Charity: water has justifiably been lauded for its rapid growth as a mostly online fundraising platform and for its audacious marketing.

J.D. Lasica, over at SocialBrite, recently said, "In my view, charity: water has made the most astonishing use of social media and new media, with breathtakingly good videos, multimedia, photography and smart ways to mobilize social networks."

The infographic I recently received by email is a good example of the visual goodies that charity: water lavishes on its followers. The infographic, which is sort of a mashup of the infographic form and a newsletter, is a thank you, an annual report, and a lovely proof of impact all at once. I've just added an image of the entire charity: water infographic to my Beyond Formulas: Thanking Donors and Volunteers, a growing collection of out-of-the-box ways to say thanks.

Charity: water is a true multi-media cause, although not entirely multi-channel. I've yet to receive anything from them through the mail. But it works for them. They've staked out the brave new world of virtual communications and spend their time, energy, and resources making it as lush as possible.

If you are interested in developing your own inforgraphics, Wild Apricot has an excellent roundup of resources that you'll want to check out. Not all infographics need to be complex...they can be simple illustrations of information and statistics that you can embed within other messages. Tribalcafe has an assortment of social media infographics that can be used as models for yours.

Related:

• Examples of Thank You Letters
• Examples of Email Thank You Letters
• Examples of Direct Mail Fundraising Letters
• Examples of Thank Yous that Break the Rules

The "new normal" has come to mean leaner, meaner, pared down, and frugal--just the opposite of conspicuous and grandiose. Economic realities are hitting nonprofits right and left, from government funding contraction to new kinds of volunteers and donors.

In response, a new way of fundraising is emerging as well. The next few years could be called the era of post-fundraising campaigns...at least those gargantuan, time-limited, big name led fundraising campaigns of the past.

That was the message from GuideStar's recent webinar, Strategic Philanthropy in the "New Normal," featuring Ned Zechman, John Wm. Thomas, and Dick Walker, all of Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI).

Characteristics of the New Normal

The new normal is "less about bold and more about achievable,' according to the webinar presenters.

They predict that, although we are technically out of the recent recession, the recovery from that setback will take 3-5 years. There will continue to be rapid change, contraction of resources, and more dependence on philanthropy to fund institutions and nonprofits.

As a consequence, major givers (and there is no doubt for these consultants that major gifts still sit atop the donor pyramid) are cautious, experiencing considerable fear and uncertainty about the future. Large gifts now take longer to consummate, and the largest donations sometimes come from unexpected sources, making cultivation harder than ever.

Strategic planning and fundraising plans are merging to create strategic philanthropy.

Strategic planning is no longer separate, with the staff and board huddling in retreat as they plan the programmatic future, and then afterwards developing a fundraising plan to support those plans. Now donors must be included in the planning from the get-go. There can no longer be an insider group vs a donor group....they are intertwined and require constant dialog.

The New Fundraising Campaign

What will fundraising look like now? Here are the most likely trends:

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People really do underestimate nonprofits.

But the fact is that nonprofit organizations provide 10.7 million American workers with employment. Lest you think that 10.7 million is pretty small, nonprofit is the third largest sector of our economy. The first two are retail trade, coming in at 14.5 million employees; and manufacturing, which claims 11.5 million. All the rest are divided up among areas ranging from construction to utilities. As share of total private US employment, nonprofit represents 10.1%.

What is even more impressive is that, according to The Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Economic Data Project, nonprofits have been creating jobs during the recent years of recession, while the rest of the economy has been shedding them.

According to the most recent Hopkins report on nonprofit employment, during the years 2000-2010 average annual nonprofit employment grew by 2.1%; while the average annual change in for-profit was minus 0.6%. Remember that from 2000-2010, the American economy suffered two recessions. The growth in nonprofit employment grew steadily during those years and outpaced the rate of growth for the for-profit sector in every year but one...and in that year, they were almost tied.

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Fundraising, Social Media. Volunteers

4% Growth In Giving Forecast For 2012. Roger Craver, The Agitator, comments on the recent good news that there might be signs of life in charitable donations both in 2011 and 2012, as detected by the Atlas of Giving.

Earned Income 101 for Nonprofits is from my lawyer friends at Nonprofit Law Blog. Thank goodness for Emily Chan and Gene Takagi who can translate legalese into English for the rest of us. This post lists some of the points these two made in a recent webinar.

18 ways to grow your email list for fundraising, cultivation, etc.. Karen Zapp sticks to the basics and drills them home. I like that - and email list building shouldn't get lost in the shuffle of the daily grind.

Volunteer Screening Interviews: Not Just Risk Management. Having been on the receiving end of a really bad interview by a volunteer manager, I appreciate these tips from Tobi Johnson. Are your volunteer interviews at least 50% about listening?

How fundraisers are getting it right in the mail. Jeff Brooks, of Future Fundraising Now, says that nonprofits are doing a lot of things right with direct mail, especially compared to the commercial sector.

Questions To Ask Lapsed Donors. The NonProfit Times Blog draws this list of questions from a book, Wired and Dangerous. Use these questions to, "get a better understanding of how your organization can improve."

What can fundraising professionals learn from a 3-year-old? Erik Anderson, of DonorDreams, finds lessons in joy, celebration, and ice cream in this charming vignette.

Do you know the lifetime value of your donors?. Chip Grizzard, of Grizzard Communications, suggests that we change the way we measure lifetime value. Maybe we need a Klout-like score that factors in social influence as well as dollars?

Nonprofit News

Facebook Game 'WeTopia' Allows Players To Donate Real Cows - Forbes. Game on for charity.

Tablet Users Spend 50% More Per Purchase Than Smartphone Owners - Fast Company. Implications for nonprofits?

Six Years of Microlending: Catching Up With Kiva. Has Kiva emerged from the cloud of naysayers?

Photo: Atlas of Giving