Via Colori Street Painting Festival on Nov 23 & 24 in Houston, Texas

Via Colori | Live Street Painting,  200+ Artists, 3 Stages,  Food Trucks and More!

Houston we have a street painting art festival at Downtown City Hall ! Be a part of this wondering event at 5 PM CST.

Via Colori raises more than $300,000 annually to fund health and educational services for children with hearing loss in Houston through The Center for Hearing and Speech and its renowned audiologists, teachers and speech-language pathologists. 

Facebook Donate Button for Non-Profit Organizations

Rather than redirect your visitors off of your Facebook page in order to collect a donation, you can now collect a donation on your Facebook page.

Facebook Donate Button

Currently it’s available to only a select few.
Charities with a donation button as of December 22 2013

All Non-Profit organizations should take advantage of this opportunity, no matter what your size or how long your organization has existed.  In fact, non-profits benefit more if the purchase is made through Facebook, mostly because 100% of the transaction is transferred.  Facebook covers the convenience fee that most traditional payment gateways require.

You can sign up for the Facebook Donate button now, but this does not guarantee that you will be accepted.

Once a visitor donates to your organization, their credit card information will be recorded as well as the item that they purchased.  It is possible to remove your payment method information from Facebook  but it does require some extra clicking.

Donations are currently limited to users located in the United States with their preferred currency set to the US dollar.

All visitors will receive a receipt to their primary Facebook email address which include information in regards to tax deductions.

Collecting credit card information is the goal.  Removing the friction and focusing on incentives is the strategy.  Amazon One-Click purchases, Apple’s iPhone TouchID, and Google Wallet are some of the other services in this race.

So what does this mean for the traditional website?  Is it necessary?  One might evaluate the value that can be provided by a traditional website vs a Facebook page.

Once again it is very important to recognize that a Facebook page and traditional website are not mutually exclusive; you can have both.  As I stated earlier; you should take advantage assuming your customers pay with the US dollar.

I like to think that it’s less a matter of if you’re going to want a website and more of a question of when you’re going to need a website.  If you’re just getting started, then I would start with a Facebook page first.  It’s quick, it’s easy, it covers the basics and it’s free.

The basic needs of a non-profit organization are awareness and an avenue in which to donate.  Facebook gives that to you.  Once you’ve grown large enough, now you can start to consider more robust events, more reporting, and access to your member data.

Currently, I don’t believe there is an easy way to export member data but I could be mistaken.  If your non-profit is a smaller version of a parent non-profit then you might require access to export your member data in order to share it with your network.

You might also want to offer more to your members such as discounts on events, job postings, or resume listings.  Or maybe you want your own domain where you have more control over your organizations brand.  A place that offers a subscription service; allowing you to more easily get into the inbox of your members.  You might just be looking to collect more information via a custom form.

In summary, a Facebook page with it’s new donate button is a great place to start and is also a great extra resource to leverage once your website requires more features.

This blog post is intended to get you started.  If you have more insight I would love to hear it.  Thank you in advance.

The YMCA Kicks Off Operation Backpack

Operation Backpack helps collect backpacks filled with school supplies for children in-need.

This week marked the start of the YMCA of Greater Houston‘s school supply drive, “Operation Backpack.”

Having the right tools is a big part of being successful. The YMCA is working to give back to the Houston community and help children in-need ease into the new school year with a new backpack and school supplies. The goal is to reach 40,000 backpacks by Aug. 15.

How Does Operation Backpack Work

  • Operation Backpack works just as you’ve probably imagined. Using a   list of recommended school supplies (available on the YMCA’s website), donors will:
  • Purchase a new backpack for a child in elementary or middle school.
  • Buy school supplies and put them in the backpack.
  • Write a note of encouragement to the child and put in the backpack.
  • Drop off the backpack at any Houston YMCA or participating business, church, or organization drop-off location between now and Aug. 15th.

Donate Online

Another great way to participate in Operation Backpack is to make an online donation.

The online donations will go towards a $50 school supply shopping spree hosted by the YMCA. Donors can give a general gift or make a donation to a YMCA location of choice.

Be A Drop-Off LocationOperatoin Backpack'sgoal is to fill 40,000 backpacks for children in need.

Operation Backpack will run from now through Aug. 15, so there’s still time to sign-up to be a drop-off location. It’s a perfect way help make donating to the program convenient and easy for people in your area. Just fill out the sign-up form on the YMCA’s Operation Backpack site and submit it.

For additional information or to find a YMCA near you, contact the YMCA of Greater Houston at 713-659-5566 or contact:

Elida Chavez

Association Advancement Department

713-758-9156

elidac@ymcahouston.org

We’re happy to help as well. Feel free to contact us at info@tendenci.com or 281-497-6567.