FundRaising Success is kicking off the new year with some changes to our Editorial Advisory Board. Here's a quick introduction to the new members. Be sure to keep an eye on future editions of the FS Advisor for interviews with these fundraising pros.
Web 2.0 is the new kid on the block, for businesses and nonprofits alike. What follows any introduction of the phrase “Web 2.0” is a host of terms like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Second Life, etc. — the list seems endless and grows by the day. It’s easy to get lost in the buzzwords, but the key to leveraging Web 2.0 capabilities is to do what your organization should have been doing all along: focusing on its mission and message. This was the advice shared by the presenters of a session on “How to Handle the Web 2.0 Curve Ball” at the DMA Nonprofit Federation
Getting Started With Web 2.0
“So how can an organization start to ‘break-through’ the clutter?” That was the question Marc Sirkin asked in a blog post last week in which he addressed the challenge marketers have these days with compelling people to take action in “the noisiest marketplace in the history of humans.” Add all the other “noise” that’s going on for most Americans -- family issues, money problems, environmental concerns, war, terrorism, the price of gas, mowing the lawn, etc. -- and the challenge becomes clear. Sirkin says the solution hinges on relevancy, but being relevant is no easy task. “The art of being relevant starts with
Feeling kind of limited by the communications, networking and advocacy-building capabilities of the real world? Never fear … plenty of opportunities abound in the virtual one.
Second Life, for example, is a three-dimensional virtual world built and owned by users — now numbering more than 4 million worldwide — that some nonprofits have begun to use in innovative ways to expand their reach and programs.
When people involved in the nonprofit sector share with one another, it’s a beautiful thing. This was apparent at the DMA Nonprofit Federation conference last month, where the energy and enthusiasm was palpable. And it happens all the time on the many nonprofit blogs out there — more of which are being created every day, or so it seems. Inspired by all this sharing, we thought it would be cool to ask the winners of our 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards to share some things about themselves: where they come from, geographically and professionally; where they want to be in the future;
Nonprofit fundraising often might feel like a never-ending task. Just when you seem able to juggle all the balls you’ve been handed, new ones in the form of different channels or higher goals are thrown into the mix. Maintaining tried-and-true fundraising techniques that have and still do shoulder the fundraising burden for your nonprofit while also keeping up with and on the cutting edge of new technologies and breaking ground into those new frontiers is no easy task. Ever wonder how your peers keep a fresh perspective on it all? Here, some of the winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the
The winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards are nonprofit fundraisers and consultants whose accomplishments have enriched the nonprofit sector. Each of their successes are a testament to their passion for the work that they do, and their ability to harness this passion for good. I asked award winners to share the keys to their success with FS Advisor readers. Here, a sampling of their responses: * Dixie Ost, director of direct marketing, Heifer International, and one of our Top Women in Fundraising: Find the smartest people, give them opportunities, reward success. * Chuck Longfield, chief executive officer, Target Analysis Group,
Sometimes in direct mail, it’s not just what you say but how many different times and ways you say it that gets the message across to recipients. That’s not to say that a brief, well-written letter won’t do the trick, but when financially do-able, more elements (touch points) within a mailing — each one reiterating your message in a different way with a different graphical mix — can help break through the message-screening filter of most consumers/donors. This mailing by the International Rescue Committee does a great job of mixing simple and high-gloss elements, and reiterating its message in a variety of ways. To start,
Once considered haphazard and uncoordinated, international relief and rescue efforts have come into their own as vital fundraising campaigns. Whether responding to the grave effects of a natural disaster or to the plight of malnourished children in third-world countries, organizations such as American Red Cross, CARE, UNICEF, Food for the Hungry, International Rescue Committee and a host of others have heeded the global call.
