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HBH client, Opportunity Manor gets new digs!
January 27, 2012 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Congratulations to CEO Regan Stommes, Executive Assistant Natalie Ethan and the OMI board, staff and volunteers on the move to your brand new facility!
Opportunity Manor, Inc. (OMI) helps people in Central Minnesota to live independent lives through a number of excellent programs including: residential housing, memory loss day program, behavioral consulting and activities and recreation for people facing challenges and most recently, an MS program. They’ve existed since 1980 with a focus on assuring the full participation of individuals with developmental disabilities in all aspects of community life.
The new facility will allow OMI to serve an even greater number of clients and will enhance the quality of programming available.
For more information on OMI’s programming, or to volunteer, visit their website or find them on Facebook.
Again, congratulations on the big move. The new space is beautiful!
~Katrina & Bob
Facebook closing in on 1 billion users
January 16, 2012 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Mashable announced last week that Facebook is projected to reach 1 billion users by August 2012 according to Gregory Lyons, a senior analyst at icrossing. That’s 1/7 of humanity.
According to the Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report released by NTen, Common Knowledge and Blackbaud, Facebook is the most popular platform for sparking conversations and inspiring support in the charity world. According to the report, 89% of nonprofits are using Facebook.
So, that’s great that 89% of nonprofits are using Facebook. But how many of them are using it effectively? While spending more time on Facebook than I care to admit, I’ve uncovered a number of unsettling trends that can seriously stunt a nonprofit’s social reach.
Among the top include:
- Posting information completely unrelated to your charity or the world that you work in. If you are an animal rights organization, don’t share the latest story on CNN World News. Use your page to tell stories and invite conversations about the work you do.
- Posting more than one or two status updates per day. If you show up too often in a user’s news feed, they simply have to click the “hide” button to ignore you. Don’t risk it by posting too often.
- Posting too infrequently. Aim for posting interesting, relevant content at least once per week.
- Starting a Facebook page as an individual that has to “approve” friend requests, rather than an organization that a user can easily “like.”
Make sure the admin you’ve assigned to manage your cause’s Facebook page has a general understanding of how the platform works. Usually the best way to do this is to research and take note of strategies that other groups are using that appear to work well. Once you have a good handle on what works, then it is time to develop a social media content calendar.
For inspiration, check out some of our world’s top charities and how they’re effectively using social media. Sure, they have big budgets but that doesn’t mean you can’t borrow an idea or two.
Also remember to strive for diversity in your postings to keep info fresh and interesting. Check out Visual Arts Minnesota’s page for an example of this. They use Facebook to thank volunteers, announce events, poll their supporters, encourage giving and showcase art among many other things.
Finally, if you’re interested in how to harness the power of social media for your organization (and frankly, why wouldn’t you be?), check out Beth Kanter’s Blog, a leading authority on social media and nonprofits.
What good ideas have you seen that you can you build upon to enhance your Facebook presence? We’d love to hear from you!
~Katrina
2012 MN Foundation Outlook Partly Sunny
January 10, 2012 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Today the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) released its annual Minnesota Grantmakers Outlook Report for 2012. The results? Grantmakers expect relatively stable giving in 2012. The majority expect to remain flat or increase by one percent. The report was developed based on survey responses from 104 Minnesota grantmakers, which represent seventy six percent of grantmakers in the state.
Key findings from the report include:
• Giving by the largest grantmakers – those that give more than $10 million annually – is estimated to remain relatively flat in 2012.
• Many foundations anticipate that assets will rise in 2012: 45 percent expect their assets to increase, while 39 percent predict they will stay the same. Most grantmakers who expect higher assets forecast increases to be less than 5 percent.
• A strong majority (70 percent) of grantmakers expects to continue with current grantmaking priorities and programs in 2012, compared with 61 percent in 2011 versus 2010, as reported in MCF’s 2011 Outlook Report.
• Twenty-three of 77 education funders surveyed predict they will increase their giving to education in 2012. Arts, culture, and humanities is the only subject area to which more grantmakers expect to decrease funding than plan to increase it.
What does this data mean for your cause? With more and more organizations looking to diversify their funding streams by seeking out grants from private donors, the grants environment remains extremely competitive in Minnesota. One grantmaker quoted in the report shared: “The demands on our grantmaking funds continue to increase…..the decisions become more and more difficult.”
Stay tuned to this blog for grant writing tips that will give your proposal the competitive edge so you can focus on what’s important: your mission.
-Katrina
Project New Year: Get Organized!
January 2, 2012 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Let’s face it. Sometimes life gets out of hand. Loads of work pile up on your desk, loads of laundry at home. It doesn’t take long before you feel overwhelmed with professional and personal obligations. I’m not an organized person by nature. In fact, my aunt gifted new bed linens to me over the holidays and mentioned that they may have to be ironed. I laughed. I never have, or intend to iron bed linens in my lifetime. I have three junk drawers in my kitchen. But that’s besides the point. Fundraising is a grueling occupation and I’ve learned how much a difference a little bit of time on the front end can make.
Investing your time and energy into organizing your fundraising efforts will give you peace of mind at work, and while I can’t promise it will take away those nagging “right before you fall asleep panics,” it will make you more effective and hopefully quell your anxiety some while you are away from the office.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way that, if put into practice, will save you time and sanity.
- Choose a time/appointment management system and stick to it. And don’t feel pressured to use an electronic calendar. Find one that works for you. I use Entourage for Apple. My colleague Bob recently switched from his high-tech i-Phone app back to a paper pocket calendar.
- Put together two grant calendars for the year. One for grant submissions and the other for reports due. Make sure to include deadlines.
- Print, copy and file all of your organization’s supporting documents such as your IRS determination letter, by-laws, 990, board lists, etc. Print them and file them into their own folders. That way, the next time you’re putting together a grant proposal last minute, you can pull together an appendix with ease!
- Get it in writing. Put together a calendar for fundraising and communications activities for the year. While you may think you have it all in your head, you’ll quickly find out that putting it in writing will ease your tension and help others on your team get on board with your plan for the year!
- Clear off your desk every Friday so you return to a fresh, clean start on Monday morning.
- Use a visual display board, whether it is a chalkboard or cork board to write motivational statements that will keep you going throughout the week.
- Finally, when you begin feeling overwhelmed, find a way to relax. Go for a short walk. Do a breathing exercise. Use aromatherapy. Experiment with what works best. We are all more productive and accurate when we feel relaxed and in control.
Resolve to be more organized in 2012. Do it for yourself. Do it for your colleagues. Do it for your family. Just do it!
What methods of organizations work well for you at the office?
Cheers,
~Katrina
Year-end online giving. Are you ready?
December 27, 2011 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Did you know that almost a quarter of all online gifts are made during the last two days of the year?
While e-mail solicitation has yet to replace mail solicitation, it is gaining ground and serves as a great reminder to donors to remember your organization in their year end giving.
Last December, we brought you “5 ways to increase online giving before the new year.” Since they are still relevant today, we thought we’d bring them back with a few added bonus tips.
Here are 5 activities you should do now to ramp up your fundraising efforts over the next 4 days.
- Test your system. Make sure giving online to your organization is seamless and easy.
- Send an e-mail to your donor base today reminding them why they support you and that time is running out to make a year-end gift. Make it short and sweet. Inform them of your goal. Send another e-mail on the 30th.
- Ask your board to forward the e-mail on to their friends.
- Update your web homepage or landing page with a specific call to action to donate. Check out Minnesota Public Radio for a good example of this.
- Update your blog to include a story about a client you’ve served. Post the blog on your Facebook page (if your nonprofit doesn’t have one, post one to your personal page…also remember to share it with your friends).
And a few more for good measure:
- Add a video to your webpage and social media platforms even if its just a 2-minute vignette shot with your i-Phone.
- Personalize your GiveMN page. The folks at GiveMN have made it easy! Add photos, a video and a story that illustrates the impact of your work.
- Tell donors exactly where their money will be going. Either solicit for a specific project or show how a general donation will make a difference.
Finally, staff the office on December 30 and 31. Not everyone is comfortable giving online yet and may call in with a donation or transfer of stock. It is painful to imagine a ringing phone in a dark office on the biggest giving days of the year.
From all of us at HBH Consultants, cheers to you and yours for a healthy and successful 2012!
~ Katrina
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