Here’s a summary of recent articles and blogs related to fundraising and nonprofit organizations. As always, please forward this to others who might benefit from the information. Thanks again for reading!

AWARENESS / MARKETING

•   On Stories: Maggie Carroll & Pixar What happens when you give a bunch of folk video cameras? Maggie Carroll shows how through participatory media your stories reach many people. The audience plays an active role in collecting, reporting, and disseminating content. By Tom Peterson
• Keep Your Promise to Email Subscribers This fresh approach to creating the most effective email campaigns possible is a priceless reminder built on famed psychologist Abe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Although created for for-profit marketers, is equally relevant for us cause communicators and fundraisers. By Nancy Schwartz
• The magic of the welcome email for new subscribers When someone signs up for your email newsletter, or anything else you offer via email, are you grabbing the best opportunity to get that person engaged? According to the Emma Blog, the average open rate for welcome emails is 50%. Not bad, huh? By Jeff Brooks
• 6 Dumb Reasons for Not Sending a Charity Newsletter Let’s tear down some common barriers. The ones that stand between your organization and creation of a newsletter that improves retention, thereby boosting the lifetime value of your donor list. By Tom Ahern

WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING

• '100 Women' prove how a little time and money can achieve great things What an impact you can make for just a little money and time!” exclaimed Marilyn Groves, one of the founding members of the local chapter of “100 Women Who Care,” one of more than 50 chapters in this country and others operating on a concept that is simultaneously simple and effective. By Kevin Leininger
• MSU dog rescue program achieves fundraising goal What began in 2007 as a small student effort at Mississippi State's College of Veterinary Medicine now is a highly organized program that has saved more than 3,200 dogs in Mississippi. By Karen Templeton

FUNDRAISING TECHNIQUES

• What can make or break your year-end fundraising appeal? There are lots of ways to create a killer year-end fundraising appeal. And there also plenty of ways to ruin it! Where’s the emotional hook in your fundraising appeal? By Gail Perry
•  Include Major Gifts in Your Year-End Fundraising in 5 Easy Steps Time is running out if you want to raise major gifts for your organization in time for year-end. It's not too late to get some major gifts in time for your annual fund. By Amy Eisenstein
• Creating More Donor-Centered Thank You Letters: One Nonprofit’s Success With so many nonprofits getting thank you letters wrong, writing a great one that focuses on the donor and not your organization is a great marketing and fundraising strategy. By Kivi Leroux Miller
•  The secret behind year-end fundraising fall appeals Fall is upon us and that means year-end giving is right around the corner. As a broad generalization, I recommend sending a mailing: now (late Aug/early Sept) in mid-November in mid-December By Marc A. Pitman

FUNDRAISING PLANNING

• The Rest Of The Retention Story – Part 4 Mastering ‘retention’ requires hard work:  research, organization-wide involvement across departments, and a willingness to swim against the conventional currents in the Sea of Sameness that is drowning our sector. By Roger Craver
• Why Some Nonprofits Always Hit Their Fundraising Goals Over the years, I have worked with a number of nonprofits that always hit their fundraising goals, and I have noticed that they all have 5 things in common: 1. They set deadlines and responsibilities. 2. They focus on individual donors. By Joe Garecht
• 12 Ways Your Fundraising Data Can Go Bad Most of you who work with nonprofit databases and CRMs probably recall the data conversion as an unpleasant experience. Honestly, with most of the stories we hear about previous conversions, we would have to agree. Luckily, that is not always the case. By Jay Love

SOCIAL MEDIA / ONLINE

• Nonprofits and Content Strategy: The Wisdom of the Network  Although I sometimes hear from colleagues that “Facebook is personal and fun stuff” or just a lot of skepticism about how a particular social networking platform can provide professional value, it isn’t about the platform.  It is about how you cultivate and develop your network. By Beth Kanter
• Three Ways Crowdfunding Can Support Traditional Fundraising Campaigns Mark Feinberg is a founder and CEO of Uruut, a new kind of crowdfunding built specifically with nonprofits in mind. Through Uruut, Mark is able to blend his business, technology, investment and entrepreneurial background with his passion for helping nonprofits. By Joanne Fritz
•  Facebook tweaks news feed to spotlight more quality content Facebook recently updated its news feed algorithm to feature organic content that’s more relevant to each user. The news feed is where the vast majority of the action happens. So your organization should take steps to make sure you're showing up in the new feeds of your fans. By John Haydon

LEADING A NONPROFIT

• Overhead: The Good and Bad Last Friday, Gene was on Nonprofit Radio discussing examples of good and bad overhead following host Tony Martignetti’s interview with the three signatories to The Overhead Myth letter.  The growing rejection of the myth that overhead is a good way to measure a charitable organization’s value is a promisng trend. By Michele Berger
• Does Social Responsibility Increase Financial Performance? Companies approach Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in many different ways. Some take a broad approach by making donations to a number of different causes, others tackle one specific problem (such as fuel emissions or poverty), still others integrate CSR into all aspects of their operations. By Ted Cooper
• Is your money story holding back your fundraising?  It might sound like a silly question. How can a professional fundraiser be afraid to ask for money? It is their job. Yet, time and time I again I see professional fundraisers and even executive directors avoid asking for money. That’s because asking for money is about more than seeking out a donation. By Sandy Rees
• New Charity Navigator Rating System Has Nonprofits Scrambling  Soon all of the nonprofits that Charity Navigator rates will have to do more than that to get good marks. It will also have to show that it measures whether its programs actually work. By Suzanne Perry