“[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.

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.

New technologies emerge on almost a daily basis. This includes those that focus on digital identity, elections, healthcare, mobile payments and others. With this advancement in technology also comes the need for organizations to adopt new strategies and new ways of doing things. Just like other businesses, nonprofits must continue to grow technologically by incorporating new innovations in their operations and exploring the opportunities that come their way.

One technology which has changed the way we do things is cryptocurrency. But what exactly is cryptocurrency? Basically, this is a digital asset that is designed to operate as a medium of exchange using the concepts of financial transactions and strong cryptography to secure transactions. Unlike fiat currency (currency issued by the government), digital currencies are not centrally controlled making it highly flexible and secure. Examples of such digital currencies are Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum.

Many organizations, nonprofits included are beginning to see reasons for using this kind of exchange in their fundraising operations. With many institutions and individuals now embracing Bitcoin and other digital currencies, it has become necessary for nonprofits to adopt it. Some nonprofits such as Beam and Red Cross are already accepting cryptocurrency donations. Here are a few reasons why nonprofits should embrace cryptocurrency donations.

Fast and Efficient Transactions

Because digital currencies are decentralized, transactions involve fewer people and processes. The process bypasses onerous processes and paperwork which are a characteristic of traditional payment methods. Quick transfer of cryptos means that donations can reach the intended party faster and you can channel the money to its intended use. With such efficiency and speed, you can be assured of secure cash flow with little hassle. 

Enhanced Security

The structure and design of blockchain, which is a basis of digital currencies such as Bitcoin is highly secure. Transactions cannot be modified without the ‘key’ consisting of random characters that are nearly impossible to guess. Unlike fiat or traditional transactions, no one can access funds stored in a wallet apart from the owner of the key. Also, donations and transactions conducted through blockchain are private and anonymous. Privacy and anonymity encourage donors to participate and therefore may increase the number of donors and donations.

Makes it easy to access international donations

Bitcoin is a promising form of currency which has gained international acceptance. It offers many benefits to companies and investors that accept it. These are the exact reasons why nonprofits should embrace it as well in donations. To begin with, accepting cryptocurrencies can help in the improvement of international donations as it eliminates financial barriers that exist when donating in foreign currencies. Furthermore, it eliminates processing and banking fees, a characteristic of fiat currencies. When a donation is made using cryptocurrency, it goes directly into the designated wallet removing all processes and fees.

It is an alternative payment option

Cryptocurrency is just another option that donors can use to contribute to a given cause or program. Adding this mode of payment to your site provides another option for donors

Despite the benefits above, there are a few reservations about cryptocurrencies that you should know of.  It includes volatility of value in the market, tax regimes and its reliance on technology.

So should nonprofits adopt cryptocurrency in their operations? The decision depends on your organization and its views on the technology, but as you can see from the advantages above, setting up a crypto donation page doesn’t take long, will not break your organization and will accommodate tech-savvy donor base.

Sources

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2018/05/01/what-you-need-to-know-about-using-cryptocurrency-in-your-nonprofit/#312719e061b7

https://www.philanthropy.com/specialreport/cryptocurrency-and-nonprofits/187

http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/cryptocurrency/

The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) raises money for the life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) through an annual two-day bike-a-thon that crosses 192 miles of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  In 2018, the PMC raised $56 million. We take pride in our unique model in which 100 percent of all rider-raised donations go directly to DFCI. For this reason, we sought out a way to continue improve upon donation management in an efficient, cost-effective and timely manner.

Unsurprisingly, nonprofits face many of the same challenges as for-profit businesses— from meeting financial goals (i.e. fundraising), growing and scaling operations, increasing marketing and brand awareness to providing high-quality services, all with very limited resources.  At the PMC, we have always leveraged technology to combat these challenges, not only to help improve the processing of received donations, but more importantly to enhance the overall experience of our riders.  

The challenge with check processing

After reviewing our processes and focusing specifically on how we take in donations, we found a large efficiency gap in how we process check donations. About one-third of donations come in via check, and the procedure to submit checks was multi-step and time-consuming.

Riders needed to include their rider ID-number on the physical checks and then mail them to PMC (often after holding on to them for days, weeks or even months). Once PMC’s lockbox provider receives the envelopes, our check processing workflow was just as time-consuming: we physically had open each envelope, credit each check donation to the applicable rider fundraising commitment and finally, scan the checks for deposit at our bank. This process can be expensive, time consuming and inconvenient for both the rider/fundraiser and the PMC.

However, processing checks remains a necessity, because many of our generous donations come in this form, and it is in everyone’s interest to keep that as an available option. It was evident, however, that there was room for improvement and streamlining the process.  

Turning to mobile deposit

To streamline the process, PMC deployed Mobile Deposit® from Mitek, which is the same solution used by more than 6,100 banks and financial institutions in North America, but not yet widely used in the nonprofit world. By integrating this technology into our app, we were able to improve the method of both submitting check donations and processing them. On the rider side, participants can use the same convenient technology that they are accustomed to from personal banking, eliminating time spent mailing checks or the chances of a donation check getting lost. Riders can deposit checks directly via their smart phone and receive an immediate notification that donation has been accepted and they are one donation closer to their fundraising goal.

For the PMC, the time spent processing physical checks is greatly reduced freeing up staff to focus on other high-level projects. After implementing Mitek’s Mobile Deposit solution, PMC realized a 29 percent reduction in the cost of processing checks versus traditional means and expects to substantially extend those savings as the solution is more broadly used by riders.

The future of fundraising

It is easy for companies to rely on legacy systems by default to avoid time or costs spent in getting innovative technological solutions up and running.  However, deploying Mobile Deposit as a targeted solution for one of our most challenging processes not only streamlined the task for all parties, but cut costs. Most importantly, however, it has strengthened PMC’s relationship with our riders because we’ve invested in making their experience better overall. For those who so willingly give their time, talents, money and passion to help DFCI save lives, the presence of a check should not make it more difficult to give. With this new improvement, collecting and depositing any and all donations will be the satisfying experiences that they ought to be.

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David Hellman is a 27-year PMC alumnus, first riding in 1990. At that time he was living in Steamboat Springs Colorado. Over the next ten years David's career took him from Steamboat Springs to Durango, CO and then Chicago. During his tenure in Colorado he was Director of Information Systems & Administrative Services at the Steamboat Ski Resort. He went on to become Vice President of Commercial Operations at Durango Mountain Resort in Durango Colorado. David's expertise with technology and customer service operations is evident in the way our riders and volunteers can now use the PMC website and MyPMC to manage their fundraising and logistics.

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.

Understanding your cash position isn’t just important for ‘for-profit’ companies, nonprofits need to understand and utilize their cash flow too. However, many nonprofit accounting packages don’t put that information front and center.

In fact, for small nonprofits cash flow is probably the most important thing. With Xero accounting software, nonprofits can have a quick and easy visualization of their cash flow. While this package is not robust enough to support a large scale nonprofit, it can help smaller organizations get a handle on their cash flow.

The dashboard has different charts and graphs that can be used to express your nonprofits’ cash position.

The Xero dashboard allows you to monitor all your bank accounts, including accounts with online payment services such as Paypal.

Xero is cloud based so it is easy to share with various financial team members. You can customize access for various positions, and you can collaborate in real-time.

In addition to monitoring cash position, the package contains a payroll module, bank reconciliation module and The package allows you to run payroll, prepare bank reconciliations, pay bills and create purchase orders.

Xero offers tiered pricing that depends on what features you select and the size of your organization.

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

Sight Savers America worked with local schools to bring assistive technology to their classrooms, reports Valley Town Crier. The nonprofit donated several  CCTVs that will help students complete schoolwork and perform everyday tasks.

 

Read the article on Valley Town Crier

According to Ensia, Conservation International is participating as a partner in the tech accelerator, Elemental Excelerator, to harness the power of Silicon Valley to bring about new technology to help save the planet. 

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According to EdSurge, project Education Super Highway is almost complete.  The project’s goal was to connect 99 percent of K-12 students to high-speed broadband, which the project is nearly accomplished.

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