What's Next for Online Giving?

Tuesday, June 19, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Geoff Handy, vice president for media and online communications at the Humane Society of the United States.

Madeline Stanionis, chief executive of Watershed, a company in San Francisco that consults with charities on their online fund raising.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Nicole Wallace (Moderator):
    Hello, everyone! My name is Nicole Wallace, and I'm a senior writer here at The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Welcome to this discussion about online fund raising. We're pleased to have Geoff Handy and Madeline Stanionis as today's guests.

We'll be taking your questions for the next hour. All you have to do is click the link on this page that says "ask a question."

Geoff and Madeline, thanks for being with us.

Question from Michele, nonprofit arts organization:
    What are the key factors that drive and motivate online giving? Do you have to other content that is driving your web presence?

Geoff Handy:
    A few of the factors I'd identify as key are:

1. Urgency. The time to ask is when something is happening in the real world that affects one of your issues.

2. Relevance. An appeal on a specific issue tailored to donors' known interests will outperform a more general appeal. For us, geography is a key relevance factor, too.

3. Campaigns. Our most successful campaigns are not one-off appeals, but instead a series of emails featuring actions and appeals.

4. Compelling programs and victories. It is easier to raise money when your programs are issues are compelling and you are able to show donors the progress you have made.

Question from Molly, disabilities organization:
    Online fund raising is more than just adding a Donate Now button to our website. How can we best design our site to encourage donations?

Geoff Handy:
    I would test a few things to see how they work. We augmented our Donate Now button with a separate "Ways to Give" section that performs very well. Sometimes we also tie in donation asks as part of editorial packages on our home page, linked to a specific issue. In a perfect world we would have contextual donate links tied to content sitewide (e.g., a donation link specific to animal fighting on the page with an animal fighting story) but we are not there yet.

As for overall strategy, I know that Make a Wish and the American Red Cross are two orgs that have done testing around website donations and have shown demonstrated results.

Question from Mary, small nonprofit:
    Our small group is considering an online betting challenge as a fundraiser, in which participants would agree to pledge a given amount of money for a statistical outcome in a sports event (e.g,, number of homeruns hit by local pro team; number of birdies, eagles, and holes-in-one over PGA tournament)and then receive a prize (mostly recognition) if they correctly guessed the actual number.

Do you think it would work, and if so, how could it be promoted effectively?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Well, first, I don't know any thing about the legality of a betting event.

I do know that many many groups of all sizes have been successful with events online.

The qualities of a successful online event include:

:: There is an actual offline event (in other words, the event is not purely online)

:: The online components are natural and logical - for example, the event may be in a building, but you can buy tickets online

:: There is a defined time period in which to participate

:: The online components are web savvy - they use video, viral marketing, uploading photos, etc.

:: The organization is committed to a long-term investment. Most events (on or offline) aren't successful immediately. You need to take time - often years - to grow an event into a success

So, if it's legal, will your event be successful? Maybe! I think it's sort of catchy and unusual. However - and this is a big however - if you're trying to raise money online and you have limited staff and resources, you might want to try a direct approach first and foremost.

Question from Mary, small nonprofit:
    Our small group is considering an online betting challenge as a fundraiser, in which participants would agree to pledge a given amount of money for a statistical outcome in a sports event (e.g,, number of homeruns hit by local pro team; number of birdies, eagles, and holes-in-one over PGA tournament)and then receive a prize (mostly recognition) if they correctly guessed the actual number.

Do you think it would work, and if so, how could it be promoted effectively?

Geoff Handy:
    Wow, this is a really creative idea. I think it might work for an organization where such a sports tie-in was a logical fit, and your existing list might respond to something like this. There might be legal issues, though, so be sure to check those out before you do anything. I have no knowledge of the legal issues that might be involved here.

For something like this you might be able to do targeted search ads to attract new donors, those interested in the concept first, and then your mission second.

Question from David Santiago, Puerto Rico Community Foundation:
    My questions are:

1)How effective could a web-based directory of nonprofit organizations be to promote giving in a particular state? Are there examples where this has proven to be successful? What are the ingredients for such an initiative?

2)Can these kind of web-based efforts be used to appeal to corporations? Thanks for your comments on this.

Madeline Stanionis:
    I think that a web-based directory of non profits in a region or around an issue is not a bad thing - but I think it has to be marketed very well to be successful.

You see, most people don't simple search for an organization to give to unless there's a disaster of some sort. Their desire to give is usually provoked by something - a letter they've received, a note from a friend, something on the news. So, they might use google to find the particular cause they heard about - but donors are not often just browsing a directory to find a cause to give to.

I still think it could work, though, if you decide to be more than a directory but really a SERVICE to donors by helping them find that right match. And I think your marketing should be pretty broad, so that when someone sees a news article about a situation the FIRST place they go is to something called, say, "puertoricogives.org."

Question from David Santiago, Puerto Rico Community Foundation:
    My questions are:

1)How effective could a web-based directory of nonprofit organizations be to promote giving in a particular state? Are there examples where this has proven to be successful? What are the ingredients for such an initiative?

2)Can these kind of web-based efforts be used to appeal to corporations?

Thanks for your comments on this.

Geoff Handy:
    I think the national sites such as Charity Navigator and Guidestar have demonstrated a need for this information...of course they are more than directories but provide key evaluative information. For those looking to support local and regional nonprofits, there might be a need, but I'm not sure. I do not know if a donor can use the national sites to find out about local nonprofits or not, but you should probably find that out.

As for corporations, I am not certain how they target their giving and whether a state-based directory might be useful to them.

Question from Carl Chambers, American Kennel Club:
    For the Humane Society: Will the rise of online giving permit organizations like yours to be less and less transparent about your programs, as you deliver less and less paper to your donors? Americans might be more likely to give to HSUS if they aren't told that you don't run any animal shelters, for instance.

Geoff Handy:
    Online communications have allowed our organization to be more and more transparent about our programs, actually.

Because costs are fixed, we are able to frequently e-mail our advocates and donors about the broad range of programs we run -- unlike direct mail, which is designed primarily to raise funds and (because of the costs) less able to convey the full breadth of our work.

The vast majority of our online communications are related to advocacy around our major campaigns and do not ask for donations.

Question from Norman Reiss, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation:
    Do you have any suggestions for integrating offline and online fundraising strategies when they are handled by different groups in an organization and are not traditionally planned together?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Well, the silo situation that happens inside organizations is pretty typical.

My first comment is that even it's challenging, it is becoming more and more important that you tackle the task of working with the various silos. I know how hard that is, really, I do!

However - some suggestions are:

1. Know that online is really best at the urgent, topical situations that direct mail is not so good at. So, urgent news-related appeals get to be owned by the online team.

2. Make sure your online team is on your mail and phone seed list, and is very familiar with the calendar of the offline plan (there always is one!). That way, the online team can make sure that web content reflects what your donors are seeing in the mail and on the phones. Like, "...you may have received my recent letter..."

Question from Jennifer Milikowsky, Achievement First:
    Is there any research on or in your experience have you found that listing donors names with/without the amount they donated somewhere near the online giving page has increased the number of donations or donation size?

If yes, do you recommend having an option where the donor selects whether or not their donation is anonymous or whether to have their name or name and size of donation appear? Thank you!

Madeline Stanionis:
    I think this is a pretty sensitive issue.

Printing a name in an annual report or program is certainly a perk of giving for many people. The internet brings up pretty important nuances that may reduce the perk quality for many.

Once you put someone's name on the internet, they're search-able. And not everyone wants their name to come up as a donor to a cause when, say, a prospective employer googles them. Sure, being printed in a booklet is public. But putting your name on the internet? THAT'S WAY more public. So, you need to take extra precautions to make sure your donor wants that exposure.

Does it boost response? I haven't heard of any studies either way. Has anyone else?

Question from Stacey, WEDU:
    What types of charities are having the most success with online fundraising, the least?

Geoff Handy:
    I would say the health and disaster-relief charities are leading the way. Many health charities have been able to harness peer-to-peer online fundraising, where highly engaged supporters recruit from their peer networks on behalf of the charity. Those that have taken their offline events (e.g., 10K runs) and added the online component seem to be doing very well.

For relief organizations, online fundraising allows them to convert urgency into support, too.

Question from Pem Brown, reproductive rights non profit:
    What are your ideas/suggestions to help convert offline donors into online donors?

Geoff Handy:
    The first questions I'd answer are:

1. does your online and offline program speak with the same voice?

2. do you have the database issues worked out in a way that would allow you to integrate messaging across channels?

3. do you have an internal structure that allows offline and online communications to work well together?

Those have been our biggest challenges at HSUS, and the three we are trying to work through now.

We have done testing that suggests that integrated messaging provides lift. For example, a mail appeal followed by an email provided tremendous lift in a recent test.

We have had little success at having offline donors make the gift online from a direct mail piece, but other nonprofits have reported success with this, so you might want to test this.

At a baseline level, you want to make email capture a priority at all touchpoints, since research shows that those communicated with via both channels have a higher lifetime donor value. So ask for email addresses everywhere, from direct mail response cards to events, and then start messaging them online.

Question from Bill, higher ed.:
    Is it wiser to target younger and new alums for online giving and focus on traditional ways of giving for the the older alums?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Well, it's probably smart to target the younger alums online. However, I wouldn't write-off online for older givers.

One thing we know is that many older givers are using the internet to make decisions about giving, even though they may write a check when it comes to the actual gift. So, keeping those older alums in mind when you're preparing content is pretty important. They are using the internet in many of the same ways as younger donors - to stay in touch, see photos, get news. However, they are far less likely to use things like the Facebook and MySpace to stay in touch (but your young alums are, of course, all over the social networks).

Question from Natalia Kiryttopoulou, Keystone:
    Do you think that online donations give an opportunity to break through on the challenge of social impact measurement? How can we enable donors that choose to give online to reward quality performance?

Do you believe that the availability of performance data would encourage donations?

Thank you.

Geoff Handy:
    I think that the online world does make it a lot easier for nonprofits to be transparent about their work -- what they do and the successes they have -- so that donors who want to donate based on impact are better equipped than ever before to do so. We are able to message our advocates and donors about impact more easily online than via direct mail, whose costs make it much more challenging.

If there was a way to quantify performance data across organizations, I think it would absolutely encourage donations.

Nicole Wallace (Moderator):
    Madeline Stanionis and Geoff Handy will continue to take your questions throughout the hour, and we encourage you to join the conversation.

To submit your question, just click on the link that says "ask a question."

Question from Monica Knoll, CANCER101:
    Would you be able to share with us the top three major npo's that have done a great job at raising funds online as well as the top three smaller charities?

Madeline Stanionis:
    This is such an important question!

Well, first - my co-speaker today, Geoff Handy, represents the Humane Society of the United States -- one of the most successful groups online.

The most recent edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy lists lots of organizations in their annual online fundraising report.

Others that I know of include MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Mercy Corps (great relief organization that has really done a terrific job online), and Heifer International.

Smaller groups....I'm partial to an organization called Earthjustice. They aren't tiny, but they aren't as well known as some of the larger groups and they deliver a very solid online fundraising program.

Question from Marcy - Small NFP Humane Society:
    If you were going to start an on-line program, how would you go about doing so -- other than just having a DONATE NOW button that takes them to paypal?

Also, appears that many of the successful online donations have been made for a disaster or specific event (i.e. hurricane, etc.). Do you think it is worthwhile to focus on a specific cause to get larger donations?

Geoff Handy:
    They key is to get your technology in place first, and that involves not only an online donation system, but also an email messaging system. While the sector is rightly worried about email performance declining, it remains the main driver of online donations and you'll want to build a file of opted-in email addresses. (Example: Every pet adopter should be invited to join your email list.)

We have had tremendous success at focusing on specific issues (e.g., puppy mills) and driving advocate and donor support around those issues. I think local humane groups could do the same thing on issues such as pet overpopulation and cruelty.

Question from Marcy - Small NFP Humane Society:
    Have you been able to determine the age group of your donors that are using the Internet for donations? If so, what age range finds this format more acceptable?

Geoff Handy:
    We have not determined how the demographics of those donating online differ from the demographics of our online file generally -- but that is something we should find out.

I can tell you that, on average, between 15%-20% of donations made to a specific online campaign come in through the mail (we include a source-coded snail mail address on our online donation forms). Although we are not yet doing this, I have seen nonprofits include a printable form for this purpose, which seems to be a great idea.

Question from Natalia Kiryttopoulou, Keystone:
    Hi, I am very interested in the opportunity that the internet offers to revolutionize philanthropy by making available performance data on the funded organizations/projects.

Do you think that the availability of this data would change the behavior of the donors? Do you think that information on the performance of an organization would encourage more donations and more engagement from donors? Thank you.

Madeline Stanionis:
    I think you bring up an interesting nuance of online fundraising. In other mediums, typically you are holding a letter in your hand or a phone to your ear when you are making the decision to give.

Online, you may be looking at a web site or email...but at your fingertips is information about the organization and campaign that can be had with a simple click or two. So, you read about a crisis and a donor can quickly find out how real that crisis is with a quick search.

Many donors won't bother to do any research, but many will! Online donors do tend to be a bit more news-oriented, information-oriented than other donors. So, will more performance data change the behavior of donors? Yes, I think so.

Many donors already know to look up an organization in Guidestar and/or Network for Good (in the U.S.) to see if it's in good standing.

My concern is that worthy organizations that are not as savvy as others at presenting performance data will lose in this scenario. However, many small organizations will also benefit from exposure.

Question from Michael, Wildlife Alliance:
    We're building our electronic "membership" and view online fundraising as a major tool to build our support from individuals, since we're currently very dependent on foundations and government.

We are conducting a survey of our "membership," which reveals that they want to hear from us around once per month for our electronic newsletter, and that they like substantive, newsy updates on our program work. How can we do that while still having a strong push for our prospective supporters to visit our site and make gifts?

Geoff Handy:
    In this case I would open yourself up to the possibility that what members say they want, and what will actually perform for you, are not the same thing.

We currently don't have a monthly electronic newsletter, because our campaign based emails perform so well for us. (We may still introduce one because we still feel we need a general update communication, too, but it won't be because those emails will drive actions or donations.)

Why don't you consider a once-a-month newsletter, but augment that with at least two other emails per month around specific issues? Then work appeals into the mix on those issues. That has been a winning formula for us.

Question from Lauren Luk, AYSO:
    If there are not adequate resources to do a direct mail campaign, what would be the best way to go about a viral campaign for donations?

Madeline Stanionis:
    I can't say this strongly enough: for most organizations, online fundraising is not a substitute for other mediums, nor is it a get rich quick scheme.

Direct mail and telemarketing can be quite a bit more expensive than online fundraising to be sure - but they are also quite a bit more predictable and reliable!

With the exception of natural disasters and political candidates, online fundraising typically takes time to build into a reliable source of income. You need to be building a list of qualified folks at the same time that you're conducting online fundraising and cultivation efforts. You'll probably raise at least a little money right off the bat, but increasing that sum will take time and investment (usually in staff and training and resources).

Question from Mike, new nonprofit:
    How can a new non-profit effectively use rented email lists to expand their donor base? How can these emails best be read and not deleted?

Geoff Handy:
    I would test a rented email list first and see what it does for you, then decide.

You will likely get what you pay for (i.e., not very much). Email addresses have to be permissioned (opted-in) for them to perform, and any email address that you can rent may be technically "opted in," but the fact is that those individuals have not given your organization specific permission to message them. Therefore they will likely not perform well.

I'm speaking generally, of course--perhaps you know of rented lists that are a really great match for your organization.

Question from Kim McDermott, West Point Association of Graduates:
    We are relatively new to online solicitation. What are the first steps/considerations for tracking success?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hi Kim -

Well, my first piece of advice is that you really don't need to spend much on technology right out of the gate. There are many reliable tools for you to use that won't cost you a fortune while your program grows. I would visit Idealware to check those out.

Second, the hardest part of online fundraising is building a list! It looks like you are a higher education institution, though, which should make your job a lot easier. Alum like to stay in touch with each other and the internet is far better at that than any other medium. I would put together some great content (gossipy, photos, news about alum, etc) and use that as a tool to get people online. You could inexpensively mail a postcard to folks promoting your online content, and perhaps have a contest of some sort to get your alum online.

Question from Lauren Luk, American Youth Soccer Organization:
    How successful, in your opinion, are online fundraisers such as travel programs, online shopping malls, and web auctions?

Geoff Handy:
    Of the three, we have only tried web auctions, and have had little success. If you have an offline event to tie an auction into, though, I have heard tremendous success stories. We will still auction stuff (e.g., celebrity items) off on eBay but the revenue is barely enough to justify the staff time, with only a few exceptions.

Question from Dawn, Children's Museum:
    What are your suggestions for what a local nonprofit without an "urgent" time-based appeal do to encourage online donations. We have a simple donation page on our website, but really no way to drive potential donors to that page.

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hi Dawn,

It looks like you are from a children's museum...which means you probably have wonderful content and images to use in your online work.

I think you need to focus on good ol' relationship based online fundraising - that means focusing resources on bringing the experience of the children's museum online, not necessarily by making your web presence expensive, but understanding the parents and caretakers who bring their children there and provide content that speaks to them.

And, while doing that, you need to build an email list and be communicating with folks regularly. My guess is that there are likely things that you need to buy to enhance the museum. When you are in a relationship with your donors, asking them to support these items will be a lot easier!

Question from John, higher education:
    I just began development work with an institution in San Francisco and we are considering using email as a tool to reach out to our donors. The problem is only a *tiny* percentage of donors in our database have an email address.

In your experience, how long does it take to build a formidable email list and what are some methods of building it in a reasonable amount of time (ie. 18 months). Best, John

Geoff Handy:
    Hi John -- building a list will take time, but you will get there. When we started we:

1. made email capture a priority at all touchpoints. We added an opt-in line to every direct mail piece, instituted a way to capture email addresses at events, and made the email sign up box very prominent on our website.

2. created online campaigns around tell-a-friend. One thing Madeline preaches, which has worked so well for us, is that when you ask someone to do something with you online, and they do, then land them on a page where they can ask a friend to take action, too. Then when the friend takes action, invite them to join your online community. We have grown our list rapidly this way--and the quality of the names is very good from tell-a-friend.

So a key is to come up with something viral that has a nice tie-in to your mission. We have had success with something as basic as eCards and as expensive as Flash animations. I'm a big believer in online pledges, too (or petitions, though I think they are less effective at pledges these days). Relatively easy to set up and to recruit new names from.

Another idea: If you have the budget for it, try targeted search. We have had success at getting new names this way too. You won't get a huge number, but once you set up your campaign and then optimize it a little (in other words, delete keywords that don't peform), it will continue to bring in good names with a relatively small amount of maintenance.

Question from Greg Bastek, Ability Beyond Disability:
    What approach is best for a young on-line giving program: using a tool such as Vertical Response or doing it yourself via Word/Outlook with a giving component built in such as FirstGiving?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hi there,

Easy. If you're serious about raising money online you need to use the right tools to do it responsibly and (honestly) more easily!

There are lots of very affordable tools out there: check out Idealware... http://www.idealware.org/

Question from Barbara St. Amand, OBX SPCA:
    What type of campaigns have been the most effective to stimulate donations for animal welfare issues?

Geoff Handy:
    We have had success across a broad spectrum of issues, but the general rule is: The cuter the better! And I'm only half kidding.

For us, the really tough cruelty issues (e.g., puppy mills, the Canadian seal hunt) involving animals that people naturally identify with (e.g., dogs, cats, baby seals) perform really well. But we also have donors who are deeply committed to the protection of farmed animals like chickens, too, so that is only a generalization.

For a typical SPCA, I suspect that issues involving active cruelty to pets in your community are the ones that will get the most support for your broad programs.

Question from George, American Constitution Society:
    Is there a formula you've seen work on the ratio of direct mail to online mail? How do you make the difference between general donors and major gifts for direct/email fundraising?

Madeline Stanionis:
    A formula, hmmm. Meaning how well does direct mail perform as compared to online? Or, how much direct mail to send as compared to email?

I'll answer both.

TYPICALLY - and really, NOTHING is typical online!! - an appeal to an organization's donor mail list (not prospects) might do about 3 or 4%. That same appeal in email might do a quarter as well.

However, online you would probably do two or three email appeals for every one direct mail piece. Now, you can't do that every day or every week or even every month - but when it counts, you could probably do about three emails to every one direct mail piece.

Note though, that you might also be delivering other kinds of email to your donors. Respect their in box. Email when you have something good (it's tough, but you gotta be disciplined).

Question from Marcy - Small humane shelter:
    Do you find it works best to put donation amounts on buttons, or just let the donor decide the amount to contribute?

Geoff Handy:
    I have heard mixed reports from other nonprofits. I know two national nonprofits that both tested this, and each got a different result, so one of them just has a blank box that allows the donor to type in whatever they widh to donate, while other sticks with the buttons (or "gift strings" as they are called).

Gift strings are better for email appeals, when you can tie the amounts shown to past donation history. (Some systems allow you to do this, but others don't.) We also pre-check a default amount that is a bit higher than our average online gift.

Question from Kim McDermott, West Point Association of Graduates:
    Do you feel that sites such as Guidestar & Charity Navigator hold a tremendous amount of sway with savvier donors?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hmmm, tremendous? No. Some sway? Yes, absolutely.

Question from Kim McDermott, West Point Association of Graduates:
    Do you feel that sites such as Guidestar & Charity Navigator hold a tremendous amount of sway with savvier donors?

Geoff Handy:
    I think they do, although I have no research to back that up (there is probably research out there, though, on this question). If you are a savvy donor, then it seems to me you would use these kinds of tools.

Certainly we are proud of our top rating by Charity Navigator and include a mention (with a direct link to our page on that site) on our website donation forms. So if you have a good rating, I would recommend you play that up. I love organizations that include a pie chart right on their donation forms--that kind of transparency really serves savvier donors.

Question from Marcy - Small NFP Humane Society:
    Have you been able to determine the age group of your donors that are using the internet for donations? If so, what age range finds this format more acceptable?

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hi Marcy - Well, Network for Good published a study not that long ago that showed lots of younger donors online! I think that's probably true, particularly when it comes to disaster and political candidate fundraising. However, I think it's also true that reliable online donors to organizations still skew a little older - maybe not as old as your direct mail file, but still older. As in 40s, 50s.

Question from George, American Constitution Society:
    Is there a formula you've seen work on the ratio of direct mail to online mail? How do you make the difference between general donors and major gifts for direct/email fundraising?

Geoff Handy:
    We do very little integration between direct mail and online. Right now, frequency of mailing is dictated by how each channel is performing separately. (And yes, we know we need to fix this.)

I'm not sure I understand the second part of your question, but when a donor reaches a certain threshold, he or she becomes a major gift prospect. This is the same whether gifts are made offline or online.

Question from Vivian Ho, Academy for Global Health:
    What will advance online giving significantly (eg: promotion by NGOs & foundations?) and what challenges lie in growing this sector of fund development? Thank you for your counsel.

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hi Vivian -

Well, time is a big factor in advancing online giving. Time as in - over time, more and more people use the internet for more and more parts of their lives.

Some key indicators: adoption of online banking, continued adoption of online purchases for "intangible" things like airplane and rock show tickets.

But, I think that many smaller non-profits are having a hard time making the jump. Support and training from foundations will certainly help.

There are lots of challenges online...not the least of which is increasing difficulty getting email into your donors' email boxes!

Question from Kim McDermott, West Point Association of Graduates:
    We are relatively new to online solicitation. What are the first steps/considerations for tracking success?

Geoff Handy:
    Hi again Kim--this is a tough one. The online donation world is evolving so rapidly that success is a moving target.

That said, one of our key metrics is list size (the number of deliverable email addresses), since for us, list size and online donation income have tracked closely for nearly four years now. We know how much each email address is worth to us, so we can estimate that if our list size reaches a certain amount, then we will be able to raise a certain amount.

You also want your value-per-email-address to increase over time, too, because that might indicate you are doing a better job of converting your file into donors over time. (And I say "might" because there are certainly other factors at play, such as the growing number of people who are comfortable making online donations, etc.)

You also might want to benchmark with comparable institutions, too.

Madeline Stanionis:
    Hello everyone - Thanks for spending time with us here today.

I'm seeing a lot of questions from organizations that are new to online fundraising. One resource that could be helpful to you is my book, "The Mercifully Brief Real World Guide to Raising Thousands (if not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars with Email" published by Emerson and Church.

Really, not too shameless promotion! I do think it's a useful guide to newbies!

Nicole Wallace (Moderator):
    I'm afraid that's all the time we have today. Many thanks to Geoff and Madeline for sharing their expertise and to everyone who submitted questions!

A transcript of the conversation will be posted on this page shortly. If you have any questions about The Chronicle or suggestions on how we can serve you better, please write to us at editor@philanthropy.com.