I love newsletters, always have. But as they morph into emails, newsletter practices need to evolve too. Katya Andresen, of Network for Good, asks in this provocative post whether we should be sending them at all. Katya writes, "You can't just slap your print newsletter into a PDF, email it, and consider yourself the editor of an 'e-newsletter.'"
What it takes to be a successful nonprofit. In this post at the GuideStar blog, Bob Ottenberg summarizes a presentation by Carla Javits, President of REDF (The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund). Successful NPOs, says Javits, achieve, among other things, "Clarity about the size and scope of the problem you are addressing. In other words, what are you trying to solve?"
Being as much a donor these days as a fundraiser, I appreciated this post from Alan Sharpe: How Angry Are Your Donors With You? Take this Quiz and Find Out. These are funny, but they do happen. Just consider #8, " A major donor asked your fundraising coordinator to send him your audited financial statements, but she was busy uploading a photo of her kittens to Twitter and forgot. 5 points."
Fighting the social media content monster? Cheryl Black, at Connection Café, has come up with a great cheat sheet: 50 Social Media Content Ideas. Great suggestions in categories such as "Mission Moments," "Connecting," and "Questions."
After that post, jump over to Event 360 where Jono Smith posted, What Is Content Strategy? Jono rounds up some great advice about clarifying content strategy, including a little test you can measure your content against.
Struggling with mobile fundraising? Allyson Kapin, at Frogloop, has rounded up the data about mobile givers in How Influential is Mobile Fundraising? Consider this factoid, "86% of the respondents who give via text stated that they are willing to consider giving larger amounts of money through other channels."
Wayne Elsey runs Soles4Souls and grapples with fundraising issues daily. He reminds us of the importance of the website in 5 Tips for the Year End Appeal. Wayne writes, "65% of your donors look at your website before they write the check or donate online-Is your website ready?"
Trying out Google+ for your nonprofit? Heather Mansfield, of Nonprofit Tech 2.0, has spotted 22 Must-Circle Nonprofit Bloggers and Resources on Google+. Here are bloggers on the cutting edge of nonprofit social media, examples of nonprofit business pages, and great news sources. Heather also has instructions for setting up your organization's Google+ page.
Crisis management and media training for spokespeople are two items that often get overlooked by nonprofits. Yet NPOs are as vulnerable to crisis as any other business, as we're seen recently in the Penn State and The Second Mile situation. I recommend following Ragan's PR Daily to stay abreast of PR trends. That's where I found media trainer Brad Phillip's blog. Brad takes apart three statements by Penn State officials in this short video: Penn State's Week In Crisis: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
In the News
Charity 2.0? Silicon Valley reinvents philanthropy. - Christian Science Monitor
Give to Charity, Get a Deal? - Smart Money
Nonprofits get innovative to find financing - The Washington Post
Photo: Don Bishop/Getty Images
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