What We’re Reading, Week of 8/3 part 2

From AFP: Nonprofit Technology Blog…
Nonprofits use pilot site to post events, causes
Linking to an article from Democrat and Chronicle.com, the AFP blog calls attention to the use of pilot sites by nonprofits. According to the article, over 100 nonprofits are using the “Do Good” pilot site that connects readers with information about a variety of charitable causes. It allows users to post information about events, causes, and nonprofit jobs. Tools like “Do Good” can help drum up support and interest in nonprofit activities in an easy, cost-effective way.

From Beth’s Nonprofit Blog…
Crowded Roads Ahead for Charity 2.0: How to address scaling and cause fatigue?
As the use of the internet and social media continue to expand, it’s important to address the inevitable issue of media clutter. Beth’s Nonprofit Blog discusses the recent coverage given to nonprofit clutter, and offers some insights on how organizations can continue to raise funds and promote their causes in a crowded field.According to Beth, building a movement around a cause rather than a brand, and ensuring that social media initiatives are properly scaled, will allow nonprofits to succeed amidst competition.

From Frogloop…
Is Your Nonprofit Complying with State Charity Regulations?
This week, Allyson Kapinat Frogloop blogs about the regulations that accompany online nonprofit fundraising. If a nonprofit raises money on the internet, than it needs to ensure that it is in compliance with state laws. These regulations can be complicated: for example, as Allyson points out, a charity based in one state may have to register itself in other states if the residents there make donations. Nonprofits should be aware of these rules, and should stay up-to-date on compliance.

What We’re Reading, Week of 7/27

From Frogloop…
Taking Advantage of Wikipedia
Millions of people look to www.wikipedia.org as a starting point when they are searching for information about specific topics. Allyson Kapin of Frogloop encourages nonprofits to bear this in mind, and to create or update their organizations’ Wikipedia entries. She writes that Wikipedia can be a powerful promotional and educational outlet. As Wikipedia becomes ever more fixed in the internet culture, nonprofits should be aware of its potential uses.

From the Nonprofit Communications Blog…
The First 100 Hours: Turning Media Spikes Into Fundraising Leads
Kivi Leroux Miller’s post discusses the importance of turning media coverage into fundraising leads. According to Kivi, media coverage of an organization will lead to a window of roughly 100 hours of increased traffic and search engine hits. This time frame represents an opportunity to raise funds and increase interest. Kivi recommends using customized search ads, a strong landing page devoted to the issue that brought media attention in the first place, and social media. It is important for nonprofits to strike while the iron is hot, and media attention represents a prime opportunity to generate awareness and bring in revenue.

From AFP: Nonprofit Technology Blog…
Twittering for a cause: Web 2.0 and its philanthropic impact
Linking to a post from The Daily Tell, the AFP Blog discusses the impact that Web 2.0 has had on philanthropy. In particular, the post discusses how Twitter has become a fundraising avenue. Through campaigns such as “Tweetsgiving” and “tweet4good”, Twitter users have proven that they are generous to charitable causes. As the use of social media for charitable causes spreads, nonprofits that are not currently taking advantage of social media ought to find ways to get into the game soon.

What We’re Reading, Week of 7/13

From Small Change…
The Multi-Year Gift
Jason Dick discusses the prospect of asking major non-profits donors to contribute multi-year gifts. By talking to potential donors about what kind of difference they would like to make within the organization, and by giving them the opportunity to assist in an area that they are passionate about, nonprofits can enhance their own programs and the experience of their donors. It will be interesting to see if multi-year gifts can help non-profits to achieve greater financial security during the recession.

From Frog-Loop…
10 Tools and Strategies to Market Your Nonprofit on a Shoe-String Budget
In her latest blog post, Allyson Kapin discusses ten marketing tools and strategies that nonprofits can use to promote themselves in cost-effective ways. Kapin sees the value of social media as a marketing tool, encouraging the use of social networks, RSS feeds, and Youtube. By using these tools, nonprofits can generate interest and awareness without breaking the bank. Kapin’s post is indicative of just how valuable social media marketing has become to the nonprofit community.

From The Nonprofit Communications Blog
Getting the Personal-Professional Mix Right in Social Media
Using a helpful FlickR slideshow, Kivi Miller tackles the issue of how to mix personal and professional information when using social media. She provides pointers for people who use social both at work and on their own time, and offers suggestions on what information is (or is not) appropriate to share across different situations. As social media become more prevalent, individuals who use social media for both work and play should think about this issue.

What We’re Reading, Week of 7/6

From Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog…
How to convince your skeptical boss that social media has merit
In her latest blog post, Katya gives social media advocates a few pointers on how to convince their bosses that social media is an effective tool for promoting and publicizing an organization. She recommends signing up skeptical bosses with Google Alerts and Tweetbeeps, setting clear and understandable social media policies, and sharing progress frequently. These tips could be quite helpful to those who want to bring social media into their organization, but need to gain upper-level support first.

From Non-Profit Communications…
Non-Profit Blogs: Five Reasons You Do & Don’t Need One
Kivi Miller runs through five reasons that starting a blog could be helpful for a non-profit- and five reasons why not. He illustrates the different ways that organizations can use blogs, whether they want to merely “share the small stuff” or react quickly to a crisis. However, he also shows that blogging has a downside: blogging can do more harm than good if the tone is wrong, updates are too few, and transparency is an issue. Non-profits should carefully weigh out the pros and cons of blogging; a useful tool for one non-profit could be a bad option for another.

From Your Non-Profit Technology Community: NTEN…
Four Reasons Innovations Matter Now More Than Ever
The NTEN blog offers advice about the importance of innovation in the non-profit sector. While acknowledging the tough competition within the sector as well as the impact of the recession, non-profits need to continuously focus on innovation by reevaluating business models, offering high-quality services, and finding ways to work around slashed budgets and reduced donations. It will be interesting to see which tactics and strategies will help non-profits to weather the storm and continue to operate successfully.

What We’re Reading, Week of 6/8

From FrogLoop…
How Sticky is Facebook?
Allyson Kapin provides insightful statistics about Facebook users—“Facebook users with 500 friends actively follow the news on only 40 of them, communicate with 20, and keep in close touch with about 10. Those with smaller networks follow even fewer”. Are you using Facebook within your organization? If so, how is it working for you?

From Beth’s Blog…
Managing Multiple Twitter Accounts for Your Nonprofit
Last week Beth listed 8 CEOs from nonprofit organizations who use twitter. As a follow up, Beth provided some applications to help organizations manage multiple twitter accounts.

From Connections…
5 Email Sins to Avoid
Steve MacLaughlin shares with us 5 tips to avoid during an email campaign. Each tip is equally important and should be taken in to consideration.

What we’re reading, week of 6/1

From FrogLoop…
Why Nonprofits Need to Grow their Online Lists
Allyson Kapin provides some insight on why organizations ought to grow its online lists, and provides tips for non profits on how to do just so.

From A Small Change…
Fact or Stories?
“Information is always more powerful when it is connected to real people,” Jason Dick states. Nonprofits should be more personal when sharing information/news.

From Beth’s Blog…
8 Nonprofit CEOs Who Tweet
Beth lists 8 CEOs from nonprofit organizations who use twitter. She also lists the benefits of having your CEO tweeting.

What we’re reading, week of 5/25

From FrogLoop…
The ROI of Social Media
Heather Holdridge provides insight on ROI and some clever tips on social media for non profits.

From The Raiser’s Razor…
A Call to Innovate: Co-Branding
As a follow up post, Jeremy Gregg encourages organizations to co-brand with other companies. Leveraging relationships with other brands can build a strong and confident network.

From Mashable…
4 Ways Social Media is Changing the Non-Profit World
Our friend, Beth Kanter, did a guest post on Pete Cashmore’s social media site on how social media is changing the nonprofit sector. Beth provided four helpful tips and examples.

What we’re reading, week of 3/16

From A Small Change…
Recession? What Recession?
Jason Dick reminds and even urges non-profits not to discuss the recession. The recession and the poor economy are all over the news, and donors don’t need to be reminded of it. Instead, focus on a message of hope and change.

From Tactical Philanthropy…
2008 Red Kettle Income Fact Sheet
The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle fundraising campaign showed a 10% increase in giving in 2008 over 2007. An important point to make is that the campaign only runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Click here for the Red Kettle income fact sheet.

From Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog
How to get your supporters to listen in 4 steps
Katya provides non-profits with four helpful steps on how to get donors to listen. Our favorite is number three—“show, don’t tell”. This makes the message more personable.