Selfish Giving
JULY 19, 2011
You all know I love cause marketing - a partnership between a nonprofit and for-profit for mutual profit. But I also love iced tea. So it’s no surprise that I love T?volution , a delicious new brand of iced tea from Purpose Beverages, Inc. , launching right now in in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. This is purpose-driven entrepreneurship as T?
Nonprofit Tech for Good
JULY 14, 2011
Date: Thursday, August 4. Time: 1pm-2:30 EDT. Cost: Free. How to Register: Sign up! Presented By: Heather Mansfield. Based upon the soon-to-be-released book Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits , this webinar begins with defining Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 communications and fundraising, and then quickly moves on to a discussion about the importance of integrating the tools from each era in order to maximize your nonprofit’s Return on Investment (ROI) from utilizing soc
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Fundraising Coach
JULY 8, 2011
Last week, I wrote a post for About.com explaining why I was checking out Google+. A week later, I love it! I’ve would probably stay on Google+ if I didn’t have so much invested in sites like Facebook , Twitter , and FourSquare. True, I am feeling a bit overloaded. For years it was habitual to post things to Facebook and Twitter, now I have to forcibly remind myself to.
The Agitator
JULY 31, 2011
Rachel had a 9th birthday goal of raising $300 for Charity:Water, and was using her Causes fundraising page to do so. She had raised $220 by her birthday. But then she was killed in an auto accident. Her family reopened her campaign page so that people could honor her with donations. And honor her they have. Her campaign has now raised $734,095 from 20,876 donors!
Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand
This session will dive into how to create rich generosity experiences that foster long-lasting relationships. You’ll walk away with actionable insights to redefine how you engage with your supporters—emphasizing trust, engagement, and community over transactional giving models. 🤝 Industry expert Tim Sarrantonio will explore data-backed strategies to engage supporters as active participants in a community that values their contributions and shared ideals.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JULY 11, 2011
Sarah Durham of Sarah Big Duck. Sarah Durham of Big Duck is presenting this week’s webinar, Focus Groups and Surveys: Easy, Affordable Research for Nonprofit Marketers , on Tuesday, July 12 at 1 pm Eastern (10 am Pacific). Knowing your audience is the first rule of good marketing and fundraising, so join us for advice on getting to know yours better!
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
JULY 16, 2011
Your donors give you gifts. What’s the gift you give back? It should be gratitude. Here’s a great example from one of the wonderful people who reads this blog. Ingrid kindly agreed to my sharing her email to me and this video. Katya—had to share this great video my alma mater, Davidson College just sent out as a thank you for meeting our 60% participation goal for 9 years straight.
Nonprofit Leadership Zone brings together the best content for advertising professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
JULY 25, 2011
Currently Google+ is only available to invited individuals. Brand pages are expected to be launched some time this fall. In the meantime, nonprofit staff can prepare for the launch of the new brand pages, also known as Google+ Entity Profiles , by creating a Google Account and then setting up your personal Google Profile (which then also becomes your personal Google+ Profile when you get invited to join Google+ or the site comes out of beta).
Fundraising Coach
JULY 1, 2011
In my college class on internet marketing, students are required to use Twitter. Their grade is dependent on it. I just wrote instructions on how to set up a Twitter account since most of them don’t have one. I decided to share them here too! I hope it’s helpful! If you’re already using Twitter, what would you add? You can put your suggestions in the comments.
The Agitator
JULY 12, 2011
We’re back on the Retention Trail today. Rick Christ, a VP at Amergent , has just issued Donor Stewardship: Making Virtual Friends for Life , a white paper that you should download and read today. When it comes to retention, Rick doesn’t mince words, always writes well, and succinctly summarizes the Amergent analysis of millions of gifts. Key takeaways: Pay attention to getting a donor’s email address.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JULY 6, 2011
Layla Fry, director of communications for Southwest Key Programs , emailed me this question: “My organization is interested in merging the now separate functions of fundraising and communications into a ‘Community Engagement Team’ as you recommended in your book. Can you tell me where I can find out more about this trend and how/why you believe this to be the path to success?
Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio
The average nonprofit uses five or more different software platforms to create their donor’s journey, making the experience clunky and disjointed. If you want to design a magical online giving experience for donors, making their journey as seamless as possible is key. In this webinar with expert Tim Sarrantonio, you’ll learn the fundamental steps to create an immersive and personalized online giving experience for your donors.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
JULY 22, 2011
Some of the best advice I ever heard was from Seth Godin , when I interviewed him for this webinar (it’s free because Seth is generous). He said: Be generous when you’re hungry. It’s difficult to be generous when you’re hungry. Yet being generous keeps you from going hungry. Hence the conflict. I try to remember this every day. Here’s the refrain I created for myself: Generosity inspires generosity, so I’ll give when I’m hungry.
Selfish Giving
JULY 13, 2011
Lately, I’ve been thinking of two things. First, the role of technology in achieving our goals. Second, what the future will be for my favorite tool for corporate social responsibility, cause marketing. I started thinking about technology when Google + arrived. Many of you have spoken very well of it and I’ve enjoyed using. But my gut reaction is a loathing that I will have yet another social network to learn, use and update.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
JULY 18, 2011
The average Internet user today is barraged with a constant stream of messages in the form of tweets, status updates, shouts, bulletins, e-mail, and “Breaking News!&# Social media is not only changing how we communicate online, but it’s also changing how our brains process information. That said, nonprofits would be wise to consider the effect of the Social Web when launching or re-designing their websites.
Fundraising Coach
JULY 29, 2011
I joined Google+ exactly one month ago. I started out with my curiosity piqued and then I got a vision for how nonprofits could benefit from Google+. I was even interviewed about Google+ last week. Here are three reasons I’m impressed with Google+. In just 1 month, Google+ is one of my top 10 referring sites. In the last 30 days, Google+ is the #17 driver of traffic to FundraisingCoach.com.
The Agitator
JULY 21, 2011
Earlier this week Reinier Spruit (at Greenpeace International) posted at 101Fundraising regarding what he calls “long term testing&#. He urged fundraisers to consider stretching their testing horizons beyond the ‘quick and dirty’ typical package tests — carriers, teasers, reply devices, etc — to comprehensive testing of entire donor communications streams … his specific target was improving donor retention rates.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JULY 26, 2011
Allison Monnell. This guest post by Allison Monnell demonstrates not only the power of storytelling in nonprofit communications, but just how beneficial it can be to your nonprofit when you integrate a culture of story sharing into your everyday work, as the Chemung ARC has done with its Stringer Success Stories. Allison shared her story with me when I presented my storytelling workshop for the AFP Finger Lakes Chapter, and she graciously agreed to share it with you.
Get Fully Funded
JULY 26, 2011
If you are a nonprofit director, you know that the budget line item for training and development is often the first one to go when things get tight. But this is SO short-sighted! Too often, visionless Boards start cutting things out instead of ramping up the fundraising (but that’s a topic for another day!). Whether it’s a book, a workshop, or a coach, investing in yourself has a tremendous impact on your nonprofit organization, its mission, and the people who benefit.
Selfish Giving
JULY 25, 2011
I love this cause marketing promotion from a UK housing charity that brings together eight Edinburgh thrift shops with the leading location-based service, Foursquare. It capitalizes on a physical location. Shelter Scotland helps people with all sorts of housing problems from homelessness to poor living conditions. 16 percent of Shelter’s annual donations come from its two dozen thrift shops throughout Scotland.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
JULY 4, 2011
At about the time I quit working for the day (6pm in Missouri, USA), nonprofits in New Zealand, Australia, and Asia are coming online for another work day. Then, over the next 12 hours, on comes nonprofits in India, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. It’s amazing what happens on Twitter during our off hours and while we are sleeping – no matter where you tweet from in the world.
Fundraising Coach
JULY 3, 2011
I just saw this on Facebook. I’ve been on Facebook for over five years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. Especially with Mark Zuckerberg’s face. Google+ may have shaken Facebook up a bit. Yay! (c) Marc A. Pitman, FundraisingCoach.com. Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick !
The Agitator
JULY 6, 2011
In a recent post , marketing maven Seth Godin makes this observation: “Attention is a bit like real estate, in that they’re not making any more of it. Unlike real estate, though, it keeps going up in value.&#. Of course he’s not the only commentator to stress the point that ‘attention’ is the scarcest and most precious of commodities for most people.
Getting Attention
JULY 11, 2011
Welcome to our newest guest blogger, Rebecca Leaman. Rebecca ( @rjleaman ) is a writer and editor who helps small community-based nonprofits and individuals tell their stories. Her driving passions are technology, local history and dogs. Running a small nonprofit has never been easy, but there used to be few challenges that a larger marketing budget couldn’t solve.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JULY 21, 2011
Britt Bravo is hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival this month and asked for some of our favorite time saving tips. Here are some of the things I’ve used this year to really help me manage my own time better. I can’t wait to hear what everyone else comes up with for the Carnival, because I’m sure there’s more I could be doing.
Selfish Giving
JULY 7, 2011
I’m reevaluating my thinking on text messages (SMS) for cause marketing. Previously, SMS only meant text-to-give for me. And unless you used SMS after some horrific disaster, or at a concert displayed it on a jumbotron at some major sporting event it wasn’t very useful for cause marketing. However, the more I learn about text and the more I sober up to the reality of adoption rates on things like smartphone apps, location-based services, QR codes and other mobile gadgetry in general,
Nonprofit Tech for Good
JULY 8, 2011
My guess is that 99.99% of nonprofits (or more) have not yet been invited to beta test Google+ ( sign up here ), but if you are a regular reader of Mashable, TechCrunch, or The Next Web, you might be feeling like your missing out on the fruits of being an early adopter (before the site is even out of beta – craziness!). Worry not, however. I don’t have an invite either, but I have been following the beta launch and what the tech blogs are saying about it.
Fundraising Coach
JULY 12, 2011
This week, I’m thrilled to introduce Christina Attard. Christina is an accomplished Canadian fundraiser with a particular expertise in the areas of planned giving and millennial. I’ve asked her to share her take on engaging millenials in funding causes. She can be found on her blog or on Twitter @gptekkie. by Christina Attard. There is good news for the future of philanthropy coming from reports about giving trends among members of the Millennial generation in North America.
The Agitator
JULY 28, 2011
According to a new report from Pew Internet Research, 71% of online adults use video-sharing sites … indeed, when asked, 28% said they had viewed such a site “yesterday&#. That number jumps to 47% in the age 18-29 cohort. That’s a heap of online video watching. And there’s plenty of fresh material to watch … the latest statistics from YouTube are that 48 hours of content are uploaded every minute to the site!
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
JULY 17, 2011
I’ve had a lot of chances to practice apologizing, because I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. What’s been so interesting to me is that when I’ve made mistakes at work and publicly expressed remorse, I have found people are full of grace, compassion and forgiveness. I’ve concluded that to err is human and to apologize is human, too.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JULY 13, 2011
I’m teaching our “ Writing for Facebook and Twitter &# webinar on July 19, 2011. I’ll be sharing tons of tactical tips on writing better tweets, status updates, and other forms of microcontent. But I’ll also share some of the strategy that needs to go into those social media updates. One issue to consider in your social media strategy is how many of your updates are timely one-offs or repetition during a short window of time, and how many are part of a much longer story l
Getting Attention
JULY 18, 2011
I recently received this Ask Nancy query and was eager to respond ASAP, as this is a question I hear frequently from nonprofit communicators like you… Dear Nancy, Colleagues at two other organizations in our county are in the middle of communications audits. I’m interested, but don’t know what that process would mean for our organization.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
JULY 11, 2011
On July 7 YouTube announced the launch of their new YouTube Channel design experiment cleverly named Cosmic Panda. Although it is still in beta, rumors of a dramatic new look for YouTube Channels have been floating around the blogosphere for a few months now. Cosmic Panda may have a few tweaks not currently visible when it finally goes live sitewide in coming months, but nonprofits should be prepared for a new design that’s long term.
Fundraising Coach
JULY 19, 2011
Let’s face it, fundraising involves speaking. Lots of it. We speak to individuals. We speak to groups. We speak to volunteers, donors, staff, peers, bosses, everyone. And some of the best exposure we can get for our cause is doing public speaking to larger groups like service organizations, or depending on your cause, even conferences. Despite this common requirement in fundraising, many of us seem really scared.
The Agitator
JULY 26, 2011
As Mark Phillips at Bluefrog notes, this is why direct mail fundraising won’t die! Amen! Tom.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
JULY 21, 2011
I’ve been reading Lynne Twist’s wonderful book, The Soul of Money. I recommend it: It’s a wonderful set of reflections and stories that weave lessons that are part spiritual, part self-help and all fundraising. Twist’s take on money and giving and life was deeply enlightening and inspiring to me. It made me happy. If you’re having a bad day, read what she says about her work fundraising for The Hunger Project : Fundraising to end hunger wasn’t just a job or a
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
JULY 28, 2011
One of my favorite lessons to come out of the Direct Mail for Small Nonprofits e-clinic last week was when Tom Ahern passed on this Hemingway line and applied it to nonprofit direct mail: Write Drunk. Edit Sober. It’s all about letting your creativity flow, and letting go of the “supposed to&# and worrying about what others might think. You can always edit out the bad parts sober, but those first drafts should be carefree and uninhibited.
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