Resources

• The need for over 113,000 miles of long haul fibre optic cable with a cost ranging between $6,000-$247,000 per mile costing billions plus maintenance
• The tech bubble had sewn the seeds of doubt around technology investments
• The technological barriers still existed in terms of hardware and infrastructure
• Credit cards over the internet were confusing and not demanded by customers
• People reportedly like going to their local store to run into neighbors and for the social aspect
• Popcorn sales and late fees were not compatible with the streaming model
• The studio licensing models (though evolving) created extremely high costs for Blockbuster

At the time, a small DVD rental-by-mail service saw things differently. Their name was Netflix.

The charitable sector faces a stark parallel to Blockbuster twenty year ago. 

The leaders of charitable teams are responsible for empowering their staff. While many of them cite that it was a sense of duty and the desire to make a difference as the primary reason for taking the job, these leaders must be able to balance their personal drives and daily execution with the strategic and transformational goals set out to maximize the impact of the organization. While resource constraint is a reality, there is a fruitful strategy currently being used by the most innovative leaders to unleash the inner-power of their team members.

There’s a lot of movement in both for profit and nonprofit organizations. Trends across all sectors demand that institutions must go digital in order to survive and grow. This has led to the collection of (at times) massive amounts of data which these companies can use to their advantage. These datasets, in turn, have become the cornerstone for implementing the more forward thinking and innovative strategies you see amongst the most successful companies in the world.

Businesses have always been collecting information on their customers and prospects. The difference today is the rate and quantity of information that is attainable. With several automation services in place, and the option to purchase augmented datasets or behavioural data on the table, companies may find themselves with more information than they know what to do with, and data, rather quickly, multiplies to the point of becoming unmanageable.

As nonprofits evolve from more traditional methods to implementing a data-driven strategy, they require certain tools necessary to manage their databases similar to their for-profit counterparts; however, many of them are still under the impression that they may not be in a place for the kind of digital advancement they’re hoping to achieve.

Industry leaders realize that while striving for better data is important, striving for perfect data is impossible.

When people think about fundraising most often what comes to mind is the latest dinner or event they attended, or the latest auction or raffle ticket they bought, or a challenge they participated in. What would be defined as “traditional forms of fundraising”. The charitable sector has created many methods to get potential donors interested in their cause, get them in the door, and to get them to donate. Methods that have allowed them to collect funds from multiple donors at one time. Methods that incentivize and encourage them to give. However, a lot of the time, these methods serve this one purpose and fail to create a journey where donors feel inclined to donate again. So while they may have purchased that $100 plate of food, or “donated” $30 in exchange for a t-shirt, unless there’s journey or path for them to follow, the odds of the organization ever converting these types of donors are low. They probably aren’t interested in another shirt or pricey meal, and they probably feel like they’ve already done their part by donating the last time around.

Every online interaction -- from purchases on Amazon, to pages liked on Facebook -- create a highly personalized individual profile, and this profile is constantly changing and being updated the more individual data is gathered. In fact, the concept of having “online lives” is one that is becoming more tailored, and much more prominent due to this collection of big data.

Most charities understand the importance of building a relationship with their constituents. After all, charities provide high value for anybody who cares about a particular issue. One the key characteristics of good relationship is the ability to have a voice and to be heard, and to listen and to speak.  When we think about the relationship of a donor and a charity in the context of the charities ability to listen and be heard, is hampered compared to what we would expect, mainly because there are very resources to listen and to engage a meaningful conversations. Charities haven’t had to listen to donors traditionally, but now the causes more diverse and demographics that give are shifting. Cashflow is quickly overtaking dollars raised as the single biggest threat facing charities.