Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
It’s time to share the results of my 2009-2010 “What I Got When I Gave&# Experiment. The point of this experiment is to see what kind of communications response I get in return for unsolicited donations to national charities. This does not include the automated email receipt that I get from the payment processor; I’m looking for communication from the charity directly.
Selfish Giving
FEBRUARY 24, 2010
Thanks to everyone who came out to the AMA Boston event on Cause Marketing During Challenging Economic Times. It was a great event. As promised, below are links to some of the topics I discussed. What is cause marketing. One thing that was clear from everyone on the panel is that Bonnie , Erica Vogelei from Cone and I all had a different understanding of what cause marketing is.
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Nonprofit Tech for Good
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
The Facebook of February 2010 is quite different from the Facebook of 2009 especially when it comes to Facebook Fan Pages. If you haven’t yet noticed, three very important changes have been made that significantly effect your organization’s Facebook community: 1) Status Updates are no longer guaranteed to get exposure in the News Feed. There is a mysterious Facebook algorithm at play here and I just don’t know what it is, but I do know that with the launch of new Facebook desig
The Agitator
FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Can’t ignore Facebook as a channel for reaching nonprofit donors. Apart from the sheer volume of traffic on Facebook, 112 million unique visitors in 2009, as reported in Online Media Daily , consider this … "…older users remain among the fastest-growing populations on Facebook. Men 45 to 54 showed the highest growth rate last month — with 472,000 joining, or 10.5%, followed closely by women 55 to 65, at 9.4% (391,000).
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.
Fundraising Coach
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
Q: Marc, I’m embarrassed to admit that we don’t yet have a website. But do you have any advice about choosing a domain name? A: Great question! Getting a memorable domain name is a very important step in online fundraising. All fundraising, really. Donors often check out an organization’s website before making a gift. So putting thought into your domain name can help you raise more money.
Care2
FEBRUARY 22, 2010
Since the days of Edward Bernays , marketing has attempted to convince consumers of their hidden desire to buy products. Have fifty years of manipulation run their course? Many leading members of the cause marketing industry feel that consumers are beginning to demand corporations not only provide quality products but also become responsible members of the community.
Nonprofit Leadership Zone brings together the best content for advertising professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Selfish Giving
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
I’m frequently asked what apps I use to stay abreast of the latest news on cause marketing, how I add my two cents and find the occasional prospect. My list is actually a lot shorter than you might think. Tweetdeck. Twitter is my main source of information on just about everything, including cause marketing. Just 18 months ago I read a slew of magazines and three newspapers a day.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
FEBRUARY 14, 2010
The launch of Google Buzz prompted me to better explore the suite of Google Products , and I have to say I was pretty astounded by what I found. Once I started clicking around and adding Gadgets and experimenting with Buzz, Reader, Themes, Maps, Gmail, Google News and hopefully soon Google Voice , it was immediately clear that I was going to start using iGoogle and Gmail much more often.
The Agitator
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
Ethan Boldt at Inside Direct Mail reports these U.S. direct mail stats from the DMA’s new 2010 Statistical Fact Book: Direct mail accounts for 52% of all mail (over half of all mail has been direct mail since 2007). Households receive 24.7 pieces of mail per week (down from a high of 26.2 a few years ago). In terms of mail individuals say they "read immediately" … From federal government, 63%.
Get Fully Funded
FEBRUARY 24, 2010
Since I’m sharing about Special Events this week, I thought I’d post some tips for making them better. Here are 5 tips for maximizing your events: 1. Clearly define each event you hold. This is so important! Is the event a friend-raiser or fund-raiser? Are you having the event to raise awareness? Knowing your purpose will help you set the direction and expectations for the event to ensure success.
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.
Care2
FEBRUARY 6, 2010
Repeat after me. "I will no longer send out fundraising appeals with boring subject lines and long-winded pitches.". In today’s battle of the inboxes, tweets, Facebook updates, text messages, and banner ads flying across the screen, organizations can’t afford to ignore online fundraising 101 strategies to motivate and inspire supporters to donate money.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 26, 2010
Katya Andresen is hosting this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival where the theme is Nonprofit Highs and Lows, so I thought I’d share a story with you that several people have asked me about recently. If you want to know how Nonprofit Marketing Guide really got started, here’s the honest account. Let’s flip back to March 2007. way before the word “webinar&# entered my daily vocabulary.
Selfish Giving
FEBRUARY 5, 2010
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Association of Fundraising Professionals Brown Bag today to hear me, Joanna MacDonald and Dan Curtin , General Manager of Zipcar Boston , talk about cause marketing. As promised, here are my slides from the presentation (at least the most relevant ones). I’ve linked them to several posts that might be helpful to you.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
FEBRUARY 24, 2010
If your nonprofit is experimenting with text-to-give, text alerts and/or smartphone Apps (or planning to), then launching a mobile website is something your organization should seriously consider. If not an entire site, then at the very least your organization should create select web pages that are designed to be easily read on mobile devices. Here are four reasons why: 1.
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The Agitator
FEBRUARY 14, 2010
Lots of very constructive responses to our question of last week: Are Annual Reports Dinosaurs? And it looks like we have a hung jury! One group leans toward more timely and frequent donor communication, including in lieu of "saving it up" for the annual report. Another group says different strokes for different folks … so they wouldn’t necessarily discard the annual report.
Get Fully Funded
FEBRUARY 8, 2010
Are you planning to get major gifts? Or are you waiting for a major donor to just pop up with a large gift? If you really want to get the most ‘bang for the buck’, plan to spend some time cultivating your top 10 donors this year. It can be intimidating to get major gifts when you’re just starting out in fundraising. But here’s the scoop: it’s all about building relationships.
Care2
FEBRUARY 28, 2010
Is your nonprofit reaching women and harnessing their power for social change? If your nonprofit is not actively marketing to women and recruiting them, your organization is missing out on major fundraising opportunities. During last week’s webinar The She Spot – Best Practices in Marketing to Women , Lisa Witter co-author of the book The She Spot and Morra Aarons-Mele of Women Online discussed why women are the market for changing the world and how to reach them. “Women have n
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
Yesterday in “ 10 Donations. 3 Thank-Yous. 7 Failures to Communicate ,&# I shared the results of my recent giving experiment, where only 3 out of 10 national nonprofits acknowledged my gift with a thank-you. These results mimic last year’s , and in the comments on last year’s post, a few people suggested that the fact that the donations were processed by Network for Good may have been part of the problem, because Network for Good may not be the nonprofit’s preferred way t
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.
Selfish Giving
FEBRUARY 12, 2010
Before my sales people head out to close a potential sale I always give them the same piece of advice: Don’t screw it up. But it’s hard not to, and I still do it myself sometimes. Closing a sponsorship deal isn’t easy, especially these days when companies are scrutinizing everything and watching every penny. Here are three tips to make sure that you earn the title of salesperson, instead of that of glorified customer service rep who can talk all day but can never close a deal!
Nonprofit Tech for Good
FEBRUARY 3, 2010
There are currently 133 million blogs worldwide. The world doesn’t need another blogger, right? Wrong. In the short 6 months that I have been blogging, I have come to the conclusion that blogging is the missing piece in a successful social media strategy. Here are five reasons why: 1) Blogging allows your nonprofit to have a consistent stream of fresh, timely new content to Tweet, post on Facebook, etc.
The Agitator
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
Direct marketing pro (and publisher of Target Marketing ) Denny Hatch, who’s seen it all, distilled a ton of experience into this article on direct response copywriting. I’ll summarize some of his takeaways here, but you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t taste the full flavor of Denny’s entire piece (our " edu" readers will be especially tantalized).
Fundraising Coach
FEBRUARY 16, 2010
Q: Hi Marc! You seem to know much about fundraising…any great ideas on a fundraiser for Cub Scouts…we need to raise $1500 for a new pinewood derby track…however the pack is in an area that the people don’t have tons of money…HELP! I need a jump start. TY Katherine. A: Well that seems perfect for corporate sponsorship! You could ask 5 businesses to contribute $500 each and give them recognition on the track (logo or something).
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!
Care2
FEBRUARY 5, 2010
When a nonprofit organization is beginning the process of doing a software implementation (such as a new website, or a new CRM or donation management product,) it is often unaware of the things that might underly whether such a project will succeed, how long it will take, and how much it will cost. Since nonprofits focus on their mission, and not software projects, that is an unknown to them, and understandably so.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
With freezing rain falling and snow on the ground here in North Carolina, it’s time for some hot mixed links! Free Training on E-Newsletters. I’m doing another free conference call for Network for Good’s Nonprofit 911 series, this time on Ensuring Your E-Newsletters are Read – Not Dead – On Arrival This Year. Join us next Tuesday, February 9 at 1:00 p.m.
Selfish Giving
FEBRUARY 2, 2010
Back in September, I introduced you to my friend Beth Pfiel ( @readerbean ) and her nonprofit The Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinson Foundation. Beth had asked for my help creating their first cause marketing campaign , a pinup program with Garden of Eden , a grocer and specialty food store with five locations in New York and one in New Jersey.
Nonprofit Tech for Good
FEBRUARY 10, 2010
Google has been working double-time launching new products over the last few months. From Google Wave to Google Voice , to Social Search and now Google Buzz , I think that now is a good time for nonprofits to reserve a Gmail account if they haven’t already. I haven’t had the chance yet to look too deeply into their products, but I am big believer in nonprofits being proactive and protecting their online brand from squatters.
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.
The Agitator
FEBRUARY 23, 2010
The NY Times had an interesting article yesterday on how Tufts University was inviting applicants for admission to submit YouTube videos as part of their applications. Great idea! While enterprising students have been sending videos with their applications for some time at their own initiative, it appears Tufts is the first school to incorporate online videos into its "official" process.
Fundraising Coach
FEBRUARY 28, 2010
Did you see this free "Movie Mondays" by 501 Videos on How Funders are Changing the Game ? (Sorry. I haven’t figured out how to embed these videos into my blog.). If you want to get the free movies each Monday, sign up at: Movie Mondays. Hurry, a new movie gets posted tomorrow! (c) Marc A. Pitman, FundraisingCoach.com. Learn how you can set up a brand new fundraising program, or re-tool your existing fundraising, to raise serious money for your cause.
Care2
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
“Everyone has three lives: a public life, a private life, and a secret life,&# said author Gabriel García Márquez. This quote “resonates with how we live our lives today, and perhaps how we have lived since the start of human society,&# writes blogger Stowe Boyd. It got me thinking about how much personal info online activists are willing to give up to nonprofits?
Nonprofit Marketing Guide
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
I just wrapped up an hour-long teleconference for Network for Good’s Nonprofit 911 series titled “Ensuring Your E-Newsletters are Read – Not Dead – On Arrival This Year.&# The focus of the call was on creating a newsletter strategy that really provides value for your readers. I created two new pages at Nonprofit Marketing Guide for the call: Making Your Newsletter Valuable to Your Readers , which I used as my speaking notes for the call.
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
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