Heather Burton

“Diversify, diversify, diversify.”

This has been, and will continue to be, the mantra when it comes to planning and securing funding. As a nonprofit professional, you know that snapping your fingers will not make dollars magically appear. Building new, sustainable funding streams that align with your mission takes time, energy and a lot of patience, and must occur in the midst of the countless day-to-day activities keeping your organization running. Yet, to help sustain your organization for the long term, diversification is a must.

The Web is fast-paced and dynamic. Blogs, YouTube, social media, RSS feeds and online communities are changing the way nonprofit organizations engage their constituencies. But it takes time and resources to maintain an organization’s Web site — let alone implement Web 2.0 strategies. And the progression of Web-based tools for constituency engagement leaves some professionals scratching their heads.

Spring — which, believe it or not, really is coming soon — is an exciting time. People emerge from hibernation, outdoor activities are on the rise, and nonprofits tap into the renewed energy of their staff, donors, and volunteers. And for those organizations that rely on special events for funding, it’s either the final countdown or full-blown planning for fall. Online components to special events are becoming the norm. From managing an auction online and encouraging personal fundraising pages, to joining the virtual community of Second Life and posting video highlights from your cow patty bingo fundraiser on your organization’s Web site (or

People search for just about everything imaginable on the Web, including information on the causes they’re passionate about. More than 80 percent of people without a predetermined site in mind start at a search engine. And once a term is searched, people typically look at only the first 10 listings generated by the search engine before either making a selection or refining or broadening their search.

Identity-theft criminals are targeting not only large for-profit businesses, but also unsuspecting smaller businesses and nonprofit organizations.