Tag Archive for: marketing

Provide a ‘WOW’ Experience in your Nonprofit Marketing

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About David

Welcome everyone to A Modern Nonprofit Podcast. Today, we explored the importance of websites, nonprofit marketing, and how to bridge the gaps between departments to achieve digital success.

When we think marketing, we think of getting the word out and expressing the  mission behind the help non-profit organizations (NPOs) provide. In 2023, this goes much deeper than we could imagine. There are many tools and resources that can be utilized to enhance NPOs, especially online. 

We invited David Pisarek of Wow Digital, Inc. to give us a behind the scenes look at SEOs, attracting and retaining visits to websites, digital marketing  and much more! 

David started Wow Digital Inc. with the goal of providing effective websites, branding and design for Canadian based charity organizations. With over 20 years in the nonprofit sector, passionately working to revolutionize it one website at a time. An expert in design and programming, he’s also an educator at the college level. With a track record of 240+ complete projects since 2016, David and his team are the go-to experts.

We welcome David to the show! 

Continuous Improvement 

We engaged in an in-depth conversation with David, where we unraveled a series of questions regarding nonprofit website redesign and the importance of web analytics.  

  • When should nonprofits consider a full redesign on their website?
  • What does that process look like?
  • What should it include?
  • How often should a NPO consider a redesign? 

Of course, there is much to learn about in each of the posed questions. David stresses that websites are not something that are sat and forgotten about. Or ‘one and done’ as he calls them. 

They need constant love and care. A part of that care comes from measuring analytics. A free tool that can help organizations achieve this is Google Analytics. It’s important to note that Google Analytics 3 is the system that has been used for years. And as of July 20th, 2023, this was updated to GA4. So, if analytics are the next move for business, make sure GA4 is the system used. 

GA isn’t just for tech-nerds; it’s a great tool that can help businesses identify what consumers, donors, or website searchers are looking for and take them back to the website over and over again. Keep an eye on:

  • What keywords are being used?
  • Which call to actions are listed?
  • Where are consumers landing on the business website?
  • Are they navigating 3 to 4 pages in order to find what they are looking for?

All of these are key questions that businesses should be asking when it comes to analyzing their web traffic. 

David makes a great point regarding website analytics. The word ‘conversion’ is a data point that can be measured. So for example,  on a for-profit’s page this may mean that a conversion leads to an eventual sale. This has a different definition for NPOs. A conversion data point may indicate converted volunteers, donations, or simply subscribing to an email or newsletter. 

Not only is it important to understand what data points to pay attention to, but also how they differ from business to business. 

Revamping a Website 

Before Tosha and David take a deeper dive into the topic of SEOs, David compliments Tosha’s question about a website revamp. 

He and his team did an audit that lead to 5 indicators for revamping a website: 

  1. Is the page layout unique or common in comparison to other websites?
  2. How old does the site look?
    1. Building more off of this point, how does the website look on a smartphone? Is it compatible? Google will rank the site lower if it isn’t mobile friendly – certainly something to consider. 
  3. Is your mission and purpose clear as day on the website?
  4. Is the website accessible? 
    1. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a website that creates accessibility guidelines. For example, when defining accessibility is the website accessible for an individual that may be physically impaired? The tiny detail that goes into naming a photo on a website could play a huge role in this consideration. 
  5. Finally, how identifiable is the business contact information?

Number 5 may seem like a small task in the big scheme of things, but this is actually a great segway into the SEO conversation. Even if your organization is completely remote, putting a PO Box on your website can do wonders. Why? When people search for things near them (like volunteer opportunities), Google uses their location to find the best match. 

In most cases, each device holds an IP address that gives Google some idea of your location. Because of this, when searching for ‘volunteering opportunities’ while the IP is in, let’s say the St. Louis, MO region, then Google can direct individuals to a website associated with that area. 

Measuring Frequency 

Piecing the conversation together, NPOs are a different breed than for profit businesses. They still require constant measurement and effort, but the data points that are studied are much different. How this plays into the website traffic and SEO conversation, is what makes all the impact. 

For example, revenue may increase in the winter months because of a historically associated ‘giving season’. Therefore, measuring data on a quarterly basis may be more effective when it comes to the NPO’s website as opposed to week over week or month over month analytics. 

NPOs also work on a conservative budget basis, meaning that they can stretch a dollar. 

With this, they may not be able to pay an individual, group, or department to only analyze data points for their website development. Looking at the numbers on a quarterly basis can help whomever lands this task a better window for analysis and time management. 

Want to connect with David and his team?  Email him at [email protected] or check out their website, wowdigital.com. His team also works with NPOs and website development by providing templates and website management through a website called, Mighty NPO. By using the coupon code charitycfo, this may qualify your business for a lifetime discount up to 70%. 

To hear the full story, listen to our podcast here.

You can also find Tosha and The Charity CFO team on Youtube or our website, thecharitycfo.com!

Benefits of Having Nonprofit Accounting Services

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Is your nonprofit organization finding the mountain of accounting paperwork stifling? For a nonprofit organization, accounting can often take a lot of much-needed time away from achieving its mission. If this sounds like you, then you need to know how nonprofit accounting can transform your workflow.

Removing the burden of budgets and preparing reports can give your workforce newfound freedom. Read on for our guide on the benefits of nonprofit accounting services.

Nonprofit Accounting Services Can Monitor Financial Visibility

When managing the finances of a nonprofit, the deficit between transactions and the appearance of money in a ledger can be a long time. While a transaction may happen once or twice in a month, it may take a while for it to register on your books.

Nonprofit accounting services can ensure that transaction entry is entered promptly. Done in real-time, this makes the planning of a budget easier and more transparent.

Security

Security in your accounts, either from external or internal factors, is often overlooked. Malicious attacks and the theft of information are a real threat to any nonprofit, that needs to be taken seriously.

You should already have an IT department, who can monitor your network for suspicious activity. By having a designated accounting service, you also have someone who can make sure financial information is secure. The accountancy team can observe in macro to see if details change or things do not look right.

By having dedicated accounting services, you also limit the number of people on your staff who have access to finances. For most nonprofits, they have a choice to let almost everyone or hardly anyone view their finances. Accounting services can facilitate transparency while also monitoring access.

They Can Track Grants

If you are tracking grants, it can become confusing and messy, particularly if you have applied for multiple ones. They may all be at different stages or require different actions, such as submissions, at various times of the year. You also need to be in regular contact with the grantors, to see where you stand on getting the grant itself.

All of this can lead to financial instability as you wait to hear the news. If you have other jobs to work on, grant tracking can often become lost in the workload.

Specialist nonprofit accounting can track all grants for you. It will use either a designated tracking method for grants via software or have someone to deal with your cases. This will allow prompt communications, applications, and updates.

Up to Date Compliance

Accounting principles for all businesses are set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Very often, these can change quickly. If you happen to miss them and account incorrectly, then it can be costly.

Having a dedicated nonprofit accounting team will mean you do not have to check for these updates. As professionals, they will keep abreast of any changes put out by the FASB.

Digital Services

A dedicated team for your finances will have specialist accounting for nonprofit organization software. These will not only track and record finances but track applications and workflows. This can result in the creation of automated processes that make the whole system much easier to use for you and your team.

You will no longer have to rely on reams of paper and receipts. Records can be stored digitally and archived without the need for bulky physical records.

Quick Data Access

Financial updates need to happen on an almost daily basis. It is no longer enough to get a monthly financial report. In a nonprofit organization, where income is not a steady turnover, then a month can be a long time.

To run your organization you need access to accounts quickly. Nonprofit accounting can produce reports that include all the information you need. Budget, expenses, donor reporting, grant reporting, and cash balances can be produced almost instantaneously.

Once you have this, you can make better assessments and decisions on a daily basis. You will be able to make better management choices and inspire confidence in your donors.

Tax Reporting

Tax reporting for nonprofit accounting is complex. This is to ensure non-profits are not acting fraudulently, and that tax exemption applied to nonprofits is not used in an incorrect manner. This makes the whole process, especially for small businesses, hard to complete.

As your accounts will also be in the public domain, it is important that you get this whole process right. Doing it yourself can take a lot of time, and even then you may get it wrong. Nonprofit accounting services will be able to use their experience to get this done quickly and efficiently.

Financial Experience

Your organization may have someone trained in accounting or with some background in it. However, for most small nonprofits this is not the reality. This means inexperienced people are left finding their way with accountancy.

You may also have board members who are well-known professionals. Very often they will have hired accounts to do that aspect of the job for them. Having professional financial accounts can provide them with the level of accuracy they need to make the right decisions.

Getting the Right Service

Now you know the benefits of nonprofit accounting services, you need to locate the correct company. Do not opt for standard accounting services. Nonprofits have a unique specialism and set of rules that require expert assistance and knowledge.

Your first stop should be Charity CFO. We bridge the gap between the accounting you need and the accounting you can afford. Contact us here to discuss specialist accounting services for your nonprofit.