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
- Asking For The Money: “If You Don’t Ask You Don’t Get” Generally, the first step in asking prospects to make a donation is to send them a letter. This is true no matter the type of campaign or potential size of gift. By Sandy Rees
- Major Gifts Or More Gifts: Which Is Better? If you’re in a capital campaign, then YES! Chase the rich! The richer, the better. by Tom Ahern for Bloomerang
- 3 ways to jumpstart year end giving by planning your fall fundraising now. Nonprofits are making a big mistake when they put off their year end appeals until December … by Marc A. Pitman for Fundraising Coach.com
- Willis Turner – How to Read a Direct-Mail Fundraising Letter: A fundraising letter passes through a lot of hands before it reaches its intended audience. And everyone in the approval process… FundRaising Success via AFP Blog
- Fundraisers Who Cry Wolf … And Worse. Every copywriter worth her or his salt knows that for many causes ‘fear’, ‘urgency’ and, often, ‘ideology’ are key ingredients for success. EXCEPT when these ingredients are so ineptly combined … by Roger Craver for The Agitator
MARKETING
- Nonprofit Helps What does the color of your brand say to supporters about your organization? by Tom Peterson for Thunderhead Works
- Back to the future for BHAGs In search of the perfect case for support and tagline for fundraising campaigns, I was introduced to ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goals’ … by Elsbeth Takkenber for 101fundraising
- How Millennials are Changing Social Causes. The ways that Millennials are connecting, participating, and giving to organizations requires nonprofits to question the old logic … by Ned Baker for Frogloop
SOCIAL MEDIA / TECHNOLOGY
- ‘Kickstarted’ Documentary Will Focus on Crowdfunding: A pair of Los Angeles filmmakers are raising funds through Kickstarter for a documentary about Kickstarter — or, more specifically, about crowdfunding. AFP Blog
- Your Future in Online Giving. You have to think about mobile as a significant source for your online traffic. by Steve Thomas for oneicity
- Into Focus: Benchmarks and Best Practices for Nonprofits and Video. YouTube and Edelman have released a new report and guide for nonprofits about using video. It describes current nonprofit use, adoption challenges, and best practices. By Beth Kanter
- Advocacy videos: Digital storytelling on a budget. Tell your nonprofit’s story with budget-friendly tools. By Lauren Major at Socialbrite
- Why Are Websites Still So Hard for Seniors? Jakob Nielsen, a researcher of technology usability, says that … by Joanne Fritz for About.com
NONPROFIT NEWS
- Nonprofits Fight Overhaul of Government’s Charity Drive: An Obama administration plan to overhaul the federal government’s charity drive has angered nonprofits … The Chronicle of Philanthropy via AFP Blog
- The Blackbaud Index Debuts Fundraising Benchmark Calculator. A free charitable giving index, to make it easier for nonprofits to benchmark their fundraising results. Blackbaud News via AFP Blog
- 22 major donors share their giving motives and values: The Institute for Philanthropy has published details of the values and beliefs which motivate 22 major donors to give to charity. UK Fundraising via AFP Blog
- Connecting the Dots of Nonprofit Engagement Data: A New Report Release The findings showed that nonprofits are tracking various kinds of participation data about the ways their constituents and support … for NTEN
- What Nonprofits Need. By Antony Bugg-Levine & Kerry H. Sullivan for SSIR Articles
