Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 13, 2011
I love Christmastime! There’s classic music like Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer , time with friends and family (minus grandma), lots of delicious baked goods from my wife and, yes, presents! I’ve already gotten some great gifts: five cause marketing promotions that keep me believing in the spirit of giving that happens when company and cause work together.
Fundraising Coach
DECEMBER 2, 2011
I love William Goldman’s classic The Princess Bride , and the movie of the same name. And as a dad, I’m proud that my kids can quote portions. (Not as much as me, but I’ve seen the movie a few dozen more times.). But did you know there are nonprofit lessons embedded in the story? Here are three I’ve identified: Praise everyone–even those you’re fighting against.
Get Fully Funded
DECEMBER 15, 2011
One person can make a big difference in the lives of others. You know that. You see it every day in your nonprofit. Today I want to share a story about being on the receiving end of the difference one person makes. If you’ve followed me for very long, you know I live on a little farm with horses in my backyard. We LOVE our horses. They’re part of our family and we spend time with them every day (even if we don’t ride nearly as much as we’d like).
Fundraiser Ideas
DECEMBER 6, 2011
Christmas is a time of giving. It’s the time of year that people are most likely to open their hearts and their wallets. The following Christmas fundraising ideas are designed to not only help your organization raise much-needed funds but also spread holiday cheer in the process. Sell Christmas trees. Partner with a local tree-grower and borrow a section of a parking lot from a neighborhood business to set up your Christmas tree lot.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
DECEMBER 12, 2011
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the newly released book Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits. Though most nonprofits in the United States, Canada and the U.K. are already using social media, many have not yet taken all of the steps below to ensure that their social media campaigns are built on a solid foundation meant to produce ROI (Return on Investment).
Mission Minded
DECEMBER 12, 2011
If you’re like us, you’re watching more and more television programming on the Internet via sites like Hulu, rather than traditional networks. And you’ve probably noticed that many of the advertisements — particularly for older programs — are from nonprofit organizations. Being the savvy nonprofit marketer you are, you’ve probably asked yourself, “How do I get [.].
Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 19, 2011
The Arby’s Foundation , the giving arm of Arby’s Restaurant Group , the second largest sandwich shop chain in the United States, did something last week that rivals the good deeds of Santa Claus himself. It gave Share Our Strength’s (SOS) No Kid Hungry campaign $2 million dolllars. Arby’s customers kicked in most of it. $1.7 million to be exact.
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The Agitator
DECEMBER 19, 2011
This is the first of two posts on the year now ending. Today, a summary of giving for 2011 and some trends in direct mail. Tomorrow, the 2011 Pulse of Agitator readers. As we head for 2011’s fundraising finish line The Atlas of Giving on Friday reported that overall giving this year will finish 7.4% ahead of last year. Key takeaways from the Atlas of Giving November report: In terms of sectors, ‘Education’ was the biggest gainer (up 9.3%) and ‘Religion’ posted the greate
Fundraiser Ideas
DECEMBER 27, 2011
Undertaking a mission can be one of the most fulfilling trips in your lifetime; however, many mission trip participants worry about funding their humanitarian and charitable work. The following are 10 mission trip fundraising ideas that can help make your mission dreams a reality: Business sponsorships. Visit local businesses and ask them to sponsor a portion of your mission trip, such as one day’s worth of expenses.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
DECEMBER 8, 2011
Kristina Leroux. A few Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com readers have asked about QR codes so I thought it would be a good idea to get my assistant, Kristina, to explain what they are and how you can use them. ~Kivi. Guest Post by Kristina Leroux of Kristina Leroux.com. QR Codes have actually been around for a while. They just took a while to catch on here in the U.S.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
DECEMBER 26, 2011
Through March 20, 2012, DIOSA Communications is offering all social media and mobile technology webinars at discounted rates (view current webinar schedule ). You can purchase a combination of registrations for webinars already scheduled and/or credits for webinars that are not yet scheduled. Please note that all eight webinars rotate on a regular basis, so if current dates do not fit your schedule you can still take advantage of this special by purchasing webinar credits for future dates.
Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 27, 2011
Here are my picks for the best local cause marketing programs of 2011. My criteria for picking these promotions wasn’t based on dollars raised, but on how well they represented the potential for local cause marketing. In short, these programs inspired me and made me proud to be a cause marketer. I hope they do the same for you! If you know of other local programs that should be added to my list – good or bad – include them in the comments section of this post.
Fundraising Coach
DECEMBER 29, 2011
Did you watch CNN this morning? It reported Paul Allen’s stats that Google+ growth is exceeding expectations. According to him, Google is now over 62 million users and adding about 625,000 new users every day. His prediction? Google+ will have over 400 million users by the end of 2012. 400 million users in a year in a half. Don’t ditch Facebook.
The Agitator
DECEMBER 12, 2011
The term ‘multi-channel integration’ has garnered more ink, conference bookings and webinar time this year than any other concept in our trade. But … the more attention it gets, the more I keep wondering: If so many are touting the glory of this new fundraising heaven, why are so few organizations actually making it through the pearly gates of multi-channel integration to receive its heavenly rewards?
Get Fully Funded
DECEMBER 26, 2011
As we look to a new year, it’s time to start thinking about what 2012 might hold for us. Will the new year hold more of the same or will things be different? I don’t think it really matters what the new year brings. The more important question to ask is ‘what will you do?’ Over the past few years, many nonprofits have faced a withering economy, nervous Boards, and more demand for services.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
DECEMBER 5, 2011
I’ve never liked fundraising thermometers. For me, unless you are fundraising to increase global warming or to pay for a new heating system in your building, temperature rising in a thermometer really doesn’t make much sense as a visual for achieving fundraising goals. Sure, most people understand what you are saying, because fundraising thermometers have become so cliché, but I don’t think that’s a good enough reason to stick with bad artwork.
Getting Attention
DECEMBER 27, 2011
No matter what your holiday is (or isn’t), things do slow down this time of year — which is a nice change from the increasingly hectic path most people’s lives seem to be taking. One of wonderful things I find about that “white space,” is that it gives me time to vision, plan and dream. If I make sure to punctuate my year with enough of these spaces (still working on that), then I’m fueled and focused during those more hectic times.
Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 6, 2011
Radio Shack's "So Right" Foursquare badge for the holidays. Radio Shack reminds me of a lot of the local, scrappy nonprofits I work with. The Shack is big – nearly 4,500 company-operated stores – but it has a local feel to it. Maybe it’s because you’ll find them in local malls, strip malls and downtown business districts.
Fundraising Coach
DECEMBER 15, 2011
One of your 2012 New Years resolutions should be to get more media for your nonprofit. No matter how big your marketing budget is, chances are great that you could use more exposure. More postitive exposure! I know for nonprofits, it’s much easier to fundraise when the organization is getting positive press. And it’s great for donors to see people from your organization included among the experts quoted in an article.
The Agitator
DECEMBER 8, 2011
Apropos of our conversation the past two days regarding the downside of expecting or making donors think about their impulse to give, check out this article from NY Times yesterday: Charity Campaigns Try Gentle Approach to Get Shoppers to Spend on Good Deeds. In the campaigns discussed, groups like the American Red Cross and Oxfam America are attempting to leverage the holiday impulse to ‘give’ (i.e., emotion at work) and channel it into donations.
Get Fully Funded
DECEMBER 21, 2011
“All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, and I promise you something great will come of it.” This is a line from a new movie called “We Bought a Zoo.” I saw the preview weeks ago and I can’t get that phrase out of my head. Maybe because I’m wretling with a few fears right now and I keep thinking about what difference 20 seconds of insane courage would make.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
DECEMBER 12, 2011
The new Money for Good II Study by Hope Consulting and GuideStar has a few interesting findings about the kind of information that donors want to hear from nonprofits. While you are probably used to lots of scrutiny from your foundation grantmakers, only a third of individual donors research organizations before giving. People who advise donors on giving, and those foundation funders, research almost every donation they make.
Getting Attention
DECEMBER 19, 2011
Guest blogger Joe Waters writes on cause marketing and social media at Selfishgiving.com , and is the co-author of Cause Marketing For Dummies. I’m all about the food truck right now. We have a number of food trucks here in Boston, and I just finished watching The Great Food Truck Race on The Food Network. I’m fascinated by the phenomenon and impressed by how food trucks market themselves via social media and other creative approaches.
Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 21, 2011
This is a guest post from Ephraim Gopin , a Social Media and Fundraising consultant. Check out his blog here or connect on Twitter. In the business world, many companies engage in Competitive Intelligence (CI) , which means they use numerous tools to find out everything they can about competitors. A growing trend in CI research is following social media outlets.
Fundraising Coach
DECEMBER 27, 2011
Nonprofits, businesses, and geeks alike were thrilled when Google+ finally rolled out business pages back in November 2011. But one of the huge limitations of pages were the limit of only one admin per page. Any time a business or nonprofit wanted to post something, it had to go through the person who first created the page. Talk about a communications bottleneck!
The Agitator
DECEMBER 6, 2011
Thanks to the Boston Globe for this excellent overview article examining the research behind giving … Why we give to charity. The bottomline won’t come as a surprise to experienced fundraisers. As the article summarizes: “… giving is driven by emotional motives, rooted in deep impulses, cognitive biases, and even our own selfish needs.
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
DECEMBER 13, 2011
Silverpop has a good white paper on where digital marketing is headed in 2012. Here is my take on three of the key trends that nonprofit marketing folks should watch. 1. MORE PERSONALIZED THAN EVER: The more we know about people and their behavior, the better we are able to target them when and where they’re most likely to be receptive to our message, with a message tailored to their interests. 2.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
DECEMBER 15, 2011
I’ll be sharing nonprofit marketing trends for 2012 next week when we release the 2012 Nonprofit Communications Trends report to those who have requested it , but what about those really big marketing trends that are going to influence our work for years to come? I’ve identified three of them in this short (10 slide) presentation for you (I sent this to the subscribers of our Weekly Tips e-newsletter last week).
Getting Attention
DECEMBER 7, 2011
Relationships are built person-to-person, not person-to-organization. So put your people forward! Pithy, punchy staff bios–with photos–to introduce prospects to your organization at a personal, emotional level, motivating them to dig more deeply into the details of what your nonprofit has to offer or how they can get involved. Here are some well-tested guidelines for crafting bios that will help audiences connect with your organization: ( Read the full article for a more in-depth guide to crafti
Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 14, 2011
Two weeks ago I wrote about Maggie Keenan , a graduate of my Six Figure Cause Marketing Program and happy owner of Cause Marketing for Dummies. She’s launched a pinup program with her KFC and Dairy Queen stores in southeast Georgia that’s doing very well. I’ve asked Maggie to stop by and update us in the comments section of this post.
Fundraising Coach
DECEMBER 10, 2011
Here’s a video of my “Google+ for Nonprofits” session from BlogWorld Expo in Los Angeles last month. There were 2 sessions about Google+ there: Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan did one; I did the other. This was presented days before Google opened up pages for brands. The information presented here is still relevant but now there is even more nonprofits can do.
The Agitator
DECEMBER 18, 2011
A couple of small items caught my attention lately regarding online fundraising, mostly because they re-raised in my mind the question of what actually constitutes ‘online fundraising’ One was a short blog post by Jeff Brooks, Why it’s hard to raise funds online. Citing Smart Insights Digital Marketing blog, Jeff says it takes: 3 seconds to get their attention with your subject line and the from line. 5 seconds , once they’ve opened your message, to draw them in. 7 second
Nonprofit Marketing Blog
DECEMBER 3, 2011
This week, Hope Consulting and GuideStar released the second part of the Money for Good research. In their research, they have identified six common types of donor motivation: What do all of these have in common? Two things: Emotion and impact. If nothing else, remember this: Speak to the heart and show how you make a difference. You’ll appeal to just about everyone.
Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
DECEMBER 22, 2011
I released the 2012 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report yesterday to everyone who requested an advance copy. I’ll talk a lot more about the findings in January, but here are a few highlights for you. Only ¼ of nonprofits (24%) have a written and approved marketing plan for 2012. 59% have a written plan or informal notes for themselves only, not formally approved by leadership.
Care2
DECEMBER 21, 2011
I love to read non-fiction books and try to review them regularly on my blog ! A couple of nonprofit and social media books that I reviewed on my blog include Twitter for Good by Claire Diaz Ortiz and Welcome to the Fifth Estate by Geoff Livingston. There are also a few terrific books that are not specifically targeted to nonprofits, but still worth reading.
Selfish Giving
DECEMBER 2, 2011
This bumper courtesy of my friends at Cauzoom. Support local causes and here’s why all cause marketing is local! Have a great weekend!
Getting Attention
DECEMBER 4, 2011
You provided such incredible nonprofit marketing wisdom when I asked you last year (thank you), that I’m back for more! I’d like to end the year by asking you to respond to a simple but vital question: What’s the biggest marketing lesson you learned (or re-learned) in 2011? It could be anything tactical or strategic, simple or complex.
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