Here’s a summary of recent articles and blogs related to fundraising and nonprofit organizations. As always, please forward this to others who might benefit from the information. Thanks again for reading!
FUNDRAISING
- The Advice Visit: Best Way to Open Door to a Major Gift Prospect You’ve allocated time to get on the phone and set up some appointments with some of your key supporters. Your donor says, “I’m to busy to see you now.” Here’s what to do. by Gail Perry
- What donors really want from your fundraising No matter what you sell, you’re not really selling that thing, but the attributes or benefits of that thing. That includes fundraising. by Jeff Brooks
- Why “Maybe” is the Best Answer When Asking for a Major Gift There are three possible answers (and only three) that a person can give after being asked for a Major Gift: Yes, No and Maybe. You need to be prepared for all of them.by Amy Eisenstein
- The 2-second rule for better online giving If you want to improve your online giving and all your online activities, recognize how impatient people are. How the 20-second elevator rule applies to direct mail. by Steve Thomas
MARKETING / COMMUNICATIONS
- In the realm of fundraising senses – 1 Touch me right here! Recently I had the fortune to work with Dan Hill, one of the worldwide gurus on emotions applied to marketing. Dan advises the top Fortune 500 companies and political candidates on how to effectively advertise and succeed using emotions. by Francesco Ambroge
- How to Make Your Story Stand Out Everyone in the sector is trying to tell their story. But if everyone does it how’s yours going to stand out? by Charlie Hulme
- Engaging volunteers through social media From designing volunteer opportunities, to recruiting new volunteers, to screening volunteers, to recognizing great supporters, there are a lot of elements to successfully engaging volunteers. by Robert Rosenthal
- Nonprofit helps Simple yet powerful and creative campaigns can bring viral attention to a cause. by Tom Peterson
- Personal Stories a Gateway To Global Change The success of story-based initiatives like MAKERS, underscores the critical role of storytelling in empathetic understanding, perspective, creating community and, ultimately, change. by Alix Floyd
LEADERSHIP
- Employee engagement – lessons on loyalty from the non-profit sector A predominantly volunteer-based workforce needs a clear mission and supporting engagement strategy to make every team member feel valued and rewarded. by Lisa Taylor
- The Most Important Statement in the Nonprofit World in the Last Decade My thoughts are centered about the groundbreaking joint announcement by three of the premier watch dog groups in the charity sector. Together the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Guidestar and Charity Navigator have been the “thought leaders” regarding the rating of all nonprofit organizations. by Jay Love
- Is Your Nonprofit Ready to be Super Relevant? Being relevant in the lives of your nonprofit’s supporters doesn’t usually happen by accident. Use this checklist to determine if you are doing what it takes. by Kivi Leroux Miller
- Employees Aren’t Grabbing Access To Retirement Plans Even as more nonprofits are offering retirement plans to their employees, participation rates remain relatively low. But at the same time, studies show nonprofit employees are worried about their retirement nest egg. by Reed Stockman
- Is The Fed Wrecking Your Fundraising? Kelly Browning, CEO of the American Institute for Cancer Research, possesses an abundance of the one trait I value most in fundraisers and nonprofit executives — curiosity. by Roger Craver
NONPROFIT NEWS
- Online Giving Grows as Charities Polish Their Methods According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, online giving is growing at a blistering pace. Two studies cited by the Chronicle indicate that online donations to 115,000 nonprofits rose by 14 percent. by Joanne Fritz
- Reports raise issue of nonprofits’ effectiveness Three reports about charities and the nonprofit sector were published recently and created quite a stir. by Alyce Lee Stansbury
- Data for Good – from the Nonprofit Blog Carnival Here’s the June Nonprofit Blog Carnival round-up on “Data for Good”. Great advice and tips on measurement and data analysis for non-profits. by Lori Halley
- The AFP Blog: Good Signs for the Deduction…For Now… AFP has been a champion for the charitable deduction for some time now, and we’ll continue to be so. Part of that is because Congress can move very quickly when it wants. An amendment can be added at the last minute that changes everything. by Reed Stockman
