With so many great nonprofits to choose from, attracting volunteers and donors to your cause can be challenging. Social media, tablet devices, and smartphones have resulted in a much more “connected” pool of stakeholders. However, nonprofits must pay close attention to ensure they convey consistent messaging across the various communication channels. In a time when more people are using the Internet than ever, your website and online presence can go a long way in attracting new volunteers, donors, and clients to your cause.
5 Secrets to Becoming a “Good” Nonprofit
We recently co-sponsored an educational webinar with GuideStar, a leader in philanthropic transparency, to help nonprofits uncover the secrets to becoming a “good” nonprofit. Offered below is an overview of some important tips that were highlighted in the webinar.
- Keep your GuideStar Exchange Profile current. Each year, millions of people use GuideStar to learn more about nonprofits. The GuideStar Exchange is a program designed to connect nonprofits with grant makers, potential donors, and volunteers. Nonprofits who go the extra mile to update their nonprofit reports and complete the requirements of the program will become a GuideStar Exchange Seal holders. This Seal helps nonprofits build credibility, increase transparency, boost marketing efforts, and much more. Learn more about building your GuideStar profile.
- Keep your website’s design simple, clean, and consistent with your organization’s branding. Does your website build credibility? Things like colors, font, and content placement are highly important to the overall design of a site and can greatly impact a visitor’s first impression of your organization. Learn more about the elements of a trust-building website.
- Make it easy for visitors to give back. Not getting the conversions you would like out of your website? Many times, this problem stems from the incorrect placement of calls to action on the site. When designing your nonprofit’s website, the goal should be to make it as simple as possible for first-time visitors to understand the cause and get involved. Learn more ways to increase website conversions.
- Engage visitors through video, social media, and blog. Content is one of the most critical pieces of your site (especially since it’s what will be indexed by search engines). Actively participating in social media and creating value-added blog articles are great ways to engage visitors, enhance your content, and increase visibility. Likewise, video is also a powerful way to deliver content and build trust. Learn more about engaging visitors through video, social media, and blogging.
- Leverage technology to streamline donor and volunteer management. Why are so many nonprofits turning to cloud-based systems to manage volunteers and donors? For starters, systems like these simplify the entire volunteer/donor management process. Nonprofits can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time focusing on the big picture. Having an online volunteer tool also helps nonprofits build trust, by showing they are active in the community. Furthermore, volunteers have the power to search and register for events online, update their contact information, track hours, and more. Learn more about the benefits of a cloud-based donor and volunteer management system.
