Based on some very savvy advice from a wealthy supporter of a local nonprofit, I’ve dramatically changed my ideas about how to write fundraising appeals for major gifts ($10,000 and over).
Busy doesn’t even begin to describe how 2012 has started for me. And the busier I get, the more narrowly I focus on the tasks in front of me—and not the big picture.
I recently accepted a position as an interim communications director for a large nonprofit. Suddenly, the volume of email I receive shot up dramatically, and so did my level of frustration.
Last month, I climbed back into the hot seat. That is, I temporarily got my old job back. For a few months, I’ll be the interim Communications Director for a large non-profit while still trying to run my freelance business.
A nonprofit client recently asked me for some advice about blogging. So I thought about my “wish list” for a nonprofit blog. What would you add?
Despite the rising importance of web 2.0 (the social web), your organization’s traditional website is still the hub of your communications and outreach. But very few organizations regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their websites. In today’s post, I describe a simple tool you can use to grade your site, and a list of successful sites you can review and compare to.
Two of my favorite social media experts hosted webinars this week. One counsels only nonprofits, and the other focuses on businesses. But they both said the same thing: people are overwhelmed with bad news these days. So positivity trumps negativity in social media.
When I used to write sales guides, I liked the straight talk about how to overcome sales challenges. Nonprofits need to be more honest about their own challenges, too, so they can be successful in their version of sales–fundraising.
Last week, I attended the “501(c)(3) Book Club” discussion of Beth Kanter’s The Networked Nonprofit, generously hosted by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. One of my key take-aways came from co-presenter John Kenyon, who explained how nonprofits should actually begin building a social media strategy.
Online fundraising is growing but still only represents >8% of total fundraising in the U.S. And fundraising through social media channels such as Facebook is even less strong. However, social media will deliver long-term revenue growth if nonprofit leaders make a strong commitment now.
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