Fundraising Coach

MAY 5, 2015

"Story Road" by umjanedoan on Flickr. Used by permission. Would you like to jumpstart your fundraising for your nonprofit? One of the most important tools I've seen is helping board members get comfortable telling their own story. Getting board members to be fully present. In my work with nonprofits around the world, I find a common element in those with high performing boards: their board members feel released to be fully themselves.

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Nonprofit Tech for Good

MAY 17, 2015

In 1985 the.ORG domain was released to the public along with.COM,NET,GOV and.EDU – the original top-level domains of the Internet. Over the next 30 years the.ORG domain would become the Internet home of the nonprofit sector worldwide and become synonymous with the term “nonprofit organization.” Consequently, in poll after poll conducted by the Public Interest Registry , the nonprofit responsible for managing the.ORG domain, the online masses have communicated that more than any other

Nonprofit governance and management 110

Nonprofit governance and management Public and Nonprofit Management Social Enterprise Social Enterprise 110

The Agitator

MAY 14, 2015

Direct mail is: [ ] Dead [ ] Near Dead [ ] Nowhere near dead. Over the 9 years Tom and I’ve been agitating, few topics are the subject of more debate than the all-too-familiar prognostication that direct mail is either dead or dying. We’ve never bought into that myth as you can see from this 2012 post, Direct Mail: The Exquisite Corpse. And neither have a good many of our readers.

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Mission Minded

MAY 6, 2015

A recent article in AdAge argues that every great story, and every great brand, has a strong, evident antagonist–someone to fight against. The author explains that Apple’s enemy was Microsoft, just as Luke fought against Darth Vadar. Great consumer marketing does this: It positions one product against another. We choose Nike over Reebok or Coke […].

Production 103

Production Nonprofits Marketing Marketing 103

Ann Green

MAY 4, 2015

Are you sharing stories with your donors, or are you putting them to sleep with a bunch of facts and statistics? Donors love stories. Stories bring the work you do to life by using everyday language to create a scene. Here’s an example from the Pet Partners newsletter. Pet Partners is an organization that provides therapy animals to people who need them. “Molly is a 12 year-old Boxer who barely survived Hurricane Katrina.

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Children Culture Nonprofits Communication 98

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MAY 12, 2015

Want to add new donors and more donations to your fundraising results this year? One of the best ways to expand your reach and attract new supporters is by tapping into the networks of your existing supporters with a social fundraising campaign. Here’s why: people are more likely to give when asked by a friend or family member, and thanks to the multiplier effect, these supporter-fundraisers will increase their lifetime value to your organization by giving and bringing new donations to you

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Fundraising Coach

MAY 22, 2015

Today it's my pleasure to introduce you to Dana Ostomel, the founder of Deposit a Gift.com. Deposit a Gift allows anyone - nonprofits, schools, or individuals - to raise money and even sell tickets to benefit events. I love that Dana's background is in marketing. She's developed solutions for brands like Snapple, Century21, The Home Depot, and DirecTV.

Community Development 108

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The Agitator

MAY 7, 2015

In the first decade of my career, before discovering the wonders of direct mail, I did honest labor managing capital campaigns and major gift efforts. In those early years I was blessed with a remarkable mentor named G. Richard Kuch. He was an old school fundraiser and campaigner. Meaning, he believed strongly that none of us should allowed call themselves a ‘fundraiser’ or ‘fundraising consultant’ — let alone be turned loose on a client — until we had been th

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Ken Goldstein

MAY 6, 2015

Last week I attended the "What Really Matters" webinar from Abila to discuss the findings in their latest Donor Engagement Study. There were a few surprises in their latest findings, and several confirmations of what we've always known, or at least should have sensed. On of the key points that should be obvious, but bears repeating, is that Content is King.

Nonprofits 103

Nonprofits Communication Fundraising Fundraising 103

EveryAction

MAY 26, 2015

The future is unpredictable. For instance, my Nike sneakers don't appear to be lacing themselves up (shame), but my iPhone is beyond anything Marty Mcfly could imagine. So naturally when we asked Chris Tuttle to predict the future of email, we were hoping for at best a rough guess. Instead, he gave us insightful analysis of the present, and a solid prediction of the future.

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Nonprofits Communication Marketing Marketing 78

Getting Attention

MAY 21, 2015

Welcome to our Proof Point series—highlighting research findings to use when advocating for the marketing approaches you know are right. . Email subject line length DOES MATTER, as proven by Mail Chimp’s research on open rates for 200 million emails. The best email subject lines are short [50 characters or less]…and provide the reader with a reason to explore your message further.

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Fundraising Coach

MAY 20, 2015

I firmly believe "donor fatigue" is a cop out, not a reality. In this quick video, I tell you why. And I give you a free tool to fix your next fundraising letter. For more on this, check out: The free fundraising letter email course at" [link]. The new Fundraising 101 video class for board members and "accidental" fundraisers at: [link]. And the official site for The Nonprofit Storytelling Conference at: [link].

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Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 107

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MAY 7, 2015

Don’t Feed the Troll. We recently had this question pop up on our All-Access Pass Holder’s private Facebook Group: “How do you respond to negative or misinformed reviews of your organization on Facebook? Do you respond to each one? Post a general statement? Would you post a response as a comment on the review, or send a private message?

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Ethics Universities Marketing Marketing 78

The Agitator

MAY 31, 2015

The Agitator has recently reported on the latest body blows to the reputation of the nonprofit/charity sector, specifically with respect to fundraising practices. One would think that attention to reputation would be of paramount concern to our sector, but there isn’t much sign that individual nonprofit organisations think about their reputation in a systematic way.

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Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits Nonprofit Management 98

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MAY 20, 2015

New research from the 2015 M+R Benchmarks Study tells us that, on average, almost half (45%) of small nonprofits’ email subscribers are inactive. Yikes! Inactive could mean different things to different organizations. Many organizations define inactive subscribers as those who’ve gone one year with no activity. (These don’t necessarily include lapsed or inactive donors.

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Activism Nonprofits 74

EveryAction

MAY 28, 2015

With the start of summer just around the corner, the nonprofit conference action for the year is just beginning to heat up! We took a look at our 2015 Best Nonprofit Conferences Calendar and put together a new list of the summer's most anticipated events - which ones are you attending?

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Nonprofits 77

Ann Green

MAY 22, 2015

All nonprofits want to succeed and grow. You want more donors and more people to find out about your organization. You hear a lot about innovation and finding the next best thing to accomplish what you want. But sometimes we need to take a step back, and realize the next best thing may already be here. Give donors the personal touch. We have so many different ways to communicate with donors, many of them electronic.

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Fundraising Coach

MAY 7, 2015

Millenials aren't really different. Charities just haven't been paying attention! "Selfie" by Patrik Nygren. Used with permission. https://flic.kr/p/nk9b1w Charities have gotten used to the WORLD WAR II GENERATION 's trust in big social programs. Big programs overcame the Great Depression and overcame Hitler, right? So if "everyone does their part" we'll overcome the next hurdle.

Communication 97

Communication Marketing Marketing Nonprofits 97

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MAY 28, 2015

Today I’m sharing the fourth video in our new series from the Communications Coaching Program for Executive Directors (we call it the CoCoa Club for short.). When we recently asked several hundred executive directors which communications channel they most wanted to get right and master, the answer was email newsletters. In this video, I share the three essentials I am looking for when I review an email newsletter. ( Can’t see the video player?

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Communication Nonprofits 77

The Agitator

MAY 13, 2015

Way back when (2013), The Agitator reported — Are You Ready To Pass Inspection? — on a Google study on donor online giving. As we noted: “One of the key findings was the extent to which donors now appear to comparison shop before giving. The Google study says 75% of donors begin the research they conduct on charities online. Nearly 50% visit multiple nonprofit sites prior to giving — 39% visit two to four sites, 8% visit five or more.” So I suspect you fundraisers have wo

Nonprofits 98

Nonprofits Fundraising Fundraising Marketing 98

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

MAY 25, 2015

Looking for a new way to get your board involved with your fundraising efforts? A social fundraising campaign can help make it easier for your board members to fulfill their “give or get” commitment to your organization. Of course, the idea behind social fundraising isn’t new, but combining the age-old structure of board support and your fundraising assets with technology that makes it much easier to ask for a gift can amplify your outreach, resulting in more donors and more do

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Fundraising Fundraising Technology Nonprofits 73

EveryAction

MAY 22, 2015

The way people give is constantly changing. People may care about your cause, but it doesn’t mean they will donate. So what drives them?

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Technology Nonprofits 85

Getting Attention

MAY 11, 2015

Post YOUR comms job here —nonprofits, grantmakers, B Corps & vendors serving nonprofits. Associate Designer & Query/Segmentation Specialist & Knowledge and Instructional Design Specialist WGBH. (Boston, MA). Communications Coordinator Envision Unlimited (Chicago, IL). Communications Manager Justice at Stake (Washington, DC). Communications Manager Aspen Global Leadership Network (Washington, DC).

Communication 71

Communication Public and Nonprofit Management Associations Leadership 71

NonProfit Hub

MAY 8, 2015

There’s a big problem in the nonprofit sector, and every sector and industry for that matter. We’re living in 2015, and yet women are still not being treated as equals. If you’re a woman in a top role, such as Executive Director or CEO, you’ve managed to beat the odds. For that, I applaud you. However, I dream of a world where it isn’t such a big feat.

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Leadership Nonprofits Universities Philanthropy 77

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MAY 19, 2015

Bill Sayre. We don’t touch on cyber security too often on this blog as it is so not in our area of expertise. But we know it’s extremely important you are doing everything you can to maintain the safety of your donor information. We were glad that Merkle reached out to us to talk to you about keeping your data secure. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Bill Sayre, President of Merkle Response Management Group.

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Management Technology Foundations Activism 76

The Agitator

MAY 28, 2015

In Hidden Leaks #2 , I warned of the likelihood that a bad Donation Page will drive even the most loyal of donors to the exit. Getting down in the essential weeds a bit more, here’s an important message about another processing ‘leak’ — and loyalty opportunity — in the retention bucket. A leak unnoticed or ignored by most organizations.

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Retention 96

iMarketSmart

MAY 22, 2015

I bet you already know that each and every one of your supporters has a unique reason why they first got involved with your organization— their story. . But you probably don’t know each of their stories. And, you probably haven’t asked each of them to tell you their story. Here’s why you should: Several researchers have concluded that your donor’s life stories influence their charitable bequest decision-making.

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Values Production Fundraising Fundraising 68

EveryAction

MAY 6, 2015

We asked Joe Fuld of The Campaign Workshop to take us through the process of determining whether a nonprofit organization should switch CRM tools. Here's what he had to say.

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Nonprofits Nonprofit Organizations Nonprofit Organizations Technology 69

Getting Attention

MAY 6, 2015

What’s that one bad work habit you want to change but just can’t do it ? C’mon—we all have at least one. But be it one or many, these habits can drive us crazy. OMG! Here’s my biggie bad: Whenever I speak or train, I learn a ton from folks like you who are in the room or on the webinar. These learnings hugely enrich my understanding of the topic (let’s say, writing for social media vs. websites).

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NonProfit Hub

MAY 27, 2015

Kayla Matthews is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub. She is a writer and blogger with a passion for self-improvement and helping others. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter to read all of her latest posts. _. Branding is crucial for any organization’s marketing strategy. But why is branding so important? At a very basic level, it raises awareness about your organization and helps with fundraising efforts.

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Ethics Nonprofits Foundations Children 76

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MAY 29, 2015

Did you have a great week? I hope so! Let’s check out the good stuff on the net this week with my Mixed Links… Big thanks to Amy Butcher for sharing this post with me on Twitter – Five Undeniable Reasons Your Nonprofit Needs a Blog. BuzzFeed is taking social analytics to the next level with Pound: Process for Optimizing and Understanding Network Diffusion.

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Marketing Marketing Fundraising Fundraising 75

The Agitator

MAY 27, 2015

Every few weeks I wade into the Sea of Sameness that is my pile of unopened fundraising mail. While leafing through the current batch I came across 3 Matching Gift offers. One advances the offer of a 3 for 1 match … another expresses the urgency of a 4 for 1 match … the third breathlessly proclaims a 5 for 1 match plus a pack of free notepads and labels.

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Fundraising Fundraising 95

iMarketSmart

MAY 17, 2015

You may have heard that the reason why people give is because they were asked. For many years, this saying has motivated fundraisers to get out there and “make the ask” And, to a certain extent, they are right. Calls to action are essential for marketing effectiveness. After all, if you don’t ask, you won’t get. But this is NOT REALLY the reason why people give.

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Law Education Education Fundraising 67

EveryAction

MAY 18, 2015

Read on for insights from Roz Lemieux, CEO at Attentive.ly , on how your nonprofit stands to gain from better leveraging the power of influencers.

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Nonprofits 76

Getting Attention

MAY 28, 2015

Last summer, my husband and I finally visited The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms , which had been on our go-to list for a decade. It’s the former country estate of noted turn-of-the-20th-century designer Gustav Stickley, a leader of “the Arts and Crafts movement in decorative arts, home building, and furnishing styles.” It’s the only house Stickley ever built for himself, so showcases his design esthetic, utopian vision and radical approach to daily life.

Food 70

Food Marketing Marketing Nonprofits 70

NonProfit Hub

MAY 4, 2015

Part of the fun of social media is its ever changing nature. Keeping on top of trends can be tricky, and that’s where we come in. By now we all know what hashtags are and how to use them properly, but what are the best nonprofit hashtags? True to social media’s evolving nature, there are no exact answers to this question, but I can give you some solid winners to incorporate into your social media strategy.

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Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MAY 13, 2015

When I talk to people about marketing for thought leadership, whether a nonprofit communications director trying to promote her boss as a thought leader or a consultant trying to promote herself that way, I often hear this question: Do you have to write AND speak to be a successful thought leader? I think the answer is YES, which is unfortunate, because it’s rare for both writing and public speaking to come naturally to the same person.

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