5 Comments

1. Lisa  •  Jan 13, 2010 @11:47 am

   As a professional fundraiser, I definitely agree that synagogue fundraising is lagging behind with respect to industry trends. Many congregations rely upon volunteers from the community for their fundraising, most of whom have no formal development background. Sadly, until a synagogue views themselves as a nonprofit (as you have above) – and responds to this view by hiring a paid, professional Executive Director – I cannot imagine this will change.

   However, I would not say this of the nonprofit sector as a whole. Nonprofits are definitely onboard with the social media movement. The Association of Fundraising Professionals found recently that those organizations that established a social media presence in 2009 fared far better in this economy than those who did not. That being said, while it is an effective tool for engaging new donors and keeping current ones, people ultimately still give to people. No matter how advanced we are technology-wise and how many extra tools we have to add to our “fundraising toolbelt”, there is still no replacement for one-on-one relationships.

2. Lisa Colton  •  Jan 14, 2010 @9:10 am

   Hayim — This is a great question. First, yes, everyone should have online donations available. Yes, there will be credit card fees, and yes, you are MISSING donations if you don’t have it so it’s likely a net loss of dollars (not to mention a loss of relationship building).

   Yes, social media is good for telling your story and building your brand, but this is “new tools, old approach”. How can we go beyond? I love the example of Tweetsgiving, and I think it’s really relevant for faith based organizations. While raising money in a short, focused campaign, they also encouraged people to tweet what they are thankful for. It was energizing, invited more people to the party, and modeled the values and culture (all positive) of the campaign. It made the experience social, personal, meaningful, and two- (or multi-) directional. That’s unique.

   Mobile giving is taking off as well. You can see a recent blog post on JewPoint0 about it: http://jewpoint0.org/2010/01/10-blips-on-your-radar-for-2010-1-mobile/ It’s timely — the Red Cross has raised MILLIONS in days for Haiti by allowing people to text $10 donations (see the NYT report on it here: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/1-million-in-donations-for-haiti-via-text-message/ )

   Finally, I’m leading a session at the upcoming NTEN conference about Social Media For Faith Based Organizations, and I welcome your thoughts and examples to enrich the session.

   I look forward to hearing what others have to contribute to this conversation.

3. Monique - Talance  •  Jan 14, 2010 @11:04 am

   How about the “social” part of social media? The part that lets you pass on what you know and care about to your community. Theoretically, I might donate $5 to a youth group trip, and if I’m using social media to do it, it should be easy for me to tell my friends to also donate $5. Congregations are such strong communities that they’re in a unique position to ramp up donations through a network.

4. hherring  •  Jan 14, 2010 @12:44 pm

   Thank you all for contributing to the conversation. One thing that is clear is the potential for social media to raise “little” dollars from “lots” of people that add up. You might call this the “long tail” of fundraising. In fact, MyJewishLearning (www.myjewishlearning.com) recently conducted a very successful campaign that way. And yes–everything is going mobile, which increases the possibilities for giving opportunities.

   I’d like to see a faith-based organization experiment with eliminating one budgeted item and see if it can mobilize members and non-members around that cause. Of course, there would have to be a careful plan (including follow up) about how to roll that out and a back-up plan as well. This experiment would test the concept of empowering individuals to act together on issues that resonate with them.

   Any takers on this idea out there?

   Rabbi Herring

5. Jordan Goodman  •  Jan 20, 2010 @4:35 pm

   Shalom All,

   The “game changer in fundraising” first and foremost is “a heart thumping, God and community honoring vision and mission,” to quote Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church. Mishlei 29:18 reads, “B’ein hazon, yipara’ ‘am. In the absence of vision, people will be unrestrained.”

   Habad and the Megachurch have little trouble with fundraising because they have
   a kishke level understanding that people open their hearts and their checkbooks
   to vision/mission and not just to a need.

   So what is the “heart thumping and God honoring” vision for the non orthodox
   synagogue that wants it’s congregants’ money? In the absence of such a vision
   there will be nothing but the status quo which, by all that is measurable, is failing miserably.

   Biv’racha,
   Jordan

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