Nonprofit Radio for July 22, 2011: The CEO as Fundraising MVP & The Fine Art of Conversion

Big Nonprofit Ideas for the Other 95%

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Here is the link to the podcast: 051: The CEO as Fundraising MVP & The Fine Art of Conversion.

Tony’s Guests:

Mindy Duitz
Karen Pearl

Mindy Duitz & Karen Pearl: The CEO as Fundraising MVP

Two chief executives, Mindy Duitz at Learning Leaders and Karen Pearl at God’s Love We Deliver, reveal their insights on how to motivate, engage and position your CEO to be a fundraising MVP.

Interviewing Scott Barnett at Fund Raising Day NY

Scott Barnett: The Fine Art of Conversion

Don’t be afraid of analytics. Tools like Google Analytics can help you convert website visitors into online donors, and help you engage younger prospects who become donors. My guest, Scott Barnett, is director of web communications for Fairfield University.

 

 

 


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Hello and welcome to the show. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio. I’m your aptly named host it’s friday, july twenty second, two thousand eleven we’re always talking about big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. I hope you were with me last week when we had cool collaborations and intelligently engaging generations x and y first, sandra lam and i talked about mergers, partnerships, collaborations and acquisitions. When should your board be talking about thes, and how do you execute them? Later? We had leslie goldman and casey rotter from the us fund for unicef, sharing their expertise in cultivating your next generation of donors, engaging twenty one to forty year olds this week, i have two interviews again from fund-raising day, the association of fund-raising professionals conference in new york city, which was this past june first, the ceo as fund-raising m v p for those of you who don’t know baseball that’s most valuable player like me, i had to look that up. Mindy dietz and karen pearl, they’re both non-profit chief executives, and they reveal their insights on how to motivate, engage and position your ceo to be a fund-raising m v p and i assume you know what ceo stands for, then the fine art of conversation, of conversion, the fine art of conversion don’t be afraid of analytics tools like google analytics can help you convert website visitors into online donors and help you engage younger prospects who later become donors. My guest is scott barnett and he’s, the director of web communications for fairfield university. In between those two interviews, of course it’s tony’s, take two this month is our one year anniversary. All this month celebrating, we’ve got two new regular contributors in law and prospect research joining me actually two contributors in law starting later this month and then a contributor in prospect research starting in august. I’ll talk about those and i was on tv this week. We’ve consumer reporter esa aaron’s, we were talking about the irs revocation of tax exempt status list. Ah, and i also did a bit of stand up comedy this week, so tony’s take two, maybe more like tony’s take three or four, but it’ll definitely be around thirty two minutes into the hour and that will all be on tony’s take two right now we take a break and then when we come back the ceo as fund-raising m v p hyre you’re listening to the talking alternative network. Duitz are you suffering from aches and pains? Has traditional medicine let you down? Are you tired of taking toxic medications, then come to the double diamond wellness center and learn how our natural methods can help you, too? He’ll call us now at to one to seven to one eight, one eight, three that’s two one two, seven to one eight, one eight, three or find us on the web at www dot double diamond wellness dot com. We look forward to serving you. Is your marriage in trouble? Are you considering divorce? Hello, i’m lawrence bloom, a family law attorney in new york and new jersey, sick. No one is happier than the day their divorce is final. My firm can help you. We take the nasty out of the divorce process and make people happy. Police call a set to one, two, nine six four three five zero two for a free consultation. That’s lawrence h bloom two, one two, nine, six, four, three five zero two. We make people happy. Dahna hey, all you crazy listeners looking to boost your business? Why not advertise on talking alternative with very reasonable rates? Interested simply email at info at talking alternative dot com welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage of fund-raising day two thousand eleven with the new york city marriott marquis in times square. My guest now are mindy dietz, president of learning leaders, and karen pearl, president and ceo of god’s love we deliver, ladies welcome great to be here. Thank you very much. Pleasure to have you your fund-raising topic you’re fund-raising seminar topic is the ceo as fund-raising m v p now, just a couple of minutes ago, i was talking to three, three people, three guests, about motivating they’re bored to cultivate major gifts, and we’ll talk about that bored relationship with the ceo. But, karen, what? What are the key elements of the ceo as fund-raising most valuable player? I would say that the key element is that so many of our donors actually want to meet the ceo, get to know the ceo. And so the there’s a partnership between the board, the ceo and the development team to make sure that the ceo knows who they’re about to meet, what they’re going to talk about and is ready because if the ceo is ready, that’s the best leverage that you khun get okay, ready? And willing, ready and willing. Okay, maybe we’ll talk about the unwilling ceo back-up. I’m sorry, leslie, why don’t you? What would you like, tio? Sort of sorry, mindy. Mindy, what would you like to open with around the ceo as most valuable player for fund-raising? Well, i i would echo what karen just said, and i think the key to all of fund-raising and all of these things is relationships that i think that the ceo has to be the person who manages up the person who manages down from donors to board and really forms i kind of ahh whole chain of people having faith in each other because people do invest in people as well as organization. And so i was really primarily i think, who we all are and who we represent in terms of the organizations and mindy, how does the ceo sort of set the culture of fund-raising for the rest of the organization, we’ll we’ll be talking about their individual role with respect directly with donors, but how did they set a culture of fund-raising throughout the organization for the others? I think we, you know, we all know what they have to explain that every single member of staff and every boardmember absolutely are part of the fund-raising team, we’re all selling something we don’t like to maybe use that terminology, but we are the spokespeople where the practitioners where the deliverers and we have to care and we have to have passion and i think what distinguishes all of us as non-profits is the passion for what we do and that’s what makes us able and all be part of fund-raising but what is the ceo need to do? Teo teo, race everybody else well, we need to be the chief cheerleader. We need to be the person who keeps reminding everyone about the value of the work. I mean, what we really selling is something very important depending on the mission of our organization. So i think the ceo really has to be the person who could articulate it and also inspire people to go out and help sell it. And karen, as we just mentioned a second ago, i said, you know, willingness there has to be that willingness in order for the c e o to convey the same enthusiasm to the rest of the organization without question. And the ceo has to be willing and i what we talk a lot. About it, god’s love we deliver is that each of us has a very special role as an ambassador, and it doesn’t matter whether we’re being the ambassador directly with clients. The ambassador with our volunteers, ambassador with our donors, but way worked very hard to make sure that all of our staff are prepared to to play that role, to know enough about god’s love some key talking points to be able to talk the sunday dinner with family or at the ball field sitting with their friends, and i think that does come very much from the leadership if the leadership of the organization is comfortable fund-raising and helps people understand there very special role in that that filters down into the culture and people really enjoy it. They really like it. Some of us are staff for some of our best fundraisers. Is it possible, karin, for youto say, how much of your time is devoted to fund-raising some ceos will say one hundred percent right it’s, not a hundred percent. Everything i do is really fund-raising you know yes, you could say that, but i think the heart of your question is how often am i? Actually, either meeting with the development team meeting with the board meeting with donors on i would say that’s probably half of my time. Okay, okay. Mindy, do you have advice for boards as they’re hiring a ceo around, making sure that they get a ceo who’s able and willing to do all the things that you you described earlier and be that passionate fundraiser? I mean, the single most important thing that a board of any organization does is hyre their ceo and it’s got to be a fit, and that sounds kind of trite, but it has to be fit with them because in a way, they’re looking for someone to champion their cause and give them direction. I mean, the ceo is not the chairman of the board, but has to be with the chairman, a leader and a partner. So i think the hiring is really about looking for a match and there’s no one definition of that it’s got to be the culture of the organization, the goals of the organization, the level the organization is at, you know, a startup is looking for one kind of person. A very established organization looks for different. Level so it’s, knowing where you’re at, the board needs to know where the organizations that and what’s the match for that level, you know, i don’t want to pursue this little bit more about the hiring of the ceo. Do you like to see people within the organization interviewing potential ceo candidates? You mean, like the staff? Yeah, i think it is absolutely the board’s decision. I don’t think the board should ask the permission of the staff. Frankly, i think a smart candidate will ask to meet the key staff to see who they are to see what they’re saying. And so i think it’s an important thing, to have an interaction and to get a real feel so that, you know the ceo themselves has a taste of what the organization is and can even turn to the board and say, well, this is what i see, and perhaps the culture needs to go one way or the other. And are you going to be with me on that? E-giving didn’t think the tubing getting ding, ding, ding ding you’re listening to the talking alternative network to get you thinking duitz things cubine are you stuck in your business or career trying to take your business to the next level, and it keeps hitting a wall? This is sam liebowitz, the conscious consultant. I will help you get to the root cause of your abundance issues and help move you forward in your life. Call me now and let’s. Create the future you dream of. Two, one, two, seven, two, one, eight, one, eight, three, that’s to one to seven to one, eight one eight three. The conscious consultant helping conscious people. Be better business people. Oppcoll are you feeling overwhelmed in the current chaos of our changing times? A deeper understanding of authentic astrology can uncover solutions in every area of life. After all, metaphysics is just quantum physics, politically expressed hi and montgomery taylor and i offer lectures, seminars and private consultations. For more information, contact me at monte m o nt y at r l j media. Dot com looking to meet mr and mrs wright, but still haven’t found the one. Want to make your car relationship as fulfilling as possible? Then please join us, starting monday, may second at ten am for love in the morning with morning alison as a professional matchmaker, i’ve seen it all. Please tune in and call as we discuss dating relationship and more. Start your week off with love in the morning with marnie alison on talking alternative dot com. Talking alternative radio twenty four hours a day. Karen earlier you suggested about thie i just forgot what i was going to ask you about the willingness of the ceo. Now we’ll have to skip that because when i come back, then i think the question about hiring the ceo, the one of the thing that i would say is that when boards goto hyre ceo, they themselves are the in some ways the organization’s key donors, and they can very quickly judged by their own reaction whether they think the person who’s sitting in front of them has vision, has passion, can communicate it because what they’re seeing in that interview process is what donors will say. Of course, in an interview, you’re not going to know the organization as well, or and there will be a learning curve, but bored should put themselves not only in the role of the governance leader, but also in the role of the of the donor and say, is this somebody who i see is the face of this organization, who i feel comfortable putting out there, you might be happy being the front person, you know what i was going to ask you is you had alluded to donors. Wanting to see the ceo now, how do you manage over exposure so that the ceo, i don’t think, shouldn’t be brought in for every obviously for every donor meeting? How do you decide when it’s appropriate and for which donors? The meeting for the ceo is right? I’m we’re time not an issue. I would say that your premise that the ceo should be brought in for every donor is not so because i do think that every donor is entitled to know the organization and know the leadership time sometimes is an issue, so what we do it god’s love is that we do some combination of donors, meetings that are one on one and other other donor meetings that might be a group of people who come in. So we’re now in a siri’s of coffee with the ceo so i can sit and talk with a number of people at the same time, so we try very hard to be as connected and not just connected to me, though that’s. The other key is that they want to meet the ceo, but the ceo doesn’t have to be there only relationship with the organization there are board members, there are other donors, their staff, particularly the development staff, and we share that, yeah, that’s going to play at all levels. There should be no donor who only knows one member of the staff, right, including those including those people who are receiving your services. Don’t you want to broaden no, the knowledge base of the the recipients, right, right. We’re benefitting right? Well, mostly what we care about, because that god’s love we’re dealing with people who are really sick, and so when they need to connect with us, we want them to make that connection. We don’t want them tow. Have tio hang on the phone for a long time, get a call back they could be napping by the call comes back, so for us, it’s, like call anybody. We have a lot of general numbers so that people can. Our clients can get to us really without fuss. Karen what’s, the part of fund-raising that you dislike the most. I don’t know there isn’t really one that i just i guess the thing that i had to think about, that what nobody’s ever done it good like like, well, mindy, what do you see in your in your practice? The part that ceos perhaps struggle with the most? I think, you know, like carrot it’s so integral to the job you don’t think about liking it or not like it. I think sometimes is a part of me that just takes a deep breath and says all the energy and all the time and money that goes into raising money. There are moments when you wish you could be using that more to be delivered your service, but it’s kind of integral to the work, and it is rewarding because it’s europe opportunity to have people invested in what you’re doing. But is there something that you see ceo struggle with more than than others are maybe it’s identifying or speaking in large groups or meeting in individual meetings? I think the nature of being a ceo is that you need to be comfortable with all of those modes, and what might be a struggle is if it’s really not you. If it’s not, you’re fit, you could be quiet at it. You could be loud at it. You could be exuberant. You could have your own style. Think i think for all work. It’s got to be a match. Okay, i’m with mindy dietz, president of learning leaders, and karen pearl, president and ceo of god’s love we deliver and you’re listening to tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage of fund-raising day two thousand eleven let’s talk about the relationship with the board. The board is integral fund-raising integral member of the fund-raising team as a whole and then also as individuals. Um, karen, how do you manage that relationship with your board? As as fundraisers? It’s a really key part, i think of the ceo’s job is managing the relationship with the boards that you say as individuals and as a group, as a collective and of getting finding the right way to engage each boardmember because each has their own skills, abilities, willingness and comfort level comfort, you know, so some people are, like, great, you know, getting in there with you making an ask of somebody another one might say i’m really not comfortable with that. But i will send a letter and another might say, i’m more willing tohave people come to events with me or to buy a table or do other things. Some people are fantastic spokespeople, and they don’t really want to do fund-raising so i think a riel art is getting the best of each of your board members and as a collective getting the skill set that you need to really advance the organization in fund-raising sing, but in lots of different areas, and how do you assess what each board members strengths and weaknesses are? Is there some kind of formal assessment, or is it really just you getting to know them and understanding that way? That process starts way back in the recruitment process for new board members in terms of why’re they being recommended, what is their formal resume? And then what is there in formal resume? Because a lot of people have skills that, like, they might be a coach and if somebody’s a coach on the side that speaks to how they might work in a group on your board so it’s getting to know them through the recruitment process and then ultimately spending some time with board members, once they’re on the board to talk about that and to nurture them, we have somebody in our board right now who promised us he would never do an ounce of fund-raising and he’s now like out there, getting his friends involved, calling people asking that takes time, and so where they start may not be where they end up after your two of service mini. And in your practice, do you use much formal assessment of board members, may be assessing each other or certainly at least themselves. I’ve had experiences with both. I think it’s actually very healthy to do formal assessment, but it depends again at the point, the board is that where the organization is that in i said in the beginning of this conversation that all this is about relationships and managing them. And i think boards need to self assess. And i need to say how we doing and how’s our mix and what is it we need more of? And that could be that’s sometimes good to do formally. Maybe they need a workshop. Maybe there are those people who want to practice. Most importantly, it’s a one on one relationship to building their strengths and the formality, i think, just gets the conversation started. What about the training of board members for fund-raising that i’m imagine that probie starts in the recruitment process, also setting expectation, but let’s talk generally about the think that its friends, whether it’s a new boardmember who’s never been ever a boardmember or a very experienced one. You know, some people come to you with a lot already, i’ve we often have formal training sessions that there’s a campaign we’re going to meet. We’re going over the goals and even role playing so it could be very formal and specific or coming to conferences like this. Conferences are a great way to bring a boardmember into a professional setting to realize they’re connected to a much broader world. It’s, not just their organization, that there’s resource is that it also inspires that they feel very proud. You know? Karen looked like you were nodding and suggesting you want to say something around setting the board members expectations at the recruitment stage around fund-raising i think it’s very important to do that very important before you as you offering them aboard position to make. Sure, they understand that, and then to keep working and doing training and four every time you ask a boardmember to help is another opportunity to advance what they know in their comfort level. So something is simple. One of the things we’re about to have a big fund-raising about van next saturday night, and our board members will have the names of two people we really want them to connect with and a little cheat sheet that’ll fit like in their shirt pocket that has the two or three things we really want them to talk about with that person, so they feel like when they come over and they say hi, tony, i hope you’re having a good time tonight that if the person’s not really chatty, they know what to follow up with, and that gives him a great comfort level. And again, they become fantastic ambassadors because in a party, we’re not asking them to fundraise per se, we’re asking them to friend race that’s a great example, i think, of giving ah boardmember overy manageable goal at the meet at this is large event we’d like you to meet these two people. That’s, right? No. That’s, right? And then we set up staff to make sure that the staff is on the lookout for those two people. And that one boardmember to make sure that they find each other right there where they can feel successful. It’s one thing to get a gift, get a grant, but there’s so many steps along the way and giving very specific direction and, you know, something like a real job at this event, it just makes people feel really good. You know, mindy, how do you like to see ceos prepare for a meeting with a donor? Doesn’t necessarily have to be a solicitation. Could be. But how do you like to see them prepare for meeting with a major donor? Well, i always like to be fully briefed by my development staff. Or it might be a boardmember who knows this donor’s? Well, i like to know everything. I like to know their professional background. Other organizations were involved with kind of a nice profile research. And then we like we sit. I like to talk to a couple of people. The organization think. Well, given this person’s background, you know how? What are the parts of? Our organization or work that we think of the strongest and just really go in briefed and at the same time be wide open to going in another direction because you really don’t know and people start talking what you’re going. I’ve gone in thinking one and ended up discussing, you know, climbing mountains in nepal because that’s something we found together and that brought us into the conversation that’s great when i was when i was as a plan giving director at a couple of colleges, i would look for things in the office that would make a connection, whether it was, uh, well, i’m not too much of a sports guy, so but i had to sort of hold my own in sport because i don’t really know much about it, but lots of guys do. So if i see a sailboat and i need to know where you know, where is it, you know, looking for that connection that you’re talking about. Mindy yeah, because as you said several minutes ago, people give to people right? And they love your work, but that connection with the person critical. Karen, how do you like to prepare for your for your meetings, let’s say it is a solicitor. I broke my voice broke again, you know, because in the last interview says that we’re talking about sixteen to forty year olds, so i think i’m going back to puberty. My voice just cracked. Sorry. How do you like to prepare let’s say it is a solicitation you’re asking from someone for ah, mid six figures gift. How do you like to prepare for that meeting? Well, i would add mindy’s whole list i would add to that they’re giving history with us potentially they’re giving history with others so that we have a sense of whether we’re asking them for the biggest gift they’ve ever given or not the biggest gift they’ve ever given, because that depends on their willingness, their capability and their potential eagerness. And then i now in my career that i can sort of go with that earlier on in my career, i liked to practice, i actually like to sit down and practice asking because until you mike’s, we do a role play with a staff member with a development person board the boardmember for the two of if it’s a boardmember and myself for six figure gift, we would might go with two people. We need to sit down so we know who’s going to do because usually sometimes you run the risk it’s a great meeting your back and forth and then, like you’re looking each other, like who’s going to ask so everybody’s role needs to be very clearly defined. And i think you need to practice saying the words, and i’m hoping that you will consider a gift of whatever number you’ve planned on two the organization and until you can actually get those words out of your mouth, and the best way to do that is practice it so often that it’s a sentence like anything else, it will become second nature. You know, that’s, the ceo is fund-raising m v p i’ve been with mindy dietz, president of learning leaders, and karen pearl, president and ceo of god’s love. We deliver ladies, thank you very much for joining me in the things this is tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage of fund-raising day two thousand eleven. You’re listening to the talking alternative network. Are you feeling overwhelmed in the current chaos of our changing times? A deeper understanding of authentic astrology can uncover solutions in every area of life. After all, metaphysics is just quantum physics politically expressed. I am montgomery taylor, and i offer lectures, seminars and private consultations. For more information, contact me at monte m o nt y at r l j media. Dot com oppcoll are you stuck in your business or career trying to take your business to the next level, and it keeps hitting a wall? This is sam liebowitz, the conscious consultant. I will help you get to the root cause of your abundance issues and help move you forward in your life. Call me now and let’s. Create the future you dream of. Two, one, two, seven, two, one, eight, one, eight, three, that’s to one to seven to one, eight one eight three. The conscious consultant helping conscious people. Be better business people. Hey, all you crazy listeners looking to boost your business? Why not advertise on talking alternative with very reasonable rates? Interested simply email at info at talking alternative dot com. I’m ken berger of charity navigator, and you’re listening to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. Welcome back, it’s time now for tony’s take to this month is our one year anniversary. In fact, this show is show number fifty one, so fifty two weeks next week will be shown number fifty two, who fifty one shows this is it, sam gives upload that’s the vast audience that’s sam, our producer. So later this month on the the only show remaining this month, next friday, the twenty ninth we’re bringing on to new contributors both talking about law that will be jean takagi and emily chan. Their law firm is the non-profit and exempt organizations law firm or neo ennio. They’re based in san francisco. Gene is the publisher of the non-profit law blawg, which you’ll find it non-profit law blawg, dot com and emily chan works for him and is a contributor to that blogged. They’ll be joining me next week and then in august on august twelfth, i’ll be welcoming maria simple. She is the prospect finder, and she’ll be a regular contributor on prospect research for your non-profit she’s, a popular speaker and also a consultant in that area. I was on tv this week with esa aaron’s he’s, the consumer reporter for new york, one news his segments in the eleven o’clock news they’re called consumerwatch, and he and i were talking about the irs is automatic revocation list that list of two hundred seventy five thousand non-profits in the country that have lost their tax exempt status automatically. We talk about what that meant for donors to those charities and also for the charity’s themselves, and that was on time warner cable. That was tuesday. No, that was monday night on time warner cable, but i’ll have a link on my block, probably by the time this show is is airing the b link on my block and you can find it there. The post is called i’m on tv with a psa aarons, my block, of course at m p g a d v dot com and also this week i did stand up comedy at gotham comedy club that was a wednesday night show. I was part of a new talent show and the video for that will be on my blog’s soon, not this week, but shortly when i get the video, i will. Certainly put it up there, it was great fun and people did laugh, so it was a success because it was a comedy club, after all, and so that’s cool, this is year number one very exciting on very happy to be welcoming those those three experts as regular contributors and that’s tony’s take two for friday, july twenty second. It’s time now for my conversation with scott barnett talking about the fine art of conversion pre recorded at fund-raising day in new york city back in june. Welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage of fund-raising day two thousand eleven, we’re at the marriott marquis in new york city. My guest right now is scott barnett and scott’s conversating scots seminar topic is the art of conversion got his director of web communications at fairfield university and has a diverse, extensive background, both academia and business again the art of conversion scott barnett welcome to the show. Thank you, tony, for having me your conversion what we converting well website users into donors in this case, or visitors or sales or people that visit your site you want tohave him either tour visit, talk to you, contact you because the sites can manage and collect information on them that we can’t do with other mediums. Okay, now at fairfield university, i assume the web users are mostly alumni. Well, mostly on the admission side, forgetting students for this is the admissions of the things that make things go around. Are basically students first. Okay. And then after that, alumni and donors and the public is, well, you know, most colleges have a pretty strong athletics presences. Well, so you get a diverse set of visitors, including than your faculty and staff, that come to the site and your current students. So we’ve got to take that multitude of audiences and sort of track what they do on the site for the different purposes. And then we have clients, so to speak, in our agency model that we work with at the university that have different needs, admissions has one needs, advancement, has a different need for their users, and athletics has another new let’s talk about the younger people that so you have to engage seventeen year olds on the seventeen, eighteen year old earlier than that, actually. Okay, how early is thirteen? Which reality? By law, you can’t collect information about anyone under the age of thirteen anyways, online, but and that’s the copper act. Okay, we basically and let’s not let’s be clear here. People were not collecting information about you. Tony martin martignetti too old. Yes. If you’re not interested in somebody there’s not anything personal about you until you give that up. Meaning fill out a form or or our donate or do something that actually collects that information. But the mere act of visiting the site and moving around through the site is anonymous other than by i p address on other information that then is gleaned from that i p address. But khun tell the generally the part of the country you’re from the provider that you came through and that information’s helpful. But we really want to know is where did you go? On the site. When did you leave us? Did you make it to the point on the site where we wanted you to? So you set up goals and you try to convert them to finish those gold. Okay, we’ll get we’ll get to that part once they get to their. But how about engaging let’s? Talk about the sixteen tio, eighteen year olds. How are you attracting them, too? Fairfield allusions that’s the magic ball. Okay, we’ll share some shares. We presently just put up a very interesting online tour. Now. Everybody’s got their online tour in the college business and it’s usually a state and proper voiceover narration. Nice voice like yours or someone speaking about all the beautiful pictures and great academics and great athletics and all the other things we have and we’ve got a lot of that on the site, but we decided to make a tour that really spoke socially from the students to the students. So through the eyes of a student, we created a siri’s of videos of them waking up in the morning, going a class a typical day in the life. Okay, so so the lesson is and tell me if i’m oversimplifying, but you’re attracting people of a certain age by using people close to that age. Oh, sure tracked them. We, while we want to direct the campaigns that we wantto have the kind of creative ideas it’s it’s proven in today’s internet world that there’s a sort of peer-to-peer conversation going on. We see that all over and letting them speak to each other about the experience of being the student speak to other students, you know what their interests are, and whether this place is right for them. Because it’s a big decision to go to college and it’s really important for students to pick the right schools. We want him to pick us, but we also want them to be getting the right information. So the adults in the room, so to speak. I have lots of good information to put out there, but we also want them hearing information from their peers on dh that’s. Why we do things like this and believe me, it’s it’s slightly reality tv but there’s no magic buy-in the box it’s it’s segments in the day that we’ve selected arika and such but they’re presented from through the eyes of a student. And then after you have the student now at the site, how do you keep them engaged and coming back again? That let’s say sixteen to eighteen year old right seldman you know the public site on the dottie? Do you side is really a marketing vehicle to get people information about the school about our news and our events so there’s a lot of information on a one particular site of students for one one that’s really in tone and approach about them. We also created a space called fairfield live, which is a social media, a space where that we post videos have a weekly announcement video that’s done by a couple kids from the campus about what’s happening that weekend again the idea peer-to-peer conversations and try to get them coming backto find out about events both through four one one in fairfield live the potential admit e our potential applicants is brought into some systems we have where they then become a contact, you know, and in that sense, we developed them as a prospect. And that there’s a lot of communications that happened back and forth between the parents and the student and the admissions department, both in person. The biggest, best indicator for kids going to college state is their campus visit. So you really want to convert them to contacting you and showing out coming out, coming live right? I know a big part of your seminar topic is using google analytics track how you’re doing and part of what you say and the materials is don’t be afraid of mountains of data. So how? How so understanding that the audience for the show is small and midsize non-profits which fairfield may or may not fit into could be a mid sized mid size too large right in the college, right? That’s what they bite-sized so what? What’s your sort of opening advice for using google analytics and not being overwhelmed by it? Well, it has more than enough data for you to spend your time hiring people to sit there and call through data, but it’s really drilling down, tow what’s useful to you and you create goals and objectives for any piece of communications and the internet. You know what? Before we get into that, how would someone just get started with google analytics? How do you how do you find? Oh, yeah, i’ll let you get yourself a gmail account, you have that, and they they might have relaxed that, but you get a gmail account, you visit google dot com slash analytics and then you sign in and then you’ve got an account you then need to set it up for your various domains. So in our case dot e d u plus all of the sub domains, the various departments and things underneath it that we find interesting. Good that’s. Helpful. Thank you. Chart, please. So the data itself, you know, you can really really get lost in the data google analytics, but the real key is understanding. What is your goal with the particular communications? You know, everything needs a little a pitch. Okay? And what? We need to be able to use analytics to analyze that pitch what’s working in that pitch and let’s say you created three four page experience on the site. You really want to be able to follow that user and find out why is everybody leaving on the third page and not making it to our contact page and buy the data itself is not useful to you unless you analyze and react okay and create that same communication cycle we know from the business of where you have tto basically communicate, get audience feedback and then change the communications to adapt to that that’s exactly the same thing going on here except the fact is, with the internet, we really can great the success and failure of certain types of campaigns and experiences on the web by having that tracking all along the steps of the experience and i think you have very good advice, too. Your date is only as good as your use of it and your reaction to it, right? You have to tweak, and it takes a lot of training. I mean, we’ve we’ve worked with some consultants, and we ourselves have sought out a lot of good, valuable training material on google analytics so that we could understand what’s going on and that’s just my department web communications. So then we went out and took all of our account managers in our division and trained them about the reports. What does the report mean when your client comes to you and says off, tell me how many people are coming to our website and how many are visiting, you know, our department, they know howto look at the data and not get lost in the multitudes of pages that aaron, google and alex just look, create the report they needed sabelo then sit down and discuss the conversions that are going on, what steps might be taken to adapt and change the material to make it more useful to caesar. Now, first again, for a small and midsize shop. Do you think the tools that are on google analytics alone are sufficient for a charity? Tio navigate this, this melon of data was collected. Do they have to have a consultant and training well, outside what google oppcoll google has a lot of it’s own training it’s and it’s. Very good. You know, we found it necessary to speak to a consultant because we really wanted to draw out of it a lot of different things, but i think that most companies can get in and at the level that it at any level and use google’s materials to get a lot of training and know how you got to spend the time with any software and that’s really what it is. This software is a service you’ve got spend the time on training, honor it’s a waste of money. Well, in this case, it’s no money. So it doesn’t cost you anything to do google analytics except your time. Tto learn a little bit about how you can use it. And i think that that’s the key there is that the the end user, whether it’s, a mom and pop shop running a little sight, or whether it’s, a big no uber university up there, everybody’s, cost conscious. And this way you’re getting something for free. That is got a wealth, wealth of data. It’s, really, how you look down through and decide, have i created goals of it, created objectives and my following those and whether you want to know if someone from you, becca, stan, came to your site or not, you could do that, too. But you can’t be wasting your time if that’s, not your target customer. They didn’t even think that shooting getting, thinking, you’re listening to the talking alternate network e-giving. Nothing. You could. Xero looking to meet mr and mrs wright, but still haven’t found the one. Want to make your car relationship as fulfilling as possible? Then please join us, starting monday, may second at ten am for love in the morning with morning alison as a professional matchmaker, i’ve seen it all. Please tune in and call as we discuss dating relationship and more. Start your week off with love in the morning with marnie alison on talking alternative dot com. Talking alternative radio twenty four hours a day. This is tony martignetti aptly named host of tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent technology fund-raising compliance, social media, small and medium non-profits have needs in all these areas. My guests are expert in all these areas and mohr. Tony martignetti non-profit radio fridays, one to two eastern on talking alternative broadcasting do you want to enhance your company’s web presence with an eye catching and unique website design? Would you like to incorporate professional video marketing mobile marketing into your organization’s marketing campaign? Mission one on one media offers a unique marketing experience that will set you apart from your competitors, magnify your brand exposure and enhance your current marketing efforts. Their services include video production and editing, web design, graphic design photography, social media management and now introducing mobile marketing. Their motto is. We do whatever it takes to make our clients happy. Contact them today. Admission one one media dot com talking dot com. Lively conversation. Top trends, sound advice, that’s. Tony martignetti, yeah, that’s. Tony martignetti non-profit radio. And i’m travis frazier from united way of new york city, and i’m michelle walls from the us fund for unicef. No. What about the standard social media facebook twitter again? Let’s, let’s focus on you know, i knew you were going well eventually, yeah, let’s focus still on the younger like this is interesting. I don’t get many guests were talking about engaging teenagers sixteen eighteen what what’s your advice for the small non-profit around? Well, you know, again the magic bullet is facebook’s overwhelming success in the last two to three years really made it imperative that you have some presence there, but you need to manage that presence and understand that everybody knocking on your door and saying, you know, all we need to facebook page for this, we need facebook page for that for each individual campaign or something that’s, not a good use of resource is when you’re a small ship does become unmanageable, and then you end up with a bunch of stale pages. It’s a sight that people have two contribute content is king okay with all of this and look and repeated repeated continual contact right now. But what we’ve seen there is, you know, you’ve seen some good reaction to causes on this social media. When people do cause related things, they do. Well, mom, i think i think this younger audience reacts to that us is a company and larger companies that are selling products, you know, i’m not so big on the i light, yeah, nameless brand of soda here that i or something so we don’t get in trouble, but the the point being, i’m not so sure that that, but i think today’s younger set doesn’t think the way we think about, you know, in terms of brand association so it’s a little different in that with juggling act you have to do, and i think non-profits obviously, mom, the kids are into causes, they are muchmore involved group i think we may have grown up thinking we were very involved, but i i didn’t do most of my charitable work until i was out of college, but i see a group of kids now from my school on up that are very usually, you know, there’s a good percentage and they’re involved in things so that’s appealing to their nature in social media about the cause rather than the give, i think, and not being the fund-raising professional in our organization, i won’t speak two, whether that’s scientific enough, but i’m seeing the trend be that they are attracted to sites that are about the causes and then from that i’m sure you get your able to glean and pull through the conversations you create some some charitable giving and giving of time. Sometimes what you’re looking for out of that group is volunteerism. Oh yeah, cause they’re so passionate, motivated, they will give generously of their time, but they’re on it all the time. And my test lab is the fourteen and sixteen year old i have at home, okay, who spend all their time on their phone and they’re computer on facebook sometimes to my chagrin, because it’s just kind of, you know, but but if that’s what they’re doing, you know, you need to focus your communications to them and not have it be the man talking to you and that’s. Why we’ve worked on this key peer-to-peer conversations looking at ways to engage students that work for us to to to speak to them, whether it be for a cause or whether it before something like advancement or admissions over athletics. We use students all of those levels in fact, our libraries facebook site is operated by a student, yes, the powers that be in the library there and sometimes push things out to them to put out there. But the conversations that are going on that’s the important thing about facebook and twitter is making it a conversation it’s not just boom boom boom press release and say we suffer from that sometimes to put them all out there, but we also want to get in there sometimes. And for instance, we introduced this year it’s it’s off the fund-raising topic, but if at our athletics games tweeting during the games and facebook during the games because there is a core of alumni out there that follow us out there, they might be in california, they’re not listening to the internet, cass, to the game or didn’t pay for the video of the game and they’ll jump in and have a conversation with us about it, and we look at that it’s sort of being colored guys, i said, imagine yourself sitting there and we’re having a conversation about the game because that’s what we’re not doing play by play, nobody wants twitter play by play, but we have a conversation about what’s. Happening, and i think we’re going to introduce that this year two different types of events, not just athletic and i think there’s value there for the audience, so your constituents who can’t be with you can follow and they’ve chosen that medium that’s, what they’re doing to follow you so it’s almost disrespectful in some ways to not give them some content besides just pushing at um, you know, like i said, press releases and other information, my social i don’t interrupt because my social media manager is here regina walton and she is live tweeting, right? Regina, we’re live tweeting to arouse who are not this second, but we are during the day giving them the contest. Not this second. Are you finding more penetration among teenagers? At twitter? There was a time when it was forty year fifteen over i also teaching in and that marketing class not now and then on the side and last year we asked him and said, hey, how many in the room are aware twitter? And this is their kids in marketing that we’re going to go into business and three hands went up, but now you won’t have four people. In your class is no, you’re not a very popular teacher now twenty five, twenty five but, you know, doing that part time, i was able to see that they were aware of it as a medium, but to them it didn’t hold much lustre. But now i’d say, just even six months later, that was just last, you know, two semesters ago, there seems to be a great interest in our student affairs department and other areas of using twitter because the immediacy of it and the ability to do it in one hundred forty characters or less appeals to both the presenter and the receiver, and i think that once they’ve caught on to that one hundred forty by the one hundred forty, okay, well, i want to stretch it out a little bit. Are you whether you want to be shorter, you know? You want it, you know, i wish i could do it in ninety nine, where most people meet me want me to do it? Ninety nine words or less. We’re gonna leave it there. I want to thank scott barnett very much. Fairfield university for being a guest. What? Tony martignetti non-profit radio coverage. Of fund-raising day two thousand eleven at the marriott marquis scott, thank you for having me. Pleasure. That was my conversation with scott barnett from fairfield university on the fine art of conversion. I want to thank all my guests from the pre recorded interviews at fund-raising day this year, mindy dietz, karen pearl and scott that was a ll interviews from the association of fund-raising professionals, new york city chapter fund-raising day conference last june was great fun being there, and we’ll have more of those interviews for you in august next week, darien rodriguez haman we’re going to talk about his book non-profit management one oh one and the social media for non-profits conferences that he’s organizing throughout the country. My show is a media sponsor for the new york city conference on august fourth, so we’ll be doing speaker interviews there and bringing those to you and also, as i’ve said earlier today, welcoming jean takagi and emily chan to their first show, we’re going to talk about starting a non-profit preliminary question, should you? Because there are alternatives and if you do decide to start one, how do you do it? Gene is the publisher of non-profit law blogged, and emily is a frequent contributor to that site i look forward to welcoming them is regular contributors. Next week, you can keep up with all that’s coming up, especially in this anniversary year this anniversary month. Well, it’s one year, but the month is the one year anniversary. Sign up for our insider email alerts on the facebook page. Of course it’s, facebook, dot com and then the is the name of this show tony martignetti non-profit radio while you’re there, please, like us, become a fan of the show, you can subscribe and listen any time to the show on the device of your choice but that’s, computer, smartphone or tablet, go to non-profit radio dot net and that’s, our itunes paige subscribed there. The creative producer of tony martignetti non-profit radio is claire meyerhoff, our line producer and the owner of talking alternative broadcasting is sam liebowitz. Our experts. Social media is by regina walton of organic social media. This is tony martignetti non-profit radio always heard fridays one to two p m eastern right here. Talking alternative we broadcasts always on itunes hope you’ll join me next friday right here at talking alternative. Dot com. Bonem metoo you didn’t think that shooting. Good ending. You’re listening to the talking alternate network to get you thinking. E-giving good. Looking to meet mr and mrs wright but still haven’t found the one. Want to make your car relationship as fulfilling as possible? Then please join us starting monday, may second at ten am for love in the morning with morning alison as a professional matchmaker, i’ve seen it all. Please tune in and call as we discuss dating relationship and more. Start your week off with love in the morning with marty allison on talking alternative dot com. Are you suffering from aches and pains? Has traditional medicine let you down? Are you tired of taking toxic medications, then come to the double diamond wellness center and learn how our natural methods can help you to hell? Call us now at to one to seven to one eight one eight three that’s to one to seven to one eight one eight three or find us on the web at www dot double diamond wellness dot com way. Look forward to serving you. You’re listening to talking alternative network at www dot talking alternative dot com, now broadcasting twenty four hours a day. Do you want to enhance your company’s web presence with an eye catching and unique website design? Would you like to incorporate professional video marketing mobile marketing into your organization’s marketing campaign? Mission one on one media offers a unique marketing experience that will set you apart from your competitors, magnify your brand exposure and enhance your current marketing efforts. Their services include video production and editing, web design, graphic design photography, social media management and now introducing mobile marketing. Their motto is we do whatever it takes to make our clients happy contact them today. Admission one one media dot com. Is your marriage in trouble? Are you considering divorce? Hello, i’m lawrence bloom, a family law attorney in new york and new jersey. No one is happier than the day their divorce is final. 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2 thoughts on “Nonprofit Radio for July 22, 2011: The CEO as Fundraising MVP & The Fine Art of Conversion

  1. I will use your tips with much success I am sure! I am an elementary school principal and I want to help other principals get into blogging. I will point others in your direction.

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