Call for Videos on Fundraising

FundRaising Success is looking for videos from nonprofit organizations for its Web site.

We'd like to hear from development directors and other fundraising staff — not only hear from you, but see your faces as well. Grab a camera and film your staff talking about fundraising at your organization. What are your biggest challenges, and how are you overcoming them? What are you proudest of in the way you communicate with donors? What was your organization's most successful event or campaign, and why was it so successful? What flopped — and why?

Don't be shy! Tell your peers what they can learn from the strategies and best practices in play at your nonprofit.

And we haven't forgotten about you agency folks, consultants and tech providers, either. Feel free to send us some video tips for our readers. But as always ... make sure your content isn't promotional. (Psst ... we have ads for that!)

Don't worry about being formal ... just be yourself, and have some fun. Topics are wide open and up to you, so long as they're fundraising focused.

All videos must be .mov files and no longer than five minutes; two to four minutes is preferred. Please have all participants introduce themselves and include their titles, and be sure to identify your organization/company and provide a brief summary of its mission. And be mindful of lighting — keep it bright!

Send your videos to FS Editor-in-Chief Margaret Battistelli at mbattistelli@napco.com

It's Gold Awards Time Again!
Hard to believe, but the deadline for FundRaising Success' fifth annual Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence already is fast approaching! All entries must be in our offices by July 10.

The categories remain the same as last year. They are:

• Direct Mail: Acquisition (50,000 or more mailed)
• Direct Mail: Acquisition (Fewer than 50,000 mailed)
• Direct Mail: Renewal (50,000 or more mailed)
• Direct Mail: Renewal (Fewer than 50,000 mailed)
• Direct Mail: Special Appeal
• Package of the Year: The highest overall points-getter among the other direct-mail winners
• Grand Control of the Year: Chosen from the controls in the Who's Mailing What! Archive
• E-philanthropy: For campaigns centered around e-mail and Web, with no direct-mail components
• Multichannel: For campaigns that combine any number of strategies, including direct mail
• Fearless Fundraising: For innovative, push-the-envelope campaigns that employ elements of mobile, guerrilla, social-networking or other cutting-edge strategies.

Like last year, entry fees are $125 for the first entry and $75 for each subsequent entry.

Click here for an entry form and tracking sheet.

Gold Awards season is a busy time for us here at FundRaising Success, but it's also a lot of fun and gives us an opportunity to spend time with some of the best fundraising efforts the sector has to offer. We're already looking forward to an influx of entries. So why not get it done, get it in and get it over with?!

Questions? E-mail mbattistelli@napco.com