Soapbox Engage Blog

Before we truly put an end to 2014, let's remember the best moments.

While some people like to think that looking back on 2014 is strictly limited to December, we at PICnet believe that a year-in-review should happen in January. After all, December is part of the year, so it's rather silly to consider the year finished before the ball actually drops. In any event, 2014 was a big year for us and we saw a lot of things happen in the nonprofit sector, from payments to petitions. Here are some of our best articles from the last year. We think you may find them enlightening and fun.

1. What Apple Pay means for nonprofit online donations

With all the hoopla surrounding Apple Pay and mobile wallets in September, we saw something that not many people realized: When making online purchase, all a person has to do is push his or her finger on the Touch ID button. That's it: no entering card information, remembering passwords or even reviewing checkout information. This can be a boon to nonprofits, as it makes the process of donating to any cause much easier, especially if people don't have actual cash in their real wallet.

2. 9 reasons your nonprofit should use online petitions – even if you're not an advocacy organization

Petitions are a powerful tool for use in a nonprofit environment. However, many people believe that this valuable tool is limited to advocacy groups and cause-based charities. In January, we took this idea apart bit by bit, and presented good reasons for your organizations to use petitioning as a way to raise awareness and funding. Did you know that petitions can help you build your mailing list? Or that they're mobile-friendly and can bring in people who just browse while waiting line at the grocery store? You do now!

3. Soapbox Engage Petitions app is the first advocacy tool ready for the new NGO Connect

As a partner with the Salesforce Foundation, we at PICnet take pride in bringing results through our apps with support of the Salesforce platform. That's why we're proud of our reworking of the Soapbox Engage Petitions app, which was the first advocacy service ready for the NGO Connect platform when it was launched in September. This new system can help nonprofits utilize the full power of constituent relationship management as used by large enterprises around the country. With the combination of these two forces, not only can you create a great petition, but you can also measure how successful it is.

4. Salesforce, innovation, and the power of failure for nonprofits

While we here at PICnet want you to succeed with your nonprofit, we also know that failure can sometimes happen. At the same time, we shouldn't fear failure as much as people expect. Only through failure can we learn from our mistakes. More importantly, from these lessons, you can ultimately chance upon ideas that will help you create innovation in anything you do, including the cause of your organization.

5. TouchNet added as fifth processor for seamless online payments integrating with Salesforce

We know it's important for your organization to have a choice on how donations get processed and received. It's essential that you have options on what kind of payments processor you would like to work with. That's why we were happy to announce an expansion for our Soapbox Engage clients by adding a fifth payment processor, TouchNet, to our platform. It joins Authorize.net, Braintree, CyberSource, and PayPal Website Payments Pro as a selection for how you want your supporters to pay.

With such important milestones as the articles we wrote above, we feel confident moving into 2015, and hope you join us.