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'It’s the question that thousands of nonprofit communications and development staff will be asked over the next several weeks: What’s our version of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge ? Of course, the real questions behind that are “How come we aren’t raising a bazillion dollars online?” and “Why can’t we get our supporters to make videos of themselves about our cause and share them with their friends?
'Photo by Robert Couse-Baker. When was the last time you took a good, hard look at your website? As summer winds down, and we start getting ready for year-end fundraising, you want to make sure your website is up-to-date, easy to read and navigate,welcoming, and audience-centered. How does your website fare? Use the checklist below to find out. Home page.
'In 2013 online giving grew 13.5% according to the Blackbaud Index of Online Giving and 14% according to the Network for Good’s Online Giving Index with small and medium-sized nonprofits are experiencing the largest growth. In addition, charitable giving is at an all-time high in the United States and nonprofits would be wise to invest in upgrades to their online donation service to ensure that they are meeting the needs of today’s online donors. “Donate Now” buttons were laun
'Editors Note: This is the first of a three-part series on how some politicians and their special interest supporters are attempting to intimidate, discredit and destroy nonprofits that oppose them through the misuse of fundraising regulations. Saturday the 9 th marked the 40 th anniversary of President Nixons resignation for abuse of power and process.
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!
'Every week, I send a fundraising coaching email to nonprofit CEOs and Executive Directors. These Kicks are designed to remind them to get out from behind their desk to interact with 5-10 major donors and prospects. I rarely share these Fundraising Kicks with anyone but them. But this week there will be hundreds, possibly thousands, of board conversations about their nonprofit can copy the uber-successful ALS ice bucket challenge.
'Are your social networks full of friends being doused in icy water? You’ve witnessed the #IceBucketChallenge. The “Ice Bucket Challenge” has taken the world by storm, prompting people across the nation to take note of, promote, and donate in support of research and assistance for those diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).
'I’m coaching a fundraising team at a national nonprofit that wants to revamp its annual communications calendar. As part of that process, we are looking at their editorial calendar for their year-end fundraising campaign, which will include direct mail, email, and social media. Before they can develop that plan, however, they have several strategic decisions to make, and this is the time of year to be making them.
'I’m coaching a fundraising team at a national nonprofit that wants to revamp its annual communications calendar. As part of that process, we are looking at their editorial calendar for their year-end fundraising campaign, which will include direct mail, email, and social media. Before they can develop that plan, however, they have several strategic decisions to make, and this is the time of year to be making them.
' . Nonprofit organizations need to find ways to thank donors all year round. One special way to show appreciation is to hold an open house at your organization. If you can’t hold one on site, have it at a restaurant or other venue. You may be able to find someone to donate space. Invite other supporters, too. You could just have an event for donors, but why not invite your email subscribers and your social media followers, too?
'If you have 18 minutes to spare, I implore you to spend it watching this speech. In just 18 minutes Simon Sinek will help you understand that it’s not what your organization does but, rather, why you do it that is important for success. He’ll show you how Steve Jobs used this approach. And, if you take the message to heart, you’ll be inspired to refocus your mission on what’s really important.
'As of yesterday, the high visibility ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ had produced $15.6 million from existing donors, plus 307,598 new donors for The ALS Association. The campaign designed to build awareness and support research for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, goes like this: People make a video of themselves or a friend dumping a bucket of ice water on their heads, post it on Facebook, Instagram or other social media sites, and then challenge friends to do
'In teaching nonprofit social media , I call LinkedIn the "little engine that could.". Started in late 2002, LinkedIn has seen many social media platforms rise and fall. (Anyone remember Friendster or MySpace?) But LinkedIn keeps trucking along. And in my non-scientific experience, it is the preferred social media platform of many executives. They tell me where the other platforms seem a free-for-all of personal information, they like LinkedIn''s focus on work.
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.
'Whether you’re you looking to win support for an issue, impact policy, or inspire donors to take action and give, a campaign rarely succeeds without a solid, thoughtful plan. At Network for Good, we’ve always been big fans of Spitfire Strategies’ original Just Enough Planning Guide as a primer for doing just that, and have featured the Spitfire team in our Nonprofit 911 webinar series.
'This is not a strategy. Just the other day a nonprofit communications director showed me her brand-new marketing strategy. Her organization’s leaders, the executive director and a committee of board members, had commissioned the strategy from a consultant. After several months of work, the strategy was delivered to staff to implement. But the document I saw contained very little leadership or strategy: instead, it was everything and the kitchen sink.
'Remember show and tell back when you were in elementary school? You would bring in something special, such as a shell from a recent vacation, and share it with the class. Nonprofit organizations have their own version of show and tell when they share accomplishments and stories. You need these for your year-end appeal and annual report, so why not spend some time collecting them now.
'Guest blogger, Dennis Fischman left a senior management position at a nonprofit organization to found Communicate! Consulting. We love talking with friends. We hate going to meetings. Why? Too often at meetings and conferences, were listening to people we dont know, talking about an agenda that doesnt matter to us. With friends, we can share not only thoughts and plans, but hopes and dreamsthe things that make us get out of bed in the morningthe things that make us human.
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.
'Editors Note: This is the second of a three-part series on how some politicians and their special interest supporters are attempting to intimidate, discredit and destroy nonprofits that oppose them through the misuse of fundraising regulations. Here’s part one: BEWARE: Oklahoma’s Mini-Nixon. A sinister move is now underway by Oklahomas attorney general and his special interest allies to use the states fundraising regulations in an effort to intimidate or silence the Human
'As a nonprofit board member, it can be challenging to know how to best help your nonprofit. After all, they are the experts. They know their sector far better than you ever will. So how can you help them? 1 simple thing you can do today to help your nonprofit get new donors. Here is one simple thing you can do today. Right now. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/upcoming.
'At Mission Minded we counsel our clients to think of branding as everybody’s job. It’s not only the responsibility of the executive director, or the marketing committee of the board, or the marketing director, (if they’re lucky enough to have one). Once you’ve set the strategy for your brand, everyone who works and volunteers for […].
'Laurel Dykema. Would your nonprofit communications make your English Lit professor cringe? Good! You’re probably on the right track. Today, Laurel Dykema shares some habits she had to change once she started writing for the real world. ~Kivi. Guest Post by Laurel Dykema of Mission India. Confession: I had a lot of bad habits when I started in nonprofit writing.
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.
'Thanks to a partnership with Salsa Labs , Heather Mansfield of Nonprofit Tech for Good was able to report live from the FUSE Conference on August 6-7 in Annandale, VA. Over 250 nonprofits were in attendance represented by staff mostly from the Millennial Generation who actively contributed to the conference hashtag: #FUSEcon2014. Heather also presented two general sessions during which she invited attendees to share via Instagram the most useful piece of advice they gained from attending the
'Nonprofits have been trying to reach millennials effectively for some time now. Some organizations like Ask Big Questions , a program of Hillel International and Do Something have figured it out, while others are still tailoring their strategies. We took a look at a couple of surveys, from Millennial Impact Research and from the infographic, Everything You Need to Know About the Millennial Consumer.
'Editors Note: This is the last of a three-part series on how some politicians and their special interest supporters, through the use of fundraising regulations, are attempting to intimidate and discredit nonprofits that oppose them. Part One — Beware: Oklahomas Mini-Nixon Part Two — Anatomy of a Smear Campaign A key player in the drive by the Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the factory farm/agribusiness conglomerates to silence the Humane
'The Nonprofit Academy Members’ August Webinar. Don’t Wing It! – Major Gift Mistakes Even Smart Fundraisers Make. August 14, 1pm ET (noon CT / 11am MT / 10am PT). In this webinar, Kathie Kramer Ryan will share the critical mistakes often made by even the most seasoned development professionals when working with major donors – and how you can avoid these costly errors!
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.
'Here’s why brand should matter to you: your organization’s brand offers your target audiences a shortcut for: (1) understanding who you are and what value they might derive from engaging with you, and then (2) acting accordingly. Strong brands lead to desired interactions. They quickly attract the audiences who align with their values, appreciate what […].
'Diane Greenhalgh. Diane Greenhalgh joins us again with some more great ideas on creating content for your nonprofit. ~Kivi. Guest Post by Diane Greenhalgh of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. On this blog and in her webinars and book, Kivi talks about how you should try to become your community’s favorite nonprofit because research has shown that people give two-thirds of their charitable donations each year to one favorite charity.
'Andy Robinson provides training and consulting for nonprofits in fundraising, board development, marketing, earned income, planning, leadership development, and facilitation. Along with training people to raise money, Andrea Kihlstedt writes, speaks and coaches about campaign campaign fundraising. Do you dream of a board composed of wealthy people with wealthy friends, people who are fearless about asking those friends for big gifts?
'When asked about his repeated failures to produce a working light bulb, Thomas Edison said, I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. Learning from your failure is invaluable, but that doesnt make failure any less painful. Why? Because, although Edison eventually succeeded, 10,000 failed attempts dont guarantee a working light bulb.
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!
'Last month the ALS Association won fundraising’s equivalent of the Mega Million Power Ball Lottery — picking up 3 million donors and $100+ million in August alone from the “Ice Bucket Challenge”. Then on Friday they blew it. Up until then our tireless Agitator editors were happily and busily white boarding the steps that fortunate organization might take to ensure the best retention possible from this massive burst of flash philanthropy.
'As a fundraising coach, one of the most common questions I get is about how to get new donors for a nonprofit. The question was well summed up in this question from an Ask Without Fear! email newsletter subscriber: "How do I acquire new donors? I find that people keep saying donor acquisition is given way more attention than retention. I find retention articles are a dime a dozen but it is difficult to find quality articles on acquisition.".
'If you are like most organizations, your staff wears many hats. If you are juggling several tasks including managing social media accounts, check out this data about the best times to post updates. However, before you dive into it, it''s important that you remember to look at your own engagement and what the best times are to post for your own organization.
'Sarah Lougheed-Gill is the director of admissions & communications at Walden School , aprogressive independent school for grades pre-kindergarten – sixthin Pasadena, California. Sarah recently went through our communications director mentoring program and shared the changes her schoolmade to their email newsletter as well asthe feedback she got from the parents at her school.
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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