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'I get calls every week from people that want to start a cause business. Good, intelligent, well-intentioned people who really want to change the world. They call. We talk. I never hear from them again. They never call me again because their business goes nowhere or fails. Here’s why: they put the cause before the business, and violate the number one rule of running one: the best way to help a cause is to be a great business, first.
'We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us. We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us.
'Some of your best learning on social media occurs when you just start clicking around and see what happens. That’s how I discovered three of the four functions below and when I give in-person trainings on Facebook and demonstrate these functions (with the exception of hashtags since the functionality was just launched last week), there are usually quite a few oohs, ahhs, and “I didn’t know that” in the room.
'Earlier this week, I wrote on how to jumpstart your year end giving. In it, I mentioned scheduling your social media updates to complement your fundraising letters. Keeping up with your own blog as well as Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn can be daunting. Never mind trying to add Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and others that keep popping up!
Your financial statements hold powerful insights—but are you truly paying attention? Many finance professionals focus on the income statement while overlooking key signals hidden in the balance sheet and cash flow statement. Understanding these numbers can unlock smarter decision-making, uncover risks, and drive long-term success. Join David Worrell, accomplished CFO, finance expert, and author, for an engaging, nontraditional take on reading financial statements.
'Lots of folks pay lip service to the importance of donor ‘retention’. Far fewer know much about it, let alone do much of anything about it. As acquisition costs rise and response rates plummet, Tom and I have stepped up our rants on retention. In our view, retention is the new acquisition. And it’s welcome news to see the hard work of The Donor Retention Project — a cooperative effort by dedicated folks in our space who have thought and done a lot about retention — result in release
'Recently we asked some of our favorite fundraisers and social do-gooders to share their summer reading lists. If you’re looking for inspiration, here’s a good starting point. The top pick for the summer appears to be Give and Take by Adam Grant. Sasha Dichter , Chief Innovation Officer of Acumen, along with Network for Good’s Kate Olsen and Dan Cohen , put this hot read at the top of the list.
'358 million. That’s how many dollars were collected with checkout programs in 2012. Checkout programs are what I call point-of-sale programs, but I kind of like David Hessekiel’s term better. As founder and president of Cause Marketing Forum , he’s the one who released a study on these programs at last week’s Cause Marketing Forum’s conference in Chicago.
'358 million. That’s how many dollars were collected with checkout programs in 2012. Checkout programs are what I call point-of-sale programs, but I kind of like David Hessekiel’s term better. As founder and president of Cause Marketing Forum , he’s the one who released a study on these programs at last week’s Cause Marketing Forum’s conference in Chicago.
'We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us. We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us.
'Some of your best learning on social media occurs when you just start clicking around and see what happens. That’s how I discovered three of the four functions below and when I give in-person trainings on Facebook and demonstrate these functions (with the exception of hashtags since the functionality was just launched last week), there are usually quite a few oohs, ahhs, and “I didn’t know that” in the room.
'I’m a huge fan of Tom Ahern. The very first time I heard him speak, I learned tactics that transformed my fundraising writing and made it much more effective. He even convinced me donor newsletters could be actual fundraising tools! So when I saw this blog post in his email a while back, I asked him to let me post it for you too. You can see him talk about effective donor newsletters by watching this Movie Monday.
'Is your nonprofit one of a kind? By that I mean, do you do something truly unique … either in terms of mission or strategy for accomplishing your core objective? If you do, you get to begin meeting your fundraising challenge with an enormous advantage. Your market (prospects) presumably readily recognizes you and your distinctiveness. Congratulations, you lucky dog.
Traditional budgeting and forecasting methods can no longer keep pace with today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Static budgets, rigid annual forecasts, and outdated financial models limit an organization’s ability to adapt to market shifts and economic uncertainty. To stay ahead, finance leaders must leverage a future-forward approach—one that leverages real-time data, predictive analytics, and continuous planning to drive smarter financial decisions.
'This week, HubSpot (the popular marketing software company) announced a partnership with charity:water. This team effort will be one to watch for innovative ideas on applying inbound marketing tactics to the world of fundraising. Of course, charity:water has long been a source of inspiration for fundraisers seeking to transform the way they raise money.
'In this episode of Cause Talk Radio , Megan and I talk about coin collection cause marketing with Tim Siffermann , Founder and President of The Siffermann Group. Think nickels, dimes and quarters are no big deal? Think again! Ronald McDonald House Charities raised $27.9 million in 2012 collecting spare change from diners. Tim explains how he took donation boxes from a franchisee afterthought to a strategic charitable powerhouse thanks in large part to third-party administration from The Sifferm
'We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us. We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us.
'The reports listed below are just a small sampling of the research available to nonprofits about online communications and fundraising, social media, and mobile technology. These reports are, however, some of the most valuable in terms of insight, useful and practical data, and how-to advice. If you would like to suggest a report be added to the list, please post the name and a link to the report in a comment below.
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 are making a big mistake when reading studies that show that over 50% of charitable giving happens in December. They are putting off their year end appeals until December! Did you notice that last December? My inbox was flooded with nonprofit emails begging me to give. This is foolish because it’s confusing when donors give with when donors are approached to give.
'Giving USA 2013 , the annual report on philanthropy, published by the Giving USA foundation and researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, was released yesterday. It should please both the ‘glass-half-full’ and ‘glass-half-empty’ folks among us. You can download a summary here. First the ‘good’ news.
'Our guest blogger Amanda Aldrich is Regional Communications Specialist with the American Red Cross of Northwest Ohio. Her experience as a volunteer, board member, executive director and regular-old-employee shape the opinions she shares here, which do not represent those of the American Red Cross. I’m always moving a million miles an hour, and I know it’s likely the same for you.
'So you’ve settled on what you want the brand of your organization to be. Now how do you get everyone in your organization excited about bringing that brand to life? Maybe you have a new logo. Maybe you have a new tagline. Maybe you have both, but neither of these is your brand. Your brand [.].
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.
'We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us. We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us.
'There absolutely is a math to social and mobile media. If your nonprofit has a good content strategy in place and understands the power of integrating all your nonprofit’s communications channels (website, email, Facebook, texting, etc.), then as your numbers grow on social networks so will your e-newsletter and mobile lists which in turn significantly increases your fundraising success.
'As a fundraising coach, I take a critical look at fundraising letters and emails. It’s always thrilling to be pleasantly surprised! Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to look in my inbox and see this email subject line: Email subject line: “You made this happen.” Isn’t that a great email subject line?! I couldn’t wait to figure out what “this” was!
'The Center for Investigative Reporting has just released a series of reports including The 50 Worst Charities and The Failure of Regulation that should both sicken your soul and make your blood boil. A year-long study by a team of investigative reporters from the Center, The Tampa Bay Times and CNN not only names names, it details the 10-year failure of state and federal regulation and enforcement that pretty much assures that the scumbags will continue to operate with impunity.
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.
'This week has been a tough one for me. After more than five years of heavy reliance on one email distribution platform/service, change was overdue. And even though I knew it would be hard work—our list of 30,000 precisely-segmented, long-time loyal subscribers to the blog and e-update is a huge asset for us—I had no idea how hard. I bet you know what I mean.
'The three powerhouses, Guidestar, Charity Navigator, and Better Business Bureau, that foundations, philanthropists, and donors use to seek out information and ratings about nonprofits released an open letter to the nonprofit and foundation world yesterday. They stated that donors should not measure a charity’s performance based on overhead expenses.
'We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us. We''ve Moved! Update your Reader Now. This feed has moved to: [link] Update your reader now with this changed subscription address to get your latest updates from us.
'The reports listed below are just a small sampling of the research available to nonprofits about online communications and fundraising, social media, and mobile technology. These reports are, however, some of the most valuable in terms of insight, useful and practical data, and how-to advice. If you would like to suggest a report be added to the list, please post the name and a link to the report in a comment below.
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.
'I love using Flipboard. It’s a handy app got me back into regular blog reading. This spring, they created a way for users to build their own magazines. It is a simple way for users to curate content. Content curation is a huge life skill, at least for online work. So last month when my wife saw an announcement about a Flipboard magazine making class to teach magazine creation, she encouraged my son and me to take it.
'This is a long, but very, very important post. So freshen up your coffee before proceeding. The other day I received an email from an Agitator reader asking: “Why do you think most fundraisers are so resistant to innovation and change?”. A good question. An important question. I batted out a kneejerk and facile response — ‘risk adverse’ … ‘insufficient resources’ … ’lack of imagination’, etc. etc.
'Thanks to the bloggers at the Ad Council for sharing their expertise here. The Ad Council produces public service campaigns—on behalf of nonprofit organizations and government agencies—on issues ranging from education to community wellbeing and strengthening families. The buzzword “responsive” has been floating around the web design world for the past year or so, especially in mobile contexts.
'With more than 80 million Millennials in the United States, this generation is challenging the status quo, redefining the way that people traditionally get involved with organizations. The ways that Millennials are connecting, participating, and giving to organizations requires nonprofits to question the old logic and adopt new approaches that build relationships with this dynamic generation.
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.
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