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The unpredictable nature of the Ebola virus has made the government’s partnerships with private donors critically important in the crisis response. Working outside the politically charged federal appropriations process and the sometimes sluggish bureaucracy, foundations and private individuals have been able to offer much-needed relief for those on the front lines.

Google announced that it will match monetary donations that its users make to fight Ebola through a new fundraising campaign website the tech giant launched Monday. This is the first matching campaign the company has ever announced.

The campaign will benefit four organizations — Doctors Without Borders, Partners in Health, Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee — by way of a donation to the Network for Good, an online fundraising platform.

For the benefit of those who missed them, because no one taught them, here are nine fundamentals that will make your readers' job easier and consequently improve your fundraising results.

Take a look at the 2014 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence Multichannel ($10 million and Over) fundraising campaign winners from The Children's Center, Human Rights Campaign and Wounded Warrior Project.

An award-winning anti-bulling charity has gone into administration, leaving children in “despair” as its services were suspended. BeatBullying UK, along with its sister charity MindFull, which offers young people support for mental health issues, run helplines, online forums and counselling sessions. But on Tuesday, the charities’ websites were displaying a message directing people to the Samaritans or Childline for support instead.

“We are sorry MindFull and BeatBullying services are currently down,” it said.

While the old techniques — direct mail and telemarketing — still work and generate responses, they alone are no longer the "gold standard" in fundraising. Savvy nonprofits are moving to "surround sound" fundraising.

In Find Accounting Software's 2014 Fundraising Technology Trends Study, 142 fundraisers were polled about their use of technology. Each of the fundraisers shared how successful they’ve been growing contributions. They also described their software management platforms, communication channels and payment acceptance methods.

Key findings include: Revenue growth is not assured. Fundraiser believe in technology but often lack it. Leveraging the Web matters. Diversification is key. There is an optimal technology profile a successful fundraiser.

Personal thank-you calls are a way to put board members to work, even if they're nervous about asking for money. No soliciting required; these are for stewardship only.

Because your website is so important, we should consider some ways to evaluate and measure its success. Here are five key steps that can be easily measured with Google Analytics.

Are you spending a lot of time on social media for your nonprofit and just kind of hoping it pays off? When it comes to converting social-media friends to donors, people often get it wrong.