Did Somebody Say Dot Org?

Internet marketing is not just for e-businesses and net start-ups anymore. Non-profits who, for years have had to rely on expensive fundraising efforts and inexpensive grassroots campaigns to raise money, are not jumping on the Internet Love Train, seeing the ‘Net as a panacea to their fundraising woes.

The Internet can be a terrific marketplace for a non-profit — it brings global visibility, educates whole new sets of people to their issues or causes, and can definitely serve as a source of fundraising. Non-profits, however, still face the same battle as for-profit web sites — how do we drive traffic to our sites? With oftentimes fractional-sized marketing budgets and dependency on raising funds, this issue is even more critical for a non-profit.

Let’s take a look at some tools and sites to assist non-profits, and see examples of how to successfully market non-profits online…

GreaterGood.com

GreaterGood.com is a shopping portal with a directory of links to existing online merchants (Amazon, LL Bean, and Office Max to name a few) where shoppers get to select the non-profit organization that will receive 5-15% of their online purchases. Marketing budgets still dictate which non-profits get the highest listings, but smaller, “more needy” organizations can be found if you dig a little further into GreaterGood’s directory.

GreaterGood.com also offers non-profits a way to set up exclusive storefronts — along with their own unique URLs — as a way to generate revenue. For instance, clicking on Echo Hill(Echo Hill Outdoor School’s storefront) will take you to a page solely dedicated to this school. You’ll notice that all of GreaterGood.com’s merchant partners are listed along with a registration option in the top left-hand corner. For everyone that registers under Echo Hill, $3.00 will be donated to the organization, regardless of whether or not a purchase is even made.

Kick Start your Org!

Unlike GreaterGood.com, KickStart is a full package navigational portal, search engine, and marketplace that benefits non-profits. Participating organizations get their own customizable KickStart.com StartPage on the Internet. Members and people affiliated with the organization can make this their default home page and the organization benefits every time someone:

* Views the StartPage

* Conducts an on-site Internet search (which utilizes the search directory Snap)

* Accesses their free KickStart.com e-mail service

* And as with GreaterGood, makes an online purchase. In this case, 3%-20% of each sale goes directly to the non-profit partner.

Kick Start is also working on a way for visitors to donate online to member charities and non-profits. This should prove to relieve many headaches for smaller non-profits that cannot afford to implement a secure online donation system into their web site.

Guerilla Tactics Still Count

Utilizing one of these kinds of online non-profit support services is only the first step in the process of generating revenue. These partnership affiliations must still be marketed by the non-profit so that people will actually use them. Including links on the organization’s web site and in e-mail newsletters, mentions in the traditional print newsletters and on donation cards, building it into the script of any telemarketing fundraising efforts, issuing local press releases, and working the good old word of mouth will build awareness and use of these online services.

Other Online Services for Non-Profits

GuideStar is searchable database of more than 620,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States. You can submit your non-profit listing for free.

Non-Profit Resource Center is an Internet resource of interest and value to non-profit organizations.

Philanthropy Search helps Web users find information about charitable giving, volunteering and other nonprofit issues on the web. You can submit your non-profit organization for free here, too.

Web Charity allows individuals and companies to pledge new and used items to their favorite cause, which are then be sold via auction or direct sale. 100% of the donation goes to the non-profit organization of your choice.

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