Leveraging Web Technology
for Effective Engagement
             Christopher Johnson
                 cjj@ifpeople.net
                     678 608 3408
               www.ifpeople.net 
Contents
I. About ifPeople
II. Defining Effective Engagement 
III. The Ladder of Engagement
IV. Tools & Processes for Effective Engagement
V. Moving Up the Ladder: Plone & Salesforce
VI. Demos
VII. Getting Plone & Salesforce
 
 Social Enterprise
 
 Partnership­Based
 
 Strategy­Centered
Our Clients:
Nonprofits  |  Green Businesses  | Education
Social Enterprises | Small Businesses 




Our Services:
Strategic Consulting  |  Online Marketing
Development: CMS (Plone)  |  CRM (SFDC) 
Training  |  Support
We help our clients use tech
to nurture effective, long­term 
relationships with stakeholders.
Because relationships are 
 at the heart of nonprofits.

External              Internal 
Relationships         Relationships
 Donors                Employees
 Advocates             Volunteers
 Subscribers           Board
 Replicators    external relationships
 Clients
As your network grows...




     …relationships become more 
     and more complex
For your relationships to mature, 
you must effectively engage 
your constituents. 
How do we define
“effective engagement”?
It’s communication that moves 
people to increased commitment
and involvement.
The Ladder of Engagement
Ranks levels of 
  start 
something
             constituent action
give time


             High rungs: involved forms
 take part
             of activism 
 provide 
   info

give money   Low rungs: easy ways 
             to engage
subscribe 
to content


    view
start 
               Effective engagement
something     moves people up ladder
give time




  take part

 provide 
   info

give money


subscribe 
to content


   view
comment on blog
              take part




subscribe to newsletter
        subscribe to content
replicate
 start something




donate
give money
A web visitor isn’t always a major donor 




For effective engagement, 
you must communicate with each 
group appropriately.
What tools & processes 
do I need for more 
successful engagement?
1. Targeted Messaging
2. Two Way Info Flow
3. Staff Sharing Info
4. Automated Processes  
1.   Targeted, direct communication 
     with constituents… 



edit content                      newsletter
 on website



                targeted emails
Obama Campaign

             Requests to hold support 
               parties, participate in    Grass Roots
  start       rallies, drive others to    Organizers 
something            polls, etc.




experience
               General messaging          Undecided
             about policies, hope for      Voters
 content          change, etc.
Ask to contact 
              politicians, write letters     Petition
take part    to editor, forward info to      Signer
                      networks  




                    Info about 
             membership/ services,            Alert
subscribe 
to content    invitations to attend         Subscriber
                 events/ rallies
2.   Information must flow 
     two ways…
              content you
               produce 
            content you produce




       email                      comments
       stats                comments
                web analytics 
Social Media




                    comment


blog entry
Analytics….
Database Dashboard 




                 Web Analytics
3.
         Staff shares information 
         with other staff members…




potential donors                   events
                                 & meetings 


                              project
      client interactions    progress
RSVP Follow Up & Tracking…




                     Membership staff
contact info
from event           Development staff
 attendees
                     Programming staff
4.      Automates processes… 




                templated responses  




subscriptions              form submissions
1. Targeted Messaging
2. Two Way Info Flow
3. Staff Sharing Info
4. Automated Processes  
     Click to edit Master subtitle style
What tools can I use to 
manage our communications
more effectively?
Finding the right tool
     Increasing org complexity, size




bulletin                               CRM/CMS?
board?
                 spreadsheet?
A specific tool set for
complex needs.
 Open Source CMS
 User­Friendly
 International Community
 Extensive functionality 
 Customizable 
Plone is User­Friendly
●Create, manage, edit, and publish web 
content with ease. 




    –   No html knowledge needed
    –   Extensive free help: and 
        documentation:   
Collaborative Community




                
mifos.org                             PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Grameen Foundation                      Directory and map of 
                                                  community
Open source software for 
                                Interface supports community
   microfinance
lta.org                             PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Land Trust Alliance         Taking branding strategy to web
                                Site lowered support costs
Network and strengthen 
                            
   land trusts in the US                 Wireframes + IA + 
dotrust.org                           PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Int'l development NGO             International network of site 
                                                        users
Train entrepreneurs in 
                           Carefully structured site security
                            
   technology and projects
communitychange.org            KEY PRODUCT

Center for Community               Plone CMS
 Change                      DIA for Advocacy
                         
Grassroots organizing       Salesforce.com for 
Plone Works for Nonprofits
Easy to Use!
Flexible and 
  scalable
Large (nonprofit) 
  community 
  backing
Integrates well with 
  other systems
 Relationship Management 
 1.5 Million Users
 Internet­Based
 Tracks Data & Metrics
 Free to Nonprofits
How they come together…




info collection
event RSVP          info goes
e­commerce
newsletter signup   directly to
How will these tools 
improve my
relationships?
Demo #1…



    Inquiries Become 
    Assets
Van Jones




Click to edit Master subtitle style
All requests come
 in through a form




 Built in Plone
 Easy to edit
 Dumps directly to 
 Salesforce
Request dashboard in Salesforce
Demo #2…



    Keeping Donors
    In the Loop
Click to edit Master subtitle style
Automate Online Giving

            Make the giving process easier

            Make tracking and reporting on 
           giving easier

            Reduce technical staff costs of 
           data management 

            Enable better followup with 
           donors
 

 




    Click to edit Master subtitle style
Shopping cart and additional donations
Checkout = Valuable Information
user data




04/23/09
user data




04/23/09
user data




                   order

                   payment




04/23/09
user data




                                      order

                                      payment


                   contact
                   opportunity
                   donation details
04/23/09
Contact record with donation
Donation details include products
All web donations roll up to campaign report
user data




           newsletter
           email




04/23/09
Demo #4…



   Tracking Ladder of
   Engagement
Assign “leadership levels” to campaigns
Track activities of contacts
Calculate leadership level for contacts 
Click to edit Master subtitle style




    Real­time dashboards on engagement
6/14/09          Dashboards on 
How do I get
these tools?
A holistic approach
can be painful. 
Making engagement platform
projects successful…



          Stakeholders
          Define requirements
          Chunking/phasing
          
Roles and skills you need…

Roles                   Skills
Executive team for      Project management
support & vision        Ability to investigate & 
Program staff (users)   articulate requirements
Communications          Collaboration & negotiation
Organizers              Operations & technical 
Fundraising             implementation
IT                      Ongoing training/ support
                         
What You Do…

 Product Owner 

 Project Manager

 System Administrator
What You Can Outsource…
 Strategy, Planning, RFP

 Implementation

 Support and Maintenance
Find 
                               consultants
                               who can 
                               balance and 
                               juggle.
Click to edit Master subtitle style
Learn More
ifPeople Resources:
ifpeople.net

Plone Resources
plone.org – downloads, documentation
plone.net – case studies, consultants

Salesforce Donations
salesforcefoundation.org
Leveraging the Web for More Effective Engagement: Alliance for Nonprofit Management 2009 Conference Presentation

Leveraging the Web for More Effective Engagement: Alliance for Nonprofit Management 2009 Conference Presentation