October 22, 2009 ADVERTISEMENT Russ Reid presents: MASTER MONTHLY GIVING / November 3, 2009 Discover how to build a year-round giving program. Register now for a complimentary webinar. http://www.russreid.com/home/client-resources/webinars.aspx In This Edition: Nonprofit Email Open Rates Trail Most For-Profits Planned Giving ... Corporations are run by donors Marketing ... U.S. Hispanic market larger than countries Cause Marketing ... Partnerships with business are still out there ADVERTISEMENT  With Blackbaud Sphere Grow™, you can grow support for your organization right from your website. Blackbaud Sphere Grow is an affordable and easy-to-update content management system that includes a powerful email marketing toolset, and the industry’s leading online ‘athon and personal fundraising platform. >>Get free tips on maximizing your online fundraising efforts.   NPT Jobs NPT Resource Directory Subscribe to NPT NPT Latest Edition NPT Advertising Contact Us      Please forward NPT Instant Fundraising to your colleagues so that they can also subscribe. Tell-a-friend!   ADVERTISEMENT Looking for a career opportunity with a nonprofit? Check out the most comprehensive study of salaries and benefits ever conducted for nonprofits in the new NonProfit Times 2009 Nonprofit Organizations Compensation & Benefits Report today! Click here. Nonprofit Email Open Rates Trail Most For-Profits By Mark Hrywna Nonprofits lagged behind almost every other industry in open rates earlier this year, according to a study released by direct marketing and database agency Epsilon. The Epsilon Q2 2009 Email Trends and Benchmarks study indicates open rates increased year over year for 14 of the 16 industries examined and 18.2 percent overall. Only “Nonprofit/Education General” and “Consumer Publishing/Media General” saw declines in the second quarter of 2009 compared to the second quarter of 2008. To read the complete article click here...   Planned Giving ... Corporations are run by donors Most nonprofit mangers operate without examining the entrails of birds to foretell the future, nor do they resort to checking crystal balls. No one knows for sure what the future holds, and this can be especially true for corporate giving. The economic meltdown caused a vast re-thinking in many corporate boardrooms. Rob Blizard, the director of gift planning for George Washington’s Mount Vernon, has checked with several fundraisers and observers of the sector, and he has found that several items are worth keeping in mind about corporate donors and potential donors. What’s in their wallets? Some projections show corporate giving staying flat or even decreasing down the road. Companies will become more strategic, aligning social and business objectives more closely, engaging employees more and leveraging resources other than cash. Some good news. Hard to believe, but several professionals predict good news on the long-term horizon. If corporate decision-makers see a positive effect for business from philanthropy, they will be more inclined to support it. Also, younger or later-generation executives will be more inclined to donate to nonprofits. The need for partnering. Nonprofits must examine the specific motivations of a narrower group of corporate decision-makers and what they require from the transaction of a major contribution. No longer are such gifts about writing a check to fulfill a public duty. Being responsible. Future corporate donations will be heavily influenced by companies’ need to inform consumers of their commitment to causes that their target consumers care about the most. Marketing ... U.S. Hispanic market larger than countries If the U.S. Hispanic market were its own country, its purchasing power would make it the 13th largest economy in the world. With $1.2 trillion in purchasing power projected by 2012, the U.S. Hispanic market would be larger than the economies of Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands – just to put the numbers in perspective. That’s why it’s important for your organization to reach out to Hispanics, according to Lee Vann, founder of Captura Group in San Diego, Calif. “It’s a market you can’t afford to ignore,” he said. Vann shared strategies and tactics for reaching Hispanics online during the National Catholic Development Conference in Arlington, Va. Here are some tips: What "Hispanic" means. Vann explained that according to the U.S. Census, Hispanic technically means sharing a culture originating from Spain. But if you ask Hispanics to describe themselves, you might get a range of answers and specific cultural markers -- from Latino to Dominican to Cuban. The key is asking how people identify themselves. An attractive segment. U.S. Hispanic households tend to have a younger demographic, 10 years younger than the U.S. average, and larger households. Look at the geography. Vann explained that there are some Hispanic-centric areas of the country, such as Florida and California. For example, Los Angeles has the second largest Mexican population, second only to Mexico City. But with the economy and growth, U.S. Hispanics are starting to move out of these pockets. The Catholic Hispanic market. According to Vann, 68 percent of U.S. Hispanics consider themselves Catholic. And U.S. Hispanics contribute to 71 percent of the Catholic Church’s growth in the country. So Catholic fundraisers should pay particular attention to this group. Internet outreach. Vann explained that the Internet is ideal for reaching Hispanics. The online U.S. Hispanic market is growing twice as fast as the general U.S. market. And the segment is highly active on social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace. But Vann explained translating your Web site into Spanish on some translation site would not work. You need to have an online strategy to reach Hispanics. Cause Marketing ... Partnerships with business are still out there Despite the country’s economic woes, many for-profit companies in the United States want to contribute to charitable causes. They just might have to find innovative ways of doing so. Speaking during the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference in National Harbor, Md., over the summer, Laura Goodman, strategist and practice leader at Social Capital Partnerships, and Lynn Cronenberger, vice president of development at Reading is Fundamental, offered their views on how engaging corporate employees can be very helpful to an organization. Sponsorship gifts. Nonprofits should foster relationships with companies beyond sponsoring a golf tournament or other event. Employee mind-set changes. First a company will encourage event participation, such a walkathon. Then employees might want to volunteer. Cultivate those volunteers. Get them to become activists and donors to the organization, creating relationships separate from their workplace. Individual giving. According to Giving USA, giving by individuals makes up 75 percent of donations, compared to 5 percent for corporations. See that the power is in the people. Acquisition. Working with a company will give an organization access to people who might not have engaged with the organization on their own. Leverage the company’s money. See if the partnering company will make a match to encourage employees to give. Don't Forget Us! Changing positions? Or have you moved to another organization? Then, make sure you still get NPT's family of eNewsletters by simply updating your profile. Copyright @ 2009 The NonProfit Times. To read our Privacy Policy click here. To forward Instant Fundraising to your colleagues so they can also subscribe click here.