The Essence of Donor Response

I was being driven through the North England countryside a few weeks ago when a friend asked me an interesting question. We were talking about donor behavior and response ( or should that be "behaviour" because I was in England?).

Anyway, he asked: "Why do you support the ministries you do?" I don't think I'd ever been asked that before but I heard myself giving a tidy three-point answer.

If you're a charity or ministry, I give to you because...

1. I believe, with some passion, that what you propose to do ought to be done.
2. I perceive that you are credible at getting it done.
3. You ask me to help and make it convenient for me to do so.

I could elaborate at book-length on the above three points. (Perhaps I will! It will at least become a white paper at some point.) In the meanntime, donor-based organizations would do well to keep in mind that prospective donors are applying this three-point test to them!

Update: Dad Holland in Thailand

Today was Dad's last day of heavy work in remote Southern Thailand (scroll down for background.)

For the last two weeks, they have been rebuilding huts for the families of Thai fisherman in a little village south of Krabi, Thailand. From all reports, he has had an extraordinary and rewarding adventure.

He and Mom have both spent their retirement years pouring themselves out in the service of others. Mom visits the three nursing homes in town each week, bringing the residents Gaither "Homecoming" videos and a listening ear.

A few years back, a old gentlemen in their church lost his wife and his eyesight in the same year. Right up until the day Lester Wray passed away, Dad was there every day to read his mail to him and help with replies and bills.

Over the years, they've taken in countless strangers and set an extra place at the table more times than anyone can count.

Anyone but God that is. He counts. And I suspect He has a special place at His table set just for them.

"Well done."

America the Connected

For marketers, the internet continues to be a magnificent way to carry targeted messages to an increasing audience. An iMedia article released today showcases a Pew Internet & American Life Project study, which finds America's online population stands at 63 percent of adults in the country. Meaning approximately 128 million people age 18 or older, participate in some sort of online activities.

Other trends and statistics are cited in the study that give good weight to the web as a "reliable medium" for businesses and especially non-profits. One interesting stat, women are more likely to get spiritual and religious information (73 percent) than men (56 percent). Maybe ESPN.com should add a devotional.

The full article: Click here

ASCAP is Cranky

All entities that are obligated to pay ASCAP & BMI licensing fees (including many television and radio programs and churches) should know that ASCAP is serious about enforcement. Exhibit A... this article.

A Dad Holland Update

My mom got a brief message from my father yesterday (see post below). He is now in (what used to be) a small fishing village in far South Thailand. He and his friends are helping re-build huts for the families who live there.

He is well, and having the time of his life.

A Dad Brag

Permit me a brief brag-blog about my father.

Dad will be 76 in a few months. He has lived with Crohn's disease for the last 30 of those years. As I write, he is somewhere in rural southern Thailand cooking hot meals for tsunami victims and the relief workers trying to help them.

He's part of a disaster relief ministry outreach of the Southern Baptist Convention. Over the last couple of years he and the team he leads have served up meals and encouragement for hurricane victims in Florida, smoke jumpers in New Mexico and workers sifting through WTC rubble at Fresh Kills Island, New York.

(Did I mention that Dad's a white-knuckle flyer?)

Hat's off to you Dad! Come home safe.

Web vs TV

Last week I posted a survey which showed that 60% of us surf the web while watching TV.

Now iMedia has published a Q&A session that delves even deeper into the ways Internet use is impacting television viewing and vice versa.

Here's a snippet of the transcript:

"If you look at the new technologies that are impacting, what you see is, basically what you are seeing is digital video recorders and video-on-demand services really kicking in and scaling in a large way. You are seeing a reduction in the cable companies, and satellite companies are putting DVRs out there, primarily because they reduce churn. DirecTV, without a TiVo has a 1.8 percent monthly churn rate. With a TiVo, it?s 0.59. That's a reduction of monthly churn by two-thirds. So you are going to see digital video recorders in a phenomenal pace. What it evolves to is something we call on-demand television. Basically, the narcotic for the consumer is they are now in control. What they want to watch, when they want to watch it applies to any interactive on-demand medium."

I'm a Guinea Pig

I've just begin beta testing a new personal information manager that promises to get my work and personal life organized. Called Evernote, it says it will provide: "a convenient way to electronically store and quickly access typed and handwritten memos, web page excerpts, emails, phone messages, brainstorms, sketches, or documents in a central location."

We'll see.

I'm a candidate because I tend to run my life on an astonishing number of post it notes, legal pad jottings and whatever-piece-of-paper-is-handy-at-the-moment scribblings.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Are Website Navigation Menus Obsolete?

My good friend "venny" and I were recently discussing an article entitled "Navigation Blindness." As "web people" we both concurred that many websites being built these days just don't make sense for the end-user.

Web surfers tend to have a mind of their own and can get "cranky" when it takes too long to navigate a website. The key though, as discussed in the article, is "trigger words."

Snippet from the article:
"Most web development projects put a lot of effort into the design of navigation tools. But the fact is that people tend to ignore these tools. They are fixated on getting what they came for and simply click on links or hit the back button to get there."

"Trigger words are the words and phrases that make people click on links. They contain the essential elements that provide the motivation to proceed to the next page."

Full article: Click here

Geek Nostalgia

The TI 99/4, in all its splendor.

You'll find lots of other blasts from the personal computer past here at the Obsolete Technology web site. Enjoy.

Seat Savvy

Have you ever selected what you thought was a good seat on a commercial airline only to discover in-flight that it doesn't recline, or is right beside the lavatory, or your view out of the window is blocked by a wing or engine? Or during storms a Yeti-like creature appears on the wing and starts dismantling the engine? (Okay, that last one only happens to William Shatner and John Lithgow.)

Well, it hasn't happened to me since I discovered SeatGuru.com, an online provider of the lowdown on every seat on every jet in the air. (What a great use of the Internet!)

Just select your airline and then your aircraft from the list provided. You'll see a seating chart of the entire aircraft along with information about the pros and cons of sitting there as you mouse-over each seat.

Frequent fliers, check it out!

Donor Beware

With the generosity of millions being shown in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunamis, it is pitiful to think that there are "scammers" who would prey on the naive. But they are out there. So as you give, please make sure you are handing over your resources to a reputable organization.

Here are a couple of news article snippets on this subject:

With private donations pouring into charities, law enforcement officials say scam artists claiming to represent tsunami relief organizations are using e-mails and telephone calls to attempt to steal donations and swipe donors' identities.

"If you run a Google search on tsunami and contribute, you'll come up with over 60,000 sites," said North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. "Many of them are brand new sites, and they're not well established. People need to be careful."

Full story: Click here

Divided Attention

When I watch TV, I don't usually just watch TV. I invariably have a stack of magazines or a notebook computer in my lap. Well I'm appararently not alone. A recent study by BIGresearch titled, "The Simultaneous Media Usage Survey," found that although television continues to be the most-consumed medium, it's increaslingly consumed concurrently with other media. The report said...

"The old model of the family sitting down to be entertained by the three major networks ceased to exist long ago. Today primetime isn't just for TV. Consumers are just as likely to go online, read a magazine, newspaper or their mail, thumb through a catalogue, play video games or watch TV in various combinations of simultaneity, which has resulted in a decline of time spent with TV," says Joe Pilotta, PhD, vice president, research, BIGresearch.

The study found the following: When watching TV ?

66.3 percent regularly or occasionally read the mail.
60.1 percent regularly or occasionally go online.
55.0 percent regularly or occasionally read the newspaper.

Those of us who write, produce and format direct resonse television programs must take this into account! For example, offers should be repeated and re-emphasized often.

Online Fund-Raising Comes of Age

What a heartbreaking and horrorifying thing the earthquake/tsunami in Southern Asia has been. In it's aftermath, I've also been struck by how quickly online fundraising has become a norm. This response to the disaster has pointed up the strengths of the Internet as a support-raising medium--particularly it's immediacy.

In fact, within 24 hours of the event, organizations such as World Vision had pages like this one up and ready to receive contributions.

Each day, more and more prospective donors expect to be able to take action on the Web. It's vital that donor-supported organazations not only make it possible, but also convenient, compelling and satisfying.

Re: Bucks Fee

Great photo Brent.

Whenever I'm in Starbucks, I marvel at the long chain of folks queued up to plunk down 3 or 4 dollars on a liquid dessert. In the morning.

I, on the other hand, want a "coffee." A plain, strong, hairy-chested, no-fooling coffee. Not a latte. Not a Misto. Not a Breve. And definitely not anything with the word "Caramel" or the syllable "frap" in its name.

Yes I pay $1.80, but it's a great cup of coffee. And the volume of coffee delivered is the equivilent of about 5 "Mel's Diner" cups. I can nurse it pretty much all morning.

Thus a trip to Starbucks alone costs me less than two bucks. A trip with my wife and daughters vaporizes an Andrew Jackson. It's the Bucks Fee in operation.

Grande Irony

This is a picture I snapped last night while passing by my neighborhood Starbucks. For those who think the price of a Venti Latte is border-line criminal...this pic is for you...

The lights that burned out created a warning for all who passed by...be prepared to spend some BUCKS and if you want soy instead of milk it's gonna cost you a FEE.