American Lung Association

(Press release, Jan. 22, 2015) — JDRF has selected RMI Direct Marketing as its new list management provider, effective Jan. 5, 2015.

(Press release, Dec. 9, 2014) — Charity Dynamics released The Next Ten Years in Digital Fundraising, showing that 88 percent of nonprofit professionals expect digital fundraising to grow from 7 percent of total fundraising to 20 percent or more within the next 10 years. A majority of those, 50 percent of total respondents, expect digital fundraising to become more than 30 percent of total fundraising.

Online fundraising is important — and growing more important every year — but nonprofits can't just open a spigot and watch online contributions pour in. Successful online fundraisers avoid the common mistakes that plague so many others. Here are four fundraising pitfalls we see too often and how can you can avoid them: 1. inconsistent messaging on donation pages. 2. making the donation process too complex, 3. skipping effective follow-up and 4. relying on intuition, not data.

To get noticed, some charities now resort to provocative advertisements and unconventional marketing. “We are all fighting over smaller and smaller pieces of the pie, so we have to get crazier, wackier and louder,” said Nathan Hand, director of advancement at the Oaks Academy in Indianapolis, who doubles as Nonprofit Nate, a blogger.

But some philanthropy consultants, academics and historians ask whether the quest for the next viral video or news-making stunt actually advances a nonprofit organization’s mission or simply wastes its resources.

Results from two new studies conducted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy show online giving is surging. According to a recent post on The Chronicle‘s website: “Online gifts to America’s nonprofits are growing far faster than any other types of donations.” In this post, we point out some interesting online-giving stats recently revealed by The Chronicle and use the results to provide a few tips to help your nonprofit increase your online fundraising success moving forward.

To measure the effectiveness of a brand based on a single channel or a single campaign strategy is a terrible mistake. And, honestly, I'd like to see the media report on what matters — not just something that has a shock factor.

It’s quite possible that the direction Facebook is heading with Timeline Apps will help Facebook make good on the promise of social media becoming an important, productive and measurable channel for fundraisers. So what’s the big deal? Why is this announcement potentially so important for fundraisers? Here are five reasons why I think this announcement will make a difference for the nonprofit sector.

Charities are protesting Congressional plans to gradually phase out the discounts they receive for mail appeals and other materials.

Today nonprofits pay 26 percent less, on average, than businesses to send direct-mail solicitations and other communications to supporters. Those mailings are important for many big groups; while electronic appeals have taken off in recent years, few large nonprofits have found anything as effective for fund raising as direct mail.

The Foundation for Health Coverage Education (FHCE) announced that it has been awarded two grants totaling $60,000 from the Health Coverage Foundation. The grants will aid in updating FHCE’s U.S. Uninsured Help Line 800-234-1317 and website, www.CoverageForAll.org, and strengthen continued media efforts to educate uninsured Americans about their health coverage options. They will also enhance a collaborative outreach effort with the American Lung Association to assist uninsured lung disease sufferers with navigating the complex health coverage system.

Every year tens of millions of Americans ask friends to sponsor them in events ranging from 3-mile "fun runs" to 100-mile bike treks. The largest such event — the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life — raised more than $400 million last year. Meanwhile, the ever-growing movement includes tens of thousands of tiny "thons," collecting for schools, hospitals and homeless shelters. As soon as the weather warms, the walkathoners take to the streets, proudly parading in their oversize T-shirts and ribbon pins.