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Top Membership Recruitment Tips for Your Nonprofit

Summer is quickly passing us by which means that summer vacations are coming to an end, schools are back in session, and organizations across the country are gearing up to continue reaching their annual goals. Some of these organizations will open their doors for membership intake within the next few weeks and may find that it will be somewhat challenging to not only find, but retain new members. ExpressTaxExempt is here to support your organization by providing some beneficial recruitment strategies and tips that can help your organization as it continues to grow.

Know and Understand Your Organization

Leaders should have a clear understand of the organization’s goals, objectives, mission, and purpose prior to recruiting others to join. Have leaders in your group come up with an “elevator speech” (clear, brief message/commercial about the organization) that can be shared with those interested in joining your organization. These speeches can be shared first in a role playing activity during a monthly leadership meeting.

Develop a Target Audience

If your organization is looking for specific types of individuals to carry out the work of the group, market and cater your recruitment efforts to the type of people that you need. For example, if you are recruiting for a college campus ministry, gear your recruitment efforts towards millennials with innovative and intriguing materials that incorporate scriptures or inspirational quotes.

Set Realistic Membership Goals

Once you can identify who your target audience will be, then determine a realistic number of new members that you would like to have join your organization.

How many new members can your organization reasonably assimilate into the group? Knowing the answer to this question will greatly impact the outcome of your recruitment efforts.

Creative Marketing & Advertising

When marketing and/or advertising for your organization, be sure to use creative and strong visual elements. These visual elements will attract the attention of potential members. Utilize the talents of those within your organization and have those members with artistic talents design your flyers, posters, promotional videos, and marketing materials. Be strategic with your marketing. Do a social media blast and have the members of your organization repost a flyer or promotion at a specific time & date. Post printed flyers in “high traffic” areas where people seem to walk by or gather to fellowship which will increase the overall reach of your marketing.

Be Authentic

When seeking others to become a part of your group it is important to be genuine. Prospective members can easily tell if your efforts are to simply just increase the size of your membership roster. Be real and let them be real. Also, remember that personal contact is always better than tons of flyers and advertisements. People tend to join an organization because of the people they will be associated with. Take time to get to know your new members.

Ask for Input

Members of organizations want to feel a part and know that their presence in your group is valued and that they are appreciated. Throughout the year, have conversations and open discussions with members to let them voice their opinions and provide ideas as to how to make the organization become even stronger and more effective.

By implementing these strategies into your annual recruiting efforts, you will be able to see a positive enhancement to your organization. As always, ExpressTaxExempt is here to help you in any way that we can. Be sure to e-file your Form 990 series tax forms with us each year to maintain your tax exempt status and remain in good standing with the IRS. Feel free to contact our support team of e-file experts at 704.839.2321 for any questions or help with your e-filing experience. We’re here to assist you Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or feel free to reach us 24/7 via email at support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

When it comes to marketing, photography is an often overlooked key factor.

How is that? Well, the human eye is naturally attracted to visual imagery.

While we’ve talked to you about social media, email, and video marketing—there’s a key factor we may have overlooked.

Want to engage with your audience on social media? Tell your stories with photographs!

How Can Photography Help?

Look for photogenic moments in your organization and at your events, and use these on social media.

Don’t post photos that have no story to them. If you’re gonna photograph people, make sure they’re standing in front of whatever your organization has accomplished (a habitat house, a food drive).

Don’t post every photograph you take. If you take 100 photos, a handful of them will be amazing photos. The rest can be saved for your archives, but less is definitely more.

As for pictures of your staff doing nothing—sure, your social media fans may know your staff, but if they’re not captivating your audience, don’t use them.

Telling Stories with Photography

So how can you tell stories with visuals?

According to John Haydon, the best way to tell stories is by using the very concept of storytelling: every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

A classic story will show progression, action, or change.

Haydon says there are four ways to select share-worthy images:

Show Action: Photographs that show action are storytelling images.
Show Relationships: Photos with relationships are great at telling stories. If you’re photographing a dog adoption, and you see a happy dog with their happy owner—the story tells itself.
Show Problems: When you show a problem, you’re telling a story. And this story inspires viewers to take part and become the happy ending.
Show Results: Photos that show the attainment of a goal tell the story from the finish line. Sometimes that's simply showing someone with a before and after of a medical procedure.

While you’re planning your storytelling photographs, start planning your Form 990 return. With the fast and easy e-filing at ExpressTaxExempt, you’ll never have to worry about confusing tax forms. If you have any questions about e-filing, call our support experts at 704.839.2321.

So ask yourself, what are your best photographable moments? How can you use these to share your stories?

If you’re running a nonprofit organization, you might be dreading the next few weeks. Why?

Well, because it’s that time of year when you have to file your Form 990 return!

Instead of letting your heart fill with dread, instead ask yourself if you can use Form 990 to your advantage. Instead of seeing it as just another tax form, look at it like an opportunity where you can tell your story and draw in more donors.

That’s right, with a little planning, you can use Form 990 as a marketing tool.

Post Form 990 Online

By sharing your tax return with your donors and the general public, you show that you are transparent.

You also present the facts about how your organization has helped. Nothing is better than cold hard data!

Your Form Tells a Story

Instead of using a generic summary, your organization can impress audiences with their story!

With thoughtfully written descriptions of your organization, their goals, and their accomplishments, you’ll be able to cast your own light on your organization.

Just make sure you’re truthful and accurate! Schedule O also allows for additional details, and you can always list the organization’s website.

Make It Look Good

It’s not only important for your story to shine, you also need to make sure your answers and numbers are good.

For an accurately completed Form 990, you need to avoid unrelated revenues, lobbying, loans and business transactions with insiders, and untruthful answers (for example, the questions in Part V).

As far as errors go, ExpressTaxExempt checks your return for filing errors before transmitting to the IRS.

Pass the Test

Every tax exempt organization must demonstrate that it continues to meet the requirements set under section 501(c)(3). In Schedule A, organizations have to classify as a Public Charity or a Private Foundation.

If they’re a public charity, they need to pass one of 2 tests.

The first test states that your organization receives substantial support in contributions from publicly supported organizations, governmental units, or from the general public.

The second test states that your organization receives no more than one-third of its support from gross investment income, and more than one-third from contributions, membership fees, and gross receipts from exempt-related activities.

So when you’re ready to file Form 990, you’re going to want to save time on the difficulties of paperwork so you can get your story across.

Start by e-filing Form 990 with ExpressTaxExempt, the premier filing solution for tax exempt organizations. With bulk uploading, multi-user access, and help available by email and phone, we’ll help you get through the tough stuff.

Can your organization’s Form 990 become a marketing tool?

Alright, exempt and nonprofit organizations — it’s that time of year!

We’re only a few weeks away from the deadline to file your tax exempt information return as a 501(c)(3) organization!

That’s right, your deadline is May 16th! Not ready yet? Here’s what you need to do.

E-file with ExpressTaxExempt

The most important thing you can do is to take a deep breath! While the idea of taxes can be daunting to many, you don’t have to suffer through it this year.

Why is that? Well, because you’re e-filing with ExpressTaxExempt.

With ExpressTaxExempt, you are not only e-filing with the premier tax exempt filing service out there, you’re saving time that can be dedicated to whatever cause you champion.

Plus, we make e-filing your taxes as easy as turning on a computer, logging into the website, and answering the interview style prompts.

File Form 8868 for More Time

Still not ready? Don’t freak out! Just e-file Form 8868 and receive an automatic 3-month extension of time to file your tax exempt tax returns.

If you need more time to file your Form 990 returns, just know that the deadline is also the same, May 16th!

And just in case you need more time after the first 3 months, you can e-file for another 3 months after that. These will be non-automatic, though, so there needs to be a legitimate reason.

Ready for Form 990? Here's What You Do Instead!

Alright, for the few of you out there who have already finished e-filing (or you run on a fiscal year different than the calendar year), what should you do?

Maybe it’s time to plan and implement a fundraiser. PTA groups can start now to coincide with the end of the school year!

With all the free time, you can start an email, social media, or video marketing plan.

And if you have all your bases covered, maybe you can plan a personal vacation! The possibilities are endless.

So sign up for ExpressTaxExempt today and start your 990 return now! I mean, that way you have all your bases covered come May 16th.

If you have any questions, our team of e-filing experts can help! Give us a call at 704.839.2321 or an email at Support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

Back in the day, fundraising was usually a face-to-face, spoken word kind of venture. But in the digital age, things have changed.

In order to maintain competitive fundraising, you need to look towards the Internet! But with great crowdfunding comes great responsibility.

I mean, there are certain rules, drawbacks, and benefits to Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and GoFundMe. But no matter what, there are mistakes you can make on every crowdfunding site.

Your Campaign Is Not Clearly Defined

Don’t use a crowdfunding campaign for general fundraising.

Instead, focus your crowdfunding to a specific project, and how it will inspire donors to be a part of it.

Also, a specific project will have a smaller goal ($10k is a lot more palatable than $100k).

You Have No Mass-Market Appeal

Be realistic. You’re a big supporter of your cause, but the Average Joe isn’t.

If you do your market research, you can find the broadest appeal for your project. Research allows you to target your fundraising efforts.

You Have No Dedicated Resources

After you research, you need to make sure you have the capabilities to manage a big campaign.

If you don’t have a dedicated marketing professional on your team, you need to split the duties of a marketer between your current staff.

Also, you need to spend a little to earn a little in most situations, so make sure you have a budget that accounts for marketing.

You Don't Have a Plan

With proper resources, a real plan comes together.

Every plan has a before, a during, and an after. Start by setting goals you plan to meet, metrics you will measure with, and a time frame for all of this to occur.

With prepared content and continuous outreach, you can build relationships with your new donors even after your campaign ends.

You Have No Existing Donor Network

In order for your campaign to succeed, you need a relationship with your existing donors. First of all, they’re passionate about your cause.

Second, they have friends and family to share your project with. New donors are more likely to give if their loved ones have vetted the cause already.

Once you have your crowdfunding road-map in order, you can implement your plan!

With a solid crowdfunding campaign, your project is sure to be successful.

And it’s never too early to start planning your tax exempt return—once all these donations roll in, use the awesome recordkeeping features of ExpressTaxExempt to import donations. If you have any issues e-filing your 990 form, contact our support team at 704.839.2321.

Are you making these crowdfunding mistakes?

Innovation is the key to a successful marketing strategy for your nonprofit. You’re here to help your community, but you also need to stay competitive.

We’ve talked to you about creating video for your exempt organization, but what about audio?

No, we’re not talking radio over here.

It’s surprisingly easy to create a podcast these days, but it can sound intimidating. Here are some steps to follow to create your own.

Create a Concept

First of all, what is your podcast going to be about? That’s a big question, but it is where you need to start.

Is it based around your mission? Maybe it is about your volunteers or the people you are trying to help?

Or perhaps you’d rather go broad and talk about the industry itself. That is fine!

This also makes you think, who is your audience? Is it for your donors, your volunteers, or other people in the exempt industry?

Finally, decide your release schedule during this planning phase, because it’ll help you plan how often you need to create your content. Plus, it’ll be easier to schedule guests, promotions, and extra things geared towards your listening audience.

Get in Production

How long will an episode be? Some podcasts run with 15 minutes or less, and there are some that succeed at a longer format (45 minutes and up). It depends on what you have to say, so keep that in consideration!

How often will you release episodes? Create a production plan in advance that is based around your episode length and schedule.

If you’re recording a short form series about fundraising, you could write and record all of your episodes at once.

But if you want to make a longer form series that interviews vital players in the nonprofit world, you will have to plan your schedule around those interviews. It takes more time, but in this field we know that anything worth doing takes time!

How do you record the actual show?

Well, you can record with something as simple as your computer microphone, or you can grab a professional microphone and mixer if you have the budget. Then you can edit with a free program, like Audacity. If you’re a Mac user, your computer comes installed with Garageband, which also works.

Once you get your episode perfect, it’s time for distribution.

Distribute It

After you record, you need to get your podcast out there. With the social media pages, email, and website you’ve already set up, you have an instant platform to push the podcast on.

Then you simply need to submit it to all the major distribution services out there—iTunes, Stitcher, etc.

There’s a lively podcasting community out there, and you can make a name for your nonprofit in the field. Consider it!

Just a reminder, if you run on a calendar year, there’s a Form 990 deadline coming up in May! The expert customer service team is ready to help you if you have any e-filing questions. Give them a call at 704.839.2321.

Are you ready to start podcasting?

How do you boost online donor retention? It’s a big question. Currently, 40.5% of nonprofits surveyed said that less than 10% of their fundraising came from online donations.

So we know there’s quite a swath of exempt organizations out there who aren’t utilizing online donations.

But for those who are, how do you make sure you are following best practices? How do you retain those awesome, web-savvy donors?

Communication

When it comes to communicating with your online donors, you are pretty much tied to both email and social media.

Before you get to those steps, you should probably have a solid online presence. Start by creating a website and a blog! Your blog can range from personal stories about your nonprofit to tips and tricks. Anything goes, as long as you communicate organization updates too!

After that, you simply need to design an email campaign. Let this take form as newsletters, donation emails, or even deals.

Your social media presence is crucial now. With online donation movements like #GivingTuesday, there are just too many opportunities out there. Get social now! It’s low hanging fruit.

There are some special skills you can tap into for your nonprofit marketing, including using video to boost donations.

Every communication channel you open is there for you to retain a relationship with your donors. That should be your top goal.

Appreciation

The most important thing you can do for your retention is to thank your donors. By showing appreciation, your people will feel a swell of gratification that will ask them to keep on.

And don’t just issue blanket thank yous, personalize them to your givers! If you have a database of names and email addresses, this could be easily automated within an email service.

Use your communication channels to feature the philanthropic work people have done for and with your organization.

Connection

Donors aren’t ATMs, they’re people. Don’t bombard them with constant requests for money.

Your best strategy will be to get their voices involved, so that you can establish a connection.

So we suggest using your social media to really spark up discourse. Polls, open ended questions, and contests will involve your followers in a way that gives you insights about them.

And form an emotional connection! If your exempt organization cares deeply, show it. If there’s a funny and comical way to get your message across that matches your tone, do it!

With the exempt organization tax filing deadline soon approaching, it’s a good idea to get those donor records in order.

Head over to ExpressTaxExempt and start your free account today! With multi-user account access, bulk data uploading, and a simplified format, ETE is the premier choice for nonprofit 990 filing.

Have any questions? Give us a call at 704.839.2321.

What are you doing to boost online donor retention?

Why Do People Volunteer? Here Are 6 Reasons

Why do people volunteer?

That’s a big question. There are plenty of reasons why, honestly.

As a volunteer, you may identify with these yourself.

As an exempt organization, once you understand your volunteers’ motivations, you can tap into these reasons to better your recruitment!

So what are the reasons people volunteer? Here are just a few!

Personal Tie to the Cause

Basically, if a cause is important to someone, they might volunteer.

Maybe they are a cancer survivor, or are related to one. Maybe they grew up impoverished and want to help kids with disadvantages succeed in school.

Regardless, they want to help. And with this personal tie comes a passion you can’t fake.

For Resume Building

Whether you’re an entry level college grad or a seasoned worker, volunteering helps that resume.

These volunteers may seem dedicated for the “wrong reason” to some, but in the volunteer business you want to accept any helping hand.

And resume building is a legitimate act that leads many to help!

For Leadership

Beyond resume building is leadership training. While this may be a team building exercise, it might also be an entrepreneur looking to use their leadership skill set to do good.

Not only that, some people will learn valuable leadership skills FROM volunteering.

And if you want to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. And helping a nonprofit in any way is definitely walking the walk.

To Meet People

Sure, it might sound like a strange method for making new friends, but you are likely to find people with similar interests as you if you pick a cause you care about.

And you might be meeting a future collaborator, or your next best friend. Either way, all the more reason to volunteer!

It Feels Good "Doing Good"

Sometimes, it just feels good to do good. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

One of your volunteers might get involved with your exempt organization because they want to feel good. And you should let them know they’re doing good!

Sometimes, the Doing Good crowd will be involved in the smaller gestures, like donating canned food or pledging a dollar as an add-on. But even with small gestures, the do good crowd helps out!

And while some out there cringe at the idea of helping just because you’re “doing good,” it is really the key concept to philanthropy. So we’re not gonna knock it.

Increase Your Self Awareness

And finally, when you put yourself in the role of volunteer, you are able to see things the average person doesn’t. And you increase your self awareness and your understanding of the world.

That has to be reason enough to volunteer, if you ask us.

After you bring in new recruits and key donations, make use of our bulk uploading and multi-user accounts at ExpressTaxExempt. And if you have any questions building up to the May 15th deadline, reach us by phone at 704.839.2321 or by email at Support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

What motivates your volunteers?

Did you know that about 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2014 and September 2015?

Did you also know that April is Volunteer Appreciation Month?

Good job, volunteers! Keep up the good work. And good job to our dedicated nonprofit and exempt organizations who reach out and organize their volunteers!

While volunteering differs depending on the organization, we offer our appreciation to all of you out there who have taken your time and money to better our world!

How Can You as an Exempt Organization Show Your Appreciation?

Well, communicate with your volunteer base! Send out an email or a social media message that conveys your appreciation.

If you’re already following our guide to email marketing, this should be easy for you.

Reach out to a Local Company as a Partner

Let’s be honest, there are many benefits for businesses when it comes to volunteering. They can market their products and services through events and increase their appeal to the community by helping out.

For Volunteer Month, team up with a local company that could offer your volunteer base some cool perks. This could range from free swag to discounts, depending on what the local business does.

Everyone Loves a Good Meal

It turns out collecting, preparing, distributing, and serving food were the activities volunteers performed the most in 2015. Around 11 percent of volunteers reported this as their main activity, with teaching, fundraising, and general labor following, respectively.

Show your volunteers you appreciate their efforts by throwing them an appreciation banquet, cookout, or even a pizza party!

On top of everything, these events are the perfect opportunity to reconnect with and learn more about your volunteers.

What Makes Volunteers Tick?

Appreciative emails and cookouts aside, April gives you the perfect chance to learn more about your volunteer base.

How? By surveying your base, you can find out why they volunteer, what works as a call to action, and how you can make the process easier for them.

Some people would rather donate canned goods or funds, and some would rather use their time doing hands-on activities to better the organization. Do you know which volunteers are which? This is the time for you to find out!

Of course, we would like to extend our appreciation to both volunteers and nonprofits out there! Without your dedication and philanthropy, the world would be a darker place.

Don’t forget, if you’re an exempt organization running on a calendar year, you have a deadline for your tax return on May 15th. Whether you’re e-filing Form 990-N or the 990 long, we’re here to answer any questions you may come across. Just reach out to us at 704.839.2321 or Support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

How are you going to appreciate your volunteers this month? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook and Twitter!

So you’re sending out killer emails, drawing in both donations and traffic to your social media channels. Things are looking up for your growing nonprofit—but what if you need more volunteers to achieve your mission? Sure, you can use these same methods to call people to action, but there is another approach you can consider.

Looking for a new volunteer pool to dip into? Have you considered the student population?

Students are Natural Helpers

Why students? First, understand why you can consider the local student population a great volunteer resource. Educational facilities like colleges, high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools typically have good reasons to promote volunteerism.

For younger students, expect a structured volunteer system set up by teachers and parents. As students reach high school and college, they are sometimes promoted to volunteer on their own time and in student run organizations.

Understanding Student Volunteers

Why would a student want to volunteer? Yes, most people volunteer to help. For a student, they might have a grade attached to their drive. Don't’ let that dissuade you, though, because help is help! Apart from academics, sometimes participating in Greek Life requires students to volunteer, so find your local university and see how fraternities and sororities can help. For an academic approach, contact professors and instructors who can work assignments into volunteering.

When you’re dealing with student volunteers, we suggest implementing that social media campaign we talked about. Since students have a heavy social media presence, tap into that with your own customized hashtag. Hey, you might even inspire your next batch of volunteers that way!

Make Volunteering Fun

And whatever you do, make sure you keep your volunteer events fun and lively! If you’re on a campus, give out free stuff and mimic a festival atmosphere if possible. You can give out things like t-shirts, Frisbees, water bottles, or anything that you can support your cause with.

Don’t forget, any event you plan, you will want to capture with video. Still don’t have a video plan? Check and see if the school you’re working with has any budding videographers willing to volunteer their services! Grab some interviews with students from before they volunteered, during their events, and afterward and you will have some killer promotional material!

So start Googling your local colleges, and look for their student outreach programs! After you raise all those funds, be sure to e-file your tax exempt returns with ExpressTaxExempt! We offer Form 990 long, Form 990-N (e-Postcard), and Form 990-EZ. We even offer tax extension Form 8868, for nonprofits that need some more time!

Questions? Contact our dedicated support team in Rock Hill, SC by phone at 704.839.2321, live chat on our website, and by email at support@expresstaxexempt.com.

So you’ve set up a social media empire, and you’re producing stellar video content to impress your donors and board. What’s next for your nonprofit marketing campaign?

Have you thought about email?

Think about it—just about everyone you know has an email address. There has to be a way your nonprofit can tap into that market. So let’s break down some email marketing tips your tax exempt organization can use.

Why Should We Use Email Marketing?

The affordability of email marketing is reason enough! With an email marketing campaign, you have a lower price point since you avoid the costs of printing paper flyers. Not only that, your nonprofit keeps responsible outlook by reducing your paper footprint.

Email is a great option because of its ease of use and widespread use. These days, almost everybody has an email address, and they know how to check their email. There’s little confusion with a well crafted email that says “click here to donate.”

Because of the low price point, your organization can get a higher return on investment. Of course, you want to approach your emails in different ways depending on the kind they are.

How Should We Approach Email Marketing?

First things first, sign up for an email marketing service, and work the cost into your marketing budget. With your email marketing service, you can catalog and sort user email addresses by demographics. With each new donation you receive, you can obtain and build a bigger database to send future emails.

Once you’re ready to hit send, make sure you reach out to your donors with effective messaging. Try telling a story! Use your organization, your volunteers, or even those you help to get the message across. You can even update your audience with the comings and goings of your organization, while working in a plug for donations with subtlety.

Aim to keep it short and simple. Email marketing is for hundreds of words, not thousands. If you have a source of long form content you want your readers to see, include a link with a short synopsis instead. Remember, less is more – you want people to read and digest the email as fast as possible.

And most importantly, create a call to action - start and end with a call to action: donate now. click here, read this - don’t leave the email hanging.

How Do We Start?

There are quite a few options out there, and you’ll have to see what works best for you. For a more detailed approach, check out some of the email marketing guides provided by the services themselves.

Here are 3 guides to email marketing for nonprofits you should check out:

Bonus Question: What Other Tips Do You Have?

First off, keep a calendar and a schedule for any of your campaigns. You can make a master calendar that includes your social media, video, and email efforts. After that, stay scheduled! With your email blasts, find organic opportunities to link back to your blogs, social media, and donation landing pages. Most of all, as you design your emails, ask yourself – would I read this email? Would I click that link?

With a strong email campaign, you can work wonders for your tax exempt organization. And when it’s time to file Form 990, we’ll be here to help you. If you have any questions, reach us by email, live chat, and 704.839.2321.

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