Trends

I thought you would enjoy seeing this book review by the people over at Idea Sandbox.   Seth Godin will have a new bookout in May, “The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)”.  Looks like this book will be another huge winner for Seth. 

Why would someone write a book about quitting? We’re taught that quitting is for the weak… for losers… for those who lack moxie?

But Seth Godin’s upcoming book “The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)” is about quitting. (Seth knows controversial book topics get attention… a recent book of his was “All Marketers are Liars”)

Long story short… Seth suggests strategic quitting. Stop the stuff that’s not getting you to your long-range goal… and try another tactic.

In addition to great advice… the book is peppered with motivational quotable quotes…

Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.

…and…

Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.

The “dip” that Seth refers to is that low, challenging part experienced after the high, fun, and excitement of starting something and before the other high-point of being the best at something… “The long slog between starting and mastery.”

The Dip is the combination of bureaucracy and busywork you must deal with in order to get certified for scuba diving.The Dip is the difference between the easy “beginner” and the more useful “expert” approach in skiing or fashion design.

The Dip is the long stretch between beginner’s luck and real accomplishment.

What separates those we have heard of, those who are “great” at something from those you’ve never heard of… is survival of the dip. The difference between mediocre and remarkable!

When the pain gets so bad that you’re ready to quit you’ve set yourself up as someone with nothing to lose. And someone with nothing to lose has quite a bit of power. You can go for broke. Challenge authority. Attempt unattempted alternatives. Lean into the problem; lean so far that you might just lean right through it.

To be successful focus on the long-term strategy… your big goal. Work through this hard part… the dip… even if you need to modify your short-term strategy.

I’d recommend a companion book to Seth’s “Dip” especially if you’re finding yourself a bit bogged down in your own dip experience… “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles” by Steven Pressfield.

The Dip is under 90 page long, yet chock-full of inspiring advice.

Idea Sandbox recommends it

I read a press release today announcing ten trends taken from Next Now: Trends for the Future, the latest book from Trendspotters Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia.  For entire list, follow the link above or click on the “More” link below.  I’ve cherry-picked the few trends that relate most directly to our industry. 

The trend most getting my attention is:  “Single Minded Ethics.”  Why?  Well, any trend related to our industry is fairly historic, important, and implicative.  I trust that anyone (high-profile celeb or not) choosing to “pursue change vigorously” will do so in ways that accomplish our long-term fundraising objectives.  Thoughtful fundraising marketing efforts strive to more fully engage donors, create long lasting relationships, and foster deep ties to organizational mission.

Trends for 2007 (abridged version):

SHADES OF GREEN: As environmental responsibility becomes a prerequisite for corporations, companies will battle to become the greenest in their respective categories. Think BP or Toyota, whose hybrid vehicles have given the company gold-star status. Some companies will seek to stand out by promoting a particular cause or natural resource. Bonus points will go to businesses that help consumers understand environmental issues and offer smart, easy ways to make a difference. At gepower.com, for instance, GE explains its energy-saving initiatives. For those companies that don’t act, 2007 will see newly concerned consumers speaking out and taking action.

LOCAL LOYALTY: Globalization is giving us not only a new perspective on the world but also a greater loyalty to our own communities. Remember American Idol Ruben Studdard’s custom-made shirts emblazoned with the area code of his hometown, Montgomery, Alabama? More people will feel compelled to support local businesses, producers, artists and community initiatives. The local-food movement is leading the trend: In Manhattan, for example, high-profile chefs such as Danny Meyer have helped to make the Union Square farmers market a must for locally minded shoppers. Just as globalization has made the world seem smaller, localization allows us to make our hometowns feel bigger and more important.

Single-Minded Ethics: Bono has AIDS, Angelina Jolie has orphans, and Al Gore has CO2. 2007 will see more of us pick a niche and pursue change vigorously rather than skim like a stone across the ethics pond. We believe we can change the world, but we know we can’t change it all at once.

This Tube Is MyTube: More of us will start creating entertainment using formats such as blogs or publicly posted video clips as today’s technology makes it easy for amateurs to express themselves at minimal expense or risk. And it’s not just for fun or, sometimes, profit: Because they cannot be easily reined in, these forms of online media are becoming increasingly vital forums in countries where free speech is repressed.

Click here for the entire list.

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• Small biz mix charity, marketing
  It might seem obvious that charitable work or donations to a cause are good things for small companies to do - they need to show their communities they care about their neighbors. So, what about the ones who purposefully pair their altruism with hopes of
  (tags: charity marketing)
• How to Succeed in a Marketing 2.0 World
  The Intelligence Group’s trend analyst highlights four campaigns and companies that are pushing the envelope of promotional strategy by going with the flow of recent online trends.
  (tags: Marketing viral web2.0)
• Do You Buy Banners?
  A recent eye-tracking study conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group found Internet users avoid viewing banners. They do, however, pay attention to text ads, such as those used in paid search.
  (tags: online web marketing Advertising)

I read with earnest the article below that appeared in today’s Toronto Star (a sort of prelude to an upcomimg book about today’s nonprofit world.)  The author muses about the legacy we need to leave - as normal every-day individuals - in light of the recent “epic”-donations from huge, famous, mega-business gods and celebrities.  An imprint with both our finances and the involvement of our time. His desperation is felt throughout the article especially as he walks through a number of interviews with charity fundraisers.  A desperation haunted by the striking need of humankind. His thinking is that our generation (40-somethings) are giving more, volunteering less and that the coming generation will do less of both.

What do you think? And what do your donors think? I spoke to a donor the other day that remarked how “sorry” she felt because she could only give $75.  “I’m no Gates”, she said.

The article is thoughtful, powerful, extremely well researched and factual, and worth the long read.  It’ll stir debate and yet his words are an honest look…an outsiders look…into our business.

Here is the Toronto Star article in it’s entirely:

Shaking charity’s foundations  — Nov. 19, 2006.

Several years ago I began to notice the word “philanthropist” in obituaries, which, at age 57 (and a half), I now read. I observed that many of the deceased - no matter their means, age or sex - had been rigorously engaged in benevolent acts.

I saw, too, in the news pages, that the rich and famous, from Bill Gates to Brad Pitt to Oprah Winfrey, were toiling cheerfully on the world stage for their chosen causes: treating AIDS in Africa, fighting child poverty, helping victims of tidal waves and hurricanes…

I began clipping articles, making inquiries, and searching the literature. The file grew. My initial interest was personal, fuelled by the death of my mother and our large family’s debates about ways to honour her memory. But as I learned more, I began to think about legacy, what we leave behind, the mark we make.

What I kept seeing was individual generosity on a grand, even epic, scale. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is surely the most powerful charitable foundation the world has ever seen. They had a $29 billion (U.S.) war chest (and that was before Warren Buffett tossed in $37.4 billion) and decided, for one thing, to battle malaria in the developing world. The annual budget of the World Health Organization, at $1.65 billion, looks puny by comparison.

It seemed there was a charity Olympics under way, and the numbers were dizzying. Almost every week came news of another windfall. This wasn’t about one person writing a fat cheque and being done with it. The donors’ hands-on involvement, their knowledge and focus, their travels to far-flung places to observe firsthand how their largesse was making a difference - this zealousness seemed new and unprecedented.

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Max Kalehoff has written an excellent article for OnlineSpin, a Media Post Publication and as a post in his blog. “Ten Trends in Transforming Marketing Measurements” explores what marketing via the new media will mean for data-driven, response oriented advertising (and fundraising, of course) campaigns.  Here are excerpts from the article:

1. Digital network adoption. Mass adoption of the Internet and digital networks is fundamental, if obvious. Their impact on how we share and manage information is now perhaps the most significant influence on the evolution of metrics, among all that follow.

2. Attention erosion. Our networked society has resulted in massive increases in consumer choice and, from a marketer perspective, an erosion of attention. Many economists postulate that we’re undergoing a transition away from an economy based on shelf space to one based on attention scarcity.

3. Speed of measurement. The near-real-time intelligence delivery that characterized the Bloomberg terminal is permeating nearly all facets of marketing measurements. Even if measurements are not delivered instantaneously in a slick, colorful dashboard, the expectation of faster data and actionable insights is growing. Speed is a competitive advantage.

4. Democratization of data and analytics. There was once a time when access to vast piles of market-research data and processing power was contingent upon huge budgets. While that’s still true in many cases, digital networks have made more data more accessible–even sometimes to the point of open-source or free.

5. Observational measurements. In digital networks, people often passively emit both anonymous and identifiable gestures, whether it’s visiting a Web site, programming a TiVo, commenting in a public discussion forum or a host of other activities.

6. Unstructured data. Included with the arrival of observational measurement is analysis of unstructured data. From news stories to discussion forums to blogs to multimedia-sharing sites, people increasingly publish data abundant with insights and trends.

7. Beyond demographics. Traditional demographics–like gender and age–will always be important, but observational techniques are helping marketers to understand and segment their customers in new ways.

8. Customer-centric measurements and planning. The trends above have one thing in common: customers increasingly are at the center of the universe, versus companies, brands, products or media.

9. Data integration comes of age. With more customer and data touch points come the need for more data integration and better market modeling.

10. Reevaluating relationships with whom and what we measure. Finally, as consumers become more empowered, the disciplines of measurement and research will increasingly cater to them (just as marketers are doing in general).

I recently discovered an excellent blog by Steve Borsch, “Connecting The Dots.”  Steve’s thoughtful and informative blog is dedicated to “Guidance, Insight and Ideas in a Time of Accelerating Change.”  My take is that Steve’s blog accomplishes his mission statement to perfection. 

Here’s why I’ve dedicated a post to Connecting the Dots.  Steve has written a FREE REPORT, “Rise of the Participation Culture.”  This report is “a high-level trend overview for strategists, leaders and marketers on why the Internet and a new wave of Web applications have been embraced by a tech-savvy generation and spawned a culture of participation.” 

Simply put, this report is the BEST primer I have ever read on the history of Web 2.0, Social Media and the related applications for any organization seeking to use this new media to further profit and NONPROFIT objectives. 

From the site itself, here’s a more detailed introduction to the report:

In the following pages, the three pillars which have already enabled the Rise of the Participation Culture will be examined:   1) Internet as a Platform: We will observe how core industry standards, hosted application developers and other technologies have already coming together to form ‘the perfect storm’ of enablers that Tim O’Reilly has called “the emergent Internet operating system.” This convergence has also been dubbed Web 2.0.   2) Participation Applications: We will discuss a few of the most powerful emerging applications — and trends - occurring, which have already created a myriad of compelling reasons for people to invest energy, effort, time and money into them.   3) We will present an overview of the People who use and rely on Web 2.0 in order to understand the demographic and psychographic makeup of those driving this culture of participation   4) Lastly this report will consider What’s Next as we acknowledge today’s Participation Culture trends and forecast what we might expect going forward.

Why do I think this is important?  The face of fundraising is a-changin’ and we will need to incorporate new concepts, new ideas, new strategies and new media if we are to do our best.  My career has been built on the back of a “nonprofit to donor” communications strategy.  That is, my client needs to raise funds, a strategy is then developed and the appropriate advertising/fundraising tactics (mostly traditional) are executed and measured against objectives.  The idea is generated FROM the charity TO the donor or prospective donor.  Do I think this will all go away?  Absolutely, absolutely not.  These principles are timeless, basic, foundational, measurable.

And yet we are beginning to see, with even greater clarity, how critical, important, powerful and increasingly more simple it is to have donors raise support our behalf.  Isn’t this just good ‘ol event or corporate or “friend-get-a-friend” fundraising?  Yes, it’s that and yet much more.  After all, isn’t a Porsche just another car?  ‘Nuff said.

Participation Fundraising happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Participation Fundraising uses the tools of New Media (and old) to spin the flywheel of charitable support faster, with more inertia and will less effort. Participant Fundraising doesn’t need gobs of expense budget. Tell me again, how much did Dove’s spend on the Evolution viral video?  Participant Fundraising won’t require 6-month leadtimes. All of this, and more, will allow Participant Fundraising to play a larger, more significant role in the diversified fundraising mix. 

And yet there are cautions and things we gotta figure out.  Blogger’s Blog writes:

The problem for companies hoping to make a viral video is that most of them won’t work and it is getting more and more difficult every day to find success with viral videos. Simple ideas like the Subservient Chicken won’t work as well because everyone has already seen this idea used several times by now. The These Days blog explains viral marketing can be complex.

Nobody understands how online viral marketing really works. Worse: ever since big brands discovered its power, it’s becoming harder every day to succesfully create some buzz online. It’s true that a succesful “word of mouse” campaign is always cheaper to produce than, say, a street ad campaign. And yes, it’s a perfect way to support a bigger ad campaign, or reach a different, more “webby” target group. But if a viral campaign is not handled right, it might hit you in the face, and sometimes even harm your brand. Or worse: be ignored completely, like the majority of them. All you can do is: avoid common mistakes, unleash the virus, wait and pray.

And yet we can’t give up hope and can’t stop trying to make it work because intuitively we know that word-of-mouth has always been the best and most inexpensive form of advertising.  Read the Report and then think it through a bit.

Participation Fundraising, when fully mature, just may be our answer to raising more, with less. 

The Muttart Foundation recently released their consumer survey report, “Talking about Charities 2006: Tracking Canadians’ Opinions about Charities and the Issues Affecting Them.” The report was released in 2000, 2004 and September 2006.

Highlights for me are:

• 79% of all Canadian trust charitable organizations; 29% trust them a lot (nearly the same percentage holds true for leaders of organizations)
• Hospitals are trusted most (80%); children’s causes (85%); health prevention/research (84%); education (77%); social services (74%); protection of the environment/animals (73%); churches (67%); the arts (61%); international relief and development (57%).
• 87% believe more attention needs to be given in the way charities raise their funding
• Many Canadians do have objections to charities hiring commission based fundraisers. 62% find this practice unacceptable
• Half of Canadians would like more information about the work charities do, even though it may require more money to be spent on communications
• When considering making a donation to a particular charity, 58% are most likely to research that charity though its website; 46% will call the charity to ask for more information and 44% will look at financial statements.

While reading through a study such as this, I tend to take notes to see how these findings can and should be addressed in organization-wide key messaging and position statements.  Moreover, time spent speaking with donors will clarify our own specific issues that must be addressed. In other words, are we addressing key consumer/donor issues or just speaking about what’s important to us?

One particular nonprofit I know uses a “message tree” approach (the longer the communication piece, the more key messages are to be prioritized and included) while another has developed a very deliberate positioning document that is reviewed with communications writers (both external and internal) at the start of each creative development process.  While this may not be new, it is critical to keep on track of what we are communicating and what we should communicate given organizational mandates.

“By the very act of not communicating, we are, in fact, communicating.”

While I realize there are many nonprofit organizations using viral campaigns to raise funds, I recently came across one worth a closer look for reasons explained later.  Fight Hunger: Walk the World is conducting viral video contest.  The winner receives a chance to win a trip to film a WFP school feeding project in a developing world. 

Nope, this is not a new story — Beth’s Blog has written about it, as has Netsquared and Citizen Brand (I’m sure I’ve omitted others.)

However, here are my takaways:

• It’s a fresh, new and innovative way to bond a donor to the organization.
• It hits the target audience (youth/young adult) right down-the-middle.  When I showed this to my teenage son, he jumped at the chance to give it a try.  Haven’t seen this much excitement since the PSP.
• The contest pay-off is substantial. The winner receives a filming trip and the video will be used in the upcoming Fight Hunger ad campaign.
• The web site copy sticks to the mission of the organization. “Everyone who enters is a winner because by sharing your creativity you’re joining our global movement to end child hunger by 2015.”  There’s no fluff here to get the reader sidetracked.
• The contest and rules are easily understood and clearly stated.
• Readers can further spread the word about the campaign by adding one of several banner options to websites and blogs. Nice way to extend the idea beyond the contest landing page.
• And in addition to everything else…you can donate to Fight Hunger right from the contest site. If you don’t ask, you won’t get.

Has the public responded?  I dunno.  I searched for the keyword “fhvideo” on YouTube, Google Video, blip.tv and ourmedia.org and didn’t find anything.  I’m sure I was doing something wrong. 

I’d love to hear from others out there that have had success with viral video or photo campaigns.  I guess I’d have to define success, but maybe I’ll let you do that.

The link to an article I posted on October 26 , “Running a Non Profit Like a Business”, (Inside Collin County Business, Plano, TX) caused a few writers in our community to fire up the ‘ol computer.  Don’t Tell the Donor, The Agitator and Ken Goldstein had excellent perspectives on the subjects of public confidence in the nonprofit sector and, as the title suggests, running a nonprofit like a business. I recommend reading the posts AND the comments.

And just when I thought the firestorm coals had cooled and I could go back to sleep at night, I read today’s post from Pam Aslund, “Non-Profit Confidence Problem?”

To steal Ken Goldstein’s headline, these subjects are certainly, “Pressing Our Buttons.”

I didn’t realize how a little article could cause such a large, thoughtful and intense response.  But that’s why I wanted to enter the blogosphere in the first place: to foster cross-cutting dialogue in the nonprofit industry so that we can express our views and learn from each other.

Ok, I know that’s a goofy title, but it somewhat describes what is happening in our industry of late. These are great days for the nonprofit fundraising sector and for those this industry ultimately serves. Reading though the daily links for the past week or so and we see that:

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports American largest charities grew an astonishing 13 percent matching the highest gain since the Chronicle has been publising the Philanthropy 400 Survey.

Individuals increased their charitable contributions to health care facilities and organizations by a record 16 percent in the U.S., to $7.01 billion, and by 11 percent in Canada.

Estimated giving by California foundations rose in 2005 to a record $4.11 billion, and a survey of leading foundations projects that their giving will grow faster in 2006, according to a report released Wednesday by the Foundation Center.

Bank of America’s landmark philanthropy survey released today indicates:

Charitable giving increased over the last five years. When asked about the level of their charitable donations, nearly two thirds (65%) of wealthy donors somewhat or dramatically increased their charitable giving over the past 5 years. Less than 12% of high net worth households decreased their contributions.”  (For an excellent commentary on this study, head over to Sean Stannard-Stockton’s blog, Tactical Philanthropy.)

And the list goes on and on.  Are we getting better at fundraising? Yes.  Is the general public more generous?  Yes.  Are there more prospective donors in the donor pool? Yes.  Does the public trust us? Yes, despite what a United Way public poll might indicate (and oh-so thoroughly addressed by Don’t Tell The Donor yesterday.)  Are corporations more involved in charities? Yes.  And by all the Red and Pink we see these days, it’s now hip to donate.  Who’d a thunk it.

Any why am I so excited?  Because, in the end, we don’t raise funds for ourselves.  We raise funds for those who do not have the voice or ability to ask.

The time is right to:

• innovate
• take chances
• be creative
• test, test, test
• try new ideas
• rollout
• dare to dream
• ask for more
• ask for more again
• build strong relationships

Growing up in Ohio, we used to say, “Make hay while the sun still shines.”  Who knows? The bright sun may soften to sunset tomorrow.  But as for today, I’ll set my face to the sun and get after the work at hand.

• Bank of America Announces Initial Findings of Landmark Philanthropy Study
  Much has been written about this BofA Study. If you’ve not had a chance to read it, here’s the link.
  (tags: nonprofit charity philanthropy donor)

• Direct Mail Study by Nielsen Media Research
  Among the big three direct mail sectors, charities send out the smallest proportion of mailings - 27% - to existing contacts. They also had the highest rate of unopened mail sent to potential supporters, at 76%.
  (tags: direct mail charity research)
• DMA improves Mail Preference Service
  The Direct Marketing Association has made improvements to its long-running Mail Preference Service that make it easier for consumers to control the amount of advertising mail they receive.
  (tags: direct mail marketing)
• A List of College Fundraising Campaigns
  Some major fundraising initiatives announced by universities in recent weeks, their target and where the money will go.
  (tags: university alumni fundraising un)
• Trick or Treat? UNICEF’s New Strategy
  Instead of going door-to-door on Oct. 31 with the infamous UNICEF boxes (which has been customary for the past 50 years), students at participating schools across Canada received an envelope to fill with donations
  (tags: nonprofit UNICEF charity youth fundraising)
• Running a nonprofit like a business
  American’s trust and confidence in nonprofits is alarmingly low. Confidence in charitable organizations stands roughly 10 to 15 percent lower today than it did in the summer of 2001.
  (tags: nonprofit charity charitable)
• Health Care Org. Donations Up Record 16.3 Percent
  Thankful patients and their grateful families increased their charitable contributions to health care facilities and organizations by a record 16 percent in the U.S., to $7.01 billion, and by 11 percent in Canada
  (tags: nonprofit charity healthcare)
• California foundation giving highest ever
  Estimated giving by California foundations rose in 2005 to a record $4.11 billion, and a survey of leading foundations projects that their giving will grow faster in 2006, according to a report released Wednesday by the Foundation Center.
  (tags: california nonprofit philanthropy foundation)

• Unicef UK to launch donor gift mailing drive
  Interesting direct mail appeal. The mailings will include eight gift tags containing details of Unicef products, including weighing scales for babies, mosquito nets, baby blankets and therapeutic food.
  (tags: donor donation nonprofit philanthropy charity direct mail)
• Who Builds the Brand?
  The answer lies in a complete misunderstanding of the whole process of marketing. This is a thoughtful article about the brand being customer-centric.
  (tags: branding)
• Drive Traffic to Your Brand, Not a Channel
  I know, I know. What does branding have to do with nonprofit? There are good lessons here. According to some industry estimates, in three years, nearly half of all catalog sales will be made using your website. It’s time to think about marketing your
  (tags: brand direct marketing nonprofit)
• They didn’t even say thank you - Research for Nonprofit Application
  A failure to say thank you was the only one that was reliably associated with how detrimental participants said the incident would be to the future of their relationship.
  (tags: giving psychology nonprofit charity)
• Reaching Young Donors
  Young people are less likely than older adults to donate money or time to charity. The key to reaching them may be engaging them as leaders in charitable projects, giving them responsibility and the power to make decisions
  (tags: youth marketing nonprofit charity)
• Generation Y gets involved
  Thanks in large part to the Internet, this generation is much more aware of the world. And because national tragedies such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina have scarred their youth and adolescence, experts see signs these young people a
  (tags: philanthropy youth volunteerism nonprofit)

 Largest charities saw donations rise 13% in 2005

By Noelle Barton and Holly Hall

Donations to America’s largest charities grew by 13 percent last year, to $62.7- billion, according to The Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 400 Survey.

That increase matches the highest percentage gain in the 16 years that The Chronicle has been ranking the 400 most-successful charities. At the height of the technology boom, in 1999, charities in the Philanthropy 400 achieved a 13.4-percent increase.

All signs suggest that the pace of giving continues to be strong this year: Among 49 charities on the list that projected a rise in 2006 giving, contributions are expected to grow by a median of 13 percent, meaning that half the groups expect a greater increase and half expect less.

(read more)

• Stock climb may lead to more charity
  If the stock market sustains its strong performance through the rest of the year, investors won’t be the only winners. Charities will likely benefit, too.
  (tags: stocks nonprofit charity giving donations)
• New Fundraising Efforts By University of Maryland
  The University of Maryland has announced that it is looking to raise $1 billion as part of a campaign.
  (tags: university fundraising development)
• Hundreds of companies donating to breast-cancer organizations
  This October, pink is the new black.
  (tags: cancer nonprofit cause marketing charity)