Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Are You Communicating Better This Year?

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resolutions

10 easy ways to communicate better in 2015

It’s a new year.  Here are ten resolutions that every organization should make to improve their communications in 2016.

  1. Google yourself. What are the first things people see about you? Would you support the group you see on screen?
  2. Take charge of your brand. Create your own reputation through the news you make and the stories you post.
  3. Cultivate local reporters.  They work too hard: if you feed them human interest stories and photos, they’ll be grateful.
  4. Everyone in your organization speaks for you.  What are they saying to their friends? Do they have stories to tell your supporters?
  5. Your website: keystone of all your communications.  Ask an outsider to click through it. Is it easy to navigate? Informative? Fun?
  6. Facebook is a party, not a meeting.  Find ways to get your fans talking with each other.  They’ll come back more often and like you better.
  7. Which social media should your group use?  Depends.  Who do you want to reach?  Where do they go when they’re online?
  8. Horror movie: “I mail to dead people.” In January, take people off your postal and email lists if you haven’t heard from them since 2013.
  9. Photos: not just for breakfast any more. Your readers want to consume photos at every meal, including online posts.
  10. Your good name is your most valuable asset.  What’s it worth to you?  THAT’S the return on investment for your communications.

Are You a Fundraising Outlaw?

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Registering your nonprofit for fundraising sends a positive message to your donors. Guest post by James Gilmeroutlaw

A huge percentage of charities in the United States are raising money unlawfully, and don’t even know it.

Both new nonprofit founders and executives mistakenly believe that recognition as a 501(c)(3)–that is, being exempt from federal income tax–is a “golden ticket” to limitless fundraising. The reality is, forty-one states have an additional registration requirement, which if you ignore, can get your organization in some hot water.

This post is a basic introduction to the subject of charitable solicitation (aka fundraising) compliance. The purpose of the article is to get you thinking about your organization’s credibility, how to avoid penalties, and even impress your donors!

Registering with the State

“Fundraising registration” occurs at the state level, where you file information about your organization’s leadership, financials, and programs with the Attorney General or Secretary of State.

“Compliance” refers to managing  registration requirements in each state where you solicit, renewing your annual registration on time, and keeping up with additional corporate filing and registered agent requirements.

Why Comply?

There is a cost to fundraising registration, both in government fees and time, but those costs are easily outweighed by state and federal penalties. We’ve seen fines of over $5,000 for a single infraction in one state. How would a hit like that affect your organization?

Besides fines for failure to register or renew, states can revoke your organization’s state tax exemption, hold officers and directors personally liable for payment, and deny your right to solicit in that state altogether.

At the federal level, you disclose where your organization solicits funds directly to the IRS on your Form 990 tax return. Let’s face it: lying to the IRS isn’t a good idea either!

Fundraising Compliance: What You Gain

The purpose of all this work for you is a good one: to protect citizens of that state from unregulated or illegitimate charities.

Just as you do research on prospective donors before you ask them to give, experienced donors use state databases to look up your nonprofit before they make a contribution, especially if they’ve never heard of you. Many foundations and grantmakers consider state registration an important prerequisite to any funding. Being registered with the state helps reassure donors that they are making a good investment in your organization.

By investing in compliance, you demonstrate your credibility and commitment to the community you serve. To learn more about specific fundraising registration requirements in your state, visit this Fundraising Compliance Guide.

Happy fundraising!

 

Author Bio: James Gilmer is a compliance specialist for Harbor Compliance, which establishes 501(c) nonprofits and helps them stay compliant. Harbor Compliance assists charities in every state and several countries abroad. James serves on the Board for two nonprofits in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Listening Beneath the Surface

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So many readers enjoyed my post “Are You Listening, Nonprofits?“, I thought you might like a little more advice about social listening.

Submarine using sonar

Most social media is below the surface

Craig Jamieson is a submarine fan, and he tells us that social listening is like sonar.  Use it to find:

  • Conversations that reveal something about the people who support you or the people you serve.
  • Mentions of your organization. Ever wonder whether people out there really know about your organization?  The one who mentioned you does! Write them back.
  • Praises and problems. Visibly thank people for saying good things about you.  Visibly respond to requests for help or criticism of your organization.
  • What your audience wants to hear.  If people “like” something on social media and it relates to your mission or your community, why not post something about that too?
  • Opportunities. Your elected officials are probably online.  So are your funders, your donors, your collaborators, and your competitors.  Listen to what they’re saying to get a better sense of what your organization could be doing.

You can do all this with tools that you have at your fingertips, like Google Alerts, Facebook and Twitter lists, and keyword searches.  If you want to make your sonar run by itself, you can invest in tools specifically designed for social media monitoring.

Either way, a human being still has to listen.  So, turn on your sonar and run silent, run deep until you find the right conversation to enter!

 

 

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