Forbes

More than 120 of the world’s billionaires have committed publicly to giving at least half their wealth to charity, including 19 on this year’s Philanthropy 50 list. But while the number of people who have signed the Giving Pledge has been growing, so too are concerns about whether the effort is channeling enough new money to urgent causes today and whether some people are motivated to join for public-relations purposes.

Blackbaud, provider of software and services for nonprofits, announced key technology trends that will have the biggest impact on the nonprofit sector in 2014. Top technology trends to watch include: Mobile will continue to play more and more of a key role, analytics will provide greater insight for nonprofit organizations, software will become smaller and more focused, the cloud will provide cheaper and more secure alternatives for nonprofits, and social media will become more integrated.

Ah, video content marketing. It’s been a hot topic in 2013, and many end-of-year predication posts assert it will be more of a focus in 2014. Why? Well, as Forbes explains, people respond to faces, voices, movement and emotion — and video often contains all four of those elements, making it one crazy-powerful marketing tool.

Startup companies are traditionally for-profit enterprises, but in recent years philanthropic ventures have begun adopting the technological know-how and scrappy mentality of startups to develop a new breed of lean nonprofits.

“‘Startup’ has always meant a for-profit company, but a charity can operate much like one,” agrees Y Combinator accelerator founder Paul Graham.

When Forbes rolled out its inaugural Philanthropy issue last fall, it provoked an unexpected reaction. Yes, there were plenty of compliments, and constructive criticism, too, but the overwhelming sentiment boiled down to this: Please keep the conversation going. Forbes centered this year’s issue on solutions for extreme poverty, from America to Africa. While that’s a noble goal worth focusing on, it’s also a prism to view the larger scope of philanthropy, whatever your interest. There are lessons here for anyone who believes in market-based, permanent answers to large-scale problems.

Blackbaud released findings from its Next Generation of American Giving study that explores charitable-giving trends and engagement behaviors and attitudes across four different generations — matures (68+), boomers (49-67), Gen X (33-48) and Gen Y (18-32). Baby boomers are emerging as the dominant force in charitable giving, responsible for 43 percent of all dollars donated. The study also revealed that multichannel engagement is the new normal, but the ideal mix varies from generation to generation.

Remember in "The Graduate" the one-word piece of advice given to Dustin Hoffman? Plastics. That was seen to be the wave of the future. Recently I gave another “P” word as my best piece of advice for nonprofit marketers and fundraisers. Personal. I received a lot of feedback, so I’d like to revisit this word and flesh out its multiple meanings — and how getting personal can help you achieve your fundraising and marketing goals.

Major-gift prospects requires the critical first meeting, which can be facilitated by a door-opener or “access person.” With strong collaboration and information sharing between fundraisers and prospect researchers, the latter can play an essential role in identifying access people.

Funny how such a simple, five-letter word (brand) can be so complex and so much more than just a logo.

As a follow-up to my recent post, "8 Tips for Effectively Using Social Media for Social Change," I asked leading nonprofit and communications experts for their best social-media advice for nonprofits to get a well-rounded view of the topic from a variety of perspectives. You will hear from noted nonprofit authors, social-media and video strategists, and experts who have dedicated their work to helping nonprofits communicate effectively and intelligently.