As many of our fans and readers know, Giveo Inc is headquartered in Boulder, CO, right at the base of the Rocky Mountains. While we love the beautiful weather, healthy living and friendly folk that Boulder is known for, one of my personal favorite things about this city is its tech community. Almost weekly, one can participate in various (and mostly free) events set up and run by those in the Boulder’s thriving start-up scene. I’ve attended a great deal of them, large and small, and enjoyed every minute of it.

But there is one event that, since its debut last year, Boulder has anxiously waited for on bated breath. Oh yes, I’m talking about none other than the esteemed TEDxBoulder. Surely you’ve heard of TED Talks: “Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.” They’re meant to captivate, stun and inspire, and for millions around the world, they have done just that. But last year, Boulder hosted the very first TEDxBoulder, “x” being an independently organized TED event.

Now, having been new to Boulder at the time, of course I was beyond excited to attend this prestigious tech event. Sadly for me, however, my dream was cut short when I realized that TEDxBoulder was smack dab in the middle of my family reunion that was taking place on the other side of the country. “Next time.” I vowed after hearing what incredible presentations I missed. And finally after a year of waiting, my time has come.

As if it was possible, September 24^th’s TEDxBoulder became even more appealing to me when they released the speakers list; two of the presenters are Giveo clients, past and present. Talk about exciting!

The first is Chef Ann Cooper, celebrated author, chef, educator and advocate for better food for all children. She is the co-founder of the Food Family Farming Foundation’s Lunchbox Project, an organization we’ve been working with for quite some time, as you may remember from our earlier blog posts. F3 is also the managing partner for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, whose platform is powered by Giveo technology. At TEDxBoulder, Chef Ann will be discussing “Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children”, further advocating her deep-seeded belief in the link between food, family, farming and our children’s health and wellness.

The second is The Unreasonable Institute’s Daniel Epstein, a man who has consistently immersed himself in promoting social and environmental good though entrepreneurial efforts. Last year, Giveo worked with UI to build a platform that would support their mentor-driven acceleration program, which in turn improved the lives of tens of thousands around the world. During his presentation at TEDxBoulder, Epstein will be talking about “Developing Entrepreneurship” and how it’s the answer to nearly all issues that humanity faces today.

Needless to say, our whole team is pretty excited for these, and all the other presenters at this year’s TEDxBoulder. Haven’t gotten you’re tickets? Make sure you do! Last year’s event sold out.

To learn more about Chef Ann Cooper, F3 Foundation, The Lunchbox or Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, be sure to check out their websites. You can also follow Chef Ann on Twitter. Want to learn more about Unreasonable Institute and how they’re changing the world? Head over to their site, or strike up a conversation with Epstein on Twitter. We’ll see you on September 24^th at TEDxBoulder!

Are you an expert on your audience, like Anna was on The King, in the classic tale of “The King and I”? Do you have a deep understanding of the people who give to your mission? To determine successful, strategic marketing efforts, rich data to is required.

Do you know who your supporters are?
Do you know what their interests are? Do you know why they support your mission and not another? These are the questions you should be asking about the people who donate to your organization, attend your events, sign your petitions and contribute time to your cause.

In my experience, many nonprofits are spending, spending, spending to execute marketing efforts to a general audience, yielding little return because the audience isn’t defined. This method is less than ideal.

Understanding your audience is vital to the success of your marketing efforts.

Why should you care?
You have a marketing plan, right? Are your marketing efforts effective? Are you talking to your audience about issues they care about? If you understand the interests and demographics of your audience, promotions can be more strategic, relevant, and in the end, significantly more effective.

Understanding the make-up of your supporters offers your organization the ability to influence their behavior and drive those people to a determined action.

You have sponsors, right? Are your sponsor relationships effective? Are you able to illustrate to current and potential sponsors why they should invest in your organization and who they will reach by doing so?

There are millions of nonprofit organizations out there, talking to your donor and soliciting your potential sponsor. Understanding your constituents can differentiate your organization. Knowing your supporter-base, gives your organization the advantage of being able to communicate more effectively, drive action and illustrate tangible value to sponsors.

What do you need to know?

• Demographics – People in Texas have very different interests than people in New York. Women respond very differently to messaging than men do, twenty-somethings get their information from completely different sources than people in their sixties. This is what you need to be considering when composing content and planning your integrated marketing efforts.

• Purchase Behavior – What do your donors spend their money on? What lifestyle groups do they fall into? Where do they do most of their shopping? Online? Retail? Knowing the buying behavior of your supporter gives you better insight into which corporate partners you should be soliciting and where your cause marketing dollars should be spent to drive conversions.

• Donor Behavior – Are the people in your pledge list likely to donate? Are the folks in your donor list really most likely to donate to causes related to yours? What are they motivated by? Knowing donor habits will help you convert specific segments to a desired action.

Ok, I get it. Now what?
Most likely, your organization has some demographic information on the folks in your database. Maybe you know gender, age and location. I’m assuming you would like to know more.

Giveo can help you improve your outreach efforts by providing insights into traits such as marital status, income, buying behaviors, lifestyle, donor likelihood, etc.

What traits would you like to know about your audience?

Andrea Steffes-Tuttle, Client Services Manager for Giveo. Email Andrea: andrea@giveo.com