Running a non-profit may be one of the most challenging jobs in the country.  Budgets require decisions that impact peoples’ lives and non-profit managers have to make these terrible decisions every day.  With the decline of the dollar, the deep recession we’re in, many non-profits are having to close their doors.

You don’t need to.

There are people with money out there right now – looking to donate that money to charities and non-profit managers who need and deserve it.  These philanthropists are becoming more intelligent and doing a lot of research using the web in recent years.  They are researching via search, looking for local companies that are making the most impact in their own back yard and those who are using resources effectively.

Are you in their search engine results?

Many charities with an online presence don’t realize that having a website isn’t an expense, it’s actually a gateway between donations and you.  It’s an investment.  Did you know that there are over 1,500 searches every month for indy charity, indianapolis charity, or indianapolis charities?

Spending a lot of money on a website without any search analysis and search engine optimization is like buying a beautiful office and putting it in the middle of the desert.  No one knows where you are and no one knows how to find you.

People are looking for companies like you right now to donate money, time and resources.  Developing a beautiful web presence and spending $10k+ on a cool website aren’t going to help you… but spending a modest amount on a standard website or even better – a blog, that’s optimized for keywords that will bring you traffic, will result in an incredible return on investment for your organization.

Don’t invest in a web presence without first checking the credentials of your web design company.  Find out how their other sites are performing when it comes to search engines… not how many awards they’ve won.  Ensure that part of your web marketing package is providing effective keyword research and lays out a web strategy that shoots you to the top of the search engine results page for those terms.

Talk to social media and blogging experts about how they can help you acquire donations through the web.  If you don’t know anyone that can help, please contact me and I’ll send you a free e-book on Search Engine Optimization and Blogging.

Utilize social networks to publicize your efforts – right here in Indiana, we have Smaller Indiana, a wonderful social network of Indiana professionals and creatives who pay a lot of attention to non-profits as well as arts and culture.  Networks like Smaller Indiana can provide you an inexhaustible supply of donors and volunteers – use them! (Disclosure: I’m a co-founder along with Pat Coyle.)