Salvation Army

Facing growing pressure to improve their impact and effectiveness, nonprofit networks that consist of multiple affiliates are pursuing a range of strategies to identify, connect and support their affiliates, a new study says.

"Networks, with multiple sites often operating similar programs, are increasingly expected to provide donors and supporters with a higher level of evidence that their work is effective and delivered consistently across the board," says Growing Network Impact: How Nonprofit Networks are Raising the Bar on Results, a report by the Bridgespan Group.

Companies like UPS and Wal-Mart are teaching trade crafts to aid workers so they can deliver food and shelter to famine victims more quickly and cheaply, saving money and ultimately more lives.

When World Food Programme Executive Director Josette Sheeran visited hunger sites in Kenya and Somalia last month, she brought Peter Bakker, former chief executive of transportation company TNT and current U.N. ambassador against hunger. Bakker is helping rally businesses to provide support for those affected by the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.

Continuing our four-part series on successful fundraising campaigns from the past year, here are case studies on Stop Hunger Now's Haiti Relief campaign and the Salvation Army's annual Red Kettle Drive.

If you haven't heard, there's a new report available on multichannel fundraising from FundRaising Success sister brand DirectMarketingIQ. The report, "The Art & Science of Multichannel Fundraising," which I am honored to be a part of, is a guide of best practices, tips, techniques and case studies on multichannel fundraising campaigns compiled by some of the nonprofit industry's brightest minds and most successful organizations.

Confronted with an unprecedented string of tornadoes, floods and wildfires, the American Red Cross and other relief groups are scrambling to raise money fast enough to meet the demand for help.

“The disasters just keep coming,” said Red Cross spokesman Roger Lowe, reporting that the organization has spent $41 million thus far responding to the seven-week onslaught while raising $33.6 million to cover the costs.

Many other national and local groups also are facing fundraising challenges as they respond to the recent calamities.

More than $29 million was raised to help flood victims in Nashville last year. About $25 million has been spent to help flood victims. And those flood dollars are still at work, as nonprofits help victims put their homes and lives back together a year later. Despite that good work, critics question why the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee still has millions of dollars unspent a year after the flood. That criticism prompted a new state law, passed last week, requiring charities to tell the secretary of state how they are spending flood donations.

The shortlisted nominations for the Institute of Fundraising’s National Awards 2011 are announced. Among the shortlist are Organisational members Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Scope and Jewish Care.

The Awards are sponsored by Dataforce Charities, with ThirdSectorJobs.co.uk as the media partners. The National Awards are the only awards created for fundraisers by fundraisers. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner held on Monday 4th July, the first night of the Institute's three-day National Convention.

E-donations facilitator Nadanu today launched a new platform called MyCharityBox that lets non-profits easily collect funds from donors.

A user registers with Nadanu’s Push-K platform and then “drops coins” which represent monetary donations from a donor’s credit card, PayPal or Authorize.net into a graphic designed to look like a traditional coin box for their favorite charity.

The eCharityBox is programmed to wait until it hits a predetermined amount; when “full,” it sends the donation on to the chosen charity.

Ten days after the devastating earthquake and tsunamis in Japan, American donors have contributed more than $136-million for relief efforts, according to a Chronicle tally. Nearly two-thirds of the total has been raised by one organization, the American Red Cross.

The rate of donations is slower than after last year’s earthquake in Haiti and after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Nine days after the disaster in Haiti, donors had contributed more than $355-million, and nine days after Katrina they had given more than $740-million.

Grizzard Communications Group and Convio Inc. announced that they have partnered on a new solution for nonprofit organizations that integrates Convio’s online marketing and fundraising platform and best practices model, known as Convio Go!™, with Grizzard’s direct response strategies and capabilities for implementing integrated campaigns. The new offering, Go! Forward, gives nonprofit professionals access to Convio’s online marketing tools and Grizzard’s direct marketing resources.