Nonprofit

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Internal vs. External Does Matter

Sector3Report

Beth Myers

3 Dec 2012 | 1:52 pm

I just read Susan Battley’s article about success rates for insider chief executives versus outsider chief executives. I must admit, the research surprised me a little. Studies have shown that Chief Executives who are promoted from within are often more successful than those who are brought in from another company. In fact, CEO’s who are brought in from the outside actually have twice the failure rates as those who are promoted from within. The more successful CEO’s who were hired externally, were those who brought in a new executive team of leaders. I found myself surprised by this…
How Coaching Can Transform a Nonprofit

Social Velocity

Nell Edgington

20 May 2013 | 8:00 am

There was a really interesting interview last week in the Nonprofit Quarterly with Bill Ryan, author of Governance as Leadership, who recently led a study on coaching in the nonprofit sector. Coaching is a form of management consulting where a leader is given one-on-one strategic guidance. An executive director can be coached to grow an organization, to build a stronger board, to revamp their financial model. Or as Ryan puts it, coaching answers the question: “If my organization wants to get to Point X, what do I, as a leader, need to do to build on my strengths and manage my weaknesses…
Growing Gifts, Shrinking Match Imperil Pittsburgh Giving Day - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

AFP Blog: Recent News of Note

Reed Stockman

22 May 2013 | 8:47 am

Growing Gifts, Shrinking Match Imperil Pittsburgh Giving Day - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The Pittsburgh Foundation might end its annual online Day of Giving, which has raised $21-million for local charities since 2009, because donations are outstripping its ability to provide matching funds, writes the Pittsburgh
Don't Let Your Donation Page Suffer from Abandonment Issues

About.com Nonprofit Charitable Orgs

20 May 2013 | 6:05 pm

The last time I did a donating experiment was after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. At that time I donated a small amount to several charities working on disaster relief. I was particularly interested in how they thanked me after my donation. But, to my surprise, I often ran into difficulties just making a donation. One donation page did not load so I left; another required a registration process before I could donate so I left; and one organization did not have a donation page dedicated to Japan relief specifically, even though it had promoted that very thing. Big abandonment issues for…
Why name changes suck and branding is hard

seachangestrategies.com

Mark

14 May 2013 | 5:12 am

It all boils down to three simple words. But first a story. In the late 1980s a furor erupted among the international leaders of World Wildlife Fund. The name issue. The work of wildlife conservation has always been about much more than animals. In the late 1980s, that prompted internal sturm and drang over the organization’s name. It stood to reason that since so much of World Wildlife Fund’s work was about people and places that a more accurate name would be better. That gave rise to a new, “improved” moniker: “World Wide Fund for Nature.” The new name let the…

Dowser
The Richest Country has Left Millions Out in the Cold: American Winter

EshaC

18 May 2013 | 3:55 pm

By Tessa Farnsworth Curry America is facing a problem and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Since the Great Recession in 2008 11.7 million people are still unemployed, we have a current unemployment rate of 7.6 percent, and no one seems to be talking about it anymore. “People get tired of hearing about it, but those people living in these circumstances are real and putting a face to these issues really helps you feel the heartbreak and feel how awful these situations are,” said Alexandra Lescaze, the Executive Director for the Sidney Hillman Foundation. The Sidney Hillman Foundation…
You Don’t Have to Go to College to Succeed. Really?

EshaC

16 May 2013 | 2:21 pm

By Ben Thurman In 1997’s big hit, Good Will Hunting, Will Hunting scoffed, “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.” Fifteen years on, this idea has taken root as people emerge to challenge the conventional wisdom that without a college degree, life will amount to failure. The debate about the value of a college education is intensifying, with increasing numbers dissatisfied with their experience. The spectre of debt drives discontent. In the last decade tuition fees rose by 42% and graduates can now expect to pay…
Share my Dabba: The Tiffin Has Just Become More Social

EshaC

15 May 2013 | 11:13 am

Click here to view the embedded video. A new campaign in Mumbai uses the famous lunchbox network to feed the street children of the city. Some would define it as “social innovation” – using an existing infrastructure for social impact. What is Share My Dabba? Share My Dabba is an initiative to get uneaten food in dabbas (lunch boxes) to hungry children on the street. It’s not charity but an attempt to create a practical, every day system for food relief. Why Share My Dabba? 300 million children across the world will go hungry today. 200 thousand in Mumbai, with 2…
Students Take on Social Entrepreneurship Early On

EshaC

14 May 2013 | 5:02 pm

By Adam S. Poswolsky If extreme poverty is going to be eradicated in our lifetime, all sectors of society, especially young people, need to be mobilized. Nourish International, a social venture started in 2003 by a student at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, get this. That’s why it engages students on college campuses to use social entrepreneurship to empower community partners in the developing world. Nourish puts students in the driver seat to take action by running social ventures at their chapters, while contributing investment in sustainable development projects around…
Don’t Want that Sandwich? Can’t sell it? Don’t throw it away, though!

EshaC

12 May 2013 | 11:10 pm

Dana Frasz is a food entrepreneur. She wants to recycle food, taking the food that’s not consumed and putting it into the hands of those who cannot afford it. She wants companies to stop wasting so much food – at the grocery story and in restaurants. She wants us all to be aware of how much we’re throwing in the dustbin. Too idealistic? Frasz would argue otherwise. Hear her talk about her passion – FoodShift. How much waste is there currently in the US and how accurate are these figures? 40% of all the food produced in the US is wasted. This figure is…

rosettathurman.com
What a Trip to Thailand Taught Me About Becoming the Leader of My Own Life

Rosetta Thurman

16 May 2013 | 4:25 pm

“Become the leader of your life. Lead yourself to where you want to be. Breathe life back into your ambitions, your desires, your goals, your relationships.” – Steve Maraboli Yesterday, I blank-slated this blog. (Blank slate: verb, to delete every blog post you’ve ever written, often as part of a rebranding process. Largely unheard of and possibly scandalous in the blogosphere. Many thanks to Gwen Bell for the terminology and virtual push.) Longtime blog readers probably already know the punchline for this post, but let me step back a bit to explain how we got here.

Beth’s Blog
Book Review: Cause for Change

Beth

22 May 2013 | 10:42 am

I’m getting a jump on my summer reading! Colleagues Kari Dunn Saratovsky and Derrick Feldmann have published a new book called Cause for Change: The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement. The book is based on their many years of research, convening, and consulting with nonprofits on how to engage with this younger generation. The book is a must-read and their annual conference, MCON, is a must attend – if you want the latest thinking about strategy to engage younger people in the sector – both inside and outside of your nonprofit’s walls. The…
Heartland Pride: Winner of the #npfail Little Bets Contest

Beth

21 May 2013 | 9:21 am

Last month, during the Nonprofit Technology Conference plenary session on placing little bets and learning from failure, we issued a challenge to 1,000 nonprofits in the audience. Let’s do more than just give failure lip service, let’s put it into practice and share learning from a failure or placing a “Little Bet.” A ‘Little Bet” as defined by Peter Sims, author of the book – Little Bets, is a small action that you can take to discover something new. It’s an affordable loss that leads to innovation. Place a little bet & or share…
Trainer’s Notebook: The Art of Good Openings and Closings

Beth

20 May 2013 | 11:22 am

Sunrise on Sacred Maori Land outside of Auckland, NZ I’ve just returned from an amazing trip of facilitating workshops, discussions and master classes as well as a keynoting a conference on “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit” in Australia and New Zealand. It made me very happy to be teaching non-stop for almost two weeks. I’m always learning as I help others learn. Here’s a couple of reflections from my “trainer’s notebook.” I started with a full-day workshop outside of Auckland called “The Networked NGO in New…
Get the Scoop at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Washington, DC in June #NCVS

Beth

15 May 2013 | 2:32 pm

Note from Beth: I’ve just finished doing some social media workshops in New Zealand with Volunteering Auckland and now in Australia. Next month, I will be traveling to Washington, DC for the NCVS Conference and can’t wait. I will be doing a panel on using social media as part of volunteer recruitment. While I’m still “down under,” Michelle Nunn agreed to share this guest post about conference highlight Get the Scoop at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Washington, DC #NCVS guest post by Michelle Nunn I’m eager to let…
A Dog Named Red Helps Best Friends Animal Society Get Results on Facebook

Beth

14 May 2013 | 2:28 pm

Note from Beth: Greetings from the Gold Coast in Australia. I’m here to keynote Connecting Up Conference, While I am in OZ, I invited Jon Stahl to share this amazing case study. Enjoy For several years now, nonprofits have been investing time, energy and money building Facebook pages and working to engage supporters on Facebook. Unfortunately, as Beth has pointed out , Facebook doesn’t always make it easy to generate meaningful and measurable results that drive your mission or your bottom line. About a year ago, Facebook began rolling out a series of important changes, most…

Osocio Weblog
Do you want to be remembered? Give blood.

Marc

21 May 2013 | 1:00 pm

Doing something special? Do you want to be remembered as a do-gooder? That’s the idea behind this campaign from the Brazilian Hemorio (Institute of Hematology). “Give blood and be remembered as well.” “Doe sangue E também seja lembrado.” Agency Heads Propaganda made stickers with this copy and glued them on statues from historical personalities. The sticker was produced with water based glue in order not to harm the public heritage. Related Hemorio post: - Waiting for Life with the YouTube Progress Bar Author: Marc
Facebook and advertisers called out for misogynist content (trigger warning) #FBrape

Tom Megginson

21 May 2013 | 6:37 am

In a recent post on my Ethical Adman blog, I talked about the problem Facebook is having with branded social ads showing up on pages and posts that are misogynistic and violent: Facebook’s problem with pages that promote rape culture is well known. The social network that has the sensibilities of a stereotyped grannie when it comes to showing certain kinds of nudity in even the most innocent context can’t seem to stop pages that encourage criminal assault and rape. The issue of brand ads showing up on awful Facebook pages made mainstream news yesterday when it was revealed that…
Victim-blaming sexual harassment “PSAs” from Iran

Tom Megginson

17 May 2013 | 11:01 am

Translation: “Veil is Security” We talk a lot, in the west, about victim-blaming in sexual assault and harassment ads. In Iran, however, deliberate victim-blaming is apparently the preferred strategy. This collection, put together by Buzzfeed’s Copyranter, provides translations which I have included below the images. Author: Tom Megginson
Is #FitchTheHomeless really a good thing?

Tom Megginson

15 May 2013 | 5:24 pm

On the surface, it seems like the perfect activist social media stunt. After seven-year-old comments by Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, in which he claimed the brand was only suitable for “cool, good-looking” (and thin) people, resurfaced online to great protest, filmmaker Greg Karber decided to mess with the brand. His big idea? Attack A&F’s elitism by clothing homeless Los Angelenos in the brand: The upside of this is that people got free clothes. There are, however, some big problems with the approach. Author: Tom Megginson
Kristin signs up for the lactivist cause

Tom Megginson

15 May 2013 | 3:43 pm

It’s difficult not to develop an internet crush on Kristin Henson. The pixie-ish 26-year-old from Philadelphia has made a name for herself on social media with her YouTube series, “Dirty Signs With Kristin”. In each episode, Ms. Henson teaches viewers a new obscene phrase or term — from “hey, you’re an asshole” to “twat waffle”. The approach has proven popular online, even though the amateur quality of her signs and the crude content have made Ms. Henson some enemies in the deaf community. This week’s “dirty” sign, however,…

NTEN
Donate to the NTC 2014 Scholarship Fund! (A Past Recipient Shares Her Story of Change)

Megan

21 May 2013 | 7:08 am

If you've been to NTC, you know that it can be an incredible event full of knowledgeable nonprofit techies. As Lyndal Cairns, a 2012 NTC Scholarship recipient, shares: Before I went to NTC, I was the only social media manager working in the HIV sector in Australia. In fact, I was the only nonprofit social media manager I knew; so I felt alone and rather adrift. I had reams of research and ideas aplenty, but I didn't know how to put it all together into a cohesive set of strategies. NTC taught me how to focus and evaluate our social media work, how to develop that into a set of actions, and…
7th Annual Nonprofit Technology Staffing & Investments Report: A Closer Look (Staffing Levels)

Annaliese

20 May 2013 | 7:33 am

Last month we released our seventh annual report on nonprofit investment and practices regarding technology. You can download the complete report here, and don't forget the companion online benchmarking tool, where you can compare some of your organization's data against your peers in our research.I'd like to take a closer look at one aspect of our research and organizational practice: technology staffing levels.In our latest survey, we decided to ask about technology staffing levels differently. Why? Because we know that the term "IT Staff" means something very specific to…
Member Round Up: Fundraising tips, new research, and tools

Eileigh

17 May 2013 | 4:12 pm

Flickr: W.D. VanlueFundraising tips, some new (and free!) research and tools, and a list of creatures that walk a fine line between ugly and cute bring this week to a close--check out what your industrious community has been up to! As you refine your fundraising strategy and explore new ways of connecting with donors, check out Blackbaud's 2013 Online Marketing Benchmark Study for Nonprofits to compare your organization to others and gather new ideas. You can also watch Farra Trompetertalk about three ways to keep your donors engaged so that they stay with you longer. If your organization is…
Emerging Technology, Engaging Youth, and Your Mission: YOLO!

Megan

17 May 2013 | 7:46 am

Flickr: jasonshimBy Jason Shim and Shubhagata Sengupta At Pathways to Education, we offer cross-cultural conflict resolution training called YOUCAN, and one of the first topics we cover with the students is that the analogy of an iceberg can be useful in understanding people.Typically, you only see about 10% of an iceberg above the water, and the remaining 90% remains submerged and unseen. We use this analogy to help students remember that when interacting and communicating with others, there is much underneath the surface that remains to be discovered through conversation and engagement.The…
NTEN Case Study: Financial Management in the Cloud

Annaliese

17 May 2013 | 7:00 am

Kimberlee Roth Out-Word, LLC Jill Farrow, NTEN's chief financial and operating officer, quickly learned that "operationally, we at NTEN do everything in the Cloud," and that includes financial and operations management. When Jill Farrow, now NTEN's chief financial and operating officer, first toured the organization's Portland, OR, offices, she noticed something conspicuous in its absence. Puzzled, she turned to then executive director Holly Ross, who was giving her the tour and asked, "Where are the servers?"Farrow, who now laughs retelling the story, quickly learned that…

Inspiring Generosity
Four Ways You Can Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims

johnhaydon

22 May 2013 | 7:04 am

Obviously we are all still reeling after a massive tornado tore apart Moore Oklahoma. Parents lost their children, children lost friends, neighbors lost neighbors. And many people are still missing! Family and friends first • For those who have family and friends in the area, Red Cross Oklahoma set up a resource to locate loved ones. • Gov. Mary Fallon also set up okstrong.ok.gov. • If you’re on twitter you can keep up-to-date with the latest information by following #okwx. Nonprofits who are on the ground • Feeding America is delivering food to impacted areas, and also set up…
How I Learned to Give a Puck About Sports Team Fundraisers

joewaters

21 May 2013 | 8:48 am

We all know that professional sports teams are businesses. But we really don’t treat them like one, do we? We think of them more as celebrities that come to our events, and sign things for auctions. But sports teams can offer a lot more than star appeal, or a signed baseball. I learned this firsthand in a partnership with the Boston Bruins a few years back. I’ve been thinking about it lately as I’ve been watching the Bruins win their way through the NHL playoffs (2-0 in their series against the New York Rangers). Here’s my story. I think you’ll learn something. I was…
Five Tips for Creating Powerful Infographics

johnhaydon

15 May 2013 | 6:10 am

People support your organization for one reason: They view your organization as the agent of change they seek. If they had the resources, they’d make the changes they desire by themselves. But they don’t, and that’s why you’re in their lives. So when you tell the story of your cause, you need to show how supporters ultimately create the outcomes. Nonprofit Storytelling with Infographics One powerful way to do this is with a set of infographics like the Best Friends Animal Society created. What’s really great about this infographic is that it’s broken down…
3 Businesses Seizing the Day and Giving to Nonprofits

joewaters

14 May 2013 | 5:57 am

We’ve all heard the Latin expression “carpe diem” which means, “seize the day.” But in fundraising with businesses a new expression is taking hold: “da die,” which is Latin for “give the day.” Here’s how it works. Generous businesses support nonprofits by donating the profits from a day’s sales. This is different from what we’re used to seeing, like a “percentage of sales fundraiser” that donates a portion of sales from every product or service sold for a day/week/month/etc.. A “donate profits day” is when businesses donate a percentage of…
Social Media Love Made Tangible

margie

13 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Photo by Blankies for Boston In 2007, back when Livejournal was still my favorite online platform, I was running an organization called Homespun Helpers. The group existed solely in the online world, although in some cases some of our members truly befriended each other, and got to craft together. Our goal each year was to make and donate 3,000 items to charity. Any charitable cause and any handmade item was counted. It was during this time that the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech happened. Because I was tuned in to the crafting world, I heard about a person who was collecting Hokie-colored…

Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog
Help your corporate partners be brainiac cause marketers

katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

16 May 2013 | 12:20 am

image via the Sparkologist As I’ve often written on this blog, human beings are inherently empathetic. Our brains are hardwired to relate to other people’s experiences. When we witness or imagine someone acting, our neurons fire the same way they would if we were undertaking the same action. That’s why your heart races when your favorite athlete soars toward the basket or why the sight of a mother struggling to save her child from floodwaters causes you pain. When we translate this empathy into helping another person, our brains have another reaction: We’re rewarded with happy…
Free marketing brainpower for your nonprofit

katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

15 May 2013 | 12:30 am

Update: I corrected the links to the webinar, and they should be working now. Some folks had trouble accessing them earlier due to a coding error on my part. Did you know that you could have fantastic pro bono marketing experts helping your organization? No? Then you should attend the next Network for Good webinar. Here’s the description. Effective marketing is absolutely critical for organizations to succeed in winning hearts, minds and donations for their cause—yet 68% of nonprofits lack a dedicated marketing role. Does this sound like your…
Better meetings: BLUF and the three WHATs

katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

14 May 2013 | 12:22 am

Last year, I was talking about the critical importance of getting to the point quickly in meetings - and in messages - and a friend who is in the Navy taught me about BLUF. That’s the acronym they use in the military for Bottom Line Up Front. In a military setting, BLUF communications allow people to grasp the essence of a situation immediately and seek details only as necessary. It’s like a Cliff Notes for every situation. More recently, a reader wrote me with this nifty list, also from the military. Always describe: What’s what. So what. What…
Why I helped start a magazine: Characters matter

katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

13 May 2013 | 12:15 am

I’m excited to announced that today, Characters Magazine is live. Master storyteller Mark Rovner and I founded this literary magazine to feature the writing of people who work for good causes and to inspire better storytelling in our sector. You can read it free online here. Thanks to everyone who submitted - as well as to the amazing editor and designers I highlighted in the following introduction included in the magazine. It was a labor of love to put this together, and I’m especially grateful to Mark for his partnership and creativity—as well as his…
On a personal note: A moment that shaped me

katya.andresen@networkforgood.org

10 May 2013 | 12:39 am

I posted this on LinkedIn this week and thought I would share it with you. I was asked to write about what inspires me. I think “inspire” is perhaps not the right word given the tragedy I describe here. It was unspeakable. This is how it has shaped me, ever since. It held the fundamental lesson of life - one I should have known but just didn’t quite get till then. I used to have a recurring nightmare: I was a passenger on a plane that plunged downward in a sudden death-spin. I would awake from the dream breathless and stare at glow of the bedside…

Philanthropy Journal - All Articles
05.22.13: N.C. News Bits

22 May 2013 | 11:47 am

KidZNotes raises funds at gala; Smithfield's Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q sends gift to troops; North Carolina Community Foundation names new chairman; North Carolina New Schools elects new board members; SECU Family House at UNC Hospitals names executive director, and more.read more
Oklahoma tornado devastation: What to do now?

22 May 2013 | 8:24 am

As relief organizations and individuals rush to provide aid in the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornadoes, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy offers advice on the best ways to help.read more
May 31 is deadline to apply for 2013 GSK IMPACT Awards

20 May 2013 | 8:47 am

The GSK IMPACT Awards honor innovative, collaborative, and evidence-based programs that are helping people – especially underserved populations – live healthier lives, and contributing to the health of the Triangle Region. The deadline to apply is May 31.read more
Surf charity helps at-risk youth build confidence, one wave at a time

20 May 2013 | 8:25 am

Wilmington, N.C.-based Indo Jax Surf Charities provides camp experiences to help at-risk youth around the world build self-esteem and overcome challenges. A series of programs for differently abled youth is being offered this summer in Wrightsville Beach.read more
New service makes it easier to provide direct aid to international charities

20 May 2013 | 8:06 am

NGOsource recently launched a new service that makes it easier for donors and grantmakers to provide international aid. While such philanthropy used to be fraught with risk, there now is increased assurance that funds directed thousands of miles away will be managed by a foreign non-government organization (NGO) that meets the rigorous standards imposed on tax-exempt organizations in the U.S.read more

Sector3Report
Leadership – Are You Looking In the Mirror?

Beth Myers

25 Apr 2013 | 8:02 am

Image courtesy of [image creator name] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net I read this really great article by Nicki Roth, posted on the Bridgespan Website . She talks about how, too often leaders do not take a good look at themselves when the organization is in need of change. They look at other things like their staff, boards, funders, etc. In the time that I have been coaching nonprofit executives, I can see a major distinction between those who are going to serve long and prosper and those who are not. Strong leaders are interested in constantly learning and improving their…
What’s In Your Pitch?

Beth Myers

14 Feb 2013 | 8:57 am

Image courtesy of [image creator name] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Do you have a good way of describing your professional business so that the person listening is interested enough to ask questions or ask for your card? In her article, Deborah Grayson Riegel points out that we often don’t sound “real” when we give our pitch. Give your elevator pitch to someone who cares about you and if his or her first response is “what?” then you need to take Riegel’s tips. I especially like her tip about using common vernacular. Jargon only means something to someone in your…
Internal vs. External Does Matter

Beth Myers

3 Dec 2012 | 1:52 pm

I just read Susan Battley’s article about success rates for insider chief executives versus outsider chief executives. I must admit, the research surprised me a little. Studies have shown that Chief Executives who are promoted from within are often more successful than those who are brought in from another company. In fact, CEO’s who are brought in from the outside actually have twice the failure rates as those who are promoted from within. The more successful CEO’s who were hired externally, were those who brought in a new executive team of leaders. I found myself surprised by this…
#GivingTuesday – The New Philanthro-tier

Beth Myers

27 Nov 2012 | 12:32 pm

You are on Twitter and wondering what the heck is all this #GivingTuesday hype you keep seeing, but you don’t ask because you want to be cool. And you are cool – you are on twitter after all. I write this post in an effort to help you maintain your coolness. #GivingTuesday is a way to promote the importance of giving this holiday season to a nonprofit/charitable organization. Some very clever people came up with an idea of starting a new tradition and using social media to encourage people to “get out the give” on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. I am very excited about all of…
A New Excellent Resource

Beth Myers

18 Jul 2012 | 12:02 pm

Some amazing work just came out from Bridgestar and they are giving it away! If you are not familiar with Bridgestar, you will want to get acquainted with their work soon. This has been a tremendous resource for me as a nonprofit leader. Bridgestar is an initiative of the Bridgespan group. Bridgespan is a group of highly talented and brilliant nonprofit consultants. I first became acquainted with their work at Big Brothers Big Sisters. We were developing a strategic plan for our national network and hired Bridgespan to help us through the process. Bridgestar is a tremendous…

Have Fun • Do Good
Why "Be the Change That You Wish to See in the World” Really Works

Britt Bravo

9 May 2013 | 11:09 am

You've probably seen the Gandhi quote, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world,” somewhere. You might even have it tacked up on the wall of your office, or home. Well, guess what? It really works. Last week, I started a (free) Coursera class, Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence, which I'm loving. One of the modules is about emotional contagion. Basically, how you feel and manage your feelings affects other people. If you go into work feeling sad, or angry, your co-workers may start to feel the same way. Even if you put on a happy face, if you're feeling down…
Celebrating Grandmother Power: Interview with my Gram

Britt Bravo

7 May 2013 | 11:38 am

The Grandmother Power Blogging Campaign is a collaborative effort of hundreds of bloggers writing about how grandmothers are changing the world from May 7-14, 2013. It's being organized by Tara Mohr (creator of the Ten Rules for Brilliant Women Workbook), and Paola Gianturco (author of Grandmother Power: A Global Phenomenon). You can read all of the Grandmother Power posts, and add your own on taramohr.com. "Some people don't even begin to use all the power they have." ~ my Gram "I think the answer to everything is education. You can try to re-educate some of the older people, but it's not an…
Out of the Spiritual Closet: Organizers Transforming the Practice of Social Justice. Big Vision Podcast Interview with co-author, Kristen Zimmerman

Britt Bravo

29 Apr 2013 | 9:02 am

This month's Big Vision Podcast guest is Kristen Zimmerman, one of four co-authors of the Movement Strategy Center report, "Out of the Spiritual Closet: Organizers Transforming the Path of Social Justice," along with Neelam Pathikonda, Brenda Salgado, and Taj James. As a Senior Fellow at the Movement Strategy Center, Kristen leads the development of the Center's movement building practice and methodology. Her primary focus is the integration of transformative practice with strategy, movement building and alliance building technologies, and the use of story and narrative for movement building.
Respectful Revolution's Video Portrait of My Do-Good Dad: Tom Aageson, Co-Founder, Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship

Britt Bravo

17 Apr 2013 | 10:27 am

Shout out for my Do-Good Dad! He's one of the Respectful Revolution's video portraits. He is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship, founded a program for homeless veterans in conjunction with the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, and is involved with Santa Fe for Students / Communities In Schools of New Mexico. And that's only in the last 10 years. You'd need a feature film to document everything he has done to make the world a better place in his lifetime. You can watch the 5:40 video on vimeo, or on the player below. Tom Aageson and…
How It All Vegan: Cook with the VegCookbook Club in April!

Britt Bravo

2 Apr 2013 | 9:19 am

On March 14th, VegCookbook author, Sarah Kramer, announced on her blog that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer. I felt so sad when I read her post. As if I’d received bad news from a good friend. I’ve been cooking from How It All Vegan! and Garden of Vegan, that Sarah co-wrote with Tanya Barnard, for over a decade. Her cookbooks are a part of my daily life. I want to support Sarah during this challenging time, so the VegCookbook Club will be cooking from her first cookbook, How It All Vegan! in April. I hope you'll join us. You can read about how to participate on the…

SSIR Articles
The Power of a Simple and Inclusive Definition (Blog)

ncuenca.ssir@gmail.com

22 May 2013 | 9:30 am

By Elizabeth Garlow & Rich Tafel
Impact Investing: New Enterprises and Collaborations (Blog)

ncuenca.ssir@gmail.com

21 May 2013 | 2:31 pm

By Jenna Nicholas
The Commodification of Architecture (Blog)

ncuenca.ssir@gmail.com

21 May 2013 | 8:40 am

By Michael Murphy & Alan Ricks
Mandatory CSR in India: A Bad Proposal (Blog)

ncuenca.ssir@gmail.com

20 May 2013 | 9:49 am

By Aneel Karnani
It Can Be Smart to Dumb Things Down (Blog)

ncuenca.ssir@gmail.com

17 May 2013 | 6:41 am

By Doug Hattaway & Jenn Henrichsen

Getting Attention Blog
Get Attention With Your Next Multichannel Campaign

nancy@nancyschwartz.com (Nancy Schwartz)

22 May 2013 | 9:35 am

Thanks to co-guest-bloggers Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin. Allyson is acclaimed for her leadership role in technology and social media, and runs Rad Campaign. Amy is the Membership Director for NTEN and blogs for Stanford Social Innovation Review. Getting the attention of your supporters and engaging them in your campaigns on one platform is hard enough. But the key to campaign success comes in engaging people across platforms—email, social media, your website, and even offline. In the just-released Social Change Anytime Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to…
15 Fantastic Nonprofit Marketing Jobs: Movin’ Up Monday

nancy@nancyschwartz.com (Nancy Schwartz)

20 May 2013 | 4:30 am

Please post your nonprofit marketing position here for full-time or part-time staff, consulting or internship opportunities. New Opportunities Associate Director of Integrated Content Management, The American Optometric Association (St. Louis, MO) Campaigns Communications Manager, Free Press (Florence, MA) Chief Marketing Officer, Malaria No More (Flexible) Communications Director, The Pachamama Alliance (San Francisco Bay Area) Director of Online Fundraising, Sierra Club (San Francisco, CA) Director of Web Development & Strategy, Applied Research Center (New York, NY or…
Make It Easy to Spread the Word (Case Study)

nancy@nancyschwartz.com (Nancy Schwartz)

16 May 2013 | 5:57 am

Your supporters and partners are one of the most productive marketing channels you have, and one of the least expensive. But I see so few orgs that ask supporters to spread the word on vital asks, and even fewer who make it easy (and far more likely) for them to do so. This “spreading the word” strategy has been top of mind lately for, as it’s core to the program launch we’re marketing for a huge and complex New England human services org. I was surprised to learn that these folks had NEVER asked supporters to serve as marketing messengers. A huge opportunity missed…
How Story Trumps Description (Nonprofit Storytelling #9)

nancy@nancyschwartz.com (Nancy Schwartz)

15 May 2013 | 6:49 am

Nonprofit Storytelling #1-8 I’m a sucker for stark contrast. It’s one of the best learning tools ever, and today I’m drawing on examples from Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP). The Challenge MMP supports and strengthens mentoring programs in Massachusetts and faces this marketing challenge common to every organization that doesn’t provide direct services: How to show the org’s unique value to current and prospective: Mentoring program partners—call to action (CTA) “strengthen your programor” Funders—CTA “get involved” Mentors—CTA…
Escape from Fairy-Tale Fundraising—Roger Craver, Part I

nancy@nancyschwartz.com (Nancy Schwartz)

14 May 2013 | 7:36 am

What a week it was! Among other adventures last week, I met and learned with famed fundraiser Roger Craver at the fabulous Engage Conference. Roger is a guy who doesn’t hold back. He shares what he knows, sees and suggests with absolutely no restraint. You may agree with him or not, but his bold, evidence-based recommendations are a huge gift to the rest of us. Roger always gives you something that’s worthy of consideration. Whether you follow his guidance or not, the process of consideration itself will move your fundraising forward. Roger’s main message today is that…

Gift Hub
Senior Planning: The Legacy Conversation

Phil Cubeta

22 May 2013 | 10:50 am
Senior Planning: The Fear of Losing Control

Phil Cubeta

22 May 2013 | 10:45 am
Linked Comparable Metrics as a Pubic Good

Phil Cubeta

21 May 2013 | 7:56 am

"Render unto Caesar," said the grantee of a social justice organization (thirteen volunteers, one of whom was Judas) when asked about Metrics, "and unto God the things that are God's." What can be measured and managed, surveilled, and turned to Caesar's public and corporate purposes are conscripts, consumers, workers on the aqueduct, wage slaves, tax payers and tax collectors, and gladiators fighting to the death, to see who is best, for the amusment of Patricians. What cannot be meausred is the power of the Widow's mite, and the mustard seed.
Communicating with Seniors

Phil Cubeta

20 May 2013 | 10:55 am
CAP-Share: Lessons from Villanova

Phil Cubeta

20 May 2013 | 6:30 am

How gift planners at Villanova are using Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy to elicit donor motivation. When you have great "Brand," indeed a "brand" beyond and above all brands, why not speak from within it, aligned with it and in the spirit of it, when topic is life and death, the legacy a donor will leave? And, yes, to align the language, spirit, and ideals of the institution with the planned giving process is, as a fundraiser, a practical and effective strategy. Download CAP-Share-Issue-12.

PHILANTHROPY 2173
Passing the buck from the IRS to the FEC to Congress

Lucy Bernholz

16 May 2013 | 10:04 am

There's a new job opening at the top of the IRS. John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are calling not just for resignations, but criminal inquiries. The Op-Ed pages are full of insights about how 501 c 4s are broken, not just the IRS. In truth, these insights have been well known to those who track campaign finance and nonprofits, it just takes a scandal to make others aware. So, now that the great secret of how broken c 4s are is on the nation's front pages - of the Times, The Wall Street Journalit's time to ask the question some of us have been raising since January 2010 - where is the Federal…
The problems with 501 (c) (4)s

Lucy Bernholz

14 May 2013 | 1:19 pm

Regular readers of this blog know that I've been like a dog with a bone about the threat to the social economy and charitable organizations inherent in the Citizens United decision. I've written about it, held charrettes on it, spoken about it, and - at least in part - changed my career because of it. The news about the IRS's activities regarding politically conservative social welfare organizations is both a surprise and, upon reflection, almost completely predictable. Intentional or stupid, witch hunt or botched effort at streamlining an impossible task - the IRS doesn't have the tools it…
MOOC for Philanthropy

Lucy Bernholz

10 May 2013 | 8:54 am

The Learning By Giving Foundation, funded by Warren Buffet's sister, is offering a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on philanthropy. Participants will learn about giving and then give. More information is here.
Re-discovering the digital divide

Lucy Bernholz

7 May 2013 | 6:00 am

The New York Times has discovered that all is not fair in the land of digital technology. Janet Maslin, a book critic for the paper, doesn't usually review tech books. So I was a bit surprised to see her review of Jaron Lanier's Who owns the Future, in Monday's paper (yes, the actual paper version). And admittedly more surprised to hear her praise the book - not only for its writing but for its message. As Maslin notes: "Mr. Lanier bucks a wave of more conventional diatribes on Big Data to deliver Olympian, contrarian fighting words about the Internet’s exploitative powers. A…
It's not about gadgets, it's about governance

Lucy Bernholz

5 May 2013 | 12:28 pm

I've been researching and talking a lot lately about Digital Civil Society. These are the elements of our society where we use our private resources for public good in and on digital platforms. It includes "digital activism," civic technology, social network organizing, open data sharing, and nonprofits built on digital assets - such as WikiMedia, Creative Commons, Mozilla Foundation, Kiva, DoSomething, the Digital Public Library of America, Public Library of Science, Reg4All and many, many others. To make talking about it easier, I refer to the non-digital ways of using private resources for…

Payday Loans Online at Frozen Pea Fund
Keynesian Economics Concept of Bailing an Economy Out of Recession

Frozen Pea Fund

19 May 2013 | 1:59 pm

Keynesian Economics revolves around the concept of using economic stimulus (ie. inflation) to bail a declining economy out of recession, and then reducing spending during more prosperous times. Without arguing the practical legitimacy of such a policy, its relevance to today’s economic environment goes without contest. As governments around the world devalue their currencies through [...]
View How Sensitive ‘Convexity’ Bonds are to Interest Rate Changes

Frozen Pea Fund

16 May 2013 | 3:19 pm

Bond prices tend to move in accordance to changes in the overall interest-rate environment with varying degrees of sensitivity. This trait, known as convexity, represents how dramatically a bonds price will respond to a change in interest rates, given its current price point and coupon payment schedule. What’s important to recognize about this aspect of [...]
Are Government Bonds Still Considered a ‘Safe’ Investment?

Frozen Pea Fund

14 May 2013 | 12:25 pm

Investment banks have recently started to question the integrity of the US treasury markets (bond bubble). By comparing their current price points (which are particularly high given the state of their economic context) and the imbalance between the risk and reward associated with their potential ability to continue creating returns over the years, investors have [...]
Stimulating the Economy with Competitive Currency Policies

Frozen Pea Fund

12 May 2013 | 7:33 am

While competitive currency devaluation policies initially emerged almost a century ago as a means of taking over export wealth from other nations through price discounting, it continues to evolve and emerge in the modern markets as a means of stimulating economic growth within a nation. Whether it be through mechanisms of stimulus, tax incentives, or [...]
Understanding Beggar Thy Neighbor as a Monetary Policy

Frozen Pea Fund

10 May 2013 | 12:42 pm

When the gold standard began falling out of favor in the 1930s, governments began experimenting with floating currency policies as a means of stabilizing the growth of a national economy. However, because of the recessionary nature of the global economy at that time, governments quickly began taking on inflationary policies in an attempt to competitively [...]

Frogloop
Don't Let Endless Meetings Derail Decision-Making

Allyson Kapin

20 May 2013 | 1:09 pm

Does your organization have trouble making decisions? Perhaps you have endless meetings discussing whether to launch a campaign? Or debates about that rapid response to a recent development around a core issue that your organization is working on. Sound familiar? Our discomfort with taking action and making decisions quickly stems from our desire to want everyone at the table to be supportive and feel good about the decisions being made within the organization. But having too many cooks in the kitchen and this desire to please everyone actually derails our progress to make decisions,…
The Art of Petition Delivery

Ned Baker

17 May 2013 | 9:14 am

So you got 10,000 people to sign your petition - awesome! Now let the fun begin... We all know that petitions are effective for list growth and influencing policy when combined with a strategic campaign plan. But really, what to do with all those juicy signatures to move your issue? Join Care2 and Salsa Labs on a 'tour de petition' as we explore how organizations like Protect Our Defenders, ForestEthics, Environmental Defense Fund and more are making the most out of their hard earned signatures. Join Care2, Salsa Labs and organizations from the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign for…
If You’re Going To Use Social Media, Do It Right

Allyson Kapin

13 May 2013 | 6:26 pm

Last week Amy Sample Ward and I held a webinar with Care2 on Social Media: You’re Probably Doing it Wrong. We had a terrific conversation about some of the themes we discuss in our book Social Change Anytime Everywhere such as how to manage an online crisis and avoid alienating your community. We also discussed how to foster meaningful conversations with your community. Here are three of our favorite tips that we shared. Don’t Rely On Automated UpdatesWhat was the first thing you did after hearing about the shooter that killed 12 people and injured 58 at the Aurora movie theater…
Crowdsource This… and That: Getting Creative with Crowdsourcing Strategy (Internet Advocacy Roundtable, April 2013)

Alan Rosenblatt

10 May 2013 | 7:56 am

Crowdsourcing is all the rage. From micro-fundraising on Kickstarter.com to mapping craters on the Moon, people are coming up with creative ways to harness large groups of online volunteers. April's Internet Advocacy Roundtable featured speakers who’ve used crowdsourcing in some very creative ways to great effect. Crowdsourcing is not just a new idea born out of social media. It has deep roots in social science research. Every time you read the results of a scientifically rigorous opinion poll, you are learning from the crowd. Large, probability samples of citizens can accurately tell…
New Data Shows Why Donors Breakup With Nonprofits

Allyson Kapin

30 Apr 2013 | 12:36 pm

Ever wonder why your nonprofit donors decide to stop supporting your organization? Check out this data by Bloomerang and the Rockefeller Corporation that compares why donors leave compared to why customers leave commercial companies. One of the reasons I appreciate research like this is because it demonstrates the importance of providing the best constituent experiences no matter if you work in the nonprofit world or the for-profit world. If we don’t alwas focus our attention on building these strong relationships, we lose people. Thanks to Marc Pitman for finding this great gem of a…

About.com Nonprofit Charitable Orgs
Don't Let Your Donation Page Suffer from Abandonment Issues

20 May 2013 | 6:05 pm

The last time I did a donating experiment was after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. At that time I donated a small amount to several charities working on disaster relief. I was particularly interested in how they thanked me after my donation. But, to my surprise, I often ran into difficulties just making a donation. One donation page did not load so I left; another required a registration process before I could donate so I left; and one organization did not have a donation page dedicated to Japan relief specifically, even though it had promoted that very thing. Big abandonment issues for…
Best Links: IRS Mess, Social Media and SEO, Memorial Giving

20 May 2013 | 2:33 am

Nonprofit Blog Carnival Write a Letter to a Nonprofit Board. The Nonprofit Blog Carnival is accepting submissions until May 27th. Erik Anderson, at Donor Dreams, is asking for "Dear Board" letters. What would you like to say to a nonprofit board if you could? Of course, if you have a blog post about best practices for boards, but it isn't a letter, you can send that in too. Issues New Study: Low Nonprofit Overhead Does Not = Greater Efficiency - Nonprofit Quarterly. Welcome new light shed on the eternal battle over overhead. Maybe this new info will help free nonprofits from the tyranny of…
Why High Brow Doesn't Work for Fundraising

14 May 2013 | 6:05 pm

I've been reading the most recent book by Jeff Brooks, The Fundraiser's Guide to Irresistible Communications: Real-World Field-Tested Strategies for Raising More Money (Emerson & Church, 2012). I'm not surprised that I agree with him about everything. I follow Jeff's blog religiously, and you should too. It's Future Fundraising Now. Jeff's blog is infuriatingly plain. So is his book. Really, his core advice for direct mail fundraising, "make it plain, make it corny, make it obvious," is a sort of mantra for everything he does and writes. That's because it works. How does he know? Because…
A Love Letter to My First Board of Directors

13 May 2013 | 6:05 pm

There is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth when it comes to the subject of nonprofit boards. And it's true that many nonprofits have woefully inadequate boards that don't understand their fundraising duties nor even want to engage in helping with fundraising. This month's Nonprofit Blog Carnival host, Erik Anderson of Donor Dreams, challenged us to write a letter to our board members (or a fictional board) that expressed all that we ever wanted to say...good or bad...to them. I am lucky. The boards I've worked with have been pretty terrific, especially that first one when I was new to…
Older Americans Month and Volunteerism

12 May 2013 | 6:05 pm

May is Older Americans Month (its 50th anniversary!), a great time to thank your older donors and volunteers, and to simply appreciate the rich diversity that older people bring to our organizations. This year's slogan for the month-long celebration of older people is "Unleash the Power of Age." How will you do that? Check out the official website (sponsored by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administration for Community Living) for lots of ideas that you can jump into immediately. Volunteerism is one of the hallmarks of aging. People simply do more of it as they age.

Step By Step Fundraising
I Don’t Know Why We Didn’t Raise More Money

Ben Gottlieb

15 May 2013 | 11:44 am

I can not tell you how many times we get extremely small orders from large groups that seem surprised when their participation is so low it should be embarrassing. When you’re the fundraising... [This is a summary only, click on the title to read the entire article.]
Thinking about Disaster Relief Fundraising

Ben Gottlieb

24 Apr 2013 | 8:41 am

Holding a disaster relief fundraising event is a good way to get everybody in your community involved in supporting a worthy cause. The money that you and your team raise will go toward helping... [This is a summary only, click on the title to read the entire article.]
Green Fundraising for Church Groups

Ben Gottlieb

22 Apr 2013 | 9:57 am

There is a lot that people can do nowadays in helping to make the planet a better place. Many environmental issues have now been brought to the attention of the general public, and as a result of... [This is a summary only, click on the title to read the entire article.]
Fast Adoption Fundraising Ideas

Ben Gottlieb

22 Apr 2013 | 7:13 am

Planning to adopt a child is a big decision for a couple to make. The couple may already have children of their own who have their own set of needs, or they may be going into parenthood for the first... [This is a summary only, click on the title to read the entire article.]
Fundraising New and Exciting Again

Ben Gottlieb

27 Feb 2013 | 7:23 am

We have been following the fundraising industry for nearly 10 years now. It’s an industry that needs to change but at least in the product fundraising portion of the industry does not seem to... [This is a summary only, click on the title to read the entire article.]

Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology
Why Crowdfund this book?

mpm

2 May 2013 | 1:09 pm

There are a number of ways that organizations in the nonprofit technology field fund writing projects. Some are internal to an organization, others are funded by grants from foundations, and some are funded by vendor sponsorships.
Book Excerpt #2: Very Drafty Piece of the Introduction

mpm

25 Apr 2013 | 12:46 pm

I promised a few excerpts during the indiegogo campaign, and here is another one - a part of the Introduction.
Book Excerpt #1

mpm

18 Apr 2013 | 3:59 pm

I'll be posting a series of short excerpts of what I've already written of Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology. I hope this will whet your appetite for more. Please consider supporting me to get this book written. This is a part of the chapter "Strategic Planning for Software and Internet Projects". The section is entitled "CRM and the Myth of Uniqueness."
NTAP Report from NTEN

mpm

28 Mar 2013 | 12:38 pm

There hasn't been much fanfare about this, but NTEN released a report recently, called "Nonprofit Technology Assistance Providers Sector Reach." You can read it here. It is definitely an interesting study. The problem is, glaringly missing are the open source focused and vendor-neutral NTAPs, such as Aspiration, the Progressive Technology Project, and others. The only vendor-neutral NTAP included was Idealware.
More about that book

mpm

8 Apr 2012 | 4:24 pm

As I said a while back, I'm writing a book about nonprofit technology. It will be titled (this is no surprise) "Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology". Having been at the #12NTC (Nonprofit Technology Conference) really got me excited about the book. I met people who I would like to talk to about the book, and I got some good ideas about what I might want to delve into. I'm 10,000 words into the book already, although I have a lot of research to do.

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
How to Involve Staff in Nonprofit Branding

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

22 May 2013 | 8:30 am

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I Love You, Katya Andresen

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

20 May 2013 | 11:01 am

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Mixed Links for Nonprofit Marketers

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

17 May 2013 | 12:00 pm

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How Often Should Your Nonprofit Send Email to Your List?

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

16 May 2013 | 10:15 am

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IT Staff, Marketing and Leadership #13ntc

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com

15 May 2013 | 9:11 am

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Selfish Giving
How Businesses Can Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims (Hint: Learn from Boston)

Joe Waters

20 May 2013 | 8:42 pm

I’m away this week speaking at the New Strategies Conference in Charleston, S.C. But like everyone else I heard the sad news about the tornados in Oklahoma and the terrible loss of life and property. I know businesses are going to want to help. And after seeing how businesses responded after the tragedy in my hometown of Boston, I have a few suggestions. 1. Donate what’s needed most, but especially cash. Give what you can and tell people what and how much you gave. People are expecting you to do something so be upfront. 2. If your business has a cash register, set up a register…
CauseTalk Radio Ep55: How Short Videos Can Have a Big Impact for Nonprofits

Joe Waters

17 May 2013 | 5:35 am

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Natasha Deganello Giraudie, the CEO of Micro-Documentaries. Natasha and her team produce 1-2 minute authentic, actionable and affordable documentaries for purposeful companies and nonprofit organizations. Natasha makes the case for short videos that give viewers a powerful taste of the aspirational goals of a cause. She also offers some tips for nonprofits that want to make their own impactful videos, and gives her perspective on the new six-second video app Vine. Finally, Natasha shares how listeners can access a free guide from…
Boston Strong Cause Marketing: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Joe Waters

16 May 2013 | 6:02 am

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since the Boston Marathon bombing. It was a harrowing day (and week with the ensuing man hunt), which I recounted in my newsletter and on the For Momentum blog. In the days following the bombing, Boston Strong became the battle cry for a whole nation. On the cause marketing front, it was a interesting and enlightening to watch things unfold. I saw a lot of great examples of cause marketing that were innovative, creative and downright inspiring. It made me even prouder to be a wicked awesome Bostonian! But there was also a downside to all…
CauseTalk Radio Ep54: Corporate Volunteering is Like Sex, How to Have More of It

Joe Waters

9 May 2013 | 7:39 am

Today on CauseTalk radio, Megan and I chat with Chris Jarvis of Realized Worth, an expert on mobilizing employees for good causes. Chris debunks the myths of “Done in a Day” corporate volunteerism, explains the “Proximity Factor” of employee engagement and outlines how companies can woo more employees to participate in meaningful and long-term nonprofit initiatives. For the real deal from the guy who knows how to get employees to participate in corporate volunteering programs, tune in now!… Keep reading
CauseTalk Radio Ep53: TisBest Launches Cause Marketing Platform for Trade Shows

Joe Waters

2 May 2013 | 6:47 am

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Jon Siegel, Executive Director, TisBest and Tricia Wilkerson, Marketing Manager, Conifer Health Solutions about ExpoGiving. This new trade show product uses money that normally goes to trade show tchotchkes and funnels it to charitable organizations that fight hunger, work to end homelessness, conduct medical research, and take environmental action. Tricia shares her company’s experiences with TisBest and ExpoGiving, and Jon talks about the launch of the product this week at the Business 4 Better Conference in Anaheim, California. Tune in…

White Courtesy Telephone
What the Next Generation of Grantmakers Wants To Accomplish

Curator

7 May 2013 | 2:56 am

P O S T E D B Y A L B E R T One of the responsibilities of us older salts in the field of philanthropy is to ensure that we absolutely do not reproduce ourselves in the next generation. I had the opportunity of spending an afternoon this past November with participants in the Council on Foundations’ Career Pathways Program. These were mostly…
Philanthropy’s Uneasy Relationship With The Social Sciences

Curator

2 May 2013 | 7:36 pm

P O S T E D B Y A L B E R T 1. Human Motion, Human Action, and Causality “One sure way to ruffle feathers at the normally staid Council on Foundations—the nation’s largest philanthropic membership organization—is to remind it of American philanthropy’s knee-deep involvement in eugenics,” writes Bill Schambra, director of the Bradley Center…
An Easter Message From The Countess Apraxina

Curator

31 Mar 2013 | 3:31 pm

P O S T E D B Y S A L L Y Editor’s note: We publish occasional messages sent to us by the Countess Apraxina. She and former White Courtesy Telephone editor Albert Ruesga became friends after meeting at a Tolstoi Foundation reception many years ago. According to Albert, the two spent the rest of the evening drinking Champagne Martinis…
Gotta Be Cruel to Be Kind (In Philanthropy)

Curator

25 Mar 2013 | 8:16 pm

P O S T E D B Y A L B E R T A version of these remarks was delivered at an event titled Is Philanthropy Killing Itself With Kindness? organized by Bill Schambra, director of the Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. The event was based on a provocative Chronicle of Philanthropy article written by Caroline…
Double Jeopardy for Philanthropy?

Curator

6 Feb 2013 | 5:50 pm

In a field not generally known for the extraordinary, an extraordinary thing happened some three years ago at the Council on Foundations annual meeting in Denver: philanthropy was put on trial. By philanthropy I don’t mean the outpouring of generosity by individuals and families, but so-called “organized philanthropy,” characterized by the work of foundations and other institutional grantmakers. Gara Lamarche, then-CEO of Atlantic Philanthropies, was the prosecuting attorney, opening his case with a spirited “J’accuse!” Ralph Smith, Senior Vice President at the Annie…

SocialFish
Start a Fire in Your Social Network

Maddie Grant

22 May 2013 | 4:30 am

Just conducted a fun webinar last week for the nice peeps at Higher Logic, on engagement in your online community. Here are the slides for your viewing pleasure. This is a small snapshot of the extensive information we teach in our Private Community Management Program – sign up for the wait list here. Start a fire in your social network…okay, not a literal fire. Instead gather the materials you need to start sparking interest and activity within your membership about this member benefit they all should be using. We all know launching a private social network is much easier than…
IMPORTANT: 2013 Nonprofit Engagement Data Management Study

Maddie Grant

21 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Check it out!! From the NTEN blog: When it comes to tracking and using “engagement” data – the actions, interactions, and even conversations that relate to an organization’s work but don’t necessarily represent the transactional or financial data that have been traditionally used for measuring an organization’s health – today’s nonprofits are either tracking a lot, or hardly anything at all. And very few organizations are applying that data to make decisions about their programs or measure their strategic outcomes. That’s what we found when we, with Avectra, surveyed…
How Promoted Hashtags Can Ruin Your Online Campaign Efforts

Shane Jones

20 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Let’s evaluate the potential opportunities that can instill positive feelings and compel followers to share, participate and engage in social conversation. One of the most surefire ways to encourage conversation on your nonprofit or association is through the use of hashtags on Twitter. But in order to carry out a successful campaign that instills positive feelings, we must use judgment and minimize risk. We can do so by looking at a famous previous campaign that has gone poorly for a brand, which will show you just how promoted hashtags can crush your online efforts.
Off topic: 80′s DC Punk Memorabilia Archive

Maddie Grant

17 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Just for fun, I randomly decided I was going to archive a big pile of old concert flyers from the 80′s when I was growing up in DC and had the privilege of hanging out with the likes of Fugazi at Fort Reno Park. (Speaking of which, I wrote an homage to them last year, a sort of social media ode. LOL.) So for archiving purposes, I’ve started a DCpunkrock Tumblr. If you were around and in the scene then, or have friends who were, I’d be grateful if you would let them know, in case they want to add to the archive. I might need to change the theming so people can upload…
Crowd Empowered Microfinance

Maddie Grant

16 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Here’s a followup post by Dan Marom, after he shared some insights last week into his book about the Crowdfunding Revolution. ———————— Below is a preview of a chapter I wrote on Crowd Empowered Microfinance in the book Microfinance in Developing Countries, edited by Jean-Paul Gueyie, Ronny Manos, and Jacob Yaron. Microfinance is a multi-billion dollar industry with a rich history for supporting entrepreneurship and its endeavor to end global poverty. In recent years, we have witnessed the rise of crowdfunding, an industry devoted to…

Jamie Notter
Definition of Organizational Culture

Jamie Notter

20 May 2013 | 6:15 am

I had the great pleasure of doing a webinar recently with Brad Palmer, the CEO of Jostle. We were talking about shifting your organizational culture from toxic to Humanized. For that webinar, I wrote up a definition of organizational culture, which is something I hadn’t done before. Well, that’s not entirely true. We define culture in Humanize (the human elements we talk about show up simultaneously at three levels: culture, process, and behavior), but we don’t provide a single-sentence version. So here is a first draft: Organizational culture is the collection of words,…
Reminder: What I Do

Jamie Notter

17 May 2013 | 8:05 am

Just a quick reminder to all my blog readers that in addition to all the thinking and writing I do, a also have a consulting and speaking business! My work focuses on helping clients improve organizational performance by strengthening their culture. There are a number of different ways to do that, of course, ranging from up-front culture assessment and action plans, to specific projects dealing with performance reviews, strategy, or team conflicts. Below are links to the specific projects I do with organizations. If you’d like to talk more about any of this, please let me know. Culture…
Organizations are Flattening but Not Taking Risks

Jamie Notter

16 May 2013 | 2:51 pm

So I took a look at the data we’ve been collecting for the last year or so on the Humanize website through our Social Business Readiness Assessment. We took the ideas from Humanize and built them into a 60-question assessment that anyone can take individually online (and if you’re interested in having all your staff take it and getting a customized report, contact me). There are actually 120 questions, but it randomly chooses 60 for you. The questions measure how your organization is doing in the areas that social businesses need to do well, like decentralization, transparency,…
Financial Sustainability is Not a Strategy

Jamie Notter

14 May 2013 | 4:51 am

I suppose I don’t need ANOTHER reason to dislike strategic plans, but I was reminded of one the other day. I heard a volunteer of an association dutifully reporting to a chapter on how the national organization was making progress on it’s strategic goals. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but she eventually got to that fourth strategic goal: financial sustainability. Nearly every association I know throws this one in to their strategic plan. Universities like it too, according to my google search. And don’t get me wrong–financial sustainability is a good idea, but…
Advice on Leadership, Conflict, and Diversity

Jamie Notter

13 May 2013 | 2:44 am

I was interviewed by the folks at Reputation.com for their blog, including questions about conflict, trust, performance reviews, and culture. Check it out.

AFP Blog: Recent News of Note
Growing Gifts, Shrinking Match Imperil Pittsburgh Giving Day - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Reed Stockman

22 May 2013 | 8:47 am

Growing Gifts, Shrinking Match Imperil Pittsburgh Giving Day - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The Pittsburgh Foundation might end its annual online Day of Giving, which has raised $21-million for local charities since 2009, because donations are outstripping its ability to provide matching funds, writes the Pittsburgh
Is Hosting The Olympics Good For Local Charities? The Psychology Of Philanthropy

Reed Stockman

22 May 2013 | 8:43 am

Is Hosting The Olympics Good For Local Charities? The Psychology Of Philanthropy: It is often believed that mega-events like the Olympics are good for a city but though many of the benefits are implied they get a monetary value attached; 'leadership','world-stage', etc. The hangover that occurs economically afterward often leave countries wondering who did the math.
The Global Afterlife Of Your Donated Clothes : Parallels : NPR

Reed Stockman

22 May 2013 | 5:29 am

The Global Afterlife Of Your Donated Clothes : Parallels : NPR: "It's a scene played out across the U.S.: people donating their old clothes, whether through collection bins or through large charities, to help others. Melissa Vanouse donates clothes a couple of times a year. "I think it all pretty much stays local — that's kind of the idea," she says. But it doesn't. Martha's Table, like other
A small big thing… | Hands-on Fundraising

Reed Stockman

22 May 2013 | 5:01 am

A small big thing… | Hands-on Fundraising: "First lesson – an open mind, even when you just don’t know enough to know you don’t know enough – can be a good thing. We hired consultants to help us get started. One guy was the outward face of the team. He had lots of experience in politics. He was polished. He knew people and dropped a name or two. He hooked us up with a good copywriter." 'via
Half of Americans Say Giving Is Best Part of Wealth - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Reed Stockman

21 May 2013 | 9:33 am

Half of Americans Say Giving Is Best Part of Wealth - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Giving money away to good causes is the most satisfying part of life for at least half of America’s millionaires and billionaires, according to a survey released Tuesday. Philanthropy ranked highest for a bigger share of the rich than the

Wild Apricot Blog (RSS 2.0)
24+ Free Non-profit Webinars for June 2013

Lori Halley [Engaging Apricot]

22 May 2013 | 5:30 am

Here's our round-up of free non-profit webinars that will be available in June.
3 Ideas for Inspiring Member Loyalty and Demonstrating Value

Lori Halley [Engaging Apricot]

21 May 2013 | 5:30 am

Here are some ideas on ways associations can inspire mutual loyalty and demonstrate member value.
Dear Board...Observations From a New Volunteer

Lori Halley [Engaging Apricot]

17 May 2013 | 5:29 am

Here is a letter to the board from a new volunteer offering some insight and advice Dr. Seuss-style.
New Infographics Resource From Idealware

Lori Halley [Engaging Apricot]

15 May 2013 | 5:30 am

Here's an overview of a new resource from Idealware that can help you understand when and how to use infographics.
Do You Have a Membership Content Strategy?

Lori Halley [Engaging Apricot]

13 May 2013 | 5:30 am

What is a content strategy and how does it apply to small membership organizations?

NP Communicator
Modern Mobilizing: Activism in the Digital Age

admin

16 May 2013 | 9:34 am

Guest post by Thom Clark The Internet brought more information to each of our desktops than we ever dreamed of 10, 15, 20 years ago. But in the last five years, the rise of social media and digital tools, like the tablet and smart phone, are transforming how many organizations get their work done, engage existing members and expand their base. “While engaging your current community is critical to fulfilling your organizational mission,” according to Tracy VanSlyke, co-director of The New Bottom Line, “Broadening your community to advance your work is equally important.” Effective use…
Making Way for the Mobile Revolution

admin

8 May 2013 | 11:13 pm

The Making Media Connections conference website boasts a responsive web design. Guest post by Marissa Wasseluk, opinions are that of the author. When a stranger asks you to use your phone, what are the chances you’d wholeheartedly pass it to them? Personally, I have trouble passing my phone to good friends without trepidation. A phone is an object with deep personal attachment. It’s your personal connection to the rest of the world – the communications tool you carry with you nearly all the time. If you’re reading this blog in America, there’s a 50% chance that…
Lessons Learned as a Non-Profit Communicator

admin

6 May 2013 | 1:13 pm

Guest post by Community Media Workshop Board Member Gary Arnold Years ago, I moved into the communications role at Access Living, a non-profit service and advocacy organization for people with disabilities, with no prior communications experience. Stories I’ve heard from my peers tell me I am not alone. Out of necessity, non-profits often assign communications jobs to employees who typically don’t have a communications background. Like many of my peers, I turned to the Community Media Workshop for support, which helps bridge the gap between communications novices and the skill set…
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a 6-second video clip worth?

admin

30 Apr 2013 | 11:11 am

Guest post by DeAnndra B. This is not an endorsement for Vine nor is it a step-by-step guide of how to use Vine. *cue dramatic instrumental movie music* This isabout my journey three weeks using the Vine app with iPhone. Let’s begin. Twitter’s Vine is a mobile-only app that allows users to create 6-second looped videos that are posted within the app. This concept seemed so cool to me, but I was weary of how the app would be used for good, and the not-so good that often exists in the social media world. Vine was introduced to the Apple App Store for iOS devices in late…
How Do You Connect with the Workshop?

admin

24 Apr 2013 | 12:43 pm

Social media strategy is ever-changing, and as we, at the Workshop, rework ours, we’d like to know your thoughts on our social web presence. Please take 15 minutes to give us your thoughts, and you will be entered to win a $150 credit to use on any Workshop product – from media guides to trainings! Drawing will be held at noon, May 20th. TAKE THE SURVEY

Cause Marketing
Five Bad Habits of Cause Marketers

Paul Jones is the president of

22 May 2013 | 4:00 am

On Monday I posted about five good habits of great cause marketers. But cause marketers... good and bad... can have bad habits too.In his terrific 2012 book The Power of Habit Pulitzer prize-winning-reporter Charles Duhigg tells about the three phases of habits: the cue; the routine or behavior; and the reward.To change bad habits to good habits, Duhigg writes, you have to transform the routine / behavior. That’s how Alcoholic Anonymous works and the means by which Tony Dungy turned the Indianapolis Colts into Super Bowl champs, to cite two examples from the Duhigg’s book. I recommend The…
The Five Habits of Great Cause Marketers

Paul Jones is the president of

20 May 2013 | 4:00 am

Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Of course, that’s true. There are a whole host of things that are challenging the first times we do them, but become easier as we repeat them. Scientists call it “automaticity.” I’ve been driving for more than 25 years and notwithstanding all the cognitive effort it took when I was 16, it’s pretty easy for me to drive safely now.William James, the first real American psychologist, said that habits are like the crease in a man’s suit pants or the channels set by the water that came…
Where is All the Cause Marketing with Faith-Based Nonprofits?

Paul Jones is the president of

17 May 2013 | 4:00 am

In Feb 2013, I got an email from a remarkable student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill who had an intriguing question: why isn’t there more cause marketing between sponsors and faith-based nonprofits? It’s a question I’d wondered about myself so it was fun to be asked to think about. Marshele Carter Waddell and I talked about it several times in the intervening months. Marshele is a grad student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC, the executive director of a faith-based nonprofit, the author of four books, the 28-Year Wife of a U.S. Navy SEAL…
The Moral Authority of the IRS Has Been Diminished

Paul Jones is the president of

15 May 2013 | 4:00 am

Years ago I read a book by a man who had been the public defender in the bad old days of Soviet Russia. There were horrors aplenty, all worthy of a Kafka novel. One of the things that has stuck with me ever since was his belief that he wasn’t defending his clients against just the Soviet apparatchik. He also had to defend against the expectations of jurors who ‘knew’ what the government wanted; even when there was no communication from any level of the Nomenklatura.Such kangaroo courts didn’t require any direct intervention from Soviet officials at all, he wrote. That is during a…
Father's Day Ad Can't Save the Manatee

Paul Jones is the president of

13 May 2013 | 4:00 am

One of the oldest tricks in the retail promotions handbook is to base your promotion around a holiday. That’s why you see chocolate promotions in around Valentine’s Day in February, and back to school sales in August, when most schools in the United States restart after the summer break. Merchants and retailers use holidays as a hook to hang their promotions on.It goes without saying that there’s nothing coded in the world’s DNA that compels back-to-school sales to take place in August, however. In counties where the summer school break is shorter back-to-school sales might take place…

So what can I do?
Change the world.

Karama

6 Oct 2014 | 3:52 pm

How will you make our world a better place?* Health and education* Economics, social entrepreneurship, and microfinance* Food and water* Energy and technology* Women, children, and family* Environment, land, and sustainability* FaithAnd don’t forget to visit the So What Can I Do Bookstore. Your efforts can change the world.”Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Mohandas GandhiPlease visit http://sowhatcanido.blogspot.com to offer your comments and suggestions, forward this post, and peruse the archives. Thanks for reading "So what can I do", the public service weblog promoting…
Celebrate Juneteeth, end slavery.

Karama

19 Jun 2012 | 5:13 am

Today is Juneteenth, my favorite holiday. It marks the "end" of slavery in the United States in 1865 and feels particularly relevant because is linked, at least peripherally, to my great-great-granddaddy, Griffin Henry Belk. But one cannot honestly celebrate Juneteenth these days without recognizing the slavery is not over in the United States or elsewhere. Today there are more people enslaved than at any time in human history. Many of those enslaved are women and girls; many are in the United States. I often wonder why so many people sat idly by while people enslaved other people like my…
Send a girl to school.

Karama

8 Mar 2012 | 6:15 pm

Happy International Women's Day! One great way to celebrate is to invest in the women of tomorrow and the communities they'll create. You can do that by helping send a girl-child to school. According to CAMFED, "When you educate a girl in Africa, everything changes. She’ll be three times less likely to get HIV/AIDS, earn 25 percent more income and have a smaller, healthier family." Consider supporting CAMFED as they help girls all over rural Africa pay school fees, purchase school books and uniforms, and get a life-changing education. And if you'd like other ideas for today and everyday,…
Sacrifice, save, serve.

Karama

22 Feb 2012 | 8:32 pm

Today is the first day of Lent and many Christians are giving up some luxury as a way of preparing for Easter and focusing their thoughts and prayers on Christ's sacrifice for us. If you are giving up something for Lent this year, and if that something costs money, consider donating your savings to a worthy local, national, or international service organization. * If you're giving up pop for Lent, you could save and donate $30 to help a family use agriculture more self sufficient by supporting Heifer International (where I got this idea).* If you're giving up desserts for Lent, you could save…
Make it a day/life of service.

Karama

6 Jan 2012 | 8:02 pm

I remember one Martin Luther King day many years ago, when I was in grad school, that I spent in the lab. That wasn't too unusual because I generally went to the lab every day. But one of my colleagues (who was also working) asked me why I was in the lab on the King holiday. I replied that I thought Dr. King would want me to get my PhD. I still think of the King Holiday as a day on rather than a day off, but now that I have finished school, I have a bit more time to be of service to others on that day. Readers of So What Can I Do are likely to feel the same, so I offer two resources to find…

The Fine Print: blog posts from Center for Effective Government
Improving Rules on Implementing the Freedom of Information Act

apostnikova

22 May 2013 | 11:01 am

Up-to-date Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rules that support transparency are important for ensuring agencies are properly implementing the law. Last week, the Center for Effective Government submitted comments to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) on its proposed FOIA implementation regulations and encouraged the agency to expand online disclosures, improve communication with requesters, clarify fees and fee waivers, and improve the process of submitting and processing administrative appeals. Expanding online disclosures, such as posting online all records released in…
UPDATED: Three Reasons the REINS Act Must Be Stopped (Again)

kgreenhaw

22 May 2013 | 6:40 am

1/25/2013: Rep. Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 367) this week, making this the third time the bill has been introduced. If passed, the REINS Act would require congressional approval of all major rules, potentially endangering the most important safeguards to our health, safety, environment, and economy. Here are three reasons why the REINS Act must be stopped (again): 1. It would delay or block public protections. The bill would require that Congress approve standards and safeguards within 70 legislative days. If…
BLM Fracking Rule Violates New Executive Order on Open Data

splagakis

16 May 2013 | 1:46 pm

Today, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its revised proposed rule for natural gas drilling (commonly referred to as fracking) on federal and tribal lands. The much-anticipated rule violates President Obama's recently issued executive order that requires new government information to be made available to the public in open, machine-readable formats. Last week, President Obama signed an executive order requiring that all newly generated public data be pushed out in open, machine-readable formats. Concurrently, the Office of Management and Budget…
The Lack of Jobs Is the Problem, Not Deficits

nschwellenbach

15 May 2013 | 2:05 pm

Budget deficits are shrinking at a breakneck pace now and will continue to do so over the next several years, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which released its latest projections on the budget and the economy on May 14. Meanwhile, we have anemic jobs growth that’s worse than it should be, in large part because of all the extreme deficit reduction measures we’ve seen over the last few years. The CBO estimated that we’ll have a government deficit about $200 billion smaller in 2013 than previously projected and that deficits over the next decade will be…
Without Austerity, More Americans Would Have Jobs

nschwellenbach

10 May 2013 | 9:28 am

As if Americans needed anymore confirmation that austerity is holding the economy back, The New York Times this week reported that the consensus among private financial analysts – as well as by the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Federal Reserve and others – is that sequestration and earlier spending cuts are translating into fewer jobs and a worse economy for the nation overall. The Times reported, "The nation’s unemployment rate would probably be nearly a point lower, roughly 6.5 percent, and economic growth almost two points higher this year if Washington…

Public Sector Marketing 2.0
A reflection on the reporting of “breaking news” during the Boston Manhunt

Mike Kujawski

28 Apr 2013 | 11:38 am

There has been more than enough written on the tragic Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent shoot-out death of one suspect and arrest of the other. I definitely don’t want to be adding to the plethora of opinions out there and emerging law enforcement criticisms and conspiracy theories. The focus of this post is merely to share a few thoughts on how I found myself tracking these events as they were unfolding and how the reporting and consumption of breaking news continues to undergo a massive transformation. What do I mean? In the pre-social media past, most news junkies such as…
Can a mobile app save lives? Yes it can.

Mike Kujawski

15 Mar 2013 | 9:15 am

Over the last year I have had the privilege of working with a fair amount of health organizations wishing to enter the digital realm. As a result, I have performed quite a bit of research and literature review on the applicability of social media engagement and mobile technology in the public health field. The opportunities are of course tremendous, and most of the risks can be effectively mitigated through education/training as numerous proactive health organizations have demonstrated to date. What I wanted to share in this post however, is the single most powerful example of mobile health…
A list of mobile apps that I use regularly

Mike Kujawski

12 Mar 2013 | 4:15 am

I received a few emails recently asking me about my favourite mobile apps. Rather than responding individually I have decided to create a public blog post out of my response in case others are interested as well. Out of the hundreds of apps (on iOS, BB and Android platforms) that I have downloaded since I purchased my first smartphone, there are very few that actually give me true utility on a regular basis. I have listed them below , organized into three categories. For the record, I currently own an Android based Samsung Galaxy S3 as my smartphone , however my list was quite similar when I…
The internet of things

Mike Kujawski

8 Feb 2013 | 3:30 am

To some of you, the phrase “internet of things” may be outdated (it was first used by Kevin Ashton in 1999) , to others it may be brand new. Regardless, prepare yourself to be over inundated with people throwing this term around as it rapidly gains popularity in the world of digital buzz phrases. Definition “The Internet of Things (IoT) is a computing concept that describes a future where everyday physical objects will be connected to the Internet and will be able to identify themselves to other devices. The term is closely identified with RFID as the method of…
If This Then That. When Google isn’t enough…

Mike Kujawski

16 Jan 2013 | 3:00 am

We all know “googling” things in 2013 is ubiquitous. Once you throw in Bing, Yahoo, and the multitude of niche search engines you get roughly 92% of the world’s on-line population of 2.3 billion people searching for things daily. That being said, search still requires you to input a decently thought out query and fine-tune it as you go along. Yes, this is far more convenient than anything we had in the past, however with the sheer amount of things we search for, finding efficiencies in the process will be essential over the next few years. What I’ve been using to…

Third Sector News RSS Feed
Charity Commission appoints seventh new board member

22 May 2013 | 5:33 am

Eryl Besse, a solicitor, joins as member with expertise in Welsh charities
Charity Commission proposes scrapping summary information return

22 May 2013 | 4:59 am

Changes to annual return, out for consultation, would gather more information on charities with little burden, says Jane Hobson of the regulator
National media briefing: the Mammal Society, Buglife and the Marine Conservation Society; Young Epilepsy; the Stroke Association; and Harry Potter book sold for £150,000 at charity auction

22 May 2013 | 2:54 am

Charities in today's national news
Work Programme 'not helping the most disadvantaged unemployed people'

21 May 2013 | 5:48 pm

Those who most need support are being 'parked', says Paul Farmer of Mind, one of three large charities that agree with a critical Work and Pensions Committee report
Regulator refers case of Jewish charity to its operations team

21 May 2013 | 5:27 pm

The Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust and two affiliated charities will be looked at after a complaint by the campaign group Stop the JNF

Inside Philanthropy
To reach Millennium Development Goals, philanthropy needs to be a joined-up effort

8 May 2013 | 9:16 am

Special to Philanthropy JournalNeelamMakhijani I was proud to attend my first U.N. Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) on the 23rd of April, where, just two years shy of our 2015 target for the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the mood was optimistic and ambitious, but also fraught with practical complications that have left us behind in certain areas. The DCF was born in response to the changing development landscape and the growing number of development actors. Under the auspices of the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), this biennial forum has successfully…
Engagement: The Donor Retention Myth

6 May 2013 | 6:40 am

Jay GoulartI know all the rage currently is to discuss both communication/giving channels and engagement as key tools for donor retention. If you've never been responsible for creating and delivering a strategy that resulted in donor retention then these items would be incredibly logical to focus on. The problem is it doesn't really work that way. You can't create something new and different with an old mindset, ie the dude on the right.If donor retention is a desired outcome for you it begins with your organizational structure and culture, characteristics of your staff and the environment…
Videos Help Non-Profits Convey Emotion When Raising Money

3 Dec 2012 | 6:14 am

Just as the ways of doing business have evolved in the for-profit world, the non-profit world is evolving too when it comes to raising money for their mission. Non-profit organizations compete in a world with fewer staff and less face time with decision-makers that can help advance their mission. Non-profits need a tool that can quickly and effectively capture exactly what they do and what they need in a timely manner. Impactful video presentations are one tool that can be extremely effective for fund raising. Strong, story based video presentations help evoke emotion by…
NEW POLL: AMERICANS STRONGLY SUPPORT NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR VOTING

19 Nov 2012 | 7:07 am

MacArthur Foundation Eighty-eight percent of Americans who voted in the Nov. 6 election support establishing national standards for voting, including the hours polls are open, who is eligible to vote, and the design of ballots, according to a new poll by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Currently, voting rules and procedures differ from one community to another, across thousands of voting jurisdictions, although the date of the Presidential election is shared by all. Half of those polled are “strongly supportive” and an additional 38 percent are “somewhat…
Jeff Raikes on Philanthropy

4 Oct 2012 | 10:15 am

This blog post was originally published on Impatient OptimistsJeff Raikes on PhilanthropyWelcome to my new blog series on Impatient Optimists, where I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the Gates Foundation and philanthropy. Every six weeks I’ll be posting a new blog discussing a pressing issue at the foundation or addressing some of the challenges and opportunities facing the philanthropic community. More than anything else, this is a space for a conversation. So please submit your questions, share your feedback, and let me know if there are any topics you would like to hear about. For my…

EveryJoe
Miranda Kerr Wardrobe Malfunction Caused by Wind

Stephen Kersey

22 May 2013 | 7:37 pm

In Miami, Miranda Kerr was doing a shoot for brand of make-up. Everything was going smoothly until it got windy. Although she tried her hardest to cover up, the end result was a glorious nipple slip — in fact, a … More »The post Miranda Kerr Wardrobe Malfunction Caused by Wind appeared first on EveryJoe.
Is Michael Crabtree Out for the Season?

Kori Ellis

22 May 2013 | 6:30 pm

After suffering a torn Achilles tendon in his right leg, Michael Crabtree has had one pressing question: Will the talented wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers miss the entire upcoming season? Personally, I think he will. And even if … More »The post Is Michael Crabtree Out for the Season? appeared first on EveryJoe.
Tony Parker has MRI on Injured Calf

Kori Ellis

22 May 2013 | 4:34 pm

Tony Parker originally injured his calf against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3. Even though the bruise swelled up to the size of a baseball, he has kept playing since that time. And he has actually played well. However, … More »The post Tony Parker has MRI on Injured Calf appeared first on EveryJoe.
Twitter: Tiger Woods Responds to Sergio Garcia’s Racist Comment

Kori Ellis

22 May 2013 | 4:15 pm

Following Sergio Garcia racist comment regarding Tiger Woods and fried chicken, the best golfer in the world went on Twitter to issue a response. And, no, the best golfer in the world isn’t a Spaniard who has failed to live … More »The post Twitter: Tiger Woods Responds to Sergio Garcia’s Racist Comment appeared first on EveryJoe.
Brian Urlacher Retires, Remains Awesome

Kori Ellis

22 May 2013 | 4:04 pm

Although he was turning 35 in a few days, Brian Urlacher could have played a few more years in the NFL if he wanted to milk things. However, instead of a disgraceful ending to his storied career, the Chicago Bears … More »The post Brian Urlacher Retires, Remains Awesome appeared first on EveryJoe.

Nonprofit Law Blog
All Eyes on Delaware’s Public Benefit Corporation Legislation

Gene Takagi

20 May 2013 | 4:30 am

Last month, with great fanfare, Delaware’s governor Jack Markell introduced legislation providing for the creation of public benefit corporations. Enjoying broad, bipartisan support, the new law is expected to be quickly approved and put into effect as early as August 1, 2013. That Delaware has decided to legislatively sanctify public benefit corporations is a huge step forward on the path toward broad-based acceptance of this new corporate form. Consider this -- over 1 million business entities call Delaware their legal home, including more than 50% of all U.S. publicly traded companies…
Nonprofit Tweets of the Week - May 17, 2013

Gene Takagi

16 May 2013 | 7:19 pm

Quite the week for the IRS. Have a listen to Radiohead's Electioneering while perusing this week's serving of tweets:
Treasury Inspector General Report on IRS "Scandal"

Gene Takagi

15 May 2013 | 9:57 am

On May 14, 2013, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released its report on the IRS targeting of conservative groups in reviewing applications for exemption under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. The report, Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to Identify Tax-Exemption Applications for Review, and problems will continue to be dissected over the coming months. One section of interest described follow-up questions to exemption applications that the IRS should not have asked: Seven Questions Identified As Unnecessary by the EO Function Requests the names of…
IRS/EO apologizes for improperly targeting conservative groups

Gene Takagi

10 May 2013 | 5:11 pm

Earlier today, Lois Lerner, the director of the Internal Revenue Service Exempt Organizations division, apologized for the acts of its employees in singling out the exemption applications of Tea Party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny. The IRS added in a statement that such mistakes "were in no way due to any political or partisan rationale." From CNN: Any applications that were incomplete, lacked consistent information, or indicated a group would be involved with some type of advocacy, were filed into a certain group for further review.However, approximately 75 of the 300…
Nonprofit Tweets of the Week - May 10, 2013

Gene Takagi

10 May 2013 | 12:14 am

I'll be on Nonprofit Radio today at 10:30 am PT / 1:30 pm ET talking with Tony about Dan Pallotta's viral video on TED, The way we think about charity is dead wrong. You can catch us live or on iTunes. Listen to Depeche Mode's Wrong as you peruse this week's list of tweets: Pro Publica: Announcing Nonprofit Explorer, a simple way to search 990s for nearly 616k nonprofits: http://propub.ca/13kbtfK Gene: Silicon Valley's philanthropy disconnected from the community - http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/local_resources_for_local_needs C. Garger Siegrist: Settlement ends Hershey Trust probe…

PhilanTopic
The State of Philanthropic Giving in 2011

Mitch Nauffts

22 May 2013 | 11:47 am

(Niki Jagpal is research and policy director and Kevin Laskowski is senior research and policy associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Both frequently blog about the role of philanthropy in society. You can follow NCRP on Twitter @ncrp.) Anyone working in the nonprofit sector knows the value of measurement. If something is important -- whether it's your own impact and outcomes or a field-wide trend -- you measure it. Somehow, some way, you track it. NCRP recently completed an analysis of 2011 foundation giving based on our own Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best:…
Partnering With State Governments to Strengthen Families: Early Lessons From the Work Support Strategies Initiative

Mitch Nauffts

20 May 2013 | 11:45 am

(Luis A. Ubiñas is president of the Ford Foundation. This commentary is adapted from a forthcoming Urban Institute report, available online starting June 4, that includes an array of perspectives from leaders about practical lessons emerging from the Work Supports Strategies initiative.) Over the past half-decade, as the country has suffered through a deep, persistent economic downturn, America's work support programs have served as an essential backstop for millions of working families struggling to keep a toehold in the labor market. For many families, supports such as child care…
Weekend Link Roundup (May 18-19, 2013)

Regina Mahone

19 May 2013 | 3:00 pm

Our weekly roundup of new and noteworthy posts from and about the nonprofit sector.... Data We're big fans of data visualization whiz Hans Rosling, and so is Humanosphere blogger Tom Paulson. But, writes Paulson, Rosling "is strikingly upfront about the limitations of data. Sometimes, the problem is that different countries measure things -- like unemployment -- in different ways....In other cases, there are real uncertainties in the data that must be assessed: child mortality statistics are quite precise, whereas maternal mortality figures are not; global poverty measurements are infrequent…
Trouble at the IRS: What Were They Thinking?

Mitch Nauffts

16 May 2013 | 1:00 pm

(David Jacobs is director of foundation information management at the Foundation Center. In his last post for PhilanTopic, he blogged about an Open Data Master Class presented by the World Bank.) Like many Americans, I was shocked to learn last week that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted conservative and Tea Party organizations applying for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status for additional review prior to last year's elections. And like many Americans, my shock turned to disgust this week as additional details -- including the alleged leaking of confidential donor information -- emerged,…
Dear Fundraisers: The Annual Report Is Yesterday’s News

Mitch Nauffts

14 May 2013 | 6:45 am

(Derrick Feldmann is CEO of Achieve, an Indianapolis-based creative fundraising agency. In his last post, he wrote about the importance of differentiating between your "sophisticated" and average donors. When I headed off to college for the first time, I had no idea what I wanted to study or what kind of career I would pursue after graduation. Like so many other "undecideds," I took classes from lots of different departments and hoped something would click. Then, in my junior year, I discovered criminal justice. I had always enjoyed crime novels, detective stories, and hearing about unsolved…

seachangestrategies.com
My own medicine: Research to kickstart a friendship revolution

Alia

21 May 2013 | 10:00 am

I just got a taste of my own medicine. At Sea Change, we often tell clients, “that’s a good research question.” Or “what would your donors say?” Then we help them find out the answers so they can better communicate with their target audiences. Sometimes we corroborate something that was a hunch. Sometimes we’re completely surprised with what learn. During the last six months, I’ve had to take my own advice in a big way. As part of my passion project Lifeboat, which is dedicated to…
The French Are Still French: Embracing Your Heritage

Alia

15 May 2013 | 12:36 pm

I spent last week in the south of France. Lucky me! En route, I lamented to my partner the effects of globalization as we encountered countless McDonald’s, Starbuck’s and Brookstones on our three-leg European journey to Nice (We flew on points and thus took a roundabout route). Once we arrived and drove deep into the countryside, my laments ceased. I was in France. I felt it. I heard it. I tasted it. English vanished. Vineyards rolled on as far as the eye could see. Meals out took 3 hours with no pressure to turn a table from our waiters. Passersby gawked at me on my daily run…
Why name changes suck and branding is hard

Mark

14 May 2013 | 5:12 am

It all boils down to three simple words. But first a story. In the late 1980s a furor erupted among the international leaders of World Wildlife Fund. The name issue. The work of wildlife conservation has always been about much more than animals. In the late 1980s, that prompted internal sturm and drang over the organization’s name. It stood to reason that since so much of World Wildlife Fund’s work was about people and places that a more accurate name would be better. That gave rise to a new, “improved” moniker: “World Wide Fund for Nature.” The new name let the…
we are all characters — meet some great ones

Mark

13 May 2013 | 6:02 am

With a lot of help and guidance, Katya Andresen and I are happy to share the news that the inaugural issue of CHARACTERS magazine is live. You can download the magazine for free at www.charactersmag.com One of the ironies of storytelling is that it is much easier to talk about it than it is to actually do it. Both Katya and I have plenty of our own attempts that (happily) will never see the light of day. The stories featured in CHARACTERS share two qualities – they were written by folks who work in the non-profit sector, and they are all terrific. They span a host of genres – fiction,…
Are you afraid of the F-bomb?

Mark

9 May 2013 | 9:41 am

If you are, do not click on this link. Erika Napoletano is one of a tiny handful of must-read bloggers in my life. Her choice of language is, um, salty. But she is also insightful, brilliant and funny. And full disclosure, I find her profanity to be highly entertaining. This short Erika video takes on the flap over the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch stating publicly that he doesn’t want fat or ugly people wearing his clothes. Erika points out that while this is despicable on a societal level, it is also disciplined, smart branding. Is this guy hateable? Yep. Does he represent a lot of what is…

The GiveWell Blog
Flow-through effects

Holden

15 May 2013 | 12:00 pm

As mentioned previously, we believe that further economic development, and general human empowerment, is likely to be substantially net positive, and that it is likely to lead to improvement on many dimensions in unexpected ways. This post elaborates on the reasons we hold this view and the implications of it. We haven’t done nearly as much empirical research on whether this view is appropriate as we would ideally like to, and in the future we may approach it with a more concerted research effort. For now, we’d point to the following as broad defenses of this view: Since the…
Update on GiveWell’s web traffic / money moved: Q1 2013

Natalie

8 May 2013 | 6:11 am

In addition to evaluations of other charities, GiveWell publishes substantial evaluation on itself, from the quality of its research to its impact on donations. We publish quarterly updates regarding two key metrics: (a) donations to top charities and (b) web traffic. The table and chart below present basic information about our growth in money moved and web traffic in the first quarter of 2013 (note 1). Summary statistics: Q1 Growth is at a slower pace than in 2012 (note 2). This may largely be a function of the fact that we are now growing from a larger base from which we can no longer…
Unorthodox Prize

Holden

6 May 2013 | 12:24 pm

A couple of years ago, an anonymous family foundation launched a call for “extraordinary and unorthodox” philanthropic opportunities. We wrote critically about this at the time, but the winner of the contest turned out to be GiveDirectly (currently our #2 charity), which received its initial funding from the contest. We’ve since had some interactions with the funder, and we’ve been impressed with its thinking and with its broad interest in doing as much good as possible. (The funder has also been supportive of GiveWell in terms of contacts and has expressed potential…
Broad Market Efficiency

Holden

2 May 2013 | 10:36 am

It’s common to debate how “efficient” financial markets are. Broadly speaking, an “efficient” market is one in which the participants are quick to spot profit-making opportunities, so that prices quickly adjust to reflect available information and it’s very difficult for an outsider to “beat the market,” i.e., consistently earn outsized returns. (If one is interested in more details, I recommend searching for discussions of the “efficient-market hypothesis.”) Not all opportunities to accomplish good are opportunities to make money.
Ways to follow GiveWell

Elie

1 May 2013 | 8:12 am

This is just a reminder of the various ways you can stay updated on GiveWell’s work. If you’re reading this, you’re following our blog, which is a great way to stay updated on major research progress. In addition to following on the web, you can follow the blog via RSS or email. Other ways to follow GiveWell: We send out a ~monthly email with highlights from the month’s blog posts and other news about GiveWell (e.g., new hires, mentions in major media). Sign up for email updates here. We announce the publication of each new report on our website and each time we…

FundraisingCoach.com
Free fundraising tips and ideas in 3 podcasts!

Marc A. Pitman

21 May 2013 | 6:13 pm

In the past week, I was privileged to be the guest on three terrific podcasts! In each I was asked various aspects of fundraising. Ted Hart’s Nonprofit Radio On Ted’s show, about 15-20 minutes in, we talked about Ask Without Fear! and the ins and outs of major gift fundraising. You can listen in at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tedhart/2013/05/14/nonprofit-coach-marc-pitman-ask-without-fear–fundraising Blackbaud’s npVOICES On this show, Steve MacLaughlin and I talk about trends we’re seeing in the nonprofit sector. Steve also interviewed Allyson Kapin from Rad…
Self talk, body chemistry, and being successful at fundraising

Marc A. Pitman

21 May 2013 | 2:00 am

What we say to ourselves can sink our fundraising program. He’s probably not interested. I’m probably bugging her. They get “hit” by everyone so they won’t want to talk to me. When we say things like that, we think we’re being “honest” or “realistic.” But we’re actually creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. These thoughts often physically affect us, causing our shoulders to sag a little and our voice to lose some enthusiasm. Just trying to help us In his classic book Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr. Maxwell Maltz calls our brains…
Fundraising for ministry support

Marc A. Pitman

16 May 2013 | 6:38 am

A couple weeks ago, I gave a series of lectures at the Funding Your Ministry Symposium to over 100 coaches from around the world. These people represented 48 different missionary associations including large organizations like The Navigators, InterVarsity, Cru, YWAM, and Wycliffe. The people they coach are raising their own ministry support. They don’t have time to mess around, wasting time. But they aren’t often the most eager fundraisers. They know they have to ask for money, but they got into their position to do “ministry,” not raise support. Sounds like most…
[Guest Post] Using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder to help your board fundraise more effectively

Marc A. Pitman

13 May 2013 | 2:45 am

Today it’s my honor to introduce you to John Fulwider. I’m a guy who loves helping people find their strengths and talents. John is the first person I’ve met who teaches nonprofit boards how to use the Gallup StrengthsFinder to find their strengths. He’s a sought-after speaker, especially on nonprofit board and staff development and the author of two books: The Nonprofit Book of Awesome: 25 Tips for Achieving Greater Mission Impact and Personal Fulfillment, and the forthcoming Leadership Pairs for Mission Impact: Effective Nonprofit Board President-Chief Executive…
Throw statistics out of your fundraising letters!

Marc A. Pitman

7 May 2013 | 1:59 am

These are the words that matter to us as fundraisers These are the words that matter to a donorA couple weeks ago, I was grounded in Newark, NJ so I got to listen to some NJ radio. One ad for a nonprofit caught my attention and then quickly failed. I blogged about it at Does the phrase “tax deductible” kill donations? And I gave some suggestions on how the ad could’ve gotten me to make a donation. That post is getting a lot of traffic and great comments. But why will thousands of nonprofit fundraisers use that phrase as though it were a “deal clincher” for a…

Principled Innovation Blog
Jeff De Cagna serving as curator for ACE Symposium on July 12

jeffpi1@gmail.com or @pinnovation on twitter (Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation LLC, the association community's leading voice for innovation!)

28 Apr 2013 | 8:45 pm

Jeff De Cagna FRSA FASAE, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, is serving as curator and provocateur for the inaugural Association Chief Executives (ACE) Symposium, to be held on Friday, July 12 at The Gannett Building in McLean, Virginia. The ACE Symposium is open exclusively to association CEOs, and CEO attendees may register their #2 executives to participate with them in the event. The ACE Symposium will feature nine CEO Thought Leaders presenting 15-minute TED style talks organized into three critical conversation themes: the future of membership, the future of new…
Empathy, new value creation and the stakeholders of the future

jeffpi1@gmail.com or @pinnovation on twitter (Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation LLC, the association community's leading voice for innovation!)

8 Apr 2013 | 5:30 am

In early January, I wrote a post on six serious ideas for 2013 that included the concept of SED, which is short for serendipity, empathy and discovery. SED is a term I coined to inspire association leaders to shift their conversations about the future in a more generative direction. Here is what I wrote about SED in that post: In 2013, I want to challenge association leaders to prepare for the vast serendipity that lives all around them, experience genuine empathy and embrace new possibilities of discovery. To fully capitalize on the power of SED, however, leaders must find the courage to be…
Overcoming the association value gap: part II

jeffpi1@gmail.com or @pinnovation on twitter (Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation LLC, the association community's leading voice for innovation!)

2 Apr 2013 | 5:24 am

This post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 28, 2013. You can read Part I here. In Part I of this series earlier this month, I identified the association value gap as an underlying structural problem within membership-centric business models. Put simply, associations are unable to drive profitability solely by delivering on the membership value proposition and must find alternative ways to monetize membership to maintain their existing business models. Unfortunately, since membership-centric business models wrap all value into membership, associations…
Jeff De Cagna to deliver keynote at CESSE 2013 Annual Meeting

jeffpi1@gmail.com or @pinnovation on twitter (Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation LLC, the association community's leading voice for innovation!)

31 Mar 2013 | 8:58 pm

Jeff De Cagna, chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation, has been selected as the opening keynote speaker for the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) 2013 Annual Meeting. Jeff’s keynote talk, which will take place on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at the Omni Providence Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, will focus on themes and ideas shared in his provocative free e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future. “For the CESSE 2103 opening keynote, we wanted a speaker who would confront the deep-seated…
Overcoming the association value gap: part I

jeffpi1@gmail.com or @pinnovation on twitter (Jeff De Cagna of Principled Innovation LLC, the association community's leading voice for innovation!)

25 Mar 2013 | 6:18 am

This post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 7, 2013. In a recent post, Associations Now blogger Joe Rominiecki shared what both he and I regard as a startling fact: 53 percent of associations surveyed in 2011 had raised their dues in the previous three years. To put it another way, during the most severe economic decline in most of our lifetimes, more than half of associations surveyed still moved forward with a dues increase. This data point is significant because it is the clearest evidence yet of the value gap that continues to hamper…

Amy Sample Ward’s Version of NPTech
New on SSIR: Should Nonprofits Act Like Businesses or People?

Amy Sample Ward

6 May 2013 | 5:00 am

My latest contribution to the Stanford Social Innovation Review opinion blog is up! You can read the post and join the conversation on the SSIR blog or below. The new book I co-authored with Allyson Kapin, Social Change Anytime Everywhere, looks at the way nonprofit organizations can use multichannel strategies for advocacy, fundraising, and community building. It’s a practitioner’s guide for planning, implementing, and evaluating strategies that engage constituents across many channels, wherever they may be, and how we as organizations need to structure our work to deliver that…
3 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Next Fundraising Campaign (and free ebook!)

Amy Sample Ward

5 Mar 2013 | 8:03 am

I’m honored to be included in a new ebook about marketing, fundraising, and social media. You can download the ebook, check out the various topics, and much more from: https://www.blackbaud.com/npexperts —– When was the last time you were approached by a stranger in the store asking for you to donate to a cause they cared about? Well, sure – it does happen. Especially around the holidays or for local events, but how often do you respond? For many people, the decision to give money is influenced by our peer networks and personal experiences. That’s why social media…
Slideshare and Pinterest for Nonprofits

Amy Sample Ward

20 Feb 2013 | 9:00 am

I’m a monthly guest on Tony Martignetti’s Nonprofit Radio (which you already know because you’re a subscriber, right?) and on this last episode we talked about two popular tools: Slideshare and Pinterest. There’s always more to say than just what we can cover on the air so I wanted to follow up with some infographics and highlights. Slideshare I use Slideshare for my presentations and other workshop or training materials. It’s easy to use, and it makes archiving and sharing materials with attendees really simple. Column Five has a new infographic about Slideshare…
Taking Social Media to Saudi

Amy Sample Ward

18 Feb 2013 | 3:06 pm

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia to teach a course at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as part of the Winter Enrichment Program. It was an incredible experience and I’m so glad I was able to be part of the KAUST program and meet so many different students, entrepreneurs, faculty and staff. As I reflect on the trip, the course specifically, and the conversations students and staff had with me, I am reminded in many ways of the event I helped with a few years ago in Romania. Those countries may not strike you as very similar at first, but…
KAUST Winter Enrichment Program 2013: Beginner’s Guide to Social Media

Amy Sample Ward

23 Jan 2013 | 5:00 am

Date: January 23, 2013 Location: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Topic: A Beginner’s Guide to Social Media Description: Social media presents a confusing blur of personal and professional profiles. In a tightly integrated community like ours, social media use requires special consideration. This 3-hour course showcases real-world examples to help you discover how best to protect, positively promote, and selectively manage your online personal and professional profiles, all while maintaining your connections to family, friends, colleagues and networks. The course will…

FundraisingIP.com: Fundraising Ideas
17 Great Non-profit Resources

FundraisingIP.com

15 May 2013 | 11:20 am

There is a wealth of non-profit resources available online about every single aspect of fundraising and we have collected some of our favorites to share with you! We will update this post from time to time to add other new and useful resources as they pop up. Enjoy! Feel free to add your own favorite non-profit resources in the comments below. In no particular order: Non-profit marketing resources * Amy Neumann offers marketing and PR services at Good Plus Tech, contributes on Forbes and The Huffington Post and is author of “Uplifting Quotes on Gratitude and Goodness to Show…
7 Points to Consider Before Promoting your Cause

FundraisingIP.com

1 May 2013 | 11:07 am

Where and how should you be promoting your cause? Are you overwhelmed by third party statistics and infographics? The internet and social media has added a whole new layer of ways to communicate with your supporters, but with it came a whole new layer of things that need updating, writing and monitoring. But as complicated as it may seem at times, the bottom line still remains the same: you have to deliver your cause’s message to the broad public and you have to get it to your current supporters. While the younger generations are online and on social media more often than the elder…
Fundraising Product Giveaway!

FundraisingIP.com

17 Apr 2013 | 10:25 am

Yes, online fundraising is as popular as ever and it can be very lucrative as well. But there is still a lot of room for a good old-fashioned product fundraiser like snacks, t-shirts, groceries, baked goods, you name it! With a product fundraiser you can also engage a young sales force and supporter force which might be impossible to harness through online channels. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t yearn – at least occasionally – for the simplicity of selling products, especially products that we know for sure everyone will like and can be sold with minimal effort?
Everything You Need to Know to Incorporate as a Non-Profit

FundraisingIP.com

2 Apr 2013 | 10:31 am

If you are thinking of starting a non-profit, consider incorporating it. There are many benefits to doing so, and since non-profits act differently from for-profit companies, it may even be a necessary step for your organization. Here’s what you need to know about incorporating your non-profit. Taxes It’s perfectly acceptable to make income for your non-profit. You will, of course, need to use it to pay for the expenses you incur to run your organization. But the difference between you and a for-profit company is that you may not need to pay income taxes on profit, as long as it’s…
How to Run a Used Books Fundraiser

FundraisingIP.com

26 Mar 2013 | 12:06 pm

Even though the balance of book buying has shifted from print to e-book downloads, many of us still own and love printed books, new or used. Printed books are still in demand, especially when they can be had for a low price at a fundraiser like this. Essentially, a used books fundraiser brings together those who are cleaning out their book shelves with those who like a good (printed) read for a bargain price. You’ll need to answer a few questions to get your used book fundraiser off the ground: How do you acquire books to sell? Do you have a place for your event that is large enough to…

@BonnieMcEwan
Bike Paths Are Good for Business

bmcewan

13 May 2013 | 9:40 am

A study from the New York State Department of Transportation shows that streets that safely accommodate bicycle and pedestrian travel are especially good at boosting small businesses, even in a recession. NYC DOT found that protected bikeways had a significant positive impact on local business strength. After the construction of a protected bicycle lane on 9th Avenue, local businesses saw a 49% increase in retail sales. In comparison, local businesses throughout Manhattan only saw a 3% increase in retail sales. The report came out in November 2012, right after Hurricane Sandy, which may be…
Actor Wendell Pierce on Economic Development as a Social Justice Issue

bmcewan

10 May 2013 | 9:50 am

Last month, Wendell Pierce opened the first of four Sterling Farms grocery stores planned for the New Orleans region, bringing jobs, fresh produce, and a sense of renewal to Marrero, a suburb of New Orleans. Pierce, a New Orleans native, is best known for his starring roles in the TV series Treme and The Wire. According to Pierce, “economic development is the social justice issue of the 21st century.” PolicyLink, a national research institute (and, I’m proud to say, a client of mine) interviewed Pierce on his commitment to food justice and economic development. What struck…
And the Tweet Goes On…

bmcewan

3 May 2013 | 1:10 pm

Last week I wrote about a blast email from a national nonprofit that urged a reader to “Tweet your senator!” Then today I noticed this tweet in my Twitter stream from the Latina Institute (@NLIRH). The embedded link sent me to a Twitter list maintained by @C-SPAN that lists Twitter handles for all the US senators who tweet, as well as some of their staffs. [This is a great resource. Thanks, C-SPAN!] The Latina Institute wants me to look up my senators’ Twitter handles and send them tweets calling for immediate health care for immigrant…
Tweet Your Senator

bmcewan

25 Apr 2013 | 8:44 am

Check out this excerpt from an advocacy email sent out recently by a group called Opportunity Nation. Scan down to the last line, which urges readers to TWEET two US senators to thank them for introducing a bill called the Career Act. Not call them, not fax or write them, not even email them. Of all the tons of email that I receive from advocacy organizations, this is the first time I’ve noticed Twitter cited as the vehicle by which readers are asked to contact federal legislators. This means two things that go well beyond the simple fact that Twitter is an important social media…
A Different Kind of Higher Education

bmcewan

12 Apr 2013 | 11:01 am

Lamas attend a ceremony to award Gexe Lharampa, the highest academic degree in Tibetan Buddhism studies, at the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of what China calls “the Tibet autonomous region.” The eight lamas who received the degree must pass tests of knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan language, as well as defend a dissertation.

Social media marketing hacks for nonprofits | Powered by JohnHaydon.Com
Five Mind Shifts That Boost Social Sharing

John Haydon

21 May 2013 | 6:07 am

Technology has blessed your community with more sharing power than ever before. The ability to retweet, like, and pin with increased ease is what helped launch the slactivist movement. But even though sharing has gotten easier, getting people to share still feels like pulling teeth. So how do you get people to share your content? Here are five mind-shifts to keep in mind: 1. Start with your database The people who are most likely to share your content are in your donor database and email list. Before you waste time trying to target specific audiences on Facebook (which you can easily do)…
What are you building?

John Haydon

17 May 2013 | 5:00 am

A long time ago in the city of Rome, there were several hundred men working on a large building. A little girl, who was very curious, wandered into the building site to see what she could learn. She noticed three men – each carrying a rock the size of a basketball. And being curious, she had to know more about what they were doing. The first man looked a little tired – even though he was fairly muscular. She asked him,“What are you doing?”, to which he replied “I’m carrying a rock.” That answer didn’t satisfy the little girl, so she asked the…
Don’t Just Post Photos. Post Stories!

John Haydon

16 May 2013 | 5:53 am

The Internet is slowly but surely becoming one big picture book. Instagram and Pinterest have grown at astronomic rates precicely because they allow people to easily create, curate and share pictures. And Facebook has placed more importance on pictures, with cover images, full screen viewing, and newsfeed preferences. So photos are huge. But simply posting photos is not enough. You have to post stories! A powerful story in a photo earns every one of those thousand words: By making people take action. By getting people angry. By reenergizing volunteers. By moving the needle. Here are ten…
[Free Webinar] Facebook for Executive Staff

John Haydon

14 May 2013 | 11:43 am

Tomorrow (5/15/2013) I presenting a webinar for Nonprofit Webinars called Facebook for Executive Staff. This webinar is designed to give you a framework for answering these questions: How are other nonprofits using Facebook? How does word-of-mouth marketing work on Facebook? Can you actually raise money with Facebook? What are the fundamental competencies for success on Facebook? How does Facebook fit in with my current marketing communications plan? Who should be managing our Facebook page? Interns? Staff? Volunteers? How can we develop a framework for content? Register now for this free…
Three Instant Facebook Page Tweaks That Maximize Reach

John Haydon

10 May 2013 | 4:11 am

Most of what you read about creating more reach for your Facebook Page either has to do with Facebook Ads or optimizing content. But these three little settings for your Page can also dramatically increase reach: 1. Turn On Posting Ability Allowing Facebook users to post photos and videos to your page increases exposure to their friends. For example, the friends of the Facebook users who’ve posted these photos of rabbits will see a story in their News Feed, exposing them to the National Wildlife Federation. To allow others to post photos, videos, text updates and links to your page,…

Idealist Blog
Lessons on being creative from highly creative people

Kimberly Maul

22 May 2013 | 9:00 am

Photo credit: Leszek Glasner, Shutterstock Fast Company recently highlighted its top 100 Creative People in Business, including Nate Silver, Scott Harrison, and actors Bryan Cranston and Connie Britton. (Also Michelle Rowley, who we recently featured on our blog.) The site went one step further, teasing out five habits that several of these creative people discussed—and what we can learn from them. Here are a few that stood out to us: Max Levchin: Always be asking questions We talked to PayPal founder Max Levchin about how he keeps snagging startup ideas. Turns out it’s a lot about…
Girl brightens street, one balloon at a time

Celeste Hamilton Dennis

21 May 2013 | 9:00 am

Photo via pea green girl. Recently, I participated in GOOD’s first annual Neighborday. We invited our neighbors over for milkshakes and sat on our lawn and talked with them about everything from what our block used to be like to tips for toddler sleep to how to entertain visiting family. The turnout was smaller than I’d hoped for, but it was still nice to stop for a moment and focus on the people who lived around me. So when I came across Zoe Green‘s little project of brightening her UK street with balloons and nice notes for one day, I couldn’t help but think,…
Start right now! Tips for aspiring social entrepreneurs

Emily Hashimoto

20 May 2013 | 9:00 am

Being graduation season, we asked some of the most innovative thinkers in Colorado to share some advice with young and aspiring social entrepreneurs. Check out what they had to say, why Colorado a great place to let your imagination flourish, and how you can get started right now. Photo via Hampton Roads Partnership on Flickr’s Creative Commons. I’m an aspiring social entrepreneur. What should I be considering? Tamra Ryan, Social Enterprise Alliance Colorado Chapter Chair and CEO, Women’s Bean Project: Look to what others have done, and when seeking advice, be specific about what…
Five blogs to inspire you and help you take action

Allison Jones

17 May 2013 | 9:00 am

Photo credit: Vima, Shutterstock If you’re looking to change the world, you’re probably also looking for information and a community to help you get started. Of course, you can always read about people making a difference right here in our blog and some of our favorite blogs like GOOD and Lifehacker. However, there are plenty of additional blogs out there where you can find advice on how to move from intention to action. Here are a few we love with blog posts for you to explore. Socialchange.is: If you are a social entrepreneur or intrapreneur, and need help getting started or…
Want to be more innovative? Go play

Kimberly Maul

17 May 2013 | 7:00 am

Photo credit: Zurijeta, Shutterstock There are many different strategies to brainstorming, developing creative ideas, and getting the juices flowing. Author Bruce Nussbaum talks about using play to get innovative in his recently-released book, Creative Intelligence: Harnessing the Power to Create, Connect, and Inspire. In an excerpt from the book on Co.Design, Nussbaum shares examples of how letting people who trust each other have some fun in a safe space has led to innovation and development. For some time, American society has viewed play as kid stuff; it’s been dismissed as trivial or…

columbus imPRessions
June is Ohio #Wine Month

21 May 2013 | 12:56 pm

It's no secret, I love wine - mostly red but I do like a citrus Sauvignon Blanc too. Washington Reds are my favorite but another favorite is our own Ohio wines. Growing up in Northeast Ohio I have frequented many of the local wineries like Grand River, Laurello and Ferrante. In June I'm going to try Gervasi winery in Canton for the first time. I love how we live in a wine region! One of my
Busy Capturing Home of Hope Columbus #HOHCbus10

28 Apr 2013 | 6:19 am

Since Thursday I've been visiting the Home of Hope Columbus Blitz Build site. I was hired by 10TV to assist with social media for this record-breaking Habitat for Humanity Mid-Ohio build. Volunteers and crews are working around the clock to complete this home in 5 days! Today is Day four and most of the outdoor work is complete (other than some landscaping) so the focus is on the work that
columbus imPRessions Celebrating 5 years today!

1 Apr 2013 | 1:23 pm

Happy Birthday columbus imPRessions, happy birthday to me! I can't believe that what started out as an idea, turned blog, turned business is five years old today! In dreams some of the interpretations of the number five is spontaneity, daring/bold nature, and action. Five years ago, I was forced to be all that - and I wasn't even dreaming. Looking back over these years I am so glad it
Planning WLN Casino Night 2013

19 Mar 2013 | 9:40 am

The United Way of Delaware County Women's Leadership Network Casino Night event was such a fun success in 2012 we decided to do it again in 2013. Save the Date for November 15, 2013. Preparation has started! I'm once again making all the branding for the event and putting together the sponsorship package. If you are a Delaware County business who would like to have a fun time while helping
Dispatch Home & Garden Show Highlights #dhgs13

9 Mar 2013 | 8:03 am

Last week I was busy at the Dispatch Home & Garden Show creating a bunch of social media opportunities - live tweeting, Facebook posts and video. Here is a video I created this week for the Dispatch Events Group YouTube channel. Just a little highlight reel from the 2013 Dispatch Home & Garden Show.

Wired 4 Leadership
Is Going With Your Gut Smart Leadership?

Kerry Stackpole

10 May 2013 | 9:03 am

Before we get started I have a confession to make. I’m not the smartest person in the room. Many of you knew that already. I am however someone with a good bit of experience leading and consulting to organizations and Boards. I … Continue reading →You are reading Is Going With Your Gut Smart Leadership? from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
Is Your Leadership Suffocating Your Followers?

Kerry Stackpole

21 Apr 2013 | 8:45 am

“I feel as though I am being suffocated by my bosses”, Sally said plaintively, “I am publicly being criticized for small mistakes I’ve made in the past, my work is constantly being questioned and my new ideas to get things … Continue reading →You are reading Is Your Leadership Suffocating Your Followers? from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
Why The Elevator Speech Is Dead.

Kerry Stackpole

25 Mar 2013 | 5:04 am

I was recently asked to discuss my reading habits and what I was learning from that effort. Funny enough, two books that caught my attention both carried a similar message–The Elevator Speech Is Dead. In his second book Running the … Continue reading →You are reading Why The Elevator Speech Is Dead. from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
Goodbye Google Reader. Hello E-Mail

Kerry Stackpole

15 Mar 2013 | 5:37 am

Wait. What? Google is shutting down its Reader RSS feeder. Yikes! That’s right friends, come July 1, 2013 (unless they change their minds) Google Reader is a goner. Over on the Google Official Blog here’s what they had to say. … Continue reading →You are reading Goodbye Google Reader. Hello E-Mail from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
A Transparency and Leadership Primer

Kerry Stackpole

26 Feb 2013 | 5:12 am

Over at the AssociationsNow blog, Ernie Smith wrote a story about the White House Correspondents Association(WHCA) complaining about “transparency” and lack of access during the President’s recent golf vacation. Ed Henry, the president of WHCA issued a protest statement. “I … Continue reading →You are reading A Transparency and Leadership Primer from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.

Allison Jones
5 ways to handle a disappointing job

ajlovesya

20 May 2013 | 7:30 am

Photo credit: Pixelglo Photography, Creative Commons/Flickr When it comes to our careers, we’re told to follow our passion and find work that fulfills us. While I believe that we can find or create careers that allow us to grow while making a difference, sometimes, work can be a disappointment. I’m not talking about a mean boss or undermining teammates. I’m talking about how because we want our jobs to do a lot for us beyond just giving a paycheck—to inspire us, coach us, engage us, and connect us to a bigger purpose and to a larger community—we’ll likely…
Collective martyrdom will make our work ineffective

ajlovesya

16 May 2013 | 8:32 am

Photo credit: kalexanderson, Creative Commons/Flickr In a recent article on the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Brendan Tapley—a communications and marketing consultant—argues that the sector is suffering from lack of pride and how this makes it difficult for us to celebrate our work and advocate for support for our institutions. While he focuses on organizations, he makes a compelling argument that our collective inability to state our impact affects how many of us view our own work and talent, “The nonprofit world is by and large a history of dedication to thankless causes, but…
Success = Relationships + Excellence + Visibility

ajlovesya

13 May 2013 | 7:00 am

Photo credit: luckygirllefty, Creative Commons/Flickr What does it take to move forward in our careers? While the definition of success varies for each person, I think the three elements listed below are critical to seeing any positive change in our work lives. Relationships: Are you building communities? We often hear about relationships in the context of moving up: Who can help you when you need a job or a connection? However, reducing our networks to a series of one-way transactions ignores the role people have in our growth over time. People connect us to opportunities, sure, but they…
6 no-tech productivity hacks that have changed my work life

ajlovesya

22 Apr 2013 | 7:15 am

Photo credit: S.C. Asher, Creative Commons/Flickr Nothing high-tech and nothing fancy. I’ve realized that what works for me are actions that trigger additional positive, productive behaviors and require me to be mindful. Here are my favorites strategies for being productive. Create a keystone habit. People who are close to me know that I am pretty protective of my leisurely mornings. I wake up around 6 a.m., get dressed (with clothes I laid out the night before), make myself a big breakfast, and catch up on my favorite blogs. No rushing, no panic, and no hunger. As a result, I am happy, I…
3 tips to consider when pursuing your first (or second, or third) nonprofit job #npcareers101

ajlovesya

15 Apr 2013 | 7:19 am

Photo credit: CollegeDegreed360, Creative Commons/Flickr I sense a lot of panic when young people ask me questions about finding a nonprofit job. Yes, panic! Not just because they aren’t sure of what they want to do (and how to get there), but also because they aren’t sure what kind of organization to work for. I believe that the two are deeply connected: Our success depends on us having a good sense of what our skills are and being in an environment that nurtures us. When job hunting, examine an organization based on these three things you need in order to thrive. You need to…

Social Media Bird Brain
Five Tools for Your Social Media Intern

15 May 2013 | 3:51 pm

Via Unpaid Intern Summertime... and the interns are easy... Well, not really. But if you've made it known that your small nonprofit would like to entertain a few interns for the summer and/or fall, you've probably got a couple interviewed and ready to start. And given that Social Media is a big deal that many small nonprofits can't afford a full-time manager for, you're probably thinking of
The Battle of the Sexes and Other Interesting Crossed Lines of Social Communication

1 May 2013 | 7:39 pm

Thought by Jason Griffey, Photo by Pierre Metivier (Flickr) Maybe you've heard the story about the Philosophy 101 student who wrote 'everything is everything else' and got an A for the class term. Yeah, it sounds kinda woo-woo, but to me at least, it makes sense. Especially when talking about the internet and social communications. To illustrate, let's take a look at a few things I found while
Re-igniting Your Fire Using Social Communications

23 Apr 2013 | 6:38 pm

Everyone can feel a little down from time to time. Especially after a big push or a big disappointment. We've talked a lot about how you can use social communications to get your message out, to share your triumphs, to ask for assistance. But have you ever thought of using it on those days that are a little bit darker - when it's a little harder to get out of bed, you're a little slower getting
Blackout

22 Apr 2013 | 11:52 am
Four Requirements for Successful Social Communication

17 Apr 2013 | 7:21 pm

The hooha about the new medium in town is long gone. People are turning to subjects like big data and still looking for ROI. In whatever shape or form it takes in the future, social communications are here to stay. Over the years in this blog, I - and hundreds of others engaged in the subject of social media - have overlapped each others' messages about what's important in establishing your

Ken's Commentary
HEBS Conference at Harvard

16 May 2013 | 5:14 am

Ken Berger gave an 18 minute presentation at a conference at Harvard University (for their extension business school students) regarding Social Entrepreneurship and how it relates to Charity Navigator's work. In addition, the slides used during the presentation are below the video. Enjoy!
Cold, Calculated and Highly Targeted Fundraising

2 May 2013 | 7:26 am

Ken Berger was recently interviewed by KTVU-TV for a story about charities that target the elderly with excessive mail solicitations. You can watch the video here and read the corresponding article here. If this is happening to you or someone you love, then be sure to also check out our tips for How To Stop Solicitations By Mail.
BlogTalkRadio: Guidance for Giving with Ken Berger

25 Apr 2013 | 8:50 am

This morning, Ken Berger joined Uncommon Giving radio show host Chicke Fitzgerald for a discussion about Charity Navigator and the importance of informed giving. They also discussed Ken's career in the nonprofit sector and how he ended up at Charity Navigator.Use the tool below to listen to the interview. Listen to internet radio with Uncommon Giving on Blog Talk Radio
The Willis Report: Scammers Taking Advantage of Boston Bombings?

24 Apr 2013 | 8:06 am

If you are thinking of making a donation in the wake of the Boston bombing, then be sure to watch this video first! During this interview on Fox Business News, Ken Berger gives his advice for how to make sure your money gets to the victims. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com
Giving to Victim's Funds

23 Apr 2013 | 9:39 am

Ken Berger was recently on Marketplace discussing how donors can navigate the various victims' funds that have appeared in the wake of the Boston marathon bombing and the explosion in Texas. Listen to his interview:You can also read a transcript of this segment online here.

Charity Navigator
Ensuring Your Oklahoma Tornado Donations Get to Those Who Need it

22 May 2013 | 1:43 pm

See the footage of our President & CEO, Ken Berger, on Fox Business News discussing on how to vet charities to ensure the money you donate gets to the right place. Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com
How to Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims

21 May 2013 | 10:42 am

Moore, OK Tornado Relief Find out which charities are responding to the devastation caused by a massive tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.View The List Now
Exclusive Offer for Donors to Attend 2013 Conference on Scaling Social Impact

20 May 2013 | 10:04 pm

Are you a donor interested in increasing the effectiveness of your giving and supporting high-performing nonprofits that are scaling their impact? If so, you don’t want to miss the Social Impact Exchange’s fourth annual Conference on Scaling ImpactJune 18-20 in New York City. The Conference is focused entirely on innovative methods to support scaling the impact of effective nonprofit initiatives. Approximately 400 foundation officers, philanthropists, corporate executives, wealth managers, and philanthropy advisors will gather at the event to share knowledge, learn about…
Inefficient Charities and a Professional Fundraiser that Goes on the Record

17 May 2013 | 9:50 am

This should come as no surprise to readers of this blog, but for many donors, they simply don't know that when a 'charity' calls for a donation, it is often a for-profit telemarketing firm calling and that firm typically keeps the bulk of that donation. This fact is why we tell donors it is best not to give over the phone (just hang up). And why WXYZ's Ross Jones' did two stories on the topic.In the first segment, Ross Jones' explores some of the most inefficient charities that spend a lot of money on fundraising, such as Cancer Support Services and the Law Enforcement Education…
It's Raining Nonprofits

13 May 2013 | 12:51 pm

Photo via BigStockCan you guess how many charities are currently registered with the IRS? I bet you didn't think it was over one million!As of the end of 2012, there were 1,081,891 charities(501(c)(3)’s) in the United States. Based on the July 2012 Census figures, the population is 313, 914,040. This translates to about 1 charity for every 290 citizens. This does not include other tax exempt groups that bring this total up to 1,614,762. In other words, 1 tax exempt organization for every 194 people. This begs the question: Is it too easy to set up a nonprofit? While everyone…

Marketing for Nonprofits
You Can't Efficiency Your Way to Greatness and Other Stuff I Learned This Week From Some Killer Fundraisers

Jocelyn Harmon

11 May 2013 | 7:56 am

I had the privilege of spending Thursday with my fundraising and marketing peeps at Engage 2013: A Case Study Conference in Philly. (Thanks, Margaret!) It is always inspiring and validating to be with other practitioners in the field who are facing similar obstacles to fundraising growth. And I was thrilled to meet (if briefly) Roger Craver! OK, enough of the crowing... I was particularly impressed with the case study by the fantastic folks at Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Regardless of your politics, HRC is undeniably a fundraising and marketing powerhouse. …
Be a Heretic. Choose a Cause You Love. Lead.

Jocelyn Harmon

2 Mar 2013 | 8:44 am

Here is another inspiring TED talk for you. I LOVE Seth Godin's humor and his call to DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD. I am trying to do this at The Global Fund for Children because I truly believe that ALL children deserve the right to be safe, healthy, happy, and productive, regardless of where they are born. Don't you? According to Godin, there are 4 things you need to do if you truly want to do make a difference in this life. Find something worth changing aka challenge the status quo. Find others who care as deeply about the issue/idea as you do (aka…
Watch This Video if You Want to Be Happier and Enjoy a Good Laugh!

Jocelyn Harmon

24 Feb 2013 | 3:24 pm

I'm so happy to know that there is research-based evidence to suggest that being positive and happy is not only possible but an advantage to living a better life for yourself and others. I hope you will watch "The Happy Secret to Better Work" by Shaun Achor above, check out the infographic below, and PRACTICE being more positive in life and work. Enjoy! Jocelyn The Happy Secret to Better Work infographic
This is a Sweet Contest. How Do You Share Your Heart?

Jocelyn Harmon

18 Feb 2013 | 9:39 am

The post below is by Jamie Millard and the folks at CaringBridge.org. Whether it’s a heartfelt note before your first day at a new job or a declaration of love written in the clouds, people express their love and support for one another in big and small ways every day. This February, CaringBridge, the caring social network that keeps families and loved ones connected during any type of health event, invites people to submit those touching acts of compassion during the “Share Your Heart” contest. Watch the sweet video above and enter the “Share Your Heart” contest. …
Be a Better Relationship Builder - Learn to ATTUNE

Jocelyn Harmon

17 Feb 2013 | 8:35 am

I came home from work on Friday and walked into a landmine. The atmosphere in my home was thick with emotional smog. My daughter and husband both looked at me with what appeared to be mixture of intense frustration and despair. My first thought was, UGH! REALLY? I don't want to deal with this on a Friday night. I wonder if they noticed me. Maybe I can just slip out the door and come back in an hour. :) My second thought (because I just finished reading Dan Pink's new book (Yes, I'm in love!)) was how can I best ATTUNE to this situation and these two precious…

Change/Wire
National Service in Oklahoma

22 May 2013 | 8:29 am

From Corporation for National & Community Press Releases As of Tuesday, May 21, nearly 50 AmeriCorps members were on the ground working closely with federal, state, and local officials with even more Corps members on standby ready to deploy. AmeriCorps St. Louis deployed nine AmeriCorps members to support the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management and the American Red Cross. A veteran of many disasters, AmeriCorps St. Louis was the lead volunteer organization following the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri. An additional 40 AmeriCorps members serving in FEMA Corps are deploying to…
National Service Pro - Great Things on the Horizon

17 May 2013 | 11:49 am

National Service Pro is our newsletter for Coalition partners and national service advocates that goes out every other Tuesday. In this week's edition we highlight a new initiative of ServiceNation, offer our thanks, give you another bite at the apple, and preview an event that's just around the corner. Read on! Starting to Feel the Pain The effects of sequestration – across the board federal spending cuts – weren’t immediately apparent. But as Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, pointed out on MSNBC’s Hardball, those effects are becoming very…
A New Tool to Track Champions of Service

15 May 2013 | 1:01 pm

by Tim Smith, Director of Online Engagement National service has historically enjoyed bipartisan support from members of Congress and in the White House. This tradition has continued until present day with many powerful champions of national service serving in Congress, fighting to maintain or expand funding for programs like AmeriCorps and Senior Corps, and serving as members of the National Service Caucus. But thanks to the work of the Sunlight Foundation, we now have a new tool for tracking the most basic action members of Congress can take to advocate for national service -- talking about…
Senior Corps Celebrated Across the Nation

13 May 2013 | 11:56 am

This past week (May 6-10), all across the country, communities came together to celebrate Senior Corps Week 2013. ServiceNation joined the overwhelming call to celebrate, recognize, and highlight the extraordinary contributions that Foster Grandparents, RSVP, and Senior Companion volunteers make through service in their communities each and every day. Check out our Social Media recap for a sampling of how Senior Corps (#SCweek) was celebrated in cities and towns all across the nation. [View the story "#SCweek" on Storify]
Sequestration: What’s National Service got to do with it?

9 May 2013 | 8:00 am

by Tim Smith, Director of Online Engagement Sequestration. By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of it – it’s dominated news cycles and politician talking points for the better part of the last 4 months – for those that need a refresher, sequestration refers to the across the board federal spending cuts that are set to take place at the end of this fiscal year because Congress was unable to come to an agreement on spending. We know it’s going to be bad, but how bad will it be and who will be hurt by it? Well, the resounding answer that we are hearing from our organizers across the country…

Videos
IRS Apologizes for Illegally targeting Tea Party Groups

How The World Works

11 May 2013 | 12:01 pm

IRS Apologizes for Illegally targeting Tea Party Groups Please Enroll Responsibly: http://amzn.to/ojtR7E Only 99 cents By Lee Doren Subscribe to the iTunes Podcast of The Lee Doren Show: http://itunes.apple.com/us... From: How The World Works Views: 7258 739 ratings Time: 03:10 More in News & Politics
Using the Balanced Scorecard in Nonprofit Organizations

HarvardBusiness

22 Apr 2013 | 11:11 am

Using the Balanced Scorecard in Nonprofit Organizations Robert S. Kaplan is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. From: HarvardBusiness Views: 655 16 ratings Time: 02:47 More in People & Blogs
Dark Money - Did Big Oil Money Launder to Bust Unions?

TheYoungTurks

31 Mar 2013 | 3:00 pm

Dark Money - Did Big Oil Money Launder to Bust Unions? "California officials have widened an investigation into the source of $11 million that was mysteriously funneled by a few nonprofit groups in 2012 to sway t... From: TheYoungTurks Views: 25241 1019 ratings Time: 07:32 More in News & Politics
Toyota 100 Cars for Good: Day in the Life

Toyota USA

1 Mar 2013 | 9:41 am

Toyota 100 Cars for Good: Day in the Life Thanks to your votes, there are 100 more vehicles helping nonprofits across the country. To learn about 100 Cars for Good, or to watch more of these vehicles... From: Toyota USA Views: 54620 240 ratings Time: 04:21 More in Autos & Vehicles
Hear Yes! More Often With the Science of Influence: Dan Norris at TEDxSanAntonio 2012

TEDxTalks

29 Jan 2013 | 10:34 pm

Hear Yes! More Often With the Science of Influence: Dan Norris at TEDxSanAntonio 2012 About: One of only a few individuals worldwide who currently hold the CMCT designation (a specialization in the psychology of persuasion--earned directly fro... From: TEDxTalks Views: 1236 26 ratings Time: 15:54 More in Nonprofits & Activism

IdealistNews - What's new in nonprofits
How do I plan a budget for a community organization with irregular income?

22 May 2013 | 1:02 pm

I am a trustee for my local VFW Post and they haven't planned a budget in as long as anyone can remember. In our financials we manage account for essentially four separate entities (women's auxiliary, men's auxiliary, the VFW Post and the VFW Club). Currently the club has incomes from meals, liquor sales, rentals and donations. The club pays out for maintenance to the building, insurance, licensing, inventory, etc. The auxiliaries have income from member dues and donations. They donate to the club to pay portions of the insurance, maintenance and other needs as they arise. The VFW…
Six Facts Lost in the IRS Scandal: Among others, that social welfare nonprofits do not actually have to apply to the IRS for recognition as tax-exempt organizations.

22 May 2013 | 11:45 am

submitted by AngelaMotorman [link] [comment]
Helpful document for both grantmakers and nonprofits interested in learning to read nonprofit audits!

22 May 2013 | 9:46 am

submitted by NFFAndrew [link] [1 comment]
Mythbusting: it's too difficult to demonstrate social impact

22 May 2013 | 1:42 am

submitted by ratere [link] [comment]
Non-profits that help amputees?

21 May 2013 | 8:02 am

I'm looking for licensed 501 (c) 3 non-profits rated by charitynavigator that focus on helping amputees. I've searched but had no luck thus far in finding one that I'd consider reputable. Any help would be greatly appreciated! submitted by steve_nyc [link] [6 comments]

Together We Flourish
Living With Power and Joy

Susan

21 May 2013 | 5:04 am

Dress for Success Pittsburgh presents Living with Power & Joy, presented by Candi Castleberry Singleton, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, UPMC Are you living the life that you’ve always imagined? Or do you find yourself longing for more? We all want to get the most out of life, but sometimes we encounter roadblocks. As we [...]
NHCO Bellevue Office Expands to Better Serve Families in Crisis

Susan

20 May 2013 | 4:45 am

North Hills Community Outreach is pleased to announce the expansion of its North Boroughs office, located in the AGH Suburban campus building, 100 S. Jackson Avenue, Bellevue. The expansion will provide 50 percent more office space, allowing for more services and increased privacy for the struggling families who come to NHCO for help. The office [...]
Time for the Anchorpoint Annual Book Sale and More

Susan

17 May 2013 | 3:27 am

Anchorpoint Counseling Ministry’s Annual Used Book Sale - will take place on June 10 – 14 (Monday to Friday) from 10 am to 9 pm at the Shoppes at Northway (former Party City Location) Last Call for Books! We still need more…. Thank you for hosting book drives/collections at your schools, churches and businesses! Please [...]
Salvation Army is Bridging the Gap Between Youth and Community Service

Susan

14 May 2013 | 4:45 am

The Salvation Army presents: The Bridging the Gap “between youth and community service” program. The Westside Salvation Army is pleased to introduce the Bridging the Gap between youth and community service program to the Pittsburgh area. The Bridging the Gap program was originally started in Massachusetts in 1996. It is currently operating successfully in 12 [...]
Ways to Help Children in Crisis

Susan

13 May 2013 | 4:36 am

Distraction is Important Recently Jameson’s Army did its monthly drop to the heart center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. It was another great day of helping those families that can use a smile. We also had the privilege of talking to Child Life and finding some new and inventive ways to help the families. Here [...]

Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog - Philanthropy Potluck
Dearth of Data about Philanthropy’s Diversity

MCF Webmaster

22 May 2013 | 1:36 pm

The D5 coalition, on a mission to advance philanthropy’s diversity, equity and inclusion, just released the State of the Work 2013 report, which examines the diversity in today’s philanthropic sector. D5 defines diversity as those who bring a unique perspective or life experience to the decision-making table, but focusing particularly on: Racial and ethnic groups: Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics/Latinos/Latinas, African-Americans and other blacks, and American Indians and Alaska Natives LGBT populations People with disabilities Women Foundation Data Before Grantee Data…
Streamlining Grantmaking: Perception vs. Reality?

MCF Webmaster

20 May 2013 | 12:46 pm

Grants should facilitate the mission-critical work of nonprofits, but sometimes that’s not exactly how it works. A new report by Grants Managers Network and the Project Streamline collaborative reveals that after five years of promoting effective ways to improve grant requirements, many nonprofits continue to feel burdened. More than 700 grantmakers and grantseekers participated in a survey that revealed a continuing gap between grantmakers — who say they have streamlined — and grantseekers — who continue to find processes too unwieldy. Here’s a quick summary…
Evaluation: Make It Meaningful and Useful

MCF Webmaster

17 May 2013 | 11:24 am

Michael Quinn Patton Don’t miss MCF’s spring issue of Giving Forum, online and in your mailbox now, for “Making Evaluation Meaningful and Useful” by Michael Quinn Patton. He says, “High-performing organizations make evaluative thinking a way of doing business.” He distills 40 years of experience conducting evaluation, training evaluators and writing about evaluation into three important lessons. Here’s a taste. There’s much more in the complete Commentary. Embedded Evaluative Thinking Creates Lasting Impact: Patton stresses that the first step…
Charitable Giving Deduction: No Change for Minnesota, But Debate Continues in U.S. Congress

kostlie

16 May 2013 | 10:34 am

As in past years, Minnesotans will be able to claim a deduction for charitable gifts when filing their state income taxes next year. The committee of Minnesota lawmakers who iron out the details of the tax plan to raise state revenue has dropped consideration of a House proposal that would have changed the tax deduction to a credit. The Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF), along with other nonprofit organizations, opposed the proposed change. As explained by MINNPOST, changing the state’s charitable giving tax deduction would have produced significant revenue for the state, but it posed…
Connecting Investment With Impact

MCF Webmaster

14 May 2013 | 12:45 pm

Don’t miss MCF’s spring issue of Giving Forum, online now and in your mailbox, for a look at how Greater Twin Cities United Way‘s community investment strategy has evolved over the years in “Connecting Investment With Impact.” In the article by Brian Paulson, director of innovation strategies at United Way, you’ll learn how the organization has gone from: measuring activities to focusing on outcome measures and building evidence to creating emerging models of systems integration through collective impact. And, you’ll be privy to lessons learned…

Jolkona Blog
Music, Art, and Fighting for Educational Opportunity for All

Andres Garza

22 May 2013 | 7:59 am

“I wouldn’t change a thing, because that would change everything,” are the iconic lyrics that the Black Stax’s hit single “I love my life,” preach to their R&B and Soul audience. The song speaks of someone overcoming the obstacles put in front of them, and coming out on top because of the struggles in their life. If you want to help children overcome the challenge that is poverty attend the STEM+ART as a Social Catalyst event, put on by the Technology Access Foundation (TAF). The STEM+ART as a Social Catalyst eventwill take place tomorrow, May 23rd, at 7:30pm, at The Triple…
UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Madison Abshire

21 May 2013 | 7:59 am

We live in a world of ever increasing connectivity, where we have access to as much information as we want, from around the world, at our very fingertips. Cultural diversity is more a part of daily life, both locally, and globally, as more and more people have access to technology and social media, making the world more connected than ever before. However, despite the shrinking space between interactions, having a society that respects cultural diversity is more difficult than one would think. In fact, a full three quarters of conflicts still have some cultural dimension. That is why today,…
Words from West Africa: Sahara Desert and Disconnectivity

Guest Contributor

16 May 2013 | 7:59 am

Note from the Editor: this piece was written by Nancy Xu. After two mind-opening weeks in West Africa, four of us from Team Jolkona headed north for some reflection and relaxation time in the Sahara desert. We arrived hours too late to meet with our camels. Instead of sunset, it was moonlight as we rode into the sand dunes. The temperature plummeted dune after dune. The wind picked up and blew sand into our faces. Discomfort aside, we enjoyed our bumpy ride, the silence of the desert with just the sure steps of our camels, and the cloudless night sky filled with stars from one horizon to…
GiveBig Today, Change the Future Tomorrow

Andres Garza

15 May 2013 | 7:59 am

If you are going to donate to your favorite nonprofit organization this year, today is the day to do it. Today is GiveBIG, the Seattle Foundation’s annual one-day, online charitable event where all credit card donations given between midnight and midnight (Pacific Standard Time) are prorated. There are over 1,400 nonprofits eligible for the prorated donations, and Jolkona is one of them! What does prorated mean? Prorated donations are donations that will be “stretched” (up to $25,000 per donor, per organization) by some very generous sponsors from around the greater Seattle area. In…
Words from West Africa: Play Lights Up Its Way

Guest Contributor

13 May 2013 | 7:59 am

Written and Illustrated by Suejin Kim Visiting Schools with Empower Playgrounds After a beautiful canoe ride to an island, we walked into a beautiful school campus. It had only two sounds, children playing and birds, and had an open space with trees and flowers. Along with Isaac, a founder of Empower Playgrounds, we were welcomed with fresh coconut water by a school dean and staff members. Playing Time To understand classroom dynamics and to break the ice, Nancy led a spaghetti activity, which is creating a tower with given spaghetti and a marshmallow in 15 minutes. Students got excited and…

SocialEarth
Mexican Coffee Growing Community Members Blog to Connect with Canadian Coffee Drinkers: Van Houtte’s Farm Views Project

3BL Media

22 May 2013 | 5:54 am

A busy coffee drinker at a Van Houtte® coffee shop in Canada or shopping in the coffee aisle at the grocery store may not have a coffee farmer on his [...]
Phuket, Thailand: The Beach Hell – Part 2/2

Children of the Mekong

21 May 2013 | 9:20 am

Concluding part to Phuket, Thailand: The Beach Hell… The Orphan Mg Zin Htoo stopped two minutes to listen to his elders tell their stories. His own is not very different [...]
Air Travel Takes On Environmental Challenges the Industry Faces

3BL Media

21 May 2013 | 5:54 am

Scientists from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have issued a release saying the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has reached the feared milestone of 400 ppm (parts per [...]
National PTA and Discovery Education Hit the Road to Fight Bullying

3BL Media

20 May 2013 | 10:08 am

Bullying is not a new problem but it’s one that has escalated and gained visibility in the last decades. It can destroy lives and cause untold misery to people who [...]
The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments Played by Children from the Dump

3BL Media

16 May 2013 | 8:29 am

Unfortunately, too many children are born into the world with little or no hope. Imagine being born without hope, that it has been taken from you even before you have [...]

Pulling for the Underdog
Complexity and Humility

10 May 2013 | 12:50 pm

The recognition of complexity is at its core a view of the world that that makes us more humble and more open. It is the awareness that too often our interventions will not achieve what we wanted and we will be shocked by unintended consequences. (The fact that, following the creation of the Cap-and-Trade Carbon Emission Scheme as a clever new artificial market, more coal is being burned in Europe than before is a mind-boggling example.) At the same time, it is the acknowledgement that simplistic “can do” thinking and linear approaches in organizations and markets, which…
100 Days of Gratitude, Day 35 - Ibu Sophia

26 Apr 2013 | 9:15 am

While I was living in Jakarta from 1987 to 1992, I was the luckiest person in the world. Why? Because I got to eat Ibu Sophia’s cooking every day. I ate like a king – and many guests did as well. During those years, I traveled all around the country and ate in food stalls, cheap restaurants, fancy restaurants, and many homes. She was the best cook in Indonesia, hands down.But she not only fed me. Even though I was in my late 20s and early 30s, she looked after me like a mother. Born in the Semarang area, probably in the 1930s, she had…
Leadership Principles 1-3

26 Mar 2013 | 7:52 pm

After spending the last decade in a start-up environment, I have recently joined the senior team at a more established global organization. This has made me reflect on some things that I learned about leadership and management earlier in my career, when I was at a large organization. Here are a few:Good leaders help synthesize a compelling vision that motivates people and helps guide their action.But good leaders don't just enunciate a vision; they also create a context that enables their teams to succeed.Good leaders assemble teams with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives…
Feedback Loops for Aid?

24 Jan 2013 | 6:59 am

My dishwasher died over the holidays.The first thing I did was go to Consumer Reports to find out what their experts considered the best bet for a replacement. I was on the verge of ordering one of their top-ranked models when I decided to click on the “User Reviews” tab. I was shocked to see that the model was ranked only 2.5 out of 5 stars by actual users. Consumers had a wide range of complaints, describing how hard it was to load and the length of the wash cycle, and others complained the thing broke down too often. So I kept going down the list of…
100 Days of Gratitude - Day 34: GlobalGiving Gang

12 Jan 2013 | 7:57 am

[Cross-posted from the GlobalGiving Blog]The other day a friend asked me to look back at my professional career and tell her what I was most proud of.“What do you mean?” I asked.“Well, you did all those multi-hundred million dollar projects at the World Bank in the 1980s and 1990s. And then you were instrumental in creating the original Innovation and Development Marketplaces there.“And now GlobalGiving has helped over 7,000 projects around the globe get $100+ million in funding from 300,000 donors and some of the most innovative companies in the world. Plus, GlobalGiving…

Inside Philanthropy
‘Changing the Game’ shows how contemporary foundations can succeed

22 May 2013 | 10:59 am

Edward SklootWe’re about to begin the second century of philanthropic giving by community foundations. Started in Cleveland in 1914, they now number more than 700 institutions domestically. They are linked and distinguished by a unique, place-based, community-engaged approach to philanthropy. Their targets are local. Their efforts are continuously informed by local developments. At their best, they are involved in a locale’s nearly every important civic venture. Several months ago I asked Paul Grogan, the president and CEO of The Boston Foundation, as well as a good friend, to…
There’s a coach for that? How professional coaching can contribute to nonprofit success

22 May 2013 | 6:46 am

Special to Philanthropy JournalSackeena Gordon-JonesWhen the topic of “coaching” comes up, many people think about the leaders of successful sports teams. The type of coaching that the International Coach Federation (ICF) supports, though, is a little different. We take the same concepts surrounding these highly trained and skilled professionals and transfer them to a wide range of organizations and individuals seeking guidance to reach their goals. This week’s observation of International Coaching Week is designed to raise awareness of how professional coaching helps people increase…
Need a new CEO? Convene a diverse search committee

20 May 2013 | 7:16 am

Special to Philanthropy JournalTerrie TemkinExecutive transition and succession planning for nonprofits are hot topics as more baby boomers make the decision to turn over the reigns to someone younger. The question becomes how to find the “right someone” to replace them. Of course, you can hire a headhunter or post an ad. However, headhunters are expensive and you are going to be limited to the pool of people who see an ad, find it of interest, and take the time to reply. And, both options still require a lot of pre-work to ensure success. I suggest taking the following approach instead.
Boards must engage in learning as a core competency

15 May 2013 | 7:29 am

Marty MartinServing on a board of directors is a learned skill and an art. Successful boards get that way by learning to ask the right questions and then applying an appropriate answer to their nonprofit’s unique circumstances. To be effective requires a board to know and understand their nonprofit and the environment in which it operates. Thus, a board must engage in learning as a core competency.There are three broad areas which a board must learn: leadership and management, stewardship of resources, and public responsibilities. These overlapping and intertwined areas are embedded in…
Impatient Optimists: A Field Visit to the Kuna Territory in Mesoamerica

13 May 2013 | 6:57 am

Jeff Raikes (left) and Wolfgang Munar (red shirt) greet partners during a recent visit to the Kuna Territory. (©Photo Inter-American Development Bank) Jeff Raikes, Wolfgang MunarOn a recent trip to Panama to look at innovative health investments, we visited the communities of Carti and Wichub-Huala, in the San Blas Islands archipelago, an autonomous territory of the Kuna Peoples.The Kuna participate in the Salud Mesoamerica 2015 initiative (SM2015) that the Gates Foundation is jointly funding with the Carlos Slim Health Institute, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Governments…

PhilanTopic
The State of Philanthropic Giving in 2011

Mitch Nauffts

22 May 2013 | 11:47 am

(Niki Jagpal is research and policy director and Kevin Laskowski is senior research and policy associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Both frequently blog about the role of philanthropy in society. You can follow NCRP on Twitter @ncrp.) Anyone working in the nonprofit sector knows the value of measurement. If something is important -- whether it's your own impact and outcomes or a field-wide trend -- you measure it. Somehow, some way, you track it. NCRP recently completed an analysis of 2011 foundation giving based on our own Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best:…
Partnering With State Governments to Strengthen Families: Early Lessons From the Work Support Strategies Initiative

Mitch Nauffts

20 May 2013 | 11:45 am

(Luis A. Ubiñas is president of the Ford Foundation. This commentary is adapted from a forthcoming Urban Institute report, available online starting June 4, that includes an array of perspectives from leaders about practical lessons emerging from the Work Supports Strategies initiative.) Over the past half-decade, as the country has suffered through a deep, persistent economic downturn, America's work support programs have served as an essential backstop for millions of working families struggling to keep a toehold in the labor market. For many families, supports such as child care…
Weekend Link Roundup (May 18-19, 2013)

Regina Mahone

19 May 2013 | 3:00 pm

Our weekly roundup of new and noteworthy posts from and about the nonprofit sector.... Data We're big fans of data visualization whiz Hans Rosling, and so is Humanosphere blogger Tom Paulson. But, writes Paulson, Rosling "is strikingly upfront about the limitations of data. Sometimes, the problem is that different countries measure things -- like unemployment -- in different ways....In other cases, there are real uncertainties in the data that must be assessed: child mortality statistics are quite precise, whereas maternal mortality figures are not; global poverty measurements are infrequent…
Trouble at the IRS: What Were They Thinking?

Mitch Nauffts

16 May 2013 | 1:00 pm

(David Jacobs is director of foundation information management at the Foundation Center. In his last post for PhilanTopic, he blogged about an Open Data Master Class presented by the World Bank.) Like many Americans, I was shocked to learn last week that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted conservative and Tea Party organizations applying for 501(c)(4) tax exempt status for additional review prior to last year's elections. And like many Americans, my shock turned to disgust this week as additional details -- including the alleged leaking of confidential donor information -- emerged,…
Dear Fundraisers: The Annual Report Is Yesterday’s News

Mitch Nauffts

14 May 2013 | 6:45 am

(Derrick Feldmann is CEO of Achieve, an Indianapolis-based creative fundraising agency. In his last post, he wrote about the importance of differentiating between your "sophisticated" and average donors. When I headed off to college for the first time, I had no idea what I wanted to study or what kind of career I would pursue after graduation. Like so many other "undecideds," I took classes from lots of different departments and hoped something would click. Then, in my junior year, I discovered criminal justice. I had always enjoyed crime novels, detective stories, and hearing about unsolved…

Charitable Advisors
I WILL Retire Someday - Preparing Yourself & Your Organization

21 May 2013 | 11:04 am

Through May, Charitable Advisors has already supported five board search committees this year in seeking new Executive Directors or CEOs. Leadership transition is a critical time for any nonprofit organization, but especially for founders and long-term leaders. Whether you are 10 months or 10 years from retirement, you are probably thinking about the next phase of your life. Most nonprofit executives have worked many years for modest pay and even those who have made a good living wonder how their combination of savings, social security, and pension/retirement income will translate to life…
Board Members as Loyal Opposition?

14 May 2013 | 8:37 am

(Note: Many of us are always looking for another angle or analogy in thinking about the important role that the nonprofit board plays. Here is a take from Canadian governance that might be of interest. Note that the "loyal opposition" should not be considered the same as devil's advocate which seems a common role for some "helpful" board members. - Bryan)When it comes to governance, boards of directors tread a very fine line. Those who seek to lead the organization run the risk of usurping the role of the CEO. Those who follow the CEO's lead run the risk of abdicating their responsibility and…
Change Leader or Victim of Change?

7 May 2013 | 8:10 am

Last Chance - Don't Miss the Board Chair Summit – This Thurs, May 9, 7:30 a.m.- noon. The fourth annual Central Indiana Board Chair Summit, hosted by Lacy Leadership Association will again take place at the Arthur M. Glick JCC, 6701 Hoover Rd. This year's Summit will focus on "Leading Change". Change happens whether we like it or not – here’s a great opportunity for board chairs and ED/CEOs to grasp some tips and tools for addressing change in your organization. Participants will be completing a short “change readiness” assessment that they can take back to replicate with their full…
Two Great Development Opportunities

30 Apr 2013 | 11:09 am

For Aging Services Professionals – May 8Helping Professionals Help Older Adults Embrace a New Purpose: Spirituality & Social Engagement - The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community will host a workshop for aging services professionals -- "Helping Professionals Help Older Adults Embrace a New Purpose: Spirituality & Social Engagement" on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 from 9:00am - 3:30pm at the UIndy campus. For information and registration, visit here. For Board and Staff Leaders – May 92013 Board Chair Summit - The fourth annual Central Indiana Board Chair…
Developing Your Case for Long-term Support

23 Apr 2013 | 12:21 pm

On Thursday, May 2, the Planned Giving Group of Indiana(PGGI) welcomes nationally known speaker Caleb B. Rick J.D. to the Riverwalk Banquet Center from 8:30-11:30AM. Please join us!While many organizations use a case statement for a capital campaign, few have developed a case for long-term support. A Case for Legacy Giving is a fundamental tool for engaging staff, board members, volunteers and donors in grasping the importance of this area of philanthropy. Participants will be invited to answer a series of questions as you begin to draft your own “Case for Legacy Giving” and “Roadmap…

Philanthrocapitalism | Philanthrocapitalism
Conversation: Lauren Bush and Matthew Bishop

Philanthrocapitalism

15 May 2013 | 3:21 pm

Lauren Bush in conversation with Matthew Bishop. Find out first hand how she created her fashion brand FEED Projects.. a Social Enterprise based on the “Gifting Economy”..allowing FEED to feed millions of children with school lunches!
Conversation: Neil Blumenthal and Mathew Bishop

Philanthrocapitalism

7 May 2013 | 4:18 pm

Neil Blumenthal in conversation with Matthew Bishop. Find out how Neil Blumenthal makes a difference with Warby Parker Eyewear, selling a pair and donating a pair.
Conversation: Georg Kell and Matthew Bishop

Philanthrocapitalism

2 May 2013 | 2:54 pm

UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell speaks with Matthew Bishop, New York Bureau Chief and Business Editor of The Economist, about the state of corporate sustainability around the world. Watch the complete interview at www.newswire.fm.
Conversation: Charley Ellis and Matthew Bishop

Philanthrocapitalism

2 May 2013 | 2:51 pm

Charley Ellis in conversation with Matthew Bishop at the Nasdaq OMX Marketsite ..find out first hand his opinion on the 7 secrets to success for Goldman Sachs, McKinsey and Mayo Clinic..
Tweet from @MattBish

Philanthrocapitalism

2 May 2013 | 2:43 pm

Wow. Am honoured to reach 40,000 followers on Twitter. Thanks for your interest! Why not follow me on LinkedIn, too? linkedin.com/influencer/mat… — matthew bishop (@mattbish) May 2, 2013

ONE
The Chicago Council’s #GlobalAg summit in one word? Innovation.

David Hong

22 May 2013 | 12:38 pm

Yesterday, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend The Chicago Council Global Food Security Symposium 2013, an annual event that brings some of the brightest and most innovative thinkers (and doers) to Washington, D.C. With an introductory message from USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and keynote remarks from Helene Gayle, CEO of CARE; Lauren Bush Lauren, founder of FEED; and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, this year’s event was global agriculture’s version of the Oscars. Global food security experts share ideas at a panel. Photo credit: @JashDillon via Twitter. Advancing global food…
A tale of two women

Guest Blogger

22 May 2013 | 9:04 am

This is Jennifer Iannolo’s first post for ONE.org, an organization she says she is “honored to work with not only because of their humanitarian efforts, but also for the use of “hard-headed” in their tagline.” This post was originally posted on her blog, Zenfully Delicious. Photo Credit: C.C. Chapman I’ve had two women on my mind lately. They are counterpoints; polar ends of a spectrum whose very existence is difficult to reconcile. Each woman is fighting a battle — to the death — on her own end of the spectrum. And though one of them faces a matter of critical…
What We’re Reading: After a decade of success, global AIDS program looks to the future

Michaela Balderston

22 May 2013 | 7:21 am

AP: After a decade of success, global AIDS program looks to the future – PEPFAR is at a crossroads and the dream of future generations freed from epidemic is running up against an era of economic recovery and harsh budget cuts. Obama has upped the stakes, speaking in his State of the Union address this year of “realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation.” But funding for the relief plan’s bilateral efforts has dipped in recent years and it’s doubtful that Congress, in its current budget-cutting mood, will reverse that trend when the current five-year program expires later this…
Amazing Africa: The streets of Cameroon

Emily Walker

21 May 2013 | 1:22 pm

ONE member Andre Kemayou is our featured photographer for Amazing Africa this week. He tells his story much better than I ever could, so without further ado, meet Andre! “I was born in Cameroon and relocated to the United States in 1999. I work as a database administrator for a company in Northern Virginia. I have always had a passion for photography and I started shooting professionally two years ago. I look at the work other photographers have done in other African countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania, and while I admire them, I realized that little work has been…
What We’re Reading: Obama to take first major Africa trip in late June

Michaela Balderston

21 May 2013 | 8:07 am

AFP: Obama to take first major Africa trip in late June – The White House announced President Barack Obama will leave on a first African tour next month, visiting Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa, but his itinerary bypasses Kenya. The White House said the long-awaited visit was intended to underscore Obama’s “commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa” to advance peace and prosperity. (Collinson) Guardian: Is the African Union equipped to serve Africa’s people for another 50 years? – The…

GuideStar Blog
What can data do for you?

Lindsay Nichols

22 May 2013 | 7:56 am

These days, Big Data is all the rage. You can’t swing a stick in a coffee shop without hitting a journalist or blogger writing about the potential – and pitfalls – of drawing insights from the unprecedented volume of data being produced every second of every day. Organizations of all kinds are being urged to make the most of this new resource to better target and tailor their work. But for a resource-strapped nonprofit, taking on data analytics can seem to be a monumental challenge. Financial concerns are paramount: with the field of data analytics booming and salaries skyrocketing,…
Our Friends in Oklahoma, Hearts and Heads Together

Lori Larson

21 May 2013 | 8:50 am

Not too long ago, we were sharing a suggested vehicle for philanthropy in response to the Boston Marathon bombings. Source: Wikimedia Commons Today Facebook, Twitter, online news, television and radio will no doubt continue to populate with images and stories that make our hearts long to help after yesterday’s tornado in Oklahoma. Like The Boston Foundation, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation is also one of the sixteen GuideStar DonorEdge communities using its version of The Giving Partner, GiveSmartOKC, to inform donors about choices for giving. We know you want to reach…
Sacramento Region Community Foundation: Leading Pivotal Change Toward Community Philanthropy in the Sacramento Region

Lori Larson

20 May 2013 | 11:52 am

Congratulations to GuideStar’s newest DonorEdge customer, Sacramento Region Community Foundation (SRCF), on the successful launch of their local version of GuideStar DonorEdge, The Giving Edge, and Arts Day of Giving on April 29! The launch and giving event was a first in several exciting ways: The Giving Edge launched to the public in only 60 days! This ground-breaking launch was made possible by innovative new GuideStar DonorEdge technology, shared knowledge and expertise of the DonorEdge Learning Community, and dedicated SRCF staff and partners. The Arts Day of Giving raised more than…
Sharing info about your nonprofit on GuideStar is easier than ever

Diana Hand

16 May 2013 | 7:20 am

We are excited to announce that the GuideStar Exchange interface has been overhauled to be more streamlined and easy-to-use, allowing participants to provide information about their nonprofits on GuideStar as they have access to it – one step at a time. New and improved GuideStar Exchange form If you aren’t yet familiar with the GuideStar Exchange, it is a program designed for nonprofits wanting to better connect with donors, funders, and other stakeholders by encouraging transparency through information sharing. The program operates and grows from self-reported information submitted…
GuideStar Member Spotlight: Bruce Keenan

Jenny Taylor

15 May 2013 | 7:39 am

Bruce Keenan It’s a fact: we love our members. We want to take the time to recognize the incredibly passionate and diverse group of individuals that comprise our membership, so I’m thrilled to introduce you all to one of our founding members, Bruce Keenan, president of Himalayan Children’s Charities (HCC). I asked Bruce a series of questions about himself, his work, and how being a GuideStar member has advanced his work, which he answered below and on our member spotlight page: 1. How has being a GuideStar member helped you? It helps with immediate credibility,…

Dan Pallotta
Five Things Tim Cook Should Do at Apple (Now that He's Done Testifying)

Dan Pallotta

21 May 2013 | 2:00 pm

Tim Cook performed brilliantly in front of Congress today. He was authoritative, in breathtaking command of his facts, as he always is, and brought a unique perspective to each response. Senator Levin was out for blood, but "No one laid a glove on him," as Phillip Emer DeWitt wrote for Fortune. He put his questioners to shame. His response to the question of whether Apple was violating basic rules of fairness was brilliant: "I am a fair person. Apple is a fair company. I would not administer [something that was unfair.]" This is no dime-a-dozen MBA or supply-chain guy. This is a man of unique…
Just Call Someone Already

Dan Pallotta

4 Feb 2013 | 6:00 am

You won't believe this. There's a technological marvel that, instead of forcing you to communicate with others in writing, actually allows you to hear other people's voices and words — you can even hear the tone and volume of their voices! And wonder of wonders, they can hear you! Across any distance! It's incredible! Not many people use the device today, but it's truly in a class by itself for productive communication. Please pardon the sarcasm, but the way people shun the telephone these days is getting ridiculous. You used to be able to just call people. You didn't have to be on…
The Market Wants Apple to Unveil a Time Machine

Dan Pallotta

16 Jan 2013 | 9:59 am

If you want a brilliant lesson in focus and discipline, watch Tim Cook right now. Some investors are dissatisfied with Apple. I think it's more a case of their being dissatisfied with their own lives and expecting that Apple's next product will fix everything. The constant refrain is that Apple has not introduced a disruptive product since Steve Jobs passed away. It's as if they want Apple to unveil a happiness device and they won't be happy until it does. Some people are saying that Tim Cook just ain't up to it, that he's no Steve Jobs. One commenter on a popular Apple rumor site made a…
Business Can't Solve the World's Problems — But Capitalism Can

Dan Pallotta

15 Jan 2013 | 5:00 am

Business and capitalism get conflated — in our media, our language and in our thinking. They are not the same thing. One is a sector, the other a methodology. By inextricably linking the two, we confine the practice of real, turbo-charged capitalism to business, and we dangerously limit the capacity of non-business organizations to innovate, fund, and bring to scale the kind of breakthrough ideas that will begin to solve the huge social problems we face today. To be sure, business can change the world. That is one of the things it does, consistently. Innovations such as the assembly…
Never Lie About Who You Really Are

Dan Pallotta

18 Dec 2012 | 7:00 am

Yesterday was my 12-year anniversary of being with my partner, Jimmy. I called a florist, and a nice woman picked up. I told her, "It's my anniversary, and I want to send roses." I know she's thinking the roses are going to a woman. It doesn't matter that I've been out for 31 years, I still get self-conscious when it comes time to tell her what to put on the card: "Dear Jimmy, etc., Love, Danny." I steel myself for the usual response — "Did you say Jenny?" — but this woman gets it. Last week, the pest control guy came to the door. "Are you Mr. Smith?" he says. "No, I'm Mr.

Nonprofit Blog Exchange
Roundup for May 2013

Emily

19 May 2013 | 1:51 pm

A Dog Named Red Helps Best Friends Animal Society Get Results on Facebook (Beth’s Blog) 21 Social Media Tips for Nonprofits from Top Experts (FundraisingCoach.com) 5 Things You Need to Do to Make Sure People Read (and Share) Your Content (Branded Out Loud) 10 Ways Nonprofits Can Send Mobile-Friendlier Email (npENGAGE) Counting on Success? Focus on Event Fundraising Analytics (npENGAGE) Donor Acquisition: The #1 Way to Acquire More Donors Online (npENGAGE) 4 Ways to Give Donors a Better Experience Online (Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog) The magic two words that will get people…
NTEN’s Nonprofit Blogging Community of Practice

Emily

14 Apr 2013 | 4:48 pm

Are you a nonprofit blogger? Would you like to connect with other nonprofit bloggers and discuss nonprofit blogging topics? Join in the discussion at NTEN’s Nonprofit Blogging Group at http://my.nten.org/group/npblogging You do not need to be a member of NTEN to join this group.
Roundup for March 2013

Emily

31 Mar 2013 | 5:53 pm

7 Reasons Why Every Nonprofit Should Create a Blog (Engaging Volunteers) Building Community On Your Website (Wild Apricot Blog) Serving Up Satisfying Website Content (Wild Apricot Blog) When Nonprofits Give out a “Don’t Contact Me” Message (Branded Out Loud) 3 Ways to Use Social Media in Your Next Fundraising Campaign (Amy Sample Ward’s Version of NPTech) 6 Ways to Keep a Donor (Sea Change Strategies) Social media study: What drives digital support for causes (Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog) Lean Impact Post: What We Learn From Our Non-Profit Clients (DonationPay) A Message…
Roundup 2 for February 2013

Emily

26 Feb 2013 | 12:26 pm

How To Easily Repurpose Your Content for Social Channels (Beth’s Blog) Are you as “social” as other nonprofits? (Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog) Your Online Newsroom: Engaging in a Digital Age (The PR Toolkit for Nonprofits) You’re the Best—Sharing 11 Sources I Love In Thanks (Getting Attention) Format Your Content for Easy Sharing— Just 4 Doable Steps (Getting Attention) Fundraising Tactics: Puppies Edition (DonationPay) Strategies to Increase Nonprofit Donor Retention Rates (frogloop) Financing Not Fundraising: Create Donor Personas (Social Velocity) 5 Approaches to…
Roundup for February 2013

Emily

3 Feb 2013 | 2:25 pm

Fundraising and Donors Find Ways To Engage With Your Donors (Ann Green’s Nonprofit Blog) Show Your Donors The Love (Ann Green’s Nonprofit Blog) Custom Designed Donor Section Provides Engaging Interface (Red Rooster Group’s Blog) The Perfect Place for Your Donate Now Button (Branded Out Loud) Thanking Your Donors For A Great Year (DonationPay Blog) 3 Alternative Ways To Measure Your Holiday Fundraising In The New Year (DonationPay Blog) 200 More Email Subject Lines from End of Year Fundraising (npENGAGE) Three Simple Ways to Improve Your Online Fundraising (npENGAGE) 5 Ways to Validate…

The Nonprofit Consultant Blog
Giving With Impact - The Benevolent Way

30 Apr 2013 | 4:26 pm

I've blogged endlessly about the importance of storytelling in fundraising. Last month I wrote specifically about the human need to feel and show empathy for others, and its relationship to fundraising.Yesterday the connection between empathy and giving was demonstrated again in an article on Bloomberg Businessweek about the online donations going directly to the victims and families impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing (Bombing Victims Get Millions as Internet Redefines Giving).I'd like to point out one quote from that article from Kevin Berg Kartaszewicz-Grell, a research director for…
Empathy for Sale

15 Mar 2013 | 9:40 am

I've written about the power of storytelling in fundraising many times over. I've also written about the ethical question of organizations sharing their client's stories (see Who's Story is it Anyway?). Well, here we go again...Last weekend, walking along Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, I spotted a gentleman behind a card table set up on the side walk. He appeared to be in him mid-50s, neatly groomed long gray hair, comfortably dressed, ready to be of service. The sign on the front of his table read, "Free Empathy."Certainly empathy is something that frequently seems to be in short supply…
The Waiting is NOT the Hardest Part

5 Feb 2013 | 1:51 pm

... A Proposal for Uniform Feedback of Grant Application DenialsFrom Guest Blogger: Brian Leitten. Mr. Leitten is an experienced non-profit leader and consultant, chief executive and attorney. He provides consulting services nationally to non-profit and healthcare leaders from his office in Port Orange, Florida. He can be reached at Leitten Consulting - consulting.leitten.com. Every year I assist clients in preparing grant applications that are submitted to 30-50 different private, community and corporate foundations and government agencies. The grant applications could be as…
Three R's of Grant Writing

29 Jan 2013 | 9:43 am

We had a great turnout at yesterday's Basic Grant Proposal Writing workshop at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. The group asked a lot of great questions, and we covered a lot of material. Exhausting, but in a good way!At the end of the day, Community Foundation Communications Officer, Luis Chabolla, asked me to stick around and make a quick video for the Foundation's YouTube channel. Luis asked me for three quick grant writing tips in under two minutes. Here's the result: The Three R's of Grant Writing:Research - Stop sending proposals scatter-shot to every foundation in the book.
Nonprofit Rescue: The Pitch

17 Jan 2013 | 12:02 pm

We all have dreams for the nonprofit sector: increased individual giving, more effective boards, simplified government grant applications, better trained staff... Well, one of my dreams for the sector is greater public understanding of the nuts and bolts of how nonprofits operate, and I've got an idea for implementing it: a reality TV show.So far the only time real, community, grass-roots nonprofits have been seen on reality TV is on shows like the Secret Millionaire. Each week a different successful business person gets in touch with the broader community by masquerading as a "regular…

Tall Skinny Kiwi
5 Events at Kirchentag you dont wanna miss

Andrew

1 May 2013 | 2:31 am

Kirchentag Festival is off with a bang. Not sure how many people came out last night for the Opening Ceremony but estimates have been as high as 300,000. Who knows? Counting church people is a tricky affair, as I have blogged about before, so I will leave it to the experts. Here are my Best Bets for Internationals at Kirchentag 2013 1. Germany's Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and Helen Clark, New Zealand's ex-PM and now spicing up the UN Development Programme with some kiwi ingenuity, discuss the value of creation in a globalised world with "And God saw that it was Good". If you cant get…
In Los Angeles to see blood

Andrew

26 Apr 2013 | 8:16 pm

This Sunday I will be at the Brewery Art Walk in Los Angeles to see my friend Kevin do a live art installation based on the Book of Judges. He tells me there will be blood. I told him I will bring my diving mask. It all happens at 3pm at Studio 624. If you see me, please say hello and take me out for an In-and-Out Burger. Posted with Blogsy
Enough for All - My Bible Study

Andrew

24 Apr 2013 | 4:57 pm

If you are in Germany then you might be joining the 100,000+ people in Hamburg for Kirchentag 2013 (Church Day) on May 1-5. If you make it to my session, please say hello afterwards. The Kirchentag folk do an absolutely incredible job of organizing and hosting a massive scale festival - the best organized I have ever seen - and they invited me to teach over a year ago. Here is the info they sent me. Information about your Bible study at the 34th German Protestant Kirchentag from 1st to 5th May 2013 in Hamburg Dear Mr. Jones, "As much as you need” – is the theme for the 34th German…
Rick Warren sets up memorial fund

Andrew

9 Apr 2013 | 6:05 pm

I have been thinking of Rick Warren all week. A dreadful loss. Praying peace on the family after the tragic suicide of their son Matthew. Rick Warren just set up the Matthew Warren Memorial Fund for Mental Illness. I hope the fund does well in raising awareness of this issue that affects so many, including many ministry families. It's a hard issue to talk about without creating disrespect for the individual involved. I hope there is a way forward. Rick is an incredible man and I respect him a hell of a lot. In the early days, we in the emerging church gave the seeker-sensitive pastors a…
Thoughts on Pope Francis

Andrew

14 Mar 2013 | 6:18 pm

GREAT to hear waves of excitement over the new Pope. I am also excited about the appointment of Pope Francis, because . . . - he is from South America. - he is a humble man, riding the bus to work and refusing ecclesiastic titles. - he has a heart for the poor. - he wants renewal of the church, which is awesome. - he is a Jesuit, and those guys are really cool! - the charismatic Catholics really like him. In Italy a few years ago, some friends and I met with Matteo Calisi, who heads up the 150 million people in the Charismatic Catholic Renewal, known as the Catholic Fraternity, and reports…

pubTalk
PNLC Hosts Forum on Collective Impact

Emily Saunoi-Sandgren

25 Apr 2013 | 9:04 am

On January 24, 2013, the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center co-hosted with the Minnesota Council on Foundations a Learning Forum on Collective Impact. Over 60 Minnesota philanthropists gathered at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs to discuss the merits, challenges, and future of the recent phenomenon of Collective Impact. As a result of this forum, the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center has created a curated set of information and resources on Collective Impact, including portions of audio from the event. We invite you to use this as a resource in your exploration and…
Stone Presents Keynote at Nonprofit Governance Conference

pnlc

19 Apr 2013 | 10:02 am

Melissa Middleton Stone presented the keynote address at this year's biennial conference on nonprofit governance. Stone spoke on "Governing Cross-Sector Collaborations: Lessons from Research and Practice." Notes from her talk are available HERE. The conference, Critical Conversations on the Future of Nonprofit Governance: A Conference of Practitioners and Researchers, was sponsored by the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, part of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
Join Us April 3rd for Cross-Sector Collaboration: What Role for the Military

pnlc

29 Mar 2013 | 10:38 am

Please join us on Wednesday, April 3rd for a "Cross-Sector Collaboration to Promote Sustainability & Security." Featured panelists will include faculty and senior officers of the U.S. Army War College, Humphrey School, and Dickinson College in a wide-ranging examination of the benefits and challenges of cross-sector collaborations to promote long-term security. Held from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the Humphrey School's Cowles Auditorium, the event is free and open to the public. The US Army War College is engaged in a wide-ranging examination of the benefits and challenges of cross-sector…
The Clothes I Wear

Jackie Aman

6 Feb 2013 | 3:08 pm

The following blog post was written by Dr. Katherine Fennelly, Professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. You may have heard about a recent incident in which a St. Paul police officer dressed up as a Somali woman. Such ridicule can be very hurtful, as we learned last year when U of M graduate students, Alli Shurilla, Ramon Hough and Deka Ahmed helped me interview a number of African and Asian men and women to ask if they had been treated differently because of their clothing. The answers were instructive. Somali, Hmong and Indian Sikh adults in the Twin Cities described cases in…
Announcing the 2012 Local Government Innovation Award Winners

Jackie Aman

5 Dec 2012 | 5:42 am

Meet This Year's Local Government Innovation Awards Finalists! The Local Government Innovation Awards are proud to announce the three finalists who will compete for the chance to win a grant of $25,000 to continue innovating. Dakota County Community Services: Jail Re-Entry Program Return on Taxpayer Investment Model. Dakota County's Re-Entry Assistance Program works to improve the probability of long-term success for individuals exiting jail by providing community-based wraparound services tailored to each former offender's needs. Irondale High School of Mounds View Public Schools: Early…

Foundation Group
IRS Exempt Organizations Director To Plead Fifth

Greg McRay

21 May 2013 | 8:03 pm

It is a shocking development in a story that continues to explode. Lois Lerner, the Director of the Exempt Organization’s unit at the Internal Revenue Service, who is scheduled to appear before Congress tomorrow morning, has said through her lawyer that she will invoke her rights under the Fifth Amendment against giving incriminating testimony. Her [...]The post IRS Exempt Organizations Director To Plead Fifth appeared first on Foundation Group.
The First Head Has Rolled!

Greg McRay

15 May 2013 | 3:54 pm

Breaking News! – 6:45 pm (EDT), May 15, 2010 The first head has been chopped off in the unfolding IRS scandal. President Obama just announced the resignation of IRS Acting Commissioner Stephen Miller. Who’s next?The post The First Head Has Rolled! appeared first on Foundation Group.
Scandal At The IRS: What Does It Mean For Nonprofits?

Greg McRay

15 May 2013 | 9:14 am

That’s the question everyone in our universe is asking this morning. With the IRS Exempt Organizations division in the crosshairs, what will all this mean to nonprofits going forward? It’s hard to guess until we see how explosive this gets. What we do know is outrageous. EO Revenue Agents working in the Cincinnati, DC and [...]The post Scandal At The IRS: What Does It Mean For Nonprofits? appeared first on Foundation Group.
IRS Guilty of Targeting Conservative Groups

Greg McRay

13 May 2013 | 2:12 pm

So, it turns out that the IRS Exempt Organizations division has been targeting for intense scrutiny conservative and right-leaning nonprofits which were applying for tax exempt status. This was admitted in an preemptive apology by Exempt Organizations director, Ms. Lois Lerner, in a news conference this past Friday. Ms. Lerner also stated that this was [...]The post IRS Guilty of Targeting Conservative Groups appeared first on Foundation Group.
Foundation Group Welcomes Aplos Software As Referral Partner

Greg McRay

17 Apr 2013 | 1:41 pm

It is with great pleasure that we announce our newest referral partner, Aplos Software. Aplos is an IRS certified e-file provider for Form 990-EZ and Form 990-N services. They were looking for a partner to assist their clients that have found themselves on the receiving end of an IRS tax-exemption auto-revocation. Given Foundation Group’s extensive [...]The post Foundation Group Welcomes Aplos Software As Referral Partner appeared first on Foundation Group.

PhilanthroPost
How No More Poverty Is Addressing Global Need

universalgivingteam

25 Apr 2013 | 9:00 am

We’re highlighting one of our partners today, No More Poverty. Here’s what they had to share about their work: Since its foundation in 2012, No More Poverty has been able to provide support and assistance to well over three dozen separate non-profit organizations that focus on poverty and poverty-related issues. Since the initial launch of No More Poverty efforts have extended to partnerships for charitable events and the funding of surgical missions to developing nations. Founders Michael and Julian Omidi started No More Poverty in order to help assist in the global crisis of…
Take a Volunteer Trip in Thailand

Cheryl Mahoney

15 Apr 2013 | 9:00 am

UniversalGiving has recently been working with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), who have launched a contest to promote voluntourism, The Little Big Project. One winner will receive a two-week volunteer trip to Thailand. But everyone is invited to volunteer: TAT is partnering with other organizations, including UniversalGiving, to share volunteer opportunities. Sound appealing? Looking for adventure? Here are some top opportunities to volunteer in Thailand with UniversalGiving’s vetted NGO partners: Volunteer with Community Projects Work with Wild Animals Empower Single…
The Y Factor

universalgivingteam

27 Dec 2012 | 11:11 am

Today’s guest post comes from our partner, Bright Funds. Millennials. Gen Y. The Facebook generation. Whatever you call today’s teens, twenty- and thirty-somethings, they certainly constitute an increasingly powerful demographic. Now 80 million strong, millennials are the fastest-growing part of today’s workforce and the part responsible for much of the disruptive innovation that is forever transforming the way we conduct our daily lives. Needless to say, with increasing political influence, expanding bank accounts, and sharpening technological insights, Gen Y has significantly…
The Power of Video

universalgivingteam

24 Sep 2012 | 12:00 pm

By Steven Chang The power of video to successfully promote causes, companies, organizations, people, and yes, even cats, on the Internet is hardly a secret. We can see the power of video almost immediately (how many views/hits did you get?), and we can also see the power of video in our everyday lives (when was the last time you asked a question beginning with, “have you seen that one video…?”). But how do videos become popular? Two videos that use the same outreach methods – email, social media, word of mouth, live presentation – may not necessarily have the same impact. And a…
UniversalGiving at the Commonwealth Club – Video Highlights!

universalgivingteam

20 Sep 2012 | 12:00 pm

by Steven Chang On August 11, 2011, founder & CEO Pamela Hawley led a panel of Fortune 500 Corporate Social Responsibility executives in discussing the innovations and practical lessons learned from launching CSR programs all over the world. We’ve taken the highlights from this exciting event and created shorter videos for your learning and enjoyment! Pamela Hawley on NGO Vetting Here’s what founder & CEO Pamela Hawley had to say about NGO vetting through UniversalGiving™, which has even helped Fortune 500 companies ensure the success of global CSR programs. Secrets to…

Living and Giving - Pamela Hawley's Blog
The Classic Pamela Positive: Keep Your Balance

Pamela Hawley

22 May 2013 | 9:05 am

I think one key point in life is to maintain balance–balance between time for work, time for loved ones, time for oneself, time for interests outside of one’s business. It’s so important to keep that balance, or we’ll simply burn-out. I remember once when I was young in my career, and meeting with a fairly older, single woman. She was a successful venture capitalist. I don’t know that I would consider her life successful. She traveled the world incessantly and was on every important board. But she seemed tired and joy was scarce. She told me to “Pack it all in.” I didn’t. I…
Early Education Leads to Stronger Workforce

Pamela Hawley

21 May 2013 | 9:05 am

Early education wins. If we want our world to succeed, and our businesses, let’s invest in it. Children can follow their dreams…the world will be stronger. That’s the larger picture. For our businesses, too, we want to invest. A recent article in The Christian Science Monitor points to increased “executive functioning,” such as continued attention and expanded memory, among children who attend preschool. The children who went to school earlier develop needed business skills more readily. We can commit to higher teacher education, educating children of…
The Classic Pamela Positive: Celebrate True Wealth

Pamela Hawley

20 May 2013 | 9:05 am

Wealth is a state of mind and life. We tend to associate poverty with money. But poverty can be mental, emotional or spiritual poverty. I am often struck by this in my travel and volunteering in developing nations. Often, the divorce rates are low. Families not only stay together, but also spend time together. They gather food from the fields together, cook together and share meals together. Contrast us: 15 minute family dinners if we are lucky. Fast-food and food distanced from its natural base. We eat alone; we eat in our cars. Divorces are easier to get, and in our mind it can be easier to…
The Classic Pamela Positive: “You Have to be Able to Tell People ‘Great Job’ on Things That Didn’t Work”

Pamela Hawley

17 May 2013 | 9:05 am

“You have to be able to tell people ‘great job’ on things that didn’t work.” – J. Kermit Campbell, former CEO of Herman Miller Campbell has it right. A CEO is not an expert except in one area: getting the right people. Actually, let’s add another area: values. You must be a leader who gets the best people and demonstrates the highest values. Even if you are a manager, you should still think this way. Empower your people to learn and maintain a domain of expertise. Hopefully you can hire them with it. If you can’t, make sure they have the rapid…
The Classic Pamela Positive: “When You Believe Everything Is Finished…” – Louis L’Amour

Pamela Hawley

16 May 2013 | 9:05 am

“There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. This will be the beginning.” - Louis L’Amour Louis L’Amour was an American author. He is best known for his Western fiction novels, though he also wrote historical fiction, science fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short-story collections. He was born Louis Dearborn LaMoore on March 22, 1908, the last of seven children. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota, a medium-sized farming community. As he grew older, he traveled throughout the United States and abroad, in various positions including as a…

Kiva Loans
Zaira : Ukraine

22 May 2013 | 6:30 pm

$425 of $875 raised. Started raising funds on May 22, 2013 Zaira has been selling women’s and children’s clothing for 17 years. She owns her own sales stand at her town’s Central market. Zaira always selects quality merchandise. She is thoughtful and hard-working. Thanks to the revenues earned after her prior loan, Zaira has been able to expand her business by buying an additional sales stand. This time Zaira is applying for a loan in the amount 7,000 UAH to stock up on merchandise for the summer season. This loan will allow her to increase her revenues. Zaira would like to invest her…
Dilnoza : Tajikistan

22 May 2013 | 6:30 pm

$200 of $950 raised. Started raising funds on May 22, 2013 Dilnoza is a conscientious, goal oriented and hardworking woman. She was born in an agricultural area that has good conditions for raising livestock and growing crops. Dilnoza's family was poor and she helped her parents since childhood with raising livestock and growing crops. Dilnoza herself has had a lot of hardships in life, because she lived in a poor family. After finishing high school, Dilnoza married a livestock breeder and helped her husband raise livestock and grow crops. They mostly raised livestock, purchasing livestock at…
Nikolay : Ukraine

22 May 2013 | 6:20 pm

$350 of $1,850 raised. Started raising funds on May 22, 2013 Nikolay is married. He has a young daughter. Nikolay has his own business. Nikolay has been growing vegetables for 5 years. His bestsellers are tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes. Nikolay is hardworking and social, he would like to grow his business. He does not have enough resources for the spring season and this is why he would like to get a loan. Nikolay is asking for a loan of 15,000 hryvnia for the purchase of fertilizer (8 thousand hryvnia), chemical treatments (3 thousand hryvnia) and an irrigation system (4 thousand hryvnia).
Tatenda Group : Zimbabwe

22 May 2013 | 6:00 pm

$1,000 of $5,000 raised. Started raising funds on May 22, 2013 Greetings from Zimbabwe! This is 36 year old Shillah from Masvingo. Shillah a is single parent with three children, all of whom are attending school. Shillah runs a retail business which sells electrical gadgets, clothes, and groceries. The business has been in operation for 12 years. She says the main challenge she is facing is of the high transportation costs of ferrying goods from the wholesaler to her shop. Shillah has requested a loan of $1000 to buy electrical gadgets, pots, and groceries for resale. She says the extra…
Duvin : Costa Rica

22 May 2013 | 5:20 pm

$325 of $600 raised. Started raising funds on May 22, 2013 Duvin is married. He is 45 years old and he lives with his wife who is his highest priority. He intends to buy supplies like manure and insecticides with this loan in order to improve his crop. He already has several years working as a farmer of basic grains and therefore he wants to invest in his crop in order to obtain more profit at the end of the harvest. He hopes the harvest can reach maximum production and that he can sell it in order to generate good profits and be able to get ahead with the loan payments and improve his…

liveunitedblog.org
Tips You Should Know About Dealing With Lawyers

admin

21 May 2013 | 2:46 am

Do you need a good lawyer now? Do you want to know how to choose a great lawyer for your needs. Read on and learn how to choose the best lawyer for your case. Always ask for a history of the lawyer to look at before you retain him. Just because the lawyer is allowed to practice don’t mean that they’re successful. Be familiar with his or her background so that you have confidence in their capabilities. Get a list from every lawyer you’re thinking about. The charges can vary widely depending on the lawyer’s experience and skill; therefore, and it is smart to be aware of…
Never Fear Personal Injury Law Again With These Tips

admin

16 May 2013 | 2:17 am

Are you new to the laws concerning personal injury cases? The article gives you crucial information that can help. Detail your injuries completely and accurately when you write down what happened. Whether you have a minor injury or a major one, talk about every physical problem.Remember to add anything such as bumps or bruises that arise later on. You should also need to think about anything that has to do to your injury. You should also include any lost income. This will document all of how long you lost money due to your injury. You can also can total the money spent and lost on classes you…
Attorney Fee Schedules: What You Should Know Before Hiring A Lawyer

admin

16 May 2013 | 2:14 am

Do you feel that you need someone to represent you for legal matters? Regardless of your reasons, you must realized that you are facing a potentially expensive undertaking. However, if you use the tips given in the following article, you are sure to hire a trustworthy lawyer without spending too much money.Keep reading and learn how. Make sure you lawyer is easy to reach. Having a lawyer is something that a lot of people complain about. You shouldn’t get stuck wondering what’s going on with your case just because he is out playing golf. You may want to have an attorney on retainer…
Require Legal Advice? Read This Article Now

admin

11 May 2013 | 9:27 pm

Do you need to hire a good lawyer? Many times people are under the misconception that a better lawyer costs more money. While sometimes true, you do not need a large amount of money to hire a quality lawyer. The following article will teach you find an affordable attorney. You want to always be able to easily get in communication with your lawyer. Having issues with reaching a lawyer that is hard to contact is a lot of people complain about. You aren’t going to want to wonder about things because the lawyer is enjoying themselves. Find a lawyer who will accept a retainer from you, if…
When You Want To Know It All About Working With Lawyers, Read This

admin

10 May 2013 | 5:10 pm

The legal system is rather daunting and worrisome for those unfamiliar with it. You will feel better once you need to know to select the best lawyer on your needs. Keep reading if you want to know why having a lawyer. You really do not want to pick the first attorney that you visit. Do thorough research since choosing the wrong one can end badly. Ask around and look for as many people as you can on any lawyers you’re thinking about hiring. Everything you tell your lawyer has to be kept confidential. For instance, if you speak with your lawyer about something dealing with your company,…

Red Rooster Group
Creating an Effective Print Publication

Howard

3 May 2013 | 11:35 am

In Part One of this series, Long Live Print: How Nonprofits Are Harnessing the Power of Publications, we looked at how different organizations were accomplishing their goals through print magazines and newsletters. In this article, we discuss some tips for creating an effective print publication. 1. Write For Your Audience It all starts with your audience. You need to determine who your audience is, and write for them. Most organizations start with their needs, don’t think about why someone would be interested in what they are writing about, and consequently, miss an opportunity to connect…
Nonprofit Marketing Trends 2013

Howard

18 Mar 2013 | 5:31 am

Keynote Address by Howard Adam Levy, Principal of Red Rooster Group, delivered at SummX, Educational Foundation Summit on March 15, 2013, Salt Lake City, Utah. Introduction Good morning. My name is Howard Adam Levy and I am a specialist in helping nonprofit organizations improve their effectiveness through better branding and marketing communications. This morning I am going to discuss the trends I see within the nonprofit world, particularly in terms of fundraising and donor relations. My objective is to give you insights that you can take home and use to improve your organizations. Let me…
Name and Branding Promote New Educational Conference

Howard

20 Feb 2013 | 7:45 pm

CLIENT: SummX: Summit for Educational Foundation Excellence When the Utah Association of Public Schools and the American School Foundation Alliance decided to produce the first major conference for educational foundations in the region, they needed a name for the conference that would help it establish immediate credibility. We generated a list of names that were short enough to be catchy and memorable, and unique enough to have an available domain name. The recommended name, SummX is only 5 letters, and we were able to claim the domain name summx.org. We then designed a unique look for the…
Catalog Makes Jewish Teen Learning Exciting

Howard

20 Feb 2013 | 7:26 pm

CLIENT: The Jewish Education Project This example of effective nonprofit publication design showcases various Jewish learning programs for teens from a diverse array of organizations on behalf of many area congregations. Designed to appeal to the teens as well as their parents, the catalog was successful in balancing the needs of all of these constituents and creating a compelling offering in a very quick timeframe. We also created banner ads to promote the initiative on local websites. ”Red Rooster Group has been an invaluable resource. I know I can call Howard or another member of his…
Custom Designed Donor Section Provides Engaging Interface

Howard

31 Jan 2013 | 6:29 am

CLIENT: Jewish Family Service Most online donation pages for nonprofit organizations are less than inspiring, providing a list of donation levels and a poorly-designed form sitting on an expanse of white. Not exactly the best way to inspire confidence in your donors. That’s why, when we redesigned the website for this social service organization, as part of an overall brand overhaul, we made sure to create an engaging interface for donors, to inspire them to lift the average gift to the next level. Here’s what we did. We created a very robust custom designed donation section that…

Look To The Stars News: Latest
Celebrities Seek Justice for Earth's Most Threatened Tribe

22 May 2013 | 8:21 am

One year after Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth launched Survival International's campaign to save the Awá, Earth’s most threatened tribe, a large number of international celebrities have joined him and his wife Livia in backing the urgent campaign. Colin Firth Supports the Awá peopleCredit/Copyright: Survival InternationalLivia Firth stands up for the AwáCredit/Copyright: Survival International Hollywood star Gillian Anderson, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, Californian rock band Allah-Las, actors Mark Rylance, Sophie Okonedo,…
Snoop Lion Wants Violence to Stop

22 May 2013 | 7:40 am

Written by Myrlia Purcell Snoop Lion, formerly Snoop Dogg, is the latest celebrity to join the Voices Against Violence, teaming up with Tony Bennett, Mia Farrow and Sting in the movement for peace. As we reported in April, the campaign was started by Bennett and his son, Danny, along with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and allows US residents to text MYVOICE to 877877. After entering their zip codes, they will then be called back with a message from Sir Paul McCartney and prompted to leave a voice message for their Senate office. So far, more than 30,000 people have phoned or…
Helen Flanagan's Exotic Skin at Covent Garden Tomorrow

22 May 2013 | 7:10 am

The tourists in Covent Garden will get an eyeful tomorrow morning, 23rd May, when Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan unveils her sexy new PETA campaign. In the ad, which was shot by top celebrity photographer Trevor Leighton, the newly-crowned ‘FHM Sexiest Woman in the UK’ appears with her naked body covered only in “reptile” paint next to the words “Exotic Skins Belong in the Jungle. Leave Wildlife out of Your Wardrobe”. Those wishing to be there for the launch of the campaign can catch a glimpse of Helen at the northeast corner of Covent Garden Piazza,…
Comedians Come Together for Right to Laugh

22 May 2013 | 6:39 am

The Alliance For Children's Rights has announced the 4th annual RIGHT to LAUGH comedy event, set to take place on Thursday, May 30, 2013. This year’s event will feature Hollywood’s comedy elite presenting an evening of laughter hosted by Nicole Sullivan (MADtv, The King of Queens) with standup sets by George Lopez (Lopez Tonight), Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson), Wanda Sykes (The Wanda Sykes Show), Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly), Nick Kroll (Kroll Show), Bob Odenkirk (SNL, Breaking Bad) and Bob Saget (That’s What I’m Talking About). More…
Miracle Child has Epic Time with Stars at Film Premier

22 May 2013 | 5:55 am

Last Saturday, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell and Jason Sudeikis celebrated the work of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals during the “Epic” red carpet premiere in New York. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals has been chosen as the national charity partner of the new animated adventure, “Epic,” from Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios. The organization raises funds and awareness for its 170 member children’s hospitals. The film will be released in theaters nationwide May 24, but the New York City red carpet premiere was held Saturday, May 18 at…

DonationPay
Volunteer Appreciation: How Do You Do It?

aj

17 May 2013 | 11:57 am

How do you thank your volunteers? image source On Volunteer Appreciation I think I missed the boat on this post by several weeks (a month?), since National Volunteer Appreciation Week was the week of April 22nd, but how your organization makes your volunteers feel appreciated and valued is relevant year-round. An organization I work with, the Women’s Therapy Center in Berkeley, has a diverse staff of volunteer therapists who run our clinic and intern-training program, and their time and energy contribution literally enables the center to function. This year, we wanted to thank them…
The New Best Donation Page Practices, 2013 Edition

aj

6 May 2013 | 4:56 pm

In my previous post I shared a presentation I put together for the Ignite sessions at the 2013 NTC, but I didn’t mention much about what we learned there and how it’s helped shape our planning process around the next iterations of our product and how we advise our clients. I’ve written fairly exhaustively about donation page best practices and likely will continue to do so, as our understanding of how donation pages perform best is always evolving. Some of the key points I took away from NTC are below, use them to raise money like there’s no tomorrow, y’all!
20 Most Important Components Of Your Donation Page and 2013 NTC Wrap-Up

aj

15 Apr 2013 | 11:46 am

We are all approximately as fatigued as this little guy, post-NTC. So, we’re back from the 2013 NTC and everyone is happily exhausted! We had a great time and connected with a lot of amazing folks and organizations. I also did my first Ignite presentation, which was a harrowing and exhilarating experience in which I: - actually finished EARLY, because I was speaking about five times my normal speed, which is already (as those who know me are well aware) pretty fast. - broke into an actual cold sweat when I stepped on the stage. - totally botched the back half of the presentation,…
See You At NTC!

aj

10 Apr 2013 | 2:34 pm

We’re looking forward to seeing all of you at the NTC in Minneapolis this weekend! Here’s some of the sessions and events we’re most looking forward to: - Dan Pallotta’s opening plenary, ‘Uncharitable’. I’ve always admired his consistency as a writer and thinker and can’t wait to see him kick off this year’s conference! - Beth Kanter’s session on failure- no one makes failing seem more useful, fun, transformative and essential. Can’t wait to hear about everyone else’s experiences in the session. - The Ignite…
Lean Impact Post: What We Learn From Our Non-Profit Clients

aj

28 Mar 2013 | 11:38 am

This post was originally published by the great folks at LeanImpact. What We’ve Learned From Our Non-Profit Clients In 2010, I co-founded DonationPay with my closest friend, Noah Sochet, and we’ve been providing online fundraising tools to an ever-expanding roster of non-profit clients ever since. In my experience as both the manager of a (very) lean start-up and a provider of online fundraising tools for non-profits, I’ve thought a lot about the intersection of non-profit operating principles and start-up strategy, particularly when it comes to staying lean and agile. Here are…

Causes Blog
JoinStampede campaign tackles student loan debt

Alejandro De La Cruz

16 May 2013 | 9:00 am

Q&A with Founder Stephen Dash and his team brought a world-first approach to the way borrowers and lenders interact. Visit joinStampede.com to learn more. In 2012, the student loan crisis reached a boiling point: students across the United States had amassed more than 1 trillion dollars in debt. College students continue to invest in higher [...]The post JoinStampede campaign tackles student loan debt appeared first on Causes Blog.
Guest Post: Pushing For an End to Gendercide in China

Alejandro De La Cruz

7 May 2013 | 12:32 pm

Evan Grae Davis is the director of the film “It’s A Girl,” a documentary film asking why nearly 200 million women are missing in the world today– killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they are girls. Evan is also spearheading an awareness campaign on Causes.com to end gendercide in China and around the world. Evan [...]The post Guest Post: Pushing For an End to Gendercide in China appeared first on Causes Blog.
Earth Day Event Kicks off New Community Garden Grants Program

Alejandro De La Cruz

24 Apr 2013 | 4:12 pm

Since the inaugural Earth Day in 1970, people across the world have celebrated the only home humans know by taking notice of the environmental effect they have on the planet. This year, we decided to do something, too! On April 21, members of the Causes team, along with Kitchen Gardeners International founder Roger Doiron, and representatives [...]The post Earth Day Event Kicks off New Community Garden Grants Program appeared first on Causes Blog.
Celebrate Earth Day on Causes.com

Alejandro De La Cruz

12 Apr 2013 | 9:00 am

On April 22, people around the world will be celebrating Earth Day in support of greater environmental awareness. On Causes.com, this is an issue that millions of people care about. In the last 12 months, more than 1.6 million people participated in a campaign — taking a pledge, signing a petition, or donating to a [...]The post Celebrate Earth Day on Causes.com appeared first on Causes Blog.
Guest Post: A Victory for Elephants

Alejandro De La Cruz

9 Apr 2013 | 2:24 pm

World Wildlife Fund is the world’s leading conservation organization. Author Jan Vertefeuille leads World Wildlife Fund’s campaigning efforts. She has been with WWF for 11 years, working to inspire and mobilize the public to help conserve endangered species around the world. Visit WWF’s cause to learn more. – Alejandro De La Cruz, Causes.com Last month [...]The post Guest Post: A Victory for Elephants appeared first on Causes Blog.

Non-profit2point0
7 Common Social Media Mistakes Nonprofits Make

Charlie Hullihen

17 May 2013 | 12:54 pm

Below are 7 common mistakes nonprofits make when using social media. Are you guilty of any of them? Using Automated Updates Using automated updates is never a good idea. This will make your posts sound robot-like and insincere. Social media followers want to know they are dealing with a human, so take the time to add some personal touches to your social media interactions. When possible (for example, in comments, which we will discuss in more detail later), you should refer to people by name. Also, even if you are not using automated posts, your updates will still look automated if you are…
3 Goals That Will Improve Your Blog

Charlie Hullihen

13 May 2013 | 12:56 pm

by Charlie Hullihen, Director of Communications Setting goals is one of the best ways to achieve and measure success. But bloggers often get confused about the types of goals they should be setting. Most start with trying to improve their traffic, which of course is a respectable goal. However, there are many other goals your organization needs to achieve BEFORE it starts raking in the page views. I will discuss some of these below. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Follow a Schedule Many may not consider this a “goal”, but when you think about how difficult posting regularly can be (especially…
Posting For Your Audience: Current and Future Supporters

Charlie Hullihen

9 May 2013 | 7:08 am

Audience (Photo credit: thinkmedialabs) by Charlie Hullihen, Director of Communications Like all marketing channels, social media works best when you keep your audience in mind. Think about it. You obviously are not going to want to post information your intended audience has no interest in hearing about. There are likely two types of people you want to post for. These are current supporters and people you want to turn into supporters. Below are some tips to help you with posting content for both. Current Supporters Current supporters are those that are already involved with your cause.
What Does a Successful Community Look Like?

Charlie Hullihen

3 May 2013 | 11:55 am

by Josh Beemiller, Director of Marketing and Client Relations One of the most common questions we receive is “How do I know when I have a successful community?” This is a great question. It also has an incredibly simple answer. What goals did you set before you launched the community? Did you meet these goals? If not, then you are not successful yet. Most organizations’ goals revolve around generating income, whether through sales or donations. If this is your plan, you can easily measure success by comparing this month’s leads to last month’s, and so on. If your…
5 Nonprofit Marketing Mistakes

Charlie Hullihen

1 May 2013 | 11:55 am

by Charlie Hullihen, Director of Communications Bad habits can be hard to break. And bad marketing habits will quickly derail your nonprofit’s goals. Here are 5 common mistakes that will damage your organization’s marketing tactics. (Photo credit: doryfour) 1. Focusing Only on Social Media Social media is king. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon all the other marketing channels. You need to also regularly update your website, blog and send e-newsletters. If some of your supporters are elderly, you may even have to incorporate some outbound marketing tactics such as letters and…

Nonprofit Resource Memo
Young, Pregnant and Using

M. P.

19 May 2013 | 8:08 am

Data from a new TEDS report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration examines the differences between pregnant and non-pregnant teenagers admitted to substance abuse treatment. What may be of interest to providers and policymakers are the differences between the groups, and how those characteristics could inform prevention programming and public health campaigns. Findings from the May 2013 brief, The TEDS Report: Characteristics of Pregnant Teen Substance Abuse Treatment, include - The majority of referrals of pregnant teenagers using alcohol or drugs were from…
Nationally and Locally, Afterschool Programs Struggle

M. P.

11 May 2013 | 1:09 pm

A report from the Afterschool Alliance highlights another example of programs experiencing decreased funding and increased demand. This challenge, already felt by mental health providers and food banks, is also affecting afterschool and summer programs. Uncertain Times 2012: Afterschool Programs Still Struggling in Today’s Economy discusses the results of a study examining the impact of the economy on afterschool programs for youth, noting that although they provide a popular and worthy service, their budgets continue to dwindle. The study found that programs in urban,…
Learning to be a Better Leader

M. P.

29 Apr 2013 | 2:07 pm

A case study on the return on investment of emotional intelligence on productivity and work environment found a predictive relationship between emotional quotient (EQ) scores and individual performance. Amadori, a European meat supplier, embarked on an initiative with Six Seconds focused on improved management and staff development through an overhaul of the organization’s leadership style. The study showed that managers who scored in the top 25 percent in EQ also scored higher in individual performance (47 percent of the variation could be explained by EQ) and that the sites with…
Who is the Target of Fast Food Marketing?

M. P.

19 Apr 2013 | 2:50 pm

A research study on youth-focused marketing in and around fast food eateries has concluded that such advertisement is most prevalent in middle-income and Black neighborhoods. While fast food consumption among adults and caloric consumption among children have both declined, the study found 22 percent of fast food restaurants engaged in direct marketing to youth, most often in Black communities (31 percent) and mid-level-income areas (30 percent), followed by near-low-income areas, and White and Latino neighborhoods (all at 24 percent). Of the eateries that aimed indoor and outdoor…
Lessons on Systems Change from The Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare

M. P.

9 Apr 2013 | 6:13 am

The impact of parental substance abuse on children’s stability and well-being is a concern that crosses systems. Data suggests that parental drug and alcohol use is related to abuse and neglect and increases the likelihood of a parent’s involvement in the justice system – including the possibility of incarceration. The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) provides In-Depth Technical Assistance (IDTA) to a handful of sites across the country in the areas of substance abuse, child welfare and the courts to result in better outcomes for families involved in…

Mission Connected Blog
Should My Resume Reflect the Unpaid Status Of My Internships?

Karen Alphonse

21 May 2013 | 7:33 am

I am a college student, and I have not yet held any full-time jobs. On my current resume, I describe my internships as “unpaid.” Is this correct? [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Is It Too Soon To Leave My Current Position?

Karen Alphonse

14 May 2013 | 7:21 am

I have been preparing myself for leadership for quite some time and am constantly looking for great opportunities. I have identified an Executive Director position that looks like a "dream job" for me. Is the fact that I have been a Chief Operations Officer here for less than a year a hindrance to taking on an Executive Director role at this time? [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
How Do I Explain Why I Wasn’t Previously Hired?

Karen Alphonse

7 May 2013 | 7:30 am

Question: At my prior job, I held two interim roles. One was that of Interim Executive Director for which I eventually interviewed as a permanent position, but I was not offered the job. When I showed my resume to another recruiter, he began to question me about both interim roles and suggested employers will frown upon the fact that I was not offered either job. Do you agree? [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
What To Consider When Comprising a Reference List

Karen Alphonse

30 Apr 2013 | 7:31 am

Question: I am preparing a reference list for my job search. So far, I list five male supervisors. What should I be considering when comprising my list? [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Important Skills For Today’s Leaders

Karen Alphonse

23 Apr 2013 | 7:00 am

Question: In your opinion, what do non-profit leaders need most today? Answer: No-nonsense economies require no-nonsense leaders. Based on what we are hearing from other recruiters, search committees and those actively leading philanthropic organizations, three necessary qualities keep coming to the fore for today's successful leaders. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Ventureneer - Nonprofit
How Nonprofit Boards Can Use Dashboards to Focus on What's Important

Guest Blogger

20 May 2013 | 9:30 pm

by Michael Davidson Cheshire Puss, Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. I don’t much care where—’ said Alice. Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat. —so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation. Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough. read more
Want a Successful Capital Campaign? Avoid These 3 Mistakes

Guest Blogger

22 Apr 2013 | 9:20 pm

by Peter Heller There are many motivations for giving, yet at the core of a successful charitable relationship is the fact that a nonprofit has told its story passionately and has inspired a donor. read more
Resourceful Nonprofits Look Outside the Box for Sustainability

Guest Blogger

8 Apr 2013 | 10:20 pm

by Andrea T. Mills, MBA, CPA, CCSA®, CGMA and Patrick Donohue, MBA, MSW Even if your nonprofit organization is financially healthy, you’d do well to keep an eye on the future. We live in an environment of ever-increasing demands on resources; you need to be on the lookout for new ways to ensure long-term sustainability. read more
Women Entrepreneur Faciliatates Peace Here and in the Middle East

Guest Blogger

1 Apr 2013 | 9:20 pm

by Karin Kamp In 2012 when insurgents were unleashing a string of attacks across Iraq, who would have dared take on the task of bringing warring religious factions together in face-to-face talks? read more
How to Get Your Nonprofit Board to Raise Money

Guest Blogger

18 Mar 2013 | 9:20 pm

by Michael Davidson The Problem An often heard plight of Executive Directors, and Board Chairs, is a lack of nonprofit board performance. A major concern voiced frequently is “Why doesn’t my board raise money?” The lack of engagement in fundraising, however, most likely applies to other areas of board responsibility as well. read more

Pamela Grow
It’s! All! Fundraising!!!

Pamela Grow

19 May 2013 | 4:45 pm

Can I get an “amen?!” Someone had to say it. And no one says it better than John Lepp of Agents of Good, who relays it, directly from a donor herself: It’s! All! Fundraising!!! And yet my copywriter friends will tell me horror stories of working with nonprofit agencies and being unable to access marketing folk. “We can’t touch their lists of event donors!” I’ll hear. Seriously? I once worked with a chapter of a national nonprofit organization that spent more on “rebranding” than some small shops’ entire operating budget, when,…
Say goodbye to fairytale fundraising…

Pamela Grow

15 May 2013 | 6:03 pm

What do you say about a conference so chock full of “aha!” moments and takeaways, so teeming with savvy minds from Roger Craver, to Nancy Schwartz to Kivi Leroux Miller to Dane Grams to Tom Harrison? And the overriding theme was retention and donor loyalty? Pinch me, I must be dreaming. FundRaising Success’ Engage Conference last week in Philadelphia was cutting edge. No theories, no BS, just a focus on what works. And, when it comes to no BS, who better to lead us off than the master of straight talk, Roger Craver who opened the event with the message that, yes,…
Please do NOT give

Pamela Grow

13 May 2013 | 1:29 am

Peter Drury, Development Director of the Seattle children’s water nonprofit organization, Splash, has been rocking the fundraising world with donor-focused examples of creative fundraising lately. Here’s a clever little takeaway that any organization could easily integrate into their next campaign: an email that specifically instructs supporters to NOT donate, but instead send out personal emails on the organization’s behalf. Peter tells me it was a member of his team, Norea Hoeft, who came up with this inspired approach. Marvelous teamwork! Related Posts:Ways to engage | Send a…
Shiny red trucks and the best fundraising advice I ever got

Pamela Grow

26 Apr 2013 | 12:00 pm

“If you can turn our membership campaign around, you’ll be our hero.” These words came from the top volunteer at an EMS organization where I’d been hired two weeks earlier in my first fundraising job. In my 15 hour-a-week position I was tasked with creating an entire development plan from the ground up. I don’t need to tell you that it was challenging! With the aid of a since deceased local businessman, this particular organization had run a hugely successful capital campaign just five years prior. And what had they done since? Nothing. Not a thing. Major donors were ignored.
Bacon & Chocolate & Nonprofit Storytelling

Pamela Grow

29 Mar 2013 | 1:38 pm

Whatever would entice you to spend $8 on a 3oz bar of chocolate? Is it the idea of chocolate paired with bacon? Or could it be the story on the back of the box… I began experimenting with bacon and chocolate at the tender age of 6, while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima syrup, as children often do. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes lay three strips of sizzlin’ bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. And then, the magic — just a bite of the bacon was too salty and I yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate and syrup, so I combined the…

Nonprofit Capacity Building by us
Five Tips on Making Your Evaluation More Systematic by Priya Small

Priya Small

11 May 2013 | 12:28 pm

Evaluation experts often define evaluation as a systematic endeavor. Recently I have been considering what this really means. How do we carry out a more systematic evaluation? How do we translate this into practice? Aim for Consistency Aim for consistency in data collection efforts. Data should be collected the same way every time. How can this be practically achieved? Write out instructions for completing survey questionnaires and share them out loud. Do this even though it might seem unnecessary. There are various ways individuals can interpret how to answer a…
2013 Nonprofit Finance Fund Survey Highlights by Marion Conway

Marion Conway

23 Apr 2013 | 1:10 pm

The Nonprofit Finance Fund has released their 2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector report. This is the fifth year for this large and comprehensive study. Almost 6000 organizations responded to the survey. The report includes an online analyzer which enables you to analyze data by state, sector, size, and low income communities. Be sure to check out this aspect of the report. I strongly recommend that you review the whole report and use the analyzer to assess how your organization stacks up against others in your state and in your sector. I tried the analyzer to review the data for…
Tips on Planning for Focus Groups by Priya Small

Priya Small

25 Mar 2013 | 11:02 am

A focus group is a moderated group discussion that focuses on particular topics of interest. Moderators lead focus groups and usually follow a discussion guide of open-ended questions. Here are some tips for planning for focus groups in program evaluation, gleaned from my reading of Richard A. Krueger’s and Mary Anne Casey’s excellent book, Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 4th edition and supported by my own experience. 1. Read Krueger and Casey’s book, Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 4th edition. This is well-written, comprehensive book…
Mentoring – Nonprofits, Grandmas and Grandpas Let’s Unite by Marion Conway

Marion Conway

11 Mar 2013 | 1:03 pm

I very seldom write an article that spans across my Grandma Chronicles and professional -Nonprofit Blogs. But once in a while inspiration hits and out comes a blog post such as this one. It It is being published at The Grandma Chronicles and Nonprofit Capacity Building. The question is: “Should you and nonprofits get involved with mentoring?” It actually can be a lot of work to get started and sustained and takes a very strong leader who inspires, has good organization and is willing to work hard on the project for it to work. Sounds a bit discouraging, doesn’t it? But is it worth it?
Merge Strong Traditions with New Vision….Connect the Dots by Marion Conway

Marion Conway

25 Feb 2013 | 6:49 am

Merge strong traditions with new vision…its the way to go… Once a year, at the end of the year I write a blog article that I post both at Marion Conway-Nonprofit Consultant blog and at my other blog – The Grandma Chronicles. This is my favorite post of the year and it is always a popular post. It is a post in which I reflect on the year coming to an end with examples from my personal and professional life and describe my wish for you for the coming year. This year my wish was for merging strong traditions with new vision. I suggested that we use our imagination to make…

Tim Giuliani
Mobiquity interview

Tim Giuliani

7 May 2013 | 7:08 am

Photo courtesy of WCJB TV-20 See the interview with Gainesville WCJB TV-20 on the announcement of Mobiquity expanding to Gainesville and creating 260 new jobs. Mobiquity Brings New Jobs | WCJB TV-20.
A new era

Tim Giuliani

21 Dec 2012 | 7:51 am

As we head into a brand-new year, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce ushers in a new era by kicking off 2013 at our annual meeting, ‘Toast to Business.’ Hundreds of business leaders will gather to welcome the 2013 Chairman of the Board, Mitch Glaeser, and celebrate an evening of prestigious honors and special announcements.The Toast to Business celebration ﬁttingly follows the Council for Economic Outreach’s recent Value Statement, which highlighted major accomplishments over the last two years regarding the development of the Gainesville economy, recruitment and expansion of…
Conversation with WWII vet

Tim Giuliani

6 Dec 2012 | 7:21 pm

Russ Furnas, WWII vet, cutting the cake after sharing his story to the Gainesville Chamber staff For the first time, WWII vet Russ Furnas decided to tell his story. At the age of 92, Russ stood before our Gainesville Chamber staff for 45 minutes to share his life story with most time allotted to his WWII experience. At times, it was clear that recounting stories of being injured, of nearly dying and suffering war fatigue were still tough to handle. He remembered specific details of what unfolded nearly 70 years ago. With great humility he walked through the experience from the day he…
Supporting small businesses and startups

Tim Giuliani

6 Dec 2012 | 7:07 pm

“Thriving business builds a thriving community” is the motto the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce operates by. Most companies join the Chamber because of our job creation and economic development mission. As we grow our economy, build stronger companies and increase our economic competitiveness, every business in our area benefits. As a result, many choose to get involved and “join our team.” To build stronger companies and make it easier for them to do business – just like the Florida Innovation Hub at the University of Florida serves companies with a variety of…
Our future

Tim Giuliani

1 Nov 2012 | 6:40 pm

In August, my family joined the Gainesville community in pursuit of helping create a thriving, globally competitive economy. Over the past few years, business and community leaders have transformed the Chamber-led Innovation Gainesville (iG) plan from a job creation initiative into a cultural mindset. Today, we find ourselves well positioned for the beginning of a global war for jobs. Over the next 30 years, global annual GDP (gross domestic product- the best measure of economic activity) will grow from $60 trillion to an estimated $200 trillion. Our community will strive to be successful…

The Nonprofit Facebook Guy
9 Big Differences Between Facebook Groups and Pages

Facebook Guy

16 May 2013 | 6:00 am

A slide from a recent webinar I conducted: Here’s a full-screen version you can download.
Boost Your Facebook Page Reach With Three Three Tweaks

Facebook Guy

13 May 2013 | 6:56 am

Most of what you read about creating more reach for your Facebook Page either has to do with Facebook Ads or optimizing content. But these three little settings for your Page can also dramatically increase reach: 1. Turn On Posting Ability Allowing Facebook users to post photos and videos to your page increases exposure to [...]
How to Optimize Images for Facebook’s News Feed [Infographic]

Facebook Guy

8 May 2013 | 2:00 pm

PostRocket created another entertaining infographic on optimizing content for Facebook . This one focuses on photos.
Three Ways to Instantly Boost Engagement with Text Updates

Facebook Guy

8 May 2013 | 7:10 am

It seems like all the “experts” tell us is to post photos on our Facebook Page to get more likes, comments and shares. Text updates aren’t as sexy, but they can be equally as effective. Why bother posting text updates on your Facebook Page? Why should you care about posting text updates when the research [...]

Event Fundraising Blog
Answering the vision question: Why are we going there?

22 May 2013 | 5:00 am

Editor's note: I'm excited to welcome a new guest blogger to the Event 360 blog. David Berry's professional passion is helping leaders find the courage and wisdom to create environments where they, and the people they lead, can creatively explore the limitless possibilities of their potential - and build rock-solid organizations while doing so. In David's second post of a five-part series, he asks one of the five fundamental questions every leader must answer in a clear and compelling way if they want to build an organization of maximum engagement. Since we know that employee engagement…
Save the Date: Event Fundraising Brainpower (Live or Online)

20 May 2013 | 6:19 am

The next three weeks are filled with a full slate of live and online learning and networking opportunities.June 12 Webinar: Unleashing the Power of Your Outliers (hosted by the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council)Meet the outliers: They are your top fundraisers. The new event donor who just became a major donor. The captain of your team with the most fundraisers. The opposite of your average event participant—the opposite of normal. Join Event 360's Meghan Dankovich, Laurie Schaecher and Suzanne Mooney on June 12 at 1:30pm (EDT) as they provide strategies for identifying, cultivating and…
It’s a Participant’s Market: Use Your Cow Bell

14 May 2013 | 7:00 am

I was standing on a street corner in Portland, Oregon, a few months ago, waiting for the light to change, when I looked up and saw four different banners advertising four different fundraising events. One intersection, four corners, one banner per corner, each banner promoting a different event and all four events taking place within a few weeks of each other. It got me thinking: this really is a participant’s market.As an event fundraising participant, the choice is mine. We live in a world where I can fundraise for any cause that tugs at my heart strings. I even have multiple events…
Event 360 Puts the Fun in America's Fastest Growing Recreational Sport

13 May 2013 | 1:56 pm

Event 360 is raising the bar on obstacle course runs and mud runs with MuckFest MS. Described by Obstacle Racing Magazine as an "awesome event" for both experienced runners and experienced exercise-avoiders, MuckFest MS is a nationwide series of mud and obstacle course runs in 18 U.S. cities, bringing together friends, families, and corporate teams alike."Early on in the Obstacle Course racing season, MuckFest MS has already set the bar high," says Boston participant and mud run blogger Rob Fournier. "Other national events should take notice. The course is beautifully designed with…
Why average cost ratio targets result in underachievement

13 May 2013 | 7:54 am

It’s shocking to find anyone, anywhere still clinging to the concept of pinning fundraising performance to an average cost ratio while imagining that’s helpful to the cause. As we’ve done a poor job of informing them otherwise, donors perhaps can be forgiven for persisting with the ‘less cost is best’ fallacy. Yet among some CEOs and charity trustee boards too the notion remains widely held as an aspiration, even today. But boards and CEOs should be allowed no excuse, because the model is simply fatuous.Requiring a fundraising team to adhere to or even be…

Mark & Phil: Strategic marketing and philanthropy for good folks
Full Contact Social Media: NFL (politely) Fires Back

Clay Walter

15 May 2013 | 12:33 pm

I’m going to keep this short and to the point. Time and time again I’ve sat back and watched brands take verbal beatings on facebook from angry mobs of internet tough-guys. Sometimes it’s hilarious. Most of the time it’s just plain rude. Usually brands either just avoid them completely leave some bland general response like this: Hi (insert random name here)! We’re sorry that you’re dissatisfied. Please contact us at support@blahblahbrand.com. Why do they do This? 1) It’s smart; it’s safe and won’t lead to a PR nightmare. 2) Don’t want to add fuel to the fire. People…
Ad Only Shows Up For Kids Eyes

Daniel Schutzsmith

6 May 2013 | 8:42 am

ANAR Foundation manages hotline in Europe to help at risk children and teenagers from abuse and neglect. On this hotline they can find the help they need in a totally anonymous and confidential manner. But they struggled with figuring out a way to get children to know the number even exists. How could they get their message out to a child abuse victim, even when they might be accompanied by their aggressor? Knowing the average height for adults and children under 10, GREY Spain has created two different messages. Using an outdoor lenticular print they show adults an awareness message, while…
10 Tips For Your Annual Appeal

Daniel Schutzsmith

1 Oct 2012 | 7:30 am

Its that time of year again! Time to execute your Annual Appeal to get some last minute donations before the new year. We stumbled onto a great blog post from fundraising consultant Ruthellen Rubin. The post is 2 years old but the information is timeless! As she says, copy this list, print it out, and refer to it offen as you plan and execute your Annual Appeal. Ruthellen’s Ten Step Plan: (The best) Letter (we are capable of constructing) is written, proofread and approved. Mailing Lists are segmented by groups. Targeted asks for loyal donors have been thoughtfully determined. Complete…
What Nonprofits Can Learn From Amtrak

Daniel Schutzsmith

5 Dec 2011 | 6:26 am

I recently took a train ride from our offices in Poughkeepsie to Toronto – a cool 12 hour trip! I genuinely prefer train travel if I can do it so I don’t mind sitting in a train for that long because I know I am helping the environment and its a hell of a lot less stressful than flying! One thing I noticed this last time I was traveling on the train was that Amtrak does a terrific job of identifying their customers enthusiasm for their service. You see, there are two types of train riders: Tourists and Commuters. Now when I say tourists I mean that these folks only go on the…
Get A Free Flickr Pro Account For Your Cause

Daniel Schutzsmith

1 Dec 2011 | 7:19 am

As the new year approaches is a good idea to start thinking about how you’re going to be handling your marketing for 2012. One thing we think should be on every causes radar is making sure you have a one-stop place for pictures and graphics to be used with your organization. Our best recommendation for this is Flickr and now they’ve teamed up with Tech Soup to create Flickr for Good, offering 10,000 1-year Flickr Pro accounts. Pretty Awesome if you ask us! Not sure what you can do with a Flickr account? Well check out our client Catskill Animal Sanctuary’s Flickr. They do a…

keeping a close eye... by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
Hopeful Signs for Nonprofits from Latest Study on Key Philanthropic Giving Trends

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

22 May 2013 | 3:00 am

By Aaron DorfmanFor those of us who care deeply about effective philanthropy that contributes to a more just and equitable world, it’s important that we measure our progress (or lack thereof) from time to time.Today, NCRP released the latest fact sheets in "The Philanthropic Landscape" series, this time studying the giving of the nation’s largest 1,121 grantmakers in 2011.There are some hopeful signs that more foundations are giving in ways that benefit those that need philanthropic support the most, but only time will tell if the welcome trends will hold. The Good News We’re…
They're Monkeying With CFC Qualification Rules

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

20 May 2013 | 11:27 am

by Aaron DorfmanThe federal government shouldn't be in the business of picking winners and losers regarding which charitable organizations its employees can support with their donations. But that's exactly what will happen if some new rules currently under consideration get approved.The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the world's largest workplace charitable giving campaign. Since it was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the CFC has raised more than $7 billion for thousands of charitable organizations across the country and the world, thanks to the generous donations of…
Philanthropy News Watch: May 13 – 17, 2013

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

19 May 2013 | 12:00 am

By Renjith Krishnan | Freedigitalphotos.netHere is a roundup of some of last week's interesting news and postings on philanthropy and nonprofits:Passing the buck from the IRS to the FEC to Congressby Lucy Bernholz | Philanthropy 2173Don’t Let the IRS Scandal Hurt the Work of Charitiesby National Council of NonprofitsRockefeller Family Fund: Finding the ‘Tip of the Spear’ to Advance Economic Justiceby Alexandra Walker | Advocacy UnleashedShould foundations be "all in" on their charitable missions?by Bruce DeBoskey | Denver PostCharities Want More…
Foundation Transparency: The More Things Change, the More They Stay The Same

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

16 May 2013 | 12:00 am

By Aaron DorfmanImage courtesy of antpkr / FreeDigitalPhotos.netAs I reviewed “Foundation Transparency: What Nonprofits Want,” the latest publication from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), I had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. So I dug deep into the archives to find reports on the subject produced by the organization I now lead, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).In May 1980, NCRP released Foundations & Public Information: Sunshine or Shadow? It was a scathing report that took foundations to task for their reticent approach to sharing…
Philanthropy News Watch: May 6 – 10, 2013

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy

12 May 2013 | 12:00 am

By Renjith Krishnan | Freedigitalphotos.netHere is a roundup of some of last week's interesting news and postings on philanthropy and nonprofits:To Create Equitable Institutions, We All Need to Shed Our Deeply Embedded Biasesby Yanique Redwood | The Chronicle of PhilanthropyWhat the Next Generation of Grantmakers Wants To Accomplishby Albert | White Courtesy TelephoneNine More Families and Individuals Sign 'Giving Pledge'by Clare O'Connor | Philanthropy News DigestHouse Committee Lays Out Options for Altering Charitable Deductionby Doug Donovan |…

Social Media Strategy for Nonprofits and Businesses
What Do You Reserve For You Most Loyal Fans?

Debra Askanase

20 May 2013 | 6:05 am

Image courtesy of kaniths The imitable Sarah Robinson recently spoke about the irony that daily deal sites such as Living Social offer incentive deals for new customers, yet it is even more important to reward your most loyal customers with your best pricing. That really stuck in my head. Mission-driven organizations have not really thought much rewarding loyalty by offering their very best deals to their most loyal online fans. And frankly, it’s an oversight, because it’s a game-changing idea for the nonprofit sector. Mission-driven organizations generally consider offering the…
Social Media Convergence

Debra Askanase

2 May 2013 | 9:22 pm

Image courtesy of James Wheeler, Creative Commons A colleague asked me for my thoughts on trends in social media today. I can sum it up in one word: Convergence. Social media blasted into the world around 1997 with the birth of blogging, AOL IM’ing, and early social networks. In the 16 years since then, practitioners and the industry itself has defined and redefined “social media,” and almost every form of communication has become social. At the same time, practitioners, communicators, sales, customer service, project administrators, and everyone in the C-suite has grappled…
Real World Supporter Engagment from MomsRising and the Washington Trails Association

Debra Askanase

24 Apr 2013 | 12:11 pm

Two weeks ago, I attended an enthralling session entitled “Real World Engagement” at the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Minneapolis. The session, moderated by Chris McCullough of Percolator Consulting, discussed what it takes for an organization to successfully engage real world supporters offline and online. Sarah Francis of MomsRising.org and Loren Drummond of the Washington Trails Association shared their experiences and practices moving fans to action. The session was a mesmerizing, fascinating peek into how two brilliant organizers recruit, motivate, inspire, and engage…
Implementing Social Change Anytime Everywhere: Q & A with Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin

Debra Askanase

10 Apr 2013 | 8:15 am

Earlier this week, I posted my review of Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin’s new book, Social Change Anytime Everywhere. After reading the book, I sent Amy and Allyson six questions about the book, following up on some of the concepts and examples presented in the book. In the following Q&A, Amy and Allyson share their thoughts on what inspired them to write the book, how real-time web and mobile has changed how we do business internally and externally, which nonprofits are successful at building online community, what assets an organization should have in place before launching a…
Social Change Anytime Everywhere Book Review: A Foundation for Social Change Campaigns

Debra Askanase

8 Apr 2013 | 6:25 am

If you work for, volunteer your time for, or consult to a mission-based organization, promoting your organization or campaign online is critical. In a new book, co-authors Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin offer a step-by-step guide to raising money, promoting organizations, and create killer advocacy campaigns using a multichannel online approach. Social Change Anytime Everywhere is a comprehensive look at how mission-based organizations should use digital and social communication, develop internal communication structures for success, and plan multichannel campaigns. The book is full of…

Mark Holmgren Consulting
The Way of Innovation

Mark Holmgren

30 Apr 2013 | 9:22 am

reprinted from our e-newsletter – see back issues and sign up HERE. The word “innovation” conjures up positive imagery. We see it as something we want to be known for. It’s creative, desirable, inspiring, and we sense that if we can do it, if we can achieve it, we will lift ourselves up above the status quo, not to mention those who are quite comfortable in the box of convention. How to be innovative is of course the question and that is what this little article is about: the way of innovation and a call for the kind of leadership that fosters innovation throughout the…
More About Generative Conversations

Mark Holmgren

25 Apr 2013 | 9:03 am

Reprinted from our e-newsletter – see back issues and sign up HERE What is a Generative Conversation? A generative conversation is basically a dialogue among people interested in learning and exchanging ideas about a topic they have agreed to talk about. More specifically, dialogue is: “shared exploration towards greater understanding, connection, or possibility” (Co-Intelligence Institute). Another way of saying this is that dialogue is the art of listening together. An effective generative conversation, then, has people engaged in the sharing of perspectives, questions and ideas…
The Power of We

Mark Holmgren

27 Mar 2013 | 10:44 pm

This girl put a coin in a hat and it set off an incredible collaboration that will move you. Imagine if we could orchestrate such power and grace and beauty to make a better community for all of us – together, in unison. Filed under: change, Collaboration, collective wisdom
ON COLLABORATION

Mark Holmgren

4 Feb 2013 | 6:11 am

We all know collaboration is at the heart of making positive change in society. We know this primarily because we tell one another it must be true. We tell ourselves that the range and depth of change needed to improve our communities can only be accomplished by working together. We deploy maxims like “no one can go it alone.” We are so convinced that collaboration must permeate everything we do that funders now demand it as a matter of course. Sometimes we proclaim collaboration is a great way to reduce costs or duplication, despite the lack of comprehensive evidence that this is true.
Why Strategic Planning Goes Wrong

Mark Holmgren

3 Nov 2012 | 12:55 pm

reprinted by request As a consultant, executive staff member, board director, and teacher, I have had the opportunity to engage in a lot of strategic planning. I think about it, research it, and look for ideas to make it work better than how it tends to work. It has always bothered me to know that more often than not strategic planning efforts go awry. In another article I wrote on this topic, I stated the biggest reason why strategic plans fail is that people don’t do them. While there is truth in that, the story doesn’t end there of course. It’s why people and organizations fail to do…

Notations on Non-Profits
Nonprofit Data Collection and Use: Could This Become A Legal Obligation One Day?

Erin

6 May 2013 | 5:14 pm

Like me, you all have probably noticed a big increase in the number of conversations on data measurement, collection and use by nonprofits. Personally, the more I’ve read about it the more I start to wonder if we’ll see these conversations hop over from the best practice side onto the legal side. I say this [...]
Two Texas Events Nonprofits Should Look At

Erin

20 Apr 2013 | 9:59 am

There are two Texas events coming up that nonprofits will want to take note of: RISE Week Austin: Every year RISE Week Austin crowdsources experts from around the country to host sessions on all kinds of topics (funding, grants, business models, legal issues, you name it) around the city. As if this wasn’t cool enough, [...]
Attend a Non-profit Governance Discussion on 03/28 at the Houston Arts Alliance

Erin

11 Mar 2013 | 5:19 pm

For those in the Greater Houston, or surrounding areas, I’ll be leading a discussion on nonprofit governance titled “Nonprofit Governance: What It Is And What Is Expected” on 03/28 at the Houston Arts Alliance. I’ll go over the typical topics like governance policies, board governance, duties and obligations, reviews, processes etc. But I’ll also take [...]
Important Employer Update: IRS Expands Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program

Erin

4 Mar 2013 | 6:08 pm

Whenever the topic of a hire comes up, especially a first hire, the conversation tends to go like this: Organization: By the way, we’re looking into hiring our first (insert position)…sooooo excited. Me: Fantastic! Have you spoken with someone in HR or someone that does employment law? Organization: Eh. No. We’re just going to have [...]
The Contract Process and Steps to Managing it: Part I [INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC]

Erin

11 Feb 2013 | 2:16 pm

Okay, okay. Last contracts post…..for now. But in all fairness, this deluge of posts comes from the surprisingly large amount of questions I’m getting from organizations about contracts. From how to draft them to which contracts to use it seems organizations are starting to get hip to reality; nonprofits are a business and have to [...]

Vistas: Geri Stengel’s Blog
How Nonprofit Boards Can Use Dashboards to Focus on What's Important

Guest Blogger

20 May 2013 | 9:30 pm

by Michael Davidson Cheshire Puss, Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. I don’t much care where—’ said Alice. Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat. —so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation. Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough. read more
Asking “Why?” Can Build Bigger Business, Better Marketing

Geri Stengel

15 May 2013 | 9:20 pm

Do you want to know why some companies are more innovative, more profitable, command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? It’s because they start by asking “why,” according to Simon Sinek, an ethnographer, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action and speaker (his TED speech is among my favorites). read more
Click Here – Or Maybe Not

Guest Blogger

13 May 2013 | 9:20 pm

by Mardy Sitzer Oh how I hate to see ‘click here’ it is so unimaginative, screams potential scam or worse – malware. So why oh why are marketers still relying on ‘click here’ as a call to action? read more
Immigrant Finds US Land of Opportunity for Business

Guest Blogger

8 May 2013 | 9:20 pm

by Karin Kamp Nada Kiblawi was born in a refugee camp, lived through regional wars and finally found safe haven and economic independence as an entrepreneur in the U.S. As a child born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp, she suffered from low self-esteem, despite feeling love and affection from her parents. Nada’s family fled to Lebanon during the 1948 Arab-Israel war, losing all of their possessions and the land they owned in the process. They ended up north of Beirut, in a United Nations refugee camp, which was meant to be a stopgap solution to their crisis. Nada, her six…
How Aligning Your Principles Can Help You Choose the Right Business Relationship

Guest Blogger

6 May 2013 | 9:20 pm

by Ralph Allora Interesting blog post recently from Paul Klein of Impakt, a Toronto-based consultancy whose mission is to bring about “positive social change at the intersection of business and civil society” by helping corporations and nonprofits become social purpose leaders. read more

Nonprofit VOTE Blog
Webinar Recap: Voter Registration Modernization

Sophie Lehman

17 May 2013 | 9:58 am

Yesterday's webinar, Voter Registration Modernization, is now available. Many thanks to Myrna Pérez from the Brennan Center for Justice for joining us to share her expertise. Watch the presentation on YouTube. If you subscribe to our channel, you'll be notified whenever new content is posted. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation and the audio portion of the presentation, or
Order a Free "Register to Vote" Poster

Sophie Lehman

15 May 2013 | 7:43 am

Nonprofit VOTE's popular "Register to Vote" poster is back, and available in both Spanish and English. Whether you're gearing up for a state election or just want to make voting more visible at your organization, this poster is the perfect tool. Voter registration is one way that your organization can encourage year round voter participation. The poster has space to add customized
Thursday: Voter Registration Modernization Webinar

Sophie Lehman

14 May 2013 | 7:37 am

There's still time to register for Thursday's webinar--don't miss out! Voter Registration Modernization Thursday May 16th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern Over the last few years, a number of states have enacted laws and policies to update their voter registration systems--including innovations like online registration, Election Day Registration, and portable registration. This move toward voter
Florida Set to Overhaul Elections

Sophie Lehman

13 May 2013 | 5:34 am

It seems Florida will once again be making changes to its election law: the Senate passed HB 7013 that Governor Rick Scott has indicated he will sign. The bill counteracts much of the 2011 law that truncated early voting, changed provisional ballot rules, and stiffened rules on voter registration. These changes--combined with record turnout and a particularly lengthy ballot--meant that some
Census Releases New Data on 2012 Election

Sophie Lehman

10 May 2013 | 5:46 am

On Wednesday, the Census Bureau released The Diversifying Electorate--Voting Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin in 2012 (and Other Recent Elections). The report draws on data from the November 2012 Current Population Survey Voting and Registration Supplement. Among other things, it confirms that for the first time ever, black voters turned out at a higher rate than white voters: 66.2% of

Full Contact Philanthropy
Automated grant making

David Henderson

7 May 2013 | 2:00 am

Top executives in large corporations tend to be busy, and don’t have time to make every decision themselves. A technique used by management consultants to help organizations make decisions consistent with those of their top executives without necessarily having to involve those executives in every decision is to model an executive’s values and risk tolerances. In profit seeking businesses, generally these decisions revolve around how much money (measured in time and assets) a company is willing to risk, and at what level of risk, to receive a certain monetary pay out. This same…
Why your 100% success rate does not impress

David Henderson

3 May 2013 | 1:00 am

I have recently noticed a growing number of organizations including “impact” pages on their websites. These impact pages generally include some charts and data on an organization’s supposed impact. In the spirit of openness and a sector that is moving toward managing to outcomes, I’m glad to see organizations putting their data out there for the world to see. Unfortunately, a lot of this data is crap. While social value is supposed to be the work-product of a social program, the reality is that frontline organizations trade the pretense of impact (whether actualized or not) for…
Money and metrics – Google Hangout on using performance data to raise funds

David Henderson

24 Apr 2013 | 3:00 am

Idealistics is not a marketing or fundraising firm. I try to make this point as clear as possible to all of my potential customers before entering into any engagement. However, I whole heartedly believe that improving social outcomes should lead to better fundraising prospects. But do funders and donors really invest in social outcomes? Next Tuesday, April 30th at 2pm Eastern I will be discussing “How to Use Real Performance Data to Raise More Money” on a Google Hangout with management consultant Nell Edington of Social Velocity. Nell, a notable exception to my rants about underwhelming…
Why comparing your outcomes to community averages might be misleading

David Henderson

5 Apr 2013 | 3:00 am

I followed a Chronicle of Philanthropy chat titled How to Show Donors Your Programs Are Working earlier this week. While it is encouraging that the social sector is trying to incorporate metrics in our work, data’s rise to mind share prominence has also seen the rise of some fairly dubious advice. One piece of advice from this “expert chat” was that organizations should couch their outcomes in terms of community averages. For example, a tutoring program might look at the graduation rates of students in their program versus graduation rates for the school district at large in order to…
Data does not make decisions

David Henderson

1 Apr 2013 | 3:00 am

I participated in my first Google Hangout last Friday on the topic of using data in homeless services. The discussion was organized by Mark Horvath, a homeless advocate and founder of Invisible People. The call included Mark, myself, and three other practitioners with experience applying metrics in homeless services. You can check out the recording of the conversation here. I was clearly the outlier on the panel as I work with a range of organizations on a variety of issues, so while homeless services is a part of my work, the other folks on the hangout are fully focused on working with those…

Notations on Non-Profits
Nonprofit Data Collection and Use: Could This Become A Legal Obligation One Day?

Erin

6 May 2013 | 5:14 pm

Like me, you all have probably noticed a big increase in the number of conversations on data measurement, collection and use by nonprofits. Personally, the more I’ve read about it the more I start to wonder if we’ll see these conversations hop over from the best practice side onto the legal side. I say this [...]
Two Texas Events Nonprofits Should Look At

Erin

20 Apr 2013 | 9:59 am

There are two Texas events coming up that nonprofits will want to take note of: RISE Week Austin: Every year RISE Week Austin crowdsources experts from around the country to host sessions on all kinds of topics (funding, grants, business models, legal issues, you name it) around the city. As if this wasn’t cool enough, [...]
Attend a Non-profit Governance Discussion on 03/28 at the Houston Arts Alliance

Erin

11 Mar 2013 | 5:19 pm

For those in the Greater Houston, or surrounding areas, I’ll be leading a discussion on nonprofit governance titled “Nonprofit Governance: What It Is And What Is Expected” on 03/28 at the Houston Arts Alliance. I’ll go over the typical topics like governance policies, board governance, duties and obligations, reviews, processes etc. But I’ll also take [...]
Important Employer Update: IRS Expands Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program

Erin

4 Mar 2013 | 6:08 pm

Whenever the topic of a hire comes up, especially a first hire, the conversation tends to go like this: Organization: By the way, we’re looking into hiring our first (insert position)…sooooo excited. Me: Fantastic! Have you spoken with someone in HR or someone that does employment law? Organization: Eh. No. We’re just going to have [...]
The Contract Process and Steps to Managing it: Part I [INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC]

Erin

11 Feb 2013 | 2:16 pm

Okay, okay. Last contracts post…..for now. But in all fairness, this deluge of posts comes from the surprisingly large amount of questions I’m getting from organizations about contracts. From how to draft them to which contracts to use it seems organizations are starting to get hip to reality; nonprofits are a business and have to [...]

Engaging Volunteers
Imagine Your Nonprofit is a Tree, and Volunteers Will Help it Grow…

Shari Ilsen

21 May 2013 | 11:06 am

How one organization has engaged volunteers to help its efforts to fight hunger in America grow and bear fruit for thousands of struggling people. Guest post by RL Mathews According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, limited resources prevent over 50 million Americans from getting enough food, forcing many to go without food for several meals, or even days. But among the forest of nonprofit organizations that are attempting to address this issue, there is a tree of hope that grows in the heart of America, one that was planted in 1979 and is respectfully known as Harvester’s…
Upcoming Nonprofit Insights: How to Solve Global Problems with Local Engagement

Shari Ilsen

16 May 2013 | 10:30 am

The Nonprofit Insights webinar series brings major thought leaders and experts to you for thought-provoking presentations on a variety of issues related to technology and engaging your community members for social good. Your organization is trying to solve real problems – in your community, in the country, and in the world. Like many organizations, however, chances are you don’t feel the support you need to really change things. Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) has found a way to address this problem: Focus locally for global impact. Through its unique model of encouraging…
Webinar Recap: A New Appreciation for Data with the Corporation for National and Community Service

Stephanie Rosenburg

15 May 2013 | 10:00 am

Our latest Nonprofit Insights webinar was an intense one! Dr. Christopher Spera and Anthony Nerino of The Corporation for National and Community Service joined our president Greg Baldwin for a fascinating discussion on new statistics about volunteering in America. We dived deep into data from the Volunteering and Civic Life in America 2012 (VCLA 2012) study to explore who is volunteering in America and what that means for volunteer engagement. This was a chance to see, in numbers, how Americans are volunteering, where they are and who is most involved. We learned some fascinating statistics,…
Thanks to Volunteers, Seeing Los Angeles Through New Eyes

Shari Ilsen

14 May 2013 | 2:24 pm

Guest post by Jessica Vaysman, Total Family Support Clinic Raymond, a dedicated volunteer at Total Family Support Clinic. I am proud to say that today, I work for a nonprofit organization called the Total Family Support Clinic in Downtown Los Angeles. Since moving to Los Angeles 5 years ago from Brooklyn NY, I have spent the majority of that time working in the glitzy entertainment industry that many often associate with this city. Like many who are thrust into this world, I eventually became disillusioned with the lack of meaning my entertainment positions provided. After much debate, I…
Finish This Sentence for Your Chance to Win: “My Volunteers Have Taught Me…”

Stephanie Rosenburg

10 May 2013 | 2:31 pm

As nonprofits, we’re constantly thinking about how we can engage our volunteers. We spend a lot of time learning how to recruit, retain and recognize our volunteers. But this interaction can go both ways. It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of volunteer coordination and management, but how often do we think about all the things our volunteers are teaching us? “My volunteers have taught me…” At the revived and upcoming Nonprofit Boot Camp, Silicon Valley nonprofits will have the chance to learn from experts and each other. What we want to know is: What do we all…

Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog :: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits
August 20 Webinar: Blogging on WordPress for Nonprofits

nonprofitorgs

22 May 2013 | 3:03 am

Date: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 Time: 1pm-2:30 EDT Cost: $50 or Spring Webinar Special How to Register: Sign up Presented By: Heather Mansfield View: All Webinars for Nonprofits This webinar covers how to successfully launch and maintain a blog for your nonprofit on WordPress.com. Click-by-click, attendees will learn how to use themes, widgets, and basic HTML to design a blog that matches your website and helps recruit new e-newsletter subscribers, online donors, and supporters on Facebook, Twitter, etc. From basic to advanced, this webinar thoroughly explores the WordPress.com tool set.
33 Must-Read Updates to Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits

nonprofitorgs

18 May 2013 | 3:20 am

Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits was released in August 2011 and despite the rapid change occurring on the Social and Mobile Web, 90% of the content still rings true. The functionality of the tools discussedhave changed slightly (see the Table of Contents for a compete list), dimensions have been tweaked, and Google+ Pages, Pinterest and Instagram have since become relevant when launching a successful social media campaign for your nonprofit, but the vast majority of the best practices in the book have stood the test of time. That said, for those of you that…
HOW TO: Add YouTube’s New InVideo Programming to Your Nonprofit’s Videos

nonprofitorgs

8 May 2013 | 7:52 am

Seemingly less than 1% of nonprofit have upgraded to YouTube’s new One Channel design, but even fewer appear to be utilizing YouTube’s new InVideo Programming option. If you haven’t spent any time recently exploring YouTube’s enhanced tool set, I’d highly recommend that you set aside an hour or two to upgrade to the new design, add InVideo Programming, and merge your YouTube Channel with your nonprofit’s Google+ Page. That said, to see examples of InVideo Programming and to learn how to add InVideo Programming to your nonprofit’s videos, simply…
August 13 Webinar: Pinterest and Digital Photography for Nonprofit Storytelling

nonprofitorgs

7 May 2013 | 12:07 pm

Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 Time: 1pm-2:30 EDT Cost: $50 or Spring Webinar Special How to Register: Sign up! Presented By: Heather Mansfield View: All Webinars for Nonprofits This webinar begins with a brief demonstration on how to get your nonprofit started on Pinterest and then explores click-by-click the Pinterest tool set, highlights what kind of content works best on Pinterest Boards, and features numerous tips and tricks that can help your nonprofit become a better pinner. Also discussed are low-cost or free photo-editing tools that allow nonprofits to create images that not…
HOW TO: Merge Your Nonprofit’s YouTube Channel and Google+ Page

nonprofitorgs

5 May 2013 | 11:53 am

Google’s strategy of making Google+ the thread that links all Google Products together is working. Google+ can now lay claim to 359 million active monthly users and the title of being the world’s second largest social network. If your nonprofit uses Gmail, Search, YouTube, Maps, etc., then you can’t avoid having a presence on Google+. Currently in Beta, YouTube just announced the ability to merge your YouTube channel with your nonprofit’s Google+ page. After merging the two you can then upload videos to your YouTube channel directly from your Google+ page, access both…

Socialbrite
What nonprofits can learn from public radio about storytelling

Guest

22 May 2013 | 5:11 am

Photo courtesy of CubaGallery via Creative Commons Should your organization incorporate audio into your digital communications toolkit? Guest post by Will Coley Producer-Founder, Aquifer Media If nonprofits want to learn how to create content that both engages audiences and creates devoted supporters, we need look no further than the gold standard offered each day by public radio. Think about it: Radio producers can create stories that keep us in the car for “driveway moments” even when we’ve reached home, just so we can hear the ending. Public radio has created legions of…
Create exclusive events to reward key supporters

Guest

21 May 2013 | 5:00 am

How the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum uses exclusive tweet-ups to engage supporters Guest post by Annie Lynsen SmallAct I‘ve written before about the importance of engaging key supporters (heck, we wrote a white paper with Blackbaud and the National Wildlife Federation on that very subject last year). The other day I got to experience a fantastic event geared toward doing just that. Earlier this month, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum posted an invitation to an event built around the new movie “Star Trek Into Darkness.” But this wasn’t…
3 Facebook page tweaks that maximize reach

John Haydon

20 May 2013 | 5:11 am

Allow posting, tagging and replies to increase engagement Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, businesses, marketers, Facebook page administrators. Most of what you read about creating more reach for your Facebook page either has to do with Facebook ads or optimizing content. But there are three little settings for your Page that can also dramatically increase reach. Turn on posting ability 1Allowing Facebook users to post photos and videos to your page increases exposure to their friends. For example, the friends of the Facebook users…
How to embed a Web page in a Facebook custom tab

John Haydon

16 May 2013 | 5:11 am

Here’s an easy step by step to glossy custom tabs Target audience: Nonprofits, cause organizations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, businesses, marketers, Facebook administrators. If you’re looking to create a custom tab for your Facebook page that has complex features, like a donation page or petition, watch my 5-minute video above for an approach that’s fairly easy. All you need to do is: Create a secure Web page on your website that includes the features you want to render in a custom tab. Eliminate your website header and navigation menu on that page. Add the Static HTML…
Infographics: Not your grandmother’s pie chart

Guest

15 May 2013 | 5:11 am

Infographics & data visualization turn data into stories Guest post by Julia Reich Principal & Creative Director, Julia Reich Design Most organizations have important data to present to their clients, members, boards of directors and other constituencies. Yet who has time to read or understand the reports, charts and diagrams created by your overworked staff? Infographics are a communication trend that’s all about displaying data in an attractive, easily digestible format. With their unique combination of images and words, infographics are a powerful storytelling tool. It’s a…

Earthquake Report
Moderate earthquake – North Of Halmahera, Indonesia on May 22, 2013

Ashish Khanal

22 May 2013 | 7:42 pm

Most important Earthquake Data: Magnitude : 4.7 Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-22 23:50:36 Depth (Hypocenter) : 10.1 km Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below. Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers. Click on the “I Felt It” button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership. SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION EMSC North Of Halmahera, Indonesia May 22 23:50 PM 4.7 33 MAP I…
Moderate earthquake – Northeast Of Taiwan on May 23, 2013

Ashish Khanal

22 May 2013 | 6:39 pm

Most important Earthquake Data: Magnitude : 4.7 Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-23 01:30:06 Depth (Hypocenter) : 103 km Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below. Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers. Click on the “I Felt It” button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership. SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION USGS Northeast Of Taiwan May 23 01:30 AM 4.9 113 MAP I Felt It…
Moderate earthquake – Off East Coast Of Kamchatka on May 22, 2013

Ashish Khanal

22 May 2013 | 6:01 pm

Most important Earthquake Data: Magnitude : 4.4 Local Time (conversion only below land) : Unknown GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-22 22:07:21 Depth (Hypocenter) : 60 km Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below. Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers. Click on the “I Felt It” button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership. SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION EMSC Off East Coast Of Kamchatka May 22 22:07 PM 4.4 60 MAP I Felt…
Minor earthquake – Dodecanese Islands, Greece on May 23, 2013

Ashish Khanal

22 May 2013 | 6:01 pm

Most important Earthquake Data: Magnitude : 3.5 Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-05-23 03:54:46 GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-23 00:54:46 Depth (Hypocenter) : 2 km Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below. Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers. Click on the “I Felt It” button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership. SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION EMSC Dodecanese Islands, Greece May 23 00:54 AM 3.5 2…
Moderate earthquake – Tarapaca, Chile on May 23, 2013

Ashish Khanal

22 May 2013 | 5:25 pm

Most important Earthquake Data: Magnitude : 4.8 Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-05-22 20:14:11 GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-23 00:14:11 Depth (Hypocenter) : 129 km Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below. Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers. Click on the “I Felt It” button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership. SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFORMATION USGS Tarapaca, Chile May 23 00:14 AM 4.8 138 MAP I…

Wow! Goodwill
Support Virtual Advocacy

goodwillsp

22 May 2013 | 12:34 pm

Goodwill staff on US Capitol steps Last week 160 Goodwill advocates met with nearly 300 lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill to advocate for Goodwill Industries International’s public policy priorities. As Congress considers what can be accomplished before the elections, we are working to ensure that our elected leaders recognize the resources that Goodwill brings to the table. You can still support Goodwill’s efforts and be an advocate even if you weren’t able to join us in DC. Contact your congressional representative by sending a letter through the GII Legislative…
Volunteer Spotlight: Dan Z.

goodwillsp

20 May 2013 | 7:37 am

Volunteer Dan Zacharski offers resume advice to a workshop participant During the four years that I have volunteered with Goodwill, I continue to be impressed with the dedication of the staff. In fact, I have been so impressed by their commitment to Goodwill’s mission of Changing Lives Through the Power of Work that I recommend volunteering here to both youth and adult class participants who have served time in a correctional facility. It is a fact that those with a criminal past, which includes serving time in jail, have a more difficult time finding employment than those who have not…
Goodwill Honors Community Leaders at 2013 Cornerstone Celebration

goodwillsp

15 May 2013 | 10:56 am

Goodwill recognized eight community leaders and businesses for their work in helping people overcome barriers to employment and self-sufficiency at the 19th annual Cornerstone celebration held May 9 at The Westin Charlotte. WSOC-TV news anchor Erica Bryant emceed the ceremony, during which powerful stories of perseverance and resiliency were shared with an audience of 700 guests. “It was a privilege to honor our Cornerstone Award recipients and recognize the valuable work they are doing in our community,” said Michael Elder, President & CEO of Goodwill. “Each of the award…
NC Construction Outlook Bullish for 2013

goodwillsp

13 May 2013 | 11:16 am

North Carolina’s construction outlook is improving as a result of proposed legislation before the North Carolina General Assembly, ranging from improving underground safety and damage prevention to more funding for construction and design. That was the message delivered to industry insiders at a recent annual meeting of the United Minority Contractors of North Carolina. Governor Pat McCrory’s proposed budget includes $300 million for repairs and renovations involving state agencies and the University of North Carolina (UNC) system. In addition, legislation has been introduced that would…
Success Story: Carlos and Robert

goodwillsp

10 May 2013 | 12:53 pm

For brothers Carlos and Robert Hunter, breaking into the construction industry during the economic downturn took a leap of faith. Yet their gamble to launch a new business paid off, thanks to the training they received at Goodwill. For their perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit, they were honored with Goodwill’s Good Work! Award. Carlos and Robert participated in Goodwill’s Construction Skills Training program, which armed them with the knowledge, skills and certifications necessary to succeed in the business industry. “We had the heart to do construction work, but we…

Front Range Source
Rites of Passage

Ann Goldman

22 May 2013 | 2:44 pm

The Front Range Source family has enjoyed a number of graduations (or ‘promotions’ as they are sometimes called) this week. Leslie and I have looked at each other and said of one child or another, “Phew, at least we got them through THAT stage!” And yet we feel the typical bittersweet pangs that come with moving from one phase of life to another. Such crossroads in our lives present new opportunities, but they also force us to reconsider our roles and reexamine who we are in the lives of those who depend upon us. Our children need us, perhaps more than ever, but in different…
4 Easy Ways to Make E-Mail Work for Your Fundraising Plan Right Now (Don’t Wait Until December!)

Leslie Allen

15 May 2013 | 11:22 pm

So, we all know that e-mail is a great way to scoop up year-end donations. Sending a flurry of e-mails in December has become a “have to” for most fundraising operations, large and small. But, there are so many ways that your organization could be using e-mail to build relationships with your donors and prospects all year around with a small amount of investment. Here are 4 ideas to get your fundraising creativity flowing: Finding new donors: Sure, you can spend a boatload on buying new names or posting petitions, but if you have limited resources, try a “member-get-member” type…
Hey, I’m an Individual!

Ann Goldman

8 May 2013 | 5:45 pm

Individual donors are, well, individuals. The more your fundraising program speaks to their particular needs, the more successful it will be. Of course, you don’t have unlimited resources and you don’t have time to meet with every single prospect. “The Ladder of Effective Communications” is a great tool for choosing how to approach your prospects. The top rung is the most effective communications method. Personalized, one-to-one communication is always going to perform best. But, sometimes you have larger audiences of smaller donors that have to be communicated with in a more…
How to Track Precious Fundraising Time

Leslie Allen

1 May 2013 | 5:29 pm

If you’re a fundraiser, you most likely have your hands in lots of your organization’s pots. After all, fundraising requires a little bit of finance, a dash of IT, and a big heaping of communications. Of course, you also have to build up an expertise in your organization’s program area, as well as be an expert volunteer coordinator, right? And then there’s just the fundraising itself. With all of those demands pulling fundraisers every which way, it’s hard to know if you are doing the right things to raise money. We’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. We have…
When Organizations (and Donor Relationships) Decline

Ann Goldman

24 Apr 2013 | 6:06 pm

Sometimes nonprofits find themselves in a downward spiral. A long, slow, not entirely obvious spiral, perhaps. But one day the board realizes there has been deep discontent among the staff – for a while. Two executive directors in a row has turned into three or even four. Board members are turning over before their terms have ended. Or perhaps, there’s been no board turnover at all. And fundraising results are falling. Donors are pulling back. They’re making smaller gifts or perhaps lapsing altogether. I’m not talking about a sudden crisis. I’m talking about…

forimpact.org
Thank You Notes

Tom Suddes

17 May 2013 | 9:33 am

I’ve been doing a little bit of work with the Wake Forest Advancement Team. In the week after our day-long coaching/training session … I’ve received five or six handwritten thank you notes! In this age of tweets, texts and emails … these notes were a surprise and much appreciated. Amazing what getting something from proverbial ‘snail mail’ can do to lift your spirits. (Plus, I can keep the ‘hard copy’.) Coincidentally, I just got a wonderful letter from my friend Jim Mahoney at Battelle for Kids. A letter! (Jim and Battelle for Kids want to give…
Forget the Mission Statement. What’s Your Mission Question?

Tom Suddes

16 May 2013 | 7:24 am

Pretty much our entire company is on its way to Ireland tomorrow. I wanted to share another fantastic article from Fast Company entitled: Forget The Mission Statement. What’s Your Mission Question? If you have any interest whatsoever in our thinking around IMPACT DRIVES INCOME, MESSAGE, MISSION, PURPOSE, RAISON D’ETRE, VISION, etc. … read this article around these five questions: 1. Why are we here in the first place? 2. What’s the world need most that we are uniquely able to provide? 3. What are we willing to sacrifice? 4. What matters more than money? 5. Are we all…
David Foster Wallace’s Unforgettable “This is Water” Speech

Tom Suddes

16 May 2013 | 6:03 am

I had not seen this commencement speech that David Foster Wallace gave at Kenyon College. It went on to be published as a short book and now it has been adapted into a 9-minute film. Thanks to Fast Company’s fastcocreate.com, you can read the story and view the documentary. Not really a spoiler alert, but I wanted you to know the title comes from a zen koan: There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, “Morning, boys, how’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and…
Lead Up

Tom Suddes

15 May 2013 | 8:44 am

You’ve got to love Seth Godin. Read the whole blog but you’ll get the concept of Lead Up right away! Seth talks about doing this with intention … and committing to: Do it on purpose! (30,000′ on our Altitude Framework.) Tell stories that resonate with those in charge. (Share the Story. Selling is not telling, unless it’s a story. Etc.) Demand responsibility. Don’t worry about authority. (Own your role and responsibilities.) Reflect credit. Embrace blame. (Great leadership.) Earn the right by taking small steps. (Small wins. Quick wins.) LEAD UP. If…
The New Math of Giving

Tom Suddes

15 May 2013 | 8:42 am

As anyone who reads our ‘stuff’ knows, we’re not real big on bottom up fundraising. What I find particularly powerful about this article, The New Math of Giving: How $5 Does More Than A $40,000-Per-Plate Fundraiser, is just the whole idea of DO THE MATH. You may be able to use omaze.com. I don’t believe the future of fundraising/development/more income is driven by social media, tweets, texts, etc. However, I love the creativity that Matt Pohlson and Ryan Cummins have brought to this field. Something to think about.

TakeTwo
And Now for the Fundraising Side of Campaigns…

Stephanie

14 May 2013 | 10:29 am

So, from Bix’s post in late April and Kate’s post last week, we get a good sense of what a campaign is and how to connect it to social media outlets. But, as anyone who has tried to fundraise using email, or crowd funding sites such as Kickstarter knows, the money doesn’t just magically start pouring in once you get your page set up. The key to making online campaigns successful is to connect all the good stuff – the powerful stories, vivid imagery, captivating video, and concise branding and messaging - back to your organization’s relationships. Because,…
Integrating Social Media into Your Campaigns

Kate

7 May 2013 | 6:44 am

Social media is, of course, a very important part of our world these days. To consider any kind of campaign (fundraising, advertising, awareness) without incorporating a social component seems unwise. But it can be stressful to implement, especially if you aren’t super savvy in the area of Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I think it’s best to remember that social media platforms are simply tools to help you achieve the campaign goals you already have in place. They’re just one more avenue for you to spread your message. If you know what tool is best for what, you’ll…
Campaign, champagne – what’s that thing called again?

Bix

26 Apr 2013 | 9:29 am

There are so many buzzwords floating around the nonprofit marketing world that I sometimes think I could have a second career compiling a dictionary. (Yes, it’s true, I am that much of a word-nerd.) But there’s one word that gets tossed around a lot and it’s one we’re going to spend the next few blogs breaking down. Campaign. In a world post-“Yes, We Can”, everyone knows what a successful campaign can achieve: elect a President. Oh, and raise a gazillion dollars. But many nonprofits can find it hard to apply the lessons from large campaigns to their own, and often think it’s a…
Strategic Planning as a Collaborative Project

Stephanie

18 Apr 2013 | 4:35 pm

Many of the groups we come across and work with seem to recognize the value of strategic planning. Many also invest time and resources to conduct some level of strategic planning for their organizations. We find, however, that the majority of these groups do not approach strategic planning as a comprehensive and collaborative project. At TakeTwo, the best planning projects we have been a part of have been deeply collaborative in nature. When we get signed on to the planning process, we build in time to talk to as many stakeholders of an organization as possible. We talk to board and staff…
The Art of Following and…Following Up

Bix

10 Apr 2013 | 9:13 am

I’m gearing up for the SAALT Summit taking place in two weeks [where we’re doing a “Speaking with Conviction: Spokesperson Training”] and Stephanie and I were recently at the Social Media For Nonprofits conference in NYC. And this week, it seems like every second person is at NTEN’S Nonprofit Technology Conference. All of these conferences are wonderful – to learn stuff and of course, to meet people. You come back from the conference on a high, thrilled you’ve made all these new contacts and then you’re greeted by all those pending projects + new things that came up while…

Social media marketing hacks for nonprofits | Powered by JohnHaydon.Com
Five Mind Shifts That Boost Social Sharing

John Haydon

21 May 2013 | 6:07 am

Technology has blessed your community with more sharing power than ever before. The ability to retweet, like, and pin with increased ease is what helped launch the slactivist movement. But even though sharing has gotten easier, getting people to share still feels like pulling teeth. So how do you get people to share your content? Here are five mind-shifts to keep in mind: 1. Start with your database The people who are most likely to share your content are in your donor database and email list. Before you waste time trying to target specific audiences on Facebook (which you can easily do)…
What are you building?

John Haydon

17 May 2013 | 5:00 am

A long time ago in the city of Rome, there were several hundred men working on a large building. A little girl, who was very curious, wandered into the building site to see what she could learn. She noticed three men – each carrying a rock the size of a basketball. And being curious, she had to know more about what they were doing. The first man looked a little tired – even though he was fairly muscular. She asked him,“What are you doing?”, to which he replied “I’m carrying a rock.” That answer didn’t satisfy the little girl, so she asked the…
Don’t Just Post Photos. Post Stories!

John Haydon

16 May 2013 | 5:53 am

The Internet is slowly but surely becoming one big picture book. Instagram and Pinterest have grown at astronomic rates precicely because they allow people to easily create, curate and share pictures. And Facebook has placed more importance on pictures, with cover images, full screen viewing, and newsfeed preferences. So photos are huge. But simply posting photos is not enough. You have to post stories! A powerful story in a photo earns every one of those thousand words: By making people take action. By getting people angry. By reenergizing volunteers. By moving the needle. Here are ten…
[Free Webinar] Facebook for Executive Staff

John Haydon

14 May 2013 | 11:43 am

Tomorrow (5/15/2013) I presenting a webinar for Nonprofit Webinars called Facebook for Executive Staff. This webinar is designed to give you a framework for answering these questions: How are other nonprofits using Facebook? How does word-of-mouth marketing work on Facebook? Can you actually raise money with Facebook? What are the fundamental competencies for success on Facebook? How does Facebook fit in with my current marketing communications plan? Who should be managing our Facebook page? Interns? Staff? Volunteers? How can we develop a framework for content? Register now for this free…
Three Instant Facebook Page Tweaks That Maximize Reach

John Haydon

10 May 2013 | 4:11 am

Most of what you read about creating more reach for your Facebook Page either has to do with Facebook Ads or optimizing content. But these three little settings for your Page can also dramatically increase reach: 1. Turn On Posting Ability Allowing Facebook users to post photos and videos to your page increases exposure to their friends. For example, the friends of the Facebook users who’ve posted these photos of rabbits will see a story in their News Feed, exposing them to the National Wildlife Federation. To allow others to post photos, videos, text updates and links to your page,…

Nonprofit Bridge
Top 10 Resources if You’re New to Nonprofits

nhr2000

22 May 2013 | 10:21 am

If you’re new to nonprofit communicatons, fundraising or technology , here are 10 top resources you should know about: Nonprofit Technology Network (NTen) - As a long term member, I’ve learned through webinars, local 501 tech meetings, attending the annual conference and participating in a wonderful , supportive community Idealware - Wondering what software is best for your needs? Laura Quinn’s Idealware offers impartial reports and low priced webinars to help you decide. Beth’s Blog – Beth Kanter taught us how important social media was before it became…
How Reliable Is Your Data?

nhr2000

11 May 2013 | 9:28 am

When you report on your nonprofit data, do you feel confident that it is accurate? Some quick tips: Where is your data entered? Although you may have a central database, staff may also enter information in personal spreadsheets, databases or even handwritten notes. You probably won’t find out unless you take the time to ask pointed questions and observe the data entry process. What type of data validation is available? Especially if much of your data is stored in spreadsheets, there may not be any data validation in place, or it may be easy to inadvertenly change a formula…
Update – Helping Our Seniors to Go Online

nhr2000

1 May 2013 | 10:58 am

While working on my initiative to introduce seniors to the joys of technology and the Internet, I have met many others who share my belief that age should not be a barrier to anyone using computers as a way to stay connected to friends and family, and to make new acquaintances. In my most recent update, I discussed David Wilcox’s insightful summary of his work for the Nominet Trust which described how to most effectively meet the needs of seniors when teaching technology, whether on a desktop, laptop, tablet computer or smart phone. David’s latest post further describes many…
Thoughts About the Boston Marathon Tragedy

nhr2000

20 Apr 2013 | 6:04 am

It has been a week that we will never forget. First, the senseless tragedy at the Boston Marathon that resulted in multiple deaths and injuries to so many who were simply enjoying a holiday event. Then, the uncertainty of how long it might take to discover who was responsible – and the realization that like some other terrorist attacks, we might never know the full story. Finally, the hunt intensifying Friday in Watertown with the total shutdown of Boston but culminating with the capture of the remaining suspect. Personally, this was very significant for me. I’ve traveled…
Report from Nonprofit Technology Conference

nhr2000

14 Apr 2013 | 8:17 am

This week I had the pleasure of attending the annual Nonprofit Technology Conference, this year held in Minneapolis, MN. I moderated a session on Why Organization Structure Matters for Online Success. (Ryan’s presentation is here.) Thanks to my panelists: Rusty Burwell, American Lung Association; Ryan Davis, Blue State Digital; Ted Fickes, Bright+3, and Mark Pothier, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.) Some takeaways from our discussion with each other and attendees: No matter what your role is in at your organization, you can be a leader by acting how you would like others…

Wired 4 Leadership
Is Going With Your Gut Smart Leadership?

Kerry Stackpole

10 May 2013 | 9:03 am

Before we get started I have a confession to make. I’m not the smartest person in the room. Many of you knew that already. I am however someone with a good bit of experience leading and consulting to organizations and Boards. I … Continue reading →You are reading Is Going With Your Gut Smart Leadership? from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
Is Your Leadership Suffocating Your Followers?

Kerry Stackpole

21 Apr 2013 | 8:45 am

“I feel as though I am being suffocated by my bosses”, Sally said plaintively, “I am publicly being criticized for small mistakes I’ve made in the past, my work is constantly being questioned and my new ideas to get things … Continue reading →You are reading Is Your Leadership Suffocating Your Followers? from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
Why The Elevator Speech Is Dead.

Kerry Stackpole

25 Mar 2013 | 5:04 am

I was recently asked to discuss my reading habits and what I was learning from that effort. Funny enough, two books that caught my attention both carried a similar message–The Elevator Speech Is Dead. In his second book Running the … Continue reading →You are reading Why The Elevator Speech Is Dead. from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
Goodbye Google Reader. Hello E-Mail

Kerry Stackpole

15 Mar 2013 | 5:37 am

Wait. What? Google is shutting down its Reader RSS feeder. Yikes! That’s right friends, come July 1, 2013 (unless they change their minds) Google Reader is a goner. Over on the Google Official Blog here’s what they had to say. … Continue reading →You are reading Goodbye Google Reader. Hello E-Mail from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.
A Transparency and Leadership Primer

Kerry Stackpole

26 Feb 2013 | 5:12 am

Over at the AssociationsNow blog, Ernie Smith wrote a story about the White House Correspondents Association(WHCA) complaining about “transparency” and lack of access during the President’s recent golf vacation. Ed Henry, the president of WHCA issued a protest statement. “I … Continue reading →You are reading A Transparency and Leadership Primer from the Wired 4 Leadership blog.

Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding blogs
The Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357, Cairo Traffic and the Call to Prayer

bjohnson

22 May 2013 | 10:28 am

Featured in sidebar: No When I think of Cairo, I think of the Egyptian museum and their King Tut collection, the crazy traffic with no stop signs or stop lights and the breathtaking pyramids (the video below is footage I shot on my point-and-shoot camera in 2007) and the Great Sphinx of Giza. read more
A new approach to banning Sharia: News Roundup

Mike

20 May 2013 | 11:49 am

Featured in sidebar: No In the news this week: a new approach to banning Sharia in the US, anti-Semitism battled by churches in Hungary, and other news stories. When Oklahoma voters overwhelmingly approved a 2010 ballot measure that prohibits state courts from considering Islamic law, or Shariah, the Council of American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit within two days challenging the constitutionality of the measure, and won. read more
US Soldier tormented for "Muslim" name: News Roundup

Mike

13 May 2013 | 8:35 am

Featured in sidebar: No In the news this week: a US Soldier is tormented for "Muslim sounding name," Haredi-secular relations in Israel are tense, and other news stories. Hosan is not a Muslim – she's a Catholic. But her name sounded Islamic to fellow U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and they would taunt her, calling her "Sgt. Hussein" and asking what God she prayed to. So before deploying to Afghanistan last year for her second war tour, she legally changed her name – to Naida Christian Nova. read more
US Christian soldier with "Muslim" name harassed, considered suicide

Mike

9 May 2013 | 2:24 pm

Featured in sidebar: No What happens when someone who isn’t a Muslim gets harassed over their Muslim name? Yesterday, the AP reported about a US Army sergeant who, because of her name, was harassed by fellow soldiers who thought she was Muslim. She filed complaints with her superiors but said, "Any time I would say something about it I was treated like I didn't know what I was talking about or that I'm an idiot or that I was a Muslim sympathizer.” read more
Learning about the “People in Your Neighborhood”

Mike

7 May 2013 | 11:13 am

Featured in sidebar: No Sesame Street has been known to ask a very important question: Who are the people in your neighborhood? Throughout its many seasons the show has offered answers that include doctors, teachers, police officers and even an archaeologist. We believe that this song is a very worthwhile educational tool for introducing children to their neighbo read more

Charity blog
Christian Aid Week 2013 Is In Full Swing

16 May 2013 | 7:15 am

Learn more about what's been going on Christian Aid are calling on people to 'Bite Back at Poverty' this year by getting involved with their big event of the year - Christian Aid Week 2013. We're midway through Christian Aid week now, which runs from the 12th to the 18th of May, and people up and down the country have been having some serious fun, raising money to help end poverty. Money and awareness raised from the extensive fundraising activity will help Christian Aid make a positive impact for some of the 870 million people who are estimated to be in desperate need of food.Last year…
WWF - Illegal Logging Places Rare Russian Tigers In Danger

1 May 2013 | 11:16 am

Unwittingly, the United Kingdom is playing a part in logging practices in Russia that are not legal an also placing rare tigers and their habitats in extreme danger. How is this happening? Well, apparently this illegally felled wood makes its way into pieces of furniture that we buy, not realising its history or environmental impact. WWF staff in Russia report thay certain Russian forests are being pushed to the edge of irreversible damage and wood which is illegally cut down can end up in UK stores. One animal that lives in these forests was already an endangered species before the illegal…
Save the Children back UNICEF and WHO war on pneumonia and diarrhoea

24 Apr 2013 | 12:57 pm

We haven't had a story from Save the Children on the site for a while so here is a quick update on some of the work they have been up to to transform the lives of some of the worlds poorest children. The charity recently teamed up with some of the world'a top experts in health along with academics and civil society groups to give their endorsement to the world's first plan that is intended to hit two killer diseases hard. Namely these are pneumonia and diarrhoea. The bodies who are driving this groundbreaking initiative are UNICEF and the World Health Organisation. Not many people in…
A New Baby Tapir Joins The Aspinall Foundation

16 Apr 2013 | 11:01 am

Lets welcome Inca! There is an ultra sweet new arrival to the fantastic range of animals who live at the Aspinall Foundation's Howletts wildlife park. It is Inca, the Brazillian tapir. The tapirs are really popular with visitors to the park as they are such cute but unusual animals. Inca was actually born at the park but did not make it out of the warmth of his mother from within their special shelter on account of the extremely cold weather we have been experiencing. One of the head keepers in the zoo said that thanks to the recent warmer weather visitors will have a much higher chance of…
What did all that cold weather do to our woodland wildlife?

10 Apr 2013 | 1:30 pm

Woodland Trust - If you have been living in the UK you will know we have just endured one of the longest cold periods in recent history. It was really starting to feel like a mini Ice Age! Thankfully, as I write, this appears to have passed, but did make me wander as I was out and about how this was affecting our country's flora and fauna. So, continuing on our 'outdoors' blogs as we are finally heading into weather where it is more of a pleasure to get out and about, we checked out what the conservation charity Woodland Trust had to say about it. A significant impact The Woodland Trust have…

Palmetto Buzz
Palmetto Grant Consulting Wins Amazing Entrepreneur Contest

palmettogrants

29 Apr 2013 | 4:37 pm

On Friday, April 26th, Partnership Gwinnett and Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development joined with The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Jackson Electric Membership Corporation to announce the finalists and winner of the third annual small business plan competition – The Amazing Entrepreneur. Palmetto Grant Consulting was named the Grand Prize recipient of... Read more »
Organizational Capacity – How Effective Is Your Organization?

Stephanie Watson

10 Apr 2013 | 2:05 pm

As the economy continues to struggle, more and more non-profits do as well. While funding in general, especially for programmatic purposes, is becoming more competitive, there seems to be a pendulum swing toward funding more general operating expenses and infrastructure building, or what many funders and the field is calling “organizational capacity” of highly-effective organizations.... Read more »
“How to Make a Funder Your New Best Friend”

Susan Bacon

4 Mar 2013 | 10:38 am

Foundations are in the business to give away money. It is your job to convince them that your organization should be deemed as the best recipient for their money. So, I can hear your question – “How do we start the introductions?” First, determine the funder’s giving priorities, research the grant guidelines, type of support... Read more »
“There’s Always Something…”

Sharyn McHenry

4 Feb 2013 | 1:18 pm

The leader of an organization that grants money for homeless programs was recently describing how she had ended up in the business for over 30 years. “When we started in the 80’s, we saw a need. We thought we would just build a few local shelters and the problem would be solved. But there’s always... Read more »
Let’s do some “heavy lifting” this year.

Barbara Bush

7 Jan 2013 | 9:27 am

Many nonprofits (NPOs) and local governments do not have their fiscal year aligned with the calendar year, yet January is a time when many organizations have planned retreats, personnel reviews and other exercises. There seems to be some natural human impulse to want to improve. Improvement means change, and often along with the impulse to... Read more »

Bizceos: Savvy Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media Marketing, SEO Advice From the Industry Veterans
Pros for using a Public Relations Agency

Administrator

21 May 2013 | 3:00 am

As is the case with all organizations, there are advantages and disadvantages to the services provided. There are countless advantages of utilizing the services of a Public Relations firm. Among all those advantages illustrated by the chief Public Relations firms in the country, five advantages stand out among the rest.
International Public Relations

Administrator

20 May 2013 | 3:31 am

Representing U.S. Organizations Abroad: Four Chief Public Relations Obstacles of Globalization By Tiffany Engleman Globalization is a prominent force in today’s world. There is a large number of United States-based global giants participating in this prosperous market worldwide at this very moment. Having a prominent company presence abroad can be extremely lucrative for businesses from [...]
Public Relations on the Web: a Case in Point

Administrator

8 May 2013 | 3:00 am

In my previous article, Power of the Web, we saw there are many different ways that the World Wide Web can become useful for public relations professionals across the board.
Public Relations and the Power of the Web

Administrator

7 May 2013 | 3:00 am

The web is extremely attractive to public relations professionals because of the ease of distributing messages to a wide variety of audiences.
Public Relations vs. Advertising

Administrator

30 Apr 2013 | 3:00 am

I’ve noticed that the practices of Public Relations and Advertising can become muddled. Indeed there are some similarities between the two fields. However, there are four unique differences that distinguish the two from one another.

Ann Green's Nonprofit Blog
Conquering Your Communication Challenges - Creating Engaging Content

Ann Green's Nonprofit Blog

20 May 2013 | 9:59 am

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been writing about how to conquer some of your communication challenges. Another challenge many nonprofit organizations face is coming up with engaging content on a regular basis.Do you find yourself saying any of the following?We're having trouble getting organizedYour biggest ally here is an editorial calendar. How to Create an Editorial Calendar You can do one for the year, but also break it down into smaller components. This doesn't need to take a lot of time, and it's a huge time-saver overall. Each month figure out what you…
Conquering Your Communication Challenges - Dealing with Limited Resources

Ann Green's Nonprofit Blog

13 May 2013 | 11:02 am

This is the second post in my series about how to conquer some of your communication challenges. Many nonprofit organizations have limited resources, and one thing to remember is that planning and prioritizing can help.Have you ever found yourself saying the following?We feel like we have no time to get anything doneIf you have plans and strategies in place, you probably won't feel as strapped for time. I covered that in my last post. Conquering Your Communication Challenges - Planning, Strategy, and MeasurementFind ways to help you get organized. For example, use an…
Conquering Your Communication Challenges - Planning, Strategy, and Measurement

Ann Green's Nonprofit Blog

29 Apr 2013 | 10:42 am

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to write about how to conquer some of your communication challenges. Do these sound familiar to you?We don't have a plan or strategyThis is where you need to begin. You need to have fundraising and marketing plans. Not having a plan is like starting a journey without a map (or these days programming your GPS). You need to know where you are headed and how you will get there.How to Create a Fundraising PlanHow to Create a Marketing PlanNot only do you need to have overall plans, but each campaign or communication tool (website,…
Make Your Newsletter Shine

Ann Green's Nonprofit Blog

22 Apr 2013 | 10:01 am

In our social media world, is a newsletter still a relevant form of communication? It can be, if it's done well, which it often isn't. Marketing consultant Kivi Leroux Miller recently surveyed a number of nonprofit organizations and found a majority of the respondents were either somewhat satisfied or not satisfied with their newsletter. Some of the responses she received included organizations weren't getting the response rates they wanted and they were unclear on their goals.Nonprofit Email Newsletter HappinessLeroux Miller also asked a more specific question about…
The Communication Journey

Ann Green's Nonprofit Blog

15 Apr 2013 | 11:21 am

Marketing expert Seth Godin recently blogged Communication is a path, not an event In short, it's not a one-time thing. While he focuses more on sales, this also applies to all your nonprofit fundraising and marketing. You don't just send a fundraising letter or even a thank you letter and not communicate again for awhile. It's an ongoing process. Here are few ways to ensure a successful communication journey.Lots of drops will help your garden growGodin ends his post by saying "Drip, drip, drip." Drip marketing is a strategy where you send a…

Social Velocity
Why I Choose Google+

Nell Edgington

22 May 2013 | 7:08 am

The constantly evolving world of social media can be absolutely exhausting. You want to keep up, but how can you when the number of sites grows every day? And each site competes with the others on look, functionality, audience size. I’ve finally decided to take the advice of many and focus my time on a select few sites. These are: Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Google+ At first I was hesitant about Google+. Even though Google+ can’t boast anywhere close to the number of people that LinkedIn and Facebook do, it is still very much on my list. Google increasingly controls how people find…
How Coaching Can Transform a Nonprofit

Nell Edgington

20 May 2013 | 8:00 am

There was a really interesting interview last week in the Nonprofit Quarterly with Bill Ryan, author of Governance as Leadership, who recently led a study on coaching in the nonprofit sector. Coaching is a form of management consulting where a leader is given one-on-one strategic guidance. An executive director can be coached to grow an organization, to build a stronger board, to revamp their financial model. Or as Ryan puts it, coaching answers the question: “If my organization wants to get to Point X, what do I, as a leader, need to do to build on my strengths and manage my weaknesses…
How to Get Over the Nonprofit Fear of Money

Nell Edgington

16 May 2013 | 7:10 am

I started a new blog series in March about overcoming the many fears that cripple the nonprofit sector, the first one being the fear of investment. Today I want to talk about the nonprofit fear of money. Because the nonprofit sector is focused on mission, as opposed to profit, money is often ignored at best, or feared at worst. Many nonprofit boards and staff find money distasteful, burdensome, and avoidable. But money can be used as a powerful tool to create more social change. In order to overcome the fear of money and start using it effectively, nonprofit boards and staffs must: Embrace…
Getting Real About Nonprofit Overhead Costs

Nell Edgington

13 May 2013 | 6:57 am

There is something pretty interesting going on in Illinois around nonprofit overhead costs. I have written many times (here and here for example) about how the distinction between “overhead” and “program” costs in the nonprofit sector is meaningless at best, and destructive at worst. I’m really excited to see that the Donors Forum in Illinois is starting to host real conversations between nonprofits and philanthropists about the Real Costs (including administrative costs) necessary to create effective social change. With the help of the Bridgespan Group, in March…
Building a Nonprofit Talent Pipeline: An Interview with Monisha Kapila

Nell Edgington

9 May 2013 | 6:05 am

In this month’s Social Velocity blog interview, I’m talking with Monisha Kapila. Monisha founded ProInspire to develop the next generation of nonprofit leaders by expanding the talent pipeline, developing professionals, and increasing diversity in the social sector. She has created partnerships with leading nonprofits like Global Giving, Share Our Strength, and Year Up. Monisha’s vision to start ProInspire stemmed from her own experience transitioning from business to nonprofit, and her passion for helping organizations and individuals achieve their potential for social impact. You…

Nonprofit Revolution
Too much nonprofit love?

Moira Schwartz

15 May 2013 | 8:30 am

The Nike swoosh, one of the most recognizable logos in the world was designed in 1971 by Carolyn Davidson, a graphic design student at Portland State University. She spent 17.5 days on this job and charged a whopping $35. That little swoosh’s power is grounded in a BIG IDEA: it represents the motion of the wing of Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory, athletics, and even poetry. In Ancient Greece, her presence invoked a spirit of celebration, commemorating the arête (physical and moral excellence) of gods and men. Bringing you close to the gods. Nike took that swoosh and brought it to the…
Basketball’s jump on nonprofits.

Gary Wexler

12 May 2013 | 10:04 pm

The article is called Boom. Or What.It examines the different economic policies pursued by the Obama, Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. It never mentions nonprofits, but holds some valuable lessons. Here is the most important one: “Hubbard (Bush’s economic advisor) pointed to the good news: results can change when the right adjustments are made. This is where he brought up basketball. By the 1940s, he said, the sport had become boring, dominated by extremely tall players who planted themselves next to the rim. Then a Columbia University graduate student, who also coached…
Online isn’t human

Gary Wexler

7 May 2013 | 12:07 pm

The eyes. The smile. The touch. The hug. The cooing. The singing. (Okay, we left out a few unmentionables here.) From the moment we are born, we depend and thrive upon human interaction.Our humanity, in all its manifestations leads us to establish communities. Nonprofits are an outgrowth of this need. Is this acceptable? So, is it acceptable that the social marketing universe refers to what appears on your computer screen as community? Can not seeing a face, not being in the same place, not talking ideas person-to-person, not exchanging human contact, be awarded the nearly sacred…
Lessons from Levy’s Rye

Moira Schwartz

30 Apr 2013 | 8:57 pm

The smiling face reflected in the rye bread sandwich is from one of the most classic ad campaign designs in history. You could run that ad today and it connects just as well as it did then. Great communication holds a truth that can’t be ignored. It acts as a demanding partner, reeling you into a conversation and then motivates you to enter into that same conversation with others. You repeat the words you just read as if they were your own. Wonderfully politically incorrect. If a piece of bread can do it why can’t nonprofits? “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Even the most…
Business people’s mistake.

Gary Wexler

24 Apr 2013 | 10:51 pm

How many times has the Revolution heard from successful business people, “I know how to market this nonprofit. I’ve built a huge company marketing products and services.” The Revolution has great respect for business people’s wisdom, experience and success. After all, our origins are in the advertising business. But as we learned, being a business marketer doesn’t make you a nonprofit marketer. Consider this: One marketer asks people to spend money and get a product or service in return. The other marketer asks people to give money away and change the world in return,…

Active Network, Communities Blog
17 Marketing Campaigns to Boost Parks & Rec Participation

Henry O'Loughlin

20 May 2013 | 10:45 am

A few weeks ago, we got together with a group of parks and recreation professionals in the Chicago area. We met at Wood Dale Park District to talk about ways to increase participation in programs they offer and ended the … Continue reading →
P&R Marketing Idea: Facebook Cover Photo Contest

Datis Mohsenipour

14 May 2013 | 1:39 pm

The key to social media success is engagement. But creating engagement sounds a lot easier than it really is. At ACTIVE World 2013, Henry and I had the opportunity to sit at a round-table discussion with a great group of … Continue reading →
Bit.ly – What It Is and How to Use It

Datis Mohsenipour

10 May 2013 | 2:06 pm

As tech companies grow and new ones pop up, new verbs continue to be introduced to our evolving vocabularies. New verbs that started off as company names and won’t be found in Webster’s Dictionary. “Google” it comes to mind first. … Continue reading →
Canton Commits to Community Wellness with ’100 Days to Health’ (GUEST POST)

Henry O'Loughlin

8 May 2013 | 10:34 am

This is a guest post from Jessica Levine, Marketing Coordinator at Canton Leisure Services in Canton, Michigan. _____ The figures are staggering: More than one-third of American adults and children are obese, resulting in conditions like heart disease and diabetes. … Continue reading →
How to Improve Your Posts With Facebook Insights

Henry O'Loughlin

3 May 2013 | 9:54 am

The starting point for all marketing is your audience. Who are they? What are they like? What are they interested in? How do they buy? If you do a good job of targeting your emails – announcing upcoming yoga classes … Continue reading →

Next Level Nonprofits
Save yourself an hour/day – simplify your organization’s strategy

Natasha Golinsky

22 May 2013 | 1:22 pm

Kinda edgy, kinda bold. Don’t watch this video before you’ve had your first cup of coffee.
Is your organization at risk of being trampled by these five “elephants”?

Natasha Golinsky

20 May 2013 | 10:21 am

In order to better serve my clients, I am always looking for great books to read on the topic of how to develop successful nonprofits. As I was browsing CausePlanet’s Page to Practice™ book summary library, I came across a title that caught my eye “Exposing the Elephants: Creating Exceptional Nonprofits” [...]
Save yourself an hour/day: Strategically network with those who can help you solve your problem

Natasha Golinsky

17 May 2013 | 9:54 am

This isn’t just a good idea, this is a million dollar idea. If you’ve been stuck for years and can’t seem to get any traction, this is probably the reason.
How to fight through frustration when learning something new

Natasha Golinsky

12 May 2013 | 5:10 pm

Growing up in business, one of the expressions I heard all the time was “the beginning of anything is the time of highest frustration and anxiety and lowest amount of fulfillment”. Think about it…how did you feel when you went on your first date with your spouse, got pregnant with [...]
Save yourself an hour/day – stop blaming and complaining and take responsibility

Natasha Golinsky

5 May 2013 | 8:35 am

I don’t know about you but when something goes wrong, I immediately look for someone to blame. When I’m facing a situation I don’t like, my first reaction is to complain about it to someone else as if that will make me feel better. Recently I had an experience where [...]

Engaging Volunteers
Imagine Your Nonprofit is a Tree, and Volunteers Will Help it Grow…

Shari Ilsen

21 May 2013 | 11:06 am

How one organization has engaged volunteers to help its efforts to fight hunger in America grow and bear fruit for thousands of struggling people. Guest post by RL Mathews According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, limited resources prevent over 50 million Americans from getting enough food, forcing many to go without food for several meals, or even days. But among the forest of nonprofit organizations that are attempting to address this issue, there is a tree of hope that grows in the heart of America, one that was planted in 1979 and is respectfully known as Harvester’s…
Upcoming Nonprofit Insights: How to Solve Global Problems with Local Engagement

Shari Ilsen

16 May 2013 | 10:30 am

The Nonprofit Insights webinar series brings major thought leaders and experts to you for thought-provoking presentations on a variety of issues related to technology and engaging your community members for social good. Your organization is trying to solve real problems – in your community, in the country, and in the world. Like many organizations, however, chances are you don’t feel the support you need to really change things. Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) has found a way to address this problem: Focus locally for global impact. Through its unique model of encouraging…
Webinar Recap: A New Appreciation for Data with the Corporation for National and Community Service

Stephanie Rosenburg

15 May 2013 | 10:00 am

Our latest Nonprofit Insights webinar was an intense one! Dr. Christopher Spera and Anthony Nerino of The Corporation for National and Community Service joined our president Greg Baldwin for a fascinating discussion on new statistics about volunteering in America. We dived deep into data from the Volunteering and Civic Life in America 2012 (VCLA 2012) study to explore who is volunteering in America and what that means for volunteer engagement. This was a chance to see, in numbers, how Americans are volunteering, where they are and who is most involved. We learned some fascinating statistics,…
Thanks to Volunteers, Seeing Los Angeles Through New Eyes

Shari Ilsen

14 May 2013 | 2:24 pm

Guest post by Jessica Vaysman, Total Family Support Clinic Raymond, a dedicated volunteer at Total Family Support Clinic. I am proud to say that today, I work for a nonprofit organization called the Total Family Support Clinic in Downtown Los Angeles. Since moving to Los Angeles 5 years ago from Brooklyn NY, I have spent the majority of that time working in the glitzy entertainment industry that many often associate with this city. Like many who are thrust into this world, I eventually became disillusioned with the lack of meaning my entertainment positions provided. After much debate, I…
Finish This Sentence for Your Chance to Win: “My Volunteers Have Taught Me…”

Stephanie Rosenburg

10 May 2013 | 2:31 pm

As nonprofits, we’re constantly thinking about how we can engage our volunteers. We spend a lot of time learning how to recruit, retain and recognize our volunteers. But this interaction can go both ways. It’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of volunteer coordination and management, but how often do we think about all the things our volunteers are teaching us? “My volunteers have taught me…” At the revived and upcoming Nonprofit Boot Camp, Silicon Valley nonprofits will have the chance to learn from experts and each other. What we want to know is: What do we all…

Darrell Gwynn Foundation
DGF’s “Prom Patrol” offers teenagers powerful testimony, injury prevention tips

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21 May 2013 | 11:36 am

By Ryan Rogers DAVIE, Fla. – The Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s Education & Prevention Program visited dozens of high schools in South Florida this spring as students prepared for their proms in an effort to keep teenagers safe and prevent spinal cord injuries. The Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s mission is to provide SUPPORT for people with paralysis
Darrell Gwynn Foundation forms Fundraising Committee, May 13

admin

16 May 2013 | 6:45 am

Committee assembles network of top professionals to boost the foundation’s fundraising efforts and opportunities DAVIE, Fla. – The Darrell Gwynn Foundation has formed a general fundraising committee of top professionals in South Florida designed to boost the foundation’s fundraising efforts and enhance the exposure and opportunities for fundraising in the community. The Darrell Gwynn Foundation’s
Alexis DeJoria Ripe for a Win in Topeka

admin

15 May 2013 | 6:04 am

By Allison McCormick DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (May 14, 2013)— Kalitta Motorsports has a long history of success at Heartland Park Topeka and Alexis DeJoria, driver of Team Kalitta’s Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry nitro Funny Car, hopes to keep the tradition alive this weekend at the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals. DeJoria, who has already raced
Coulter hopes to hit the “Jackpot” in Friday night’s N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte

admin

14 May 2013 | 7:27 am

By Jessica O’Brien MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 14, 2013) – When it comes to lucky numbers at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS), you better make sure to go “All In” on the No. 18 Darrell Gwynn Foundation Toyota Tundra of Joey Coulter. In three previous starts at the 1.5-mile oval, the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) machine
DGF Donates $18,000 Wheelchair to Homecoming King Hakam Daley, May 8

admin

8 May 2013 | 1:57 pm

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Hakam Daley, a 21 year-old from Port St. Lucie, Fla., received an $18,000 custom power wheelchair from the Darrell Gwynn Foundation, on behalf of its donors and supporters, at St. Lucie West Centennial High School during a special presentation on Wednesday, May 8. The donation was made through the Darrell

Clairification
What’s the ‘Oh Goody!’ Rule of Email Appeals, and Why Do You Need It?

Claire

20 May 2013 | 1:31 am

Chances are good that when you open your email box a majority of the messages are of little interest to you. You don’t know who they’re from, they look like junk, or they’re coming from someone who doesn’t interest you enough to compel you to open their message. If you have time, maybe you will. [...]The post What’s the ‘Oh Goody!’ Rule of Email Appeals, and Why Do You Need It? appeared first on Clairification.
Why You May Not Have Time for an Email Campaign

Claire

17 May 2013 | 8:18 am

I was playing around on Mashable yesterday and happened on The Key to More Successful Email Campaigns: Time. Since I recently offered you Top 10 Tips for Successful Nonprofit E-Appeals (and the big 11th is coming on Monday – you’ve still got time to guess what it is and win a free e-appeal review!), I [...]The post Why You May Not Have Time for an Email Campaign appeared first on Clairification.
7 Ways to Build Rapport with Donors Using Creative ‘Thank You’s

Claire

15 May 2013 | 8:50 pm

To build authentic rapport with folks you must show them you care. And the simplest way to demonstrate affection is through a heartfelt ‘Thank You.’ It can be in person, in writing, over the phone, through a text, via video or any which way you choose. The key is to make it personal and prompt. [...]The post 7 Ways to Build Rapport with Donors Using Creative ‘Thank You’s appeared first on Clairification.
Top 10 Tips for Successful Nonprofit E-Appeals + Chance to Win Free Review

Claire

13 May 2013 | 12:52 am

Planning any special e-mail campaigns before the end of the fiscal year? This summer? If not, think about it. An e-campaign costs pennies on the dollar compared with print marketing. And the right message at the right time to the right market can empower your supporters to help you change the world. Your success will [...]The post Top 10 Tips for Successful Nonprofit E-Appeals + Chance to Win Free Review appeared first on Clairification.
One Huge Mistake You Don’t Know You’re Making with Your Donors

Claire

9 May 2013 | 12:49 am

Don’t wait too long to ask. It makes people anxious. I’ve seen this happen so many times. I’ll be sitting with an E.D. or a board member at lunch with a prospective donor. We’ve talked in advance about our roles. I’ll handle the details and technical questions. They’ll inspire and, ultimately, make ‘the ask’. It [...]The post One Huge Mistake You Don’t Know You’re Making with Your Donors appeared first on Clairification.

Nonprofit Marketing | ConnectAd » Blog
One Today by Google: A new way to fundraise

Charles Dieu

30 Apr 2013 | 7:42 am

The new One Today by Google app strives to help donors and nonprofits connect on a daily basis by encouraging the app user to contribute $1 to a cause with one simple click of a button. How does it work? One Today by Google displays a new nonprofit each day with a [...]The post One Today by Google: A new way to fundraise appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing | ConnectAd.
AdWords for Video for Nonprofits?! Imagining a possible future.

Charles Dieu

24 Apr 2013 | 12:15 am

Over the past couple of years, I have been lucky enough to listen to several presentations by Googlers. The key takeaway has always been that mobile and video are the way of the future, especially as it pertains to Google’s advertising business. Recently, AdWords for Video caught my eye when one of the ads [...]The post AdWords for Video for Nonprofits?! Imagining a possible future. appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing | ConnectAd.
5 Ways To Create Real Benefit Using Google Grants

Simon Choy

18 Apr 2013 | 5:30 am

A year ago I wrote a post about 5 Ways To Use Google Grants To Help Your Charity. In case you missed it, these 5 ways were to increase fundraising, event attendance, volunteering, education/awareness, and help for those who are searching for it. Now that it’s a year later, here are 5 more ways [...]The post 5 Ways To Create Real Benefit Using Google Grants appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing | ConnectAd.
Increase Google Grants Spend Using Shared Budgets

Simon Choy

27 Mar 2013 | 7:02 am

There are a number of factors that affect how much of your Google Grant you spend each month, like the quality of your keywords or the CTR of your ads. How you budget your campaigns is another factor that could be limiting your ad spend. Fortunately, there’s something called shared budgets that will solve all [...]The post Increase Google Grants Spend Using Shared Budgets appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing | ConnectAd.
Grow Your Charity’s Social Media Using Google Grants

Simon Choy

13 Mar 2013 | 7:30 am

Google Grants is a versatile marketing tool that can help your charity in many ways, like increasing fundraising and awareness. As it turns out, your $10,000 per month can even grow your social media following. This works by bringing in relevant traffic using your Google ads and converting engaged users into followers. Here are [...]The post Grow Your Charity’s Social Media Using Google Grants appeared first on Nonprofit Marketing | ConnectAd.

Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
How to Involve Staff in Nonprofit Branding

Kivi Leroux Miller

22 May 2013 | 8:30 am

Haila Yates Earlier this month Haila Yates shared how her organization created audience personas to make better marketing decisions. Part of that process included getting the staff involved. Today, we are publishing another piece by Haila where she talks about how she got her organization’s staff involved with deciding on their messaging platform and other aspects of their brand. This post originally appeared on her nonprofit’s blog. ~Kivi Guest Post by Haila Yates of Greenlights for Nonprofit Success We can’t do it alone, especially when it comes to communications. But how do…
I Love You, Katya Andresen

Kivi Leroux Miller

20 May 2013 | 11:01 am

If you are a complete nonprofit marketing geek, you may have heard that Katya Andresen is leaving the nonprofit world, moving on as the COO of Network for Good to become the CEO of ePals, a global community of K-12 classrooms. If not, I’m sorry to break the news to you. If you read this blog, odds are very high that you read Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog too. So I don’t need to tell you how brilliant she is, and what a loss this is to our community. As depressing as this is professionally, I am 100% thrilled and excited for Katya personally. She was ready for a new…
Mixed Links for Nonprofit Marketers

Kivi Leroux Miller

17 May 2013 | 12:00 pm

Enjoy the Mixed Links! Happy Friday from hot Texas! Would you like to join us for some Mixed Links? If you are having trouble getting your supporters to talk to others about your organization, Nancy Schwartz has some ideas on what you can do to Make It Easy to Spread the Word. How do you track engagement? NTEN shares Avectra’s recent survey results in The 2013 Nonprofit Engagement Data Management Study: A Graphic Report. Lori Halley from Wild Apricot shares a New Infographics Resource from Idealware. Social media users are starting to be more selective about who they like or follow.
How Often Should Your Nonprofit Send Email to Your List?

Kivi Leroux Miller

16 May 2013 | 10:15 am

I recently presented a webinar for GuideStar called Taming Your Communications Calendar Six Months a Time. It was sold out, so I couldn’t get to all of the questions. Guidestar asked me to do a couple of follow-up blog posts answering two questions that tended to pop up most frequently. One was “How often should we send email publicity to our audience?” and the other was about repurposing content. This question comes up quite a bit, so I’m sharing my answer with you as well. ~Kivi Email is an essential communications tool for nonprofits because it’s fast and affordable.
IT Staff, Marketing and Leadership #13ntc

Kivi Leroux Miller

15 May 2013 | 9:11 am

Imtiaz Haiyoom We met Imtiaz Haiyoom by accident our first night at the Nonprofit Technology Conference (#13NTC) in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. He was sitting approximately where we wanted to host a little meet and greet, so we basically commandeered his table and forced him join us. He got a free drink out of the ordeal, but I think we got the better deal after hearing him talk about how nonprofit communications and marketing staff need to involve their IT departments earlier in the decisionmaking process – an idea that his boss, Keith Ackerman, the chief operations officer, and…

Thunderhead Works
Top Graduation Speeches

Tom Peterson

22 May 2013 | 1:13 pm

It’s good to hear advice from people who have pioneered, who have accomplished something, who have then struggled to communicate a kernel of wisdom that may help us see our way forward. For this, no season is better than commencement ceremony time. LinkedIn has compiled the Top Graduation Speeches for our open minds. Sleep evangelist Arianna Huffington suggests that the women from Smith College sleep their way to the top (okay, you have to watch the speech). She also asks them to “redefine success. Because the world you are headed into desperately needs it…. what I urge…
The Other Rules for Scrabble and Nonprofits

Tom Peterson

19 May 2013 | 8:00 pm

In managing organizations, there are official rules and there are the other rules. The official rules that come in the Scrabble game box tell you how many tiles to draw, that play passes to the left, what “triple letter score” means. How the game works. Without them you couldn’t play. Likewise, nonprofits have official rules. For finance, they tell us how to behave with regard to 501(c)(3) status, payroll taxes, budgets. HR has rules, as do boards of directors, and so on. As with Scrabble, without following these rules, an organization would find…
Nonprofit Helps

Tom Peterson

17 May 2013 | 5:11 am

Now for something practical for the leader who’s getting ready for an interview: The Esquire Guy’s Guide to Media Interviews. Even more practical, a link to Kivi Leroux Miller’s 7 Ways to Repurpose Your Content. And a nice overview on Infographics from Socialbrite. Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They wil not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry. — Bill Drayton Thanks for your part in making the world a better place! If you see something that would be helpful to others, pass it on:…
Neil Gaiman Commencement Address

Tom Peterson

15 May 2013 | 3:44 am

It’s graduation season again, and I watch the Clinton School of Public Service students cross the stage—brighter and more motivated than ever. I’m hopeful because I know (from the previous five years) the kinds of places they’re headed and how they will begin to make their patch of the world a better place. (And as a bonus, we got to watch our speaker, Rham Emanuel, impersonate his former boss, Bill Clinton.) So I was also happy to see one of my favorite writers, Niel Gaiman, featured in Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings, giving the commencement address last year at…
Strategic Partners for Social Change

Tom Peterson

13 May 2013 | 3:29 am

“In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”— Charles Darwin Seven years ago Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in the heart of Memphis struggled with how to bring better health to the underserved. Their first thoughts were, who else would want to make this happen, who could help us? They looked to see what assets were available in the areas with the worst health issues, and couldn’t help but notice a small church on almost every corner. Realizing that many of their patients…

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