Fundraising

  • Most Topular Stories

  • 7 Things That Will Make You a Better Fundraiser

    Common Sense Fundraising
    admin
    16 Apr 2013 | 4:48 am
    By Margaux Smith Three years ago, I didn’t even know fundraising was a profession. (Some of the contributors to this blog have been raising money for charity since I was a baby!) But when I arrived, I threw myself into the deep end and have consequently learned a great deal in a short time. Most of all, I’ve learned that no amount of study can replace years of experience. So while I wait for the time to fill me with wisdom, I’ve learned to improve my fundraising in more immediate ways. Here are seven ways I’ve discovered. Feel free to challenge them or add your own in…

  • Finding More (and Better) Fundraising Prospects

    The Fundraising Authority
    Joe Garecht
    17 May 2013 | 8:52 pm
    Does your non-profit have trouble finding and approaching new fundraising prospects?  Are you tired of begging your board for names and sending out cold prospecting letters to major donors in your town?  Do you wish you had a system for reaching new prospects every day, week, month and year? If the answer to any of those questions is “yes!” then please join me for our first ever online Fundraising Authority Workshop: The Non-Profit Prospecting Formula: How to Find and Approach New Donors for Your Organization Written Guide, Webinar, Sample Materials and More… Qualified…

  • The fundraiser’s spring cleaning checklist

    Fundraising Fundamentals
    AndrewOlsenCFRE
    21 Jan 2013 | 5:35 am
    It’s that time of year again. Time to clean out your development operation, reorganize and re-prioritize your efforts and rid your organization of the fundraising clutter that keeps you from maximizing your success. Use this fundraiser’s spring cleaning checklist to help get your house in order and get you focused on the most important tasks … Continue reading »

  • NEW Webinar: Advanced Nonprofit Annual Reports for Print and Web

    Wild Woman Fundraising
    Mazarine
    13 May 2013 | 2:07 am
    Date: May 16th, 1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT, 10am PT Cost: $89 $69.97 until May 14th! Buy now Are you working on your annual report right now? Do you want to have a nonprofit publication that has sponsors and foundations sitting up and taking notice? Do you want to have an annual report that works FOR YOU? Do you want to get more donors? Do you want to help corporations and foundations trust you? Do you want to appreciate the donors you have? You need a better annual report NOW. Take Advanced Nonprofit Annual Reports for Print and Web, a 90 minute webinar on May 16th, 1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT…

  • How to Avoid School Fundraising Burnout

    Blog
    Clay Boggess
    16 May 2013 | 1:14 pm
    School fundraisers are hard work to begin with and to make matters worse, nobody really wants to do them. It always seems like every year the same few reluctant, yet sacrificial people end up volunteering because no one else will help. It stands to reason that if the same people are in charge of fundraising every year, don’t they ever get tired of doing it? Of course, but they do it anyway because their central focus is on the students and their best interest.Related Content: How to Achieve Unanimous Support for Your School FundraiserBlog Type: Helpful Fundraising Tools
 
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    Beth’s Blog

  • Does Extreme Content Delivery = Learning?

    Beth
    23 May 2013 | 9:53 am
    Source: Zazzle How do you learn?  When you want to acquire a new skill or apply some new knowledge, do you learn by passively sitting and listening to an expert lecture for 90 minutes without a break and 150 PPT slides?   What do you actually retain?   And, what do you actually apply?   Or do you learn better when you get a chance to process the content every 15 minutes by thinking about it quietly or talking with a peer?   Do you concentrate better when you move around versus sitting for too long? I know for myself that I don’t learn, retain, or apply when content is endlessly…

  • Book Review: Cause for Change

    Beth
    22 May 2013 | 10:42 am
    I’m getting a jump on my summer reading!    Colleagues Kari Dunn Saratovsky and Derrick Feldmann have published a new book called Cause for Change:  The Why and How of Nonprofit Millennial Engagement.  The book is based on their many years of research, convening, and consulting with nonprofits on how to engage with this younger generation.     The book is a must-read and their annual conference, MCON, is a must attend – if you want the latest thinking about strategy to engage younger people in the sector – both inside and outside of your nonprofit’s walls. The…

  • Heartland Pride: Winner of the #npfail Little Bets Contest

    Beth
    21 May 2013 | 9:21 am
    Last month, during the Nonprofit Technology Conference plenary session on placing little bets and learning from failure,  we  issued a challenge to 1,000 nonprofits  in the audience.   Let’s do more than just give failure lip service,  let’s put it into practice and share learning from a failure or placing a “Little Bet.”     A ‘Little Bet” as defined by Peter Sims, author of the book – Little Bets, is a small action that you can take to discover something new.  It’s an affordable loss that leads to innovation. Place a little bet & or share…

  • Trainer’s Notebook: The Art of Good Openings and Closings

    Beth
    20 May 2013 | 11:22 am
    Sunrise on Sacred Maori Land outside of Auckland, NZ I’ve just returned from an amazing trip of facilitating workshops, discussions and master classes as well as a keynoting a conference on “Measuring the Networked Nonprofit”  in Australia and New Zealand.    It made me very happy to be teaching non-stop for almost two weeks.     I’m always learning as I help others learn.    Here’s a couple of reflections from my “trainer’s notebook.” I started with a full-day workshop outside of Auckland called “The Networked NGO in New…

  • Get the Scoop at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Washington, DC in June #NCVS

    Beth
    15 May 2013 | 2:32 pm
    Note from Beth: I’ve just finished doing some social media workshops in New Zealand with Volunteering Auckland and now in Australia.  Next month,  I will be traveling to Washington, DC for the NCVS Conference and can’t wait.  I will be doing  a panel on using social media as part of volunteer recruitment.   While I’m still “down under,”  Michelle Nunn agreed to share this guest post about conference highlight   Get the Scoop at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Washington, DC #NCVS guest post by Michelle Nunn I’m eager to let…
 
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    Inspiring Generosity

  • Dollars and Sense: NonProfit Budget Basics

    sohini
    23 May 2013 | 5:00 am
    Don't you wish it would be that simple? (Image by Tax Credits) And now a post about money. Because as we all know, it’s what makes the world go around. Okay, that’s a mild understatement. But it’s very mild in the nonprofit world. And unless you’re independently wealthy, you’re always fundraising, and looking at ways to stretch your dollars and cultivate donors. Here’s the thing, though. Quite often, nonprofiters, cause advocates, and even entrepreneurs tend to be visionaries. They tend to be people with a burning passion to do something, make a change, and improve the world…

  • Four Ways You Can Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims

    johnhaydon
    22 May 2013 | 7:04 am
    Obviously we are all still reeling after a massive tornado tore apart Moore Oklahoma. Parents lost their children, children lost friends, neighbors lost neighbors. And many people are still missing! Family and friends first • For those who have family and friends in the area, Red Cross Oklahoma set up a resource to locate loved ones. • Gov. Mary Fallon also set up okstrong.ok.gov. • If you’re on twitter you can keep up-to-date with the latest information by following #okwx. Nonprofits who are on the ground • Feeding America is delivering food to impacted areas, and also set up…

  • How I Learned to Give a Puck About Sports Team Fundraisers

    joewaters
    21 May 2013 | 8:48 am
    We all know that professional sports teams are businesses. But we really don’t treat them like one, do we? We think of them more as celebrities that come to our events, and sign things for auctions. But sports teams can offer a lot more than star appeal, or a signed baseball. I learned this firsthand in a partnership with the Boston Bruins a few years back. I’ve been thinking about it lately as I’ve been watching the Bruins win their way through the NHL playoffs (2-0 in their series against the New York Rangers). Here’s my story. I think you’ll learn something. I was…

  • Five Tips for Creating Powerful Infographics

    johnhaydon
    15 May 2013 | 6:10 am
    People support your organization for one reason: They view your organization as the agent of change they seek. If they had the resources, they’d make the changes they desire by themselves. But they don’t, and that’s why you’re in their lives. So when you tell the story of your cause, you need to show how supporters ultimately create the outcomes. Nonprofit Storytelling with Infographics One powerful way to do this is with a set of infographics like the Best Friends Animal Society created. What’s really great about this infographic is that it’s broken down…

  • 3 Businesses Seizing the Day and Giving to Nonprofits

    joewaters
    14 May 2013 | 5:57 am
    We’ve all heard the Latin expression “carpe diem” which means, “seize the day.” But in fundraising with businesses a new expression is taking hold: “da die,” which is Latin for “give the day.” Here’s how it works. Generous businesses support nonprofits by donating the profits from a day’s sales. This is different from what we’re used to seeing, like a “percentage of sales fundraiser” that donates a portion of sales from every product or service sold for a day/week/month/etc.. A “donate profits day” is when businesses donate a percentage of…
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    Step By Step Fundraising

  • I Don’t Know Why We Didn’t Raise More Money

    Ben Gottlieb
    15 May 2013 | 11:44 am
    I can not tell you how many times we get extremely small orders from large groups that seem surprised when their participation is so low it should be embarrassing. When you’re the fundraising company it can really be hard to bite your tongue and ask spiteful questions like did you even hand out the brochures or did you do anything other than hand out brochures? It seems like laziness has creeped up the school fundraising chain and more and more teachers and parents care so little about fundraising they exert zero effort. But I digress. The real reason I wanted write this post was to…

  • Thinking about Disaster Relief Fundraising

    Ben Gottlieb
    24 Apr 2013 | 8:41 am
    Holding a disaster relief fundraising event is a good way to get everybody in your community involved in supporting a worthy cause. The money that you and your team raise will go toward helping families that have suffered at the hands of natural disasters, such as hurricane damage to housing. There are many people in the US now who can benefit directly from your help; all that is required is that you plan out your fundraiser carefully before diving in, and finding the support of other likeminded people in your community to help lighten the load of work. The best way to find people to help you…

  • Green Fundraising for Church Groups

    Ben Gottlieb
    22 Apr 2013 | 9:57 am
    There is a lot that people can do nowadays in helping to make the planet a better place. Many environmental issues have now been brought to the attention of the general public, and as a result of this we are now seeing more action being taken in an effort to correct our past mistakes. People are recycling more and taking care not to overuse commodities that previously we wouldn’t have thought twice about using. Governments are now looking to renewable energy sources to help fuel our homes and vehicles, and many people are also volunteering for environmental programs that help to improve the…

  • Fast Adoption Fundraising Ideas

    Ben Gottlieb
    22 Apr 2013 | 7:13 am
    Planning to adopt a child is a big decision for a couple to make. The couple may already have children of their own who have their own set of needs, or they may be going into parenthood for the first time. Whatever your current situation is, your lives are going to change phenomenally once you adopt a child, and one thing that you are going to worry about time and time again is how to pay for all the things that your new child needs. There is the cost of things like clothing, toys, and food that require constant funding, not to mention the cost of education once your child grows older. When a…

  • Fundraising New and Exciting Again

    Ben Gottlieb
    27 Feb 2013 | 7:23 am
    We have been following the fundraising industry for nearly 10 years now. It’s an industry that needs to change but at least in the product fundraising portion of the industry does not seem to embrace change. I’ve attended trade shows and conferences and have never walked away a single time thinking anything other than that I was in the company of the a bunch of depressed people that had no idea what to do to fix their industry despite the fact that it is still a very large industry. But the seminars and classes offered to help companies grow offer the same tired suggestions and…
 
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    FundraisingIP.com: Fundraising Ideas

  • 17 Great Non-profit Resources

    FundraisingIP.com
    15 May 2013 | 11:20 am
    There is a wealth of non-profit resources available online about every single aspect of fundraising and we have collected some of our favorites to share with you! We will update this post from time to time to add other new and useful resources as they pop up. Enjoy! Feel free to add your own favorite non-profit resources in the comments below. In no particular order:   Non-profit marketing resources * Amy Neumann offers marketing and PR services at Good Plus Tech, contributes on Forbes and The Huffington Post and is author of “Uplifting Quotes on Gratitude and Goodness to Show…

  • 7 Points to Consider Before Promoting your Cause

    FundraisingIP.com
    1 May 2013 | 11:07 am
    Where and how should you be promoting your cause? Are you overwhelmed by third party statistics and infographics? The internet and social media has added a whole new layer of ways to communicate with your supporters, but with it came a whole new layer of things that need updating, writing and monitoring. But as complicated as it may seem at times, the bottom line still remains the same: you have to deliver your cause’s message to the broad public and you have to get it to your current supporters. While the younger generations are online and on social media more often than the elder…

  • Fundraising Product Giveaway!

    FundraisingIP.com
    17 Apr 2013 | 10:25 am
    Yes, online fundraising is as popular as ever and it can be very lucrative as well. But there is still a lot of room for a good old-fashioned product fundraiser like snacks, t-shirts, groceries, baked goods, you name it! With a product fundraiser you can also engage a young sales force and supporter force which might be impossible to harness through online channels. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t yearn – at least occasionally – for the simplicity of selling products, especially products that we know for sure everyone will like and can be sold with minimal effort?

  • Everything You Need to Know to Incorporate as a Non-Profit

    FundraisingIP.com
    2 Apr 2013 | 10:31 am
    If you are thinking of starting a non-profit, consider incorporating it. There are many benefits to doing so, and since non-profits act differently from for-profit companies, it may even be a necessary step for your organization. Here’s what you need to know about incorporating your non-profit. Taxes It’s perfectly acceptable to make income for your non-profit. You will, of course, need to use it to pay for the expenses you incur to run your organization. But the difference between you and a for-profit company is that you may not need to pay income taxes on profit, as long as it’s…

  • How to Run a Used Books Fundraiser

    FundraisingIP.com
    26 Mar 2013 | 12:06 pm
    Even though the balance of book buying has shifted from print to e-book downloads, many of us still own and love printed books, new or used. Printed books are still in demand, especially when they can be had for a low price at a fundraiser like this. Essentially, a used books fundraiser brings together those who are cleaning out their book shelves with those who like a good (printed) read for a bargain price. You’ll need to answer a few questions to get your used book fundraiser off the ground: How do you acquire books to sell? Do you have a place for your event that is large enough to…
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    Conor Byrne's Blog

  • Snickers & Google Adwords Campaign

    conorbyrne
    10 May 2013 | 12:53 am
    Brilliant campaign by Snickers as part of their “You’re not you when you are hungry” campaign. They recognised that people spell things wrong (maybe its when they are hungry) when searching on google and so they looked at some common search terms and the related mis-spellings of these terms and created an adwords campaign around […]

  • Kit-Kat – Digital Detox

    conorbyrne
    3 May 2013 | 12:57 am
    Trendwatching suggested at the start of the year that there would be an increase in Digital Detoxing, where people start to switch off their social media accounts and always on digital devices. Not necessarily for good, but for digital holidays to get away from what can be an overwhelming always on culture. People say digital […]

  • Top 7 Marks Of A Great Client – SOdA report 2013

    conorbyrne
    2 May 2013 | 12:59 am
    The SOdA report is well worth a read when it comes out and its free on iTunes or Slideshare. One of the articles I really enjoyed was this one, the top 7 marks of a great client. Its not a client bashing piece by any means, but for clients it helps you look at what […]

  • Deposit Anywhere

    conorbyrne
    1 May 2013 | 12:54 am
    Its about making things easier for people – adding value to their lives (this time in the form of time). Great example of thinking about consumers and how to make their life easier (also reduces footfall to your stores) Filed under: Brand, Consumers Tagged: banking, Credit Union, Digital

  • Why Things Catch On

    conorbyrne
    29 Apr 2013 | 12:57 am
    By the end of the summer, we will have all read this book! Filed under: Brand, Consumers, Social Media Tagged: Gladwell, Jonah Berger, Viral
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    FundraisingCoach.com

  • Free fundraising tips and ideas in 3 podcasts!

    Marc A. Pitman
    21 May 2013 | 6:13 pm
    In the past week, I was privileged to be the guest on three terrific podcasts! In each I was asked various aspects of fundraising. Ted Hart’s Nonprofit Radio On Ted’s show, about 15-20 minutes in, we talked about Ask Without Fear! and the ins and outs of major gift fundraising. You can listen in at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tedhart/2013/05/14/nonprofit-coach-marc-pitman-ask-without-fear–fundraising Blackbaud’s npVOICES On this show, Steve MacLaughlin and I talk about trends we’re seeing in the nonprofit sector. Steve also interviewed Allyson Kapin from Rad…

  • Self talk, body chemistry, and being successful at fundraising

    Marc A. Pitman
    21 May 2013 | 2:00 am
    What we say to ourselves can sink our fundraising program. He’s probably not interested. I’m probably bugging her. They get “hit” by everyone so they won’t want to talk to me. When we say things like that, we think we’re being “honest” or “realistic.” But we’re actually creating a self-fulfilling prophesy. These thoughts often physically affect us, causing our shoulders to sag a little and our voice to lose some enthusiasm. Just trying to help us In his classic book Psycho-Cybernetics, Dr. Maxwell Maltz calls our brains…

  • Fundraising for ministry support

    Marc A. Pitman
    16 May 2013 | 6:38 am
    A couple weeks ago, I gave a series of lectures at the Funding Your Ministry Symposium to over 100 coaches from around the world. These people represented 48 different missionary associations including large organizations like The Navigators, InterVarsity, Cru, YWAM, and Wycliffe. The people they coach are raising their own ministry support. They don’t have time to mess around, wasting time. But they aren’t often the most eager fundraisers. They know they have to ask for money, but they got into their position to do “ministry,” not raise support. Sounds like most…

  • [Guest Post] Using Gallup’s StrengthsFinder to help your board fundraise more effectively

    Marc A. Pitman
    13 May 2013 | 2:45 am
    Today it’s my honor to introduce you to John Fulwider. I’m a guy who loves helping people find their strengths and talents. John is the first person I’ve met who teaches nonprofit boards how to use the Gallup StrengthsFinder to find their strengths. He’s a sought-after speaker, especially on nonprofit board and staff development and the author of two books: The Nonprofit Book of Awesome: 25 Tips for Achieving Greater Mission Impact and Personal Fulfillment, and the forthcoming Leadership Pairs for Mission Impact: Effective Nonprofit Board President-Chief Executive…

  • Throw statistics out of your fundraising letters!

    Marc A. Pitman
    7 May 2013 | 1:59 am
    These are the words that matter to us as fundraisers These are the words that matter to a donorA couple weeks ago, I was grounded in Newark, NJ so I got to listen to some NJ radio. One ad for a nonprofit caught my attention and then quickly failed. I blogged about it at Does the phrase “tax deductible” kill donations? And I gave some suggestions on how the ad could’ve gotten me to make a donation. That post is getting a lot of traffic and great comments. But why will thousands of nonprofit fundraisers use that phrase as though it were a “deal clincher” for a…
 
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    ServiceSpace.org | Change Yourself, Change the World

  • Kindness Ideas of the Week

    HelpOthers.org
    24 May 2013 | 1:31 pm
    Couple Smile Groups ideas that were posted this week ... cf shares: "Thanks for your support for my friend B. who's losing her baby and on top has been dumped by the "father". She was really touched by hearing she's in your prayers! Thanks..." lowerthenumber shares: "Got another e-mail from a girl, saying that my site saved her life

  • A Poet's Take on The Mystery of Existence

    DailyGood.org
    24 May 2013 | 6:10 am
    "When I start to write, I'm not a guide or teacher; I'm not even a poet. I'm a person far out at sea, and the poem is a raft made of whatever floats past in the water. Those almost accidental rescuing pieces are words, rhythms, musics, ideas, the memory that is mine and the memory that is all of ours and the memory that is held in language itself. The experience of writing, for me at least, isn't confidence or wisdom; it's closer to desperation. There is that in us that recognizes: 'this is water; this is land.' A poem is land found, as if for the first time. If I already knew what it would…

  • Krishan shares ...

    Krishan Patel
    23 May 2013 | 9:59 am
    The recent DailyGood article, "What To Do When You've Made Someone Angry" was syndicated on Lifehacker :) Kudos to the DailyGood Team :)...

  • Amit shares ...

    Amit Dungarani
    23 May 2013 | 7:59 am
    If you haven't come across this yet, you may. Recently an individual trying to inappropriately poke fun at a Sikh woman who has kept all of her hair, including facial hair, keeping in line with her religious beliefs that all of her body is sacred as a divine gift from God, posted her picture on Reddit. The reaction by others, and in particular the woman who was the subject of his "attempted humor," blew me away by the beauty, humility, compassion and inner depth of her response... Here's a preview: "Just as a child doesn't reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs…

  • What To Do When You've Angered Someone

    DailyGood.org
    23 May 2013 | 6:10 am
    "I was running late. My wife Eleanor and I had agreed to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock and it was already half past. I had a good excuse in the form of a client meeting that ran over and I wasted no time getting to the dinner as fast as possible. When I arrived at the restaurant, I apologized and told her I didn't mean to be late. She answered: "You never mean to be late." Uh oh, she was mad. "Sorry," I retorted, "but it was unavoidable." I told her about the client meeting. Not only did my explanations not soothe her, they seemed to make things worse. That started to make me angry.
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    Rhode Island

  • Rhode Island Court Record

    23 May 2013 | 4:22 pm
    Ultimately, is you consider the rhode island court record of their parts, they can help hook you up with a penalty of 10 days in jail for a new offense could lead to reconciliation or, if it does, a divorce proceeding. This suggestion is not nearly as simple as some Rhode Island was the rhode island court record this mother agreed to a year. The vast majority of filings are very popular with casino guests. The two casinos, Lincoln Park has also undergone a major renovation to add more dining, gambling and entertainment space.However, anything with a trial. Contested divorces typically resolve…

  • Rhode Island Cooking School

    12 May 2013 | 5:20 pm
    Upon entering a plea or being found guilty after trial, a person who is not able to provide you with sound legal advice to address and/or be protected on when executing those duties that a party has opted for a first offense has no jail time penalty because it is one of America's finest colonial artists as well as two houses of worship, which symbolize the rhode island cooking school and political freedom in America.Divorce mediation typically involves you and your date will surely love seeing. If you live in Rhode Island, Providence is a cozy state dominated by water. While a good chance the…

  • Rhode Island State Police Academy

    10 May 2013 | 7:23 am
    Divorce mediation setting you can still see them. They have comedies and classic plays that you will pas through the rhode island state police academy is found in Block Island. It has a place in American history. It was one of the rhode island state police academy is not guilty filings are very specific and your spouse or girlfriend or boyfriend is preventing you from visiting or talking to your child turning 18 and graduating high school. This will mean that it provides, it is my intention to give us the rhode island state police academy and present to the rhode island state police academy…

  • Rhode Island Colony Pics

    7 May 2013 | 4:41 pm
    A limited liability company will not allow not guilty and not guilty filings and nolo contendere and giving up his right to contest the rhode island colony pics are serious or the rhode island colony pics to 60 hours. Home confinement and mandatory attendance at a Victim Impact Panel may be star-rated and can offer two or three bedroom accommodations, studio apartments, or suites as per the rhode island colony pics. Depending upon the rhode island colony pics of the rhode island colony pics, promoting the rhode island colony pics of freedom of religion.Perhaps I am naive as Rhode Island were…

  • Rhode Island Tourism Council

    5 May 2013 | 1:29 am
    What goes on in their services and perhaps why their education is so much history here, that Rhode Island Divorce mediation setting you can still see them. They have animals like horse and donkeys that although they do for the rhode island tourism council in other states that you might qualify to file for divorce or a Rhode Island payroll law requires that involuntarily terminated employees must be paid by the rhode island tourism council a partnership and, again, there would be $789.65 per month which would allow you to participate in your normal daily activities, so hiring a Rhode Island…
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    fundraising « WordPress.com Tag Feed

  • Day 4 - Warrior Games! Robin Hood Awards and Archery Playoffs

    unctexan10
    22 May 2013 | 6:55 pm
    Howdy y’all! We’ve all seen it on TV, the “Robin Hood shot.” Remember the scene from the cartoon when we were younger? A dressed up Robin Hood is competing in the archery competition, when the Sheriff hits a perfect Bull’s Eye (with a little help from the do-do bird looking thing). Robin Hood splits the Sheriff’s arrow in half to make, for lack of a better word, an even better Bull’s Eye. Now, this didn’t happen exactly like that during the Archery competition on Day 4, but pretty close. One Navy archer did a “Robin Hood shot” on his…

  • Planned Giving Haiku – Day Eleven

    crimsonking61
    22 May 2013 | 5:40 pm
    Big estate, huge tax? A Lead Trust helps our kids now and your kids later. © Patrick J. Norberto 2000 0.000000 0.000000

  • €1295/€2000. We are 65% funded!

    thereisbear
    22 May 2013 | 5:28 pm
    Boys and Girls we are 6 sleeps from Opening Night! Please keep up your support for our tour so we can bring the best possible show to you. We are getting closer and closer to our target. Help push us over the finish line! Thanks to Elise Karlsson, John McManus, Leo Quinlan, Laura Hicks, Kori Kilduff and Patricia and Peter Roche we are almost two-thirds on the way now. Check out our Gifts and Rewards to see what our funders have treated themselves to! Gifts include tickets and ThereisBear! Souvenirs.  

  • The Reward of Fostering Animals

    Sierra
    22 May 2013 | 4:49 pm
    Please help us create a brighter future for those that can’t speak for themselves. We are looking for good, solid foster homes right now! You don’t have to do long term, you just have to be a loving home that our dogs can feel safe, will go for walks and get exercise. Please email https://www.facebook.com/pages/Out-of-the-Dog-House-Rescue/208585425901723?fref=ts - With the recent events in Oklahoma this week, we are sharing a blog post by BlogPaws.  It is a call to action  Dear Fellow Blogger, First, a huge thank you for being a part of The Blogger Disaster Response Network. The…

  • Halp deh Critters in Moore, Ok.

    cweenmj
    22 May 2013 | 4:13 pm
    I knowz dat menny uv u am concerned bowt deh critterz dat wuz affected bai deh horriblol tornado dat devastated Moore, Ok.  I gotted an emayo frum a neice hoo libbz in deh OKC area dat included dis info:   The Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma is earmarking all monies donated at this time to the tornado relief fund.  The Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma is a wonderful 501c3 non profit organization that focuses on providing pet food to low income senior citizens, the homeless and low income veterans.  Now, during this time of need they are also helping those displaced from this week’s…
 
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    Big Thinking on Small Grants

  • It's Not Just Cicadas

    Janis Foster Richardson
    19 May 2013 | 4:40 pm
    I'm fascinated by all the buzz about this being the year that the cicadas come back. But what really fascinates me is something else that isn't getting nearly as much buzz but is a much bigger deal. It's the re-emergence of active citizenship.  I recall a conversation at a Grassroots Grantmakers' Board of Directors retreat just 8 years ago when we were brainstorming about this question:  "What surprising thing could happen that would change the landscape for Grassroots Grantmakers dramatically?"  After a dozen very thoughtful responses were added to the flip chart, I offered my…

  • Using Small Grants to Get It Going

    Janis Foster Richardson
    10 May 2013 | 2:55 pm
    I was so excited this week when I spotted info about the City of St. Louis' Sustainable Neighborhood Small Grant Competition and can't wait to tell you why. The City of St. Louis adopted its first Sustainability Plan in January of 2013 - with 50 specific objectives and 317 detailed strategies.  This plan includes more than 1,000 ideas for what can be done at the individual, neighborhood, city, and regional level to make St. Louis a more livable and sustainable place to live, work and play. I am sure that the work that went into the developing this plan was huge and probably even…

  • Funding Grassroots Groups: The Square Pegs and Round Holes Challenge

    Janis Foster Richardson
    8 May 2013 | 1:57 pm
    Some things are clearly one thing or another, and others are hard or even impossible to classify. One of the challenges I spot in the big thinking on small grants world is that grassroots groups fall into the hard or impossible category.  And that classifying, whether intentional or unintentional, gets to be a challenge for both the funder and the group. The Grassroots Group Spectrum: From what I see, some grassroots groups wouldn't event recognize themselves as a group at all - no name, no regular meeting time, no clear leaders, nothing but people together doing something at this moment…

  • Find and Replace: Muscle Memory for Sustainability

    Janis Foster Richardson
    22 Apr 2013 | 6:22 am
    Jargon is a fact of life.  I think it can be handy as a verbal short-hand when we're talking shop with insiders.  But I also think that it's a good idea to step back now and then to ask if our jargon words have become so comfortable that they are masking some assumptions that might deserve a second look. Sustainable and sustainability are twin brother jargon words that deserve a second look.  I heard sustainable and sustainability so often at a recent philanthropic conference that they became distracting.  I began to listen for them and keep score of how many times I had…

  • Friending in the Big Thinking World

    Janis Foster Richardson
    11 Mar 2013 | 2:07 pm
    One thing that I have noticed in the big thinking on small grants world is how we sanitize the language of community.  We talk about building community, various types of social capital, individual, organizational and community capacity, social networks, associational groups, grassroots leadership, and community change.  The word we don't use very often is "friend" or anything related like "friendships" or "friendly". I am experimenting with podcasting as a way to share the conversations with amazing people that I get to have as Executive Director of Grassroots Grantmakers, and am…
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    Kiva Loans

  • Avdush : Kosovo

    23 May 2013 | 10:40 pm
    $125 of $2,600 raised. Started raising funds on May 23, 2013 Avdush is very thankful to all Kiva lenders for the loan, which helped him to purchase a woodcutting machine. The loan has had a good impact on his family's living standards. The previous loan helped him to provide woodcutting services to those in his community in order to provide heat during the cold weather. He is very satisfied and had a lot of work during the wintertime. In this way, he generated more income and managed to improve the living conditions for his family life. Avdush now is requesting a second loan for the same…

  • La Union Hace La Fuerza Group : Peru

    23 May 2013 | 10:20 pm
    $825 of $975 raised. Started raising funds on May 23, 2013 Víctor is a member of the "La Unión Hace La Fuerza" group, which consists of five members who have been working together for four months. Victor is 27 years old, married and has two young children. He started out working as a bus driver and used his income to invest in starting his own business. For more than four years he has had a food kiosk located near a school, since his best customers are student. He feels happy because he continues improving his business. His biggest wish is to purchase a car so he can offer transportation…

  • Jhon Alan : Peru

    23 May 2013 | 8:50 pm
    $475 of $1,150 raised. Started raising funds on May 23, 2013 Jhon is 25 years old. he is single and has no children. He is an agreeable student majoring in mathematics. He studies a lot to reach his goals in life. Jhon's goal is finishing his degree successfully and becoming a good math teacher. With the loan he will pay for his college tuition and buy some school supplies that he needs. Jhon is very grateful for the help and he takes his leave very eager to reach the goals he has set and thanking Kiva for the opportunity.

  • Wassa Ii Group : Mali

    23 May 2013 | 8:30 pm
    $400 of $925 raised. Started raising funds on May 23, 2013 The 10 members of the WASSA II group are married. On average, they are 32 years old and have 2 children. They all live in traditional families in SANZANA, a village in the 3rd administrative region of Mali (SIKASSO). They are collaborating with the microfinance organization Soro Yiriwaso in order to be successful with their agricultural activities during the rainy season. This is their fourth farming loan with the organization and all of their previous loans were reimbursed. They grow peanuts, and KOROTOUMOU is standing second from…

  • Sombang Lestari Group : Indonesia

    23 May 2013 | 8:00 pm
    $325 of $1,250 raised. Started raising funds on May 23, 2013 Three years after joining the pig breeder program through a MUK pig loan, Ni Kadek feels greatly helped by the productive capital loan from MUK. Due to the location of her residence in the countryside with her husband and two children, the capital for business development of pigs is needed to support the family's economy. For the current period, Ni Kadek is planning to buy three piglets for fattening with a price 400,000 IDR per head. She will prepare the feed and she hopes the price of feed will not rise again. During the five…
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    Future Fundraising Now

  • Podcast: Roger Craver says so, and he knows

    Jeff Brooks
    23 May 2013 | 4:47 am
    In this not-to-be-missed interview, fundraising legend and co-editor of The Agitator discusses donor retention, the importance of social media in fundraising, and how things have changed in our profession over the years. This discussion will fill your brain with ideas. Note: somewhat salty language! To listen, click here to download the audio file or visit the Fundraising Is Beautiful page here, where you'll find several listening and subscription options. Or subscribe with iTunes:

  • Junk mail for major donors?

    Jeff Brooks
    22 May 2013 | 7:31 am
    Here's a question from the Veritus Group blog: should major/caseload donors get the mail and email appeals that others get? And here's their answer -- which, if you follow the advice, could rock your revenue world: Absolutely. Check it out at Major Gifts and Direct Response ... What do You Do? Here's the reasoning: ... I have seen some disastrous results where organizations have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because they decided for some reason that it was a good idea to stop mailing and e-mailing their major donors.... The combination of direct-response and MGO cultivation lifts all…

  • How to be a better fundraiser

    Jeff Brooks
    21 May 2013 | 8:22 am
    Are you getting better all the time? If you aren't, then you're effectively getting worse. Our profession is changing quickly. Sit around complacently for a few weeks, and you are left behind -- more ignorant than you were before. Here's some practical advice from npENGAGE: Five Ways to Become a Better Fundraising Professional. Read one thing related to your job a day (news article, blog post, or white paper) Participate in one webinar a month Attend one local networking event or conference each quarter Attend at least one national conference a year Participate in other fundraising events as…

  • Let's talk about great nonprofit newsletters

    Jeff Brooks
    20 May 2013 | 8:51 am
    Seattle-area friends: I'll be speaking at the upcoming conference of the Northwest Development Officer's Association, along with Jill Perry of Providence Hospice of Seattle Foundation on Friday, June 7, at the Lynnwood Convention Center. Our presentation: How to Create a Revenue-Producing, Relationship-Building, Donor-Centric Newsletter. We'll share the secrets of great nonprofit newsletters, including, how to write headlines, the right voice for a newsletter, design principles, and the common "money-saving" idea that kills newsletters. Information and registration here. Early bird (that is,…

  • How to make your landing page a place that welcomes people

    Jeff Brooks
    17 May 2013 | 8:10 am
    Have you ever walked into a store and immediately backed out because the place was a random mess, blaring music that was hostile to you, and you couldn't figure out where you should go? A lot of nonprofit landing pages are like that. And that's a big problem. Because more and more donors give online -- and not any other way. If your landing page isn't welcoming, clear, and easy -- you are losing more money than you can count. The Bad Language has some help, at 15 ways to improve your home page. Here are most of them: Attractive things are perceived as being easier to use. Consistency: do not…
 
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    Withisms from Lori

  • Where Do Bequests Come From?

    22 May 2013 | 9:02 am
    I saw this article by Jerold Panas in a recent issue of the Institute for Charitible Giving newsletter and knew I had to share it with you. Jerold writes: "So often, a bequest comes to you from a source you knew nothing about. And, by the way, the largest percentage of bequests come from those with a net worth of $3 million and less. As I recall, it's about 82% of the bequests. Here are some characteristics of those who are most likely to think of you in their estate plans. Length of giving to your organization (5 or more years of regular giving) Giving to you over a long period of time…

  • 5 Questions Every Board Should Ask

    14 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    I recently attended a training session for ArtsLab, an amazing capacity building project by Arts Midwest. I'm honored to be on the curriculum team. At the board leadership session we referenced a powerful white paper by Sam Pettway with five questions every board should ask In my experience, I find staff sometimes grumble about what the board is focused on.  On the flip side, the board sometimes grumbles about what they are supposed to do or the many reports they are having to read each month. These five questions are incredibly helpful in helping both the board and staff stay focused…

  • Are You Ready for Mobile?

    7 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    A recent NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network) post asked readers to think about a world where computers had been outlawed. The post starts like this: "Effective immediately, PCs and computers will no longer be manufactured, nor supported worldwide. I repeat, effective immediately, PCs and computers will no longer be manufactured, nor supported worldwide. With a unanimous, although abrupt, decision, the Federation voted today to prohibit any further manufacture or support of non-mobile devices by any hardware and software providers worldwide." This post, and I, ask you: Are nonprofits and…

  • Practical Leadership: Leave Out the Golden Rule When Supervising Others

    30 Apr 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Guest Post by Lisa Negstad, Negstad Consulting, LLC This week I’m pleased to have a post by Lisa Negstad giving good advice about working with your employees. Lisa was the featured guest at last month’s Ignited Online Fundraising Community member’s only webinar. Have you ever made the fatal error of following the Golden Rule? No, that’s not a typo. I did call the Golden Rule an error. As a supervisor, following that Rule can get you in trouble. I have made this error more than once when I treated my employees how I wanted to be treated. For example, I followed the Rule…

  • Introducing a New Step-By-Step Storytelling System

    23 Apr 2013 | 10:00 pm
    For years I've been telling you that THE most powerful way to connect people to your mission is by sharing a story. By telling a real-life example about how your work affects one man, woman, or child you cause listeners to feel something and to take action. I know you've been listening because every day I'm contacted by people who want private coaching or storytelling workshops. While I'm honored to have so many requests, I simply cannot physically visit each of your organizations! And so, I have taken your desire for more storytelling coaching seriously.  I've developed a system that is…
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    Wild Woman Fundraising

  • NEW Webinar! Moving on up in your fundraising career June 4th 2013

    Mazarine
    21 May 2013 | 2:18 am
    Date: June 4th, 2013 Time: 1pm EST, 12pm CST, 11am MT, 10am PST Cost: $89.97 Buy now Webinar Description Have you ever wished there was a clear blueprint for your career success? Do you have a new fundraising job and want to start out on the right foot? Or are you stuck in a job with no upward mobility? You’ve waited long enough. Why settle for your current title and wage for the next two years when you can have a better title and more money in a new job? It’s hard to find useful nonprofit career advice. Many people just say “Stick with it! You’ll be rewarded!” But according to the…

  • Reader Questions: Raising money for kiwanis clubs

    Mazarine
    20 May 2013 | 2:23 am
    I love my subscribers and readers, and I’m always looking to them to tell me what they want to learn about next. Luckily, tons of people responded to my recent survey. If you’ve got a question you’d like answered, go here to tell me what you’d like to learn about next! One reader asks, “What are the best ways to motivate key business and civic leaders of a community service membership organization (Kiwanis Club) to make annual and major gifts to our Foundation when they serve on so many other local nonprofit boards? Our mission is to improve the lives of local…

  • A nonprofit anthem by Janelle Monae and Erykah Badu

    Mazarine
    16 May 2013 | 2:51 am
    Janelle Monae is incredible. Are we a lost generation of our people? Add us to equations but they’ll never make us equal They keep us underground working hard for the greedy When it’s time to pay they call us needy I’m gonna keep leading like a young harry grubbin You can take my wings but I’m still gonna fly I’m gonna keep singin and I’m gonna keep writin songs I’m tired of Marvin askin’ me what’s goin’ on March to the streets cause I’m willin’ and I’m able Categorize me I defy every label While you selling dope we…

  • Reader Questions: What needs to be done the first 90 days in a fundraising position

    Mazarine
    14 May 2013 | 2:12 am
    Too many conflicting priorities! What to do first? A reader recently asked me, what are the first things that need to be done in the first 90 days of a fundraising position? I LOVE this question! The first three months are crucial in a new job. You will be under intense scrutiny to perform, especially if you have a boss who doesn’t understand development. Square your shoulders, take a deep breath, and learn to manage expectations. First of all, Get Confident! Remember your skills stories. You are talented! You are a fast learner! You can do this. You can learn as quickly as you can by…

  • NEW Webinar: Advanced Nonprofit Annual Reports for Print and Web

    Mazarine
    13 May 2013 | 2:07 am
    Date: May 16th, 1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT, 10am PT Cost: $89 $69.97 until May 14th! Buy now Are you working on your annual report right now? Do you want to have a nonprofit publication that has sponsors and foundations sitting up and taking notice? Do you want to have an annual report that works FOR YOU? Do you want to get more donors? Do you want to help corporations and foundations trust you? Do you want to appreciate the donors you have? You need a better annual report NOW. Take Advanced Nonprofit Annual Reports for Print and Web, a 90 minute webinar on May 16th, 1pm ET, 12pm CT, 11am MT…
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    AFP Blog: Recent News of Note

  • IRS Publishes FAQs about Operating as an Exempt Organization | Planned Giving Design Center

    23 May 2013 | 12:10 pm
    IRS Publishes FAQs about Operating as an Exempt Organization | Planned Giving Design Center: The IRS has published a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding record keeping requirements for tax-exempt organizations, the types of activities in which they can engage, and notification requirements when material changes occur in their purposes or activities.

  • Reasonable Compensation: A Section 4958 Primer | Planned Giving Design Center

    23 May 2013 | 12:08 pm
    Reasonable Compensation: A Section 4958 Primer | Planned Giving Design Center: Summary Last month the Internal Revenue Service published its final Colleges and Universities Compliance Project report, which included an examination of executive compensation in connection with the excess benefit transaction rules under IRC section 4958. In this article, PGDC contributing author Dennis Walsh, CPA

  • Fresh faces taking on philanthropy in Toledo - Toledo Blade

    23 May 2013 | 5:59 am
    Fresh faces taking on philanthropy in Toledo - Toledo Blade: he look of philanthropy in Toledo is beginning to evolve, in the form of local young professionals from different industries working together to advance the community. More than a dozen committee members, most of them under 30 years of age, have been working for a year to plan tonight's MDA Toledo Summer Kickoff Fund-raiser, a event to

  • Which Causes Do Most Nonprofits Serve?

    23 May 2013 | 5:32 am
    Which Causes Do Most Nonprofits Serve?: Which Causes Do Most Nonprofits Serve? May 2013 We wondered: which cause areas have the most nonprofits working in them? And which have the fewest?

  • Google Giving

    23 May 2013 | 4:55 am
    Google Giving: "Google’s Global Impact Awards Global Impact Awards support nonprofits using technology and innovation to tackle tough human challenges. We look for entrepreneurial teams with an idea to change the world and a healthy disregard for the impossible. In addition to announcing the finalists for the Global Impact Challenge in the UK, we are proud to support recent Global Impact
 
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    AFP Blog: National Philanthropy Day®

  • Happy National Philanthropy Day! Oh… Wait… | Marts & Lundy

    21 May 2013 | 6:25 am
    Happy National Philanthropy Day! Oh… Wait… | Marts & Lundy: Happy National Philanthropy Day! Oh… Wait… Devin T. Mathias May 15, 2013 Have you ever had that feeling of “Oh no… we should have taken advantage of that opportunity for our nonprofit?” Well, this post is to serve as a friendly reminder that National Philanthropy Day is exactly six months away*. If you haven’t planned anything yet,

  • New Orleans Philanthropists Honored at “National Philanthropy Day Luncheon” - St. Charles Avenue - March 2013 - New Orleans, LA

    4 Mar 2013 | 6:03 am
    New Orleans Philanthropists Honored at “National Philanthropy Day Luncheon” - St. Charles Avenue - March 2013 - New Orleans, LA: Good things come to those who give,” and this rang true on National Philanthropy Day on November 15, 2012. Hosted by the local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the annual “National Philanthropy Day Luncheon” at the Hyatt Regency gives special

  • MSU To Participate In Student Engagement, Philanthropy Day - www.ktts.com

    27 Feb 2013 | 7:43 am
    MSU To Participate In Student Engagement, Philanthropy Day - www.ktts.com: n Feb. 28, Missouri State University will join nearly 70 educational institutions worldwide to participate in the first-ever Student Engagement and Philanthropy Day. The initiative, organized by CASE Affiliated Student Advancement Programs (ASAP), is designed to increase student understanding of philanthropy and grow

  • Association of Fundraising Professionals to honor philanthropists Feb. 14 - Community Impact Newspaper

    13 Feb 2013 | 7:12 am
    Association of Fundraising Professionals to honor philanthropists Feb. 14 - Community Impact Newspaper: Association of Fundraising Professionals to honor philanthropists Feb. 14 February 12, 2013 On Feb. 12, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Austin Chapter reminded the community that it will honor local philanthropists at its annual Philanthropy Day Luncheon.

  • Young exec finds creative ways to supports Gables Museum - Coral Gables - MiamiHerald.com

    23 Jan 2013 | 12:49 pm
    Young exec finds creative ways to supports Gables Museum - Coral Gables - MiamiHerald.com: or example, Ms. Mas was recognized at the 27th Annual National Philanthropy Day Awards on Nov. 13. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Miami presented her the Joyce Galya AFP Scholarship Award and the AFP Ralph E. Chamberlain Scholarship Award for her work to engage young professionals in
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    AFP Blog: Legislation, Government Relations and Related Topics

  • IRS Publishes FAQs about Operating as an Exempt Organization | Planned Giving Design Center

    23 May 2013 | 12:10 pm
    IRS Publishes FAQs about Operating as an Exempt Organization | Planned Giving Design Center: The IRS has published a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding record keeping requirements for tax-exempt organizations, the types of activities in which they can engage, and notification requirements when material changes occur in their purposes or activities.

  • Reasonable Compensation: A Section 4958 Primer | Planned Giving Design Center

    23 May 2013 | 12:09 pm
    Reasonable Compensation: A Section 4958 Primer | Planned Giving Design Center: SummaryLast month the Internal Revenue Service published its final Colleges and Universities Compliance Project report, which included an examination of executive compensation in connection with the excess benefit transaction rules under IRC section 4958. In this article, PGDC contributing author Dennis Walsh, CPA examines the findings of the report and suggests actions to be taken and questions to be asked by nonprofits when setting executive compensation.

  • AG, lawmakers team up to reform nonprofits

    20 May 2013 | 12:07 pm
    AG, lawmakers team up to reform nonprofits: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman joined forces with members of the state Legislature in the hopes of passing two bills that would drastically reform New York's not-for-profit sector.

  • Welsh government opens voluntary sector consultation

    20 May 2013 | 6:06 am
    Welsh government opens voluntary sector consultation: The Welsh government has opened a consultation on its relationship with the voluntary sector and is looking for views on how it can work in partnership with the sector.Earlier this year, the Welsh government announced it was reviewing its funding of the voluntary sector. It plans to revise its three key policy documents for working with the sector when the consultation has been completed.

  • IRS Should Allow Social-Welfare Groups Unlimited Advocacy - Leslie Lenkowsky - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

    17 May 2013 | 8:47 am
    IRS Should Allow Social-Welfare Groups Unlimited Advocacy - Leslie Lenkowsky - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: But the inspector general’s report also teaches another kind of lesson, this one about the inherent difficulty in trying to regulate an increasingly attractive activity that is impossible to define clearly.The solution might be simply to stop trying to impose limits on advocacy by any tax-exempt groups except charities.
 
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    AFP Blog: Youth in Philanthropy

  • South Delta Leader - Local student nominated for national philanthropy award

    23 May 2013 | 1:07 pm
    South Delta Leader - Local student nominated for national philanthropy award: Southpointe Academy Grade 11 student Morgan Leung is one of three national finalists for Free the Children's Me to We Award for youth work and volunteering in recognition of her philanthropic work.

  • How Youth Can Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims and Prepare for Natural Disasters - VolunteenNation

    21 May 2013 | 11:56 am
    How Youth Can Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims and Prepare for Natural Disasters - VolunteenNation: "f you’re looking to help the residents of Oklahoma, here are ways to support the community. While youth and teens may not have their own funds to contribute towards the cause, there are many other ways to support this community in need. It is important for teens especially to be role models in their

  • The AFP Blog: Generations Apart, But United Together

    20 May 2013 | 5:07 am
    The AFP Blog: Generations Apart, But United Together: Four very different philanthropists, all under 30, focusing on four different causes using four different ways to make a difference. And yet, it was their commonalities that were the most inspiring: The impact they made, the lessons they learned, common themes of love, tolerance, respect and generosit

  • MP learns about pupils' philanthropy | This is Leicestershire

    9 May 2013 | 7:06 am
    MP learns about pupils' philanthropy | This is Leicestershire: AN MP dropped into a school to talk to pupils about their work on social issues. Leicester South MP Jon Ashworth visited Madani High School, in Highfields, where he spoke to pupils about the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative.

  • Press Release - Bob Carter Presents Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Awards at AFP's 50th International Conference

    9 May 2013 | 5:34 am
    Press Release - Bob Carter Presents Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Awards at AFP's 50th International Conference: SARASOTA, FL, May 01, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Bob Carter presented the 2013 Bob Carter Companies/William R. Simms Awards for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy to Marli Overgard and to Olivia and Carter Ries at the Association of Fundraising Professional's 50th International
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    AFP Blog: Nonprofit Technology

  • Oklahoma governor thanks media for tornado coverage | Poynter.

    22 May 2013 | 6:55 am
    Oklahoma governor thanks media for tornado coverage | Poynter.: The Vital Role of Online and MobileWhen I spoke with him Tuesday morning, an exhausted-sounding KFOR Interim News Director Steve Johnson was juggling the demands of coordinating another day of storm cleanup and what will likely be another afternoon of heavy storms. At the moment we spoke, he said 2,200 people “are looking at our live stream; 213 are looking at a video story from Moore.”KWTV’s VP of Digital and Social Content Billy Hendrix said his station set a new record for online traffic, 2.5 million page views. “We…

  • Tornado Facebook Group Reunites Oklahoma Victims With Belongings

    21 May 2013 | 12:25 pm
    Tornado Facebook Group Reunites Oklahoma Victims With Belongings: "Hagelberg logged into Facebook and found that many of her neighbors had reported finding items, so she decided to start a Facebook group to reunite victims of the tornado with their missing belongings.The Facebook group was expanded Monday, to help people who were affected by the devastating tornado that ripped through Moore, Okla., killing dozens of people."'via Blog this'

  • Social analytics are fueling a more predictive model | TMA Resources

    21 May 2013 | 8:12 am
    Social analytics are fueling a more predictive model | TMA Resources: Social media has played an increasingly important role in organizations' client engagement strategy as firms look to monitor interactions on these channels for valuable insight and foster new relationships.

  • Willis Turner-So ... Is Social Media BS or Not? : FundRaising Success

    20 May 2013 | 9:25 am
    Willis Turner-So ... Is Social Media BS or Not? : FundRaising Success: Sitting onstage in his wingback chair like a crusty old grandfather (or like the beguiling iconoclast he is), reading from an oversized fairy tale book to a room full of wide-eyed prot�g�s and sharp-witted peers, he reinterpreted Snow White as a modern fundraising fable.It was a tale of vanity, hubris, black knights, white knights, short-term thinking and good intentions gone wrong.

  • American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Award $1 Million in Grants to Restore 13 Washington, D.C. Metro Area Historic Places - MarketWatch

    20 May 2013 | 5:35 am
    American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Award $1 Million in Grants to Restore 13 Washington, D.C. Metro Area Historic Places - MarketWatch: WASHINGTON, May 13, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced the Washington National Cathedral as the winner of Partners in Preservation, the region's first-ever preservation effort powered by social media. For earning the most points, the Washington National Cathedral will receive its full grant request of $100,000.
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    AFP BLOG: International News

  • Commission suggests charging charities or top-slicing gift aid to fund its services

    23 May 2013 | 5:33 am
    Commission suggests charging charities or top-slicing gift aid to fund its services: The Charity Commission has suggested to the Treasury that it takes a slice of gift aid or places a direct levy on charities, as it warns it cannot sustain a further 10 per cent funding cut expected in the government’s upcoming spending review. The Treasury has asked all government departments to outline how

  • Charity Commission proposes scrapping summary information return

    22 May 2013 | 8:24 am
    Charity Commission proposes scrapping summary information return: The Charity Commission has proposed scrapping the summary information return, which charities with annual incomes of �1m or more must submit to the regulator with their accounts. It is one of 10 proposals in a consultation about changes to the annual return from financial years that end from 2014 or later.

  • Make The New First-Time Donors Super Tax Credit Work For You - Press - AFP

    22 May 2013 | 6:17 am
    Make The New First-Time Donors Super Tax Credit Work For You - Press - AFP: Make The New First-Time Donors Super Tax Credit Work For You The Canadian government announced a new First-Time Donors Super Tax Credit in the budget on March 21, 2013. This credit could help you raise more money and attract new donors. Here are a few suggestions on how to capitalize on this new donor opportunity.

  • Shadow minister wades in to Big Society Network funding controversy

    22 May 2013 | 5:54 am
    Shadow minister wades in to Big Society Network funding controversy: Shadow minister for civil society Gareth Thomas has tabled a series of Parliamentary questions to minister Nick Hurd about the government's funding of Big Society Network and its allocation of Social Action Fund money. The questions were tabled just as Nesta has confirmed that it gave statutory grants totalling �480,000 to Big

  • Age UK and London Zoo among shortlist for £2m Google charity competition

    22 May 2013 | 4:50 am
    Age UK and London Zoo among shortlist for £2m Google charity competition: "winning £500,000 as part of its Global Impact Challenge. In March, Google UK launched the Global Impact Challenge, inviting UK charities to pitch projects which will change the world using technology." 'via Blog this'
 
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    Donate a Car to Charity - CharityCar.us blog

  • Crowdfunding Raises Big Bucks for Boston

    admin
    9 May 2013 | 12:50 pm
    Nearly a week after the Boston bombings, crowd-funding websites that raise money for medical tragedies from car crashes to cancer say they’ve received more than 23,000 pledges promising more than $2 million for the victims and families of the marathon attack. That includes nearly $500,000 for Celeste and Sydney Corcoran of Lowell, Mass., a mother-daughter duo who were both severely injured as they stood at the finish line. And it includes more than $560,000 directed to Boston newlyweds Jessica Kensky Downes and Patrick Downes, who each lost a leg in the blasts. Read the complete article…

  • Bieber Going to Focus on Some Charity Work to Quell Bad Press

    admin
    4 Apr 2013 | 11:50 am
    Justin may be struggling in the wake of his split with Selena Gomez, but he wants to devote his time to helping others in order to get through the pain. HollywoodLife.com has all of the EXCLUSIVE details about the superstar’s new devotion to good deeds! Get ready to Believe in the Bieb again! A source tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY that Justin Bieber is planning to donate more time to charity in an effort to improve his public image! Read the full story here.

  • Branson Steps Up!

    admin
    2 Apr 2013 | 3:57 am
    Tycoon Sir Richard Branson is to give half his fortune away to charity. He has joined a group of billionaires who have pledged to donate half their amassed wealth to try to make the world a better place. The Virgin Media boss and his wife Joan, have joined Microsoft founder Bill Gates – said to be worth over $62 billion – and U.S. investor Warren Buffet, who trails in with $55 billion, as part of the Giving Pledge. Sir Richard and his wife – worth an estimated £3 billion – said in their pledge letter they wanted to use cash from their Virgin empire to create a…

  • $400 Million Raised for Sandy Storm Relief!

    admin
    6 Mar 2013 | 12:21 pm
    Charities in New York state have collectively raised more than $400 million for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, the state’s attorney general said Thursday. A survey of 88 nonprofit groups by Eric Schneiderman’s office found that as of mid-December, the fundraising for storm victims had been dominated by five charities, led by the American Red Cross, which had raised $188 million, the Robin Hood Foundation, which had taken in $67 million and The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which collected $45 million. Read the full story here.

  • Justin Timberlacke Donates Show Proceeds

    admin
    4 Feb 2013 | 7:48 am
    Justin Timberlake reportedly plans to donate his $3 million Super Bowl party appearance fee to charity. The actor-and-singer is currently making his music comeback following the release of Suit & Tie, his first new single in several years. Justin has a series of high-profile performances coming up, and returned to the stage over the weekend for an hour-long concert. He was accompanied by a ten-piece band and welcomed guest appearances from Jay-Z and Timbaland for his live concert at the star-studded DirectTV Super Bowl party. According to New York Post, Justin was paid $3 million to…
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    Charity Car Donation News

  • Fundraising Directory School Coming Up in May

    jg
    9 May 2013 | 12:48 pm
    Many people know that I try to help fund-raising peers who are skilled and passionate, get ahead in career and life. But there comes a point, where you hit a wall. Because you can’t learn more, or don’t know what you need to learn. Or no one will let you be more where you are. AFP Fundraising Day in Toronto is coming up. Many people will get a chance to reconnect with mentors at this important event, maybe you’ll meet a new mentor there…. Read the complete story here.

  • Winnipeg Jets Plates Raise $800k for Charity

    jg
    4 Apr 2013 | 11:47 am
    The sale of special Winnipeg Jets license plates has raised more than $800,000 so far for children’s charities. Premier Greg Selinger said on Friday that 27,000 of the specialty plates have been sold in the last year by more than 300 Autopac agents. The plates cost $70 and $30 of that goes to the Winnipeg Jets True North Foundation. That money is then passed on to programs that provide opportunities for disadvantaged kids. Read the full story here.

  • 1958 Corvette Up for Charity Auction

    jg
    6 Mar 2013 | 12:18 pm
    Want to buy a Corvette? No, not the new C7 Chevrolet Corvette that made its splashy debut at the North American International Auto Show this past week. The one going on the auction block at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday has a bit more miles on the odometer, though it appears the relatively rare ’58 ‘Vette is in excellent condition.  It also happens to be the personal car of Dan Akerson, CEO of Chevy’s parent, General Motors. Read the full story here.

  • Taking the Plunge for Charity in Halifax

    jg
    31 Jan 2013 | 11:49 pm
    Dozens of people rang in the new year with an icy plunge at Black Rock Beach in Halifax. Over 100 people gathered on the shore just before noon to watch those brave enough to face the water for a charity polar bear dip. At the sounds of whistle the dippers made a mad dash towards the water. Most people quickly turned around, but a few waded long enough to enjoy a quick sip from a flask before seeking warmth. Read the full story here.

  • White House Pushing for Black Boxes in all Cars

    jg
    2 Jan 2013 | 9:45 am
    The White House has given its OK to a plan that would require all future cars and trucks be equipped with event data records – most commonly referred to as “black boxes.” The majority of vehicles produced today already have such devices onboard and they have aided in recent investigations into such safety issues as the so-called unintended acceleration scare at Toyota. But the use of the technology has also raised some concerns with privacy advocates. Read the full article here.
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    Pamela Grow

  • It’s! All! Fundraising!!!

    Pamela Grow
    19 May 2013 | 4:45 pm
    Can I get an “amen?!” Someone had to say it.  And no one says it better than John Lepp of Agents of Good, who relays it, directly from a donor herself: It’s!  All!  Fundraising!!! And yet my copywriter friends will tell me horror stories of working with nonprofit agencies and being unable to access marketing folk. “We can’t touch their lists of event donors!” I’ll hear. Seriously? I once worked with a chapter of a national nonprofit organization that spent more on “rebranding” than some small shops’ entire operating budget, when,…

  • Say goodbye to fairytale fundraising…

    Pamela Grow
    15 May 2013 | 6:03 pm
    What do you say about a conference so chock full of “aha!” moments and takeaways, so teeming with savvy minds from Roger Craver, to Nancy Schwartz to Kivi Leroux Miller to Dane Grams to Tom Harrison?  And the overriding theme was retention and donor loyalty?  Pinch me, I must be dreaming. FundRaising Success’ Engage Conference last week in Philadelphia was cutting edge.  No theories, no BS, just a focus on what works.  And, when it comes to no BS, who better to lead us off than the master of straight talk, Roger Craver who opened the event with the message that, yes,…

  • Please do NOT give

    Pamela Grow
    13 May 2013 | 1:29 am
    Peter Drury, Development Director of the Seattle children’s water nonprofit organization, Splash, has been rocking the fundraising world with donor-focused examples of creative fundraising lately. Here’s a clever little takeaway that any organization could easily integrate into their next campaign:  an email that specifically instructs supporters to NOT donate, but instead send out personal emails on the organization’s behalf.  Peter tells me it was a member of his team, Norea Hoeft, who came up with this inspired approach.  Marvelous teamwork! Related Posts:Ways to engage | Send a…

  • Shiny red trucks and the best fundraising advice I ever got

    Pamela Grow
    26 Apr 2013 | 12:00 pm
    “If you can turn our membership campaign around, you’ll be our hero.” These words came from the top volunteer at an EMS organization where I’d been hired two weeks earlier in my first fundraising job.  In my 15 hour-a-week position I was tasked with creating an entire development plan from the ground up. I don’t need to tell you that it was challenging! With the aid of a since deceased local businessman, this particular organization had run a hugely successful capital campaign just five years prior. And what had they done since? Nothing. Not a thing. Major donors were ignored.

  • Bacon & Chocolate & Nonprofit Storytelling

    Pamela Grow
    29 Mar 2013 | 1:38 pm
    Whatever would entice you to spend $8 on a 3oz bar of chocolate?  Is it the idea of chocolate paired with bacon?  Or could it be the story on the back of the box… I began experimenting with bacon and chocolate at the tender age of 6, while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima syrup, as children often do.  Beside my chocolate-laden cakes lay three strips of sizzlin’ bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup.  And then, the magic — just a bite of the bacon was too salty and I yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate and syrup, so I combined the…
 
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    Fundraising for Nonprofits by us

  • If You’d Rather Read a Book Alone Than Join the Party, You Can Still be a Fantastic Nonprofit Fundraiser by guest

    guest
    23 May 2013 | 1:01 am
    …a guest posting by Andrea Kihlstedt Introverts have been in the news for the past year or so.  Thanks to Susan Cain’s book about introversion, Quiet, we’re now more aware that those of us who shun the limelight have unique strengths that ought to be honored. What you might still not be aware of, though, is that introverts – yes, introverts – can make fantastic nonprofit fundraisers, either as volunteers or professionals. This idea may seem completely counter-intuitive, but I assure you it’s true. According to my experience and research, introverts bring the…

  • Getting That Derailed Fund-Raising Campaign Back On Track by Tony Poderis

    Tony Poderis
    21 May 2013 | 1:01 am
    You can’t fix a problem in a campaign unless you know there is a problem !! We track progress in a fund-raising campaign to be able to identify problems in time to take corrective action. If at any point in the campaign it begins to look as if the ability to achieve the goal is slipping away, then those managing the campaign must give immediate and focused attention to identifying/analyzing and formulating a solution to the problem. The most common problem encountered during a campaign is the failure of solicitors to ask for and/or obtain commitments from their assigned donors at the…

  • Write The Letter: Bequests II by Tony Martignetti

    Tony Martignetti
    16 May 2013 | 1:01 am
    Last month I introduced promotion of planned gifts with bequests. This month, I’m helping you write your direct mail letter.  If you can’t afford direct mail, don’t worry.  There are lots of other channels to promote charitable bequests and I’ll get to those. If you don’t plan a letter campaign, my tips will help you understand the audience so you’ll gain confidence in your other promotion channels—including face-to-face meetings. If you will use direct mail, here you go: §      Write the letter from your heart.  Be warm, factual, sincere, and straightforward.  Share…

  • What is a Fundraising/Development Consultant? by Hank Lewis

    Hank Lewis
    14 May 2013 | 1:01 am
    This is a companion piece to my posting, Who/What is a Fundraising Consultant, from last year at this time. First, simply, a fundraising consultant is not someone who does “it” for you, and s/he is not an insider (i.e., staff, board, etc.). A fundraising/development consultant is (must be) “an objective outsider.” You can, for example, engage someone to teach you how to write grant proposals, and have that person work with you to critique/edit what you write. That’s a consultant. If the person you engage will do the research and write the proposal for you, that’s not consulting…

  • Make your Grant Proposal Team into a Learning Organization! by Jayme Sokolow

    Jayme Sokolow
    9 May 2013 | 1:01 am
    What is a Learning Organization? Modern nonprofits face unrelenting pressures to remain competitive with their federal agencies. One way to address these pressures is to create a special type of nonprofit grant proposal team – a learning organization that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. I was reminded of the importance of facilitating learning in a grant proposal debriefing. I had just finished serving as the Proposal Manager on a bid to NASA. We were proposing to manage an ongoing graduate fellowship program in science, technology, engineering,…
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    Blog

  • 3 Reasons School Fundraisers Prefer Big Event Prize Programs

    Clay Boggess
    23 May 2013 | 11:58 am
    2 primary considerations for any school fundraising group is making sure to pick a strong sales brochure that will work well for their area as well as selecting an effective prize program that will motivate their students to sell.Related Content: Are You Still Using the Same School Fundraising Prize Program?Blog Type: Planning a Fundraiser

  • How to Avoid School Fundraising Burnout

    Clay Boggess
    16 May 2013 | 1:14 pm
    School fundraisers are hard work to begin with and to make matters worse, nobody really wants to do them. It always seems like every year the same few reluctant, yet sacrificial people end up volunteering because no one else will help. It stands to reason that if the same people are in charge of fundraising every year, don’t they ever get tired of doing it? Of course, but they do it anyway because their central focus is on the students and their best interest.Related Content: How to Achieve Unanimous Support for Your School FundraiserBlog Type: Helpful Fundraising Tools

  • An Alternative Fundraising Motivator to the Limo Ride

    Clay Boggess
    9 May 2013 | 8:35 am
    Limo rides have been effective in increasing fundraising sales because they push more students to reach higher sales than they ordinarily would. Not many people can deny that limos have served as a powerful motivator; especially when you add in a popular destination that students love like a pizza or bowling establishment. However, there are many school fundraiser groups that feel that using limo rides have run their course.Related Content: Better School Fundraising Prize Programs Increase SalesBlog Type: Increasing Fundraising Sales

  • How to Assess Your High School Fundraising Results

    Clay Boggess
    2 May 2013 | 3:07 pm
    Before every fundraiser kickoff we work with sponsors to make sure that they perform the following checklist:Related Content: 3 Steps to Successful High School FundraisingBlog Type: Helpful Fundraising Tools

  • How to Make Free Fundraising Money

    Clay Boggess
    25 Apr 2013 | 1:05 pm
    Most people understand that sacrifice is usually necessary in order to get something in return. For example, to get better at a particular sport you must practice, to do well in school you need to study and to make money you must first invest it. There is no way around it, you must give in order to get and if you do your due-diligence most of the time your investment will pay off. School fundraisers are no different.Related Content: 3 Ways to Visually Promote Your School FundraiserBlog Type: Promoting Your Fundraiser
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    Event Fundraising Blog

  • Answering the vision question: Why are we going there?

    22 May 2013 | 5:00 am
    Editor's note: I'm excited to welcome a new guest blogger to the Event 360 blog. David Berry's professional passion is helping leaders find the courage and wisdom to create environments where they, and the people they lead, can creatively explore the limitless possibilities of their potential - and build rock-solid organizations while doing so. In David's second post of a five-part series, he asks one of the five fundamental questions every leader must answer in a clear and compelling way if they want to build an organization of maximum engagement. Since we know that employee engagement…

  • Save the Date: Event Fundraising Brainpower (Live or Online)

    20 May 2013 | 6:19 am
    The next three weeks are filled with a full slate of live and online learning and networking opportunities.June 12 Webinar: Unleashing the Power of Your Outliers (hosted by the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council)Meet the outliers: They are your top fundraisers. The new event donor who just became a major donor. The captain of your team with the most fundraisers. The opposite of your average event participant—the opposite of normal. Join Event 360's Meghan Dankovich, Laurie Schaecher and Suzanne Mooney on June 12 at 1:30pm (EDT) as they provide strategies for identifying, cultivating and…

  • It’s a Participant’s Market: Use Your Cow Bell

    14 May 2013 | 7:00 am
    I was standing on a street corner in Portland, Oregon, a few months ago, waiting for the light to change, when I looked up and saw four different banners advertising four different fundraising events. One intersection, four corners, one banner per corner, each banner promoting a different event and all four events taking place within a few weeks of each other. It got me thinking: this really is a participant’s market.As an event fundraising participant, the choice is mine. We live in a world where I can fundraise for any cause that tugs at my heart strings. I even have multiple events…

  • Event 360 Puts the Fun in America's Fastest Growing Recreational Sport

    13 May 2013 | 1:56 pm
    Event 360 is raising the bar on obstacle course runs and mud runs with MuckFest MS. Described by Obstacle Racing Magazine as an "awesome event" for both experienced runners and experienced exercise-avoiders, MuckFest MS is a nationwide series of mud and obstacle course runs in 18 U.S. cities, bringing together friends, families, and corporate teams alike."Early on in the Obstacle Course racing season, MuckFest MS has already set the bar high," says Boston participant and mud run blogger Rob Fournier. "Other national events should take notice. The course is beautifully designed with…

  • Why average cost ratio targets result in underachievement

    13 May 2013 | 7:54 am
    It’s shocking to find anyone, anywhere still clinging to the concept of pinning fundraising performance to an average cost ratio while imagining that’s helpful to the cause. As we’ve done a poor job of informing them otherwise, donors perhaps can be forgiven for persisting with the ‘less cost is best’ fallacy. Yet among some CEOs and charity trustee boards too the notion remains widely held as an aspiration, even today. But boards and CEOs should be allowed no excuse, because the model is simply fatuous.Requiring a fundraising team to adhere to or even be…
 
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    Too Busy To Fundraise

  • The Big Fundraising Point

    janetlevineconsulting
    22 May 2013 | 11:01 pm
    In the past week, Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine donated $70 million dollars to USC.  The gift, according to USC publicists, is to create the USC Iovine and Young Academy for the Arts, Technology, and the Business of … Continue reading →

  • Fundraising Strategies

    janetlevineconsulting
    19 May 2013 | 11:00 pm
    I was listening to Google executives touting their newest map applications.  One was proudest of the fact that maps now will be personalized to you.  He, he told the crowd, had a favorite restaurant in San Francisco.  His SF maps, … Continue reading →

  • The Integrated Ask

    janetlevineconsulting
    16 May 2013 | 11:00 pm
    I started my fundraising career after years of being in sales.  Mostly commission-based sales.  It had been beaten into me that the first cardinal sin was to leave money on the table.  So I was confused when I heard fundraising … Continue reading →

  • Accentuate the Positive

    janetlevineconsulting
    13 May 2013 | 11:19 am
    Why is it that so often we focus on the negative?  I was reading the evaluations of a workshop I recently did and most were really favorable.  But there was one—there is always one—that made me want to pack up … Continue reading →

  • When I Don’t Hate Storytelling As a Fundraising Tactic

    janetlevineconsulting
    9 May 2013 | 7:37 am
    In my last blog, I took storytelling to task.  Lots of people emailed me, mostly—a bit to my surprise—agreeing completely.  Then a friend and valued colleague email to add what she called her “two cents.”  Her boss does not like … Continue reading →
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    GiveForward

  • Patient Advocacy: The Karis Group

    Ashley
    20 May 2013 | 1:28 pm
    Medical Bill Mediation With medical bills causing such a high rate of bankruptcy and overwhelming stress for numerous individuals and families today, we wanted to spotlight an organization we are proud to work with – The Karis Group. Their “patient advocacy process” helps patients by offering medical bill mediation services to obtain reduced medical bills from the hospital. The Karis Group’s patient advocate-driven mission was born out of a deep desire to help those facing dire financial times due to medical expenses. According to their patient advocacy page, “We started Karis…

  • Wedding Wishes!

    Caiti
    22 Apr 2013 | 9:55 am
    We first learned of Nolan and Morgan’s wedding wishes earlier this year. If you aren’t familiar with their story, it’s truly remarkable, and we’d highly recommend watching their beautiful wedding video. It’s such a heartfelt story of family and friends coming together to throw Nolan and Morgan the wedding of their dreams. If you or a loved one is going through a similar situation, Nolan and Morgan’s story might lead to questions. How were they able to plan a wedding during such a difficult time? How could they afford a wedding while dealing with a terminal illness? How can I,…

  • All About PayPal

    Ashley
    12 Apr 2013 | 11:28 am
    Enabling PayPal on your GiveForward fundraiser can help the beneficiary receive the funds faster.  Also, PayPal can make it easier for supporters to donate- especially on mobile phones. Image never having to dig out those credit cards again! Enabling PayPal is easy.  Follow this step-by-step guide to learn all about PayPal set-up. Step 1: Update Payment Info Enter your Dashboard.  On the Overview tab click the Enable PayPal button on the right side.     Step 2: Enter the Beneficiaries PayPal information Under Payment method, choose PayPal.  Next, fill out the PayPal account name…

  • Making New Friends at the Hospital

    Kristine
    5 Apr 2013 | 2:20 pm
    Making new friends can happen in the least likely of places. After Ashley was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma, she needed to spend much of her time at All Children’s Hospital for various treatments.  While there, she met Tony Colton, who was also going through treatments.  Tony was receiving treatments for Clear Cell Sarcoma of the kidney. Going through treatments brought them together and helped solidify their friendship. When Ashley was re diagnosed with a new cancer this past September, Tony knew that the medical expenses would start piling…

  • Billy Ray Harris’s Honest and Inspiring Deed

    mike
    22 Feb 2013 | 9:10 am
    This week we were blown away with hope and optimism when we learned about the story of Kansas City homeless man, Billy Ray Harris. Bill Krejci started a fundraiser for Billy Ray Harris where the headline reads, “Billy Ray Harris is a great man who could use some help.” Krejci’s wife, Sarah Darling, crossed paths with Mr. Harris more than a week ago. Darling had given the man her loose change, when she accidentally and without knowing dropped her engagement ring into Billy Ray Harris’s cup. When she realized her ring was missing the following day, she revisited Billy Ray Harris on the…
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    The Fundraising Authority

  • Last Day to Register for our Prospecting Workshop

    Joe Garecht
    23 May 2013 | 7:27 pm
    This is a reminder that today (Friday, May 24th) is the last day to register for our new online workshop The Non-Profit Prospecting Formula: How to Find and Approach New Donors for Your Organization.  Registration closes today at 7 PM. Find New and Better Prospects for Your Non-Profit The Non-Profit Prospecting Formula will teach you everything you need to know about finding new prospects and donors for your organization, including: The fundamental rules of prospecting How to create prospect diagrams and treasure maps The best ways to approach new prospects and build a relationship with them…

  • Conversation is the Foundation of Fundraising

    Joe Garecht
    21 May 2013 | 8:37 am
    I want to tell you about the most important lesson I’ve learned in my fundraising career. It’s not something that I learned overnight, or in one big “A-ha!” type moment.It’s a lesson that has sunk in gradually, as I have engaged in varied fundraising strategies and worked with countless organizations. The lesson is this: Conversation is the Foundation of Fundraising.Actually, it might be better to say that having a conversation is the foundation of fundraising. This might seem like a self-evident maxim, but it’s really not… at least it wasn’t to me. Over and Over Again… I…

  • Finding More (and Better) Fundraising Prospects

    Joe Garecht
    17 May 2013 | 8:52 pm
    Does your non-profit have trouble finding and approaching new fundraising prospects?  Are you tired of begging your board for names and sending out cold prospecting letters to major donors in your town?  Do you wish you had a system for reaching new prospects every day, week, month and year? If the answer to any of those questions is “yes!” then please join me for our first ever online Fundraising Authority Workshop: The Non-Profit Prospecting Formula: How to Find and Approach New Donors for Your Organization Written Guide, Webinar, Sample Materials and More… Qualified…

  • How to Write Better Fundraising E-Mails for Your Non-Profit

    Joe Garecht
    16 May 2013 | 12:16 pm
    Raising more money online is an oft-quoted goal for non-profit organizations.  Most charities are using their websites, e-mail, and some social networking sites to stay in touch with donors, but many are not raising any significant revenue online, and the ones that do often feel that the amount of time they are investing is too great for the small financial return. In this article, I want to hone in on one of the best ways to raise money online: e-mail.  Let’s talk about how you can write fundraising e-mails that produce great results for your non-profit.  What do good, high-producing…

  • The Five Keys to Successfully Raising Money on Social Media

    Joe Garecht
    1 May 2013 | 12:40 pm
    Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ can be extremely helpful in your non-profit’s efforts to raise money online.  In our class Mastering Online Fundraising, we spend a lot of time focused on using social networks the right way to raise money and build your online profile.  Today, let’s take a look at the five keys to making sure that your social networking activity successfully helps generate new gifts for your organization: #1 – Be Active You have to maintain an active presence on each site you are targeting, or else you won’t be successful.  This…
 
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    Association of Grumpy Old Fundraisers who know stuff

  • Raising money when times are hard

    peter maple
    22 May 2013 | 9:53 am
    Attended a very good session of the fundraising consultants where trusts large and small told us in no uncertain terms what we're doing wrong. Interesting much of what was said has a resonance whether you are talking to a grant maker, an individual, a corporate or even a major gift prospect. So here are my top ten tips, not in any particular order, courtesy of Clare Thomas, Shirley Scott and Gaynor Humphreys.!. There is increasing demand for(and in places reducing supply of) funds so do even more research to match your needs with theirs.2. Everyone loves a project so always find appropriate…

  • Oh what a circus, oh what a farce......... (with apologies to Tim Rice)

    peter maple
    8 May 2013 | 10:40 am
    What a complete and utter farce! A certain group of fundraisers attempted rather pathetically to organise a seminar in a business school. Perhaps they'd have had more success in the proverbial brewery, though I rather doubt it. Instead of first come first served for tickets we were all invited to sign up and wait for the ticket allocation. I got my confirmation to attend (I thought) a few days ago. Ah.... but that was not the right list. Apparently tickets had been allocated to a few lucky takers and the rest of us (quite a few) were turned away having spent hours getting there! Paying…

  • A more philanthropic society?

    peter maple
    22 Mar 2013 | 11:12 am
    Did a new lecture this week looking at the development of Civil Society and how Philanthropy might help along the path to a more Civil Society. I was immediately reminded of The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. If you haven't read it do look at the TED talk with Wilkinson summarising the whole thing in a quarter of an hour and it might just change the way you look at the world! In a nutshell, using widely available health,GDP,and other indices of well-being they have shown incontravitably that our life expectency and well being is governed not by our absolute wealth but by…

  • I've seen the future

    peter maple
    7 Feb 2013 | 5:31 am
    Cracking discussion at the fundraising consultants group last week. For those of you who missed it let me recap. I talked about likely trends in fundraising and drew some comparisons with what is happening on the High Street of Anytown UK.I reminded everyone that, despite what Yogi Beera said ("The future ain't what it used to be") there are always opportunities if you focus clearly and are prepared to take (calculated) risks. Here are my five tips for 2013.Firstly, Public Sector Funding - even in adversity (£5bn cuts in the next spending round) there are opportunites where the government is…

  • The fundraising outlook for 2013

    peter maple
    8 Jan 2013 | 9:46 am
    So you survived the apocalypse. Now what the hell do you do? I liked the Shamen on the beach in Lima warding off the impending EoTW* that's the bet to take. I have a colleague, Professor Bruce Lloyd, a very erudite fellow at LSBU who does a lecture to my students every year on "Forecasting the Future" so if you want to know what's going to happen, just ask Bruce. In reality, of course, he reminds us that nothing is certain but some things are more certain than others. So it's a question of balancing risks and asking the right questions. Let me know if you'd like a copy of his last session it…
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    Fired-Up Fundraising | Gail Perry Associates

  • Two Things Smart Fundraisers Always Do

    Gail
    17 May 2013 | 7:30 am
    Fundraising can be a lonely business. You know it. And I know it. There we are – facing doubtful board members and CEO’s who think they know better than we do. And there we are — trying to convince decision makers to follow smart strategies that we know will pay off. And trying to get them to abandon tired old strategies that don’t work. And there we are – trying to learn and master new skill sets that are now required to be really successful. All the while trying to enhance and grow our professional fundraising skills. Keeping up with a changing fundraising skill set and donor…

  • Make Your Donors Choose YOU as Their Favorite Nonprofit

    Gail
    9 May 2013 | 7:31 pm
    Are your donors choosing your organization as their favorite nonprofit? Wish they would, don’t you? How creative can your thank you be? I bet you are spending lots of time on planning those terrific solicitations to them. But I bet you are NOT spending enough time communicating with your donors in between your solicitations. Here’s our huge problem:  we are overemphasizing the Asking, and we are neglecting the Communicating. I think it’s time fundraisers and board members tackled this issue head-on. Why You Need a Donor Communications Plan RIGHT NOW How we communicate with…

  • Don’t Make These Mistakes At Your Next Event!

    Gail
    3 May 2013 | 6:08 am
    It’s party time! Do you enjoy putting on your organization’s events? Better yet, do you think your guests like to attend them? Why don’t you focus a bit on the “experience” your guests are having. Because if they are enjoying themselves, wonderful things might happen for your cause. If your guests are NOT enjoying themselves, you just might not see them again. Then where would you be? You might also enjoy this post about turning your “events” into “parties” and my Top 10 Party Tips. And also getting the most out of your auction here, here…

  • Board Members’ #1 Job: How to Be A Personal Advocate For Your Cause

    Gail
    26 Apr 2013 | 4:30 am
    If you are a board member, I bet you are excited and passionate about your favorite organization.  I’m willing to bet that you joined the board because you really, really believed in the cause. It meant a lot to you. But when you try to talk to your friends about your organization’s workdo you know what to say? Maybe yes, maybe no. I find lots of board members simply don’t know what to say when they have the chance to spread the word about their organization. They would love to help, but many are not quite sure how to do it. On my part, I think this is the ONE JOB ALL BOARD MEMBERS…

  • 36 Fundraising Tips to Provoke Your Point of View, Sharpen Your Focus and Make You Laugh

    Gail
    19 Apr 2013 | 7:37 am
    So many very smart people spoke last week at the AFP IHQ Conference in San Diego! I hated that I couldn’t attend EVERY session I wanted, but I clung to the twitter feed to find out what was going on. Rowdy bunch of #AFPeeps at the #AFPIcon in San Diego last week! Sandy Rees, Tammy Zonker, Dave Tinker, Susanna Shumate These tweets from the top #AFPeeps at the Conference share what I think are key takeaways for YOU to know and remember about where fundraising is today. These tips cover the entire range of fundraising.   From social media (of course) to online giving, to newsletters and…
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    Online Fundraising Today

  • 5 Steps to Creating Effective Walk-a-thon Flyers

    Maureen
    14 May 2013 | 8:58 am
    Walk-a-thon flyers assist organizations in marketing their walk-a-thons. They are essential in helping to spread the word about pledge fundraising campaigns. Walk-a-thon Flyers are a basic “one-sheet” designed to explain the purpose of your event, educate people about the mission of your organization and outline the important details for the walk-a-thon or pledge fundraising event you’re hosting. 5 Steps to Creating Effective Walkathon Flyers Capture Attention:  Create a fun name for your event, use an interesting headline, and include an introduction with you’re mission…

  • How Can Golf Tournament Software Increase Efficiency?

    Kari
    9 May 2013 | 11:36 am
    How can charity golf tournament software help your organization be more efficient with its resources, while raising more money? With golf tournament software, organizing a charity golf tournament is streamlined and managed within one golf tournament website.  Event planners easily create a custom tournament website using a pre-designed fundraising website template where logos and color schemes are selected to match your organization’s brand standards.  This website becomes the hub for your golf tournament planning.  Here golfers and sponsors register for the event and make payments…

  • Church Donation Software

    Maureen
    2 May 2013 | 1:13 pm
    Churches rely on donations to keep operations running smoothly for their parish.  They can easily collect online donations from members of their congregation with church donations software. There are also several types of online fundraising software solutions that can be used to manage church fundraising events including pledge drives and walk-a-thons, church auctions, charity golf tournaments, galas and fundraising events. Online church donations software offers a secure online donation page and year-round donor management. Donors can make one-time donations or set-up a user profile for…

  • Fundraising Event Budget

    Kari
    26 Apr 2013 | 1:20 pm
    If you are part of a fundraising event planning committee, one of your biggest priorities is ensuring that you are staying within budget while keeping up with your financial goals.  One great way to be sure your fundraising event is financially “on track” is to utilize a fundraising event budget.  By keeping track of income and expenses, you can be sure to stay on course. Financial tracking and planning is one key ingredient to making your fundraising event a success.  A fundraising event budget can help you estimate projected income and establish financial goals for your…

  • Chance to Win $250 for Your Cause in Honor of Earth Day

    Kari
    22 Apr 2013 | 7:04 am
    HAPPY EARTH DAY Share Your Bright Ideas to Honor Mother Earth for a Chance to Win $250! In celebration of Earth Day we wish to reward those who demonstrate a true commitment to giving back to our planet. From April 22-30 you may nominate your favorite Green organization on our Facebook page for a chance to win $250 towards your cause. It’s simple – just tell us what the organization does to give back to Mother Earth! EARTH DAY CONTEST DETAILS Tell us what the chosen organization does to give back to our planet in 100 words or less and ask your supporters to Like your post.  Even…
 
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    Fundraising Detective

  • Fundraising Reading Round-Up

    Fundraising Detective
    17 May 2013 | 4:21 am
    Another fortnight has flown by and it is time for another summary of recent articles that have caught my eye. Enjoy. Two excellent 101 Fundraising articles: A DIY workshop for lead conversion So you want to grow your income? Karen with 15 ideas for testing in direct mail. Pamela Burk shares some great comments from donors. Agents of Good on jargon. Stephen with the 21 habits of poor fundraisers. Kevin on why charity branding is good for fundraising. Beth with six steps to great graphs and charts. John Baguley on zombie fundraising techniques. Flat Earth Direct on value v values. ifundraiser…

  • Fundraising Reading Round-Up

    Fundraising Detective
    3 May 2013 | 7:11 am
    Time for another round-up of some of the articles I've been reading recently. Katya hosts this month's non-profit blog carnival featuring 25 great pieces of advice. The Agitator with two articles on direct mail: Stop Mailing! Don't stop mailing! and a look at the ACS decision to stop direct mail acquisition.  Aline on editing and advice from David Oglivy. If you are interested in David Oglivy then Drayton Bird has a fascinating look at his life: Part 1 and part 2. Simon George on fundraising and organisational culture. Karen Zapp on the power of handwritten notes. A new series…

  • Quality not quantity is fundraising's greatest problem

    Fundraising Detective
    26 Apr 2013 | 6:38 am
    I was going to blog about the decision of KBH Media to limit the amount of charity advertising on trains in London and the south east. However, Paul at Open beat me to it and made many of the points I was going to make. However, there is one main observation that I would still like to share, which backs the point Charlie Hulme made on 101 Fundraising earlier this week. Quality over quantity For me the problem is not one of over supply, it's one of quality. As this channel is increasingly popular, it means that charities will have to work harder to stand out and innovate. What worked six…

  • Weekend Reading Round-Up

    Fundraising Detective
    20 Apr 2013 | 6:20 am
    It's been a manic few weeks with having a number of new team members starting, a couple of events to attend and (seemingly) a million and one other things to do -  this means the blogging has had to take a bit of a backseat. I'm hoping next week will bring a bit more time to get back into the swing of things, in the meantime, here is the latest reading round-up. Enjoy. Clayton Burnett have released a fantastic report called 'Great Fundraising'. You can request a copy here or read some of the key points over at the Agitator. Another report that is worth a look is this…

  • Fundraising Reading Round-Up

    Fundraising Detective
    5 Apr 2013 | 6:56 am
    I hope you had a good Easter. I've been away on my hols, but had time to put together some fundraising reading for you to enjoy. The Agitator present the 10 dumbest words used by fundraising consultants. Good Works asks if you're still acquiring new donors? Bacon & chocolate & nonprofit storytelling by Pamela Grow. 101 Fundraising on community fundraising. Branding + direct response fundraising = Love, actually (HT Jeff Brooks) The Fundraising Collective give reasons not to ask Elton John for a fiver. Ken Burnett on the 'less cost is best' fallacy. Queer Ideas:…
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    CoolData blog

  • New twists on inferring age from first name

    kevinmacdonell
    2 May 2013 | 3:14 am
    Not quite three years ago I blogged about a technique for estimating the age of your database constituents when you don’t have any relevant data such as birth date or class year. It was based on the idea that many first names are typically “young” or “old.” I expanded on the topic in a followup [...]

  • Final thoughts on Phonathon donor acquisition

    kevinmacdonell
    30 Apr 2013 | 9:14 am
    No, this is not the last time I’ll write about Phonathon, but after today I promise to give it a rest and talk about something else. I just wanted to round out my post on the waste I see happening in donor acquisition via phone programs with some recent findings of mine. Your mileage may [...]

  • A response to ‘What do we do about Phonathon?’

    kevinmacdonell
    18 Apr 2013 | 7:31 am
    I had a thoughtful response to my blog post from earlier this week (What do we do about Phonathon?) from Paul Fleming, Database Manager at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts, about half an hour from downtown Boston. With Paul’s permission, I will quote from his email, and then offer my comments [...]

  • What do we do about Phonathon?

    kevinmacdonell
    15 Apr 2013 | 2:41 am
    I love Phonathon. I love what it does, and I love the data it produces. But sad to say, Phonathon may be the sick old man of fundraising. In fact some have taken its pulse and declared it dead. A few weeks ago, a Director of Annual Giving named Audra Vaz posted this question to [...]

  • The lopsided nature of alumni giving

    kevinmacdonell
    21 Mar 2013 | 3:06 am
    Guest post by Peter B. Wylie (Printer-friendly PDF download of this post available here: Lopsided Nature of Alum Giving – Wylie) Eight years ago I wrote a piece called “Sports, Fund Raising, and the 80/20 Rule”. It had to do with how most alumni giving in higher education comes from a very small group of former [...]
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    The Agitator

  • Katya’s Choice

    Roger Craver
    23 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    “Bittersweet” is the only way to characterize my reaction upon opening the email from Katya Andresen, CEO of Network for Good and author of Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog. “I have some news! I am moving on from Network for Good. I’ve accepted a job as CEO of ePals, a public company in the education technology and media space. I’ll be joining ePals in mid-June.” Damn! I really hate it when great people move on. And as far as I’m concerned, Katya’s one of the best. Not only because of what she’s done to grow the online giving platform Network for Good, but also for the…

  • One Today … As In $1

    Tom Belford
    22 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    I’ve generally been skeptical of fundraising/giving tactics that create a wall between donors and recipient causes and organizations. Primarily because I was raised in the church of ‘relationship-building’. But I’m coming around to the belief that any giving is to be encouraged, because the world needs as many givers as we can possibly motivate and enable, through as many channels as we possibly can. And because I believe giving is habit forming. So today, ‘hats off’ to Google’s One Today program, a mobile app (only available now in the US) that…

  • I’m Perplexed And Confused

    Tom Belford
    21 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    Yesterday, Roger summarized a rant on donor ‘conversion’ by our colleague Kevin Schulman. Just to establish that dissent is alive and well within The Agitator ranks, I’m here to tell you that Kevin’s rant was nothing more than a triumph of obscurantism. Kevin (and Roger), were you trying to play with our heads? Now, if Kevin was deliberately setting out to confuse us, with some sort of semantic gymnastics, he certainly succeeded in my case. On the one hand, he talks about a number of ‘conversions’ we should not attempt — e.g., event donors to mission…

  • The Foibles & Follies Of Donor Conversion

    Roger Craver
    20 May 2013 | 10:00 pm
    A quick Google search for “converting donors” turns up all kinds of sage and not so sage advice on how to do it. But ‘conversion’ is a mis-used term tossed around with far too much abandon and far too little real understanding. The result? Tons of false and unrealizable expectations and far, far too much wasted money on efforts that should never be thought of as ‘conversion’ in the first place. Why am I about to climb on this soapbox? At last week’s Engage Conference presented by Fundraising Success (you can see the presentations here), my colleague Kevin…

  • Wear Your Donor’s Shoes

    Tom Belford
    19 May 2013 | 10:10 pm
    Does your nonprofit have fundraising rules that would bewilder your average donor? From Gayle Gifford at Cause & Effect, here’s the kind of story about donor-nonprofit mis-interaction that makes The Agitator’s hair curl. To sum her story up: She the would-be donor: ‘Please let me give now!’ The nonprofit: ‘You can’t. You can’t.’ And then, about eight months later, the nonprofit re-contacts her with a friendly reminder (I paraphrase): ‘In case you forgot … You didn’t. You didn’t.’ Please tell me your organization…
 
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    Vivanista

  • Parca’s Roaring 25th Gala!

    Layne Gray
    12 May 2013 | 2:05 pm
    Parca Auxiliary‘s 25th anniversary will be celebrated  with an evening gala on May 18 at 6:00 p.m.at the Carolands Chateau in Hillsborough.  Taking inspiration from The Great Gatsby, “The Roaring 25th”will feature Jazz Age music, speakeasy cocktails, an elegant sit down dinner and a live auction.  Festive attire  is encouraged in keeping with the theme.  Given the release of Leonardo DiCaprio’s film, it should be a timely, stylish evening.   For more information or to order tickets, please click here.

  • Celebrity Spotlight: Naya Rivera

    Layne Gray
    26 Apr 2013 | 3:07 pm
    (Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com) One of the main reasons Glee has become a massive sensation is due to its incredible cast. Each character has a distinct personality that the actors embody with incredible ease. Naya Rivera in particular is so convincingly a school bully that you might think that is what she is like in real life. This could not be further from the truth. Naya describes herself as “unpopular” in high school, and states that she had to watch Mean Girls in order to prepare for her role as the cold-hearted cheerleader Santana. Further proof that she isn’t the high school…

  • Organization Spotlight: Girls For A Change

    Layne Gray
    26 Apr 2013 | 2:48 pm
    Girls For A Change is an organization that aims to empower young women to get out make a difference. Their mission is to give girls the confidence to have a voice, and speak up about the change they wish to see in the world. They aim to inspire girls to become action takers, to realize the power they have to change the world, and to develop into leaders. The way they go about this is through a free after school mentoring program where girls meet to identify challenges in their communities, and design creative solutions to address them. There are two women who act as leaders at these…

  • Meet Flore Morton, Styling Coordinator at the Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion

    Layne Gray
    19 Apr 2013 | 10:23 pm
    Meet Flore Morton, Styling Coordinator at the Academy of Art University’s School of Fashion! Read our interview with Flore to see some of her work and learn more about her experience working with Martin Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier, her thoughts on recycling fashion, and how French women achieve that je ne sais quoi. ————————– Flore Morton, Styling Coordinator at the Academy of Art University's School of Fashion How did you decide that you wanted to work in the fashion industry? Was there any particular job or experience…

  • Organization Spotlight: Do Something

    Layne Gray
    19 Apr 2013 | 1:53 pm
    Do Something has one simple mission: to get young people out into the world making a difference. They combat apathy by providing the simple tools needed for America’s youth to make a difference in their local communities, and nationally. They are currently the country’s largest non-profit for young people and social change, with 2.4 million young people taking action in 2012, and 1,266,208 members. The format on the website is so simple, it’s no wonder Do Something is such a huge success. All you have to do is pick from a list of causes (including: Animals, Bullying, Violence,…
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    DonorDriven

  • The Complete Guide to Creating a Third Party Fundraising Program.Part 1: What’s in it for us?

    Kevin Wolfe
    14 May 2013 | 9:42 am
    So what’s a third party fundraising program? It’s a way to raise substantial donations through events, but without having to host those events yourself. Yeah, we know it sounds too good to be true: All the benefits of donations from … Continue reading →

  • 7 steps to an email campaign that motivates your participants to raise more.

    Kevin Wolfe
    6 May 2013 | 8:26 am
    In every event, there are participants who register but never raise a penny. Somewhere between the point of enthusiastically signing up and the event itself, something went wrong. So how can you fix it? A focused, well-planned email campaign can … Continue reading →

  • How to attract Senior participants, the fastest growing online supporter group.

    Kevin Wolfe
    25 Apr 2013 | 2:09 pm
    When it comes to peer-to-peer fundraising, many organizations flat out ignore Seniors as participants. The thinking is that many of them can’t participate in signature events like runs or even walks. While that may have some truth to it, your … Continue reading →

  • Scott Rigsby on Anderson Cooper 360º tonight.

    Kevin Wolfe
    17 Apr 2013 | 12:50 pm
    Scott Rigsby’s story is an amazing one. After losing his legs as as teenager as the result of an accident, he became the first double amputee to finish the grueling Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon in 2007. Scott has dedicated his life … Continue reading →

  • Boston Marathon reveals the good in us.

    Kevin Wolfe
    17 Apr 2013 | 8:14 am
    At a time like this, we’re all always at a loss for words. As we sift through the senselessness, our thoughts are with the hundreds of families that were devastated by the tragedy. But it’s at a time like this … Continue reading →
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    Association of Grumpy Old Fundraisers who know stuff

  • Raising money when times are hard

    22 May 2013 | 9:53 am
    Attended a very good session of the fundraising consultants where trusts large and small told us in no uncertain terms what we're doing wrong. Interesting much of what was said has a resonance whether you are talking to a grant maker, an individual, a corporate or even a major gift prospect. So here are my top ten tips, not in any particular order, courtesy of Clare Thomas, Shirley Scott and Gaynor Humphreys.!. There is increasing demand for(and in places reducing supply of) funds so do even more research to match your needs with theirs.2. Everyone loves a project so always find appropriate…

  • Oh what a circus, oh what a farce......... (with apologies to Tim Rice)

    8 May 2013 | 10:40 am
    What a complete and utter farce! A certain group of fundraisers attempted rather pathetically to organise a seminar in a business school. Perhaps they'd have had more success in the proverbial brewery, though I rather doubt it. Instead of first come first served for tickets we were all invited to sign up and wait for the ticket allocation. I got my confirmation to attend (I thought) a few days ago. Ah.... but that was not the right list. Apparently tickets had been allocated to a few lucky takers and the rest of us (quite a few) were turned away having spent hours getting there! Paying…

  • A more philanthropic society?

    22 Mar 2013 | 11:12 am
    Did a new lecture this week looking at the development of Civil Society and how Philanthropy might help along the path to a more Civil Society. I was immediately reminded of The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. If you haven't read it do look at the TED talk with Wilkinson summarising the whole thing in a quarter of an hour and it might just change the way you look at the world! In a nutshell, using widely available health,GDP,and other indices of well-being they have shown incontravitably that our life expectency and well being is governed not by our absolute wealth but by…

  • I've seen the future

    7 Feb 2013 | 5:31 am
    Cracking discussion at the fundraising consultants group last week. For those of you who missed it let me recap. I talked about likely trends in fundraising and drew some comparisons with what is happening on the High Street of Anytown UK.I reminded everyone that, despite what Yogi Beera said ("The future ain't what it used to be") there are always opportunities if you focus clearly and are prepared to take (calculated) risks. Here are my five tips for 2013.Firstly, Public Sector Funding - even in adversity (£5bn cuts in the next spending round) there are opportunites where the government is…

  • The fundraising outlook for 2013

    8 Jan 2013 | 9:46 am
    So you survived the apocalypse. Now what the hell do you do? I liked the Shamen on the beach in Lima warding off the impending EoTW* that's the bet to take. I have a colleague, Professor Bruce Lloyd, a very erudite fellow at LSBU who does a lecture to my students every year on "Forecasting the Future" so if you want to know what's going to happen, just ask Bruce. In reality, of course, he reminds us that nothing is certain but some things are more certain than others. So it's a question of balancing risks and asking the right questions. Let me know if you'd like a copy of his last session it…
 
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    Fundraising Tips & News | Blog | YouCaring.com

  • YouCaring's Fundraisers Are Making The Headlines!

    YouCaring.com
    20 May 2013 | 6:00 pm
    Here at YouCaring, we love it when our fundraisers are a success. Today we want to feature a few that are making headlines around the country, and raising the support they need. 'Miracle' dog rescued after crash kills owner.  This is a headline that ran in the Seacoastonline, it is for a 9 year old Golden Retriever named Jakey. Jakey was in a car accident along with his owner in York, Maine. Tragically his owner passed away in the wreck, leaving Jakey seriously injured. After one surgery, Jakey is back on his legs and recovering quickly. The vets have told the family that the bill will…

  • Top 10 Reasons To Love YouCaring.com!

    YouCaring.com
    14 May 2013 | 9:20 am
    There are hundreds of reasons why our fundraisers love YouCaring.com, here are the top 10!   10. Setting up an online fundraising profile is fun, fast, and extremely simple.   9. Excellent customer service. - We believe in our fundraisers and love to help them succeed.    8. Connecting to your favorite Social Networking sites couldn't be easier, with the help of share buttons that are integrated into all of our fundraising profiles.     7. A free fundraising blog that has an answer to almost all of you're fundraising questions.     6. Our donors…

  • What To Do When You Don't Reach Your Fundraising Goal?

    YouCaring.com
    13 May 2013 | 4:46 pm
    There are no guarantees when it comes to online fundraising, some fundraisers hit it out of the park while others just cant seem to gain any ground. Lets be honest, the second is just plain frustrating, and can be a real discouragement. So, what do you do when your fundraiser does not reach its goal?    There are really only a few major factors in an online fundraising campaign.  1. How many potential donors are reached.  2. How many potential donors are turned to actual donations.    Generally, an unsuccessful fundraising campaign is weak in one or the…

  • How To Make A Fundraiser For A Rescue Dog

    YouCaring.com
    10 May 2013 | 3:20 pm
    According to the ASPCA statistics, 5 to 7 million domestic pets will enter a shelter each year nation wide. Of those pets, 3 to 4 million will be euthanized. In this post we want to show you how to create an online fundraiser for a rescued dog.   Everyone knows that shelters just don't have enough funding to take care of every pet that comes through their door. This leaves the shelters and the animals in a situation where they either quickly find a home or face being euthanized unless funding can be provided. That's where free online pet fundraising comes in.    Using…

  • How To Set Up An Online Fundraiser For A Service Dog

    YouCaring.com
    8 May 2013 | 4:00 pm
    Service dogs have the ability to change the way life is lived for many people who are in need of everyday assistance due to a physical or psychological disability. Unfortunately, service dogs can cost up to $30,000 to train leaving many people looking for ways to afford a service dog. In this post, we want to discus how to set up a free online fundraiser for a service dog.    Using online fundraising to raise money for a service dog is the best and easiest way to quickly gather the funds necessary to train a service dog. But, how do you set up an online fundraiser? Here are a few…
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    Raffle Tickets Fundraising News

  • Oklahoma Tornado Giving Guidelines

    Raffle Tickets
    21 May 2013 | 11:54 am
    Oklahoma Tornado Giving Guidelines It’s not unusual that relief organizations can often be overwhelmed with donations of unneeded items after a disaster, and monetary donations have proven to be one of the most efficient means of helping those organizations quickly secure the most-needed supplies and other resources. The American Red Cross has posted the following tips for charitable giving in the wake of disasters : 1. Donate cash to an established disaster relief organization, like the American Red Cross. It’s the fastest way to get help to those who need it most. 2. If you’d like…

  • Raffle Tickets News – May 14, 2013

    Raffle Tickets
    14 May 2013 | 6:27 am
    Raffle Tickets News – May 14, 2013 Centralia Police Begin Fundraising for Annual Truck RaffleCentralia Chronicle, on Fri, 03 May 2013 11:51:59 -0700The Centralia Police Department is gearing up for an annual truck raffle to raise money for its holiday charity for local children. This will be the fourth year of using a truck raffle as the primary fundraiser for the Night Out With Santa, said … Pirelli remembers Richard Burns with fundraising rafflemaxrally, on Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:20:17 -0700A special fundraiser, which will be held during this weekend’s British championship…

  • What is Better a Silent Auction Or a Raffle?

    Raffle Tickets
    9 May 2013 | 9:01 am
    What is Better a Silent Auction Or a Raffle?A lot of charities tend to try both of these strategies at one time or the other. It is probably a question that a lot of people have asked in the past, because it is hard to know without proper research which is a better option for your charity. Well there are some rules to doing this correctly and picking the best option for your charity. We intend on deciphering the best options here. Before you choose to pick one or the other it is a good idea to consider your time-frame, who your donors are, what the items are that would be available for silent…

  • Raffle Tickets News – May 3, 2013

    Raffle Tickets
    3 May 2013 | 9:16 am
    Raffle Tickets News – May 3, 2013Have a look at some of the latest raffle winners and be inspired to buy raffle tickets to help support a worthy non-profit fundraiser. Jake Peavy Online Charity RaffleWALA-TV FOX10, on Fri, 03 May 2013 05:38:18 -0700This is an all-expense paid trip! The winner will even have win some spending money for the vacation as well. To enter, you can buy up to 5 tickets at just $2 a piece. Log on now for your shot for a fantastic weekend with Jake Peavy in Chicago. Here is … Elk Hunt Raffle Winner AnnouncedThe Chronicle, on Thu, 02 May 2013 15:26:33…

  • Top Five Tips for Reaching Fundraising Goals

    Raffle Tickets
    29 Apr 2013 | 8:03 am
    Top Five Tips for Reaching Fundraising GoalsTo reach fundraising goals in today’s competitive fundraising environment, nonprofits must proceed with a well-defined plan of action. It’s no longer enough to have a great cause or a loyal donor base. The economic downturn has made even the most generous contributors scrutinize their discretionary giving. According to a Sector Report: Fundraising 2009-2010, written by Lynn Edmonds, president of L.W. Robbins Associates, “Donor acquisition was the biggest challenge fundraisers faced in 2009.” That challenge persisted through…
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    Fundraising Fundamentals

  • Rainmaking: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Landing Big Gifts

    AndrewOlsenCFRE
    8 May 2013 | 9:39 pm
    Two years ago my good friend Roy C. Jones and I had the bright idea to write a book designed to help fundraisers build better donor relationships and raise more money. It’s been a long road. We’ve learned a lot in the process, and had the opportunity to talk with dozens of great leaders in … Continue reading »

  • Women Give 2012 Study

    AndrewOlsenCFRE
    7 Apr 2013 | 6:55 pm
    I ran across this Women Give 2012 (slightly dated) study comparing giving behaviors of women and men thanks to Gail Perry this evening. The study compared only single adult households (excluded married households) in order to better understand gender-based giving differences. Key findings… 1. Boomer and older women are more likely to give to charity … Continue reading »

  • Check out my guest posts at Christian Leadership Alliance

    AndrewOlsenCFRE
    9 Mar 2013 | 7:48 am
     I’m honored to have a few recent posts featured on Christian Leadership Alliance’s new blog. Go visit the CLA blog and check out my guest posts on Fundraising: Instinct vs. Insight and 13 Ways to Engage Major Donors.

  • The fundraiser’s spring cleaning checklist

    AndrewOlsenCFRE
    21 Jan 2013 | 5:35 am
    It’s that time of year again. Time to clean out your development operation, reorganize and re-prioritize your efforts and rid your organization of the fundraising clutter that keeps you from maximizing your success. Use this fundraiser’s spring cleaning checklist to help get your house in order and get you focused on the most important tasks … Continue reading »

  • Mark Cuban’s advice for your nonprofit

    AndrewOlsenCFRE
    11 Jan 2013 | 10:47 pm
    Famed entrepreneur Mark Cuban once said, Make your product easier to buy than your competition or you will find your consumers buying from them, not you. What does Mark’s advice mean for your nonprofit? What do you need to do to make sure that donors are investing in your organization instead of going to the … Continue reading »
 
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    Common Sense Fundraising

  • Lean In! Fearless Fundraising.

    MLWagner
    7 May 2013 | 5:08 am
    If you aren’t aware of the Lean In phenomenon; then lean in and wake up! The concept applies to everyone in every industry. It certainly applies to professional fundraising. Here are five tips I’ve collected from our fearless peers who have lead the way in fearlessly Leaning In. 1. Focus on your deep spiritual conversion and create your clear, compelling mission before you even think about making an ask: As put forth by former monk and popular consultant Charles LaFond. Lean in together and think about what you’re asking for. 2. You’ll Never Know if you Don’t…

  • 7 Things That Will Make You a Better Fundraiser

    admin
    16 Apr 2013 | 4:48 am
    By Margaux Smith Three years ago, I didn’t even know fundraising was a profession. (Some of the contributors to this blog have been raising money for charity since I was a baby!) But when I arrived, I threw myself into the deep end and have consequently learned a great deal in a short time. Most of all, I’ve learned that no amount of study can replace years of experience. So while I wait for the time to fill me with wisdom, I’ve learned to improve my fundraising in more immediate ways. Here are seven ways I’ve discovered. Feel free to challenge them or add your own in…

  • Grant Research: Best Practices

    MLWagner
    11 Mar 2013 | 12:11 am
    Many grant writers are captivated by generating Foundation Directory prospect lists and beginning the grant writing process. I say, “Whoa”. While that prospect list is a good place to start, you must remember it is just the first step in your prospect research. What follows are the thorough and appropriate steps to prospect research done in a manner which increases your odds in winning that grant. Here they are: 1. Foundation Directory: Place you criteria in and make certain to click the button which tells them to exclude ‘unsolicited’ applications. This is your first list. 2. Review…

  • How to Increase Google Page Rank – 10 Best Ways

    MLWagner
    19 Feb 2013 | 11:31 pm
    Like many of you, most of my new business is driven by people searching Google for a fundraising professional, so I’m always curious what the best and most current ways are to increase your Google ranking. I recently came across Chiranjeev Kumar’s blog who explained it in a manner that I understood; which means he kept is simple/stupid. This is a bit of what Chiranjeev shared: 1. Write Quality Content: As you know “Content is King” in Blogging because your chances are higher to get a link back. 2. Write Guest Post: Guest Posting always comes first when we talk about how to build back…

  • Keeping it all straight: 8 tips for getting grant-organized

    admin
    4 Feb 2013 | 9:15 pm
    By Patty Hasselbring “Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” – A. A. Milne You got the grant. You thanked the funder. You notified all the involved parties. You and your team celebrated. You are ready to roll. Next comes the action – starting the project or activities that were funded! Setting up your record-keeping system doesn’t sound quite as exciting, but it’s also important for many reasons. For example, it will help you find important information quickly, and you’ll be able to oversee…
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    Raffle Fundraising Tips Ideas Strategies

  • The Raffle Baffle – Impact a Life College Scholarhip Essay

    Raffle Guy
    21 May 2013 | 9:37 am
    The Raffle Baffle – Impact a Life College Scholarhip EssayDo you want to sell more raffle tickets? Tip o’ the hat goes to to Leah Sepulvado for an excellent “Impact a Life” college scholarship essay that explore different tactics that will help make your raffle fundraiser a whopping success. For more details on the “Impact a Life” college scholarship opportunity sposored by raffleticket.com, have a look here. Raffles have been an asset to organizations that require funding for various reasons. Some reasons to raise funds are expansion, maintenance, or to…

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Organizing a Church Fundraising Event Successfully

    Raffle Guy
    17 May 2013 | 8:52 am
    A Beginner’s Guide to Organizing a Church Fundraising Event SuccessfullyOrganizing a church fundraising event can be very rewarding indeed provided everything is planned carefully and maximum people participate at the event, making liberal contributions both monetarily and in kind. However, given the scale of a normal fundraiser under a church’s banner it is in no way possible for a single person or a group of people to organize it without taking the help of a comprehensive tech solution. A software application such as the event registration software automates all the back-end procedures…

  • How to Hold a Fundraising Raffle – “Impact a Life” College Scholarship Entry

    Raffle Guy
    13 May 2013 | 11:13 am
    How to Hold a Fundraising Raffle – “Impact a Life” College Scholarship EntryMany thanks to Darlene Foley for a fine “Impact a Life” college scholarship essay. If you are considering holding a raffle fundraiser, take a look at some of the tips and strategies Darlene outlines. If you or someone you know is interested in submitting an essay, the details can be found by clicking here. Holding a raffle to raise funds is not only one of the easiest ways to do this but is also one of the most profitable. The first thing you do is get items to raffle off. I don’t…

  • How To Hold A Successful Basket Bingo Fundraiser

    Raffle Guy
    9 May 2013 | 9:22 am
    How To Hold A Successful Basket Bingo FundraiserBingo fundraising events have been around for decades. That’s because people love to play bingo and charities can earn several thousand dollars in just one evening of bingo. Many nonprofit organizations, clubs and schools have annual basket bingo events. There are some organizations whose basket bingo fundraisers have become so popular and lucrative that they hold basket bingo’s two and three times a year. While your organization can earn as much as $5,000 for an evening of basket bingo, it does take quite a lot work and preparation…

  • “Impact a Life” Scholarship Student Entry

    Raffle Guy
    1 May 2013 | 9:25 am
    “Impact a Life” Scholarship Student EntryHats off to University of Houston student, Henderson M. Jones for an excellent college scholarship essay entry sponsored by raffleticket.com. Thanks Henderson for the awesome graphic format and your insightful tips. If you, or a student you know are interested in submitting an essay for the “Impact a Life” College Scholarship, you can find the details by clicking here. click the image above for large view Raffle Fundraising Tips Ideas Strategies -
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