Lots of bounced emails recently? Don't despair

We're noticing that several of our clients are seeing higher bounce rates recently. In one recent mailing, we had 10% more bounces than we normally see. Many of them were marked "mailbox full."

Then we realized that an awful lot of Americans have had lives interrupted by recent hurricanes. Especially in Florida, a hotbed of many donor bases, millions have had no electricity all week.

We're curious about whether you have experienced the same thing, and what you're doing about it. We think we'll just ignore bounces for the next month or so, and then see what the rate is.

Rick...

View from the front lines

For seven days last week, I had a chance to view what nonprofits do from the other side of the mirror. I was in a disaster zone, slogging through mud and demolished houses looking for victims of a natural disaster. I witnessed total destruction of neighborhoods, ruined homes, smashed possessions. People who had so much less than me before the disaster now had nothing.

What 'third world' country was I in? New Orleans, Louisiana. As a search and rescue volunteer, I was asked to lead three cadaver dog search teams from Virginia and Maryland through the lower 9th ward of New Orleans, which had not yet been thoroughly searched for victims of Hurricane Katrina six weeks before. We found quite a few.

We packed what we thought we'd need and drove 1000 miles in vans with the dogs. We gathered as much intelligence as we could along the way, armed with wireless internet and cell phones. We started seeing destruction 150 miles north of New Orleans, and winded our way past demolished homes and broken trees to cross Lake Ponchatrain on the only bridge still standing.

The day we left is the day the earthquake struck Pakistan. I couldn't help but think about those disaster response professionals who were heading into far more dangerous areas than we were. We never felt in physical danger, except for the heat, flies, jagged metal, broken glass, loose nails, rotting animal carcasses, packs of stray dogs, and downed wires.

If relief workers in Pakistan face more harsh conditions than we did, I don't envy them. If they face more chaos and less support from local officials, I'm in awe of their ability to do anything! At least we had meals served by the Salvation Army and the Red Cross (though the firemen we were partnered with found us better tasting food). We had beds to sleep in and the comfort of regular phone calls with loved ones.

In the coming weeks I'll reflect more on lessons learned and on my new views of the partnership between fundraising at home and program work on the ground. In the meantime, let's all put our hearts into raising money for the world's most important purposes.

Disaster or Disastrous Fundraising?

We'd like to hear from the nonprofit community. This latest earthquake emergency is proving a fundraising challenge.

Is it donor fatigue? Is it disaster fatigue? Is there any solution to this? We'd like to hear from you. Please comment to this thread or email us your thoughts at info@npadvisors.com.

Disaster Fundraising - Keywords and conversion

Yahoo Buzz is reporting that the search term "Asia earthquake" is already on the decline only 4 days after an earthquake killed an estimated 30,000 people. The term was search 96% less today than yesterday. For all those nonprofits who are hoping to generate funds for this latest disaster via keyword advertising, you better be sure you were up and running on day one. The traffic is already lessening.

On another front, however, there has been concern that disaster donors are hard to convert to repeat donors. And with 4 major disasters in the last 10 months, many nonprofits have a significant number of new disaster donors. Conversion needs to be a primary focus for this group.

Start by thanking your donors loudly and often. The next step is to customize a communication plan for this group. Now may be the time to segment your email newsletter list. Emergency donors could get an emergency-update only version for the next several months. Overtime you can start to introduce other related stories, but keep the primary emphasis on the impacted areas these donors want to help.

That 's a wealth of information possibilities - food security in Africa for Niger famine donors. Rebuilding issues in all of central Asia and the Gulf Coast. Donors have been inundated by the media this year with terms like food-security, access to clean water, refugees vs. evacuees, providing safety for children. Use this heightened familiarity with global issues to connect with disaster donors and slowly expand their view past the disaster area.

2005 has truly been a disaster, but donors have opened their hearts again and again - let them know how much you value that generosity as you cultivate them into repeat givers.

All material copyrighted 2005

Tell your donors that you value them!

In the last post, Rick talked about a study of annoying customer "service" habits. Today, I had a REALLY bad customer service experience. I bought a piece of furniture. When I got it home, I found that it was damaged. Today, I attempted to return it.

Well, the store manager told me that there was only one more and it was on hold for someone (not purchased - just on hold). My options were to return it or have her order another one. I asked how long that would take and she said it was hard to tell because we are entering the holiday season... That's it. No apologies. No offer to call another store and have it shipped. No offer to give me the floor model at a reduced price.

So, here I am as a current customer who now feels absolutely of no value and yet, at that moment, this store had a significant amount of my money. I wonder how many online donors feel this way? The internet allows nonprofits to collect funds, but do they also thank their "customers" or report the use of that money. I'm not talking about newsletters that report back, but honest thank you's.

The internet is the perfect channel to simply, cheaply and easily make donors feel valued. Tell your donors that you appreciate them - that you value their faith in your organization. You'll build good will and a sense of loyalty.

-Heather

Not My Department

According to a recent survey of mall shoppers by Mohr Access, a retail consultancy, this was the most-cited annoying phrase that comes out of the mouths of retail workers.

Does your web site say the same thing to web visitors? If your content is organized by date, or according to some heirarchy within your organization, then you're forcing visitors to search through the equivalent of rows of content before they can find what they want.

Better to arrange your content based on user groups, like "for donors", "for the press", "for potential donors" so that people can identify themselves and find content that's for them. "What we do", "Where we work" are also good organization techniques.

"If it's not on the rack, we don't have it." That's the #2 complaint. The web solution? A good site search with two additions: (1) an email or contact link that displays after the search results. "Can't find what you want? Ask us," it would invite. (2) a staff member who reviews the results of web searches regularly and suggests content based on terms the visitors are using in their search.