Vistas: Geri Stengel’s Blog: Trends

Talking to Gen Xers and Gen Ys lately, I realize how dramatically e-commerce is changing retail business and customer service.

Opening up a store used to require renting space, furnishing the store, and working arduous hours. The last is still true but not the first two. Businesses are thriving without a physical location. In fact, many are able to exist because they skip the fixed costs and upfront investment of a brick-and-mortar store.

So you’ve done your homework, assessed your resources, and decided that your nonprofit has the enthusiasm and talent to make a for-profit venture work.

Last week, I laid out the trends in philanthropy that are forcing foundations and nonprofits to change the way they do business: the economy; the ability and demand to measure impact; generational shifts; and increased emphasis on competition/collaboration.

If raising funds online is about technology, then raising funds through direct mail is about paper. Of course, neither is true. Online fundraising, like all forms of fundraising, is a way to form and nurture a relationship between your nonprofit and donors or prospective donors.