Selfish Giving
MAY 9, 2012
For Watch City Brewing Company’s owner Jocelyn Hughes and brewers Aaron Mateychuk and Kelly McKnight, it all started with a desire to help a family that had lost its husband, father and provider in a terrible fire. It was December 8, 2011, when firefighter Jon Davies ran into a burning building in Worcester, Massachusetts to search for a missing tenant.
Fundraising Coach
MAY 8, 2012
I normally speak to large groups at conferences or to entire development teams, but I’ve been privileged to do a lot of one-on-one major gift fundraising training this year. One of the most common questions I am getting from nonprofit employees and board members alike is, “Ok, the ‘ Get R.E.A.L. ‘ formula is nice, but when it comes tom making the ask, what do I say?
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Nonprofit Tech for Good
MAY 24, 2012
The eight reports listed below are just a small sampling of the research available to nonprofits about online communications and fundraising, social media, and mobile technology. These reports are, however, some of the most valuable in terms of insight, useful and practical data, and how-to advice. Many of these reports are published on an annual basis, so please be sure to bookmark this post and I’ll keep the the list updated as new reports are released.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
MAY 8, 2012
The Boston Consulting Group has some interesting new research on millennials, including who they are, what they want and how to talk to them. The highlights? Among the most interesting findings is that millennials - who were taught to recycle in kindergarten - are more likely to take certain socially conscious actions during their daily life. They are apt to buy products that support their principles and more likely than other generations to spread the word about a cause campaign or participate
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 1, 2012
Should your nonprofit be using Pinterest? Surely someone in your organization has brought that question up by now, and you, like Andria below, may be wondering just how to use Pinterest effectively, if you use it all. Here’s Andria’s specific question. Hi Kivi, Thank you for all your helpful tools – webinars , blog posts , mixed links , etc.
Fundraiser Ideas
MAY 22, 2012
When I think about how I came up with the skills to motivate my fundraising team, I remember a team I was on years ago. The fundraising leader knew exactly what to do to make us excited, which ended up exciting our contributors. I never felt so inspired and motivated to sell as I did in that fundraising team. Looking back now, there were five reasons why that particular fundraising team motived me more than any others did.
Selfish Giving
MAY 29, 2012
I’m in Chicago today speaking at the 10th Annual Cause Marketing Forum Conference today. My topic? The Lighter Side of Cause Marketing. If you’re at the conference, join me! But if you’re like most people and reading this post from your home or offices, here’s the thumbnail sketch of my speech and my 12 step program to lighten up!
Nonprofit Leadership Zone brings together the best content for advertising professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
MAY 7, 2012
Initially a reluctant blogger, I launched Nonprofit Tech 2.0 in August 2009 and within a few months came to the conclusion that blogging had been the missing piece in my social media campaigns. That first month Nonprofit Tech 2.0 received 13,000 visitors. It was much more traffic than I would have ever thought possible, but thanks to the burgeoning “Nonprofit Organizations” communities that I had built on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, launching a blog was much easier in 2009 than it
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
MAY 23, 2012
My colleague Caryn Stein sent me this great interview with documentary filmmaker and master storyteller Ken Burns. It has three fascinating insights on one of the most critical parts of our jobs in nonprofit marketing, fundraising, or just about any form of selling and persuasion: telling stories. 1. All stories are manipulation. People tell Ken Burns his work moves them to tears.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 29, 2012
Infographics are all the rage, so I asked graphic designer Julia Reich to tell us all she knows about producing them. She’s written a four-part series we’ll share this week on the whys and hows of nonprofit infographics. ~Kivi. Guest Post by Julia Reich of Julia Reich Design. Introduction. Charts. Graphs. Spreadsheets. Most organizations have important data to present to their clients, members, boards of directors, and other audiences.
Fundraiser Ideas
MAY 8, 2012
With over a decade of fundraising experience, I have stumbled over many fundraising mistakes. The great thing about mistakes is that you learn from them, which makes the coming years much more successful. To help you avoid the mistakes I’ve made over the years, I’m identifying some of them here with tips on how avoid them. This way, you can achieve the same success I have in my fundraising without having to deal with the mistakes first.
Selfish Giving
MAY 21, 2012
If I’m The Pinup King , this program between Share Our Strength and Shake Shack is fit for one! The two have teamed up for a cause marketing pinup program called the Great American Shake Sale at ten Shake Shack locations on the East coast. This modern roadside burger stand is committed to raising at least $25,000. I love the pinup SOS and Shake Shack created for this program.
The Agitator
MAY 7, 2012
Probably no direct mail fundraising practice makes me cringe more than the use of premiums in prospecting. My instinctive reaction is to regard them as pure hucksterism — evidence that the sending organization regards its prospects as mindless. More interested in the stamps or coffee mug or plush toy than the real issue or cause. But that’s just my personal reaction, and over the years I’ve disciplined myself to simply grind my teeth when the subject arises … then test an
Nonprofit Tech for Good
MAY 14, 2012
Every second of every day nonprofits around the world are posting status updates, tweets, and messages on social networks attached to avatars with cropped art work and/or unreadable text. Would you ever send out a print or e-mail newsletter, or sign off on a business card with a cropped or visually-defective logo and text so small that it was indecipherable?
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
MAY 29, 2012
Last week, I asked Rohit Bhargava what two pieces of advice he’d give nonprofits about earning trust and inspiring action. He has a new book out called Likeonomics: The unexpected truth behind earning trust, influencing behavior and inspiring action. Here are his tips on telling the truth for good. 1. Tell the truth about yourself : “Help connect donors and supporters with the REAL PEOPLE behind the work that the organization does.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 21, 2012
Wendy Baird. Earlier this month I commented in my newsletter and wrote a blog post about how nonprofits should not be afraid of the “what ifs” out there, prompted by a recent Virginia ruling that liking a Facebook page did not count as protected free speech. The newsletter article and blog post sparked some discussion about what else nonprofits are afraid of.
Fundraiser Ideas
MAY 17, 2012
“Oh no, here she comes with another solicitation for money for a fundraiser.”. Do you often feel as though your friends and family think that when you approach them? If so, you are not alone. I always felt like my friends and family felt obligated to give me money when I was doing a fundraiser. I hated to make them feel that way. I would have rather them be excited to see me coming because of the great products I had for them, or the opportunity for them to support a good cause.
Selfish Giving
MAY 3, 2012
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]. In this episode of CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk to Tonia Zampieri , Mobile Strategist, Atlantic BT about how mobile technology is changing nonprofit communications and cause marketing partnerships. We discuss having separate mobile strategies for smartphones and tablets, and some interesting new research on the connection between emotion and mobile ads.
The Agitator
MAY 10, 2012
Thanks to the Agitator readers who got back to us regarding their mobile reading of our blog. Sounds like plenty of subscribers read via mobile, mostly on their way to work. On all makes of smartphones … with no hassles. Whew! We’ll close out the week with two final bits of mobile news. Nielsen refers to “America’s New Mobile Majority” reporting that 50.4% of US mobile subscribers now own smartphones.
Fundraising Coach
MAY 22, 2012
I am working for a non-profit and recently have begun writing agency grants as well. This organization in the past has never relied on grants, but instead on funding from two fundraisers and the state and federal monies. However, it seems that all of the foundations we are writing to are coming back and saying that they are not funding in the state or we fall outside their parameters or no reason at all.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
MAY 31, 2012
I believe there is time for every one of your dreams. That big project, that bold test, that long-tabled idea—there is time for each if you consciously pick them over the endless office filler of email, politics and drama. Check out this pie from Scott Belsky and Behance - it reinforces to me a very important concept. We have far more control over how we spend our time than we actually exercise.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 22, 2012
I first published these six categories of nonprofit blogs way back in 2008. But I think they still work today, four years later. As I said back then, I certainly think you can mix and match blog types, and I bet most successful blogs do. But I also think that it’s helpful to have one primary direction in mind and to categorize nonprofit blogs based on what your organization hopes to achieve by blogging and how you want your nonprofit to be perceived by your blog’s readers.
Fundraiser Ideas
MAY 1, 2012
You don’t have to be a professional to be successful at fundraising. In fact, some of the best fundraisers are so easy anyone can organize them! The following are 10 good fundraising ideas for the novice fundraiser. 50/50 Raffle – This is number one on our list of 10 good fundraising ideas for novice fundraisers for several reasons, but chief among them is its ease; the only material you really need to get this fundraiser going is a roll of raffle tickets.
Selfish Giving
MAY 10, 2012
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]. In this episode of CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk with Carol “The Mother of Cause Marketing” Cone about a new study Edelman has just released on the state of cause and social purpose in the world. We also ask Carol the question we all want the answer to: How did she get the title Mother of Cause Marketing?
The Agitator
MAY 23, 2012
Here is an excellent article from McKinsey Quarterly on evaluating an organization’s overall marketing effectiveness … that is, getting more bang for the marketing buck. McKinsey boils it down to asking five questions. Or more accurately, five lines of inquiry, each with a host of questions. If you have reason to be taking an overall evaluation of your fundraising program, these five ‘questions’ provide a pretty decent framework: 1.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
MAY 7, 2012
Until recently, I have gone to exceptional lengths to avoid getting video recorded. I have always felt very uncomfortable in front of a camera and even more so watching myself recorded. I’m usually the person behind the lens. Know what I mean? In fact, one of the reasons that I have pursued a career in nonprofit technology, ironically, is that I can do it in solitude and mostly in the comfort of my own home.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
MAY 28, 2012
I’m not talking about “like” as in Facebook “like.” I mean likeability. According to Rohit Bhargava , (who has a new book out called Likeonomics: The unexpected truth behind earning trust, influencing behavior and inspiring action ), people decide which organizations to trust, what advice to follow, and who should be a partner based on likeability.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 16, 2012
Last month, I highlighted some benchmarks in both social media and email marketing that were released in recent reports so that you could see how your nonprofit stacked up. Today, we are going to look at online fundraising. Using the 2012 Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study by Convio and the 2012 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study published by M+R and NTEN, we see that online fundraising continues to grow in importance, especially to smaller nonprofits.
Fundraiser Ideas
MAY 23, 2012
Thanks to the power of the Internet, you can now raise funds 24 hours a day. For this reason, a fundraising website is a powerful tool all nonprofits should consider. Following are 10 things you need to include when you build your fundraising website. Make donation buttons or links easy to find. Make it as easy as possible for people to give you their money.
Selfish Giving
MAY 16, 2012
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]. In this episode of CauseTalk Radio , Megan and I talk with Phil “The Godfather of Cause Marketing” McCarty about the signature cause marketing program he helped create, St. Jude’s Thanks and Giving. Phil also offers some great advice and insights for nonprofits that want to realize their own Thanks and Giving aspirations.
The Agitator
MAY 21, 2012
There’s been a ton of local coverage of the Scripps Howard study of IRS-reported (or not!) fundraising expenses by large US nonprofits. None of it flattering to the fundraising ‘industry’ Scripps Howard looked at the most recent IRS Form 990′s for the nearly 38,000 nonprofits and charities that raise at least $1 million per year, and found that 41% of them told the government they raised their funds at no cost.
Getting Attention
MAY 22, 2012
( Watch author interview video : Social media experts Melanie Mathos and Chad Norman share their recommendations to power your social media activities, especially useful for small- and medium-sized organizations.). There are two major paralysis points that detour orgs from putting social media tools to work most productively. Either you have: Been experimenting (sometimes for a few years at this point) with what you think are the right tools—with some successes and some flat lines—but haven̵
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
MAY 25, 2012
Check out this fantastic video on the story wars. Here’s the idea: We shape our understanding of the world through mythical stories. But our world has grown complex, and the myths that once served us well do not always provide the insights and guidance we need to navigate our world. Enter marketers, who have become our modern-day myth makers, for good or for ill.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
MAY 7, 2012
Eileen Fisher. Annual reports – when they are done right – can be a great marketing tool showcasing your nonprofit. I cover nonprofit annual reports quite a bit, and thought I would share how this nonprofit went about creating both a print and online version of their annual report. This step by step description will give you some new ideas, save you time and money, and take some of the guesswork out of designing yours should you decide you like the approach, which converts the report
Mission Minded
MAY 23, 2012
We’ve worked recently with several clients whose organizations were going strong, but that nevertheless knew that it was time to make their brand even stronger. With time and money at a premium, why would they decide this? Because brands that are “just fine” won’t hold up if the going gets rough. Your organization needs [.].
Selfish Giving
MAY 15, 2012
The Six Figure Cause Marketing Program – the most comprehensive and successful cause marketing training program on the planet – returns May 29th as a two-part webinar at CharityHowTo.com (SG.com’s exclusive webinar partner). All the information about the program can be found here. This program has everything you need to create and execute successful pinup programs with local business partners.
The Agitator
MAY 15, 2012
The mobile phone has become the ultimate response device. Donors can respond instantly to stimulus from any other medium – a TV commercial to a billboard to your fundraising letter or email appeal. Considering the ascendancy of mobile devices, David Berkowitz writing in Social Media Insider proposes “Death to Internet Week” (which I gather is this week).
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