M. Sue Woodward

The “Donate” button, for all too many organizations, is the Alpha and Omega — the beginning and end — of their online fundraising efforts. But such an unimaginative view leaves thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of dollars worth of potential donations lying on the table. Since online fundraising became an option, nonprofits have raised hundreds of millions of dollars through new media tools and technologies. And research constantly suggests that online donations and donors are increasing by the month. Median dollars raised online grew 27 percent between 2005 and 2006. The average amount raised jumped 40 percent from 2003 to 2005, with the

I can’t tell you how many times over the past years that I have been at direct-marketing and fundraising conferences and heard, “If only our organization had disaster or emergency response within our scope — we could raise big dollars too!” Nonprofits of all sizes will, at some point, face some level of emergency. Those organizations that have proven and practiced plans in place before the fact, and act quickly to respond to issues in the media, will find fundraising success. Take the example of a small organization that has worked on issues in the Middle East for more than