Online Fundraising - September Net Tuesday September 30, 2008

The September Net Tuesday will feature two speakers presenting about raising money online.

Jonathon Colman will present experiences using Facebook to raise awareness and funds for the Nature Conservancy. Using Facebook applications the Nature Conservancy raised over $33,000, recruited over 20,000 new members, and preserved over 29MM square feet of rain forest.

Michael Gilbert has conducted research on nonprofit online communication practices for over a decade. His latest research, still in the final stages of data gathering, is on the topic of cultivation and stewardship of donors. He has long argued that this, far more than the other two main pieces of the fundraising cycle - prospecting and asking - is where the greatest promise of online fundraising is to be found. He will be presenting very preliminary results of his current research, based on early data and first pass analysis. Some of the topics touched on in this research include: paths of engagement, proportion of asks to other messages, email practices, and donor communication history.

About Jonathon Colman:
Jonathon D. Colman is the associate director of digital marketing for The Nature Conservancy, where he leads the strategic marketing and promotion of the Conservancy's web site at http://www.nature.org/

For more than a decade, Jonathon has designed, developed, and promoted web sites for large companies and nonprofits, including The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and IBM. His expertise lies in web strategy, online marketing and outreach, search engine optimization and marketing, and engaging "web 2.0" news portals (Digg, Mixx, StumbleUpon) and online social networks (MySpace, Facebook, Care2) to build buzz and support good causes.

About Michael Gilbert:
Michael Gilbert is an internationally known consultant to foundations and nonprofits, an innovator and researcher in the field of nonprofit communication, and a social entrepreneur. He is the author and editor of publications including Communication Centered Technology Planning, The Guide to Nonprofit Email, and The Campaign Cookbook.

Mr. Gilbert is also the publisher and editor of Nonprofit Online News, founding president of Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, and was CEO of nonprofit software company Social Ecology. Mr. Gilbert served as Executive Director or Chief Executive of six organizations, as a board member or officer of more than thirty, and as a communication and management consultant to over 1000 organizations in more than 20 countries over the last 23 years. He was born in Sweden, lives and works in Seattle, and counts Berlin as his home away from home.

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