Nonprofit Tech for Good

DECEMBER 30, 2015

Cause awareness and giving days can be very powerful for online fundraising. The real-time, in the moment nature of social media increases the likelihood that donors will be inspired to give to your nonprofit on cause awareness and giving days provided that your nonprofit knows how to promote them effectively. The first step is to decide which days to build a campaign upon and add them to your editorial calendar.

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Children Poverty Health Universities 75

Fundraising Coach

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Don't let this happen to you! Last night, my wife and I were doing some year-end giving. We went to a nonprofit we love and found this on their donation page: Where there should have been a giving form, there was just a line of code. No way to give online at all. Don't let this happen to you! This isn't the time of year to have a broken donation link!

Nonprofits 72

Nonprofits Communication 72

The Agitator

DECEMBER 3, 2015

It’s been quite a week for watching the philanthropic parade go by — featuring gifts in size from one extreme to another and given through the widest variety of methods and channels in history. From the birth of Baby Max Zuckerberg and her parents’ $45 billion gift in her honor to be used toward “improving this world for he next generation” … to the seasonal appearance of the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle on malls and street corners (and online ) … to the record-setting results of #Giv

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Fundraising Fundraising 66

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 16, 2015

As we mentioned last week, first-time donor retention is a measly 19%. You can do so much better with just a few small changes. Start with the first thing your donors get after giving – the thank you! Last week we gave you 5 fresh ideas for thank yous. Today we give you 4 more: 1. Record a Video Message. One of my all-time favorite thank-you emails came from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with a link to a short video.

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Retention Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 65

iMarketSmart

DECEMBER 4, 2015

Before we get into these 7 major principles for major gift fundraising (including planned gifts), let’s review some neat stats first. In the United States, 72% of gifts come from individuals and wealthy individuals are responsible for most of those gifts. According to figures from the Giving Foundation and the Fundraising Effectiveness Project , 83% of the dollars from individuals came from just 12% of the people and 70% came from just 3%.

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NonProfit Hub

DECEMBER 14, 2015

During the holidays, many people celebrate by getting together with family and friends, eating too much, exchanging gifts and drinking lots of hot cocoa. In the nonprofit world, the end of the year usually also means sending a fundraising appeal letter to your supporters. Before you fire off another letter asking people to support your nonprofit, review these tips to increase giving rates and make your constituents feel more like part of your mission.

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Fundraising Fundraising Children Communication 65

Nonprofit Tech for Good

DECEMBER 13, 2015

Unlike the.ORG domain which can be registered by any individual or brand (but mostly registered by nonprofits and socially conscious for-profits), the new.NGO and.ONG domains can only be registered by nonprofits, charities, NGOs (non-governmental organizations), and ONGs (non-governmental organizations in a romance-based language ). Think about that for a second or two.

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Non-Profits Poverty Children Education 62

The Agitator

DECEMBER 20, 2015

A perennial question in fundraising shops between now and the end of January will be, “Did we make the numbers for 2015?” Regardless of the answer, there are several questions that are far more important for the future of your organization, and there’s no better time than in these closing days of 2015 to ask and answer them. The three most important questions: “What is our retention rate?

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Fundraising Fundraising Retention Values 65

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 9, 2015

Donors are Testing Nonprofits, and Nonprofits Are Failing. According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, first-time donor retention is a measly 19%. While repeat donor retention is much better at 63%, that still means 1 in 3 current donors don’t give again. Overall, the median donor retention rate is just 43%. It’s not a huge mystery as to why.

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iMarketSmart

DECEMBER 2, 2015

I’m worried about fundraisers who get too excited about Giving Tuesday. Yesterday I received Giving Tuesday emails from a bunch of charities and I was surprised at how self-centered and disrespectful they were. That led me to wonder if December might be when nonprofits end up losing a ton of donors as a result of their abuse of the permission bestowed upon them by their donors (investors).

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Values Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 58

Ann Green

DECEMBER 3, 2015

Many of you are working hard on your year-end appeal. You may have also participated in #GivingTuesday. If you think you can rest easy after the fundraising season is over, think again. Your work has just begun. You need to communicate with your donors at least once or twice a month throughout the year. If you’re getting butterflies in your stomach wondering how you’re going to pull this off, then you need a communications calendar (also known as an editorial calendar).

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Communication Recruitment Homelessness Collaborations 49

NonProfit Hub

DECEMBER 2, 2015

Behind involved, dedicated and committed board of directors, your nonprofit can achieve great things. However, when board members aren’t all pulling their weight, they can sink an organization. When the bad outweighs the good, Simone Joyaux , who has worked as a consultant with boards of directors for the past 27 years, said nonprofits can’t be afraid to remove a nonprofit board members, especially when they are ineffective.

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Nonprofits Recruitment Philanthropy Health 53

Care2

DECEMBER 31, 2015

A few days ago Ev Williams, one of the cofounders of Twitter and the CEO of Medium. said the future of media lies in platforms like Twitter, Facebook and, Medium. “There’s going to be a convergence of distribution points for media,” Williams said. “And it’s going to make less and less sense to publish on the Web.”. Of course social media giant founders like Williams and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, would like to see this convergence happen, as it would greatly benefit their platforms.

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The Agitator

DECEMBER 22, 2015

With all your online solicitation programs firing away like an AK-47 on auto-pilot until January 1, I don’t think fundraisers are doing much heavy lifting today or tomorrow … unless it’s setting big presents under the Xmas tree. But maybe — over some spiked punch at the office Christmas party — you are contemplating and chatting about your year’s performance — yours individually and your organization’s.

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Fundraising Fundraising 60

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 15, 2015

Controlling your own calendar and to-do list is essential to being a CALM not BUSY communications director. Of course, you don’t have complete control, but I bet you have more than you think you do — or can get more control with some practice and discipline at saying “No” to new requests for your time and attention. The problem is that saying “No” is hard!

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Communication Activism Nonprofits 53

iMarketSmart

DECEMBER 9, 2015

For decades, it’s been abundantly clear that a very small number of people have been and continue to be responsible for most of the money charities collect each year. . In 2014, just 50 people in the United States were responsible for almost 3% ($10.2 billion) of all charitable giving according to figures compiled by Giving USA and the Huffington Post.

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Philanthropy Associations Technology Fundraising 53

Ann Green

DECEMBER 10, 2015

For the last couple of years, I’ve done my year-end giving online on #GivingTuesday. The day before I purchased Christmas gifts on Cyber Monday, and there wasn’t much difference in the process. Is it #GivingTuesday or Asking Tuesday? On #GivingTuesday I was inundated with emails asking for donations, just like the day before I was barraged with emails from Amazon and Zappos.

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NonProfit Hub

DECEMBER 21, 2015

Gretchen Barry is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub. Gretchen has been a leader in corporate communications and marketing for 20+ years. She has published numerous articles related to charitable giving and is a passionate advocate for public schools. Gretchen has donated her time to numerous causes including Relay for Life, Girls on the Run, Rebuilding Together and just recently became involved with the local land trust.

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Psychology Nonprofits Recruitment Universities 52

Care2

DECEMBER 12, 2015

Does your nonprofit use ecommerce as a big part of its fundraising strategy? Then you need to explore the “Buy” button from Google, Facebook and Pinterest. Google Buy Button. As you know Google searches are a significant source of traffic. Google’s “Buy” button makes Google even more powerful. Here’s how. When users go to Google to search for your organization’s product, Google generates a search results page displaying your product.

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Production Nonprofits Fundraising Fundraising 53

The Agitator

DECEMBER 9, 2015

According to his publisher Jerry Panas’ ASKING is America’s top selling fundraising book. Aimed primarily at board members the book is designed to provide helpful advice and motivation to ask for a gift while taking the fear out of the process. And, according to the publisher, all in a 59 minute read. So it figures that in the course of his guiding, goading, and persuading board members to seek funds for the organizations they serve, Jerry has heard a lifetime’s supply of excuses from board mem

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Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 14, 2015

When I added the Nonprofit Communications Confidential aspect to our Day in the Life Series, I wanted you to have a place where you could share your frustrations about your job, not only so you would have a place to vent, but also so we could understand the biggest issues you’re facing and help come up with some solutions. But then I thought maybe we shouldn’t just focus on the negative, and created a second form for those of you with healthy work relationships.

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Communication Nonprofits Management Marketing 45

Nonprofit Tech for Good

DECEMBER 7, 2015

Enset , the world’s only nonprofit domain registrar, is offering a 50% discount on the new.NGO and.ONG domains launched in May exclusively for NGOs, ONGs, nonprofits, and charities. To see if your first choice of domains is still available, search enset.ngo and enter coupon code: TECH4Good at checkout to receive the 50% discount. The average price is $59.99 thus only $30 with the discount and that’s for both a.NGO and.ONG domain because domains are sold as a bundle.

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Getting Attention

DECEMBER 15, 2015

I relish the roll out of trends at the end of each year, digesting them in the context of what’s working for our clients and passing on what matters most to nonprofit marketers. I’ve seen typically broad-ranging predictions for 2016, but these two constants central to our work have been heralded by multiple sources: Data, drawn from all channels, will continue to grow exponentially in volume.

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Marketing Marketing Production Nonprofits 41

NonProfit Hub

DECEMBER 9, 2015

Move over, Millennials. There’s a new generation in town and they are eager to innovate in our communities. Generation Z was recently named the Founders generation by MTV. No matter whether you refer to them as Gen Z, iGen, Post-Millennials or Founders, they’re moving into the workplace and will be a valuable asset to nonprofits. The key is for nonprofits to identify the Founders’ unique traits and engage them in ways that tap into their individual work ethics.

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Ethics Nonprofits Culture Communication 49

EveryAction

DECEMBER 22, 2015

‘Tis the season for trend forecasting! Recently, we took a break from reflecting on an exciting year here at EveryAction to look ahead to 2016 and the trends that will shape the nonprofit sector. Spoiler: there's a lot to look forward to, especially in digital.

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Nonprofits 40

The Agitator

DECEMBER 2, 2015

When I last looked, the nonprofit sector seemed to be struggling mightily, but not terribly successfully, to make a better world. What’s a ‘better world’? I’d say one devoid of interpersonal violence of any kind and one at peace, not war, with nature. I could be content with that. So forgive me for being a bit bemused at a headline and article I read in today’s online Chronicle of Philanthropy … Using For-Profits to Funnel Big Sums to Charities Raises Transpar

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Philanthropy Nonprofits Nonprofit Management Management 60

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 17, 2015

In October National Public Radio released an interesting analysis of how the length of lead-in text affects post performance on Facebook. The organization pulled all its link posts from the last six months — over 3,000 in all — and analyzed post performance in groups of 40-character increments. On the first look, NPR found that shorter posts — about 40 characters — DID perform better when measured by click-through rate.

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Culture Values Communication Marketing 43

Nonprofit Tech for Good

DECEMBER 9, 2015

Nonprofit Tech for Good is based in St. Louis, Missouri and the vast majority of our webinars are scheduled to accommodate nonprofits on the East Coast of the United States and Canada and Western Europe. All webinars are presented live and not recorded ( for good reasons☻) , so nonprofits in Australia and Oceania are often unable to attend live unless they are willing to wake up very early.

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Getting Attention

DECEMBER 1, 2015

Today’s the day: #GivingTuesday 2015. “We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. [Today], we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back.” Whether your organization is full into Giving Tuesday, or you’re watching from the sidelines to determine whether it’s right for you, there’s lots to learn by noting what participating organizations are doing.Even if you ultimately decide to maintain 100% focus on year-end, it’s im

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Participation and motivation Retention Foundations Communication 40

Care2

DECEMBER 30, 2015

As communicators, we are passionate about the work of our organizations. We dedicate time to crafting the right message, honing our target audience, and getting the message out.

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Communication Fundraising Fundraising 46

EveryAction

DECEMBER 28, 2015

What a year! With just 5 days to go in 2015, let's look back on the year. We saw the introduction of.ngo domains, the first Star Wars film in a decade, the dress that divided the world, and the biggest #GivingTuesday yet.

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Nonprofits 40

The Agitator

DECEMBER 31, 2015

We join with our Circulation Manager in wishing you a Happy New Year accompanied by all our best wishes that your Resolutions make it through the next 365 days. Which brings us to last of The Agitator’s Top Ten for 2015. Yes, we’re carrying these last two into this first day of 2016 because we’re hoping you’ll take them into account when drawing up your Resolution List for 2016.

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Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

DECEMBER 10, 2015

Read virtually anything on productivity, and you’ll come across the concept of chunking out your time: working on one specific thing at a specific time. The idea is to avoid unproductive multitasking and always letting the urgent overtake the important. But how you actually do that can take lots of different forms, including. Calendar Time Blocking where your to-do list is moved into your calendar based on how long each task takes.

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BDO

DECEMBER 23, 2015

The Protecting Americans From Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the Act), which was signed by the president on December 18, 2015, contains many provisions that directly affect tax-exempt organizations.

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Nonprofits 40

Getting Attention

DECEMBER 8, 2015

Welcome back to our new Do-It-Differently series , featuring fresh ideas from the field. Thanks to today’s idea generator—Todd McPherson, development director, IFCS. We revised our tone and content to be more direct, frank and engaging—like a one-to-one conversation: For example, we’re showing results of donor generosity (rather than talking about them) and sharing organizational changes in progress. .

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Participation and motivation Organizational Change Activism Marketing 40

iMarketSmart

DECEMBER 23, 2015

Each year I like to review which blog posts were viewed most by my subscribers (and which were viewed least). Here are the top 5: 1. 6 “Ins” and “Outs” for Your Planned Gift Marketing in 2015. 2. 7 Solid Reasons Why You Should Kill Your Printed and Electronic Planned Giving Newsletter. 3. 4 Cute Cartoons About Planned Giving (Sort Of). 4.

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Education Education Values Marketing 40

EveryAction

DECEMBER 22, 2015

‘Tis the season for trend forecasting! Recently, we took a break from reflecting on an exciting year here at EveryAction to look ahead to 2016 and the trends that will shape the nonprofit sector. Spoiler: there's a lot to look forward to, especially in digital.

Nonprofits 40

Nonprofits 40