Tag Archives: mobile

Will Your Nonprofit be Ready for the Future of Payments?

This article was originally published on nten.org in January

15NTC poster

from nten.org on instagram

One recent sunny afternoon in Austin, I gathered with a small crowd of NTEN 501 Club NPTechies to lunch and learn about digital currencies and payments innovations.

We were there to talk about Bitcoin—what it is (digital cash), what it isn’t (internet not required), why you would want to take advantage of it (0% transaction fee, anyone?), and what you need to know before implementing (multi signature wallets!)

The informal discussion was led by presenters, David J Neff, Digital Strategy Manager at PwC and Jacob Parks, Legal Researcher at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. (You can watch the whole thing on Capital Factory’s YouTube or read my blog post for a summary.)

Most importantly, I learned that tech-savvy charities need to address changes happening in the payments landscape NOW.

Timing is perfect for you to learn from trailblazing organizations already breaking ground on the new frontiers, while still being early enough to claim advantages for your own cause. For example, digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, offer an excellent fundraising currency for micropayments and microlending because they provide a platform where you can give $0.25 without credit card fees eating it up.  Organization who have a good strategy in place will be poised to gain exposure to new sources of support with little accounting risk.

Digital currencies aren’t the only thing shaking up the payments landscape. Changes in physical security, such as chip-and-PIN (smartcard) technology, are already being used widely in Canada and Europe and will be expanding in the United States. ApplePay and others are radically increasing the adoption of tap-to-pay NFC platforms, especially in event-based scenarios. Will your nonprofit be ready?

All this innovation has not gone unnoticed at the major nptech software companies, either. PayPal has added digital currencies and wallets to its lineup for merchants and more is on the way. Even Microsoft is accepting Bitcoin! Software providers who want to keep their customers are looking for creative ways to integrate more payment options into their solutions. As they do, more charities will have more ways to connect with donors within existing toolsets.

At the 2015 Nonprofit Technology Conference, we are going to take this discussion to the next level with an expanded panel of experts to talk about how payments innovations are changing the way organizations engage with their constituents. David J Neff will join NTEN veteran, Jason Shim from Pathways to Education Canada, as well as pros Alissa Ruehl from Blackbaud and Robin Dupont from PayPal in a panel you won’t want to miss!  

See you in at #15NTC

NTC15 Session #1048:
Cryptocurrency that Cares: A primer on how digital currencies and payments innovations can help your organization

 Follow along on Twitter with #15NTCmerchant on Wed, Mar 4 1:30pm – 3pm CT

QR code Case Study: New Albion Ale

As a product marketer, I am always looking for the new and interesting ways brands are interacting with their consumers and the general public. And while the talk last night may have been about all the Superbowl commercials, at least one company is making use of QR codes as a simple way to create a relevant, customized user experience without the big spend.

On the back of their limited edition, New Albion Ale, brewer, Sam Adams included a QR code link to additional content online. The code links to a brief, well-produced video discussing the history and background of their product (which is actually really cool!) This is great use of a QR code as a living hyperlink in real life to online content that enriches the end-use experience.

It could have been more mobile optimized. If it had been a direct YouTube link, it would have automatically prompted me to open the video with the appropriate app, making it a one click experience, instead of two, but I understand why they chose to use a custom landing page. Overall, this a great example of QR code placement and content quality .

Lots of lessons to learn here for small biz and charity alike!

View the video here: http://bbc.wistia.com/medias/4vi44xtr0m

Do you have an example of a great implementation of a 2D bar code? Please share!

So You Wanna Be a Mobile Superhero?

Ok, so there was a lot of talk about the Justice League at Innogive 2012.

Justice League

I’m more of an Avengers fan, myself, but maybe that’s just because I’ve always liked Stark’s toys.

Anyway…

Kayta Anderson, shared these 5 forgotten questions we need to answer before you can be we can become superheroes in mobile fundraising!

1) Who is it for anyway?

Know your audience. She says that when at least 5% of traffic to your website is from mobile browsers (you are using Google Analytics to track this, right?) However, there was some discussion that if you don’t have a mobile site, you won’t get mobile traffic.

2) What will it do for them?

We download apps to make our lives easier. Unless the app provides a something sought after by your audience, they won’t download it. Don’t build an app for apps sake. Provide value to drive behavior.

3) What do you have?

Time, resources, money, staff. And not just staff to run it, but who in your organization will get behind the project? They have to be willing to take risks.

4) Where does it fit in?

Mobile is another channel in your multichannel communications strategy. You need to align your messages and strategy across all your channels.

5) What will it do for you?

ROI vs ROE. Traditionally, managers focus on return on investment. Instead focus on return on engagement, which measures things like new supporters, brand exposure, added convenience for supporters, improved advocacy results.