August, 2012

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What My 14-Year-Old Brother Taught Me About Cause Marketing

Selfish Giving

This is a guest post from Erin Palmer. Erin is a writer and editor for the University Alliance. She writes about nonprofit and public sector topics relevant to Villanova University’s Master of Public Administration degree. The areas covered in the MPA curriculum help improve nonprofit management. Teenagers can be pretty apathetic. Adults may blame it on the technology that.

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No Wonder Retention of Online Donors is So Bad

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

In yesterday’s post, I told you that I suspect that the reason online givers seem to be one-hit-wonders has less to do with online givers being fickle and more with nonprofits not yet figuring out how to do online donor retention well. I promised to share what happened when I gave online gifts to 20 national nonprofits at the end of 2011. Did I get the kind of online communications that would lead to another online gift?

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How Americans give - and who is most generous

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

The Chronicle of Philanthropy yesterday published loads of data on giving patterns among American donors. You can search for your specific community giving here. The research is based on tax returns from people claiming charitable deductions. Among the most interesting findings: 1. The rich aren’t richly generous. Says the Chronicle, “Middle-class Amer­i­cans give a far bigger share of their discretionary income to charities than the rich.

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11 Must-Follow Nonprofits on Instagram

Nonprofit Tech for Good

For the mobile social media manager, Instagram is a must-download photo-sharing smartphone app – and with more than 80 million users who to date have shared over four billion photos – its quickly becoming a community that early adopter nonprofits have added to their regular list of must-do’s. The social networking component of Instagram is smartphone-based and most of the interactions you have will occur in the palm of your hand as you share your nonprofit’s story on the

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Less Stress, More Success: Accounting Best Practices & Processes for 2025

Speaker: Amanda Adams, Fractional CFO, CPA

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Amanda Adams, a seasoned fractional CFO and CPA passionate about transforming back-office operations for finance teams. This session will cover critical best practices and process improvements tailored specifically for accounting professionals.

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3 Ways the Lance Armstrong Foundation can Survive

Fundraising Coach

Today’s news is reporting Lance Armstrong’s decision to not fight the doping charges. Many are saying he’s basically admitting he’s guilty. Herein lies one of the biggest challenges for nonprofits that are branded around a personality. Nonprofits with personality are wonderful to work with and find it easier to gain supporters.

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9 Great Fundraising Ideas for When Everything Else Hasn’t Worked

Fundraiser Ideas

Fundraising is critical to your organization. Without successful fundraising campaigns, programs, activities, and equipment are oftentimes cut from the budget. However, not all fundraising ideas work for all groups. Following are 9 great fundraising ideas for when everything else hasn’t worked. Fundraising Letter – Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

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How Social Media and Fundraising Fit Together

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

You’ve probably been cautioned to avoid using social media as a fundraising tool and to focus instead on donor “engagement” – which will someday lead to fundraising opportunities. But when? What about all of those nonprofits using social media to raise money right now? Can you create a social media strategy that does both? I think you can, and that’s what I’ll be talking about when I present a workshop called Social Media: Your On-Ramp to Future Fundraising at the annual conference

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An anonymous letter that all fundaisers should read

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

A blog reader sent me the following letter this week. I agreed to protect the source, so I’m not sharing names. Development directors: look how important your job is - and how critical execution proves to be! Talk about penny wise, pound foolish… Katya, You often stress the importance of timely thank you’s, and as a donor, I can say that I really do notice how quickly I get an acknowledgement for a donation.

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70 Low-Cost or Free Web-Based Tools for Nonprofits

Nonprofit Tech for Good

The number of low-cost or free, web-based resources and tools available to nonprofits today is astounding. Many nonprofit professionals are overwhelmed by the all choices – and as the Mobile Web and related start-ups continue to grow, prepare to be mind-boggled by all the new technology options available to your nonprofit in coming years. That said, to be alerted of new resources and tools available for nonprofits, please subscribe to the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 e-Newsletter.

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Women Are Better Donors

The Agitator

In the Chronicle of Philanthropy Holly Hall just covered a new study finding that older women (Boomer and older) are more generous than older men, other key factors held constant (similar incomes, number of children, education level). The study, Women Give 2012 , was done at the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy.

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Recognition Powers High-Performance — If You Do it Right

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Todd Wuestenberg

Employee recognition has often been deemed a "feel-good" initiative, tied closely to rewards. While we understand its importance, we tend to associate recognition with intangible outcomes like engagement and sentiment, rather than direct impacts on retention and high performance. In today’s workplace, the true ROI of recognition lies in its ability to regenerate tangible, business-driven results.

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Why traditional newsletters don’t work anymore

Get Fully Funded

You know that saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, it’s time to fix what’s broken with your newsletter. Yep, without even seeing it, I can tell you that there are very likely some things you need to change with your print or email newsletter. I’ve heard from many donors that they don’t even look at newsletters anymore, even if it comes from their favorite nonprofit.

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Raise More Money from Businesses with Purchase-Triggered Donations

Selfish Giving

Purchase-triggered donations is a long name for a simple cause marketing promotion. When shoppers buy a product or service from a business a portion or percentage of the sale is donated to a good cause. A recent example I came across is this promotion from the makers of 5-Hour Energy. Living Essentials, the marketer of.

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Six Ways Social Media Has Affected Nonprofit Newsletters

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

Last week, I asked for your thoughts on how your newsletter has changed , including how your organization’s use of social media has affected your newsletter, whether print or online. Of the 299 people who had answered this particular question when I pulled the data yesterday, a third said that social media had little to no effect , because. the organization wasn’t using social media much or at all, the audiences for the newsletter and for social media were very different, or. the org

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The 10 vital rules of thanking, pleasing and keeping donors

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

1. KNOW YOUR DONOR: Capture information on how your donors gave and what appeal they are supporting. Did they give in response to a special appeal or at an event? Were they asked to donate by one of your donor champions who was running a race to raise money for your cause? You need these details to properly thank and cultivate them. 2. ALWAYS THANK YOUR DONORS: Always.

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Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.

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#FundraisingFriday :: Please Donate $10 to Your Favorite Nonprofit!

Nonprofit Tech for Good

Each Friday through the end of 2012 I am going to donate $10 to one of my Favorite Nonprofits in the hopes of inspiring others to donate more often. If you are a nonprofit, please help me get the word out about #FundraisingFriday to your supporters. Hopefully you’ll be able to convert a few fans, followers, and friends into donors. If you donate $10 to your favorite nonprofit, please post the name and website of the nonprofit below.

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Remember Telemarketing?

The Agitator

Hopefully the 47% of Agitator readers who were ‘on the job’ in the 20th Century do! Karin Kirchoff of MINDset Direct discussed telemarketing — “the ugly, redheaded stepchild of fundraising and acquisition” as she put it — in a recent FundRaising Success webinar. Here’s a report on what she had to say about how to use this ’70s and ’80s channel today.

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Why traditional newsletters don’t work anymore

Get Fully Funded

You know that saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well, it’s time to fix what’s broken with your newsletter. Yep, without even seeing it, I can tell you that there are very likely some things you need to change with your print or email newsletter. I’ve heard from many donors that they don’t even look at newsletters anymore, even if it comes from their favorite nonprofit.

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Where to Look for Cause Marketing Opportunities

Selfish Giving

A lot of people ask me how they can get into companies such as Target, Starbucks and Walmart. I tell them don’t bother and instead focus on companies such as iParty, Ocean State Job Lots and Finagle a Bagel. If they live outside New England they have no clue what I’m talking about because these businesses don’t operate in their area.

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Best Practices to Streamline Compensation Management: A Foundation for Growth

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

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Checklist: Is My Message Relevant?

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

I taught “So What and Who Cares, Part I: How to Make Your Messaging More Meaningful and Memorable” today for our All-Access Pass Holders. In Part II next week, I’ll apply what we discussed to home pages and Facebook pages of several Pass Holders. ( Want to join us? Today’s recording will be available tomorrow afternoon, and Part II takes place on August 23.).

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The Top 10 Cheerleading Fundraising Ideas

Fundraiser Ideas

Cheerleading squads rely on fundraising for a variety of items including new uniforms and travel costs for competitions. Fundraising can make or break a season, so every cheerleading organization can benefit from successful fundraising. Following are the top ten cheerleading fundraising ideas. Spirit calendar. One of the most profitable cheerleading fundraising ideas is to put together a spirit calendar with a picture of the squad for each month of the year.

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Should you thank your donors with a gift?

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

As you know, I believe giving is best approached through social rather than market norms. What do I mean by that? Social norms are governed by values of community selflessness and altruism. When we are primed to give based on social norms, we donate because we want to make a difference and help others. Market norms are governed by calculated self-interest.

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How Can I Use My Cell Phone?

The Agitator

In case you were running short of ideas on how to use your cell phone, here are some ideas from the rest of the cell phone population, courtesy of Pew Research. In a store : 38% of cell owners used their phone to call a friend while they were in a store for advice about a purchase they were considering making. 24% of cell owners used their phone to look up reviews of a product online while they were in a store. 25% of adult cell owners used their phones to look up the price of a product online w

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How to Scale Recurring Giving for Sustainable Growth

Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand

Is your organization ready to build a recurring giving program that not only sustains but also propels your mission forward? 🚀 In this new webinar with industry visionary Tim Sarrantonio, we’ll guide you through the critical steps to establishing and scaling a successful recurring giving program. Whether you’re starting fresh or enhancing an existing program, this session will provide the strategies you need to deepen donor relationships and secure long-term support!

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6 funky ways to use your calendar

Fundraising Coach

While I miss my old school Franklin Planner, I love the convenience of my Google Calendar. Over the years, I’ve developed some unconventional uses for my calendar. Here are 6 of them. Non-family birthdays: I’ll start with the most banal first: birthdays. Whenever I learn of a birthday of a friend, client, or most anyone, I put it in my calendar.

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Cause Marketing Hangout & Chat with Megan Strand & Peter Wright

Selfish Giving

Pete Wright, the producer of CauseTalk Radio, moonlights as an instructor for Marylhurst University and asked Megan Strand and me to join him for a class on – what else – cause marketing. Here’s Pete’s description of the class.

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How Often Should You Email Supporters?

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

Every nonprofit communicator wants an answer to this question! My generic advice — knowing nothing about your organization — is monthly bare minimum and really more like twice a month. You should step it up beyond that to more like weekly if. you need people to do lots of things (you have lots of calls to action, like events or volunteer opportunities). people count on you for frequent updates or timely information in a fast-moving field (this applies to advocacy orgs in particular).

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On Vacation. Offline. In Nature. Viewing Wildlife. Will Reconnect on August 27!

Nonprofit Tech for Good

Back in 2009 I wrote up 10 tips for managing social media burnout and taking my own advice, I am going offline for three weeks. On vacation… in remote areas in a distant land… viewing wildlife (hopefully)… and 100% offline. No smartphone. No tablet. No work. Just a camera, a couple of good books, and a journal, a pen, and a glue stick.

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Engage, Empower, Excel: Transforming Performance in the New Era of Work

Speaker: Radhika Samant and Adri Glover

The world of work has fundamentally changed. The series of waves that the pandemic began have rippled through the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, the Great Regret, and other eloquent phrases that boil down to the same thing: people aren’t engaged at work or enabled to perform at their best. The truth is that engagement and enablement is more important than ever, but how we do it is the critical differentiator for many organizations.

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Your mission is the gift. Really.

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

A week ago I posted on the question, should you give your donors gifts ? I got a big response via email. Many people wrote to say they agreed, and that the advice offered reflected their own experiences as fundraisers. A few even told me that their most consistent donors typically decline the gifts they offer. And a bunch wrote me with more questions.

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Is This Any Way To Report To Your Donors?

The Agitator

You bet it is! I recently received this email from Charity: Water. This organization just keeps impressing me over and over. Click below to watch the video. Rachel’s Gift. One Year Later. Call me a marshmallow, but it got me crying. See how long you last. Tom.

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Get over it and ask!

Fundraising Coach

[Warning: rant in progress]. Stop it with the excuses. The timing is never perfect. There are always reasons to put off asking people to support your nonprofit. And that is a sure way to get your nonprofit bankrupt. If your nonprofit is doing important work, people will want to fund it. But they won’t come to that conclusion all by themselves.

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CauseTalk Radio Ep20: Cause Marketing on Pinterest with Beauty Brand Elizabeth Arden

Selfish Giving

Today Megan and I chat with Christina Bennett of beauty brand Elizabeth Arden about their new cause marketing campaign on Pinterest, #PinItToGiveIt, in partnership with nonprofit Look Good Feel Better. Christina shares how the campaign plans to reach their donation goal of 10,000 eyeliners (valued at $16-$18 each) to Look Good Feel Better by early.

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Pricing for Profit: How to Set, Negotiate, and Succeed

Speaker: Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader

In today’s competitive market, pricing is more than just a number — it’s the cornerstone of profitability. The right pricing strategy ensures that you capture the true value of your offering, paving the way for sustainable growth and long-term success. Join Igli Laci, Strategic Finance Leader, in this exclusive session where he will explore how a well-crafted pricing approach balances customer perception with business objectives, creating a powerful tool for securing both competitive advantage a