Now that the world is slowly opening back up your virtual events may turn into in-person events before you know it. Making sure you’re able to manage them is critical so you don’t waste time or money searching for the perfect venue and vendors that meet your expectations Planning Pod is an automated online event management platform that promises to keep users organized while minimizing busy work.

In Use:

Founded in 2014, Planning Pod attempts to automate the party planning process by consolidating all the event planner’s responsibilities into one dashboard. Planning Pod’s Event Management and Planning Suite includes the ability to manage one’s budget, submit proposals, track invoices, create a to-do list, and manage attendees and registration. A nonprofit can create a landing page within the tool for their event that allows guests to register and purchase tickets.

Planning Pod has four subscriptions that nonprofit organizations can utilize. The Essential Plan is $19 a month and includes two events that can be planned at the same time, unlimited users, the ability to accept payments, order tracking, attendee lists, and chat and email support. The higher priced tiers ($39 and $69 respectively) come with more automated access like email communications, forms and surveys, and phone support. Planning Pod works with numerous charities and is happy to give nonprofits, schools, and universities a 20% discount on their subscription packages.  For large nonprofits like Red Cross or Amnesty International – Planning Pod offers an Enterprise package that is fully customizable.

Technology Used:

Planning Pod is available as a SaaS platform, which means it lives on the cloud. At this time Planning Pod does not have any mobile apps or a desktop version.

When it comes to integrations – Planning Pod integrates with Zapier (a software that allows companies to integrate their apps that don’t normally interact with each other) but is only available for the top tier packages. It can also integrate with numerous merchant payment processors including Square and Stripe so nonprofits can easily collect donations and ticket fees.

Ease of Use:

Users really enjoy that all the tasks they need are in one place (aka the dashboard) which allows them to streamline their to-do list and meet their deadlines. They appreciate the ability to create a website, have access to a virtual floor plan and can invoice, submit proposals, and register guests all in one place.

Recap:

Planning Pod is an online event management platform that gives a 20% discount to nonprofits, universities, and schools. Charities can take advantage of their software when planning annual galas or fundraising events. They have multiple subscription packages so a small or large nonprofit organization can take advantage of their offering.

Planning Pod combines all of the tasks that are generally needed to plan an event such as invoicing, budgeting, timelines, and ticketing and combines them into one easy to use dashboard. 

Advantages:

• One dashboard that consolidates budgeting, invoicing, attendee check-in and ticketing into one place so you’re not constantly searching through word docs, excel sheets and emails
• Ability to send emails straight from the platform (is not included in the basic package)
• Users can create a landing page on the software to direct attendees to purchase tickets
• Integrates with Stripe and Square
• Ability to duplicate events

Disadvantages:

• There is no phone support for the bottom tier packaging
• There is no mobile app or desktop version
• Users would like to see more training, a tax tool, and a more easy to use budget tool

My Opinion:

First of all I really appreciate softwares that take nonprofits into an account by offering them discounted services. A nonprofit who does multiple fundraisers or galas a year will definitely benefit from the dashboard that has all of the tools they need to execute an event. The ability to duplicate events is also helpful if nonprofits are replicating the same events year after year. If it’s something that you think would benefit your nonprofit I would suggest taking a free trial to see if Planning Pod is right for you and then pick the package that is best for your nonprofit.

Raise your hand if you felt helpless when Covid-19 devasted the country in March of 2020. We sat at home watching the news - wanting to help but not knowing how to. We knew that hospitals all over the country (and even in our counties) needed PPE; the supply chain industry was crippled; and people all over the country were getting sick from a disease we knew hardly anything about.

That was the fuel that Founder and Program Director Tess Gadwa needed to create Giving Map – an interactive map that showed Covid-19 infections around the country at a county level and subsequently where monetary donations were needed the most.  Since then Giving Map has expanded to include a Hunger Map displaying food insecurity throughout the nation.

In Use:

Giving Map’s statement is simple. It was created to “empower individuals to give whatever they can to the local organizations that will have the most impact.” A user interested in donating can go to Givingmap.org and see which states and counties are getting hit the hardest by Covid-19 and the hunger crisis. On the Covid-19 map, a county in dark green specifies there has been 0-9 new Covid-19 cases per 25,000 residents in the past 14 days. A purple county indicates that they have 500+ new cases per 25,000 residents in the past 14 days and are getting hit incredibly hard by the virus that has to date claimed 2.46 million deaths worldwide. Want to know more about a certain county? If you click on the county itself it will show Covid-19 data within the last 14 days including population; deaths in the past 14 days; new cases within the last two weeks; and how many total confirmed cases.

The hunger map, data indicates the number of people experiencing food insecurities as well as the total number of children experiencing food insecurities over a 14-day period.

While this map is a great way to stay informed about your county – you can also go that extra step and donate to a local organization in your county or another county that has been hit incredibly hard by the pandemic. Giving Map uses Charity Navigator’s interface to help donors find a local nonprofit organization to give to. If a nonprofit is located on Charity Navigator – then a donor can find them using Giving Map.

What started off as a way to help those in need of financial help due to Covid has morphed into an interactive map that can be used to impact all different areas of need from hunger to homelessness, and Civil Rights. Therefore, any nonprofit organization can benefit from Giving Map regardless of their mission.

Ease of Use:

Giving Map is easy to use. By clicking on “Give Now”, a donor can access 501(c)3 organizations across the country through Charity Navigator; a charity assessment organization and search engine that connects donors to nonprofits. Through Charity Navigator, a donor can search by category, size of the nonprofit, and the scope of work (regional, national, international). Charities that have been assessed are given a rating (1-5 stars) so you can feel confident as to who you’re donating to.

Technology Used:

Giving Map is an open source platform that sits on Github. People are free to contribute to it anyway they’d like. Along with being an open source software, Giving Map web site is also carbon neutral stating on their website that they “…strive to be a model for sustainability and integrate earth-friendly practices wherever possible.”

Because Giving Map is essentially a website (although it’s so much more), there is nothing that a user needs to download or install to use it. One only has to go to the website, click on the county they are interested in donating to and find local charities within the county parameters.

Recap:

Giving Map is an open source website that lets donors research local charities that they can donate to within their counties. It started off as a way to track Covid-19 statistics in real time and has grown since then to encompass all local charities around the country regardless of their mission.

Giving Map made headlines last November when the second wave hit around Thanksgiving. Creators used the daily Covid-19 data that they collected from John Hopkins University and created a time-lapse animated gif that showed just how much Covid-19 has spread. At one point almost the entire country turned maroon – indicating that there was anywhere between 100-499 new cases of Covid-19 per 25,000 Residents in a particular county. When asked about it, Erik Amlee, Technical Lead for the Giving Map team, stated that the gif resonated with a lot of people which showed the power that accurate data can have.

Advantages:

• Both the Covid-19 and Hunger maps are great ways for you to help the counties that need assistance the most
• Giving Map can also be used in conjunction with Charity Navigator to find a local charity in your area that you can donate to – regardless of their mission
• Giving Map sits on an open-source platform allowing anyone to contribute on the backend. In this way, contributors can make the map more functional, easier to use, and increase accuracy of the data displayed on the maps.

Disadvantages:

• I would love to see the map expand to include volunteer activities. As it stands right now users are only able to find charities to donate to as opposed to volunteer with.

My Opinion:

Like Erik said in our conversation, data visualization is an extremely powerful tool. I appreciate the steps that the Giving Map team went through to provide an accurate portrayal of the Covid-19 and Hunger crisis that has been gripping the nation at a county level. In my opinion it’s easier to relate to a situation when it’s happening in your backyard. And when you relate to a crisis like hunger or Covid-19 relief, a person is more apt to donate their time and resources.

Donating money is crucial to any nonprofit organization, but I would love to see the Giving Map explore ways to incorporate volunteerism into their maps. Some people don’t have the resources to donate money, but have time to volunteer – or they want to both donate and volunteer. Creating an asset that shows them which nonprofits are looking for volunteers is a way that people can help their community and nonprofits can access volunteers to assist them.

“We are Canva, but more,” explains Visme founder Paymen Taei, founder and CEO of Visme, a design platform for non-designers.  He’s right. Visme is Canva. But on steroids.  Like Canva, Visme is a design platform that allows non-designers (like me) the ability to create vibrant presentations, and videos using pre-existing templates, graphics, and pictures. But unlike Canva, Visme allows users to assemble an entire presentation as opposed to a one-off slide. It’s an accessible software that nonprofits can use without having to hire an outside design agency or hire a freelancer.

In Use:

According to Taei, who began his career as a web designer - Visme was a consolidation of many pain points that his clients were facing. They thought their presentations were ugly and needed him to spruce them up; their knowledge on graphic design was limited and therefore their designs were mediocre; or like many nonprofits – they didn’t have the funds to hire an agency to help them with their brand and creative. From there- Visme was born in 2013.

Like Canva, Visme has a free subscription that includes limited charts, widgets, and templates and up to 100 MB of storage. Users are allowed up to five public projects. Want to create private projects? Need more storage space, or want to access more templates, charts and widgets?  Visme has three other subscriptions that nonprofits can choose from with prices starting at $15 per montn if opting for an annual contract. Visme offers the “Business Plan” subscription to nonprofits at a 25% discount. The Business plan which is normally $29 per month (with an annual contract) comes with a Brand Kit, Analytics, Third-Party Integrations, and the ability to collect and store leads.

Ease of Use:

Visme is great for the non-designer because they have a lot of dynamic pre-existing templates that charities can choose from – whether they’re looking to create an infographic, video, or presentation for donors. They also supply charts and widgets that can be placed within a project. Want to excel beyond the pre-existing templates? Visme offers users educational resources that they can access for free. This includes blog posts, webinars, tutorials, and an online course.

Technology Used:

Visme projects live in the cloud and can be accessed anywhere. They can also be downloaded and exported as a Powerpoint, PDF, GIFs, or HTML-5 file. It all depends on what the user is more comfortable with.

Visme also integrates with third party applications such as Jotform, Youtube, Survey Monkey and Wistia. Using software such as Jotform or Survey Monkey, nonprofits can embed a form, survey, or video right into their presentation which allows for a seamless project.

Recap:

Visme is a “cloud-based visual content creation and collaboration platform” aimed at both designers and non-designers. It includes templates, pictures, graphs, and widgets that users can use to create vibrant and professional creative. Whether it’s an infographic, flowchart or animation – nonprofit organizations can skip the freelancer and create content without the expense ultimately saving them time and money.

Advantages:

• Nonprofits receive a 25% off of the “Business Plan” subscription that includes access to a Brand Kit, premium templates and unlimited projects
• Integrates with third parties such as YouTube and Survey Monkey – allowing users to embed a video or survey right into their presentation
• Presentation can be downloaded or live on the cloud
• Numerous pre-made templates to chose from that can be customized

Disadvantages:

• No mobile version yet
• Some users would like to see more pre-existing templates

My Opinion:

As someone who doesn’t have a creative bone in their body I love the fact that Visme has pre-made templates and visuals that nonprofits can use without spending thousands of dollars on an outside agency. Visme works with many nonprofits and I think even the smallest nonprofit can utilize the perks of Visme whether they opt for a free subscription or a Business Plan where they get a 25% discount. To get the most out of Visme, I would take advantage of their offerings whether it’s their blog posts or live webinars.

While Visme does not have a mobile version as of yet – it is in the works so nonprofits can expect to see it soon. It doesn’t mean that they can’t access Visme on their phones or tablets now – it just may be a bit cumbersome for the time being.

Back in 2018, I wrote a review on Virtuous’ new online donation platform. Founded by Gabe Cooper in 2014, Virtuous is a non-profit CRM whose mission is to empower charities to grow generosity. Their multiple platforms aim to make it easier for nonprofits to engage with their donors while taking some of the heavy lifting off of their shoulders.

In Use:

“Giving is deeply personal. Technology should support that and traditional software isn’t designed to do that,” explains Noah Barnett, CMO of Virtuous. Virtuous offers nonprofit organizations the ability to connect with their donors through online fundraising and marketing automation. The CRM’s backend dashboard allows charities to follow their donors giving journey while their analytics component, Signals allows nonprofits to gain much needed insight on who their donors, how they are giving, why they are giving, and how best to engage with them.

The platform can cost as little as $250 a month and is geared towards middle-to-large nonprofits between the $2M- $11M mark although Barnett notes it’s not so much the size of the nonprofit – but what their growth objectives are.

Technology Used:

Like many software companies today, Virtuous is a cloud-based platform. According to Barnett and Director of Customer Experience, Jeffrey Jacobs; being a cloud-based software makes them more accessible for all users. They add that it offers an additional layer of security. 

Virtuous is positioned as a “Best in Breed” software which means their platforms and services are considered best-in-class. Nonprofits shouldn’t solely rely on Virtuous for all of their technology needs – a mindset that many softwares share. According to their website, Virtuous points out that charities should never “feel handcuffed to a single system.” While having an “all-in-one” software may seem like a great idea – many times it’s too good to be true – leaving companies feeling gypped when the software they purchase cannot “do it all.” Because of this, Virtuous offer numerous integrations with companies like Mailchimp, Quickbook, Hubspot, and Eventbrite.

Ease of Use:

As the Director of Customer Experience Jacobs understands that that the task of migrating from one CRM to another can be daunting. That’s why they like to give a white glove approach to onboarding. Each new account is assigned to a data migration project manager, a support specialist and access to documentation that will make their migration easier.

Recap:

When it comes down to it Virtuous is a nonprofit CRM platform. Barnett likes to think that charities initially purchase Virtuous for the CRM, but once they see the value within their automation and integration tools they stick around. Virtuous boasts a 10% increase in donations and a 12% increase in donor retention rate for their customers.

Advantages:

• They are more than just a CRM – they have services and platforms that include analytics, automation, and online fundraising tools
• Integrations with numerous software such as Workday, WordPress, and Google
• Ability to customize the donor experience
• User interface is easy to navigate

Disadvantages:

• Customer service is only online
• The reporting features could be expanded upon to make it easier for customers to understand customer engagement

My Opinion

Barnett told me that one of Virtuous’ goals in 2021 is to focus on “listening really well” to their customers. From comments on G2; a peer-to-peer review site, and Softwareadvice.com; it seems like they’ve already accomplished this goal. Customers appreciate Virtuous’ dedication to their customers and the numerous updates and improvements they’ve made throughout the years. For instance, back in May 2019 a review on Softwareadvice.com stated that while Virtuous is “fantastic” he would love to see an integration with Zapier, an automation platform that lets companies connect their apps and automate workflow. Today, the CRM integrates with Zapier.

Back in 2018, I thought that Virtuous was a great place to start for any medium-to-large nonprofit looking to utilize a CRM. Based on the continued positive feedback – I still believe this.

Nonprofit marketing is a complicated task. Marketers in this industry don’t have it easy as many would think. It requires clear communication of mission and value, raising brand awareness and attracting supporters for a given cause. Furthermore, the marketing trends that change quickly mean that you must stay on top of how you need to engage your donors. Like the for-profit marketers, those doing marketing for charities must regularly revisit their marketing plan and figure out what the future might look like. However, you must expect setbacks and surprises as we all did in 2020, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some six marketing ideas for your nonprofit that will improve your digital marketing strategy this year and in the future:

• Improve your website

A website is a sign in the modern era that shows the seriousness of your organization. When I say have a website, I mean a friendly-looking and interactive website where people can check the services your offer and other things. The crucial questions you need to answer are: Can my organization be found via a Google search? How fast and how responsive is your website? How easy is it to navigate through the content of your website? Is your website up to date? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you need to upgrade your website. You can achieve this by engaging qualified persons or doing it yourself through website builders.

• Improve your social media pages

Social media has become a critical tool for organizations today. Just like how vital it is to have a website, having an active social media presence provides excellent alternatives to connect with your potential donors and share crucial information.

This year, ensure that you have strong, consistent social media pages that you can use to reach your target segment. If you are not sure of which platforms to join, poll different stakeholders on their preferred social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or Instagram or any other.

• Make use of visual storytelling

While content marketing strategies such as blogs continue to attract many nonprofits, more and more charities are beginning to see the power of visual storytelling in marketing. This method has undoubtedly become one of the most preferred marketing approaches. A study by HubSpot indicated that the brain processes visuals 60,000 times than text. Therefore, people tend to prefer visually appealing stories to blog content. As we move on, try incorporating photos, videos or infographics into your marketing, and you will see some improvement.

• Automate tasks to save time

While you can do some things manually, some are better when automated. Email marketing is one thing that will benefit a lot from automation. It has the best ROI if used for outreach on the existing clients. Doing so will not only save you time but will also reduce cost and help you reach your donors without failing. Automation ensures that those who sign up for your charity’s email newsletter receive certain communications.

• Be mobile-responsive

Almost everything in the world today is accessed through smartphones. As such, there are higher chances that your supporters will access your website or your social media pages with their mobile phones. Similarly, they are most likely to read text messages and emails on their phones than on PCs. Therefore, you should spend time designing emails, websites and text messages that are mobile-friendly and responsive. These are those that adapt to the size of screens and look the same regardless of the device used.

• Use branded donation pages

Branding is critical for nonprofits, just as it is for other organizations. This is also the case when it comes to donation pages. According to the Network for Good Digital Giving, nonprofits with properly branded donation pages collect about $15,000 more than those with generic donation pages. This shows how branding is a game-changer. For your causes, create custom donation forms that are specifically branded to your campaigns. This will create a seamless experience for the donors and sustain their drive to give.

Like for-profit organizations, having diverse and inclusive nonprofits has become a popular topic of debate in recent years. According to a study by The Center for Effective Philanthropy, many nonprofits lack gender and sexual orientation diversity, although they have tried to address the issue of racial and cultural diversity. While The National Council of Nonprofits has stated that it stands for equity and justice while denouncing racism, intolerance, and exclusion, it has been proven over years that standing alone is not enough. Instead, nonprofits must follow a path that leads to equity, diversity, and inclusion in all their operations. Here are some practice pointers that will lead to the achievement of diversity and inclusion.

• Focus on organization-wide diversity

Nonprofits must aim to foster diversity within and beyond their organizations. This should start from staff to vendors and suppliers and the community that helps the organizations in their causes and projects.

• Understand the biases of your team

Understanding your team and their unconscious biases are essential in developing steps towards equity within your organization. It gives you knowledge that you need to address issues that exist with regard to gender, sexual orientation, and race, among others, as you develop strategies towards equity.

• Build a culture of compassion

Members of a nonprofit should be culturally competent. Charities' leadership must work hard to create and sustain a culture of empathy and compassion among the members and all those they serve. This will reduce incidences of exclusion. Remember that values written in statements of organizations’ mission or vision will not make sense until they are implemented.

• Be open to discussions

Discussions are a perfect way of venting. Therefore, regular discussions among the community and nonprofit leaders bring up issues of inequality. Hosting discussions allows people to step out of the “echo chamber” and say what affects them. Ensure that everyone’s voice is heard and understood respectfully. Make the discussions open to allow every stakeholder to voice their concerns, challenges, and views.

Questions you should consider when creating a diversity, equity, and inclusion

To create a diverse environment for your nonprofits, you have to ask yourself some questions to form a guide that you will follow.

• One of the questions you should consider is how transparent my organization is and how I wish to make my organization diverse? Also, ask yourself how your organization will communicate your values to the public, donors, volunteers, and paid staff.
• Secondly, consider whether the organization's values have been published on the website of your organization or shared publicly. If they have been published, do these values make sense with regard to your commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion? Are they inward-facing, outward-facing, or a combination of the two?
• Does your nonprofit listen to everyone's voices, including the community, grassroots, young people, underserved and marginalized populations within the community?
• How can your nonprofit ensure there is diversity during the hiring of staff? This question will guide you in hiring talented candidates across communities and underrepresented groups.
• Ask yourself if your organization is committed to making diversity, inclusion, and equity part of the orientation process for new board members, paid employees, and volunteers.

In conclusion, although most for-profits ensured diversity is in place in their strategies to meet the goals of inclusion, nonprofits still have some way to go. It is time for charities to do the same by incorporating diversity and inclusion in every aspect, such as hiring practices, instead of just talking and doing nothing tangible about it. This should be done at a good pace since doing it slowly will never help you achieve your goals in the modern era.

The internet of Things (IoT) has made its way to almost every industry. For the nonprofit sector, IoT is proving to be one of the most innovative and beneficial solutions that will help charities offer better services. Although nonprofits have been behind in adopting technology over the years, they are beginning to catch up fast. From contactless payment systems embedded to operating systems to fundraising tools, IoT can change how nonprofits collect their donations for causes that will change lives.

The adoption of new technology is essential in attracting a younger donor base. This is an excellent move to renew things as the donor-base grows older, and there is a need to recruit a new generation of donors, activists, volunteers, and nonprofit advocates. The adoption of technology is attributed to the changes in the age demographic of donors. Millennials now make the largest and fastest-growing donor base. With this growth, millennials are increasingly demanding to understand the impact of their contributions. Organizations are giving in by demonstrating concrete results of their causes with the help of technology.

Nonprofits have identified how the internet of things technologies can enable collecting and analyzing data, such as identifying the in-kind donations, interventions, and programs that are in high demand at a specific time. The analysis of such data can lead to strategic fundraising efforts that will attract, engage and retain donors based on how they respond to new marketing or outreach initiatives. The advances in IoT can also help nonprofits engage customers, optimize their daily operations, and address rising issues proactively, that provides the basis for informed decision-making.

With the rising demand for IoT devices by nonprofits, its adoption continues to rise, and so are the potential uses of this technology by charities and other industries. Charities now have a chance to invest in this technology to revolutionize their services. This technology also enhances communication between nonprofits and their supporters. Because they are connected, the “things” can transmit information and communicate with other connected devices. They can gather data and share them between themselves allowing charities to receive intelligence and act on it. Right now, nonprofits aim at becoming data-driven.

 IoT promises to provide access to the massive amounts of highly relevant data collected by sensors and “things.” Nonprofits can use this data for predictive maintenance or optimization of operations in addition to helping equip organizations with knowledge to engage donors in better and informed ways. The most important thing for any charity is the connection with the donors. IoT enables donors to use sensor data to forge strong, informed partnerships through the information that is factual and easy to digest. Nonprofits can use sensors to connect with the existing platforms such as social media, email campaigns, and fundraising events.

Nonprofits can use IoT to entice new donors and create meaningful relationships by ensuring transparency in their projects such as water provision, medical care, and educational services. Sensors can be installed on wells to monitor water levels, when and how much water is extracted at a specific time or day.  This information can show the donors the work that their donations are doing.

As more people continue joining the online community each day, IoT will soon become a critical element in managing and running nonprofits. As nonprofits seek to embrace technology and use it to attract a new generation of donors through fact-based decisions, they should ensure that they understand the advantages that IoT brings before adopting and using it. This will help them gather data that is meaningful and that positively impacts their causes.

The past year proved that we cannot always correctly predict the future. Without warning, the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts drove many nonprofits to the edge and put them in precarious positions. According to a study done in the summer, it was found that as high as 38 percent of the nonprofits were in danger of closing. Despite the issues, the good thing during the pandemic has been innovation.  As lockdown reduced human interaction, nonprofits sought technology as their refuge. With this adoption, nonprofits might emerge stronger after the pandemic than ever before. Here are a few tech trends that might help nonprofits in 2021.

• More virtual events and online engagement opportunities

At the beginning of the lockdown, many organizations did not know how to conduct their operations and meetings. For nonprofits, in-person volunteer and fundraising experiences became a nightmare. However, with a few available software platforms, the in-person walks and runs were converted into at-home events coordinated through social media toolkits. Conferences, award ceremonies, and galas became live-stream events with giving pages being set up.

Now that online events have proven effective, 2021 will see improvements geared towards making the events interactive, personal, and appealing to donors. You might soon see nonprofits taking advantage of donors’ passion for fundraising by hosting virtual activities such as rock climbing, games, and others.

• Remote collaboration and video conferencing

These two go together, and the pandemic might have just shown how they are indispensable. We have seen video conferencing for some time now. But the remote collaboration is something new that is just getting started. Thanks to platforms like Zoom and Google Docs, remote work was the biggest winner during the pandemic that has shown that remote meetings and teamwork are achievable. Working remotely will become a consistent reality in 2021 for most volunteers and employees. Many nonprofits will look for ways to add flexibility to their operation by offering remote work options where possible.

• The rise and rise of video marketing and fundraising

Video marketing has for some time now emerged as a favorite marketing approach for many organizations. In 2021, video marketing is expected to be 82% of all online traffic. This means that many nonprofits will reach their donors through video marketing campaigns. As this tool becomes increasingly famous, nonprofits will look into ways to add video content to their marketing efforts.  This marketing approach will not replace other channels but will complement them.  

• Charity meets big data and analytics

Big data has become a major talking point for many organizations, not just nonprofits. With the pandemic now affecting many areas, charities now have a tough time reaching donors or accessing them for conversations, or convincing them to support a particular cause. These conversations have been moved to platforms such as emails and social media platforms. With managed data analytics tools such as Tableau and Techsoup, nonprofits can analyze their donors and tailor their massaging to fit each group.

As nonprofits move online due to the pandemic, 2021 might see many big data analytics initiatives. Nonprofits will leverage big data to learn and ask questions and even design their messaging. They will not be left behind in taking advantage of the latest technology in charity works. With the nonprofit climate changing faster than it was a year ago, nonprofits will have to adopt new working methods, which entails immediately accessing current data and in-app reporting to speed decision-making. With visualizations and accurate, timely data, nonprofit professionals will no longer have to go through massive amounts of data to determine the trends.

You can now say “Alexa make a donation to_____” and have Alexa use your Amazon pay account to make a donation up to $5,000.  Currently, this program is only available to select charities that have been invited by Amazon. However, it is likely that this program will be a hit with both donors and nonprofits, so it is something that you should have on your radar for the upcoming year. 

Another high tech trend to watch for 2020 is the rise in giving via a blockchain platform. A blockchain platform is  a public ledger relying on globally distributed historical transactions to prevent tampering and fraud. 

Blockchain was designed to offer a higher level of transparency for transactions. Many donors wish to know that their donations are going directly to the charity that they have selected for the express purpose of funding a certain project. A blockchain giving platform can give them that piece of mind. 

BitGive’s GiveTrack is an example of one such platform. BitGive shares detailed real time information about the financial and project status of the charities that they work with that are accepting donations via GiveTrack.

Global Giving is a crowdfunding platform designed to help small nonprofits raise awareness and money. Global Giving is also a nonprofit, which means it understands what nonprofits need to run a successful fundraising campaign. 

Global Giving also understands that small nonprofits don’t have a large budget, so there is no application fee to join the  Global Giving platform. There is no monthly subscription fee, however Global Givings has a 3% transaction fee along with a sliding scale support fee of 5-12% of collected donations. 

The site offers a host of training and support options for nonprofits that join the platform. There are webinars, training libraries, workshops, one on one phone consultations or site visits.  The platform has tools like gamification and incentives to increase donations. 

The platform offers all the standard fundraising campaign tools, including metrics, donor engagement, social media integration. What it also offers is opportunities to partner with large companies for matching grants, or specific giving programs with the company.

know your audience in order to determine if live streaming is right for your nonprofit. The people you want to engage through a live stream have to be savvy enough to access your video feed so that they aren’t overwhelmed or frustrated by the experience. Beyond this point, your decision should come down to value—both to the viewer and to your organization.

If your organization is exploring adding a livestream to your next event there are a few things that you should consider. First, is your event the type of event that makes for a good livestream. 

The purpose of the livestream is to generate enthusiasm and excitement from those who are unable to attend in person. The event you are live streaming has to be visually interesting enough to keep your online viewer engaged. The most successful live streams are based on events that have an element of excitement to them. Is your event a fashion show? Will there be cute animals?--you can never go wrong livestreaming cute animals.  Also, if your event includes a celebrity guest that you know people who were unable to attend in person would love to see, 

After determining if your event is right for a livestream, it’s time to consider if your intended audience is right for a livestream. If your audience is comfortable using Twitch, YouTube or social media, if you chose to livestream via Facebook than live streaming is a good idea. If your audience is not comfortable with those platforms it doesn’t mean that you can’t do a livestream it just means that you may not get a huge return from the event. 

Next, it’s time to plan your livestream events content. Think of your live stream as the modern equivalent to a charity telethon-except instead of broadcasting on TV your using the internet. A telethon doesn’t consist of a single still shot of the action and neither should your livestream. 

Create a content script. If your are doing a fashion show consider doing interviews with the models or designers (or stores that donated the fashion). Have a host roving the audience,anything to spice up the broadcast. Remember you want to keep the excitement going. 

Many livestream apps allow your organization to collect donations directly from the livestream platform, so make sure your call to action is clear. 

EveryAction wants to be everything to every nonprofit. This cloud based platform offers fundraising, advocacy, organizing and digital all in one package. 

For fundraising, you can use the platform to create a simple donation page for your website. You can also use the platform to track major gifts, pledges and other donations. And, you can run an online auction with it as well. 

Get all your advocacy done with social matching and listening which lets you monitor and track influential supporters and it has an advocacy module that makes it easy for you to turn your advocates into donors. 

Organize your supporters with the built in tools to manage your volunteers and coordinate your canvassing or phone bank events. 

The digital portion lets you build multi channel ad campaigns. The platform includes data visualization tools so you can make use of all the various data sets that your organization accumulates. 

Nonprofits can make the most out the remaining giving days in the year, reports The Nonprofit Times. 

You’ve survived Giving Tuesday – and hopefully come out of it with a nice boost of donation revenue for your nonprofit.

Read article on The Nonprofit Times

New Story, a nonprofit that focuses on using tech to build affordable housing, plans on having 50 new homes erected a Mexico community by the end of 2020. 

A giant 3D printer built two houses in an impoverished, rural part of Mexico last week, breaking ground on what will be the first 3D-printed neighborhood in the world.

Read article on Fox 2 Now

According to the Biz Tech Magazine, integrated giving is one of several technology trends that will impact nonprofits in 2020. 

Nonprofits have a lot on their plates. Charitable giving took a hit last year, declining for the first time since the Great Recession, forcing organizations to do more with less.

Read article on Biz Tech Magazine

Mobile friendly devices help contribute to the success of #GivingTuesday, reports Biz Tech Magazine.  

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday are all behind us, but the long Thanksgiving weekend isn’t over yet. Many will be digging deep into their pockets again today, but not for themselves—this time, it’s for Giving Tuesday. 

Read article on BizTech Magazine