Ann Green

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Did you know there’s a Center for Plain Language? Its mission is to help government and businesses write clearly. There’s even a Plain Writing Act, which “requires that federal agencies use clear government communication that the public can understand and use.” The Center’s tagline says it all – Make it clear. I wish we had a Plain Writing Act for nonprofit organizations because there’s a lot of confusing and cumbersome writing out there.

Governance 251

Governance Nonprofits Food Communication 251

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

Photo Credit: https://flic.kr/p/aVmeYp. We all know why nonprofits want monthly donors — fantastic ROI, high retention rates and higher lifetime value. So, how do we get them? Specifically, how do we sign more supporters up for an online monthly giving program? First, the basics. Before engaging in the 6 tactics below, you should organize your monthly giving program: Name it.

Recruitment 223

Recruitment Retention Values Nonprofits 223

Nonprofit Tech for Good

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

The National Retail Federation estimates that online sales will grow 6 to 8 percent this holiday season. That translates into billions of dollars in consumer spending that can empower philanthropy and social good. By shopping at any of the 27 online stores listed below, conscious consumers can channel some of their spending power into the nonprofit sector.

Retail 111

Retail Nonprofits Philanthropy Culture 111

Fundraising Coach

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Last week at the Blackbaud conference, I heard yet another story of good fundraising letters being eviscerated by marketing. Unfortunately, it happens all the time. A fundraiser studies her craft, reads the results of fundraising tests, and creates a compelling appeal. Then a marketing person gets involved and tries to "fix it." They use passive voice in an attempt to sound lofty and confident.

Marketing 99

Marketing Marketing Fundraising Fundraising 99

Speaker: Tim Sarrantonio, Director of Corporate Brand

Do you really know your donors? Not just what they give, but who they are? 👥 In this interactive session, we’ll break down how nonprofits can use behavioral indicators (affinity, recency, frequency, and monetary value) to build prospecting segments that go beyond wealth screening and actually align with donor identity. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to move beyond basic demographics and cultivate supporters based on how they already engage with you!

Nonprofits

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Lots of time and money is spent on identifying success factors in major gift fundraising for large organizations. Very little on factors that make a big difference for smaller organizations. Until now. Amy Eisenstein, author of Major Gift Fundraising for Small Shops , has just released a study done in conjunction with Prof. Adrian Sargent, director of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy and Dr.

Fundraising 98

Fundraising Fundraising Philanthropy Nonprofit Management 98

Getting Attention

NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Our first post in the 2016 Do-It-Differently series, featuring fresh ideas from the field. Thanks to Renee Thompson, director of philanthropy, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Tested Turnaround! Introducing a new fundraising spokesperson—one of our clients (an individual who’s benefited from our donors’ support). Keeping It All about Our Donors, Not Our Organization.

Food 78

Food Philanthropy Marketing Marketing 78

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Back in August, I offered a new mantra for nonprofit communications pros: Get CALM. Being CALM means being Collaborative, Agile, Logical, and Methodical. C is for Collaborative. Build listening into your ongoing routine. Help others in your organization see the big picture and how their parts fit into it. Create a clear process for working together that is easy and efficient.

Collaborations 205

Collaborations Communication Activism Production 205

Nonprofit Tech for Good

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

Nonprofit Tech for Good experimented with Periscope for live streaming for the first time during the 2015 Independent Sector Conference. Like all new tools there is a learning curve, but for nonprofit social media managers that spend a good portion of the their time on social and mobile media, Periscope is intuitive, easy to use, and a welcome break from the daily routine of posting, tweeting, sharing – repeat.

Nonprofits 104

Nonprofits Fundraising Fundraising Management 104

Fundraising Coach

NOVEMBER 10, 2015

I'm pleased to welcome back Bill Tedesco, founder and CEO of DonorSearch , my favorite prospect research tool. I love how easy they make it for nonprofits to do the research that helps you treat your donors well and raise the money you need to fund your mission. In this post, I've asked hime to recommend his top 5 prospect research tools. Isn't it cool that he leads with the theme song from the show "Cheers"?!

Nonprofit governance and management 88

Nonprofit governance and management Public and Nonprofit Management Governance Law 88

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 8, 2015

Most of the discussion that occurs around the sorry state of donor retention deals with failure on the part of nonprofits to even take notice of their situation. In some cases to even know what to measure, let alone understand how to respond in terms of organization-wide attitude and communication tactics. The underlying assumption is that just by ‘getting it right’ in terms of focus and mechanics a large proportion of haemorrhaging donors can be, well, salvaged.

Retention 97

Retention Communication Fundraising Fundraising 97

Speaker: Jennifer Hill

Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.

Activism

NonProfit Hub

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

The holiday season is nothing without its traditions. For many people, the holidays mean gathering together with family to consume meals, exchange gifts, watch football and take turkey-induced naps. For others, when the holiday season begins this year on Thanksgiving, traditions include giving back to their community and volunteering for local nonprofits.

Homelessness 74

Homelessness Advertising Food Activism 74

Ann Green

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

I know many nonprofits have limited resources. These can include budget, time, and staff. I also know it’s hard when you feel you’re barely scraping by. But there are some areas where you can’t skimp. Think of it as making an investment in your donors. Invest in a good database and email service provider. The best ones aren’t free.

Non-Profits 154

Non-Profits Recruitment Retention Communication 154

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

Candace Cody. Last month Rob Wu, CEO of CauseVox , shared tips he learned from some successful peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns. Today, Candace Cody of CauseVox joins us to talk about how to start your own peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. ~Kristina. Guest Post by Candace Cody of CauseVox. Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns yield significant benefits: more donations, more awareness, more relationships, and plenty of supporters to share the load.

Participation and motivation 195

Participation and motivation Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 195

Nonprofit Tech for Good

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

For environmentally friendly and socially conscious holiday shoppers that prefer to give donations to nonprofits as holiday gifts, the 10 holiday tribute gift programs listed below are a good starting point for your holiday shopping. Ranging from wildlife conservation to refugee relief, tribute gifts make excellent holiday gifts for friends, family, and work colleagues.

Environmental 96

Environmental Children Nonprofits Fundraising 96

Speaker: Duke Heninger, Partner and Fractional CFO at Ampleo & Creator of CFO System

Are you ready to elevate your accounting processes for 2025? 🚀 Join us for an exclusive webinar led by Duke Heninger, 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.

Finance

Fundraising Coach

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

Photo courtesy of scragz on Flickr. Some rights reserved. Do you fear your donors are bored with you? Here's some good news: with all the holiday parties at this time of year, you have virtual laboratory for learning to be interesting! How to be interesting to your donors. In his classic How to Win Friends and Influence People , Dale Carnegie gives you a secret to successful fundraising: "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by

Fundraising 78

Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 78

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 5, 2015

It never ceases to amaze me how stupid and cheap so many nonprofit CEOs, board members and, yes, even fundraisers can be. The consequences that spring from ignorance about the importance of investing in fundraising and a zealously misplaced focus on ‘cost savings’ yield horror and frustration for staff and almost always result in calamity where the future of the organization is concerned.

Fundraising 97

Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits Nonprofit Management 97

NonProfit Hub

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

Time has fallen back. The days are shorter. Winter is coming. Believe it or not, it’s November. In the nonprofit world, that means one thing—it’s End of Year Ask season. Usually this season elicits two emotions: excitement to put into action the fundraising plan to cap off a great year or “CRAP! YEAR-END ASK?”. If you fall into the latter group, fear not; you still have time.

Fundraising 73

Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 73

Getting Attention

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Let’s be real: Your organization is one of the many that can’t use kitty or puppy photos to raise money or recruit volunteers. In Part One of this mini-guide, I shared my take on why such emotional candy is so powerful in works so well to raise money or recruit volunteers. And cited a reliable litmus test for photo impact—1) If you’d share them with your family and friends; 2) would they “like” or share them.

Participation and motivation 70

Participation and motivation Recruitment Homelessness Foundations 70

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.

Retention

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

NOVEMBER 10, 2015

Did you know that the quality of your thank you letters can determine whether your donor gives again? Thank-you letters are incredibly important in turning a first-time donor into a life-long giver. Donors want much more than an acknowledgement and receipt. They want to know how you used the gift and that they are a genuine part of your success. Sending a thank you letter to your donors is not just the polite thing to do.

Communication 193

Communication Nonprofits 193

iMarketSmart

NOVEMBER 16, 2015

Jerold Panas’ classic fundraising book Mega Gifts published in 1984 includes a story about a zoo’s board member named Mary G. Roebling. According to Jerold, Mary once admonished the fundraising team including Jerry saying, “Now, Jerry, one thing you must remember. People like to be thanked, they want to know that what they have done is appreciated, really appreciated.

Fundraising 65

Fundraising Fundraising Education Education 65

Fundraising Coach

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

We've been inspired to launch a nonprofit leadership survey. Last month's post on fundraising problems being leadership problems really hit a nerve. And it's no wonder. Charities are getting hit hard from outside pressures but based on my experience with the coaching and training I'm doing, I think what we're experiencing now is just the prelude to the leadership issues we'll start seeing coming from within organizations.

Nonprofit Leadership 73

Nonprofit Leadership Leadership Nonprofits Health 73

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 11, 2015

I know you have lots on your plate as we near year-end. But if you have monthly sustaining donors or any type of installment givers , please add this data processing/payment processing morsel to your ‘Urgent: To Do’ list. In response to the rising tide of credit card theft and fraud over the past few years, American credit card providers are in the process of issuing a wave of (an estimated 100 million) replacement cards.

Nonprofit Management 96

Nonprofit Management Management Marketing Marketing 96

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Management

NonProfit Hub

NOVEMBER 19, 2015

This article originally appeared in our November/December 2015 issue of Nonprofit Hub Magazine, a free bi-monthly magazine. You can reserve your free copy today. In the world of fundraising, making the ask is one thing; sealing the deal is another. Even if you’ve grown entirely comfortable with the process of approaching people for money (and if you have, kudos to you), closing an ask can still be a challenge.

Fundraising 65

Fundraising Fundraising Education Education 65

Getting Attention

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Kivi Leroux Miller’s Nonprofit Communications Trends Survey has become the “go to” source for what’s REALLY happening in the world of nonprofit communications and fundraising. The annual results report provides concrete benchmarks for your marketing approach and the proof points you need to lobby for the resources you need to do marketing right.

Communication 63

Communication Marketing Marketing Fundraising 63

Nonprofit Marketing Guide

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Think about it: Out of all of the hours you work each week, how many are really awesome, where you feel like you are working on the most important, super strategic things and completely in the zone, loving every minute of it? Maybe 5? 1? None? What if you could set up the way you worked to create two awesome hours each day? That’s the premise behind Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done (Amazon).

Energy 189

Energy Production Psychology Management 189

Care2

NOVEMBER 14, 2015

ActionSprout is teaming up with Facebook, and giving away $2M in Facebook advertising credits to 2,000 nonprofits. About a year ago, Beth Kanter, myself, and a few others in the nonprofit community discussed ways we could lobby Facebook to better support the nonprofit community by offering a Facebook ad grants program similar to Google. Could this new experiment between ActionSprout and Facebook lead to a longer term Facebook ad grants program?

Advertising 57

Advertising Nonprofits 57

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!

Nonprofits

iMarketSmart

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

Many of us don’t feel comfortable asking. This is because many of us have never had anyone teach us that we don’t always need to blurt out an ask. In fact, in many cases, there are more subtle ways to move the process forward. Here are 8 ways to ask for a donation without actually asking. Just say: “What would you like me to do next?

Philanthropy 53

Philanthropy Fundraising Fundraising 53

The Agitator

NOVEMBER 2, 2015

Yesterday, in The Most Sinister Word In Fundraising , Roger wrote about effective fundraising copywriting and — citing our esteemed colleague, Jeff Brooks — the pernicious ‘I’ word. As he wrote: “This evil word has the negative power to transform your message into one that should be about the donor to one about you and your organization.” Much is written about donor-centric fundraising (the only kind that works) as a philosophy and attitude, and also regar

Communication 96

Communication Fundraising Fundraising 96

NonProfit Hub

NOVEMBER 3, 2015

Jack Karako is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub. Jack has 30 years’ experience within the charitable and philanthropic industry that he brings to the forefront with IMPACTism. Jack has been a major gifts fundraiser and senior organizational executive working with or consulting to nonprofit and advocacy organizations. __. It won’t be long until people are watching the ball drop and making the New Year’s resolutions that they inevitably won’t keep.

Fundraising 65

Fundraising Fundraising Communication Education 65

Getting Attention

NOVEMBER 26, 2015

Hey Folks, Jeff Lenney here In this blog post – I wanted to give you Step by Step instructions to Make Money Using Facebook, $100+ a day (Believe it or not, it’s actually quite EASY to make $100, $500 or even $1,000 per day) Let’s start off simple and set a Goal of $100: To […].

Marketing 52

Marketing Marketing 52

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.

Foundations