through nonprofit eyes

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2011-10-29T16:04:00.000-04:00

On November 1st 2011, a new social media blog will launch. Set to counter the hyperbole of many social media stories and claims, it will be different from your normal social media blog.

With viewpoints from award-winning bloggers, as well as business and media professionals, the new blog aims to question the status quo and make you think. Ready to be entertained? Sign up below to get in from the start.

SMS / Mobile giving case study

2011-10-06T01:33:00.001-04:00

(from my original post at Marts & Lundy)

In a recent discussion at the CASE Social Media & Community conference, the discussion entitled Future Trends in Social Media identified mobile/text/SMS giving was identified as the topic likely to gain the most in attention and importance before next year’s conference. In the course of the discussion, ideas were considered for how this might work within higher education, but actual examples are difficult to find.

In order to provide a concrete example, I contacted my colleague Howard Heevner at the University of California, Santa Cruz, with whom I have worked on numerous occasions. This past February, while Howard was director of annual giving there, Penn State embarked on its first SMS campaign for its Dance Marathon event. “THON” is the world’s largest student-run philanthropy and raises significant funds to fight pediatric cancer and support those impacted by the disease. The 2011 edition generated over $9.5M in gifts.

So how did the SMS portion of the fundraising perform? Download the full report in our special reports section.

1 Month = 6,000 Donors = 17% of Those Solicited. Really?

2011-10-05T01:24:00.003-04:00

(from a post by Kathy Howrigan @ my firm, Marts & Lundy)

Really. In a recent #fundchat Twitter chat, the topic of multi-channel marketing came up. I mentioned that when I was at Dartmouth College, we did a “challenge” integrating messages from direct mail, phonathon, e-mails, volunteer managers, and anyone else who would talk about it. It was hugely successful, totally exceeding our expectations, so Dan Blakemore asked me to elaborate a little bit — hence my first guest blog post. (We are republishing the blog here in case you missed it at danblakemore.org.)

Sylvia Racca, Executive Director of the Dartmouth College Fund, and I designed the challenge (but it was her idea). I debated sharing the theme and messaging we used for the challenge in this blog post, but as I worked through it, I realized it would be way too long. Anyone who is interested should feel free to contact me for more information.

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The goal: The Dartmouth College Fund’s participation goal for fiscal year 2006 was 50 percent. In February, we realized that we were behind the curve to hit 50%, especially in bringing lapsed donors back on board. To reach this milestone, the Fund needed to increase the number of lapsed donors significantly in the months of April, May and June over previous years. To help achieve our goal, we created “The April Challenge.” More specifically, our goal was to get 4,000 alumni to give in the month of April (note that the record at the time for April donors was less than 2,400).

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The strategy: A “challenge.” Find some leadership donors who would offer to give X dollars per Y donors – no matter the size of the gift.

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The plan: Four alumni challenged the Dartmouth College Fund to bring in gifts from 4,000 donors in April. At each 1,000 donor benchmark, each donor would give the Fund $25,000 (up to $100,000 each).

Because we were concerned that the challenge would only cause regular donors to give earlier in the year – in April and not June (which would get us to our challenge goal but not to 50 percent), we wanted to develop a segmentation strategy for lapsed donors. We knew we needed to do well in these categories. We set goals by solicitation strategy (direct mail, phonathon and volunteer solicitation) and by giving segment (last year donors, one year lapsed, two year lapsed, three year lapsed, four year lapsed, five year plus lapsed and never givers), and used these goals to develop the marketing plan. These goals were applied specifically to each channel as well, and closely monitored all month.
The marketing plan included a direct mail piece sent to 33,424 non-donors, inserts for pledge reminders distributed during April, customized scripts for the student phonathon callers, five e-mail solicitations directing non-donors to our website to make an online gift, and communication with our volunteers. A special webpage, which included a “thermometer” tracking progress towards the challenge goal, was created and promoted through the e-mails, student callers, and on the main webpage.

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The results: The April Challenge final cash donor count for April 2006 was 6,031 donors. The previous record for the month of April was 2,379 donors.

In the end, we did well in all segments, including LYBUNTs, but it was recapturing lapsed donors that pushed us over the top.

1,199 alumni made a gift for the first time in several years and 370 were first-time donors.

The student phonathon brought in a total of 2,058 donors, 121 percent of our goal.

Volunteer teams and direct mail donors equaled 3,973, 192 percent of our goal.

The DCF online giving site saw tremendous activity during the month of April. The number of online gifts increased with each e-mail solicitation sent. The first e-mail solicitation sent on April 4 resulted in 92 gifts in one day, while the last e-mail sent on Friday, April 28 resulted in a total of 555 gifts from Friday – Sunday.

Including the challengers, the April Challenge raised more than 3.8 million dollars.

The Dartmouth College Fund achieved its ultimate goal of 50 percent participation with a final result of 50.8 percent alumni participation. The success of the April Challenge enabled us to reach this milestone.

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Most surprising finding: I was most surprised by the e-mail responses — keep in mind that we were e-mailing the SAME PEOPLE! So the 260 donors on April 28th were replying to their FIFTH e-mail solicitation.

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Why I think The April Challenge was successful:

It was metric-driven, with desired metrics informing the strategies.

Clear and consistent messaging across all channels.

The use of all channels – one direct mail piece and two e-mails would not have been enough.

We provided feedback via callers, volunteers and in e-mails on a regular basis.

There was a clear deadline.

Notice that I didn’t list the challenge funds as one of the factors that made the challenge successful. While this is obviously critical for any challenge, finding donor/s willing to make a significant gift is not enough. The key is to be thoughtful, strategic, integrated and purposeful in how to use that generous contribution.

How Google+ Save The World!

2011-07-10T00:10:00.003-04:00

Please excuse the sensationalism embedded in the title of this post. However, it is done so with good intention. Since Google+ became the latest and greatest (and shiniest!) new toy in social media, various blog postings and articles are eager to tout what's great about the platform, what's wrong with it and - of course - who is most important and popular on the network. Here's a sampling (though I encourage you to only skim these with an eye toward realizing how over-the-top and knee-jerk these posts may be):

Already trying to measure who is the coolest (surely Klout will add this soon and the misinformed world of measuring online influence will get more confused and murky): Circle Count

A knee-jerk reaction to how Google+ appeared initially, though changes will surely follow: The Google Plus 50

How G+ means Facebook is in trouble and Twitter is dead!

Why Google+ will change the world!!!

So what does this mean for your nonprofit? And why is the title of this post just as sensational? Well... the title was to get your attention. Hopefully I still have it. I don't want to mislead you, but rather I want to get your attention and - hopefully - keep you from making the mistake many will make with every new platform: Diving in way too fast.

What this all means for your nonprofit is... Take a deep breath. Learn about the platform. Listen to those using it. Play around as an individual and learn what works and what doesn't. Don't - don't! - make super quick decisions on how to use it.

G+ just may be Google's successful foray into social media (finally... remember Wave? Buzz?). But focus your resources on learning before you dive into the deep end. If you need further motivation to slow down on Google+, Google has announced they'll gradually be deleting non-human accounts (nonprofits, businesses, etc.) until they roll out business profiles at a later date. So if you do too much, it may be for nothing.

To recap - What are the most important things to do in the meantime?

1) Listen & Learn

2) Continue to do well on the other platforms (For example, you should really take a second and like my firm on Facebook) :)

Planning Ahead - April & May Holidays Your #Nonprofit Can Use

2011-03-30T13:41:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your volunteers and team behind National Volunteer Week (April 10-16). Or you could get your staff to take part in National Card and Letter Writing Month, writing to donors. And I'd love to see an organization embrace National Inspirational News Week as a way to kickoff a program that regularly illustrates the positive impact the organization has.

In May, highlights include Donate-A-Day's-Wages Day, International Museum Day, National New Friends, Old Friends Week (Good for using on Facebook?) and Teacher Appreciation Week. If you have any doubts about that last one, make sure you watch this video recently shared with me by Heidi Ketrosey Massey:

So here are some April & May holidays you can use. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of April's holidays you may be able to use:

Adult Autism Day
April Fools or All Fools Day
Arbor Day
Autism Awareness Month
Cancer Control Month
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Earth Day
Every Day is Earth Day
Global Child Nutrition Month
Golden Rule Week
Jazz Appreciation Month
National & Global Youth Service Days
National Card and Letter Writing Month
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
National Environmental Week
National Garden Month
National Go Birding Day
National Inspirational News Week
National Love Our Children Day
National Networking Week
National Park Week
National Parkinson's Awareness Month
National Public Health Week
National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
National Volunteer Week
National Week of the Ocean
Physical Wellness Month
Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month
School Library Media Month
Testicular Cancer Awareness Week
World Autism Day
World Habitat Awareness Month
World Health Day
World Hemophilia Day
World Parkinson's Disease Day

And here's a look at some of May's holidays you may be able to use:

ALS Awareness Month
American Wetlands Month
Arthritis Awareness Month
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Be Kind To Animals Week
Birthmother's Day (Saturday before Mother's Day)
Brain Tumor Awareness Month
Childhood Depression Awareness Day
Children's Book Week
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
Children's Mental Health Week
Clean Air Month
Donate A Day's Wages To Charity
Drinking Water Week
EcoDriving Month
Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month
Go Fetch! Food Drive for Homeless Animals Month
Heal the Children Month
International Day of Families
International Jazz Day
International Migratory Bird Day
International Museum Day
Letter Carrier's Food Drive Day
Loyalty Day
Lupus Awareness Month
Memorial Day
Mother Ocean Day
Mother's Day
National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month
National Anxiety & Depression Awareness Week
National Bike to Work Day
National Bike to Work Week
National Dance Day
National Endangered Species Day
National Family Week
National Hepatitis Awareness Month
National Hug Holiday Week
National Mental Health Month
National New Friends, Old Friends Week
National Pet Week
National Photo Month
National Physical Fitness & Sports Month
National Preservation Month
National Smile Month
National Stroke Awareness Month
National Teacher Day
National Wildflower Week
National Women's Health Week
Neighbor Day
Personal History Month
Reading is Fun Week
Teacher Appreciation Week
Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month
Women's Health Care Month
World Asthma Day
World Fair Trade Day
World Hypertension Day
World Turtle Day
Young Achievers of Tomorrow Month

Pros & Cons

2011-03-04T12:50:00.003-05:00

Pros:

I've joined an incredible team at Marts & Lundy as a consultant.
The work and opportunities have come quickly and are keeping me quite busy.
Did I mention how great the team is at M&L? Incredible collection of experience, but also genuinely good people. I'm loving it.

Cons:

Being busy with everything else has taken a toll on the production level of this blog. I hope to add more soon... really soon.
Any specific topics y'all are interested in?

Enjoy the weekend!

Free Webinar 2/22: Common Social Media Mistakes & How To Avoid Them

2011-02-17T18:25:00.002-05:00

Quick heads up on a webinar I'm giving on Feb 22 @ 1:00 Eastern:

Common Social Media Mistakes, Misconceptions & Missed Opportunites:

This one-hour (including Q&A session) webinar will examine 5 mistakes, 5 misconceptions & 5 missed opportunities for nonprofits' work with social media AND how to turn these around into positive aspects of your social strategy. Not only would I welcome your attendance, I encourage feedback, questions, etc. - If you have any best practice with your institution you would like included in the highlights or follow-up material, let me know. There's quite a bit in the presentation already, but I'm always happy to add more as appropriate.

For more visit: http://martsandlundy.com/webinar.php

Love For Nonprofits

2011-02-14T21:34:00.003-05:00

Just a friendly reminder to show some love to your favorite nonprofits... and to find some new ones to love. Nonprofit organizations make a huge impact on our world and the local communities within. I certainly [heart] nonprofits and hope you do too!

Kenneth Cole Illustrates How Not To Use Social Media

2011-02-03T16:09:00.001-05:00

Wow. Using a tragedy or conflict like what we're seeing in Egypt is no way to promote one's company. This is exactly how not to use Twitter or any other social platform. While Kenneth Cole has tweeted an apology, I'm quite surprised that this was posted in the first place. Kenneth Cole has also posted this apology on Facebook (screenshot below). Make note of the consumer feedback.

This clearly doesn't have to do directly with fundraising, but it should be a reminder for nonprofits to be sensitive in all communications - particularly social media where controversy can spread like wildfire.

Shout-out: Thanks to Lisa Byrne (@lisabyrne) for bringing this to my attention.

Save The Children's Groupon Experiment

2011-02-02T11:33:00.004-05:00

In December, Save The Children (web / Facebook / Twitter / Flickr / YouTube) took the concept of a challenge match for giving on to a new platform for an appeal - the fast-growing Groupon. In case you have missed the explosion of Groupon, it is a deal-a-day site based on harnessing collective buying power for a lower price. For example, Widgets, Inc. may offer to sell their 2011 Widget for $14, when it is normally $20. However, they will only offer the discount if they get 125 people to sign-up for the deal. In theory, this is a win-win... consumers get a price break on something they desire and businesses know that they will only be offering the lower price if they can make up for it in sales volume.

Back to Save The Children... STC had a group willing to fund a challenge gift and agreed to match up to $225,000 of gifts. Rather than send a typical email or mailing about the challenge or ramp up phone calls, STC partnered with Groupon to offer a "discount" on giving - You "make" a gift of $30 for only $15. In order for the deal to kick-in, 200 people had to sign up for the gift. They easily surpassed that total and secured 1,953 pledges to give.

While in many ways, you can consider this campaign a success for the exposure Save The Children received, I was curious whether or not STC considered this a success. Particularly when you consider fulfillment. If 100% of the pledges were fulfilled, which is obviously unlikely, only $29,295 of the potential $225,000 (13%) would be secured. So with my curiosity piqued, I reached out to STC with a few brief interview questions. I am very grateful to Brian Beirne, STC's senior director for internet marketing and communications for taking the time to respond and discuss the Groupon campaign. Here are my questions to STC with Brian's response below:

1) When & how did the idea for partnering with Groupon come along?
2) How did you market the opportunity?
3) Will you continue to use Groupon going forward for donor challenge gifts?
4) Are there any changes you would make if you could redo the campaign?
5) What are your plans to keep the Groupon donors and increase their giving in the future?

We are constantly exploring new ways to get our message out and reach new donors. Noting the considerable press coverage Groupon received during the late Summer of 2010, we first reached out to them in October of last year about a possible partnership. Fortunately for us and for children around the world, Groupon is a very philanthropic organization, founded in fact originally to fund charitable projects as a site called The Point.

In order to offer the discount to Groupon customers, we secured a matching offer from a small group of anonymous donors who agreed to match every dollar raised through the Groupon deal with another dollar. This enabled us to offer a $30 donation for only $15. We communicated the Groupon deal primarily through our social channels, posting it on our Facebook page and Tweeting updates throughout the course of the promotion.

Groupon customers who participated in this promotion have until March 31, 2011 to register their Groupon with Save the Children and opt in to receive future communications from us. Upon registration, a personalized thank you email is sent to the donor. To date, around 30% of participants have registered, and 90% of those are new donors. The deal was only made available to Groupon’s subscribers based in the US. A full analysis will be performed once the registration period ends, but we are very pleased with the early indicators.

There are several options we are considering for future promotions to try and build on this success, including a choice of price points and funding for specific projects and programs – we want to be able to offer the donor as much choice and flexibility as possible. Groupon has a very active and engaged user base, which skews younger than our average donor profile. To be able to engage this group in a fun, innovative way, and to give them the opportunity to help create positive change for children in need in the US and around the world, is a win-win for all involved.

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UPDATE: One thing I forgot to mention - Kudos to STC for trying such a unique approach to fundraising!

Myths of Social Media Fundraising

2011-01-16T18:02:00.002-05:00

In one of my recent Google alerts, I was directed to an article from Greenleaf Project Management titled Using Social Media For Fundraising. As a social media learn-aholic and fundraising professional, I was drawn to the posting. That was the end of the positive experience... Unfortunately, the post illustrated what many social media fundraising 'newbies' and more than a few nonprofit executives think about the channel. Consider this post a bit of a rebuttal.

Per the post:

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"Most businesses and organizations aren’t ready to commit to quite (the extent Ben & Jerry's did by only advertising via social media), but make no mistake, you should not be without a presence on these powerful (social media) sites. Why?

#1: It’s free. Free advertising and promotion! Never, ever turn down free advertising.

#2: The reach is huge: Facebook alone has more than 500 million users, 50% of whom are “active users” who log on every day. Twitter signs up about 300,000 new users every day, according to an article in the Huffington Post.

#3: The number of people who may see your marketing is limitless (“viral marketing”).

#4: Allows your organization to benefit from person-to-person fundraising.

#5: It’s fast and requires little monitoring."

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Let's break these down, one-by-one.

#1: It's free.

No. It's not. If you are going to do social media management and fundraising properly and have any success, it's going to take time & money. This commitment of resources also represents the opportunity cost of not dedicating the resources to other priorities, like face-to-case fundraising, events, etc.

Bonus #1a: "Never turn down free advertising." - Basic marketing should tell you that this is not always the case. Free advertising may not be in a location/channel that aligns with your organization's values. Free advertising must align with the audience you are targeting, your messaging strategy, etc.

#2: The reach is huge.

I find this quite misleading. The potential reach is huge... the reach is only as good as your messaging and your network.

#3: The number of people who may see your marketing is limitless (“viral marketing”).

Ugh. Anyone who tells you that you can plan viral marketing has never tried to do so. A microscopic percentage of postings go viral and those that do generally aren't things you would want to associate with your nonprofit. Here are two of the most popular viral videos of all time... not exactly nonprofit material:

Numa Numa:

Leave Britney Alone!

#4: Allows your organization to benefit from person-to-person fundraising.

Sure... to an extent. But there's a lot of legwork required to make this happen - a support network in your organization, a successful communication strategy that makes the case for support, people willing to champion your cause and ask for gifts, software/data integration to manage the volunteer gift program, etc.

#5: It’s fast and requires little monitoring.

Social media fundraising is far from "set it and forget it," like the good ol' Showtime Compact Rotisserie & BBQ Oven.

If you want to raise money with social media, it is going to require a time commitment and monitoring, so as to develop the conversation and listen to your constituents.

I certainly do not like punching holes in another's blog post, but this one demanded it - there are simply too many myths being perpetuated.

USPS Rate Increase News

2011-01-16T09:49:00.001-05:00

FYI to fundraisers that use direct mail... quick info on postage rate increase from USPS, courtesy of friends at Diamond Marketing Solutions:

The USPS announced (January 13) that they plan to increase rates on April 17, not in May as previously expected.

The increase will average 1.7%, but we expect significant variations by rate category. You will need to check the changes for the specific categories you use to determine the impact on your budget. We hope to have comparisons by rate category shortly and will publish them as soon as they are available.

Postmaster General Pat Donahoe told a group of mailing industry executives this morning that the Postal Service is filing their rate increase request with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) this afternoon. The PRC must approve the rates, but their approval is limited to determining that the proposed rates do not exceed the CPI rate cap (currently 1.7%) mandated by law.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user katmere.

Planning Ahead - February Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

2011-01-11T10:22:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your volunteers and team behind Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 14-18) - By the way, if you're a manager, take advantage of this excuse to surprise your employees with some kindness.

So, about three weeks in advance, to give you a little time to plan ahead, I give you some February holidays you can use. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of February's holidays you may be able to use:

Adopt A Rescued Rabbit Month
Alzheimers and Dementia Awareness Week
American Heart Month
Celebration of Love Week
Children's Authors & Illustrators Week
Give Kids A Smile Day
International Friendship Week
Just Say No to Powerpoints Week
Library Lovers Month
Love Your Pet Day
National African American History Month
National Bird Feeding Month
National Black History Month
National Donor Day - IMPORTANT - this is meant as organ donors.
National Entrepreneurship Week
National Have A Heart Day
National Women's Heart Day
Plant the Seeds of Greatness Month
Random Acts of Kindness Week
Rare Disease Day
Valentines Day
Women's Heart Week
World Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day
World Day for Social Justice
World Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week
Youth Leadership Month

Campaign highlight: UNICEF Haiti365

2011-01-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

I received a nice email from the MLS Works campaign promoting the UNICEF Haiti365 campaign. Well conceived, basic campaign - good art, good message. Worth sharing. Check out the video aspect of their homepage.

The email:

On the web:

Share your own video and be the voice:

On Facebook:

Twitter, @unicefusa:

Be Our Guest: Epic Change's Stacey Monk

2011-01-08T00:02:00.000-05:00

Please welcome our latest Be Our Guest participant - Stacey Monk (LinkedIn). Stacey is the CEO & Founder of Epic Change, which began in 2008. Her previous work includes owning a boutique consulting firm in San Francisco, working in IT strategy at Genentech, working in welfare reform for Santa Clara County, California, consulting for Deloitte and as an arts administrator at a university theatre in Texas. Stacey has her B.A. in philosophy from Catholic University in D.C. and her M.A. in performing arts management from Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy & Management. Stacey's work with Epic Change has been recognized as one of the best social media fundraising efforts. Their projects have included Tweetsgiving, To Mama With Love & Epic Thanks. I am honored to have her take part in the blog - Many thanks Stacey!

What is the biggest challenge your fundraising efforts currently face?

Creating a sustainable, predictable, stable income source. We also have not had any focus at all on grant writing, so we could probably stand to develop a strategy in that regard.

What are you doing to overcome these challenges?

It's one of our top priorities for 2011. We plan to involve our community and design engaging opportunities to transform one-time donors into regular supporters.

What is the most successful change/program implementation you have made in your current role?

Our investments in Tanzania have been very successful, having built one of the top-performing primary schools in Arusha (the picture above is Stacey with students in Arusha). From a fundraising standpoint, I think our To Mama With Love project was particularly successful. (See blog post on To Mama here)

Where do you see social media's best application for fundraising?

It's constantly evolving. I don't think there are great applications for fundraising, per se. Many tools are great for building communities that eventually generate funds for your cause. Tools and platforms that ask people to invest more than money - to invest their hearts (in the form of personal content, stories & emotion) - will, in my opinion, ultimately have the greatest impact.

What book/blog/twitter feed would you suggest fundraisers pay attention to in order to further develop their skills?

@kanter, @amyrsward, @womenwhotech, @askdebra, @tactphil

What question would you find most useful for the readers to answer?

We've primarily been successfully funded through grassroots contributions. What ideas do you have to transform one-time contributors into regular supports? If I get two questions (you do, Stacey!), I'd also ask what the best tools are out there for grant research - where's the best place to start? (Stacey - check out @PamelaGrow)

Are All Charity Websites Bad?

2011-01-06T09:42:00.000-05:00

A recent post at the Chronicle of Philanthropy's page by Saundra Schimmelpfennig has an interesting title - Does Your Charity’s Web Site Keep Donors in the Dark?

I think the general premise of the title is a good one for nonprofits to be asking, but the content of the article is too general - it assumes that nonprofits are all in need of the same type of site. While I do think there are key components of a good nonprofit website - see the 10 Pages Every Charity Website post - it doesn't mean that these will take the same form for each nonprofit.

Schimmelpfennig notes that most nonprofit sites "feature success stories with photos of happy people, information on how little money is spent on administration costs, and a 'click here to donate' button. If charities do include any information on standards, lessons learned, or evaluation results, they are generally so well hidden that few potential donors ever stumble across them."

I'm torn by Schimmelpfennig's comments. On one hand, I understand what I think she is trying to get at - having information that is a notch above the average nonprofit is good for any charity website and that administrative costs are not the end-all-be-all of nonprofit management metrics. I just don't know that the point is illustrated as well as it could be. For instance, one of the most important things I want to see when visiting a nonprofit website is impact. What is this nonprofit doing to meet its goals and improve the world. In many cases, that means photos of happy people. I mean... look how happy I am you're reading this blog:

Schimmelpfennig also notes that the primary source of information for prospective donors is a nonprofit's website. This is important and accurate information. While I appreciate the author's desire to have more about professional standards and organizational structure on a website, I am confident market research would indicate that these are some of the least important factors in a prospect's giving decision.

With regards to administrative costs - there is a problem with this metric in the nonprofit arena and Schimmelpfennig is right to point it out. While sites like Charity Navigator often rave about low administrative and fundraising costs, a strategic nonprofit will not strive for costs to be too low. In order to have long-term success, a nonprofit must invest in things like donor acquisition campaigns - which often cost more than $1 to raise a $1 - and database improvements, etc. If your nonprofit's costs are too low, you will have short-term success, but lack long-term sustainability.

Therefore, guidelines like these from Charity Navigator's Approach To Rating Charities page very misleading to nonprofit management:

We assess four key indicators to determine how efficiently and responsibly a charity functions day to day.

1) Program Expenses: Percent of total functional expenses spent on programs and services. (higher is better)
2) Administrative Expenses: Percent of total functional expenses spent on management and general. (lower is better)
3) Fundraising expenses: Percent of total functional expenses spent on fundraising. (lower is better)
4) Fundraising efficiency: Amount a charity spends to raise $1. (lower is better)

Frankly, all of the statements in bold are inaccurate for the reasons I mention above. Schimmelpfennig notes, "Inadequate information on charity Web sites creates the impression that all that is needed to run a nonprofit program are good intentions, lots of donations, low administrative costs, and a few happy stories." Again, I think illustrating impact and your case for support will help overcome these issues and misconceptions, not pushing nonprofits to have detailed reports online in lieu of... well, pictures of happy people.

Sam Adams, Whole Foods & Your Donors

2011-01-03T14:12:00.002-05:00

I was really struck by a recent post by the awesome Jeff Espositto (web / Twitter / YouTube). In the post, Jeff describes an experience he had searching for a rare Sam Adams brew and how his network, Twitter and Whole Foods came together to save him from going without the new brew. Aside from my love for quality craft brews, I found Jeff's takeaways from the experience worth sharing Through Nonprofit Eyes:

From Jeff's post:

A few weeks ago, I attended the Sam Adams unveiling of their new beer Infinium and ever since have been looking to get my hands on a bottle or two. After striking out a few times at my favorite stores, I shot out a tweet asking if anyone had any insight into stores with the elusive beer in stock. Soon after I received this Tweet from someone who I have never met, but am grateful for:

Shortly after, Jeff received the following from @WholeFoodsRVR:

Talk about listening and taking care of your customers! As Jeff went on to say, he normally wouldn't have shopped at Whole Foods, but did so because of their quick response. They literally gained a customer through being responsive on Twitter. Here are Jeff's takeaways, with my input for a nonprofit perspective:

Grow big ears - I can't count the number of times a potential or former donor has been confused or misinformed about something at a nonprofit and, therefore, has decided not to make a contribution in the future. Every time you see the opportunity to correct misconceptions about your nonprofit, you have the chance to sway someone to "your side" and remove one barrier to giving.
Treat every referral as a potential sale, even if it doesn't look like a large win - This one goes out to all the major gift officers. Some of you are great at this, some of you are terrible at it. In many organizations if the annual giving moves a donor through various gift levels, the donor "qualifies" as a major gift prospect and is shuffled on to a gift officer's portfolio. So on one day the prospect is at the top of the annual giving prospect list. The next day, the prospect is at the bottom of a major gift prospect list. If you're the gift officer and cannot take this relationship to the next level - say so!!! It's okay if you have too many bigger donors/prospects to work with, but it's not okay to ignore this group and let them slip into "midrange donor purgatory."
Go above and beyond - This always goes a long way with donors, particularly if they feel like they are "only" a small contributor. Think of a time a restaurant treated you better than you ever would have anticipated... Have you gone back? I'm guessing you have. Donors can act the same way.
Have fun with the customer - If the situation permits fun and it won't hurt your organization, don't hesitate to illustrate to donors & prospects that you are human! Novel concept, I know, but for large nonprofits in particular, prospects can feel like there's no such thing as a real human. Humor can help when it fits.
Small niceties can turn a happy customer into an advocate - Without a doubt, this is true. When people complain to your nonprofit, it is likely because they actually care about the work you're doing. Otherwise, they probably would not take the time to complain. Therefore, being kind & owning any problems or mistakes can turn that negative passion into a positive, advocating voice for your organization.
Keep hustling - Always. It helps to be passionate about what you do. If you find you're losing steam or not hustling, take time to reflect and figure out what's keeping you from doing so.

Thanks to Jeff for giving me the okay to piggy-back on his original post. The tweet images are from his post and the Infinium picture is from DigBoston.

How Will Your Nonprofit Realistically Use Social Media in 2011?

2011-01-01T23:19:00.002-05:00

Chalk this up as my cynical post. Or an attempted reality check for my readers. Really, I just offer it as a warning for you and your nonprofit's perspective on what social media can do for you in 2011. So I pose this question: How will your nonprofit realistically use social media in 2011? If you could do the time warp to 01/01/12, what are you most certain to have successfully completed?

Can you do a lot with social media? Definitely. Can you raise a bunch of money with social networking tools? Yep.

Take those two questions & answers, sprinkle them with a couple descriptions of current social media trends and you have 90% of the nonprofit social media predictions for 2011.

Here's what isn't always mentioned:

1) Social media can't do it on its own.

Social media is a communications channel and can be an important, productive one. However, for the majority of nonprofit organizations it cannot be the only channel used. Phone, mail, events, face-to-face interactions, etc. all play a role in developing the relationships that lead to gifts of time and financial resources. How these channels work together will be one of the most accurate predictors of your success with social media.

2) A lousy case for support doesn't become great once tweeted. Even if you have someone with "Klout" tweet it.

There are certain building blocks that need to be present for a prospective donor to make a gift, including a solid case for support. Just because you send a tweet saying...

"We REALLY need your $ this week - PLS, PLS RT!!!!"

...doesn't mean gifts will roll in. Your case for support has to be solid and you have to be able to communicate it well.

Take a moment to evaluate your case for support and how well you are communicating this case. Bob Groves (@bgroves3), vice president for university advancement at Michigan State University, often refers to basic tasks like this as "blocking & tackling" - the less fancy aspects of football without which a team will fail. Focus on your blocking & tackling and you'll have more success with your fundraising, communications and social media efforts.

3) Speaking of Klout - it's a lousy metric... don't waste your time on it.

That's my two cents. I truly cannot think of a way nonprofit organizations could use this where the investment of time in moving the metric would be worth the NPO's time. Don't get caught up in this one. Have a great example of how an NPO could or should use Klout? Please let me know and prove me wrong.

With all of that said - HAPPY NEW YEAR! There are plenty of great things that can be done in fundraising and while using social media - just remember that it isn't always easy and it certainly isn't always cheap.

Free webinar w/ @katyan4g & @jocelynharmon

2011-01-01T21:01:00.004-05:00

I don't generally post 'advertisements' (so-to-speak) for webinars, etc., but I know this is a good one, it's cost-friendly (free), and I like the folks putting it on. If you're interested:

Topic: How Strong Relationships Can Increase Fundraising Results in 2011

Join Katya Andresen (@katyan4g) from Network for Good and Jocelyn Harmon (@jocelynharmon) from Care2 as they discuss nonprofit online outreach and fundraising in 2011.

Agenda items:

Network For Good study on giving - the findings
How to strengthen relationships with your current donors
Ways to identify and cultivate new supporters
Where (and when) to focus your online activities

When: Tuesday, January 11th at 1 PM ET

About The Speakers:

Katya Andresen is Chief Operating Officer of Network for Good, as well as a speaker, author (Robin Hood Marketing) and blogger about nonprofit marketing, online outreach and the basics of social media. Katya has trained thousands of causes in effective marketing and media relations, and her marketing materials for non-profits have won national and international awards.

Jocelyn Harmon is Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2.com, where she is responsible for connecting nonprofits to Care2’s 14 million + members so that they can acquire new donors, members and advocacy supporters, online. She is also a recognized blogger and speaker on online marketing for social change. In 2009, Jocelyn was recognized as one of the “Women in Nonprofit Technology Who Rock” by Fast Company. Her personal blog, MarketingforNonprofits.org, is top-ranked on Alltop. She writes a bi-monthly column for Fundraising Success magazine.

>To register, visit this page.

How Driving In A Blizzard Parallels Managing Social Media

2010-12-20T13:42:00.004-05:00

A recent meeting took me to Richmond, Virginia for a couple of days. The journey back was a bit of an adventure... The snow started falling in Richmond around 9:30AM and I started my trek toward the Mason-Dixon line around 1:00PM - enough time for a couple of inches of snow to accumulate.

As basically anyone I talked to from the Richmond area can attest: 2 inches in central Virginia = Blizzard-like driving conditions. Not so much because the roads are more sensitive to snow in Richmond, Fredericksburg and the surrounding areas, but because the drivers are. Once home I sat pondering the trip and the number of accidents I passed (I stopped counting at 10). I found some parallels in how one tackles a social media plan:

1) Go Slow, But Not Too Slow: Proceed at a speed that makes you feel safe, but isn't so slow it will cause your fellow drivers (co-workers, marketing staff, etc.) to run into you.

2) Map Out Your Course: While many of us have become dependent on things like Google Maps and apps to give us turn-by-turn navigation, in a blizzard it is even less safe to be peaking at these while behind the wheel. The lesson? You don't have to memorize your strategy, but you need to know it well enough that you don't have to check it incessantly. This way you will view other campaigns, communications efforts, and opportunities with an eye towards improving your social media efforts. You will be more likely to recognize opportunities for synergy and success.

3) Be Open To Changing Course: It's not uncommon for you to find your planned path - no matter how much thought you dedicated to it - may not be possible halfway through your journey. Resources may disappear due to budget cuts, Facebook may change the way pages work, Twitter may redesign the way a standard profile appears, etc. Be ready to change on the fly. Two things you can plan in advance are: A) Your attitude when the inevitable road block arises - be positive and confident... it's contagious; and, B) Who you will gather to discuss the issues. If you already know you have a group of X people who will discuss such bumps in the path - and they know they are in the group - you will have an easier time organizing the group and finding a solution quickly.

4) Don't Stop Just Because You See Others Running Off The Road: Others are going to make mistakes and go slip-sliding-away. Rather than let it deter you from plowing ahead, learn from their mistakes and pay attention to your efforts. (*You have to love me using "plowing" in this analogy, don't you?!?)

5) Don't Speed Up Just Because You See Others Flying By: Just like others are going to make mistakes, some are going to get lucky and have greater early success than you will. Again, learn from what they have done well and apply it to your campaigns. However, do not skip critical parts of your plan just to "keep up."

6) Follow A Truck Or Plow: Someone likely has better equipment (technology and tools) or more experience with this kind of driving than you do - follow their leadership and embrace the appropriate tools. Let me know if you need help finding this kind of help or consulting. If I can't help you, I will gladly help pair you with the right person for your needs.

7) Be Thankful When You Arrive: Don't overlook the short-term success and show gratitude for all involved in your social media efforts.

8) Be Ready For The Next Blizzard: Keep track of what you did well in your last campaign, hold a debrief meeting afterwards to identify what went wrong, gather it all (wiki?) so that it can help you navigate the drive with more expertise the next time you face a blizzard.

Please note - If you follow these as actual driving suggestions when in a blizzard you are on your own and I'm not liable for any damage or injuries. ;)

Photo by PinkStock Photos, used via creative commons license.

Free Feedback on Your Nonprofit's Website

2010-12-14T08:52:00.001-05:00

You may recall that the post 10 Pages Every Nonprofit Website Should Have generated a lot of feedback (and it still generates numerous visits to this blog). One result of the post was a LinkedIn group entitled "Nonprofit Website Best Practice." One part of the group is regular nonprofit website review. This provides the members of the group with an opportunity to visit various sites and identify tools, ideas and design elements they may want to implement or avoid on other sites.

That being said, I invite you to 1) join the group; and, 2) suggest your nonprofit organization's site for the group's review. Submit your site via the comment section below!

What Lies Ahead For Philanthropy?

2010-12-11T23:02:00.003-05:00

I'm putting together a series of super-brief interviews with philanthropic leaders discussing what lies ahead for philanthropy - challenges, opportunities, technological advances, necessary research, social media's place in it all... as well as any other paths that arise from the answers to these questions.

I have a decent list of names to start with, but I would love your suggestions on who to include. Either email me or post your suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

New Book & Contest for Nonprofits

2010-12-06T10:29:00.005-05:00

So the promotion team for a new book by Carol Cone, Jocelyne Daw, Kristian Darigan Merenda and Anne Erhard, Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding, were kind enough to send me a copy of the book to review. Well, I have not yet been able to tackle the book, but a quick skim has me excited. Of course, any book that gets Beth Kanter's (@kanter) endorsement is likely to be worth reading. So why am I posting about it before I can do a full review? Because of this (from the promotional materials):

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To celebrate the book launch, USA TODAY has donated two national ¼ page ads worth $100,000, which will be awarded to one North American nonprofit organization. In January, the public can vote on the top 10 finalists to decide which will be the lucky winner!

The deadline to apply is ~~December 10th.~~ UPDATED: Now extended to December 17th.

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For more information & to enter the contest, please visit this page. For more on the book, go here or to the Twitter account, @BNonprofitBrand. And good luck in the contest!

Planning Ahead: January Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

2010-12-05T17:12:00.001-05:00

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your team behind Universal Letter Writing Week (January 8-14). I'm going to try and do this about a month in advance every month, to give you a little time to plan ahead. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of January's holidays you may be able to use:

Bird Day
Birth Defects Month
Cervical Cancer Screening Month
Fun at Work Day - Please use this one, it's great for your team!
Healthy Weight Week
Humanitarian Day
Hunt For Happiness Week
I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore Day - Great for asking your constituents to take a stand for your cause.
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day - Not just for art-focused nonprofits. Use art to illustrate your efforts and impact. Remember, photography, children's art... there are many ways to use this one.
International Creativity Month - Is there a contest you can have in honor of this month? Asking for creative campaign or solicitation ideas? Campaign themes?
International Quality of Life Month
Martin Luther King Day
National Cut Your Energy Costs Day
National Glaucoma Awareness Month
National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
National Mentoring Month - Another great one to use internally & externally!
National Poverty in America Awareness Month
National Volunteer Blood Donor Month - If you can, give blood. It's the easiest philanthropic gift you can make (again, if you can).
New Years Day
New Year's Resolutions Week
Thyroid Awareness Month
Trivia Day - Come up with 10 trivia questions about your organization and its efforts - some fun, some illustrating impact and some that are really trivial. Direct folks to the page in honor of Trivia Day (January 4).
Universal Letter Writing Week - Have everyone on your team write a letter to a handful of random donors to say thanks. Or... ask your donors, volunteers & beneficiaries to write a letter to local media outlets and online to highlight your organization.

Reason #4,282 Not to Use Twitter/Facebook as Your Only Source

2010-12-02T13:44:00.000-05:00

Some of you know I'm a big soccer (a.k.a. "proper football") fan. Well, today brought disappointing news that the United States' bid to host the 2022 World Cup came in second place to Qatar's bid. Not a huge surprise, considering what a corrupt and political organization soccer's international governing body, FIFA, is, but I digress...

Given how popular the sport and the World Cup are, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Twitter trends reflected the awarding of the 2018 games to Russia and 2022 event to Qatar. What might come as a surprise? Well... check out the worldwide trends following the announcement:

Qatar is nowhere to be seen... but "Quatar" and "Katar" both make the list. While spelling is not the most important thing in the world (I'm sure there are typos on this blog somewhere, so I'm just covering myself), the fact that these two misspellings made worldwide trends should tell you something about how much thought, research and expertise go into many-a-tweet. Or, more accurately, doesn't go into tweets or Facebook postings. Some will simply pass on information from others as fact, without stopping to consider how accurate the info may be.

Just another example and reason to be careful about using Twitter or Facebook as your sole source for any information.

Photo credit

The Best Nonprofit Fundraising App Ever...

2010-12-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

...is no app at all. Fundraising apps are pointless - you need to engage and inform if you feel like you must have an app.

Sorry to pull a bit of a bait-and-switch on you, but I am surprised how many nonprofits are focused on the creation of a fundraising app for their organization.

This is one of the areas where I believe consumers have different expectations of for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Here are some data eMarketer compiled from mobile app users:

There are some compelling points for the for-profit organizations to create an engaging mobile app, but let's look at it Through Nonprofit Eyes:

What would a potential donor gain from your mobile app if it is only for fundraising?

1) A way to give? Sounds great... but do you have a lot of folks telling you "I was going to give, but there wasn't an app for that?" I may be wrong, but I don't think this is the primary reason folks would install an app, when they could make a gift online via the same phone without jumping through as many hoops;

2) A way for you to pester them about giving? Hmm...

3) Anything else?

I am not claiming there isn't a place for apps in the nonprofit world, but they should be based around the services and expertise provided by the organizations, not strictly making gifts. These type of apps will further inform and engage, which can build a foundation for gifts... but I bet they don't come through an app.

All of this being said, there are some nonprofits doing a nice job engaging folks with apps. Here you go:

Capital Area Food Bank (Austin, Texas) - iPheedaNeed:

Great, engaging app with games, events and impact news. Their president, Debbie Bresette, was kind enough to be a guest of the blog in July. This is easily the most-cited example of a good nonprofit app.

National Public Radio:

An easy way for NPR supporters and listeners to keep up with NPR programs and news. Just another way for folks to be engaged by NPR and - hopefully - be more likely to give when the ask comes.

The Recession: Is It Getting Better for Nonprofits?

2010-11-30T15:50:00.001-05:00

While I still am cautious about what lies ahead for nonprofits (I am anxious this December won't bring the significant spike in giving that we have seen in years past) at least one report indicates the worst of the recession may be behind us.

The November 2010 Fundraising Survey is a collaboration between Guidestar, the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Blackbaud, and the Foundation Center.

Between October 19 & November 3, 2010, representatives of 2,356 public charities and 163 private foundations took the group's online survey. The following is a modified excerpt from Guidestar's release.

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The results are encouraging:

The proportion of participants reporting decreased contributions dropped 14 percentage points, from 51 percent in October 2009 to 37 percent in October 2010.
The percentage who said contributions had increased grew 13 percentage points, from 23 percent in October 2009 to 36 percent in October 2010.
Larger organizations, those with annual expenses of $1 million or greater, were more likely to report increased contributions.
For the eighth consecutive year, a majority (68 percent) of participants reported increased demand for their organizations' services.
Half of the organizations represented in the survey receive the bulk of contributions during the last quarter of the year, the period known as the giving season. Of this number, 36 percent predict that contributions received during the fourth quarter of 2010 will exceed those from the last quarter of 2009, 43 percent expect end-of-year contributions to be about the same as last year, and 22 percent anticipate that end-of-year contributions will be lower.
Nearly half (47 percent) of participants expect their organizations' budgets to increase next year.

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The last bullet is the one I find most encouraging. While giving will have its cycles, the fact half of the participants are healthy enough to predict increased budgets is great news.

What do you anticipate happening in the months and years ahead? Is the worst behind us?

Image courtesy of Guidestar.

Best Practice: Thanksgiving Email Illustrating Impact

2010-11-24T11:55:00.001-05:00

As you might imagine, I get a number of Thanksgiving messages - email, social media, mail. I thought I would highlight one or two that best caught my attention, with a few insights. The first post was regarding an email I received from Earthjustice. The second post was about the EpicThanks campaign. This third post highlights a great email from Defenders of Wildlife that does an excellent job illustrating the impact the organization and, in turn, its donors had during the past year. Here is the email:

A few notes on the email:

Great focus on impact, including links to five varied stories - at least one of which is likely to appeal to the recipient's passions.
The three images at the top make it more likely that the reader will connect with one of those animals, if not all three.
I appreciate the image of the organization's president, as it puts a personal face on the message and the organization.
The P.S. is a nice 'gift' to the recipient, but also engages the reader on an on-going basis, if they download the free wallpaper. There are actually 33 different wallpapers to choose from. Since I've always been a fan of otters - here's a look at my favorite:

Kudos Defenders of Wildlife!

Best Practice: Thanksgiving Campaign @EpicChange

2010-11-23T15:52:00.000-05:00

The @EpicChange campaign is well documented and often cited as an early example of putting Twitter to use for social change. If you've heard the term "Tweetsgiving" you have @EpicChange to thank.

Here is how they describe themselves online:

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Epic Thanks is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. Founded in 2008, the original TweetsGiving celebration was imagined and implemented by six volunteers in six days, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as thousands of grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream.

But the truth is TweetsGiving was never about twitter or social media. It's about the gratitude in our hearts, and the transformative power our thankfulness can have when we share it with one another. It's about cultivating a deep sense of for those remarkable souls who create hope in our world. That's why this year, TweetsGiving becomes Epic Thanks.

Over the past two years, from the gratitude of thousands, this global event has built two classrooms and a library in Arusha, Tanzania, where the twitterkids, led by local changemaker Mama Lucy Kamptoni, learn and grow at one of the best primary schools in their country.

This year, the celebration will spread to honor even more changemakers in other parts of the world. Stay tuned here to be the first to find out whose hopeful dreams we'll invest in this year.

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This year's campaign looks great and will hopefully celebrate similar success over the next few days. Here's a look at the campaign:

Campaign email:

It's engaging, acknowledges that I have participated in the past and immediately encourages me to get involved again. The only negative? For some reason, the one image doesn't load in any of the browsers I tried.

The website:

You can post to Twitter or Facebook and immediately show gratitude and promote the campaign. You can also personalize your own thank you card (see below).

Tweet:

Facebook:

Thank you note generator:

Best Practice: Thanksgiving Email

2010-11-23T12:42:00.002-05:00

As you might imagine, I get a number of Thanksgiving messages - email, social media, mail. I thought I would highlight one or two that best caught my attention, with a few insights. This first post is regarding the email I received from Earthjustice. It was simple, to the point and linked to an impressive video. Here's the email:

My only complaint is that the unEARTHED component asking what I am thankful for is not more prominently featured. It looks like an afterthought at the end of the message... which could be interpreted as Earthjustice not caring what I think (NOTE: I don't think that's what they think).

How The Rules of Dating Apply to Your Donor Relationships, Part II

2010-11-22T10:28:00.002-05:00

It's no secret that there are parallels between wooing a donor and a date. So how well do the rules of dating apply to your donor relationships? Here's a two-part #ThroughNonProfitEyes look at TopDatingTips.com's dating rules. Part I was about the Do's of dating and Part II dives into the Don'ts (a few of which did not have good fundraising parallels and were, therefore, excluded):

Part II: Dating Rules -- Don'ts

1. Don't call, text message or email someone you've just started seeing more than once a day unless they reply (or in the event of an emergency).

Just like a new love interest, a new donor should be treated as if they may disappear for someone better at any second. Smothering a new donor with too many appeals or emails can be a big turn-off, but so can no communication at all. Say thank you, illustrate impact, but don't ask too much too often.

2. Don't date the kind of people who've hurt you in the past.

Like in the "Do's" section, where I suggested using data models to find those most likely to support your organization, you can do the same to find those least likely to give. You can then remove them from your appeals, if you need a way to limit your costs.

3. Don't be late for a date.

A friend of mine once discussed having made gifts to her and her husband's three combined alma maters on the same day. One sent them a thank you note in less than a week, one in two weeks and one in six weeks. Don't be late with your stewardship efforts.

4. Don't lie to your date or about any aspect of your life, even if the truth isn't as sexy or you're worried they won't like it.

This should go without saying, but be honest and transparent in your communications. Imagine a donor giving to an annual fund and thinking that she is supporting student scholarships or food for a soup kitchen and later learning that the funds were actually going to fund a fancy board meeting - not the news your organization would be looking for.

5. Don't be rude or get drunk on a date.

If you do make a mistake in your constituent communications, own the error and be polite. Courtesy and manners will get you everywhere - on a date or with donors & prospects.

6. Don't give out personal information like your home phone number or address on the first date.

Okay, on this one I am actually going with the opposite - make sure your appeals, communication pieces... everything, has contact information for your organization available for the recipient.

7. Don't have sex on a first date.

I have worked with nonprofits that celebrate every gift. It is good & important to appreciate every gift. However, if you steward your $10 donors like they are $10M donors, you are going to create extremely high stewardship expectations or - worse - make the donor question your use of the charitable support. So... don't give everything you have in your stewardship toolbox away to donors right away.

How The Rules of Dating Apply to Your Donor Relationships, Part I

2010-11-21T10:31:00.001-05:00

It's no secret that there are parallels between wooing a donor and a date. So how well do the rules of dating apply to your donor relationships? Here's a two-part #ThroughNonProfitEyes look at TopDatingTips.com's dating rules. Part I is about the Do's of dating and Part II dives into the Don'ts. Part II will be posted later this week.

Part I: Dating Rules -- Do's

1. Do try to always look your best and be punctual.

Don't be sloppy with your appeals and engagement efforts. Make sure you are double- and triple-checking your copy. If you are in a decentralized environment, swallow your pride and do everything you can to break down the silos and coordinate the timing of mailings, emails and other communications. Nothing can turn off a prospect like overlapping, clearly poorly coordinated or timed appeals and messages.

2. Do try to enjoy yourself on dates.

For a lot of nonprofit practitioners, the work of soliciting donors and prospects becomes, well... work. This is okay and understandable, but it can often blind us to the positive work our organizations do - and the joy we should feel in helping move our organizations forward.

3. Do compliment your date on how he or she looks.

Yep... complimenting your donors can go a long way to renewing them - tell them how great they are and how much it impacted your organization that they gave their time and resources to your organization, before asking for another gift.

4. Do be interested and interesting.

From the original Dating rules: "Ask questions, share insights and pay attention when your date is telling you what they like to do, read, watch, listen to, etc." This is virtually dead-on for your donor relationships. You need to ask questions (focus groups & surveys), share insights (keep your prospects & donors informed) and pay attention to what you're being told (respond to requests, apply research findings to your messaging, timing and strategies).

5. Do tell someone directly if you're not interested in seeing them again.

Okay... I'm not exactly sure how to parallel this one, to be honest. I would advise you not to tell your non-donors you want nothing to do with them.

6. Do date only people you're attracted to, no matter what your friends say.

Low on resources? Use data-modeling to find the prospects most likely to give, a.k.a. most attractive to you.

7. Do stay positive, even when dates don't end well.

If prospects ask you to be removed from your lists or appeals... or they simply reject your appeals, take the high road. Respect requests to be removed from lists, follow-up to disgruntled prospects with sincerity, and make sure you have data processes in place to ensure donor requests for communication will be honored.

8. Do plan ahead.

Almost any appeal - email, phone, mail, face-to-face, events - will be less successful if you do not plan ahead. And in most cases, your audience will be able to tell your planning was lacking.

9. Do be proactive about finding people to date.

Make sure you are putting aside time to reconsider your approach to acquiring new donors. Ask your non-donors why they don't support you. Better yet, ask your previous donors who didn't renew why they failed to do so. Look at various parts of your program and think about unique sources of prospects you haven't considered before. (Ex: University of Texas soliciting Gone With The Wind fans)

10. Do surround yourself with positive, like-minded people who are dating, too.

One of the best resources you have available to you are peers across the globe who face similar challenges. Benchmarking and peer-networks can be critical to helping you brainstorm new ideas, escape the creative vacuum of your office, and have a resource to call when faced with a challenge. Don't have any current peer connections? Conferences, community meetings and social networking can help you take the first step. If you aren't sure where to start, let me know and I will do my best to introduce you to a handful of resources.

Get Your Whole Team To Say Thanks This Week

2010-11-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

There's going to be a lot of talk this week about saying and giving thanks this week. But rather than just talk about it... randomly assign 5, 10 or 15 donor names to all of your staff - all of your staff - and have them call these folks to say "thank you" or leave voicemail messages with a message of thanks.

A few thoughts:

I mention that it should be all of your staff. It is easy for the "back room" staff that are a few degrees of separation away from face-to-face donor interaction forget that they are an important part of the fundraising team. If only your gift officers do the thanking, it will only entrench this mindset.
Pick some random donors that are from lower gift levels and different demographics (ex: younger donors) to thank. It will go a long way with those donors you call and those doing the calling to remember that it isn't just about the major gifts.
Resist the urge to turn this into an immediate ask - this should be about saying "thanks" and listening to anything else the donor cares to share.
It should go without saying, but make sure you have the donors' information in front of you when making the calls - you should know where the donors' respective gifts went and what impact you can report.

Side note: If you're the boss of your organization or a team - make sure you take a minute to share a sincere thanks with your employees this week. Along those lines - thanks to all of you who work to make the nonprofit sector successful. You make the world a much better place.

Are you an Idealist? Are you on Idealist? Do you follow @idealist?

2010-11-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

I imagine most of you are aware of Idealist.org, but I was fine-tuning some of my email alerts and was reminded just how many tools are available for anyone and everyone involved with philanthropy. Therefore, it's our #FollowOfTheWeek.

You may fit a few of these categories, but here are the cliff-notes on what you can do on the site:

Organizations: You need to make sure you are listed on the site and use it to recruit volunteers, find consultants, promote campaigns & events, and post job openings.

Job Seeker: Check out the job listings, Idealist's guide to nonprofit careers, - also worth considering volunteering to get a foot in the door at potential employers.

Gift Officer: Broaden your base by volunteering outside your circles, but in similar organizations to yours. Also, recruit volunteers and board members through the page.

Consultant: Did you know you can list yourself in a searchable database? This allows "one-stop-shopping" for orgs to find you as their perfect match.

Aspiring Student: Thinking about graduate school? Check out the Public Service Graduate Education Resource Center.

Teacher: On the other side of the educational equation? Visit the resources for teachers.

Everyone Else: Are you a practitioner who doesn't fall into any of these categories? You still can gain from the Idealist page - Visit the general resource page to learn more.

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Idealist on: Web / Twitter / Facebook / MySpace / LinkedIn

The Key Personality Traits of a Successful Fundraiser

2010-11-14T22:03:00.002-05:00

Adam Grant, Ph.D. is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School... and he's an all-around great guy with unmatched energy and passion for his work. (Note: I have not seen Adam in person since he became a father, so it is possible sleep-deprivation has robbed him of some of this energy, but I doubt it!) He has conducted extensive research on the motivational factors and personality traits that influence a fundraiser's success.

A few years ago, I had the good fortune of working with Adam on such research as related to student callers employed by the University of Michigan's fundraising programs. Here were the two key questions of the research:

1) Are there key personality traits we could seek when hiring student callers that would make their success more likely?

2) Would hearing the story of scholarship recipients motivate student callers to make more calls or raise more funds?

This post explores the findings behind question #1. So what traits initially come to mind for you when asked the question:

Here's one common answer:

Other common answers, when Adam and I have presented these findings, have included:

- Agreeableness
- Altruism
- Conscientiousness
- Emotional stability
- Extraversion
- Open-mindedness
- Self-confidence
- Self-esteem

And you know what? None of these matter when examined individually. However, two of them matter when simultaneously present in a fundraiser:

Conscientiousness + Extraversion = Improved Results

In the first week on the job, look at the difference between the conscientious extraverts and the other callers:

That's a significant difference, obviously. So have you considered applying personality trait tests to your hiring practices? It is a common practice in the for-profit world. For more on this research and its findings, see a full presentation on the topic here.

UPDATE: Please note - I am not necessarily suggesting that these two traits are the best for all development positions, but rather that the science of personalities could be a successful tool for using in your organization's hiring practices.

Nonprofits: Using a Web Toolbar?

2010-11-12T15:02:00.001-05:00

The use of web toolbars like Wibiya's have become more popular lately (If viewing this page on a computer, you can see an example at the bottom of your screen). I have seen them on many blogs and various other pages. However, I have not yet seen many nonprofits using the idea to engage visitors. Have you? If so... share in the comments section.

How could your nonprofit use a web toolbar to further your cause? Let's take a look at this toolbar from GoPSUSports.com:

Note the following items (Click on the image if you need a larger version of the picture):

1) Logo

2) Schedule of events

3) Buy Tickets

4) Get Gear

5) Social Media links

Now let's consider what those applications could be for your nonprofit?:

1) Logo: You could use your current logo, a campaign-specific logo, or - for the more daring organizations - the likeness of your leadership, beneficiaries or a prominent supporter. Example ideas:

Robert Redford or Bono at the bottom of the NRDC.org and One.org pages, respectively;
A local Habitat For Humanity's president, in her construction gear, on the home page;
A scholarship recipient on a university annual fund page; and,
Campaign lead-donor or honorary chair at the bottom of a capital campaign page.

2) Schedule: What a great way to engage visitors and keep them involved with your organization - a scrolling schedule of events, which you can click upon for more information.

3) Buy Tickets - Translation: "Make a Gift": What a great way to have a giving button on every page, prominently located in a you web toolbar.

4) Get Gear - Translation: "Volunteer / Get Involved": You may sell shirts, DVDs and other items, in which case a store link may work. That being said, a "get involved" link would be a great way to get visitors who aren't making a gift engaged with your organization.

5) Social Media Links: This is a given. At least I hope it is. This is a great way to keep people engaged with your organization on media where they already spend a lot of time.

So what are your thoughts? Have you put anything like this to work? Or do you now plan to do so?

Best Practice: Creating & Revealing An Event's Logo

2010-11-10T01:32:00.000-05:00

Those that follow this blog know that I have a special place in my heart for Penn State's Dance Marathon - a.k.a. THON. My second semester of undergraduate studies I was introduced to THON and it changed my life, literally. It introduced me to philanthropy which has been my career focus since finishing my degree at Penn State.

What is THON? Well... it's not your everyday dance marathon. I know the phrase 'dance marathon' conjures up visions of 30 kids in a high school gymnasium. At it's core, that is what THON is, but on a much larger scale.

It is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world and raises significant funding for The Four Diamonds Fund, which helps children with cancer and their families.

Summary of last year's event from thon.org: THON 2010 saw record participation in the 5k, record traffic to THON.org, and all-time high interest being a THON volunteer. With the theme of "Love Belongs Here," more than 300 Captains, 700 dancers, 3300 Committee Members, and 15,000 student volunteers made it THON's most successful year yet. THON 2010 raised $7,838,054.36 For The Kids!

One of the exciting parts of the THON year is when the new logo is revealed. This is a great example of engaging volunteers for talent (the logo is designed by graphic design students), using the logo itself to engage participants, supporters and beneficiaries, & promoting the event through work that the organization would be doing anyway. As you know by now, I have incorporated some of my favorite logos from over the years throughout this post.

Check out this video to learn more about this year's logo:

Best Practice: Engaging Volunteers to Illustrate Impact

2010-11-07T00:02:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, I like the work the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation do to fight for a cure for spinal cord injuries. @ReeveFoundation tweeted Saturday:

Which led to a great example of using a volunteer's point-of-view to illustrate your organization's impact. Here is the story from the link:

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Suzan Schumacher (pictured here with her family) sent this to us. She can't wait to run 26.2 miles on Sunday. Go figure!

Why I Run the NYC Marathon with Team Reeve 2010:

The mission is close to my heart. I am the Mama Bear of a wonderful pack--son, Eric (left), daughter Tina (right), and son-in-law Josh (center).

Here are my top 10 reasons:

10. I love running

9. I love my husband, Gary

8. I love running with my husband Gary

7. New York City is cool

6. Running with my husband in New York City is cool

5. I love my kids, & my son-in-law who is paralyzed

4. I love to do things that make a difference in my kids' world

3. Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is making a difference through their research for 6 million people who are paralyzed

2. I want to increase awareness about spinal cord injuries and raise money for research, treatment, & technological advances to assist the paralysis community

1. If it weren't for technological advances, we would be running with boom boxes on our shoulders instead of ipods

Thanks Suzan! Good luck.

If you want to show your support, make a contribution to Suzan's Team Reeve page now.

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It's simple, direct and powerful. It let's you know why this person is willing to run 26.2 miles for the organization. Have you done anything similar? Any other examples to share?

Planning Ahead: Dec. Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

2010-11-06T11:27:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns or internal management - such as getting your team behind National Write A Business Plan Month (December). I'm going to try and do this about a month in advance every month, to give you a little time to plan ahead. If you're interested in planning further ahead or reviewing some of the guidelines on making these holiday campaigns successful for your organization, make sure to visit the original page.

Here's a quick snapshot of some of December's holidays you may be able to use:

Coats & Toys for Kids Day
Day With(out) Art Day
Human Rights Day
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
International Human Solidarity Day
International Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development
National Write A Business Plan Month
Special Kids Day
Tolerance Week
Universal Hour of Peace Day
Universal Human Rights Month
World Aids Month
World Peace Day/Winter Solstice

Adopt a Nocturnal Creature. No really.

2010-11-05T23:02:00.004-04:00

Yep, it's a week late... but I had made note of this email when I was on the run and didn't want to not give it kudos simply because my busy schedule and travel got in the way.

As you might imagine, I am on a number of nonprofit email lists. That being said, it takes something for me to really dig an email. This was one of them - I like the idea of adopting a bat for Halloween (as much as a kid might not like getting that at your doorstep!). Enjoy - Kudos Defenders of Wildlife (@Defenders)!

How Active Is Your Nonprofit's Leader on Social Media?

2010-11-04T11:22:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, a Weber Shandwick study concluded that 64% of the CEOs at the world's largest companies were not social online. How about your nonprofit? Is your CEO/Executive Director/President/etc. active on social media? Well... let's start with the basics... Does he/she have an account with any of the big boys (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)?

If he/she does have one or more of these accounts, what is he/she doing with it? Is he/she using it or is there a random intern who "gets" social media that manages the accounts? Is the CEO blogging anywhere? The level of social media use among nonprofit leaders is this week's poll question. I will follow-up with results, thoughts and best practices once the poll closes.

Poll:

In the meantime, here are some of the findings from the Weber Shandwick study:

Over nine out of 10 CEOs in the world’s top 50 companies (93 percent) communicated externally in traditional fashion: 93 percent were quoted in the major global news and business publications and 40 percent participated in speaking engagements to an external, non-investor, audience.
Online communications did not fare as well among this executive set. Most CEO online visibility is limited to what is said about them on Wikipedia, the web-based collaborative encyclopedia which CEOs and their communications teams are not responsible for. Removing Wikipedia leaves the online CEO space rather barren—only 36 percent are engaged through their company websites or in social media channels in any way (e.g., CEO messages on company websites, video/podcasts on company websites or company YouTube channels, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, company-affiliated blogs).

Who Is a Social CEO?
A sample of the characteristics of Social CEOs as identified by the research:

Social CEOs are multi-users. When they engage online, social CEOs employ more than one channel, with 72 percent using more than one channel (on average, social CEOs use 1.8 channels).
Social CEOs are more tenured. Newer CEOs (3 years or less) are less likely than those in their middle (3 to 5 years) or later period of their tenures (more than 5 years) to engage online—30 percent vs. 38 percent vs. 43 percent, respectively.

Original version of title photo (without icons) from Heliotrop3's Flickr photostream.

CEO graph from Weber Shandwick press release.

The Nonprofit Ferris Bueller Experience

2010-11-01T13:49:00.001-04:00

So about six months ago there was a buzz created on Twitter & Foursquare when someone setup fake accounts for Ferris Bueller and some of the other characters from the classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The exciting part about this "event" was that the person behind the accounts paid special attention to live out the day on Twitter as if Ferris & Co. were tweeting the day away during the movie. Tech Crunch (@TechCrunch) provides a good summary of the event.

Ever since, I've had an email from my sister with the TechCrunch link in my inbox, trying to think about how this fun form of engagement could be used to benefit a nonprofit. I finally have a few ideas to share:

If you're in the arts sector, have key members of your performance (conductor, musicians, actors & actresses, lighting director, etc.) tweet throughout the performance. On top of this, encourage attendees to - GASP! - tweet during the show! At the end of the performance, post some of your favorites from the audience on a screen and giveaway a few prizes for fun.
In education? Have characters tweet throughout the first day of classes, the start of finals week, spring break, graduation, etc. - In a similar fashion to the art example, you can post favorites at various events. You can also promote these feeds to parents & families to engage them in what their sons & daughters may be experiencing.
And then there's my idea for any nonprofit, provided the resources are in place to support this communications effort - Have your CEO/President "take the day off" and parallel Ferris Bueller's adventures... just enough of a parallel to be recognizable as a play on the movie, but working in tidbits about what is great about the organization. A food bank CEO might get Abe Froman (sausage king of Chicago) to donate food to the food bank. A youth group executive may be excited about heading to a Cubs game, only to lament not being able to take some of the kids from the group.

What are your ideas?

Bueller?

Post your ideas in the comments section below.

Buy How To Become a Nonprofit Rockstar Now!

2010-11-01T09:01:00.001-04:00

As I previously reviewed, Rosetta Thurman & Trista Harris have a new book and it is out today! You can purchase How To Become a Nonprofit Rockstar here.

Random Donor & Prospect Thoughts

2010-10-29T11:11:00.000-04:00

Eric Hoover, a senior writer with the Chronicle of Higher Education, shared a post yesterday on the Chronicle's Head Count blog titled Random Student Thoughts on Admissions. It had some interesting tidbits and made me think of the parallels between college admissions and non-profit fundraising efforts... So here's a look at the topic, Through Nonprofit Eyes.

If your nonprofit has more than one person involved in its operations, you are almost certain to have multiple opinions on what your prospects and donors would like. This can be in terms of appeals, newsletters, events, investments, leadership and a wide variety of other topics. If you have heard phrases like these, you understand what I am referencing:

"We need to email our donors more. I hear from XYZ nonprofit all the time and I don't mind."
"Our constituents do not like to be asked for money."
"Our constituents won't like that mail appeal - I can't stand the way it looks."
"I got this [appeal/mailing/email/etc] from ABC nonprofit and loved it - We have to do it too!"
"We should only send email and those Twitterer things to our young prospects."

While people are naturally drawn to designs, appeals, etc. that they like, you are only one person - an "n of 1" in experiment terms - and your opinion may not reflect that of your prospects. No matter how well you think you know them and how much you think they are all like you!

But in the absence of other information and data, nonprofit administrators will often fill the void with their own opinions. That being said... it is good to remember to listen to your donors and prospects.

Hoover's post about college admissions included quotes from various students. Here is a sampling - Can you see the potential parallel to nonprofit stakeholders?

Dakota Kornicker, a senior at Hunterdon Central Regional High School, in New Jersey, on recruitment emails: “I love getting emails from your college, but I don’t like getting three emails in one day.”
Christine Johnson, a senior at Cypress Lakes High School, in Houston, on recruitment mailings: “I find a lot of the stuff I get in the mail from colleges to just get in the way and kind of make me mad … even the short letters from deans saying ‘I’m interested in you’ didn’t really mean anything to me.”
Alexander Moskowitz, a senior at Cherry Creek High School, in Colorado, on the value of admissions interviews: “A personal interview shows students that you’re interested in them and that you’re giving them a chance.”
Anne Kaplan, a senior at the New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies, on colleges’ using social-networking sites: “Facebook is the last place I want to see a school.”

Obviously there are likely to be similar opinions within your constituency. But how do you know? You ask and you listen. I think you'll find many are happy to be engaged. Even those who are unhappy about some aspect of your organization will be happy that the opinion or complaint is actually being heard.

Do you think Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Toyota are conducting marketing campaigns based simply on what the CEO or Director of Marketing likes?

Then why should your nonprofit?

image from ilisten(dot)com

Follow: @BeTheMatch

2010-10-29T00:53:00.000-04:00

This week I met a woman who is organizing a bone marrow drive to help her business partner's mother fight leukemia. I offered to help with the fundraising and donor recruitment... so this week's #FollowOfTheWeek is also a part of my research for that drive: @BeTheMatch

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Twitter: @BeTheMatch
Name: National Marrow Donor Program
Web: www.BeTheMatch.org
Bio: Be The Match helps save lives. Thousands with life-threatening diseases like leukemia or sickle cell depend on BeTheMatch Registry to find a bone marrow donor.
Followers: 3,022 + you!
Why Follow? Bone marrow donation is a life-saving activity. However, there are still many challenges to finding enough participants. Follow @BeTheMatch to see some great recruitment and engagement of constituents.

@BeTheMatch is also on: Web / Facebook / Blog / LinkedIn / Flickr

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Some screenshots and examples follow - enjoy!

Twitter page:

Great Facebook page for involvement:

Home page:

An outstanding page for taking action. The only problem? It's not prominent on the front page. For example, social media icons & links to BeTheMatch on Facebook and Twitter are not evident when you first visit the page.

A YouTube video via Shaq:

Fundraising Campaign Mixed Messages

2010-10-28T00:02:00.000-04:00

I was in the grocery store a few weeks ago and saw a bag of potato chips with the seemingly omnipresent pink ribbon on it. It was a moment where I was almost pushed over the edge with regards to how many products are now associated with Komen For The Cure and other breast cancer organizations.

Let me be very clear: I would never argue against fighting breast cancer, cancer research or other such organizations.

That being said, seeing the chips led me to type a tweet along the lines of "How long until we see a pack of Marlboro's with a pink ribbon on it?"

...but my better judgement kept me from actually hitting "send." Why was I on edge? Because of this:

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Junk food diet linked to cancer in women
By Jenny Hope, The Daily Mail

Eating junk food raises women's risk of developing a range of cancers, researchers said yesterday. Two studies demonstrated the dangers of a diet that includes high levels of fat and processed foods.

A major European study shows that women with raised levels of blood sugar face significant extra risks of suffering cancers of the pancreas, skin, womb and urinary tract. And older women with the fattiest diets have a 15 per cent increase in their chances of developing breast cancer, according to a U.S. study.

(Read the rest of the article from The Daily Mail here)

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Of course, this topic was discussed often when Komen & KFC partnered - for reasons similar to what I mentioned above. As for why I'm finally posting about it... Today one of my Google Alerts led me to a press release for this event:

But then there's this information...

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Drinking as little as half a glass of wine a day may raise a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, a new study shows.
By Charlene Laino, WebMD Health News

Alcohol may be good for your heart in moderation, but drinking as little as half a glass of wine a day may raise a woman's risk of developing breast cancer, a new study shows.

And don't think that switching to beer or spirits is the answer: The more alcohol consumed on a regular basis, the greater the risk, says Wendy Y. Chen, MD, PhD, a cancer specialist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Chen notes that women thinking about having a few glasses of wine a day for their heart-healthy effects need to figure in the new findings when weighing the risks and benefits. She stresses that "its only regular, repeated use that increases the chance of breast cancer. For most women, having a glass of wine or beer on occasion is not a problem."

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Of course the Drink for Pink event is not suggesting women drink every day and in excess... my concern is that marrying activities (like drinking alcohol & eating junk food) to organizations fighting diseases which research indicate these activities can help cause, sends the wrong message in general. It also brings the sincerity of the organization up for debate. If you're really trying to prevent people from getting breast cancer... why encourage activities that may lead to greater risk? Can you imagine MADD having a happy hour fundraiser? A Humane Society outing at the dog track?

What are your thoughts on these type of campaigns and associations between causes and potentially inappropriate partnerships? Am I just being too cynical and critical? Or should an organization be so true to its cause that it lose the opportunity to raise funds that may have a more significant positive impact than negative? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

By the way... I've since discovered that NaturalNews.com did a satire piece on Komen-branded-cigarettes. On one hand, it's pretty funny. On the other, it's pretty telling that Komen has done enough to merit such a satire. The Komen Smokes For The Cure image above is from the Natural News piece.

Planning Ahead: Nov. Holidays Your Nonprofit Can Use

2010-10-26T10:56:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, there is a page on this blog dedicated to holidays nonprofit organizations may be able to use for creative awareness or fundraising campaigns, such as generating a planned giving appeal piece around Plan Your Epitaph Day (November 2). Here's a quick snapshot of some of November's holidays you may be able to use and a couple such ideas:

America Recycles Day
Children's Day
Give Wildlife A Break Week
International Day For the Elimination of Violence Against Women Day
International Tongue Twister Day - Ask your constituents to come up with the best Tweetable (140 characters or less) tongue twisters about your org!
Military Family Appreciation Month
National Adoption Day (Saturday before Thanksgiving)
National Family Literacy Day
National Family Volunteer Day
National Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week
National Inspirational Role Models Month
National Parents As Teachers Day

National Philanthropy Day (!!!)
National Survivors of Suicide Day (Saturday before Thanksgiving)
NoSHAVEmber: [USA - Beard Month or Movember, Australia - Mustache Month] - Have any leaders or volunteers who will go without shaving for the sake of awareness/gifts?
Use Less Stuff Day (Thursday Before Thanksgiving)
Veterans Day
World Diabetes Day
World Kindness Day
You're Welcomegiving Day (Day after Thanksgiving)

Not Best Practice: Being Consistent With Your Message

2010-10-24T08:22:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder that those maintaining your various presences on social media need to maintain consistency with your mission & message. "HealthWarehouse" is a pharmacy that fancies itself on promoting health. While checking out the foursquare tips for Detroit's airport, I noticed the following:

Really no need for them to make this comment, even if it is what the user genuinely believes. It is completely contradictory with the "HealthWarehouse" username and apparent desired image of HW.

So, a friendly reminder to all that you avoid such posts - it's critical to show that there is a human side and personality to your tweets, tips and posts, but not at the cost of your image.

Not Best Practice: Inviting Constituents to an Event

2010-10-23T13:36:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, some of us make mistakes from time-to-time with our nonprofit communication efforts. The best we can do with these situations is learn from them and share the learnings with others. I don't like to highlight mistakes, but do so when I think it can help others avoid them.

That being said, here is an email invitation I received yesterday:

My problems with this invitation?

Never make other constituents' email addresses available for all to see. This can be viewed as a breach of trust by your members/donors/friends who did not wish for this information to be shared. Either use software that sends your message as individual messages or place all addresses in the BCC:
The message was forwarded. This is occasionally used successfully as a tactic within the Subject: to get people to open emails, but the body of the message should not be quoted materials. It is too impersonal and can imply you did not care enough to write a direct message to the recipient.

Take Action: Close Your Drain

2010-10-23T00:52:00.001-04:00

So... it's a week after Blog Action Day, when I did a post on infographics re: clean water and another on an individual's water footprint.

But I actually had an idea for another post today: Close Your Drain.

Here's the idea - people regularly waste water when they let it run during shaving, brushing teeth, long showers, etc. So what I suggest is this:

1) Whenever possible, close the drain while you do these type of activities.

2) When you're finished, use a bath crayon and mark how high the water is.

3) Work to get that level lower.

Pretty simple, right? Let me know if you give it a try - I will be doing so! Together we can conserve water and have an impact on the future.

Example: Focused Campaign Within a Large Nonprofit

2010-10-21T13:09:00.000-04:00

The attitude of leadership at large nonprofits toward mini "boutique" campaigns can often be described by one of the most famous cinematic lines of all time: Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Of course, rather than dear you would need to insert AVP, Director of Annual Giving, or some other title.

A few of my recent conversations have discussed how large nonprofit organizations could benefit from focused boutique campaigns with relatively small goals. Not surprisingly, these conversations have often been as a result of the question How can [Example University] use social media to raise money? My viewpoint is that large organizations can target small segments of their data with unique, specific, urgent campaigns and have great success. Yes, social media can be the primary component. No, it shouldn't be the only component. Things like press releases and mini-events can gain your campaign the attention that can make such a campaign successful.

The push-back associated with campaigns like these is often a resistance to dedicating resources to a campaign that is only $20,000 or something similar. That leads to how I think large organizations could succeed at raising enough money to make the dedication of resources worthwhile: developing a systematic approach and campaign calendar that provides your organization the ability to have dozens of these boutique campaigns per year. This way, your totals will start to turn into "real money" and you will not have to reinvent the wheel with each campaign.

So on the heels of one of these such conversations, I met with my friend and colleague at the University of Texas-Austin, Carolyn Connerat. She is the Executive Director of Development and Campaign Manager for the Campaign for Texas. We were discussing the opportunity for boutique campaigns to be successful at large institutions when she shared the Harry Ransom Center's campaign to save the Gone With The Wind costumes. It was a great success, gained international attention, and only had a goal of $30,000. I have included some images below to illustrate how such a campaign could be successful for other large organizations.

I realize that not ever organization or institution has Scarlett O'Hara's costume to gain attention, but I'm willing to bet you can uncover some creative, fun "small" campaigns that would draw attention.

Have you already had such a boutique campaign? Please share any similar stories in the comments section.

By the way... I know there's a pun somewhere between "boutique" campaign and "Gone With The Wind costumes," I'm just not feeling it... plus, I already used the "don't give a damn" line. :)

Learn more about the campaign & Harry Ransom Center: Web / Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / Flickr

The campaign website:

Facebook promotion of NPR story on the campaign:

Twitter examples:

A great visual thank you for those that supported the campaign (see the page here):

Book Review: How To Be A Nonprofit Rockstar

2010-10-20T15:04:00.004-04:00

I was recently asked to review an advance copy of How To Become A Nonprofit Rockstar, the forthcoming book by Rosetta Thurman & Trista Harris. While the synopsis and contents suggest the book is aimed at those new to or aspiring to join the nonprofit arena, it is also a great resource for mid-level nonprofit professionals. The latter group will find some of the book's material second nature, some of it new and - most importantly - some of it a catalyst to refresh your outlook on your career and a reminder of some steps you could be taking to advance your responsibilities, title and income.

Before I dig into a full review of the book, please note that Thurman & Harris have been kind enough to offer Through Non-Profit Eyes readers a discounted rate for the book. I will post the information on November 1st, the day of the "virtual book launch." Make sure you return here to order this must-have book for your non-profit career development. UPDATE: Click here to order this outstanding book!

Overview

The book is broken into the following chapters:

What a Nonprofit Career Looks Like
Develop Expertise
Build a Strong Network
Establish a Great Personal Brand
Practice Authentic Leadership
Plan for Balance
Move On Up

My Twitter review (meaning, how I would sum things up in 140 characters):

Some Favorite Quotes & Moments

While I do not want to give away too many details of the book, here is a sampling of some thoughts inspired by reading the book and a few favorite quotes:

1) Quote: "What has been proven over and over to (Harris & Thurman) is that you cannot wait for your organization to 'develop' you. The most successful nonprofit careers are marked by a proactive approach to professional growth and leadership development."

2) A great bit of advice when considering whether to join a nonprofit (in either a professional or volunteer role) is to notice the culture. The segment includes tips like reviewing an organization's mission, management, work space & environment and staff diversity. A particular question hit home for me:

Do people in the organization socialize outside of work?

Within my first week as director of annual giving for the University of Michigan, an AVP and I sat down over coffee and we had a candid conversation about the instituion's fundraising culture. He was willing to give me such mentoring in part because we had a common friend from his previous institution and - I would later discover - because he was planning to soon leave for a new opportunity. In discussing the challenges of the environment, its decentralized nature and the political impediments to institutional success, this colleague made an astute observation:

(Paraphrasing) Nobody grabs a beer together after work. Half the staff travels over an hour to-and-from work, so they are inclined to get on the road ASAP after work and the other half just don't seem to think about socializing together.

I remember thinking this was an interesting observation and being disappointed with this fact, as my colleagues at the University of Florida were almost always willing to spend time together outside of the office. (In fact, one colleague's daughter went to see her first movie in a theater - Monsters, Inc. - with her sister, mother and seven of us from the UF Foundation! See pic below!) What I didn't realize at the time, was how much this embodied the challenges of my new institution's environment.

3) Considering relocating to a different part of the country or world for your next nonprofit position? One of the four criteria Allison Jones shares in the book for your consideration when weighing a new location is the Number of Active Young Professional Groups - search for YNPN, EPIP and other leadership development opportunities in the area before you take the leap.

4) The book includes a great segment of tips on what size organization to join. Rather than say "you should do "X, Y & Z" the authors look at the good, bad and ugly parts of working for a small organization or a larger org.

5) A favorite quote from the Always Learn, Always Teach tip in the book:

Never be too cocky and think you have nothing more to learn about your position. Ask your co-workers if you can shadow them if they do similar work.

And another:

When a new staff member joins your ogranization, step up and be willing to teach them the organization culture, as well as where the office supplies are located. You'll make a new friend and an additional ally in the organization.

6) As noted above, there is a full chapter on establishing a great personal brand. While this a topic some argue is bunk (See these two posts from Geoff Livingston: Post 1, Post 2), the chapter itself provides some useful tips - particularly for those just joining the workforce.

7) Tip 19 in the book discusses looking like a leader and goes through details like appearance, having backup outfits in the office, etc. But the story Rosetta provides truly spoke volumes about not selling yourself short or missing an opporutnity to act like a leader or expert:

Once, Rosetta was in a meeting with about 20 oether nonprofit leaders. Before the meeting got started, attendees went around the table and introduced themselves and their organizations. They went all around the room until they got to the intern who had been assigned to coordinate the meeting. When it was his turn to speak and introduce himself, he raised his head meekly and said, "Oh, I'm just here to take notes for the meeting." No matter what perception the attendees had already made about him, at that moment he deemed himself completely insignificant. He made it seem as if even his NAME was of no importance to anyone, since he did not even share what it was. He really missed an opportunity to shine while the spotlight was right on him. For the record, someone laughed at his response, then asked him he had a name. Apparently it was Matthew.

This is an example of literally acting like you don't belong at the table.

8) Another qutoe I enjoyed was regarding enhancing your public speaking skills:

Melissa James, the public relations and marketing director for Downtown Hampton Child Development Center in Virginia, says, "I look at public speaking more like a conversation with new friends - as though they had just asked me to tell them about the place where I work, and I was answering. And as I've learned more and more about my organization, it has become easier to tailor what I say to the flow of the presentation and the audience's responses. I've learned to "read" the audience and alter my direction to their comfort as I go.

9) Tip 30 deals with scheduling time to reflect on your job satisfaction, current challenges, skills and aspirations - really a good segment worth reading.

10) Tip 31 is entitled "Don't Skip Lunch," and let me tell you... it hit home. I have always been one of those employees who works through lunch (or eats at my desk) and works well past midnight , etc. The whole point of this tip is to ensure you don't drown in work, lose work-life balance or take the NPO expressway to burn out. When making notes on the advanced copy... I simply wrote "Wow." next to this one. Like I mentioned in the opening, there are some good refreshers in here, even for those of us that have been at this longer than others.

11) Regular visitors to this blog know that I often champion the idea of illustrating your organization's impact to your external constituents as well as your internal stakeholders & employees. This is well illustrated in one of the items Harris & Thurman provide as a way to "Fall Back in Love With Your Job" (Tip 32):

Visit a program: What does your organization actually do for your clients? Have you seen it in action? Take a few hours to go visit one of your nonprofit's programs. Sit in on a financial literacy class, watch as your counselors help the unemployed craft resumes, or attend a play your arts organization is performing. The idea is to see for yourself the impact that your efforts have on others. It will make you appreciate why you do your work every day, no matter how tough it gets.

12) At the beginning of Chapter 7, the authors provide a great tool for reaching long-term career goals with various goal-setting exercises. I don't want to give away all the information in the book (because you should buy it!), but let me suggest this - when you buy the book, skip ahead to read Tip 37 so you can use it as context for the rest of the book.

------------------------------------------------

There are plenty of other great items I could offer from the book, but I simply want to whet your appetite. Order your copy here on November 1st!

P.S. - One more... in Tip 50, there is a great story of Trista's high school track experience and one specific race that translates well into your approach to a non-profit career. Fun stuff!

If you were teaching Fundraising 101, what would be...

2010-10-20T08:27:00.003-04:00

...the most important lesson?

I have some ideas, but want to get a discussion going via the comment section below first. What are your thoughts?

What's The Furthest You've Walked For Clean Water?

2010-10-14T22:15:00.000-04:00

Visual representations from around the globe (via Google Maps) of just how far African women have to walk each year to find clean water. More info from charity:water

Click on any image for a larger view

And finally, a sad fact about children and access to water:

All of this is shared with you as part of Blog Action Day 2010 - An effort from Change.org to help rally blogs to make a difference. Check out the video for more information:

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

What's Your Water Footprint?

2010-10-14T21:48:00.002-04:00

Did you know how significantly we over consume water in industrialized countries?

It takes 24 liters of water to produce one hamburger. That means it would take over 19.9 billion liters of water to make just one hamburger for every person in Europe. More Info from TheWaterProject.org »

/week =

The shiny new iPhone in your pocket requires half a liter of water to charge. That may not seem like much, but with over 80 million active iPhones in the world, that's 40 million liters to charge those alone. More Info from IEEE.org »

And, ironically, check out this app from VirtualWater.eu to help track your footprint.

The blue jeans you may be wearing right now took 6,813 liters of water to produce. More Info from TreeHugger.com »

All of this is shared with you as part of Blog Action Day 2010 - An effort from Change.org to help rally blogs to make a difference. Check out the video for more information:

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Best Practice: Soliciting Creative Talent for your Charity

2010-10-13T10:02:00.000-04:00

I received an email from ONE for a campaign worth sharing - They want everyone's help designing this year's ONE t-shirt. They had a similar campaign last year. I have to say, I found the campaign engaging, because everyone has a unique opinion on what makes an attractive t-shirt. Another organization that does this is Penn State's Dance Marathon (aka THON), where design students compete to design the event's logo each year. Do you have anything like this? If not, can you think of campaigns that could use such a strategy?

Website and a few 2009 t-shirt design examples:

Twitter: Quality>Quantity

2010-10-12T17:52:00.001-04:00

I have seen this thread come up many times in my LinkedIn email updates and it finally pushed me over the edge today... so I am posting about auto-pilot Twitter account settings Through Non-Profit Eyes.

Here is the thread I'm referring to:

I'll admit, the first time I saw this I thought "Wow, that's sweet!" ... but as I started to look into the tools and better understand what the thread was suggesting, I realized it was the path to an empty list of followers. It should go without saying, but just in case: 100 quality, engaged followers is better than 10,000 disengaged followers. Hence the title of this post: Quality>Quantity.

So my words of advice to non-profits starting Twitter accounts, blogs, Facebook pages, etc.:

Focus on building quality relationships,

rather than aiming for a number of fans or followers.

If you build it (quality), they (quantity) will come.

Some tips can be found on these pages:

How Nonprofit Organizations Can Find More Followers on Twitter

DIOSA's Twitter Best Practices for Nonprofits (from @nonprofitorgs)

8 Common Social Media Mistakes

The Six Signs That Twitter Isn't For Your Nonprofit (from @kanter)

Finding Leads (a.k.a. Donors) With Social Media

People, not technology, are what win elections (from @mcgregormt of @BSDWire)

#11ntc: NTEN's 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference

2010-10-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

NTEN's 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference (#11ntc) is March 17-19, 2011 in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Hilton. I thought it was more than worthwhile to dedicate a post to promoting the event.

What you need to know:

Registration will open November 1st, 2010.
If you aren't an NTEN member, now is a good time to join (Membership costs: $60-$85; Member savings on registration: $200). More on registration costs here.
There will be a number of people worth seeing at the event, including @kanter, @rosettathurman and @richmintz
I plan to attend and look forward to meeting many of you in person!
Still not sure? Checkout last year's slides at Slideshare here.

Per NTEN's website, Email Anna at anna@nten.org with any questions.

Best Practice: Involvement Made Easy by @AlexsLemonade

2010-10-12T09:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I shared a great example from @OfficialLove146 about engaging constituents via Twitter - it illustrated the organization's impact.

Today I share an example from @AlexsLemonade that is a great illustration of how to encourage involvement in your organization. See the tweet and blog post below. I particularly like:

The tweet's language invites & encourages new people to get involved by making involvement seem easy;
The blog post, though long, gives many different ways to get involved - it's got something for everyone; and,
The inclusion of links at the end of each event listing makes it easy to take action immediately.

Kudos ALSF!

Note: Each image has a direct link to the tweet/post.

Example: Engaging via Twitter

2010-10-11T09:52:00.000-04:00

Noticed a great example of engaging constituents from Love146 this morning:

Note how in no more than 140 characters, @RobLove146 is:

Providing timely news;
Illustrating the impact of the organization; and,
Suggesting further engagement by providing the link.

Kudos Love146! This is a great way to engage donors, followers, prospects... and anyone else in their audience. Do you have any examples of similar engagement? Share in the comment section below!

Follow: @WoollyMammothTC

2010-10-08T15:32:00.000-04:00

So I saw a retweet last week that caught my attention - Could social media win a bet against a cynical development officer? This bet brings us to this week's #FollowOfTheWeek: @WoollyMammothTC

Back story, from the bet's/campaign's website:

It's Not the Size of the Gift that Counts
Alli Houseworth, Communications and New Media Manager, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

Here at Woolly, our Director of Development (Tim) is a bit of a social media skeptic. In fact, just the other day – as I was once again trying to trick him into using Twitter – he said to me, “Well does anyone actually raise MONEY using social media?” to which I responded, “Why yes!” So, we made a bet.

THE BET:

I must use the It’s Not the Size of the Gift platform to raise $1,937 by 5pm EST Friday, October 1st, and I can only promote it over social media networks.

(Why $1,937, you ask? Well, that’s the exact number of Facebook fans we have at the very moment I am typing this call to action. In my brain I thought, wow, wouldn’t it be awesome if everyone on Facebook actually saw this request and donated just, like, a dollar?! Rock on, social media!)

If I win, this is what we get:
1. Tim will join Twitter!
2. He will wear an Alli Houseworth exclusive handmade T-shirt that will say “I love social media” across the front AND have himself photographed in said T-shirt in front of various DC landmarks. The photos will be shared on Facebook and Twitter for your viewing pleasure.
3. Tim will give the curtain speech for the closing performance of IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY, and wear the aforementioned T-shirt while doing so.

Comrades! Help me in this quest to embarrass Tim, to prove to my theatre that social media works for all departments, and help us raise a bit of money to support this fabulous organization whose mission is to explore the edges of theatrical style and human experience, in everything we do. (Even in Tweets.)

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The bet was won by Alli (@AlliHouseworth) and it intrigued me a great deal. It was nice to see a fun, unique campaign have success. Below you will find more information, screenshots and some fun pictures related to the bet.

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Twitter: @WoollyMammothTC
Name: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Web: www.woollymammoth.net
Bio: A theatre that's been defying convention in the Nation's capital for 31 years.
Followers: 1,159 + you!
Why Follow? The theatre itself is a great cause, but it also has some fun and innovative people running the show, so following will help you gain ideas for your nonprofit and cause marketing campaigns.

@WoollyMammothTC is also on: Web / Facebook / Blog

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Some screenshots and examples follow - enjoy!

Twitter Page:

Home page:

Campaign website:

Alli w/ her check from Democracy Engine after winning the bet:

Development Officer Tim making good on his end of the bet:

Title image generated using http://isparade.jp/

10 Pages Every Charity Website Should Have

2010-10-02T15:05:00.002-04:00

Last week, Barnabas Nagy wrote an article entitled 5 Pages Every Business Website Should Have. It inspired me to take a look at the topic Through Non-Profit Eyes. Therefore, please find 10 Pages Every Charity Website Should Have below, plus some best practice examples via screenshot.

1) Donation page
This is first for a reason. One of the main goals of your site is to raise support. Even though other goals may exist as well - sharing your stories, illustrating your good work & impact, recruiting volunteers - the underlying goal is finding donors so your organization can do more. Your home page should have a "make a gift" button that goes directly to the giving form... not a general giving page or a why-to-give page - the form where gift amount and credit card info is entered.

Note: All samples have links you can click upon to view a larger version of the screen shot.

This is the donation page, which you go to directly after clicking on the link in the second image (the main ASPCA page).

Example, ASPCA: http://www.aspca.org/

2) Giving page
This is different from the page where you actually make the gift. Rather, this illustrates why your organization is worthy of support (which may tie into #3 & #5), different methods for giving, different areas for support, etc. You should also provide direct contact information for "gift support."

Example, Dartmouth: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~alfund/why_give/

3) Impact page
Illustrate the actual impact your organization is making, including testimonials (if appropriate) and pictures, videos, etc. of the good work you do. This is critical for current donors to see and to make future donors feel like they can make a difference by supporting you with time, talent or financial contributions.

Example, charity:water: http://www.charitywater.org/projects/fromthefield/index.php

4) Action page
Some people - particularly younger generations - are inclined to give their time rather than money. This is a great way to initiate the relationship between your organization and an individual. Is there a petition they should sign? Friends they should invite to join your community? An event to attend? Have a page that gives them an easy way to get involved.

Example, Red Nose Day: http://www.rednoseday.com/get-involved

5) Mission / Vision / Goals
This should go without saying, but you need to clearly illustrate why your organization exists, where you want it to go and what tangible goals you have in your sights.

Example, To Write Love On Her Arms: http://www.twloha.com/vision/

6) Social Media page
First, you should use icons for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, etc. and have them prominently located "above the fold" (visible without scrolling) on your page. Second, you can have a specific landing page with further details on your various social media profiles, campaigns and the people behind your social media efforts.

Example, WETA: http://www.weta.org/about/contact/socialmedia

7) Privacy Policy
In today's world, concern for privacy of data is high - and rightfully so. Therefore, a privacy policy is the helpful and responsible thing to post. As Nagy wrote: "It is important to have a privacy policy for your website even if you do not collect email address from your visitors. Privacy concerns include website analytics, such as google analytics and website cookies. Both analytics and cookies store certain amount of information about your visitors so the concern is real and for you to clear up this concern is a legal obligation to fulfill."

Example, Cookies for Kids Cancer: http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/terms_privacy.asp

8) Contact Us
This is a critical and somewhat obvious page, but I have regularly visited non-profit pages that have made contact information challenging to find. Additionally, provide multiple methods for contact. Email and phone are most critical, but it is also good to have various types of contacts - those for giving information/questions, those for the services you provide, any appropriate administrative contacts (HR, etc.). Include your business address and a map or directions, if applicable.

Example, Polaris Project: http://www.polarisproject.org/content/view/28/109/

9) About Us
This should sum up why you exist, what you hope to do and who is running the show.

Example, Michael J. Fox Foundation: http://www.michaeljfox.org/about.cfm

10) Frequently Asked Questions/FAQ/Q&A
This is one of the most common pages on any website - for good reason. This can save you time by answering questions for your constituents before they reach out to you and your team.

Example, Penn State Dance Marathon: http://thon.org/faq

Bonus #11... optional-ish: Blog.
I think you should have a blog that can serve as the foundation for engaging donor stories, impact stories and help your social media's content development. Some don't have the time or expertise to maintain a blog... but I think these are just excuses. If you're a non-profit with any gumption, you have connected with content experts (employees, volunteers & friends). Having a blog and scheduling content can help get a misguided communications plan in line. Need help? Let me know. The reason I dub this "optional-ish" is because some non-profits simply aren't prepared to tackle a blog at this point. If you have bigger fish to fry, the blog can wait.

Example, Kiva: http://www.kiva.org/blog

USA Today wants me to what?

2010-10-01T12:07:00.000-04:00

There's benefit to using channels such as Twitter and Facebook to promote content across other channels - sharing a Facebook campaign on Twitter, tweeting about a blog posting, etc.

But when your goal is engagement, I suggest you don't follow @USAToday's example above. I'm a fan of USA Today and I appreciate the kind things the publication has said about my blog, but the tweet above is an engagement failure.

Suppose you are reading that tweet... USA Today is asking you to leave Twitter, send an email, so you can participate in a Facebook chat. Huh? Could I have a few more hoops to jump through please? ;) I don't mind the promotion of the Facebook chat, but why not ask for questions directly on Twitter?

I would suggest something like:

#NCAA football fans: Tweet your questions for a Facebook chat Monday at 12 p.m ET. Use the #ncaachat hashtag so @Erick_Smith can respond!

USA Today does a decent job promoting this on Facebook, as you would expect.

I hope this is a good reminder for all non-profits to make it as easy as possible for people to engage with your organization.

Something Is Technically Wrong. Again. And Again.

2010-09-28T21:14:00.003-04:00

This is getting really old, Twitter.

Be Our Guest: Gene Takagi

2010-09-27T23:04:00.000-04:00

Please welcome our latest Be Our Guest participant - Gene Takagi. Gene is a lawyer focused on nonprofit organizations and the man behind the Nonprofit Law Blog & @gtak. He is an alum of the University of British Columbia (B.Sc.), the University of San Francisco (Masters in Nonprofit Administration) and UCLA School of Law.

Thank you Gene for taking part! Please add your thoughts and questions in the comment section below.

What is the biggest challenge your fundraising efforts (or those you consult) currently face – from a legal point-of-view?

Compliance with registration requirements, charitable trust laws, and substantiation and disclosure requirements (e.g., written receipts to donors).

What are you doing to overcome these challenges?

I provide counsel to managers and boards about their legal duties and responsibilities, certain “best practices” that may fit with their organizations, and how to implement policies and procedures to improve the way their organizations further their missions.

What is the most successful change/program implementation you have made in your current role (or as a consultant to others)?

Through a series of consultations and an on-site training session, I helped the directors of a nonprofit board understand their legal duties and responsibilities and catalyzed their increased support and participation in the organization. Their heightened involvement created additional connections and opportunities for the organization and helped them come out of a difficult financial situation with a set of solid policies and practices to further strengthen their organization. Unleashing an active, productive board that partners with its executive positively impacted its fundraising, supporter morale, and services.

Where do you see social-media’s best application for fundraising/legal advice for NPOs?

Sharing of valuable resources, best practices, and avoidable/correctable missteps. Educating the public about the NPO’s work, its solid infrastructure, and its commitment to making effective and efficient use of charitable resources.

What book / blog / twitter feed would you suggest fundraisers pay attention to in order to further develop their skills?

- Fundraising Law Made Easy by Bruce Hopkins.

- IRS Charities & Non-Profits website (frequently updated) and State Attorney Generals websites devoted to charitable organizations.

- AFP Blog

- @AFPIHQ

What question would you find most useful for the readers to answer?

What resources have you allocated to legal compliance and risk management in your organizations, and do they adequately protect and strengthen your organization’s ability to do its valuable work and protect your directors and officers from personal liability?

Follow: @Cookies4Kids

2010-09-27T08:25:00.000-04:00

So an old summer camp friend of mine - yes, those friendships can last! - emailed me last week about a campaign for @Cookies4Kids. After doing some research, it was evident that C4K should be this week's #FollowOfTheWeek.

Back story: My friend's husband is Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN), ESPN's lead NASCAR guy. While I have to admit I don't follow NASCAR closely, I do appreciate their marketing efforts. This cause is close to Marty's heart and tied to NASCAR via a competition between non-profits. @Cookies4Kids is up against others in the Jimmie Johnson Foundation's & Samsung's Helmet of Hope campaign. Enjoy the information below... and GO VOTE!

Twitter: @Cookies4Kids
Name: Cookies 4 Kids
Web: www.cookies4kids.org
Bio: Cookies for Kids' Cancer raises funds through local bake sales to support research for new and improved therapies for pediatric cancer.
Followers: 775 + you!
Why Follow? Clearly this is a worthy cause. But it is also worth following because they do a good job of using social media to promote a cause. Plus - if you read the "Kids Who Inspire Us" page below... you'll be moved to follow!

@Cookies4Kids is also on: Web / Facebook

Jimmie Johnson Foundation is also on: Web / YouTube

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Some screenshots and examples follow - enjoy!

Twitter Page:

Kids Who Inspire Us page:

Facebook page:

The competition:

The other charities in the competition:

And here's a video from Jimmie Johnson regarding the competition:

ISO: iPhone Photos of Nonprofits' Impact

2010-09-25T15:03:00.002-04:00

UPDATE: Flickr group created so you can upload your pics here.

So there are plenty of lists of iPhone photos, including the recent 15 Incredible iPhone Dog Photographs from Mashable. But there is at least one list that is missing:

The best iPhone photographs of nonprofit impact / events.

Send them to me here so that I can highlight the best in a future post. The only rule is that you use iPhone applications to do any picture doctoring, etc.

Need inspiration? Here is one from @Surfridersotx (via @Surfrider) of the great turnout for their beach cleanup:

And here are some good ones on other topics...

On The Train... by Photocritic:

Lilly by Marc Bibby

Pool On The Beach by Craig Melville:

And Cecilia by yours truly:

Interesting, Unexpected Appeal

2010-09-24T11:43:00.003-04:00

When getting my groceries at a local grocery store while vacationing in Northern Michigan earlier this summer (Northport, to be exact... it's heavenly), I found a surprise appeal in my grocery bag. I do not know how successful the piece is at raising funds, but I imagine it does well at building community awareness and the case for support for Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Have you ever tried one like this? How well did it work at raising money? Awareness?

Since the image quality is low, here is the text:

This little bag could change a life.

Dear Friend,

Sam is deaf due to his parents' medical neglect. Crystal's mom is drug addicted and cannot parent or maintain a safe home for her children. Jake was sexually abused by a family member he trusted.

These are just three of the children in our community who were abused or neglected. They deserve better. They deserve to be safe, and happy.

In the last year, more than 400 children were served by Child and Family Services' foster care program. Many arrive on our doorstep with their belongings - the few they have - in a brown or plastic bag.

Children shouldn't have to live with abuse and neglect. Please help us provide them with all the services they need by taking three easy steps:

Place a check, payable to "Child and Family Services" in this bag.
Fold the open end of the bag on the dotted line and tape or staple closed.
Place a stamp on the bag and mail.

Child and Family Services is a private, nonprofit organization that has been serving children in need in northern Michigan since 1937. Your contribution stays in our community.

Learn more about us: 1.800.538.9984 www.cfsnwmi.org

Follow: @JoinRed

2010-09-20T23:32:00.001-04:00

Did you know Social Good Day is in three days? Well Mashable & (RED) are sponsoring the event to coincide with UN Week and the Social Good Summit. I received the following email and decided that @joinred was perfect as a #FollowOfTheWeek. Not only because it is a good cause... but because they are an example of a non-profit using social media well. It also ties in well with last weeks' #Follow. Enjoy!

Twitter: @joinred
Name: The (RED) Campaign
Web: www.joinred.com
Bio: Bringing people and brands together to help fight AIDS in Africa. Join us! Follow (RED).
Followers: 1,027,016 + you!
Why Follow? Clearly this is a worthy cause. But it is also worth following because they do a good job of using social media to promote a cause.
Celebrities on board? (Not a reason to follow... just interesting) Bono and many others...

@JoinRed is also on: Web / Facebook / YouTube

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Some screenshots and examples follow - enjoy!

Web site:

Facebook pages - Shopping

Facebook pages - About the campaign

Facebook pages - The Lazarus Effect (documentary)

Facebook pages - Main Page

Twitter page:

Video (Lazarus Effect):

The meetups near you:

Timing is everything...

2010-09-20T14:36:00.001-04:00

I'm an avid soccer fan (also known as "proper football"). That is one of the reasons I am on the United States Soccer Federation's (@ussoccer) email list. On Sunday I received the following email:

While I appreciate the idea of having a USSF avatar, the first thought I had was Why didn't they send this out before and during the World Cup earlier this year? Okay... in the interest of full disclosure, my real first thought was When will the US Men's National Team finally get a red jersey? However, my second thought was about the timing. Sure, you can say that this avatar promo is better late than never, but considering the USSF got more media attention than ever during the recent World Cup and the last-minute winner against Algeria caused more soccer-related-excitement than this country has ever seen... why wasn't this in place to build upon the success? Just a thought. I'm sure there are reasons - resource limitations, nobody had thought of the idea before, etc. Just a reminder that if you can figure out a way to be ahead of such opportunities you will be your organizations Rock Star!

All of which leads to the question: What lies ahead in the next month, 6 months or year that you could piggy-back on or build a campaign around?

Since I don't want to end this without giving USSF some positive press... please take a moment and sign the petition to bring the World Cup back to the USA in either '18 or '22:

P.S. Just in case you haven't seen the world's reaction to the goal v. Algeria I mentioned above: