Using your website to “go green” (and make green)

Let’s face it. The troubled economy is not making it easy for fundraisers this year. And this St. Patrick’s Day we could all use a lucky leprechaun to lead us to the pot of gold.

While the economy is getting most of the news coverage these days, “going green” has had its share of the limelight as well. Here are a few easy ways to build lists and raise money while going green this year.

1. Create online-only constituents and publications
From banks to cable companies, there is a growing trend to get rid of mailed, paper statements and to interact exclusively online. While you shouldn’t entirely do away with offline newsletters and direct mail, there are some constituents who may appreciate receiving online-only communications from your organization – particularly if it is coupled with a “going green” message.

Consider emailing a segment of your list and asking them to help you save money and trees by opting in to online-only communications; include a tell-a-friend feature here as well. (Alternatively, segment recent online donors who have never given offline, and keep them out of offline mailing lists.) Target these constituents differently in the coming months by reinforcing your appreciation of their online-only status. You may be able to send more frequent emails to this group as well, since you are not balancing online and offline calendars.

A more drastic but not unheard of measure is to take a regular publication out of print, and create an online-only version in its place. Proceed with caution, but since you can learn much more about your donors through their clicks – and since a reader is more likely to forward to a friend than they are to drop off a few hard copies with friends and family – the right analytics and segmentation could make an online-only version even more profitable.

2. Be less “printer-friendly”
Ever received an email that includes in the signature a request to “consider the environment before printing this email”? In a few easy steps, you can add a similar message near printer-friendly links on your website and in email stationery.

3. Offer seasonal ecards
Use holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day as timely reasons to publicize your organization through e-cards. Free e-cards help grow your house file, and allow the sender to give an eco-friendly online greeting to a loved one. Tribute e-cards raise funds by allowing the sender to make a donation in someone’s name rather than purchasing a tangible present. Both varieties can help build lists and raise money, without any need for paper.

Going green and making green don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Offering more unique opportunities for online communication will help save trees and money, and may also be seen as an effort toward responsible spending of donor dollars.

Go green, and you might just find that pot of gold after all.

Comments

[GoGreen]

We have seen a big turn around in our business by going online. The way we targeted potential customers via traditional marketing methods was very wasteful, now we consider ourselves a green company when it comes to waste and efficiency.

[Online Marketing Services]

Nice piece of Information. I especially found it useful where you you stated "Go green, and you might just find that pot of gold after all. " .... Really appreciate for sharing the same!