Nonprofit Tech for Good
NOVEMBER 1, 2015
The National Retail Federation estimates that online sales will grow 6 to 8 percent this holiday season. That translates into billions of dollars in consumer spending that can empower philanthropy and social good. By shopping at any of the 27 online stores listed below, conscious consumers can channel some of their spending power into the nonprofit sector.
Fundraising Coach
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Last week at the Blackbaud conference, I heard yet another story of good fundraising letters being eviscerated by marketing. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. A fundraiser studies her craft, reads the results of fundraising tests, and creates a compelling appeal. Then a marketing person gets involved and tries to "fix it." They use passive voice in an attempt to sound lofty and confident.
Ann Green
NOVEMBER 16, 2015
Did you know there’s a Center for Plain Language? Its mission is to help government and businesses write clearly. There’s even a Plain Writing Act, which “requires that federal agencies use clear government communication that the public can understand and use.” The Center’s tagline says it all – Make it clear. I wish we had a Plain Writing Act for nonprofit organizations because there’s a lot of confusing and cumbersome writing out there.
The Agitator
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Lots of time and money is spent on identifying success factors in major gift fundraising for large organizations. Very little on factors that make a big difference for smaller organizations. Until now. Amy Eisenstein, author of Major Gift Fundraising for Small Shops , has just released a study done in conjunction with Prof. Adrian Sargent, director of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy and Dr.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Back in August, I offered a new mantra for nonprofit communications pros: Get CALM. Being CALM means being Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical. C is for Collaborative. Build listening into your ongoing routine. Help others in your organization see the big picture and how their parts fit into it. Create a clear process for working together that is easy and efficient.
Getting Attention
NOVEMBER 17, 2015
Our first post in the 2016 Do-It-Differently series, featuring fresh ideas from the field. Thanks to Renee Thompson, director of philanthropy, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Tested Turnaround! Introducing a new fundraising spokesperson—one of our clients (an individual who’s benefited from our donors’ support). Keeping It All about Our Donors, Not Our Organization.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
NOVEMBER 13, 2015
Nonprofit Tech for Good experimented with Periscope for live streaming for the first time during the 2015 Independent Sector Conference. Like all new tools there is a learning curve, but for nonprofit social media managers that spend a good portion of the their time on social and mobile media, Periscope is intuitive, easy to use, and a welcome break from the daily routine of posting, tweeting, sharing – repeat.
Nonprofit Leadership Zone brings together the best content for advertising professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
EveryAction
NOVEMBER 20, 2015
You know that person in the office who seems to hear about everything first? The one who’s always reading something interesting, always has the best links to send, and knows about all the new trends before you’ve even made sense of the old ones? We know their secret - and we’re going to let you in on it.
The Agitator
NOVEMBER 8, 2015
Most of the discussion that occurs around the sorry state of donor retention deals with failure on the part of nonprofits to even take notice of their situation. In some cases to even know what to measure, let alone understand how to respond in terms of organization-wide attitude and communication tactics. The underlying assumption is that just by ‘getting it right’ in terms of focus and mechanics a large proportion of haemorrhaging donors can be, well, salvaged.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
NOVEMBER 4, 2015
Candace Cody. Last month Rob Wu, CEO of CauseVox , shared tips he learned from some successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. Today, Candace Cody of CauseVox joins us to talk about how to start your own peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Candace Cody of CauseVox. Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns yield significant benefits: more donations, more awareness, more relationships, and plenty of supporters to share the load.
Ann Green
NOVEMBER 4, 2015
Guest Post by Adam Weinger. Many of you are gearing up for your year-end fundraising campaign. It’s never easy to raise money, but you may have overlooked a simple way to bring in more donations – Matching Gifts. This guest post by Adam Weinger gives you some great tips to help you incorporate matching gifts into your fundraising. Your nonprofit likely feels like it is doing all that it can to raise money to keep your organization’s engine running.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
NOVEMBER 1, 2015
For environmentally friendly and socially conscious holiday shoppers that prefer to give donations to nonprofits as holiday gifts, the 10 holiday tribute gift programs listed below are a good starting point for your holiday shopping. Ranging from wildlife conservation to refugee relief, tribute gifts make excellent holiday gifts for friends, family, and work colleagues.
Fundraising Coach
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
Photo courtesy of scragz on Flickr. Some rights reserved. Do you fear your donors are bored with you? Here's some good news: with all the holiday parties at this time of year, you have virtual laboratory for learning to be interesting! How to be interesting to your donors. In his classic How to Win Friends and Influence People , Dale Carnegie gives you a secret to successful fundraising: "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by
EveryAction
NOVEMBER 6, 2015
If you’re a nonprofit professional, then you probably know what it’s like to be short on time. Maintaining a work-life balance is hard enough without having to hunt down the resources you and need to develop your skills. That’s why we’re giving you a shortcut.
The Agitator
NOVEMBER 5, 2015
It never ceases to amaze me how stupid and cheap so many nonprofit CEOs, board members and, yes, even fundraisers can be. The consequences that spring from ignorance about the importance of investing in fundraising and a zealously misplaced focus on ‘cost savings’ yield horror and frustration for staff and almost always result in calamity where the future of the organization is concerned.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
NOVEMBER 10, 2015
Did you know that the quality of your thank you letters can determine whether your donor gives again? Thank-you letters are incredibly important in turning a first-time donor into a life-long giver. Donors want much more than an acknowledgement and receipt. They want to know how you used the gift and that they are a genuine part of your success. Sending a thank you letter to your donors is not just the polite thing to do.
Getting Attention
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Let’s be real: Your organization is one of the many that can’t use kitty or puppy photos to raise money or recruit volunteers. In Part One of this mini-guide, I shared my take on why such emotional candy is so powerful in works so well to raise money or recruit volunteers. And cited a reliable litmus test for photo impact—1) If you’d share them with your family and friends; 2) would they “like” or share them.
Ann Green
NOVEMBER 24, 2015
I know many nonprofits have limited resources. These can include budget, time, and staff. I also know it’s hard when you feel you’re barely scraping by. But there are some areas where you can’t skimp. Think of it as making an investment in your donors. Invest in a good database and email service provider. The best ones aren’t free.
Fundraising Coach
NOVEMBER 19, 2015
We've been inspired to launch a nonprofit leadership survey. Last month's post on fundraising problems being leadership problems really hit a nerve. And it's no wonder. Charities are getting hit hard from outside pressures but based on my experience with the coaching and training I'm doing, I think what we're experiencing now is just the prelude to the leadership issues we'll start seeing coming from within organizations.
EveryAction
NOVEMBER 18, 2015
Hopefully you've heard the great news:along with improvements to the recently introduced "Donate" button , Facebook announced a new fundraising feature to help nonprofits collect donations right on its platform.
The Agitator
NOVEMBER 11, 2015
I know you have lots on your plate as we near year-end. But if you have monthly sustaining donors or any type of installment givers , please add this data processing/payment processing morsel to your ‘Urgent: To Do’ list. In response to the rising tide of credit card theft and fraud over the past few years, American credit card providers are in the process of issuing a wave of (an estimated 100 million) replacement cards.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
NOVEMBER 18, 2015
Think about it: Out of all of the hours you work each week, how many are really awesome, where you feel like you are working on the most important, super strategic things and completely in the zone, loving every minute of it? Maybe 5? 1? None? What if you could set up the way you worked to create two awesome hours each day? That’s the premise behind Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done (Amazon).
Getting Attention
NOVEMBER 18, 2015
Kivi Leroux Miller’s Nonprofit Communications Trends Survey has become the “go to” source for what’s REALLY happening in the world of nonprofit communications and fundraising. The annual results report provides concrete benchmarks for your marketing approach and the proof points you need to lobby for the resources you need to do marketing right.
NonProfit Hub
NOVEMBER 11, 2015
The holiday season is nothing without its traditions. For many people, the holidays mean gathering together with family to consume meals, exchange gifts, watch football and take turkey-induced naps. For others, when the holiday season begins this year on Thanksgiving, traditions include giving back to their community and volunteering for local nonprofits.
iMarketSmart
NOVEMBER 13, 2015
Many of us don’t feel comfortable asking. This is because many of us have never had anyone teach us that we don’t always need to blurt out an ask. In fact, in many cases, there are more subtle ways to move the process forward. Here are 8 ways to ask for a donation without actually asking. Just say: “What would you like me to do next?
EveryAction
NOVEMBER 16, 2015
Is your donation page holding you back? No? Are you sure? Too many nonprofit donation pages are suffering from common donation page problems like unresponsiveness, length, general clutter, and even security issues that put potential donors off and sap resources away from causes that matter. The time to improve and optimize your donation page is now.
The Agitator
NOVEMBER 2, 2015
Yesterday, in The Most Sinister Word In Fundraising , Roger wrote about effective fundraising copywriting and — citing our esteemed colleague, Jeff Brooks — the pernicious ‘I’ word. As he wrote: “This evil word has the negative power to transform your message into one that should be about the donor to one about you and your organization.” Much is written about donor-centric fundraising (the only kind that works) as a philosophy and attitude, and also regar
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
NOVEMBER 12, 2015
We’ve added several new questions to the 2016 Nonprofit Communications Trends Survey ( take it now! ), including: How big of a problem are these situations in preventing you from getting your best work done at your nonprofit? We presented 10 choices, and asked for relative rankings from “no problem” through “serious problem.” While these results are just preliminary, with about 500 responses so far, here are the Top Three problems: 1.
Getting Attention
NOVEMBER 26, 2015
Hey Folks, Jeff Lenney here In this blog post – I wanted to give you Step by Step instructions to Make Money Using Facebook, $100+ a day (Believe it or not, it’s actually quite EASY to make $100, $500 or even $1,000 per day) Let’s start off simple and set a Goal of $100: To […].
NonProfit Hub
NOVEMBER 6, 2015
Time has fallen back. The days are shorter. Winter is coming. Believe it or not, it’s November. In the nonprofit world, that means one thing—it’s End of Year Ask season. Usually this season elicits two emotions: excitement to put into action the fundraising plan to cap off a great year or “CRAP! YEAR-END ASK?”. If you fall into the latter group, fear not; you still have time.
iMarketSmart
NOVEMBER 2, 2015
Too many people give selling a bad rap. Selling is NOT about pushing people around and convincing them to do something they don’t want to do. Only foolish, poor performing “sales people” (and “fundraisers”) do that. Pushing never works. Pushing is NOT selling. Selling is selling! And, selling is just the opposite of what most believe.
EveryAction
NOVEMBER 9, 2015
Do you have events planned as part of your end-of-year fundraising push? If so, you may be missing out on some key pieces of information about your attendees that may make all the difference in your fundraising goals. Read on for tips from DonorSearch 's Ryan Woroneicki on how to make prospect research part of your event planning.
The Agitator
NOVEMBER 1, 2015
It’s difficult to realistically imagine many copywriters — or fundraisers who have to double as copywriters — escaping the scourge of the year-end copy review. I’m sure for many the assaults have already begun. But, hopefully, before any fatal damage is done in the review process, you’ll heed this advice from Jeff Brooks. In his remarkable new book How To Turn Your Words Into Money , Jeff wisely alerts fundraisers to the manifestations and dangers of the most sinister word in fundra
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
NOVEMBER 6, 2015
I hope everyone had a great week! Let’s end things on a good note with some Mixed Links… Please take the 2016 Nonprofit Communications Trends Survey. You’ll be invited to a free preview webinar as well as be among the first to receive the Trends Report when we release it January. Want some free stuff? ActionSprout, with support from Facebook, is giving away $2 million in Facebook ad credits to nonprofits.
Care2
NOVEMBER 14, 2015
ActionSprout is teaming up with Facebook, and giving away $2M in Facebook advertising credits to 2,000 nonprofits. About a year ago, Beth Kanter, myself, and a few others in the nonprofit community discussed ways we could lobby Facebook to better support the nonprofit community by offering a Facebook ad grants program similar to Google. Could this new experiment between ActionSprout and Facebook lead to a longer term Facebook ad grants program?
NonProfit Hub
NOVEMBER 3, 2015
Jack Karako is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub. Jack has 30 years’ experience within the charitable and philanthropic industry that he brings to the forefront with IMPACTism. Jack has been a major gifts fundraiser and senior organizational executive working with or consulting to nonprofit and advocacy organizations. __. It won’t be long until people are watching the ball drop and making the New Year’s resolutions that they inevitably won’t keep.
iMarketSmart
NOVEMBER 20, 2015
This drives me crazy. I keep hearing so-called planned giving experts congratulate themselves for getting phenomenal open rates from their e-blasts even though email open rates don’t matter whatsoever. Here are 2 huge reasons why email open rates are meaningless. The technology used to track an “open” uses an HTML IMG tag embedded in the outgoing emails.
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