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10 Resources for Small Nonprofits

From Fundraising to Social Media

By , About.com Guide

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What is a small nonprofit? Are you one?

If so, you may be fed up with all the material on the Internet and in books about what larger nonprofits are doing, and how they do it. After all, they have plenty of resources, while you may be struggling just to stay afloat, much less get into activities that take time and staff you don't have.

Here are ten articles/resources that are geared to smaller nonprofits. There are lots of tips and links to other resources within them too.

1. Should Your Small Nonprofit Go After Grants?

The answer is a definite yes. Most foundations do fund locally. I asked some grant experts to talk about how it is done.

For more grant info, check out How to Make a Grant Proposal to a Small Family Foundation and Is Your Nonprofit Ready to Apply for Foundation Grants? 10 Questions to Ask.

2. How Can My Small Charity Get Corporate Sponsorships?

Use the circle approach, starting with people close to your nonprofit and then widen the circle as you go. Be sure to read this review of Cause Marketing for Dummies too. It's aimed squarely at small organizations.

3. Getting Started with Social Media: Where Do Nonprofits Begin?

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If you're looking for a place to start with social media, check out these suggestions.

Follow these 12 tips too, plus find out how nonprofits are using LinkedIn.

4. Five Best Cause Marketing Programs for Local Nonprofits

Joe Waters, author of Cause Marketing for Dummies, is frequently questioned by small and local nonprofits about how they too can fund raise through cause marketing. The national cause marketing programs are in the news daily, so it's natural that smaller, more local organizations feel they are not in the same league. Waters punctures that myth with these five cause-marketing programs that any nonprofit can do anywhere, anytime, and with local business partners.

5. Tips for Nonprofit Charity Contests

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Charity contests have in recent years become mainstays of corporate social responsibility programs. They are often seen as a way to level the playing field for smaller nonprofits, giving them a national stage that will bring publicity as well as funds. Here are tips from several experts for how to approach and manage a social media campaign for a charity contest.

6. How to Make Your Nonprofit a Media Star

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Being small might actually be an advantage in today's media world. TV, newspapers, and online media love stories about people helping people. If you can tell an "underdog" sort of story, you could find some fame.

7. Nonprofits and Business Ventures

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More and more nonprofits, of every size, are turning to business ventures to augment hard to come by donations through traditional fundraising methods. I interviewed an expert on these types of ventures for her best tips.

You'll want to learn all you can about unrelated business activity and alternative business structures before you begin any venture.

8. Make Your Nonprofit More Transparent

Small nonprofits sometimes have trouble convincing donors that they are good investments. Being forthcoming is the best way to do that. These actions will make sure that your organization provides the information that donors need.

Follow more tips at Attract More Donors by Improving Your Trustworthiness Score, and you'll soon be known for your honesty and wise use of resources

9. 10 Ways to Stretch a Small Nonprofit's Development Budget

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There is more to raising money than just sending out fundraising letters. Here are some easy, low-cost things you can do that you might not have put in the fundraising column of activities.

10. 10 Ways to Make Volunteers Happy

Volunteers are probably indispensable to your organization. They can make a small staff big, and be some of the best advocates for your cause. But what do they want? How can you keep them coming back?

Get up to date with Does Your Nonprofit Appeal to the 'New' Volunteers? They are different and, in some ways, more demanding.

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