From running virtual events to raising funds online, many organizations have adapted well through a variety of digital initiatives in August. Here are more insights and resources, including the brand new 2020 Virtual Events Research Report, to help you continue to engage members.
Product update
New Poll Features
Ever wonder about ways to improve your organization or how your members are doing during COVID-19? You can ask them using the poll feature. You can insert this feature in your email or website. With the 7.14 product release, you can now select whether individual poll questions are required or optional.
You can also control whether poll responses are anonymous. This way, respondents don’t have to reveal themselves when providing their answers.
Alternatively, you can select the Collect member details option. The names of respondents will appear on the Individual responses tab, along with their responses.
Learn more
New Photo Gallery Gadget
Using the new photo gallery gadget, you can display images from multiple photo albums or a single folder in a scrollable gallery.
Learn more
Update from the Support Team
Prorating for annual renewals: day of the month doesn’t matter
If you’ve enabled prorating for a membership level with annual renewals, it makes no difference to the prorating what day of the month the member joins. For example, if your renewal date is January 1st, it doesn't matter whether they apply on September 1st, 15th, or 30th, the prorated fee will still be 4/12 of your annual fee. You can restrict prorating to a certain number of months or days in advance of the renewal date, but the prorating itself will still be calculated on a monthly basis.
Embedding videos into emails
We strongly discourage you from embedding videos into email messages because many email readers do not support them. Instead, we suggest inserting an image of the video that links to the video. Remember that email readers support just a subset of the features that web browsers do, so your emails cannot be as complex as your site pages. Plus, there are more variations between email readers than between web browsers.
Autogenerated thumbnails for email templates
Thumbnails for custom email templates are now automatically generated, using a screenshot of the template.
If the content of the template changes, the thumbnail will be automatically updated. To generate thumbnails for existing templates, make a minor change (e.g. add or remove a space) then save your changes.
Add events directly to calendar programs
You can now add events directly to online calendar programs like Google Calendar, Office 365, and Yahoo, without downloading then importing an .ICS file. For more information, .
50 Free Nonprofit Webinars for September 2020
Here are 50 free webinars that the internet has to offer to help you:
- Raise funds for your organization online
- Make the most of your nonprofit website
- Recruit and engage volunteers using social media
- Improve your organization’s budgeting process
- And much more
See what's coming up
2020 Virtual Events Research Report for Membership Organizations
Has COVID-19 forced you to start running virtual events?
Do you want to know how other organizations are engaging attendees and getting more members via virtual events?
Are you wondering how to make your virtual events more successful?
If your answer to any of these questions was a resounding “Yes!”, then our new research is for you.
We surveyed over 1,000 membership organizations to learn how virtual events are performing, how to price tickets for virtual events, how to get more attendees, and more.
You can find our blog post with our top three findings here or
Download the full report now!
Blog of the Month
Complete Guide: How to Create a Fundraiser on Facebook (With Examples)
Want to start using Facebook to fundraise? In this article, you will find an up-to-date overview how to create a fundraiser on Facebook to drive donations to your nonprofit.
Read the full blog
Also, on the blog this month:
Webinars: Weekly Q+A
Targeted Impact: Helping Membership Organizations Thrive
Introducing Targeted Impact: Helping Membership Organizations Thrive. This bi-weekly Q+A session will see the best nonprofit experts answer your most pressing questions. We want to bring our community together during these unprecedented times and provide as much information and expertise as possible. Sign up now for the next Targeted Impact to connect and learn how to not only survive, but thrive, together.
Date: Thursday, August 27
Time: 3:00 PM (ET) / 2:00 PM (CT)
Sign up now
Expert Webinar
Designing and Leading Virtual Meetings That Keep People Engaged with Nancy Settle-Murphy
Are you struggling to find ways to keep people focused, engaged and actively participating in your virtual meetings? If so, this webinar led by virtual workplace expert Nancy Settle-Murphy, president of Guided Insights, is for you.
Using real-life examples, Nancy will provide tips and techniques for anticipating and addressing some of the most challenging virtual meeting dynamics, such as making the best use of available technology, enabling and encouraging frequent interaction, balancing participation and keeping people focused and on track.
Date: Tuesday, September 15
Time: 2:00 PM (ET) / 1:00 PM (CT)
Sign up now
Podcast
Virtual Events and Long-Term Strategy with Ryan Brown
Ryan has a proven track record of innovation and success in sales strategy, market research/lead generation, and campaign management as the VP of Sales of NTP. In this Planet Leadership podcast, Ryan provides tips to help your organization think differently to maximize your virtual engagements as well as helping you make decisions that serve your long-term needs.
Listen to the podcast
Meet the Team
Sayana Izmailova, Content Marketing Specialist
Hi all, Sayana here. I am the Content Marketing Specialist here at Wild Apricot and I’ve
been in this role since January of this year. I primarily help manage the Wild Apricot blog, write articles for it and look after our social media.
The Wild Apricot team is truly a group of knowledgeable and dedicated individuals and I’m grateful th
at I get to work with and learn from them.
Before coming to Wild Apricot, I worked at a number of large nonprofits in fundraising, donor relations and communications roles. I am really enjoying the opportunity to think back on my experiences there and use that to help bring you relevant and useful content. There is always so much to learn in the nonprofit sector and I’m happy to be able to help your organizations advance your work, even in the smallest of ways.
In my spare time I write, sing and produce music, and these days I’m also busy raising a new kitten.
This month, our featured organization is:
Wines and Steins
Wines and Steins is a home beer and wine-making group based in Paso Robles, California’s wine country. Their mission is to promote, educate, and bring together a community that enjoys hand-crafted wines and beers.
What makes the website awesome
Visitors can easily click to the club calendar, events and meetings, resources, member page, and more from the website’s main navigation. The homepage features the latest news and presentations, as well as a slideshow displaying the most recent pictures from its image gallery.
Website theme: Kaleidoscope Neon
Visit the website