A while ago, I likened the world wide web to the wild west – at times – seemingly – anything goes.

Well Festus, there is a new sheriff in town.

Last week, Google announced that they would remove “substandard web sites” from their search engines, or, move those sites that seemed to have more relevant content to the top of the search engine list.

Now, you see, organizations can pay for ‘search engine optimization’ – ensuring that their firm is the first site that appears when you type a search term.

Try this: Type ‘internet tablet” in the google search bar and see what pops up at the top of the list ….

Apple’s Ipad.

That did not come cheap.

Now, however, Google will be regulating what you see, or, at the very least, telling you what you may not see.

This impulse is not a bad thing, indeed, Google is trying to cast out all of the “content farms” ( a company that employs large numbers of often freelance writers to generate large amounts of textual content which is specifically designed to satisfy algorithms for maximal retrieval by automated search engines. Their main goal is to generate advertising revenue through attracting reader page views ).

Yet, there is something disturbing here. The internet may be a vast wilderness – but it is essentially democratic – ideas reside and are accessed without impediment.

Why should Diocesan development officers care?

Have you spent any time and/or resources enhancing your website as of late?
How many people find the case for support for your annual fund on your website?

Will Google’s search engine tango have an impact on your ability to reach out to your constituents?

Stay tuned ….

I was in the Apple store last week buying a rather inexpensive power cord for my Ipod (I left it on a plane) and watched as a customer almost garrotted a customer support specialist because, gosh darn it, they were out of Ipads.

It was downright ugly.

Some simple math (and for you studying at home, there will be a quiz):

310,000,000 – give or take – people – live in these United States. Approximately 75% – according to some older surveys – own a computer – thats 225,000,000 (give or take) bright screens shining in homes from Machias, Maine, to Los Angeles, California.

According to a recent survey conducted by ABI research (http://www.abiresearch.com/press/3621-4.5+Million+Media+Tablets+Shipped+in+3Q-2010), 4,500,000 media tablets shipped to those same homes last sales quarter.

That means, in the last several months, 5% of those people who own computers acquired a mobile web access device in the last three months.

What do you think happened to that wonderful desktop that was purchased during the Clinton administration when that Apple IPad rolled in the house?

I have a idea.

In 2010, 14 million tons of waste will be generated from the disposal of old computers ….in Chile.

Think that number may be a bit higher here?

The new web paradigm is a mobile paradigm … and this has significant implications for those diocesan development offices who are spending a lot of time reengineering their websites.

You may want to peruse the findings of the Mobile Web Initiative. A lot of their recommendations are for those who enjoy pulling apart a hard drive on a weekend – and who don’t – but you may want to pass it along to those folks who are tinkering with your new fancy schmacy web portal.

Their recommendations can be found here: http://www.w3.org/TR/mwabp/

Jetpacks.

For the last four decades, I have been waiting for my jetpack.

They were promised.

They exist.

Where are they?

In a recent addition of fundraisingcoach.com, the author spends a fair amount of time explaining the potential use of QR codes in fundraising programs.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this term:

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

Thank you Wikipedia.

Open a Sunday newspaper and direct your attention to the advertisement sections. You will find square boxes with gradiated lines: if your mobile device has a scanner that can read these codes, your mobile device will be directed to a website that provides additional product information.

What application might these have within a diocesan annual fund program?

I don’t know. I need to consider how they are used in the commercial sector and the theories that underpin how the commercial sector utilizes them.

I do know one thing, however, without doing an extensive literature review.

The diocesan development director is well served to hold off on plastering these things all over annual fund collateral materials until he or she does a significant amount of due dilligence into the impact of such innovations within their donor demographic.

Or you can wait until you receive your jetpack ….

A long time ago in a New England state, far, far away, I purchased a home that had a garden.

A big garden.

Every day I would look out my window and pray for hail. Big hailstones. To wipeout all the things coming up from the ground.

“You can not grow anything.” My wife noted.

When I was a diocesan development director, growing the numbers of active appeal donors was always at the top of my mind. (God, that was a terrible segue, please forgive me).

There is a simple formula that you can apply to ensure the steady growth of your active donor base:

retention of current donors + acquisition of new donors = more donors

Retention of Current Donors

Why are you loosing them to begin with? Are they dead, angry, or have they left town. Spend time and money to figure out why they are going. Do not make assumptions, they will probably be wrong. Knowing the retention rate on a yearly basis, of your annual fund donors is essential and remaining in constant contact with them is essential.

Acquisition of New Donors

“If we do more mailings, we will get more donors.”

No

How you find, and secure, new annual appeal donors, is largely an issue of segmentation and communication – segmenting your database and communicating with those segments in a manner that will garner a response.

And pray for hail.

Valentines Day reminds me that relationships are both sacred and fragile.

I spent two weeks looking for a “chunky necklace”.

By what I can put together, the fruits of the ten day search period were well received.

Relationships.

Ask yourself this question: What are the characteristics of the relationship that you maintain with your annual fund donors?

If you are like many diocesan development officers, they hear from you 11 times a year:

1. When you ask them for money prior to the appeal (that is one time).
2. When you send them a pledge statement that reminds them of their affirmative answer to question “1″ (that happens ten times a year).

This interaction is not exactly the stuff that makes for enduring love (or support).

If you want to increase the “stickyness” of your annual donors, consider the fact that people love, love, to hear what their contributions are doing – understanding the impact of their philanthropy.

Once per quarter, mail to all of your annual fund donors an oversized postcard. On one side, have a simple, yet relevant stock image. On the other side of the card, a simple statement of fact regarding the impact of their contributions.

For example, if your annual appeal supports the office of vocations, the postcard can have an image of a Roman collar on one side and, on the back, a simple statement that reads:

Because you were generous, 6 seminarians are able to prepare for a life of service to our Diocesan church.

Simple, not expensive, yet, effective.