December 2009 Newsletter

Nonprofit Neighborhood


Looking Back, Looking Forward

In this video, thedatabank's CEO Chris Hanson shares his thoughts on the accomplishments of 2009, and reveals product development plans for 2010.

New Soft Credits Feature gives members credit for money raised

thedatabank is launching a new feature today for their Fundraising Module: Soft Credits! This feature allows users to give members credit for money they've raised through their employer, an a-thon, or other source. Be sure to watch our short video tutorials and sign up for one of our special Soft Credit training sessions today or Dec 18.

At the annual TakeAction Minnesota award banquet last month, Land Stewardship Project was honored for their unlikely partnership with Centro Campesino. Congratulations to LSP on this well-deserved recognition.

Complementary Service Provider Orientation offered December 2

Three new consultants joined our network:

• Jeanne Murphy of Strategic Solutions for Nonprofits
• Connie Stofko of Fundraising Assets (see her guest article in this issue)
• Judy Trest of JMT Consulting

Last Friday Databank users in the DC area joined us for lunch and an update on our company and products. Many thanks to the lovely ladies at Rights Working Group for hosting! If you would like to host a Databank user gathering in your city, contact Karen.

New Clients

Colorado Conservation Voters / CCV Education Fund - 

Colorado Conservation Voters works to turn conservation values into Colorado priorities. CCV Education Fund's mission is to provide education and training to increase the effective participation of conservationists in the political arena and to educate legislators, the media and the public about environmental issues facing Colorado today. The organizations will be using The Databank to streamline their email advocacy and fundraising systems.

Featured Resource

Four Ways to Raise More Money with your Newsletter
by Connie Stofko, Fundraising Assets

Whether you produce a print newsletter or an e-newsletter, here are some guidelines to help you raise more money through your newsletter. #1: Persuade readers to take action. Read more.

Karen’s Blog

2009 Year in Review

It's been a great year at thedatabank. As I look back over the past 12 months, a couple of events that stand out in my memory are watching the inauguration with coworkers on my first day back from maternity leave, and getting the first look at our new web site. As the year comes to a close, we've added staff and clients, we're in a strong financial position, and we've made some important enhancements to the software. Here are some highlights from 2009.

So far we've added 26 new clients. The Databank remains a top choice for environmental organizations, and we are also becoming more popular among nonprofits working on immigration, housing and transportation issues.

In spite of a down economy, thedatabank is financially healthy, and our clients seem to be weathering the storm too. At a time when nonprofits everywhere are looking to cut costs, our clients have increased their investment in thedatabank, as a way to increase their support. Clients tell us that strong relationships with members, donors and activists are critical to the long term health of their organizations. The Databank is a crucial part of that strategy and continues to be a great value, with no price increase in 2009.

We added three new staff members to our team this year: Bryan Kirby is a sales and account representative; Tony Hanson does technical support; and Adam Oien, who started with us as an intern, does database work.

We've made a number of other improvements, too many to list here, but here are a few highlights.

• We launched an online support center
• We now offer 21 tutorials through YouTube
• We hosted 6 free webinars featuring expert presenters and case studies
• We added a soft credit feature to our fundraising software
• We improved handling of web contact forms on action alerts
• We added social network integration to spread the word about actions and events
• We began offering a quarterly NCOA service for automatic bulk mail compliance

More software enhancements, as well as training and educational webinars, are linked from the new login page on our web site.

As we enter our 12th year, we are excited to continue our mission to create positive social change through technology. Here are a few things we're planning for 2010:

• Enhanced file import feature
• Updates to the user interface
• More learning/training opportunities
• New user guide

I am excited to be part of thedatabank's continued success in helping our clients make the world a better place.