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!
FUNDRAISING
- Hope Is Not A Strategy You want me to raise HOW MUCH? It’s your last chance to get organized before the busy fall fundraising season! Do you have a realistic fundraising plan for the coming year? by Gail Perry
- How are you managing the Donor Journey? A charity should never view support from a donor as ‘static’. Our job is to ‘move donors’, constantly building engagement and hopefully growing the value of that donors support both financially and in terms of their connection to our brand and cause. by Tony Elischer
- After the Ask: The Follow Up-Plan Congradulations — you’ve made the ask! Now it’s time for a more thorough discussion on how to follow up to make sure you actually get the promised gift. by Amy Eisenstein
- Watch the fundraising metrics that matter I always get asked, "What percentage of response should I be getting?" I never have an answer, because that's one of those "How long is a piece of string?" questions. There's no simple, universally true answer that's at all meaningful. by Jeff Brooks
- Motivational Monday: The choices you make What actions will you take today that will put you on the road to fundraising success? It’s all about the choices you make each and every day. Choose wisely. by Sandy Rees
MARKETING
- How to Translate Your Program Into a Compelling Video Guest blogger Annie Escobar has created over 60 videos for over 30 purpose-driven organizations. When an organization comes to me and says, “We want a video about our program,” I always cringe a little bit. by Nancy Schwartz
- Can I Register a Hashtag? Hashtags are a great way to organize your social media updates and to find others who are talking about the same things you are. Here’s a little hashtag #background. by Kristina Leroux Miller
- How Millennials are Like School Bullies – And Why You Can’t Ignore Them There are more than 80 million Millennials in America. The 2013 Millennial Impact Report explains how non-profits and membership organizations can "invest in this generation. by Lori Halley
TECHNOLOGY
- Internal and External Tools that Can Help Your Organization Be More Effective The utilization of technology in the nonprofit world, like in the business world, comes in two pieces: internal and external. By Terri Harel
- Meet With Your 27,000 Best Donors Tonight Some days I wish I could call an emergency meeting of all Agitator readers, if for no other reason than to get your immediate reaction to one or another of our insane ideas. Until last week I figured that the time, cost and logistics of reaching 5,000 Agitatees would be prohibitive or impossible. Now I know better. By Roger Craver
- What Do Donors Think of Text Campaigns? You want your website to work on mobile phones and tablets. You know your email will look different based on the reader’s device and preferences. But that’s not all there is to mobile marketing. Have you thought about text messaging? By Kivi Leroux Miller
WHO TO WATCH
- Jason D’Mello and the Millennial Train WaterStep is excited to be part of the Millenial Train Project this August. MTP is 10 day transcontinental journey by train in which young entrepreneurs and innovators onboard will take part in workshops, idea sharing, and networking. They will stop at 7 cities along the way and broadcast the event online. By Stephanie Berger
- Retail Gets Trashed, Buying for Good Gains There seems to be a growing consciousness about the intersection between consumer spending and either bad things that happen in the world, or the possibility of something good. By Joanne Fritz
- Nonprofit Hashtags You Should Keep an Eye On Here are some hashtags specific to the nonprofit field that you should add to your listening dashboard. By Kristina Leroux Miller
LEADERSHIP
- Private Benefit Doctrine – A Few Examples The private benefit doctrine is the broadest of the private benefit rules that apply to 501(c)(3) organizations. It generally provides that an organization may not confer any benefit, monetary or otherwise, on any individual or entity that is not incidental to furthering the organization’s exempt purposes. By Erin Bradrick
- Fighting the Symptoms of Aging Just as there’s a pattern to the assets organizations can leverage, so too is there a pattern to the typical challenges they encounter as they age. By Heather McLeod Grant
- Don’t fall in love It feels wonderful to be in love. Colors are brighter, sounds are sweeter. But it’s a dangerous thing to fall in love with your own writing. Or with your own organization. Don’t get me wrong – you want to put your best forward. By Mary Cahalane
NONPROFIT NEWS
- Thinking About the Future of the US? Think Latinos According to a Congressional Research Service report, by 2050, Latinos will represent one-third of the total US population. A lot remains to be done, however, to cultivate and unleash the potential of Latinos on their path to success—and philanthropy needs to play an instrumental role. By Mara Perez
- Baby boomers most generous – Gen Y most likely to increase donations Blackbaud just released its Next Generation of American Giving study. According to their research, Baby Boomers accounted for 43% of giving in the USA last year. By Marc A. Pitman
- Confronting Suburban Poverty in America Elizabeth Kneebone and Alan Berube of the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program take on the new reality of metropolitan poverty and opportunity in America. By Elizabeth Kneebone & Alan Berube
