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.

As Giving Tuesday approaches, many nonprofits are turning to fundraising platforms such as GoFundMe and Crowdfunding.com to seek donations from past and new donors alike. Giving Tuesday occurs the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and encourages holiday shoppers to make donations to charities around the world. Aiding nonprofits to reach their fundraising goals is Snowball (formally @Pay), a fundraising software that makes it easy for nonprofit organizations to collect donations.

In Use:

Snowball has many features that make it easy for a nonprofit to maximize donor contributions. Features include, online donation pages, recurring gifts, Text-to-Give, and dedicated support. Unlike GoFundMe, Snowball is a CRM (customer relationship management) solution so users can update and track gifts while also managing staff and volunteers. Auctions are also available for nonprofits to utilize.

Snowball features four subscriptions plans that range from $0 to $999 per year. The basic subscription gives users access to the CRM dashboard, unlimited accounts, event registration, and reoccurring gifts. The Premium Bundle Tier is $799 per year and includes the ability to host an auction, Text-to-Give, unlimited campaigns, and ability to customize donation pages. Finally, the Enterprise subscription is $999 per year and includes Enterprise support and custom integrations.

Technology Used:

Snowball is web-based and can be used by both iOS and android devices. Their dashboard enables nonprofits to track and manage their donations. The dashboard also gives users the ability to analyze their data to understand who is donating to their charity.

Ease of Use:  

Snowball is known for being very easy and simple to use. The company also employs bi-lingual U.S. support for all subscriptions both online and over the phone.

Recap:

Snowball is a CRM and a fundraising platform that helps nonprofit organizations fundraise. Perks of using Snowball includes Text-To-Give, offline donations, Auctions, event registrations, and customer support. Users are able to use the platform for event ticketing and registration. Because it’s also a CRM, the software offers all users a dashboard where charities can manage their donations and analyze their results.

Advantages:

• Ease to use
• Features such as Text-to-Give and event registration
• Free basic subscription
• Ability to host an Auction

Disadvantages:

• Not very robust when it comes to other CRMs like Bloomerang and DonorPerfect – best used as a fundraising platform
• Auction subscription is pricey as well as the Premium bundle that comes with Text-To-Give and unlimited events and ticketing

My Opinion:

I appreciate that Snowball offers a free version of their tool with the ability to grow as the charity grows. However, I think the really cool features like auctions and unlimited events and ticketing are locked behind a $799 yearly fee – that many nonprofits can’t afford.

With this switch to a more virtual world – having the ability to host an auction will really help nonprofits secure funds. It’s also a fun interactive way to get donations while connecting with the community.

As for being a CRM, they technically are because they offer a dashboard and analytics to their customers – but they have a long way to go before their compete against nonprofit CRMs such as DonorPerfect and NeonCRM. That’s being said – I could see it being perfect for a small nonprofit who are just interested in managing donations.

Fundraising is a critical component of any successful nonprofit organization. While it may be essential, it is also time consuming. Reaching out to donors takes time. Often, the end result falls flat. SimioCloud (owned by Moore, a provider of performance-driven marketing solutions), recently announced their newest solution, SimioAudience in hopes to cut down the time an organization needs to fundraise by providing a list of prospect donors that have given to similar nonprofits in the past.

In Use

Touted as a next-generation cooperative database designed specifically for nonprofit fundraising – SimioAudience aims to deliver real-time insights on donor information. According to Doug Kaczmarek, the Chief Data Officer of Moore, SimioAudience is a co-operative database that is able to identify new perspective donors using machine learning capabilities to develop predictive models. Unlike their competitors who only have access to transactional information – SimioAudience can provide their clients with distinct donor history to get more accurate results. This means a nonprofit more time marketing to those that statistically have a better chance of donating to their cause.

To get the most out of the solution, SimioAudience is geared towards mid-large level nonprofit organizations and they recommend each nonprofit have at least 5 thousand donors with a robust growth plan. Interested parties rent the list from SimioAudience as a “one time” which Kaczmarek states is industry practice. The platform charges nonprofits $65 per 1,000 names.

Ease of Use:

SimioAudience is easy to use because clients receive a report of targeted donors that are highly likely to engage with the charity.  There’s no dashboard or back-end platforms that the clients have to manage. SimioAudience will analyze the data on the backend and send their clients a curated list full of donors that are more than likely to donate.

Technology Needed:

What sets SimioAudience apart from their competition is that they are based in the cloud. Therefore, they have the advantage of having up-to-date donor information where other co-operative databases may only update their database once or twice a month.

SimioAudience also makes it a point to connect billions of data points through their machine learning and AI capabilities. This ensures their predictive models are equipped with making precise recommendations.

Recap:  

In a press release in late September, chief executive officer of Moore, Gretchen Littlefield explained, “SimioAudience identifies new and emerging donors using cloud-based processing, transactional data and machine learning technologies unlike any other data source. It’s truly the next generation co-op.” The platform works by collecting donor data so SimioAudience is able to provide a concise report of potential donors to clients. By using predictive models, SimioAudience is able to predict which donors are most likely to respond and donate and which donors are not. This way nonprofits can spend their time and money marketing to the correct people. 

Advantages:

• SimioAudience is based in the cloud so their database is always updated with the latest donor pool
• They use predictive analytics, and many data points to predict which donors will likely respond and ultimately donate
• There is no dashboard or heavy lifting on the client’s part. They will receive a curated report that they use for their marketing initiatives.

Disadvantages:

• This is geared towards mid-large nonprofits. Nonprofits must have at least 5 thousand donors to participate
• There’s no guarantee that the donors in the report SimioAudience provides will actually donate
• You are expected to give your donor information to SimioAudience to contribute to the database

My Opinion

I think SimioAudience can provide great benefits to large nonprofit organization looking for a list of potential donors. Because they’re based in the cloud their information is constantly being updated. It’s also nice that there is no heavy listing on the nonprofit’s side.

As a data nerd I think it’s really interesting that they’re using predictive analytics and AI to predict potential donors. I think this is something that we’ve been seeing from tech companies and will continue to see more and more.  At the same time, I would still struggle with providing my donor data despite Kaczmarek assurance that all data is anonymized. 

Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on annual events and galas for the bulk of their donations. Since the pandemic – many nonprofits have had to cancel or postpone their events. Others have opted to switch to virtual events – but that comes with its own set-backs and learning curves. Ujama, a predominately mobile app hopes that their application can change the way charities set up and carry out their annual events.

In Use:

Ujama was founded in 2016 by CEO, Hugh Molotsi. The mobile app was originally started as a way to bring parents together - to “alleviate the burden of challenges” such as transportation, pick up time, and after-school activities. Since its inception four years ago, the app has expanded into a tool that nonprofit organizations can utilize to promote virtual events and silent auctions. The app is currently free for nonprofits to use and consists mainly of a chat function. One nonprofit, Assisted Animal Happiness uses this feature to place items up for bid that donors can purchase on the app.

Ease of Use:

Because Ujama is mainly a message board it is pretty easy to maneuver and bid on items. Ujama also acts as an app to bring parents together in the community – so it may be confusing at first for a donor. I recently spoke to Vicki Amon-Higaof, co-founder of Assisted Animal Happiness located in the Bay Area. She realized she could use Ujama to post items for their silent auction prior to their Virtual Evening at the Barnyard Fundraiser – an event that they usually host in person. “We have been able to put the URL on our website and other material and send people right into the chat,” she explained after hearing about Ujama from Michelle Molotsi who is also on the Board of Directors at Assisted Animal Happiness. So far, Vicki is impressed with the results. She noticed that some people join the chat and come back often – bidding on and watching items that they’re interested in.

Technology Needed:

Ujama is a free mobile app that is available on both Android and iPhone devices. When purchasing items or bidding in a silent auction – users purchase the item through the app itself. When asked about security concerns – Molotsi explained the app uses Stripe to process payments. “Buyers are charged the payment fees and not the recipients, so nonprofits keep all the money they raise.” Molotsi added, “Ujama does not make any money on payment fees.”

Recap:

Nonprofit organizations can use Ujama, a mobile app for chat features, and virtual silent auctions where donors can bid and purchase items in lieu of an in-person event. A charity can send a link to a potential donor to download the app and participate on the platform. As of now the mobile app is free for charities to use.

Advantages

• It is a free mobile app that nonprofits can use for silent auctions
• Easy to navigate
• Donors can bid on items and purchase them through the app
• Ujama uses Stripe – a secure payment processing tool

Disadvantages

• Could be confusing since the app was originally made for parents to connect
• No “Help” button within the app

My Opinion

Ujama recently rolled out their mobile app to nonprofit organizations. At the moment it just consists of a chat functionality. That being said - Assisted Animal Happiness has had success using the tool for their silent auction and is happy with the app.

In the future, if Ujama is serious about making this a tool for nonprofits – I would like to see more tools that nonprofits can utilize instead of just the chat function.

For any organization, having a continuous and robust performance tracking system helps in aligning and tracking goals. Sadly, many organizations encounter various management challenges as they attempt to create a good working environment for both the employees and the employer. For nonprofits across the world, proper management is needed to deliver value to the communities they serve. As a manager, you can lead your team members to success and satisfaction by identifying the existing challenges and sorting them out one at a time. Here are some of the key management issues that can be encountered by non-profit organizations:

• Saturated market

The nonprofit industry has grown tremendously over the past few years. In the US alone, there are more than 1.5 million registered nonprofit organizations as per the reports by the National Center for Charitable Statistics. With the increase in competition, there has also been and rising competition for markets and resources. This is making it hard for nonprofits to stand out from the rest. With the rising competition for resources, there is also a problem for organizations to compete for public attention. The high number of nonprofits means that they must appeal to one group or another to get money for their causes.

• Volunteer recruitment

Starting a nonprofit can be easy but getting the right volunteers to steer your cause is something that is totally different. Research indicates that 31 percent of nonprofits find the recruitment of volunteers as a leading challenge. While some may think that this is a problem for new charities alone, the truth is that even the established ones face the same problem. This forces nonprofits to provide volunteers with the resources they need for success and training to enhance their skills. Even with these, there are still low rates of retention in the nonprofit space.

• Retaining the best employees

Skills have become more and more specialized in the nonprofit sector today. As such, with talented employees on your side, you can always offer the best service. However, if you fail to give employees what is worth their skills and effort, someone else will do that. The biggest challenge you can face today is ensuring that the talented employees are supported, learn new skills, and are happy. With the rising popularity of remote work, employees have become more independent and retention is becoming more challenging than ever.

• Getting funds for causes and missions

This is perhaps one of the hardest things for any nonprofit out there. Since a nonprofit is as good as the causes or missions it supports, the ability to get enough funds determines the achievement of goals and objectives. According to A State of the State Sector survey, more than 50 percent of nonprofits in the US are unable to meet their goals and reach their missions due to funding issues. While most of the problems can be linked to the competitive environment, most nonprofits lack adequate fundraising plans and lack enough effort. Those who succeed are nonprofits with the right strategies that include proper enticement of supporters to raise funds and plan on spending donor money.

• Confronting performance issues

Performance issues are always a concern to nonprofits, just like it is for any other business. As such, if your nonprofit is not doing what is needed by donors and other stakeholders, a competitor can easily come in and take your donors. As a manager, you must identify and eliminate problems quickly. As a nonprofit leader, you must always be careful to ensure a balance of getting the results and maintaining the relationship with the volunteers. Although you need to be strict, ensure that you have the trust of all stakeholders.

2020 put the spotlight on your digital presence unlike anything we’ve seen before. With limits on physical gatherings, all organizations were left with was their digital presence. For many, this led to a renewed focus on digital marketing such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a term you might have already been familiar with, if not, now is a great time to learn. If you are trying to market a non-profit, SEO should be a major component. Local SEO tactics are a great way to start reaching audiences at a local-level.

The purpose of SEO is to deliver helpful content to people actively searching for it. SEO can and should be used to reach your target audience locally and nationally. Local SEO, then, is about increasing the search visibility for businesses serving local communities. For a non-profit, local SEO can be leveraged to engage supporters, drive donations and most importantly, share your mission with the world.

So how does SEO work? To start, you need to understand the four key factors impacting your local search engine rankings. The first is how relevant your site is to the search terms people are searching for. If search engines like Google think you are a healthcare related nonprofit, you are more likely to rank for “healthcare nonprofit” than other nonprofits. The second factor to know is distance. How close are you to the searcher? Search results will look different for people based on where they live. Next, you have to be trustworthy. Google uses factors such as the quantity and quality of reviews, how old your website is, what other websites have linked to yours and the quality of the content on your website to determine trustworthiness. Finally, the prominence of your nonprofit across the web will impact your ranking.

With these factors in mind, let’s talk about some actual steps you can take to improve your local SEO.

1 Leverage Google My Business

Google owns 87% of the search engine market. Therefore, you should prioritize your presence on Google. The best way to do this is by creating or claiming a Google My Business (GMB) page, which is free to do. A GMB page can help your non-profit in Google maps and search. To set it up you need to pull together the name, address and phone number (NAP) for any locations you have. Be sure you use your real business name—the same that can be found on your building and marketing collateral. It’s best to use your local phone number rather than a call center helpline. 

2 Use local business listings

Once you take care of your GMB listing, you can turn to other online listing options. There are plenty of places to get your nonprofit in front of people such as social media sites or business directories. Online business listings such as Facebook, Yellow Pages or an NGO directory are a way to help you reach more customers and ultimately help more people discover you online.

3 Gather reviews

One of the key components of a brand’s reputation is their online reviews. Reputation is extremely important for any organization, but especially for a nonprofit. People want to give donations to an organization with a good reputation. More and more people are turning to the internet to find nonprofits and evaluate their reputation. In light of all this, you should put a review strategy in place. Not only do reviews help build your brand reputation, they will increase your online visibility. As I mentioned before, the quantity and quality of reviews is a factor Google looks to when determining the trustworthiness of your site. When seeking reviews remember to make it easy for people to do. Sometimes all you have to do is ask for one. Don’t ask for reviews in bulk or pay for any - these both go against Google’s policies. Finally, be sure you respond to all your reviews, even negative ones.

4 Develop target keywords and start optimizing

A foundational aspect of SEO is keyword research. Determining what keywords you want to target to rank lays the foundation for knowing how to optimize your website. This requires knowing your target audience - what are they searching and what are they expecting to find. Focus on the keywords that have a high search volume and high intent, in other words, make sure you are trying to rank for words people are searching for often and keywords people are searching to act on. The terms should be ones describing your nonprofit.

Be sure to include these in any business listings like the Google My Business page. With your target keywords in mind, you can begin optimizing specific pages on your website for the keywords. You want to develop content showing expertise, authority and trustworthiness. This is the framework Google uses to determine the quality of content, which influences search engine rankings. Include your keyword in the title of a webpage, description, headers and throughout the page’s content.

There are numerous tactics to leverage SEO, but these are a few of the best, most cost-effective ways to get started. As we begin a new year, consider investing in digital marketing efforts to ensure you get in front of the people who need your services most and the people who can best support your mission.

Kelly Cooper is the Director, Growth Marketing at Moz. She uses data based decision making to develop sound strategy, online marketing channels to promote brand enhancement & engage target markets, and analysis of website visitor behavior to optimize for conversions and usability. Teamwork, coffee and headphones are integral parts of the process.

If one thing is for certain, it’s that 2020 has been a year full of uncertainty. With the challenges of a global pandemic, economic doubt, and political upheaval – the past year has brought tremendous change. As societal and financial trends continue to shift through 2021, technological updates will be crucial for nonprofits looking to achieve their mission and hit their goals. After an extremely challenging year for the industry, nonprofits must look to improve efficiency, cut costs, and maximize funding—here’s how one nonprofit thrived with all the challenges presented by COVID-19 and how technology will continue to support the industry in the year to come.

Innovation Will Continue to Improve Efficiency and Stewardship  

While many nonprofit leaders have already turned to data to help inform their decision-making and show evidence of impact, much of the technology they currently have in place is outdated and actually hampers their ability to streamline processes. With the increasing need for financial performance in 2021 to sustain funding and impact, nonprofit leaders must turn to innovative software solutions to make it possible to overcome the uncertainty of another year with COVID-19.

For example, this year, like many nonprofits, the Children’s Hunger Fund, a nonprofit working to combat poverty and food insecurity, faced COVID-related operating challenges. However, while they made the transition to remote work, canceled major fundraising events, navigated volunteering restrictions, and conducted their audit virtually, the Children’s Hunger Fund was able to keep business running as usual due to their investment in a cloud-based financial management solution.

The pandemic made the Children’s Hunger Fund’s audit process a unique one this year, as it was done virtually. But, with the help of their cloud-based financial management solution, Sage Intacct, it proved to be the smoothest audit they have ever conducted. With the ability to run reports on the fly, easily track information in one system and have remote access via the cloud, it was an extremely efficient and painless process, that was also two weeks quicker than the previous year.

Automation will Help Cut Costs and Allocate Funds for the Cause

According to a recent survey, nonprofit leaders ranked automation among the top benefits of next-generation software solutions because of the benefits automation offers around streamlining workflow for repetitive tasks such as purchase requisitions or bills that have to be reviewed and signed.

For example, Children’s Hunger Fund was able to streamline much of their reporting work due to automation. Roger Bayramian, CHF’s controller, noted: “Moving to a modern cloud accounting system with Sage Intacct, we were able to eliminate manual errors and increase productivity, cutting down more than 40 hours per month of manual tasks and freeing our finance team’s time for added program analysis and strategic planning.”

The more nonprofit leaders can automate certain tasks in the new year, the more funds they will be able to dedicate to their cause. The adoption of automation technologies will be crucial for nonprofits looking to cut costs, survive the challenges presented by pandemic, and thrive in 2021.    

Measuring Outcomes will Maximize Funding

As the competition for donations continues to heat up, illustrating program and service impact, especially fiscal accountability, will be crucial for nonprofits. Outcome metrics quantify a nonprofit’s return on mission, through a mix of indicators, data collection, analyses, and reporting across multiple dimensions.

For example, this year, multi-dimensional reporting capabilities enabled Children’s Hunger Fund to easily track and analyze when and where each donation is spent, giving their donors an increased sense of transparency and accountability.

With shifts in donor giving due to the pandemic, tracking and sharing metrics that define success and show good stewardship will be crucial for nonprofits looking to build confidence with existing and prospective donors in 2021.

Looking Ahead

Throughout 2021, nonprofits will continue to face plenty of uncertainty and feel the effects of COVID-19. With uncertainty around revenue, larger demand for service and programs, increased competition for donations, among other challenges, investing in innovative, financial management and technological solutions will be vital for nonprofits looking to thrive in the year to come.

Joan Benson, Director of Nonprofit Industry Marketing for Sage Intacct

As resource-strapped nonprofits must choose where to focus their energy and money, IT and cybersecurity are often underfunded and under-staffed, leaving systems vulnerable to cyberattack. This is especially concerning when considering that nonprofits collect and store sensitive financial information, as well as social security numbers and other PII, that hackers and cyber criminals desperately seek.

But all’s not doom and gloom. Nonprofit organizations can leverage automated email security platforms to mitigate these issues, also freeing up what IT resources they do have to focus on bigger picture issues around cybersecurity and other technology needs.

Why email security is a must-have for nonprofit organizations 

Today, 90% of all cyberattacks begin with a well-crafted phishing email that lures a click or download, or entices an illegitimate action, such as a wire transfer or credential sharing.

Nonprofits have long been viewed as low-hanging fruit for phishing attacks by hackers because, more often than not, such organizations lack email security safeguards while staff and volunteers may not be educated on how to best spot what’s real from what’s fake. In fact, a recent report from the NTEN found glaring gaps in nonprofit cybersecurity postures, including a lack of training and little monitoring of devices used by employees.

One example of an organization  that’s taken preventive measures to protect their donor base and network of partners is Charlotte, North Carolina-based tech nonprofit Apparo. As their mission is to help other nonprofits overcome tech problems, they knew they needed to walk the talk with an extra layer of email security on top of Microsoft O365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), now known at Microsoft Defender, which wasn’t sufficient in stopping phishing attacks.

Why? Microsoft ATP, known as a secure email gateway (SEG), isn’t built to stop phishing emails that contain no links or attachments. At this point, I’d expect almost everyone has seen an email impersonating their CEO or colleague asking for a quick task. The kicker there is that, because it’s only text, SEGs have an extremely difficult time identifying the message as malicious.

To mitigate risk, Apparo implemented a security solution that scrapes metadata and utilizes emerging technologies such as natural language understanding to block text-only phishing emails. After implementing the platform, Apparo saw a 99% decrease in phishing attacks penetrating inboxes.

According to Stephanie McKee, director of technology engagement at Apparo, the “banners, warnings and intuitive self-management not only protects our inboxes by blocking these emails from getting in front of our team, but it is also empowering our employees to stay proactive and vigilant against advanced attacks.” This dual approach to email security (technology and human intelligence) is key to mitigating risk.

McKee also notes, “Leaders of nonprofit organizations, like those Apparo serves, should know that adopting such technology doesn’t have to be a daunting and expensive task. We simply need to make it more well known that such options exist, can be easily implemented and won’t require massive security teams to implement.”

Cybersecurity solutions often have a bad reputation for being costly and technologically complicated to manage. But for nonprofits, email security can be a simple, non-time-intensive implementation with seamless integrations into current email and IT systems. With no security expertise needed or custom configurations, there’s a clear path forward for nonprofit organizations looking to protect their employees, donors and sensitive data. That path begins with emphasizing email security.

Eyal Benishti has spent more than a decade in the information security industry, with a focus on software R&D for startups and enterprises. Before establishing IRONSCALES, he served as security researcher and malware analyst at Radware, where he filed two patents in the information security domain. He also served as technical lead at Imperva, working on the Web Application Firewall product and other security solutions. A passionate cyber researcher from a young age, Eyal holds a degree in computer science and mathematics from Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

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