nonprofit organizations over the course of the year saving time and money. Whenever the Fast Pass is utilized, the person who paid for the initial screening (whether the volunteer or nonprofit receive a rebate). “In the last 15 months between contributions and rebates and shared checks we’ve saved the sector $1.8 million dollars,” Zwetzig stated.

Advantages:

* Verified Volunteers conducts monthly background checks to ensure volunteers are in good standing

* Volunteers can monetarily contribute to their background check or pay for the whole amount

* Volunteers can purchase a “Fast Pass” for $3.99 that allows them to share their background checks with nonprofit organizations. When used, the nonprofit or volunteer that initially paid for the screening earns a rebate.

Disadvantages:

* Verified Volunteers integrates with a limited number of SaaS solutions.

My Opinion

When looking at Verified Volunteers as a volunteer management software I think it checks off all of the boxes. It’s inexpensive, it’s secure, and it’s comes with a dashboard that enables nonprofits to manage their volunteers. But what stood out to me the most, is how Verified Volunteers is how its changing the way organizations can access volunteers. During our conversation, Zwetzig spoke about the time Volunteer Florida, a nonprofit organization was able to track down volunteers during 2017’s Hurricane Irma by using Verified Volunteers’ network of vetted volunteers. Zwetzig emphasized that the software wasn’t just a software. In her opinion, “background screening is a vehicle to help create safer communities.” She shared that when the disaster hit, Volunteer Florida was in desperate need of volunteers. Utilizing Verified Volunteers’ network, they were able to reach out to over 80 thousand already-vetted volunteers.

There is a common thread in what makes great companies and great communities: people!  Both are at the heart of strengthening goals and outcomes in tangible ways. For companies, community involvement can help align employees around a common cause that helps to strengthen a brand, build customer and employee loyalty, and has the power to ultimately attract new hires and new customers. Individuals can learn new skills, expand their network and, according to multiple studies, improve their happiness and health.

We’re blessed to live in a country where people love to volunteer. Over a quarter of Americans volunteer, helping to build nonprofit capacity, positively impacting communities, building skills and strengthening relationships.  In our 2019 report “The Volunteer Perspective – Industry Insights 2019,” in which over 7,000 volunteers responded—over 65% of the respondents said they volunteer to improve their communities. And, our research also indicates that volunteers want to make a difference across multiple organizations.  Over 75% of survey participants volunteer for more than one organization. If you are a nonprofit, imagine harnessing the value of those volunteers. If you are a business, imaging harnessing that passion to help build your brand and improve employee loyalty!  Talk about a win-win!

Most nonprofits rely heavily on volunteers to fulfill their mission. In fact, in our 2018 Volunteer Trends and Best Practices Annual Research report, 56% of responding nonprofit organizations indicated that unpaid volunteers make up 75% or more of their staff! So, the need for volunteers is great and the impact can be even greater!

Aligning the mission of the volunteer and organization is important for both the nonprofit and individual. Individuals want to volunteer for a cause they care about and where they can make an impact.  Organizations ideally want to build a long-term relationship with volunteers.  

Finding the right cause to share your talents can seem daunting but with today’s tools, it is quite easy. There are plenty of websites that highlight volunteer opportunities and match opportunities to skills and interests of the volunteer. VolunteerMatch, the HandsOn Network, Points of Light’s All for Good, and other Verified Volunteers partners list needs for millions of volunteers that could be fulfilled corporately or individually.   

With so many opportunities, the key for nonprofits, corporations and individuals is to find a good fit.  Like dating, this may take a little time to find that perfect match. A local volunteer center through the United Way or the HandsOn Network may be able to provide more personalized matching.  If your time is limited, starting as an event volunteer is a great way to learn about an organization and make a positive impact in a short amount of time. Catchafire lists thousands of opportunities for skill-based volunteers, many of which can be done remotely! Take some time to list out your passions and interests and then dive in!

I believe that volunteering is a significant economic driver for our nation. But there is so much more! When people volunteer together, they build social connections based on shared values which ultimately lead to a stronger, more connected community—whether a true geographical community or a workplace community.

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Katie Zwetzig, Verified Volunteers Executive Director

Katie is excited to be leading the revolutionary change Verified Volunteers, the dedicated service sector unit of Sterling—the world’s leader in background and identity services—is bringing to the nonprofit and volunteer industry. Katie holds an MA in Marketing from Colorado State University and a BA in Finance and Marketing from The University of Colorado. Katie feels strongly that nonprofits and volunteerism are at the heart of a strong community.

In our informational society, the amount of data created by not-for-profit (Nfp) organizations continues to grow exponentially.

From both internal sources that cover mobile devices, retail and websites to external sources like Just Giving or social media, many NfPs are generating data faster than they can govern it. The problem is, as organizations have evolved and grown organically, data value is not maximized because it is mostly fragmented across systems.

In addition to data, a rising number of stakeholders and donors are demanding more timely, specific and different information.

Both locally and globally, NfP organizations are being bombarded with guidelines, standards, principles, behaviors and other codes of practice. GDPR was perhaps the moment of truth, but there are further mandates, like that from the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), which requires data from the third sector to improve the transparency of development and humanitarian resources.

And internally, managers are asking for information such as customer transactional details that span across multiple CRM, ERP and operational systems.

Your staff may come and go, your processes and systems constantly change, and all the while as your data steadily accumulates, so do the potential risks and opportunities. This is a big deal, especially when safeguarding concerns and reputational management issues in the press or social media have such a large impact on funding.

It is therefore vital that data is transparent, ethical and accountable, but there are problems. The chair of the PR and Communication Association’s Charity and Not-for-Profit Group said, “The sheer volume of information and guidance that trustees and staff have had to wade through is a barrier to compliance and unnecessarily bureaucratic”.

The situation is not going to change. As a result of bureaucracy, charitable organizations are looking in the rear-view mirror and spending too much time on data administration when, really, they should be looking ahead at how best to serve beneficiaries. So how do we redress the balance?

Challenge to opportunity

Let’s take a breath here. Clearly, the answer is providing the right information by easier means. As a technology vendor, you may expect me to say the immediate answer is technology – well yes, but not right away and it is only part of the solution. Technology vendors and their customers alike often spend a great deal of time discussing networks, servers, cloud technology, websites, apps, interoperability with 3^rd party web services, CRM, HR and finance systems. But the common denominator, data, is often ignored or is just an afterthought.

It is solid data governance (think structured data) that should be the initial priority. It offers a framework to make sure our entire environment meets our needs today and drives our organizations, and the technology that underpins it, with greater focus. 

Check out part 2 of this blog for our steps to successful data governance that can turn a challenge into an opportunity.

It’s not surprising that when we talk about the dynamics of a nonprofit board, we often think in terms of practicality. How long will the meeting be? Who is taking minutes? Is the budget report ready to review? All of these considerations are important, no doubt. However, when we focus exclusively on this minutia, we aren’t seeing the proverbial forest for the trees.

The real key to nonprofit board success is not “board management.” You can have the best budget report, minutes, and agenda in history, but if your board members don’t actually care, the nonprofit will still suffer. Simply put, by far the most important predictor of a board’s effectiveness is not board management, but board engagement.

What exactly is board engagement? Broadly speaking, it looks like a lively meeting of board members who are invested in their work. They come to meetings prepared and eager to discuss business. They donate individually, but more importantly, they are enthusiastic about telling others about the organization.

More specifically, these are the 7 pillars of board engagement:

1)    Attendance – Board members value their role on the board sufficiently so much, they prioritize making it to the majority of the meetings.

2)    Preparation – Not just warm bodies at the meeting, board members take the time to prepare for the meeting by reading the agenda and any relevant documents. They think through any new business or questions they want to bring to the discussion.

3)    Follow-Through – During a board meeting, people often commit to research a topic, ask an acquaintance about something, or pull some data. Whether or not they actually complete these tasks between meetings is a huge indicator of engagement.

4)    Volunteering – Some board members will have more time than others to give directly to the mission, but all should show some interest in being involved in what the nonprofit actually does. Sometimes this can be as practical as helping during a food drive, but it could also include dropping off snacks for volunteers and staying in touch with staff.

5)    Advocacy – A sign of strong board member engagement is robust advocacy. Engaged board members will tell their professional and personal networks about their involvement. They may even act as a representative of the nonprofit in media and government issues, as appropriate.

6)    Development – Fiduciary health is a prime concern of nonprofit boards. When they feel valued and invested in a nonprofit, board members will help the nonprofit find corporate sponsors, invite potential donors to events, and help identify earned revenue sources.

7)    Donation – Nonprofit boards have varying policies on individual giving requirements, just as board members will have varying giving capacities. The important thing is that board members show an interest in contributing their “time, talent, and treasure” to the cause.

Take a hard look at your board engagement, and see where you need to improve. Instead of “managing” the board, ask board members what would help them feel more invested and rewarded. By focusing on board engagement, you will see the health and impact of the nonprofit grow exponentially.

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Jeb Banner, CEO of Boardable, a board engagement platform

With budgets and human capital stretched, nonprofits have to be smart and efficient about how they boost their reputation and engagement online. For nonprofit organizations, social media is an opportunity area. More than 30% of people use social media more than 10 times a day.

A successful social media strategy can grow awareness for your organization and cause and, ultimately, increase fundraising. Although nearly all nonprofits use Facebook, less than half think social media is valuable.

Nonprofits need to realize the benefits of social media for their overall health. To do so, consider the following three strategies:

• Maximize messaging
• Improve responsiveness
• Increase investment

By adhering to these action items, nonprofits can improve their online reputation and engagement with target audiences.

Make Your Social Messaging Meaningful

The main social media goals of nonprofits are to share information about their cause and their brand.

Source

The key to raising awareness through social media is not the quantity of posts, though. Rather, it’s the messaging you relay through your social media content.

Some messaging formats have more success than others – consider the following approaches to maximize the impact of your social media efforts:

• Imagery: Images and infographics get the main focus of your messaging across quickly and clearly
• Short videos: Brief “behind the scenes” videos illustrate the impact of your work. Videos elicit visceral reactions from audiences, and visually demonstrating the impact of your organization can have a massive impact on your following.
• Hashtags: There is a hashtag for just about every cause, and people follow them to track relevant messaging. Using hashtags in your social media content posts provides access to those audiences and makes an explicit association between your brand and the cause associated with the hashtag.

Quick Response Times and Empathy Produce Positive Impressions

Social media comes with the expectation for immediate gratification: people expect to be able to learn everything they want to know about a company with a few clicks.

When someone visits one of your social profiles, they demonstrate interest that you should be prepared to reciprocate. People expect fast responses when they reach out to a business through social media, usually within a day or less.

The benefits of engaging quickly with interested parties over social media can be incredibly positive for an organization.

According to research from Martech Zone:

• 56% of visitors who interact with a company over social media feel a stronger connection with that brand
• 71% of visitors who receive a quick and effective response will recommend that brand to others

Response time is key, but response strategy is equally important.

Sometimes questions or comments about your company are negative, a particularly potent problem on social media, given the relative anonymity people enjoy. This is even the case with non-profits.

The best way to respond to negative comments is to stay respectful and considerate, showing empathy and understanding.

By ramping  up your response times and responding appropriately, an organization can create deeper engagement with its audience.

Make the Investment

For smaller nonprofits, devoting the time and effort to social media is a difficult ask.

According to Hubspot’s survey, 38% of nonprofits only devote 1-2 hours per week to social media, and 44% of organizations only have one person monitoring their social media.

Stretched budgets and limited resources are synonymous with NPOs, and to devote what little you have to social media is a tough sell.

It’s important, though, to consider the potential benefits of a strong social media presence:

• Recognition
• Reputation
• Fundraising

Each of these core benefits are interconnected and associated with brand awareness that social media can bring: the more awareness you earn for your organization and cause, the more recognition. The more recognition, combined with an active response strategy, improves your reputation. In turn, the combination of increased recognition and a strong reputation leads to increased fundraising.

One person spending 1-2 hours per week is not sufficient to bring these benefits to bear. The more effort your nonprofit puts into its social media program, the more rewards are possible.

Invest in Social Media for Digital Success For Your Non-Profit

With so many social media users in the world today, a nonprofit should look to the digital channels to boost its brand and promote its cause.

Working with PR firms in your area can help you focusing on messaging, responsiveness, and proper investment of resources. This will allow your nonprofit organization to boost its reputation online while promoting engagement among your followers.

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Grayson Kemper is a Senior Content Writer for Clutch, a B2B research, ratings, and reviews platform in Washington, D.C. Use Clutch as a resource to research marketing and public relations agencies, and software development companies.

Eleo is an online donor management program. It helps nonprofits track all aspects of their interactions with their donors.

First and foremost, Eleo makes it easy to enter donor information. Once the donor is in the database it is easy to search for a specific person or create lists of donors by segmentation.

Donor individual records let you track interactions, giving history, pledge history, giving statistics and volunteer hours.

The program also lets you create fully customizable lists. You can search by a variety of criteria and you can save the lists for future use.

Eleo also includes a communication center where you can create mass mailings, newsletters, receipts, and acknowledgement letters. You can create templates, and track what acknowledgements or receipts still need to be sent.

The program includes a calendar function so your organization can stay on track for fundraising events and mailers.

You can use the reporting feature to analyze a plethora of data. You can use the standard reports or use the report writer to create your own reports.

Pricing for Eleo is tiered depending on the number of donor records you have. The lowest tier is $39/mo for 2,500 donor records.

If it is time for your organization to update its website, and you are looking for a complete rebuild Firespring can help your organization create the perfect website.

Firespring, which is a certified B corporation, has several website structures available. Once you select your desired theme Firespring brands it with your logo and color palette.  If there pre-existing website structures don’t fit your needs they will work to build a completely custom website for your organization.

Once your website is ready to launch, you won’t need to worry about finding a webhost, because Firespring offers that as part of their package.

Firspring makes it easy for you to keep your website looking fresh. They have an easy to navigate content management system along with a large photo gallery. Use keywords, meta tags and other SEO tools to help your website get found.

Firespring offers several pricing options. Your organization can choose from a basic plan or a premium plan. Both offer flat fee rates or monthly subscriptions.

In addition to the basic design service, the basic plan includes access to phone support, ssl encryption and analytics. The premium plan includes everything from the basic plan and event registration, email marketing and group management.

There are also several ala carte options available such as landing page development, search engine marketing, and social media facelift.

OneCause fundraising solutions has a formed a partnership with WEDO charity auctions to add a charity auction feature to the OneCause platform.

The Mobile Bidding and Auction feature offers two levels of service. Depending on your organization’s need you can have a full service or do-it-yourself.

The application includes a module to help your organization solicit items for your event. You can create letters, log items into inventory, create bidding numbers and set opening bid prices.

In addition to the inventory feature, the platform offers features to manage your guest list. You can sell tickets, assign tables, set up VIP access and track any dietary restrictions of your guests.  

During the event you can use the platform to build enthusiasm for bidding with real time scoreboards.

You don’t have to worry about using a different service for processing payments, as they can be performed with the Mobile Bidding platform.

After the event you can generate thank you letters and tax receipts.

You can also use Mobile Bidding to create an online auction event that allows you guests to preview items. Plus, you can sell fixed price items via the online auction.

Pricing is tiered with 3 levels of service, consult OneCause for pricing.

Your organization can get more return on its advertising investment by running ads simultaneously on Facebook and Instagram. While the two platforms are separate social media powerhouses, they are both owned by Facebook.

According to Instagram’s metrics running your social media campaign across both platforms had better results in web clicks, conversions and engagement then running a campaign on just one platform. In terms of return on investment, Social Fresh reports that Facebook has a 95.8% roi and Instagram has 40.1%, and when you figure in the relatively low cost of advertising on these platforms, it is a great way to reach a big audience for a small investment.

If you haven’t already linked your Facebook and Instagram accounts, now is the time. Go into your Facebook page manager and your Instagram page. It is important that you have a business Instagram account for your organization, if it is not a business page you won’t be able to connect the accounts.

Facebook’s ad manager makes it easy for you to also run your ad on Instagram, as you set up the ad through Facebook’s ad manager you can set the preferences to have the ad also run on Instagram.

Keep in mind that you must select from the following list of objectives in order to be able to cross post the ads

• Reach
• Traffic (for clicks to your website or the app store for your app)
• App installs
• Engagement (for post engagement only)
• Video views
• Conversions (for conversions on your website or in your app)
• Lead generation
• Brand Awareness

You can use the same content for both ads, which includes either photos, slideshow or video, or you can have separate ads, that tailor content to each platform.

According to Tech Crunch, TED’s the Audacious Project has selected eight nonprofits to participate in this year’s funding competition.

Read the article on Tech Crunch

Salesforce has completed a deal to ‘acquire’ salesforce.org, reports Tech Crunch. The deal will make it easier for Salesforce to service the nonprofit sector.

Read the article on Tech Crunch

According to BizTech Magazine, there are 25 important nonprofit IT influencers that nonprofit organizations can follow and learn from.

Read the article on BizTech Magazine

According to AP News, Disney and Lucas Films make a commitment to  nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) with a $1.5 million donation, and in-kind and mentorship resources to help students succeed.

 

Read the article on AP News