• Home
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Our Firm
    • Executive Team Members
  • Our Solutions
    • Accounting
    • Fundraising
    • Government Revenue
    • Process Improvement
    • Our Services >
      • Client Programs
      • Training Options
      • Annual System Review
      • Social Media & Email Marketing
  • Our Success Stories
  • Contact Us
    • Request Information
    • Referral Program
  • Blog
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Our Firm
    • Executive Team Members
  • Our Solutions
    • Accounting
    • Fundraising
    • Government Revenue
    • Process Improvement
    • Our Services >
      • Client Programs
      • Training Options
      • Annual System Review
      • Social Media & Email Marketing
  • Our Success Stories
  • Contact Us
    • Request Information
    • Referral Program
  • Blog

The Style of Success

8/31/2015

0 Comments

 
What do successful CFOs have in common?

Do they micro-manage their employees and accounting staff? No.

Do they work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, never letting a single item slip through the cracks? No.

They set up effective and efficient business rules that work for them. This ensures that even if they’re not physically there, the job is getting done, and it’s being done well.

In addition to this, they have the reporting capabilities to easily check on the progress they have made.

Instead of relying on the ability of every staff member to supply multiple spreadsheets, spending time tying each together to form a cohesive report, these CFOs already have the ability to quickly log into their accounting system and run a report that gives them the numbers they’re looking for. To garner the reports that are needed, a concise view of the Chart of Accounts had been developed, reporting on each fund that’s being utilized. Often times, CFOs look to outside sources for brainstorming. This can come from the inside of their organization, but sometimes are from an outside referral who have experience in developing complete reports and Chart of Account design.

If the organization sees there’s a gap in their reporting capabilities, the first hurdle is already over. Sometimes organizations think they do not have the time or money to begin to build efficiencies, but in the technologically empowered world we live in now, this is no longer the case.

Not only is software being offered at a much lower cost than ever before through use of the cloud and subscriptions, but outside consultants are tailoring their training and consulting programs to fit the needs and time of the organizations they serve.

Considering the options available to today is the first step to customizing a plan that will propel the financial future of organizations, namely nonprofits, who historically have dealt with a lack of time and money for such projects.

Now is as good a time as ever before.
0 Comments

5 Tips On How To Create A Successful Marketing Campaign

9/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Creating a successful marketing campaign can be difficult if you do not know where to start. Follow these 5 tips to help create the successful marketing campaign you have been aiming to reach.

1. Know you audience In order for your marketing campaign to be effective you need to know the audience you are marketing to. Take the time to research the demographics of the social platforms your audience uses to share. This will differ depending on who your target audience is. Men lean towards Google+ while women lean toward Pinterest. Knowing your audience will be an essential part in your marketing campaign being successful.

2. Beware of self-referencing Direct your messages to the reader and personalize it by referencing ‘you” in the message. You should not be referencing yourself in the messages.

3. Share/Write what works for you If you’re not good at writing blog posts than write whitepapers or short articles instead. Are you better at graphics than writing? Than create a short video or infographics to represent your products. There are so many effective forms of marketing so choose the ones you are best at.

4. Share industry related articlesIf you share content from others that is related to the industry you are in people will see you as an expert in the field. When the audience sees you as an expert source they will visit your site more often.

5. Measure oftenTrack comments and responses to your posts. When you share on social media there are many free tools out now that allow you to measure how many people saw your posts.
0 Comments

Scared of asking for donations? 5 Tips on how to Ask!

9/23/2014

0 Comments

 
Are you afraid of asking donors for a donation? Asking donors for a donation can be a daunting task that many nonprofit workers dread. There is no need to dread asking anymore. Follow these 5 tips on how to ask for donations and see the difference first hand!

1. You need to research your donors

You want to be able to know what they are thinking and what they care about. Knowing what your donors are thinking will help you with your approach on how you should go about asking them.

2. Never EVER surprise your Prospect! 

When calling a prospect for the first time make it clear what you’re interested in talking to them about.  Never surprise your prospect right off the bat before explaining yourself, and why you’re asking for a donation.

3. Don’t be boring 

When talking to your prospect you want to make sure you are not boring them. Nobody wants to talk to someone who sounds like they our reading off of a script. You need to be able to engage your audience in order for them to believe your organization’s mission.

 4. Ask for Advice

“Ask for money, you’ll get advice. Ask for advice, you’ll get money.” People want to be heard. Allowing them to be heard makes the donor feel valued and important. The more important a donor feels to your organization the more they will want to donate, and want to be a part of your mission.

5. When you ask be specific 

When asking a donor for a donation be specific and don’t just beat around the bush. If you need a certain amount of money to complete a project tell the donor that. Explaining to the donor what you need and what you’re going to do with the money, is an essential aspect of the asking process.

Now get out there and don’t be afraid to ask for those donations!
0 Comments

McGovern Consulting Group Co-Sponsors the 20th Nonprofit Quarterly Summit at IQnection

9/16/2014

0 Comments

 
For Immediate Release

Doylestown, PA- McGovern Consulting Group, LLC announces its co-sponsorship of the 20th Nonprofit Quarterly Summit held at IQnection in Doylestown, PA. Dennis McGovern and Eric Jacobson came up with the idea of the nonprofit summit and have been doing it for the past 4 years.

The 20th Nonprofit Quarterly Summit will take place on Thursday October 23rd, 2014 at IQnection Services located at their new building at 1456 Ferry Road New Britain PA 18901 and will start at 8:30am. The event is welcome to all nonprofit employees or volunteers to network and gain valuable information to take back to their organization.

The 20th Nonprofit Quarterly Summit will include 2 speakers to share ideas and solutions with you on topics that include fundraising. The main speaker will be Enid D Horowitz from EDH Fundraising and Communication. Enid is going to speak about the process of applying for funding from foundations. Enid is also going to speak about grant writing, networking, and how to prepare a budget. The second speaker will be Marshal H. Davis, Esquire, MBA, LLM. Marshall will talk about how you can protect your 501c3 so that your nonprofit can look better to grant makers. Past topics presented at the summit included fundraising ideas, fundraising software, and Web presence practices and techniques.

We have had great feedback from previous attendees so don’t miss out on this great event. “The Summit was very informative and will be beneficial in continuing to develop the non-profits I am involved with” –Kevin C 
0 Comments

5 Nonprofit Blog Best Practices!

9/9/2014

0 Comments

 
Blogging is an essential aspect of a successful nonprofit organization. Blogging allows outsiders an insight into your organization and your mission. Having a successful blog that grabs the attention of your target audience can be more difficult than many think. These 5 tips will help you achieve a successful blog that will represent your organization’s mission.

First, provide a two-way street of communication. Your blog should tell the story of your organization, but it should also allow your audience to have an input on what they want to see posted. Allowing your audience to have an input on posts will increase their chances of visiting your blog more frequently.

Next, tell and share personal stories. The most powerful blog posts are the ones that effect readers on a personal level. Once you connect with readers on a personal level they are more likely to share your blog post on social media networks, and also visit your blog again.

The third best practice for a nonprofit blog is to thank your volunteers. If you just had a fundraising event or conference and had many volunteers help. Thanking them through a blog post is a great way to get those volunteers to read your blog, and also possibly share with their friends/family.

The forth best practice is to recruit guest bloggers related to your nonprofits mission. Having guest bloggers is a great way to increase traffic to your blog. If you get a well known blogger to post on your blog for the day you will gain their followers attention, along with yours. A guest blogger is also a great way to change up your blog posts so you remain fresh and not repetitive.

The fifth best practice for an effective nonprofit blog is to post consistently. Posting consistently allows your readers to know when they should be checking your blog for updated posts. You do not have to post everyday but it is recommended that you post at least once a week.

There are many best practices when it comes to blog posts for nonprofits, but I think these five are the most important. Are there any best practices that work best for your nonprofit blog?
0 Comments

How To Properly Leverage Social Media for your Next Fundraising Event

8/26/2014

0 Comments

 
As the end of the year is approaching many nonprofit organizations are going to be holding end of the year fundraisers or galas. Before you hold your event it is important you know how to leverage all aspects of social media to make your fundraising event successful, and help get the word out about your organization and your mission.

The first thing you need to do is create a content/communication calendar for the fundraising event. This calendar will tell you what needs to be done each day leading up to the event. The marketing calendar should include where the item is to be posted, by who and what time of the day it is to be posted. What time of the day it is posted is crucial, because it can determine if your marketing material is going to be opened or not. The best time to email people is from 9-11am Tuesday-Thursday or 2pm. The worst times are Monday mornings and Friday afternoons.

After you have your marketing calendar established the next step is to create an event registration page. Some key points of an effective registration page are:

  • Title: Be as specific as possible so people know what type of event it is
  • Keywords: Include keywords in the title or summary of the event so it can increase your Google search
  • Have various types of tickets available that include different incentives. i.e VIP, Early Bird
  • Have a Share button available: Having a Share button allows attendees to promote that they are attending on various social media networks
Once your calendar and event registration page is setup you are ready to start promoting your event on various social media outlets. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have different best practices on promoting your event. The first outlet we suggest you to promote on is Facebook. We suggest posting on Facebook 1-2 times a day and creating a Facebook event page to promote your event. Next, with Twitter you should be posting 6-7 times a day. Twitter is a lot more interactive then Facebook is, therefore the more you post on your page the more you will stay relevant with followers. Lastly on LinkedIn you should be posting your event to followers and groups that are relevant to your organization or the event you are holding. You should also be posting your event to any industry groups you participate in over LinkedIn. Social media is very complex with how all the different networks have different best practices. However, if you follow the best practices discussed above you will have a great social media strategy for promoting your event.

Lastly, you need to utilize social media for post-event activities. After your event has been completed send out a survey to attendees on their experience and promote it over social media. Also, sharing a recap blog post, and pictures of the event over social media is a good way to remain relevant to attendees.

Social media marketing is an excellent free resource when trying to promote a fundraising event/gala, and is not used nearly enough by nonprofit organizations.
0 Comments

Tips on When and How You Should Plan Your #GivingTuesday Marketing Campaign

8/19/2014

0 Comments

 
#GivingTuesday is a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season (first Tuesday in December). #GivingTuesday was started by Henry Timms in 2012 and now has continued ever since with more and more nonprofits participating each year. The average online gift during 2013 #GivingTuesday campaign was $140.25. This is a substantial amount of money that some nonprofits are missing out on by not having an effective #GivingTuesday Marketing Campaign.

There are five important aspects of an effective #GivingTuesday Marketing campaign that nonprofits should complete early on.

The first aspect of an effective #GivingTueday Marketing Campaign is to look at where you are as an organization now, and how close you are to your organizations goals for that year. What should you focus on in your #GivingTuesday campaign to get you the closest to reaching your goal?

Next, you need to choose what goals you want to achieve through participating in #GivingTuesday. Do you want to increase Brand Awareness? Increase social media followers? Obtain a certain amount in donations? Pinpointing what you want to get out of #GivingTuesday is essential to determine if your campaign was effective or not.

After you know where you are as an organization and what goals you want to meet you will need to generate content. Your organization should be generating content at least 2 months ahead of #GivingTuesday so you are not stressed and overwhelmed.

Next, you need to communicate your #GivingTuesday campaign. When getting the word out about your #GivingTuesday campaign use your communication avenues that you have already established. #GivingTuesday is centered around sharing so make sure you have an online donation page and your organization is active on Twitter.

Lastly, promote ahead of time! Promoting ahead of time about your organization’s mission and that you are participating in #GivingTuesday is essential.

#GivingTuesday is a great way for nonprofits to participate in the holiday season and end their year on the right foot!
0 Comments

The Growth of Mobile Giving and How to be Prepared!

8/12/2014

0 Comments

 
Smartphones are everywhere you go nowadays. From Baby boomers to millennial’s everyone owns them. Overall 58% of Americans now own a smartphone and the number continues to increase. The increase in smartphones has changed the way people give to nonprofit organizations. Before, smartphones no one would give donations on their phone now more and more people are donating over their mobile devices.

As mobile giving continues to grow there are a few things nonprofits need to keep in mind to make sure they are mobile ready. The first is to make sure that there website is optimized for mobile. In 2013 there was a 13.5% percent in online fundraising. If your website is not optimized for mobile devices then you are most likely losing out on this opportunity.

As smartphone owners rise so does Google’s emphasize on mobile. With Google increasing there emphasize on mobile so should nonprofits. Nonprofits need to make sure there mobile site SEO is up to date so Google can find them and promote their website.

Lastly, your mobile website needs to be responsive and easy to use. If someone logs onto your website and it is slow, and having a hard time finding things they are just going to immediately leave. Having a mobile site that is fast and easy to use is key to obtaining mobile donations and having donors stay on your mobile site.

Mobile Giving is just going to keep increasing as more and more people move to smartphones. Make sure your mobile site is up to date and easy to use. Don’t wait till everyone else is ahead!
0 Comments

    Archives

    August 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All

Request A Demo
Contact Us
© 2015 Abila, Inc. All rights reserved. Abila, the Abila logos, and the Abila product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Abila, Inc., or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Picture
Picture
Home  |  About Us  |  Our Solutions  |  Our Success Stories  |  Contact Us
Picture
Website by NextGen Web Design
McGovern Consulting Group