Category Archives: Campaign Websites

WordPress as a flexible development platform

Posted on by Jesse Kelsey

WordPress.org logoIt’s an understatement to say that there are many ways to build a website in 2011. The tools available to web developers for building websites, web tools, apps, sitelets, widgets, etc. are plentiful. In many cases, we are not limited by the tools used for hammering out ones and zeros, but by the platforms and applications in use by our clients.

For the brand new Donordigital website and blog, we had an opportunity to choose a platform at the outset of the project. We took advantage of WordPress to build out our company site, for a handful of reasons:

  • Fosters Collaboration: We wanted to build out our site with the intent of making it easy to collaborate, not just for our production team, but for everyone in the company. WordPress combines a great content management system with top-notch blogging software which allows for anyone to contribute.
  • Enables Dynamic Content: Our site pages are built to pull content from the blog posts that we write. This helps us to keep the site content relevant and dynamic, while focusing mostly on blog post content. We categorize and tag our posts so that they’re distributed in various locations on the site.
  • Welcomes 3rd Party Tools: We use the power of widgets and plugins, such as the AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget, List Category Posts, and FeedBurner FeedSmith plugins. These tools do some of the heavy lifting for us, in order to connect via social media channels or to keep information better organized.
  • Develops Quickly: Through modifying some themes available, building the site in a dynamic fashion, and utilizing powerful third party tools, we are able to build out sites and applications quickly on the WordPress platform.
  • Leverages Open Source: There is no cost to use WordPress. It’s an Open Source project with a very active community of supporters and developers. There are many online resources available to the community— forums, documentation, example sites, plugins, etc.

Donordigital regularly develops websites for its clients using the WordPress platform. At year-end 2010, we built a Gift Catalog for Catholic Relief Services using WordPress that showcased giving opportunities for its supporters. We connected the Gift Catalog via the Convio API to allow for full donation functionality. PETA Presents is another good example of a client site that we built recently using the WordPress platform.

Jesse Kelsey is a Web Developer at Donordigital, the online fundraising, marketing, and advertising company. Contact: jesse@donordigital.com.


8 good online fundraising resources that help us learn

Posted on by Nick Allen

While the basic principles of online fundraising aren’t changing fast, the tools and tests of the ways that work are.  So it’s really worthwhile to keep up with the cleverest people in the world who are writing about them.  Here are 10 sources that can help you raise more money (and avoid some big mistakes).  Most are available as email newsletters, RSS feeds, or apps.

  1. The Agitator.  If your organization is cutting its budget and you can only afford one daily email, this is the one!  (Just kidding, it’s free.) Tom Belford and Roger Craver consistently find the most important research and campaigns and write passionately about them.
  2. Mashable, the indispensable mega-site covering social media, includes substantial coverage of nonprofit issues in the “social good” section.
  3. Beth Kanter.  Whether she’s in Beirut or Boston, Beth manages to turn out a daily post which usually contains at least one nugget, if not a complete how-to on a new trend in social networking. Sample: “I had the pleasure of experimenting with a text polling app to find out the composition of the audience and their experience with…how to integrate the use of mobile technology into multi-channel campaigns with an emphasis on social…    So, while we were waiting,  I asked the panelists to take bets….”
  4. Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog.  Katya Andresen, COO of Network for Good, always has useful and provocative ideas on online marketing.
  5. Kira Marchenese’s Online Communications for Nonprofits. Insights on social media and web usability for nonprofits always has news you can use.  In recent posts, Kira, director of Internet communications at Environmental Defense Fund, writes about RFPs and “why most Facebook marketing doesn’t work.”
  6. Chronicle of Philanthropy’s daily “Philanthropy Today” newsletter.  Indispensible coverage of the sector based on the Chronicle’s own excellent stories as well as major media coverage.
  7. Mark Phillips’ “Queer Ideas.” The head of London’s Bluefrog agency explores what’s working and what’s not from the UK point of view.  From a recent post: “Choice is becoming a buzzword in fundraising. But just how important is it? …organisations like Kiva, DonorsChoose and CRUK (with MyProjects) have done rather well by offering people a chance to decide how their donations are used. …But is choice the key factor that lies behind this level of fundraising success?”
  8. UK Fundraising.  A UK version of the Chronicle, this weekly newsletter includes news you can use even if you’ve never heard of the organizations making it. Sample: “As part of its annual Cards for a Cure™ campaign, Hallmark Cards is asking adults and children to declare their love for their mother on an online ‘Mums Wall’, with the most ‘liked’ messages turned into…”

Nick Allen is co-founder and chief strategy officer of Donordigital, the online fundraising, marketing, and advertising company.  Contact: nick@donordigital.com or phone (510) 473-0366.