In this case, it's best to be a sponge. That's because socially networked nonprofits operate like sponges...not like SpongeBob or a kitchen sponge...but like a sea sponge, transparent and open, yet grounded.

In their new book, The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting With Social Media to Drive Social Change, Beth Kanter and Allison Fine categorize nonprofits into three types:

• Fortresses that build their walls high, man the parapets to keep out intruders, and even build moats to discourage the curious.
• Transactional organizations have their eye constantly on how many...visits, donations, number of volunteers.
• Transparents are like deep sea sponges, anchored but open, clear about what they do best, averse to complexity, trusting of others, relationship building.

I have to admit that I've mostly worked in the fortress variety and even helped reinforce those barrier walls in an effort to "control" interactions with what often looked like a dangerous world. But, I'm recovering, as I hope you are, and learning to use the new tools of social networking to open those gates...More...

My good friend, and fundraising expert, Pamela Grow, recently wrote about monthly giving programs and used Best Friends, one of the most loved animal welfare organizations in the country, as an example.

I happen to be a supporter of Best Friends and donate monthly. It's not a big amount, but I'm sure when Best Friends adds up all of their small monthly donations, it comes out to be quite a lot.

I began thinking about why I'm so happy with my automatic giving program with Best Friends. Actually, I am giving monthly to another organization as well. And I'm not happy about it. What makes the difference between the two?

I won't mention the other organization, but I was not enthusiastic about signing up when I got a phone call from a relative that was working the phones for this unnamed group. I said yes, really against my better judgment. I've regretted it ever since. So this donation is coming out of my checking account every month and pretty soon I'm going to screw up my courage and cancel it.

Why am I unhappy? I've never heard a word from that organization since I signed up over the phone. Not a thank you, an email, a newsletter...Nada!

Why haven't I canceled earlier? It isn't that easy. I'm not sure now how to reach the organization, and I'm rather embarrassed to call my relative and ask for more information. This is how automatic payments, whether they are a contribution or a recurring subscription or other kind of purchase, get a bad name. It is not always transparent and, since we are all convenience addicted, it takes considerable effort and dissatisfaction to intervene. That may be why Americans are rather adverse to signing up for automatic payments. They have probably had a bad experience with them.

So, why am I so satisfied with Best Friends? For starters, I wasn't coerced into donating. A friend of mine mentioned that she was checking out some local potential adoptive parents of a dog from Best Friends. I asked how that worked and what is Best Friends. She said she had been a supporter of the organization for a long time, and they asked her to do a home visit in our town for this potential adoption. She was thrilled to do it.

Curious, I checked out Best Friends online. I must have spent an hour or two entranced with the website and all the stories of animals that donors can sponsor. By the next day I had decided I wanted to donate to a special dog that had been rescued by the organization, in honor of my late dog, Lucy. So I signed up, agreeing to allow Best Friends to deduct a small amount monthly through my credit card.

I was brand new to Best Friends, but because my dear friend was a supporter, I felt comfortable donating. The website is appealing, and I was donating to a particular animal. I do know that the method works...it's called "singularity" by Dan Ariely, author of The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. I recently attended a webinar at NetworkforGood that featured Ariely. The fact is that we are more generous when we can empathize with one particular person, or animal in this case, than if we just hear abstract numbers or even are presented with a small number of recipients.

But besides the singularity angle, Best Friends came through in a number of other ways. I got an email thank you and a mailed thank you. I receive an email from Best Friends at least once a week, usually with a neat story about their work (like the Gulf Oil Spill animals that are showing up in shelters and need adopters). They send an email newsletter frequently as well. You can see an example here.

But, I also receive a beautiful magazine every couple of months that I always sit down and devour right away. Besides that, when I tweeted to Pamela Grow about her blog post about the organization, saying that I was a fan, Best Friends tweeted me to say again how grateful they are for my support. They are listening to their supporters through social media.

I have never considered canceling my monthly donation to Best Friends. In fact, I'll likely increase it They really have me, hook, line and sinker.

If your organization is thinking about a monthly giving program for your donors, make sure you can follow through the way Best Friends does. Otherwise you're going to have some unhappy people who will start canceling as soon as they can figure out how.

Remember:

• Singularity
• Thank you letters
• Frequent communications to keep your organization fresh in your donors' minds.

Is there an organization you think is doing a particularly fine job with monthly donations? Let me know in the comments.

Fundraising

The track record of online fundraising contests is spotty at best, although they are no longer the latest new thing. Allyson Kapin, of Frogloop, rifs on the topic and asks Online Fundraising Contests: Effective or Digital Litter?

I remember distinctly the first time I ever heard of donor research, and my reaction was "What?" I couldn't believe that there were people spending their time poking around in people's lives to see how much money they could donate. I soon learned the worth of prospect research, but the Wall Street Journal seems to question it, judging from an article back in May in its personal finance section. Anne Kadet asks Is Your Favorite Charity Spying on You?. The Chronicle of Philanthropy worries About a Crackdown on Donor Research as a result of such articles. I think a discussion and airing of the issues is healthy.

Almost on cue, Blackbaud has established a blog about prospect research to serve the needs of pros in that field. It should help bring prospect research out of the shadows and motivate people to consider it as a career. There is more than one path in fundraising after all. The recent posts here include an excellent one about marketing planned giving to women.

Social Media

One of the ingredients of successfully using social media, according to The Networked Nonprofit by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine, is the willingness to experiment. Whether you're read the book or not, expand your knowledge with Beth's recent blog post, How To Make Social Media Experiments Fun!

Confused about social media and don't know where to start? Idealware, which helps sort out software issues for nonprofits, has put together The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide. A free download, this may be just the starter guide you've been searching for.

I have to say that I'm tiring of all the talk about the Old Spice social media campaign, but Peter Panepento, of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, did such a great take in his Charity Lessons From the Old Spice Guy that I couldn't ignore it. My dad reeked of Old Spice, by the way, and I rather admire the company's attempt to stay relevant for a new generation. It might work.

Social Entrepreneurship

The Ashoka website is a great resource for budding social entrepreneurs as well as old hands. For example, Meera Krishnan has provided a roundup of free tutorials or toolkits designed specifically for social entrepreneurs in Starter Kits for Social Entrepreneurs.

Everyday Doing Good

Nicole Bouchard Boles, author of How to Be an Everyday Philanthropist makes her blog an unending stream of suggestions for doing good and giving with little money and even less time. Her latest post is about recycling your bra! Well, ok, I could do that. But she also often highlights products to buy for good, and profiles great nonprofit organizations. Very worthwhile.

Cause Marketing and CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility took a hit this month when Chrystia Freeland, writing in the Washington Post, asked What's BP's social responsibility?. I thought these questions were put to rest some time ago, but I guess not. I really liked the retort at Philanthrocapitalism, which asked instead, Is CSR Evil?

Springwise, always tracking the newest entrepreneurial ideas, is hot on the trail of a "buy one, donate one" trend in business. They profile the Plus One Movement in With every box of dog food, a meal for a homeless pet, and provides links to profiles of two others, Happy Blankie and Project Little Grey Dress.

Food for Thought

David La Piana writes in the Stanford Social Innovation Review about The Nonprofit Paradox, suggesting that nonprofits are often plagued by the very problems they set out to cure. Apparently having a social mission won't shield a nonprofit from dysfunction in its own house...indeed being focused too intently on that mission, the author suggests, may create that dysfunction.

Jarrett Stevens, in Relevant Magazine, writes about Consumer Compassion, asking "Our commitment to social justice sometimes bleeds into our want to consume products. Is that okay?" He says we are in the "Age of Compassionism," which is a blend of doing good, consumerism, and fashion. Could be.

Photo by Getty Images

A reader recently asked me what she should do about thanking donors who gave to her organization back in 2009.

Apparently, this nonprofit staffer receives the names of donors from a volunteer (it is a small organization that relies heavily on volunteers). Then she sends out thank you letters. Most of the time, she is able to send the thank you's within 48 hours.

However, for some unknown reason, she just recently got a list of people who gave back in 2009 through various federated funds (United Way, Combined Federal Campaign, Workplace Giving Campaign, etc).

Should she go ahead and send out thank you letters even though they are so late? Or let them go, talk with the volunteer, and hope this never happens again? What would you do? Please provide helpful comments.

Photo by Getty Images