The Giving Catalog: What Neiman Marcus KnowsAs anyone watching online-generated revenue trends can tell you, Americans are spending a lot of time shoving credit cards through cyberspace. Most nonprofits large enough to employ development officers already have a presence in cyberspace. And, yet, while some nonprofit websites spend their budget and attention on bells and whistles on their main web page, they ignore or create relatively static content on their giving pages. When a page is static, donors don’t come back. Is your giving page written in dry, complicated language? Or, is it readable? Is it interactive? Online retailers, like Neiman Marcus figured out what fundraisers are only beginning to learn. Many online clothing sites allow you to choose to sort their products by size, price, or even brand. We, the online shoppers of the world, love that. It works for nonprofit fundraising too. Instead of products, we sell naming opportunities and sponsorships. Each has a size, price, and even a brand. If your institution has endowments or naming/sponsorship opportunities, with dollar values attached and “search term” areas of interest that a donor might consider (student, defray staff costs, facilities, etc.), you can create a matrix of gifts that become, through your web designer, a catalog. Giving catalogs are already in use at some forward-thinking universities to support campaigns. It’s fun to window shop, even if you don’t have $100,000 to invest in a campus volleyball court. Some of you might say, “What about my relationship with my donor? “ Please. Lots of people still go to Neiman Marcus every day. The online world doesn’t keep customers away; it helps them understand what’s possible at Neiman Marcus. The same is true for your institutional relationship. The staff at JBL can help you to design a giving catalog that works. Contact us for more information.
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December 2009:Archived Newsletters |
