Increasingly, having a strong web presence is expected.
The Internet offers new ways to communicate with existing
supporters, reach new audiences, and deliver services more
cost-effectively. You need to ask:
- How can you build online communities for supporters and
beneficiaries in a dedicated area on your website?
- What benefits will clients and donors get from this and what
benefits will we see?
Integrating your outward-facing website with your back office
opens up a world of opportunities, including:
- Enabling supporters to self-serve - Your
donors expect you to provide the web-enablement that will allow
them to self-serve to update their personal details. Your
fundraising system should be able to exceed these expectations,
providing supporters with a tailored, personalised view of your
organisation according to factors such as their communications
preferences, region and interests.
- Building communities - Today’s clients and
donors expect to be able to participate in the online peer-to-peer
communities, such as networks, forums and knowledge hubs that build
relationships and foster long-term engagement.
A web portal with interesting and useful content and privileged
access to a members-only area becomes another compelling reason for
people to become involved with your cause. It reinforces their
connection with the organisation and helps you to maintain your own
links with them over the long-term. Having a strong web presence
also enables you to attract a new generation of supporters and
re-engage with lapsed donors.
- Ensuring data integrity - Your charity
gains by being able to delegate to supporters much of the routine
administration around maintaining their profiles. Not only does
this reduce the internal workload, it contributes to the
cleanliness and health of your data.
- Canvassing feedback - Online surveys and
feedback on events become much easier to distribute and collate
through the Internet and can maximise your marketing budgets
when planning activities in the future.
- Facilitating online payments - Enabling your
supporters to donate or shop online reduces costs while developing
new revenue streams.
