Bloomerang’s innovative volunteer profile integration surfaces your most valuable constituents: super supporters.

Earlier this year, we announced our new volunteer management solution powered by InitLive which expands our customers’ ability to unite the two essential components of a thriving organization – volunteers and donors.

Imagine the impact your organization could have if your volunteers became donors, and your donors became volunteers. By cross-cultivating these groups, you can create super supporters. Super supporters not only maximize fundraising efficiency, but they make up a passionate team who can deliver the services and support your organization and community needs.

Get a comprehensive view of donors and volunteer profiles

Bloomerang’s volunteer profile integration uses a seamless, two-way sync to update donor and volunteer data between the Bloomerang donor and InitLive volunteer solutions for a complete view of your most engaged donors and volunteers that you can cultivate into super supporters.

Bloomerang makes it easy to spot engaged volunteers that you can cultivate into generous donors.

Engagement is an indicator of a volunteer who has high potential to donate. Bloomerang uses data from InitLive to inform the Bloomerang donor Engagement Meter so you can focus on the right volunteers to cultivate into donors. This innovative approach gives you a new way to find and engage new donors and create predictable revenue streams.

Grow your volunteer team when you turn engaged donors into volunteers.

It’s no secret that many donors who generously give financially are also enthusiastic about being involved in other meaningful ways. You can make a bigger impact by tapping into the diverse talents of your engaged donors. When you invite generous donors to volunteer, you give them a tangible way to connect with your cause. More volunteers means you can get more done within your organization, and your community can reliably receive the services and support they need.

One entry updates both systems, saving you valuable time.

Say goodbye to redundant data entry. With one entry, you can track volunteer hours and activities in InitLive, then see who has high donation potential in Bloomerang. Records are reliably updated, whether the edit was made in the Bloomerang donor or InitLive volunteer solution.

Sync your data on your terms – automatically or manually.

Controlling your data is an important part of your job. Bloomerang gives you the ability to sync your data in ways that you can control. Use manual sync anytime you need instant updates for the freshest data, or automatic sync so you can set it and forget it.

Bloomerang’s new volunteer profile integration is an innovative way to get a complete view of your most engaged donors and volunteers and turn them into super supporters. This new integration makes it easier for development teams to find and engage new donors. And data administrators can simplify their data management workflows and increase data accuracy when using the Bloomerang donor and InitLive volunteer solutions.

The post Tap into the giving potential of your volunteers appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

First impressions for any event are essential, especially when onboarding volunteers. The first time volunteers step onto your event site, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for them to check in, find where they need to go, and how to be a fully-engaged part of your event team. Here are six ways to make event check-in convenient for your volunteers:

1. Start communications at the pre-event stage

Weeks before the event starts, email all volunteers check-in instructions. This pre-event guidance saves you the trouble of repeatedly explaining essential information on the event day. Be sure to have a link to your volunteer management app, and provide information on how the event is organized. Important items to include are: volunteer roles and duties, introductions to leadership, schedules, maps, parking instructions, and safety tips.

2. Conduct training sessions

Provide tutorials on your volunteer management/check-in program, including performing and undergoing check-in procedures. That way, your administrative staff will be ready to check in your volunteers when they arrive on the scene — and your volunteers will already know what to expect.

3. Have your staff perform administrative check-ins

Use event technology that allows you to efficiently check volunteers in via a mobile app. Start by assigning check-in administrators to greet volunteers as they arrive. Your volunteers will feel like they know exactly where they’re going, and they’ll get the impression that your event is organized and well-planned.

4. Allow your volunteers the option of self check-ins

Be sure to use event check-in software that can be configured to let volunteers check themselves in. You’ll give your independent, tech-savvy volunteers a sense of autonomy. This option can also be beneficial when you’re dealing with multiple venues and cannot place check-in administrators at every location.

5. Receive real-time updates

Use an app that provides real-time updates reporting how many volunteers have checked in. Use this information to address shifts with no-show volunteers so that you can make last-minute schedule changes. Not only is it convenient for your volunteers who have checked themselves in, but it’s massive support for your busy line managers who need to keep track of who’s working their shifts.

6. Take advantage of automatic time-tracking

Do away with manual punch-ins, sign-ins and sign-outs, and other time-consuming methods of tracking volunteer hours. Instead, use an app that automatically creates time stamps as volunteers check in and out. By recording all hours each team member has worked, automatic time-tracking saves you and your managers from manually reviewing and recording the details.

With Bloomerang Volunteer, event planners perform volunteer check-in and other administrative tasks with one easy-to-use device. Our Bloomerang Volunteer event planning tool provides smooth scheduling and seamless communication, paving the way for a highly successful and memorable event.

The post 6 Ways to Make Event Check-in Convenient for Your Volunteers appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

“How do we get more donors?” is a question every nonprofit asks at some point. And for good reason. Research shows that individuals are the most important funding source for organizations, accounting for almost 70% of total contributions. But growing and engaging your donor base isn’t an effortless process. Most nonprofits use a combination of in-person events, physical outreach, and some form of digital presence to attract and build relationships with supporters. While these investments may work, organizations quickly realize the time and attention needed is unsustainable and engagement is less than desired.

In order to get off the fundraising hamster wheel, organizations should instead design repeatable marketing campaigns built on content that is valuable to potential donors, delivered through targeted digital campaigns and reinforced with ongoing communications to form lasting relationships.

To get started, let’s first discuss how to approach your marketing efforts, making sure they are donor-centric. 

Marketing Efforts Should Give First, Ask Second 

Effective marketing is about building relationships not spurring transactions. While getting new donations may be the ultimate goal, your marketing efforts should focus on starting a conversation with potential donors about what you do and why they should care. To start a relationship off on the right foot, remember it is always better to give than receive. When nonprofits shift their focus to serving rather than soliciting their donor base, it becomes easier to attract like-minded supporters and build lasting relationships.

Thankfully, providing something of value to potential donors doesn’t have to be complicated.  

3 Simple Steps to To Attract Donors Through Digital Content

A repeatable digital donor growth campaign rests on three key activities:

1. Creating a valuable resource for a community that aligns with your mission
2. Getting the resource into donors’ hands
3. Converting these new relationships into lasting support

Let’s explore each in more detail with a few examples of how nonprofits can put these into action.

1. Create the “Right” Lead Magnet

A digital resource that attracts new donors needs to have two elements to be authentic and succeed:

• Donor’s need or want it 
• Your nonprofit’s unique expertise and experience 

The overlap of these two elements creates a zone for donor multiplication where sympathetic supporters are naturally drawn toward helping your mission.

Source

To assess what your donors desire, you can map out a persona or identity or run a survey on your existing network and ask questions like:

• What topics would you like to learn more about?
• What problems are you facing that we can help you solve?
• What content would you be interested in subscribing to?

Additionally, tools like Google’s Keyword Planner can help confirm that there is demand for a particular topic.

On the other side, your nonprofit’s areas of expertise should be based on your mission statement and core beliefs about how to help your community.

The kind of information you decide to share can also help determine what format (for example, eBook, Quiz, or online course) makes the most sense for your situation.

To bring this to life, consider a few examples of nonprofits using this framework perfectly:

• A Recipe eBook for Jewish Holidays created by a Jewish foodbank
• An Online Safety Guide for Teens and Adults with Autism created by an Autism research center
• A Wildlife Quiz created by a nature conservation organization

All of these resources serve an audience that is naturally interested in the mission of each organization in order to start a conversation.These resources are evergreen, meaning they can be used over and over again.

2. Get the Content Into Donors’ Hands

Now that you’ve created an intriguing resource worthy of your donors’ attention, it’s time to make sure they see it!

Here is where digital advertising campaigns come into play.

While this can’t address every marketing channel or tactic your nonprofit might use, here are two options that work well for promoting lead magnets:

1. Google or Bing search ads: This is a good channel for nonprofits to consider especially if they take advantage of Google’s grant program or Microsoft’s Social Impact program to receive free advertising dollars.
2. Facebook lead ads: Lead ads are another great option because users don’t have to leave the platform to go to your website. This increases conversion and allows Facebook to track data and retarget similar donors.

Of course, if visitors are going to visit your website to download a resource, it helps to have a well-designed landing page. A good landing page conveys the value of your resource and convinces visitors to trade an email address in exchange for the information. Your relationship is starting!

3. Build Long-term Relationships

At this point in the subscriber-to-donor journey, we’ve started a conversation that we now need to nurture.

Delivering your resource shouldn’t be the end of the interaction, it should only be the beginning. Nonprofits can efficiently build long-term relationships with their community over email with targeted welcome series and ongoing drip campaigns. Email allows you to continue to serve your audience with more content over time and introduce your organization and its purpose more deeply.

As you share stories of change and create a clear vision of what your organization hopes to achieve, subscribers are likely to turn into lasting donors.

The Power of Digital Content: Scale

Serving rather than soliciting an audience is the better way to grow a sustainable donor base. And creating digital resources is a simple way of accomplishing this goal.

However, digital has one more benefit worth underlining: scale. With digital content, your nonprofit only needs to make a one-time investment. As long as you create resources addressing topics that are relevant year-round, you’ve created an asset that can attract donors for years to come.

In summary, nonprofits can create scalable marketing campaigns using digital content promoted through targeted campaigns and communications to attract new donors and ultimately build lasting relationships.

The post Attracting New Donors With Content That Serves (And Scales) appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.

In his latest book, best-selling author Seth Godin tackles the question “What makes a great job?” He approaches this question with curiosity, humanity, and a modern day socioeconomic landscape. And naturally, research. Godin polled more than 10,000 people from 90+ countries to get to the answer that served as the framework for his book “The Song of Significance – A New Manifesto for Teams.” Godin asks “what makes a great job?” The responses did not involve salary, autonomy or time investment; but rather a universal theme of making a difference. People want their jobs to be opportunities to make a difference. To do something with significance. And to be treated with dignity and respect.

Nonprofit professionals may find Godin’s latest book a manifesto for their life’s work because they are true “difference-makers.” But his book delves deeper into workplace culture, roles, expectations and work product. He proposes looking back to pre-industrial times, breaking it all down and building it up again…differently. Imagine what it would look like to create a place where everyone is contributing their best self, creating possibility, exceeding expectations and doing work of significance. What would change? And how would you change?

“The Song of Significance” tackles questions to reset how employees and supervisors view, approach, measure and define work. Seth Godin joins “The Intentional Fundraiser” podcast with Tammy Zonker on May 28th to discuss the launch of his new book. We invite you to listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen Now

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The Intentional Fundraiser, A Fundraising Transformed Original, is a weekly podcast for fundraisers where Tammy Zonker shares fundraising insights, strategies, and inspiration.
Special guests share new, focused, highly relevant interviews about the trends, best practices, and questions that matter most right now.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Spotify / Amazon / RSS

The post Do You Find Significance in Your Work? And Workplace? appeared first on Bloomerang.

This article originally appeared in Bloomerang. See the original article here.