I had an interesting Twitter conversation this morning and wanted to collect and share some a few more thoughts and some of the side conversations it spawned.
Responding to this tweet by Josh Stearns (of the Dodge Foundation) I recalled some research we've done here at INN (and would love to continue) looking at how nonprofit news sites can better communicate their reliance on member/donor support.
This is true for donating to nonprofit online news too. People are used to giving to charity, but most don't think of news as a charity yet.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
Essentially, we've found that it can be very difficult for nonprofit news sites that rely on donations to distinguish themselves and stand out as distinct from for-profit sites that often rely more on advertising. In fact, some preliminary user testing we've done suggests that if nonprofit news sites have advertising AND donation/membership messaging visitors are more likely to assume the organization makes its money primarily through advertising. We have not yet done research with enough sites to definitively confirm this finding or to show that there is a resulting drop-off in donations, but it definitely gives us pause.
Communicating "nonprofitness" (or at least that donations are a significant source of revenue) is crucial if nonprofit news organizations need visitors to understand just how important their donations are to the organization's survival.
@aschweig And it should be approached as a design problem - not just a marketing problem. It's bigger than a communications strategy.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
People get that NPR stations are nonprofits, rely on donations (because they’re really good at nagging you about it on the radio)
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
For nonprofit news orgs without a radio station, it’s hard to communicate nonprofit-ness without beating people over the head with it.
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
Did some user-testing a while ago on a number of @INN sites, asked visitors how they thought this organization is funded (1/2)
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
Very few visitors (might have been none actually) guessed that the site was a nonprofit, funded by donations. That’s bad news. (2/2)
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
Part of the reason for that is that the site also had ads, looked like a regular for-profit news site, users don’t make that distinction
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
@aschweig Great question for http://t.co/un70pfhvvS too! How can we ask for donations when we have ads on the site?
— David Wilder (@ItsWilder) August 18, 2015
What does a nonprofit news site look like? How should it be different from a for-profit news site? What else do we need to communicate?
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
and no, gateway popups and blinking text are not the answer
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns yeah, i’d love to see more research in this area, there’s some good stuff in the broader np sector, not much news-specific though
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
This exchange spawned a number of interesting side conversations. Steve Katz, the publisher of INN member Mother Jones brought their creative director, Ivylise Simones, into the conversation:
@aschweig so you think there's some sort of specific "hey we're a nonprofit!" Design signal we shed be using? I can see pros and cons
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
@Steve_Katz @aschweig (2) nonprofit mission shd drive design anyway, and that shd distinguish each nonprofit site.
— Jo Ellen Kaiser (@jgksf) August 18, 2015
@Steve_Katz agree it's tough, but don't necessarily believe that nonprofit news sites need to be visually displayed as a nonprofit...
— ινуℓιѕє ѕιмσиєѕ (@ivylise) August 18, 2015
@Steve_Katz I think our goal is to communicate that we are Mother Jones, and what that means (which includes that we are a nonprofit)
— ινуℓιѕє ѕιмσиєѕ (@ivylise) August 18, 2015
@Steve_Katz Cracking the code on how to stand out visually as a news site in general is a huge challenge in both non and forprofit
— ινуℓιѕє ѕιмσиєѕ (@ivylise) August 18, 2015
Mother Jones is in a unique position where they rely not only on donations but also print subscriptions and advertising. While not common to many INN members (most are web-only, a handful have a print products, most don't realize a significant amount of revenue from advertising/sponsorship), this is a situation that IS shared by some other nonprofit publications.
@Steve_Katz MoJo is also sort of an interesting case since you have ads+subscriptions+donations @jcstearns @vosdscott @RunGomez @ivylise
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
@aschweig @Steve_Katz Actually a lot of @tmcmedia members have ads+subs+donations--print legacy. https://t.co/UbchUoacOM
— Jo Ellen Kaiser (@jgksf) August 18, 2015
More well-established organizations struggle with adapting to changing conditions without harming the strong brands that they've established over time.
Yep - that's what got me thinking about your original tweets. Plus we're about to head into a redesign
https://t.co/FFp9swnKoW— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
Plus this: years ago - like more than 10 - we had yet another internal hoohah about whether to shift our address 1/2 https://t.co/FFp9swnKoW
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
from a .com to a .org. The fundraisers were "oh yes, we need that to establish our charitable ID." The edit team: https://t.co/R5VMZ38YXS
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
"You've got to be kidding. We need to look/sound/be legit." So we kept it as .com. In the long run, did it make https://t.co/Q3dqoImZLr
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
any diff in our fundraising effectiveness? My gut check is: not much, if any, esp given everything else we've done https://t.co/4C1mfCK4qw
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
to get the message out that MoJo is genuinely readers supported journalism. But it does tie to this question, right? https://t.co/IQ7fPYyuU8
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
@aschweig @Steve_Katz oh yes. Very yes.
— Max Pfennighaus (@MxPf) August 18, 2015
Lord yes. @motherjones' story of the past decade is a lot about: how to transform a liability into an asset. https://t.co/plzsrmjlTa
— Steve Katz (@steve_katz) August 18, 2015
@aschweig @Steve_Katz the biggest problem with achieving success is that everyone always disagrees about what got you there.
— Max Pfennighaus (@MxPf) August 18, 2015
There's also a lot more to being a nonprofit news organization beyond just asking for money and relying on contributions from your visitors. The most successful organizations think about "membership" not as just a financial transaction, but focus also on involving their community in the editorial process, being responsive, getting out into the community and really providing a valuable public service.
@aschweig I feel like membership really helps there, for pub media and any other nonprofit. People join, feel connected, not just give $$
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
.@erika_owens also helps to describe what it means to be a member, how else (other than giving money) can I get involved, what else can I do
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
@aschweig for sure, and lots of nonprofits already foster a sense of community. gotta put the effort into building those pathways.
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@aschweig nonprofits can (and must) focus on their mission and their community, offer many ways to connect AND followthrough on the tips
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@erika_owens really interested in projects like @wearehearken building tech to support more of that sort of thing
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
@aschweig @erika_owens A thing to remember (we do @wearehearken) is that tech *supports* engagement practices, is not substitute.
— Factually speaking (@coreyhaines) August 18, 2015
And of course there's a lot nonprofit news organizations can learn (and share) from and with the broader nonprofit sector.
@aschweig @jcstearns I would also *love* to see news orgs more engaged with the broader np+nptech sectors. We can learn, and teach, a lot.
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@erika_owens @aschweig Back around 2012 @KATELESNIAK told me she watched everything Obama's campaign did and copied it for @BitchMedia
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@erika_owens @aschweig I often draw on @neworganizing for workshops with journalists - takes some translation, but so much good stuff there.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @aschweig @KATELESNIAK hell yeah! Even when the examples aren't totally analogous, it sparks new ideas to try.
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @aschweig @neworganizing oh yeah, I've used them too. I often forget how much bits and pieces from other industries really help.
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns thanks for that reminder that it's possible, and useful, to bring together skills from seemingly disparate types of orgs.
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@erika_owens @jcstearns @aschweig + I always keep an eye on @actblue contribution page logic/layout. Their ONLY JOB is to optimize giving.
— kate lesniak (@kateotherkate) August 18, 2015
@KateLesniak that's awesome, I love learning from others. I went to the NTC once and most orgs were enormous, but some lessons translated
— erika owens (@erika_owens) August 18, 2015
@erika_owens Yeah, just interesting to see what answers others come up with. Even more interesting to see what questions are being asked.
— kate lesniak (@kateotherkate) August 18, 2015
Communicating why your work has value and how the community can get involved are some additional points many donors look at when deciding whether to give. Does your site make this clear to visitors or do they have to go hunting?
@jcstearns @Steve_Katz @aschweig I think this could be rephrased from "nonprofit" to "needing your donations."
— Scott Lewis (@vosdscott) August 18, 2015
@vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig VOSD has been doing a lot of great work experimenting with these sorts of asks and visuals on the site.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@RunGomez @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig For me, there are a couple elements to this. Nonprofit newsrooms need to show: 1/2
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@RunGomez @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig 1) How ppl/gifts make the journalism possible 2) Why the work has value 3) How easy it is to give
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig for me, value of work is just as important as the people behind the work & its mission
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig as a pubmedia supporter, I like to think my $$ brings me closer to the journos doing the work
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig but so far, no one at any of these nonprofits have expressed it as so: they just say thank you.
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
@RunGomez @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig I give in part b/c an org mission aligns with my values, want to feel like I’m part of that work.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @vosdscott @Steve_Katz @aschweig exactly! When that news org rights a wrong or wins an award, I wanna feel like a winner too!
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
And finally, while the tax status of nonprofit news organizations does distinguish them from their for-profit peers, the tax implications of a donation is far less important to many smaller donors. They care much more about the mission of the organization they're pledging their support to.
@Steve_Katz @jcstearns @vosdscott @aschweig agreed. Donating to a nonprofits is appealing to someone who is thinking about taxes.
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
@Steve_Katz @jcstearns @vosdscott @aschweig But to most ordinary people, a tax status is meaningless. Supporting a mission has more weight.
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
@RunGomez @Steve_Katz @vosdscott @aschweig True, the small commercial community sites I work with almost all get donations too.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@RunGomez @Steve_Katz @vosdscott @aschweig For small donors, the tax incentives of 501c3 are small - they give b/c they care abut mission.
— Josh Stearns (@jcstearns) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns @Steve_Katz @vosdscott @aschweig Yes! Having said that, it's the big $$ from foundations that makes nonprofits so ... big.
— ⚡️ Run (@RunGomez) August 18, 2015
@jcstearns i’ve never really thought much about tax implications of my gifts, it’s a nice bonus...i guess? @RunGomez @Steve_Katz @vosdscott
— Adam Schweigert (@aschweig) August 18, 2015
Should nonprofit news sites look different than their for-profit counterparts? What would they need to do to clearly communicate this to visitors? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!