Mohamed Salah Hamann: Salah could win Ballon d’Or, but he’s no Ronaldo Chris Burton 16:38 5/20/18 FacebookTwitterRedditcopy Comments(0) 
Getty Mohamed Salah Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid v Liverpool Real Madrid Liverpool UEFA Champions League The Liverpool forward has netted 44 times during a stunning 2017-18 season, but a former Reds star still sees him in the shadow of a Real Madrid icon Mohamed Salah has been told he can be Liverpool’s answer to Steven Gerrard in the Champions League final, while putting himself in Ballon d’Or contention, but Dietmar Hamann says the Egyptian is still operating in the shadow of Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.A man with 44 goals to his name this season is readying himself for one final outing in what has been a remarkable debut campaign at Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp’s side due to face Zinedine Zidane’s reigning European champions in Kiev on May 26.That contest will see two of world football’s brightest stars go head-to-head, with the fixture already being billed as Salah versus Ronaldo as two leading contenders for the title of best player on the planet prepare to lock horns in continental competition. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Goalkeeper crisis! Walker to the rescue but City sweating on Ederson injury ahead of Liverpool clash Out of his depth! Emery on borrowed time after another abysmal Arsenal display Diving, tactical fouls & the emerging war of words between Guardiola & Klopp Sorry, Cristiano! Pjanic is Juventus’ most important player right now Hamann is looking forward to seeing two men performing at the peak of their powers showcase their talent, with the German, despite his strong ties to Liverpool, expecting a Portuguese phenomenon to show once again why he is considered to be one of the greatest of all time.The 2005 Champions League winner told the Daily Mirror: “Everything Salah touches this season turns to goals – but in a game like this I would have to go with the old man [Ronaldo] because he’s done it so many times before.“Salah has had an incredible season – and the hope at Anfield is that he’s got even better years ahead of him. But while the future belongs to Salah, the here and now still belongs to Ronaldo, a player with a proven track record.“This is, however, an opportunity for Salah to really make his mark at the highest level.“It doesn’t get any bigger than a Champions League final against Real Madrid, who are probably the most iconic club in the world.“If Liverpool win then I think that Salah would become favourite to land the Ballon d’Or.“But if you are asking me who I would rather have in my team at this moment in time then I would have to go for Ronaldo.”Liverpool will be looking to Salah for inspiration against a side going in search of a hat-trick of Champions League crowns, with Hamann of the opinion that the 25-year-old could emulate the performance of Reds legend Gerrard from an iconic meeting with AC Milan.
He added: “If you want to win big trophies then you need your big players to step up when it matters. Liverpool have got other big talents like Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino – but Mo Salah is THE man.“In that respect, he can inspire Liverpool against Madrid like Steven Gerrard did when we played Milan.“If you are a goal or two behind – or three, like we were in Istanbul – you see someone like Gerrard alongside you and you know you’re still in the game.“You know that you’ve got a team-mate with a special talent, someone who can create a goal out of nothing, or produce a bit of brilliance to get you back in the game.“It’s hard to describe what kind of belief having those game-changing players in your team gives you.“If you’ve got a goal-scorer of Mo Salah’s class in your side you know you’re never out of the game. It’s like having a talisman. Steven Gerrard was one – and Mo Salah can be one.”
USMNT returns to Ireland with another young squad
United States USMNT returns to Ireland with another young squad, hoping for much different results Ives Galarcep @soccerbyives 02:30 6/2/18 FacebookTwitterRedditcopy Comments(0) 
Bill Streitcher United States Republic of Ireland v United States Republic of Ireland Friendlies Opinion More than three years after having a relatively young team thrashed in Dublin, the U.S. national team is back in Ireland with an even younger team More than three years after its last trip to Ireland, the U.S. national team is back once again, and the Americans are hoping its current collection of young talent fares much better than the last group to make the trip to the Emerald Isle.The U.S. suffered a 4-1 loss to Ireland on November 18, 2014 in a match that was as lopsided as the score indicated. Jurgen Klinsmann brought a young squad to Ireland for that match, but he also started nine players who were part of the 2014 World Cup team. What made that shellacking all the more frustrating was the fact that Ireland was also trying out new faces, but it was the Irish team that showed more toughness and quality.On Saturday, the U.S. will face Ireland once again, and will feature a significantly younger team than the one that lost to Ireland in 2014, with goalkeeper Bill Hamid, midfielder Rubio Rubin and forward Bobby Wood the only current members of the squad to play in the 2014 meeting. An encouraging 3-0 win against Bolivia on Monday provided a confidence boost for the young group, but the Americans are fully aware that Ireland will present a much tougher challenge. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Goalkeeper crisis! Walker to the rescue but City sweating on Ederson injury ahead of Liverpool clash Out of his depth! Emery on borrowed time after another abysmal Arsenal display Diving, tactical fouls & the emerging war of words between Guardiola & Klopp Sorry, Cristiano! Pjanic is Juventus’ most important player right now “We know it’s going to be a bigger test, and it’s going to be tough playing on the road, in front of their fans, so we just have to be ready to fight,” U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie told Goal. “That’s what Americans are known for, putting up a fight, and with such a young group here now with so much to prove I think the players will be putting up a fight.”Caretaker coach Dave Sarachan has called in some reinforcements for the friendlies against Ireland and France, which should help against an Ireland team that has its own injection of youth along with a strong nucleus of veterans that includes Shane Long, James McLean and temporary captain John O’Shea, who will be playing in his farewell match for the Ireland squad.Saturday will mark the sixth time the U.S. has played Ireland in Dublin, with the Irish posting a 5-0 record in the previous meetings. In fact, the Americans haven’t beaten Ireland since 1996 — in Boston — which was before several current U.S. players were born.The Ireland game should provide some clarity on what the current pecking order is at various positions, including goalkeeper, where Bill Hamid and Zack Steffen will challenge for starts in the upcoming friendlies. Hamid is the more experienced option, but he struggled for playing time with Danish champions FC Midtjylland. Steffen is in the midst of another standout season for the Columbus Crew, and showed well in his national team debut in the March win against Paraguay.Christian Pulisic’s absence leaves a void in the playmaker role, one which could be filled in a variety of ways. Sarachan has previously tried playing without a true attacking midfielder, as we saw in the March win against Paraguay, when Wil Trapp, Tyler Adams and Marky Delgado made up the central trio. If Sarachan goes with that approach again, then we could see a trio of Trapp, Adams and McKennie. Another playmaker option is Kenny Saief, who worked on the wing against Paraguay, but can play in a central role.On the wing, Sarachan will have to consider giving Tim Weah another start after his showing against Bolivia. Rubin and Julian Green are also options, but so is Adams, who can be deployed either centrally or on the right flank. Sarachan could choose to play Adams as a winger against Ireland, and then in central midfield against France’s formidable midfield.At forward, Wood’s return to the team should see him earn a start against France, but Andrija Novakovich has earned himself a long look, and he would make a solid option against Ireland. Josh Sargent held his own against Bolivia, scoring in his national team debut, but he seems more likely destined for a substitute’s role in the upcoming friendlies.
Defensively, the central defense tandem of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Matt Miazga should be deployed in both upcoming friendlies. Sarachan gave Erik Palmer-Brown and Walker Zimmerman a look against Bolivia, but the Carter-Vickers pairing with Miazga is widely regarded as the future of the position. Tim Parker is enjoying a standout season with the New York Red Bulls, and should also see some minutes.At fullback, Yedlin and Villafana give the U.S. a pair of veteran options to take on Ireland and France, though Antonee Robinson played very well against Bolivia and may have put himself in position for another look. Levante right back Shaq Moore is back with the squad and is searching for his first cap.
Griezmann is the boss, says Mbappe
France Griezmann is ‘the boss’ for France, says Mbappe Dejan Kalinic 07:47 6/14/18 FacebookTwitterRedditcopy Comments(0) 
Getty Images France World Cup Kylian Mbappé Antoine Griezmann While the forward has remained tight-lipped on his club future, his France team-mate believes he is pivotal to World Cup success France star Antoine Griezmann has shown he is “the boss” since Euro 2016, according to team-mate Kylian Mbappe.Didier Deschamps’ men, runners-up at their home European Championship two years ago, enter the World Cup in Russia as one of the favourites.That is in part thanks to Griezmann, the Atletico Madrid forward having top-scored at Euro 2016 with six goals. Article continues below Editors’ Picks Out of his depth! Emery on borrowed time after another abysmal Arsenal display Diving, tactical fouls & the emerging war of words between Guardiola & Klopp Sorry, Cristiano! Pjanic is Juventus’ most important player right now Arsenal would be selling their soul with Mourinho move Mbappe, another one of France’s attacking talents, said Griezmann had already shown he could lead his nation at a major tournament.”I think that he is the boss since the Euro already,” he said Wednesday.”When you end the European Championship the best goal-scorer in your own country, you show the world that you have the shoulders to handle the pressure.On the agenda in training today: hard work! #FiersdetreBleus #FRAAUS pic.twitter.com/Yy07Otz6lq— French Team (@FrenchTeam) June 13, 2018″It’s true that he went through a bad patch following the competition but he showed how [much of] an amazing player he was and he is by scoring goal after goal.”He will be pivotal for us if we want to get results.”France begin their Group C campaign against Australia Saturday before meetings with Peru (June 21) and Denmark (June 26).
GAME DEVELOPMENT POSITION IN NT
GAME DEVELOPMENT OFFICERTouch Football Australia is recruiting a Game Development Officer for the Northern Territory. The successful applicant will deliver a range of development programs and services to affiliated Touch Football Associations. Remuneration will be in the range of $30 – $45K plus superannuation.Applications addressing selection criteria must be sent via email to nttouch@octa4.net.au or mailed to P.O. Box 42193, CASUARINA, NT 0811 by no later than Thursday 13 April 2006.For more information phone 08 89816963 bhTo view the Game Development position description, please click here: GAME DEVELOPMENT NT- POSITION DESCRIPTION
TouchWest Ball Photos Availaible Online
Photos from the 25th Anniversary Ball are now available to view from http://sportingimages.com.au/current/2008twball/ Check out the images and see how much fun was had.
Our Sporting Future 2010 set to Challenge and Inspire
SCORS comprises of representatives from State and Territory Departments of Recreation and Sport.OSF 2010 will provide an in-depth analysis of the business of sport, with real examples of successful sports business models. Participants will have the opportunity to examine the sustainability of sport and how it can meet any current and future challenges.The forum will provide participants with relevant information, ideas and strategies on building a better national sports system. The program will explore new thinking, risk taking and innovation in the development of sports policy to effect change.There will also be a topical panel discussion that addresses current issues in Australian sport, stimulates new ideas, challenges current ways of thinking, and provides practical information that can be applied to sporting organisations.The forum will feature keynote speakers Bernard Petiot, Vice-President of casting and performance for Cirque Du Soleil and Peter Holmes à Court, one of Australia’s most respected entrepreneurs and businessmen.Other keynote speakers include Avril Henry who is regarded as one of Australia’s leading thinkers and speakers on Generational Diversity and Leadership and Li Cunxin whose bestselling autobiography, Mao’s Last Dancer, tells a remarkable story about his extraordinary life. To register for OSF 2010 visit the event website www.ausport.gov.au/OSF2010osf10@eventplanners.com.au
What to do – and avoid – when people ignore your message
Imagine this. You’ve had a bad day at work. For months, you’ve been trying to persuade everyone to recycle. No one is complying. In frustration, you send out a mass email. “Only 5% of staff is putting paper in the recycling bins. We need to do better,” you say.Bad move.Why? When we are deciding whether to do something, we typically look to see what others are doing (“social proof”). As Robert Cialdini has thoroughly documented, we’re compliant creatures. If we see everyone else is ignoring the recycling bins, we’ll ignore them too.If you lament that no one is listening, no one will listen. By emphasizing inaction, you discourage the very behaviors you’re seeking.If you want action, make people feel they are are part of something positive: “We’re aiming for 100% of paper recycled by Friday – and we’re on our way there.”If you’re at a nonprofit that’s attracted hundreds of donations when you wanted thousands, don’t say, “Fewer people have supported our cause this year. So many kids are going without lunch. We really need your help.”Say: “Your donation will provide a school lunch to Jason every day this year. Join the hundreds of donors supporting kids like him.”Here are three tips for turning your frustration over what isn’t working into a message that compels action – instead of more inaction.1. The number one thing you can do to overcome resistance is to celebrate and publicize the people who are taking action. It will help inspire the ones who aren’t.2. If you don’t have enough people to highlight, try getting just one – preferably a person who people respect (or who has authority). Ask that person to explain why he or she is taking action. Maybe you’re not the best messenger and that person would be better.3. Last, if you can’t succeed on those fronts, try to convert just regular one person. Then ask that person to explain why they changed their mind. Converted skeptics are the most motivating of any messenger for the people who have failed to act. The people who aren’t on your side are more likely to relate to someone who once felt like them.Bottom line? Accentuate the positive if you want a positive reaction.
The number one villain in the way of good decisions
One of the worst things we can do when making decisions is to frame them too narrowly. This can lead us to the wrong thought process – and false choices.As Dan Heath puts it in his new book, “The first villain of decision making, narrow framing, is the tendency to define our choices too narrowly, to see them in binary terms. We ask, ‘Should I break up with my partner or not?’ instead of ‘What are the ways I could make this relationship better?’ We ask ourselves, ‘Should I buy a new car or not?’ instead of ‘What’s the best way I could spend some money to make my family better off?’”Or – to put this in nonprofit terms – we ask, “Should we have an event or not? Should we blog or not? Should we get rid of that board member or not?”Dan’s new book Decisive is all about this kind of problem. Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work provides practical ways to beat narrow framing and other villains of decision making. Here are two of his tips (and I quote):1. Consider opportunity cost. If you are considering an investment of time or money, ask yourself, “What is the next best way I could spend this time/money?” If you can’t come up with any other combination that seems enticing, you should feel more confident that you’re making the right investment. 2. Multitrack your options. Always try to think AND not OR. Can you avoid choosing among your options and try several at once? For instance, if you’re deciding whether to invest time in Spanish lessons or ballroom dancing classes, do both for a while until one of them “wins.” Or, rather than hire one employee out of three candidates, could you give all three a 2-week consulting project so that you can compare their work on a real-world assignment?For more tips, join a free Network for Good webinar with Dan today at 1 pm Eastern. Register here.PS for fun, here is one of Dan’s great teaching videos on giving better presentations. It draws on his book, Made to Stick.
Build Your Online Presence with Pro Bono
We know it’s hard to tackle the never ending list of tasks associated with building an online presence. Lucky for nonprofits, pro bono professionals are ready to help boost your online image via social media, online fundraising, email marketing, and SEO Because of organizations like the Taproot Foundation and Catchafire it’s much easier to find pro bono consultants who are willing to provide their talents at no charge to a nonprofit like yours.If pro bono is new to you, projects that are compartmentalized—photography, newsletter design, and copyediting—are great places to start. Projects like designing an entire website or creating a communication strategy are more complex and best approached when you are prepared to invest the time and staff resources to work with a pro bono consultant over a longer period of time. Although these projects are more advanced, they often result in long-lasting relationships with your consultants and can create invested champions for your cause.To start planning how you can use pro bono to maximize your online presence, download our chart to assess what pro bono projects your nonprofit is ready for.Once you’ve identified your projects, check out how you can secure pro bono help at the Taproot Foundation’s website.
Rocking the Case Study
I’m a huge fan of case studies. They’re an incredible tool to showcase your nonprofit’s work, demonstrate social proof, and gain more supporters. Jay Baer’s Youtility explains the power of case studies in greater detail, but here are a few ways you can use this approach to support your fundraising and marketing efforts: 1) Get testimonials. Tell the story of why people support your organization. Ask questions such as:Why are you passionate about this issue?When did you start learning about this issue?Why do you choose to support our organization?By gathering this information, you’ll not only have endorsements for your cause, but you can also use responses to inform your marketing and donor recruitment strategies.2) Document how you spent money. Did you dedicate a large portion of funds to operational expenses? Why? What impact did it have? Once you explain that to donors, they’ll better understand how you fulfill your mission, and why it’s important to have operational expenses. Every penny of your budget doesn’t have to go to on-the-ground work, but you do have to demonstrate how operations are vital to ensuring the services you provide are making a positive change. 3) Survey those you help. Ask your constituency how they’ve found your services. Do they see your nonprofit as a vital member of their community? Would they be able to get where they are without you?If those answers affirm your work, ask respondents if you can use a quote in your case study. Most will be happy to help. In some cases, if you provide them with links and social media messages, they’ll share the study with their network, too. If the answers bring up questions or poke holes in your work, pay attention to that. That’s a great opportunity to take feedback and turn it into something positive.Have you created a case study before? What were the results? How did you share it with supporters?
Free webinar: Turn first-time donors into repeat givers
How many of your first-time donors go on to give again? What kind of impact would it have on your fundraising if you could retain more donors each year? We’ve asked two of the best fundraising experts to share their secrets. Join our free webinar on Tuesday, September 24 at 1pm EDT to learn from Jay Love and Tom Ahern as they show you how to create a communication plan that will help you retain more donors and raise more money. Register here.If you’d like to see more long-term benefits from your year-end fundraising and donor acquisition efforts, you do not want to miss this session.Turn First-Time Donors Into Repeat DonorsTuesday, September 24th 2013 1 pm EDT
Four Essential Tips for Planning Year-End Email Campaigns
1. Look for trends in recent response data.As you’re brainstorming your email strategy, spend some quality time digging into data on what’s been the most and least effective for you over the past few months. For example, if you notice that click-through rates are higher in your graphic-rich emails, design extra-visual appeals for year-end. If supporters don’t click on links at the bottom of your emails, make sure you keep all links in the first part of your message (especially your DonateNow button!).2. Consider your sending frequency and target your outreach.Carefully think about your email frequency—every fatigued subscriber who opts out in December is someone who won’t see your emails at all next year. Start ramping up your email frequency now and keep a close eye on the open and unsubscribe rates, then adjust your year-end campaign email frequency accordingly.3. Keep your emails social.People stay busy during the end of the year, but not too busy to keep up with their social networking. Make sure your subscribers have an easy way to share your emails with their friends and followers, and include easy-to-spot links to your organization’s social networking sites, too.4. Welcome new subscribers right away.When someone signs up for your email list, they’re probably interested in hearing from you right then and there. Build a strong relationship with new subscribers right away with an automatic welcome note. If you can set a great foundation now, you’ll have more loyal subscribers during prime giving season. Even though your donors might procrastinate, you can’t! Start planning your year-end email campaign now. Photo Source: The Digital Giving Index Did you know that year-end donations make up 30% of giving for the entire year? Because year-end fundraising goals are often so big, it’s important to start planning your year-end campaign now. When mapping out your email appeals, keep the following four topics in mind:
Track and compare year-end giving
Network for Good is once again providing year-end giving data for The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2013 Year-End Online Giving Tracker. You can use this resource to see how online giving is stacking up each day of December and to compare those numbers with the last few years. To supply the data for the tracker, we looked at a set of 14,300 charities who received donations through Network for Good’s online giving platform. You can view this data by month, by week, or look at the entire span of information from November 1st through the end of the year. Check it out by visiting The Chronicle’s site, and let us know how the trends compare to your own year-end fundraising results.
7 Ways to Make This Year the Year of the Donor
The good news is that giving continues to grow. The bad news is that donor retention rates aren’t what they should be. Think about the donors who came into your organization’s ecosystem during the past year. Will they give again?You can improve the odds of keeping more of your supporters by declaring this year the Year of the Donor. What this looks like for your organization may be different than for your nonprofit peers, but here are a few basics to get you started:1. Have a solid plan.The biggest way to ensure your donors remain your top priority is to create a well-organized plan for cultivating your organization’s supporters throughout the year.To do: Create a comprehensive donor stewardship plan that complements your overall marketing strategy and retention goals. Your plan should include a timeline, messaging guidelines, and who will be responsible for each component of your donor outreach. For more planning tips, take a look at Network for Good’s donor stewardship checklist.2. Send an amazing thank you.Of course you’re thanking all your donors. Right? (Right?) But are you making it an amazing experience of effusive gratitude? Is your thank you so awesome that donors will tell their friends all about it? Even tell strangers? If not, there’s always room for improvement. Your goal: Express to impress!To do: Take the time to write a series of really great donor thank you letters. Make them personal, memorable, and full of gratitude. Your thank you letters should reinforce the projected impact of a donor’s gift and open the door for an ongoing relationship. If possible, hire a professional copywriter to polish your thank yous.3. Keep the conversation going.Your thank you note is really just the start of a new conversation with your donor. Keep this conversation flowing by updating your supporters on your work and how their gift has helped make it possible. Update supporters on what’s new in your community, your work, and how they can continue to be involved. As you build on this communication, you’ll have earned the opportunity to invite them to give again.To do: Create an editorial calendar to plan your outreach and news you’d like to share. Use your email marketing tools to segment your lists so you can separate donors from those who’ve yet to give. Communicate to these two groups differently when sending updates to tailor your message to reflect donors’ special status.4. Clearly articulate your impact.One of the main reasons donors don’t go on to give a second gift is because they’re not sure how their money was used to create real impact. It’s your job to make sure supporters know exactly how their gift is being used and how it makes a difference. Get in the habit of making this a part of everything you do—from fundraising appeals to your monthly newsletter.To do: Illustrate a donation’s impact through photos, testimonials, and quantifiable results that are easy for donors to understand. Incorporate these elements in every piece of donor communication you send. Build a collection of stories that are organized by program or locality so you can easily match these with the profiles of your donors.5. Invite donors for their feedback.More and more donors don’t want to just give and run—they want to be an active part of your cause. Because they’ve been moved enough to donate, they can offer valuable insight on what went into their decision and how you can continue to reach them and others in their network.To do: Regularly invite your donors to provide you with feedback. Add this to your donor thank you phone script and conduct periodic donor surveys to collect their input on everything from your newsletter content to how you contact them. Making them feel more invested in your work will bring donors even closer to your organization.6. Regularly test and improve.It takes a lot of work to acquire new donors, so it’s crucial that you do everything you can to keep the ones you’ve got. One way to do this is to find and fix any leaks in your process. Once you’ve fixed the obvious problems, optimize your donor retention strategy by testing new messages and acknowledgement techniques.To do: Track and measure every interaction with your donors. If you don’t have Google Analytics on your nonprofit website or donation form, that’s one place to start. Identify where donors may be falling off by looking at your website bounce rate, form abandonment, and email unsubscribes. Use A/B testing to see which calls to action and content types work best for your audience.7. Create feel-good moments.Everyone gives for different reasons, but we all want to feel good about our charitable gifts. To keep this positive vibe flowing, it’s important to create moments of connection and with your donors. Ronald McDonald House Charities does just that with this simple thank you video that puts the donor at the center of the experience and in the embrace of those who feel the impact of their donations every day:To do: Commit to making your ongoing donor outreach unique and personal. Get creative with photos, video, and perks for your donors to help your cause stay top of mind. Recruit volunteers and beneficiaries to help keep your communications authentic and original. (Want more ideas on using images to stand out? Read these 10 ways nonprofits can use visuals.)How will you make this year the Year of the Donor? I’d love to hear your plans, and I know your donors can’t wait to see what happens next.
A Simple Strategy for Running an Email Marketing Test
As a busy organization, it’s rare that you have time to even think about testing your nonprofit email marketing. You’re focused on getting your newsletter or announcement out the door so you can get back to what you do best.But what if running an email marketing test didn’t need to take a ton of time? What if, instead, it could fit in with the work you’re already doing and still provide the insight you need to improve your results?It starts with understanding what you want to test.Focus on testing one thing at a time. If you test more than one element in the same email, it is challenging (and sometimes impossible) to determine exactly what influenced the response.Here are some easy and telling tests to start with:Subject lines: Create two different subject lines for the same email communication. For example, if you’re planning a fundraising event, you may want to test if adding the event date or name to the subject line influences open rates.Long versus short copy: Create a shorter version of your newsletter with teasers and links to your website or blog and another that includes more content within the design of your email.Experiment with CTAs: The call to action (CTA), is one of the most important parts of any email. To help perfect your CTAs and see what’s working, you can test different copy and even experiment with different buttons within your email.Other tests could include the time of day or day of the week you send, with an image or without, and the placement of a CTA button or link.Now, decide how you’ll measure your results. For subject lines, your most effective metric will be open rates. This will tell you how many people saw your email in their inbox and took the next step to open it.For tests within the copy of your email, focus on clicks. This will tell you how many people not only opened it, but who also viewed your content and took some action within the email.Think about what you’re trying to learn. If your goal is to find out how the length of your email or the type of content you include influences donations or registrations, you’ll want to track donations and compare them with previous results. If you’re driving traffic to your website or blog, you can use a tool like Google Analytics to track referral traffic to your site.Once you know what you want to test and how you’ll measure your results, now you can put the test in motion. When it comes to who you’ll send your test to, you have two options: You can either split your entire nonprofit email list in half and send one version to each, or take a random sample and do a pre-test.A pre-test is an excellent way to find out what works before sending an email to your entire list. This knowledge can greatly improve your overall response rate. It also protects you from sending a poor performing email test to a large portion of your list and wasting your efforts. To pre-test, choose a random sampling of 100 people from your master nonprofit email list, then split that group in half and send each half one of the two test campaigns.Once you have everything ready, send your test emails. The great thing about email is that you get your results quickly. Within a 24- to 48-hour period, you’ll know which email communication got a better result. (It takes weeks when testing with direct mail!)Declare your winner, send that email to the remaining members of your list, and watch the results come in.It’s really that simple.Testing your nonprofit email marketing is about listening to your audience—something nonprofits know better than anyone! Let their actions tell you what’s working, what’s not, and what you could be doing differently. This will not only help improve your email marketing but will let you better connect with the people who matter most to your organization and attract more donors, supporters, and volunteers.As Constant Contact’s Content Developer, Ryan Pinkham helps small businesses and nonprofits recognize their full potential through marketing and social media.
How the Benefit Concert is Shaping Philanthropy
Music has been one of the most powerful ways causes, celebrities, and communities can connect to raise money for serious issues. We recently caught up with Art Taylor, president of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, who shared his insight on why these events can be so successful for nonprofits of all sizes.Legacy of Aid: August is the Anniversary of the Benefit ConcertFor over forty years, the benefit concert has served as one of the most popular, easily recognizable forms of aid for charitable organizations. It all started back in August 1971 when George Harrison called a few friends—Ringo, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, to name a few—to play at the world’s first benefit concert. The Concert for Bangladesh played from Madison Square Garden with ticket and recording sales helping to raise $18 million. These stars likely didn’t realize they were forever changing charitable giving in time of a disaster. Concerts are now a popular vehicle for causes around the world to raise visibility and funds—often targeting a younger crowd or introducing their campaign to an audience not yet familiar with it. “Music is a universal pleasure that cuts across cultures and backgrounds,” says H. Art Taylor, president of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. “Music is a unifying experience—it’s a natural choice for charities to turn to benefit concerts as a means to raise funds.” Star power can play a big role but doesn’t always spell success. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, Wyclef Jean’s charity, Yele Haiti, came under scrutiny about its finances. This controversy underscores the importance for charities to make sure they are fully transparent and accountable before implementing a benefit concert which can attract a lot of media attention. And star power isn’t the only way to go. Charities across the country have seen great success with smaller scale benefit concerts ranging from high school bands to regional bands. The principles and watch-outs apply regardless of your headliner. 7 Do’s and Don’ts when planning a benefit concert for your organization:1. Know your partners. If you are co-hosting the benefit concert with another charity, take a moment to investigate them by pulling their report at Give.org. Don’t assume it is well managed just because it has a 501(c)(3) charitable tax exempt status. 2. Pay attention to regulations. Make sure any state regulatory requirements have been met, including verifying your ability to solicit. 3. Check tax deductibility disclosures.If the benefit concert tickets are sold in a charitable fundraising context, seek out a tax advisor to find out about tax deductibility disclosures that may need to be made. 4. Beware of cheaters. Take reasonable measures to reduce ticket scalping. Examples might be: limiting the number of tickets sold to a single purchaser and ensuring computer safeguards are in place to avoid someone “snatching” all the tickets as soon as they are made available. 5. Practice your FAQ.Make sure answers are readily available for reasonable questions about your mission, target amounts to be raised, and how collected funds will be used. 6. Be clear. If the intention is to collect funds restricted for a specific purpose (i.e., disaster relief) make sure that all charity participants agree to this restriction and are able to carry out this work as soon as possible.7. Be transparent about finances. Share information on the total amount collected, the cost to hold the concert, and how much went to the cause. Post this information on the charity’s and concert’s websites. The Future of Benefit Concerts“Charity benefit concerts will continue to play a role in generating funds and advocating issues,” says Taylor. “Large events work well in times of major crisis or when a big star has a personal stake in a cause. Smaller, targeted local events can be successful as well.”Whether packing a large event venue or a local concert hall, organizers should be creative and coordinate effectively to ensure that benefit concerts are a useful tool for raising awareness and charitable dollars. A benefit with local bands and resources combined with a coordinated effort between multiple nonprofits may be a good option for some charities. Whether large or small, however, the expense and coordination efforts for events can be prohibitive and should be considered carefully in terms of the investment of time and resources. Often charities will measure ROI through funds raised as well as impact to the audience. For more helpful tips on nonprofit collaboration, including information on accreditation, visit the BBB Wise Giving Alliance at Give.org. For advice on planning a successful fundraising event, download Network for Good’s guide to Hosting Your Most Fabulous Fundraising Event Ever.
2014 Year-End Giving Results in Big Win Online for Nonprofits
Want more insight on how online giving is growing? Stay tuned! In February, we’ll release our Digital Giving Index, which will take a closer look at online giving trends. We’ll share where, how, and how much donors gave across our digital channels in 2014. How did your year-end fundraising campaigns perform? Chime in with your experiences in the comments and let us know what you plan to build on—or change—in 2015! It’s no secret that year-end giving is an important source of donation dollars for most nonprofits. Last year was no exception and we saw a lot of “generous procrastinators” giving big online in December 2014. When we looked at organizations who received donations on the Network for Good platform in both December 2013 and December 2014, we saw an 18% increase in total donation volume year over year. A few other important notes about year-end giving results:The total number of donations also grew year over year. In December 2014, 22% more donations were made to charities through Network for Good compared to December 2013.As expected, #GivingTuesday was a big driver of December donations on the Network for Good platform in 2014, with over $4.5M raised on December 2. This represented a 148% increase over total donation volume on #GivingTuesday 2013.December giving also accounted for 30% of all online donations made to nonprofits through Network for Good in 2014, with 10% of all annual giving happening on the last three days of the year. This stat has remained consistent for the last 5 years, underscoring the significance of year-end giving on overall fundraising results.The average gift size for the month of December also increased by 6.5% compared to 2013.
5 Ways to Use Email to Drive Participation at Your Next Fundraiser
Running a successful fundraising event is easier said than done.You put in weeks of planning with the ultimate goal of getting as many people as involved as possible, and you want to make sure your hard work pays off.One of the most important tools you have to promote your next fundraising event is email marketing.With email campaigns, you can reach your audience members directly and send targeted messages that build enthusiasm and provide the information they need to get involved.Here are 5 ways you can use email to drive participation at your next fundraiser:1. Save-the-dateA successful event relies on advanced planning. Once you have a date nailed down for your event, make sure you get the word out so your guests can add it to their calendars ahead of time.This initial email doesn’t have to include all the details — the point is to give some notice and get your audience excited early so you can build on that interest in the weeks ahead.If the event is open to the public, you can also post about the date on your social media accounts. Encourage your social media fans to join your mailing list so they won’t miss any future details.2. Send a formal invitationAs more of the specifics come together, you’re ready to let your contacts know all about the great things you have planned.The more personalized you can make your invitation the better. For example, if your fundraiser is an annual event, start by following up with last year’s attendees with a “Hope to see you again this year!” themed message.Or, if you’re sending the event to media contacts, consider sending them a press release rather than a general email invite. Think about how you can deliver the right message to the right people for best results.Make sure all the information is clear, concise, and easy to read from a mobile device. Your invitation should also link to a landing page for more extensive details. This landing page can be hosted on your website, or you can build one through your Constant Contact account.3. Make your emails socialEmail and social media marketing work best when they’re working together. Each email you send out should include social share buttons that make it easy for your contacts to share your email and invite others.You should also encourage your contacts to forward your email to anyone they think might be interested in attending.4. Send last-minute remindersEven if you feel like you’ve been building up your event for weeks, don’t underestimate the power of a last-minute reminder. Even an email 24-48 hours in advance can drive some last-minute registrants.Make sure you’re subject line reflects the timeliness of the message by adding the event date or a countdown.This is also a good time to remind people that there’s more than one way to support your event. You can add a line to your email like: Can’t make the event? We’ll miss you! Consider supporting our event goal by making an online donation.”Hopefully some of your audience members that have a scheduling conflict will take you up on your offer!5. Follow up after the eventDon’t let the momentum of a successful event end when the event is over. Sending a thank you email or a quick recap will extend the life of all your hard work.If you didn’t quite hit your fundraising goal, this is also a good time to encourage contacts to help you out.Try to include multimedia in this email where you can. If you took pictures during the event, link off to an album. You want your registrants to relive the good times, and motivate those who didn’t attend to make it a priority the next time around!Incorporating these 5 tips into your email marketing strategy will ensure your fundraising event generates real results.Add these ideas to your calendar when promoting your next fundraiser and see which emails receive the highest opens, clicks, and registrations for you.Have any advice we didn’t cover? Let us know how email boosts event involvement for your organization by Tweeting to us: @Network4Good and @ConstantContact
4 Actions You Can Take to Grow and Sustain Your Email List
Whether you’re starting from scratch or have been building your email list for years, you know it’s important to actively promote your email list and encourage your existing contacts to engage with your organization.After all, a dedicated email list can have serious payoffs for your nonprofit — including everything from better event attendance to increased web traffic and larger donations at your next fundraiser.The key to successful email list is to see your contacts as people. Grow your list — one name at a time— and once they’ve subscribed provide them with a quality experience, just as you would in-person.Here are 4 tips for growing and sustaining your email list:1. Choose a reliable email providerThe first step of building a loyal email list is making sure you have a safe place to store your contacts’ information and an easy way to send them mailings.If you’re just getting started, take a look at what other organizations are using, and think about what kind of tools and features will be important for your organization. Will you need access to reports to see how your emails are performing? What about support to help with any technical questions you have?You may also want to think about what solutions work with products you are already using. Constant Contact easily integrates with Network for Good so that you can launch campaigns, organize contacts, and manage your campaigns from a central location.2. Make sign-up simpleMost people aren’t going to seek out your mailing list on their own; it’s up to you to encourage them to sign up and make it easy for them to do so.Here’s a great example of a website sign-up form from Canadian nonprofit, The Local Good. Not only do they make sign-up super simple, they also provide a useful description of what their newsletter will include and how often they send.Subscribers will be more likely to sign up if they know what to expect from you.There are also handy tools you can use so that subscribers can sign up on social media or even through a mobile device.3. Deliver a personal experienceBuilding a list is half the challenge, sustaining that relationship is just as important. To build long-lasting relationships with your subscribers, you’re going to have to think beyond your organization and think about how you can deliver a great experience for your contacts.Start by answering a few questions like:Who are your contacts?What are they interested in?How often do they want to hear from you?The more information you can collect and store about your contacts the better. For example, if you collect email addresses at an event, make note of that so you can reach out to them with a targeted follow-up soon after.The timing of your emails is important — you want to make a good first impression on new contacts so that they read your future messages. You can also use this information to reach out to them if you are holding a similar event in the future.4. Don’t send carelesslyThis includes sending with a set schedule and goal in mind, but also checking back in to see how each mailing performed, and making changes when necessary. Using email reports, you have access to important information like open and click-through rates, which will show you what messages are attracting interest and getting your readers to interact with your content.You don’t want your email marketing strategy to become static. Spend some time thinking about little tweaks you can try. What happens to your open rate if you ask a question in your subject line? Does your click-through rate increase if you link to a YouTube video?Seeing what works best for your audience will ensure you are getting the return on investment you’re looking for from email marketing. Taking a few extra minutes to try something new could mean reengaging contacts that have fallen out of touch.
Social Media Content Is Sitting Right in Front of You
Content for your social media channels is sitting right in front of you. Really! Your website, donor appeals, and newsletters are just waiting to be translated into a Facebook post, tweet, or YouTube video. Repurposing content can take some time, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll start thinking of ideas to feed your social channels in your sleep. To help get your creative juices flowing, here are some quick tips and content ideas for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: Try experimenting with videos and picture slideshows. Quick tips: Do share candid images. Don’t share stock photos. Ideas for posts: Quick tips: Don’t be afraid to retweet. Share content that is relevant to your audience. Repurpose a success story from an appeal letter. Do some research on hashtags. Does your issue area or local community have a hashtag? Post images of your team prepping for an event. Ideas for posts: Twitter Quick tips: Invite people to join your email list. Think visual. Studies show that posts with images perform much better than posts without. Post a photo from an past year’s event for #tbt (Throwback Thursday). Which posts have done well in the past? Try to repeat what works well but with a fresh twist. Facebook Share opinion pieces from your staff or experts from your issue area. Even more than on Twitter, hashtags can help you connect with new audiences. Share stats from your annual report. Instagram Don’t be afraid to be fun. Organizations are made up of people, and your Facebook fans know that. Step outside the box every once in a while and let your personality shine. Create an image of your mission statement. (We like Canva for projects like this.) Share a photo of your volunteers in action. Post pics of the thank you notes your organization sends (or receives). Live tweet an event, rally, or staff luncheon. Share a glimpse into the day-to-day life of staff, clients, and volunteers. Remind everyone what a $25 donation will accomplish. Ideas for posts: Follow back. You can’t have a conversation if you aren’t following your followers. Get more ideas (101, in fact!) for social media posts by downloading 101 Social Media Posts and watching our archived webinar The Art of Social Media, with social media expert and author Guy Kawasaki. And if you aren’t following us on our favorite social channels, what are you waiting for? TwitterFacebookInstagram