Time Inc.

Every so often you just get stuck when you need an idea. All writers know this. And we all know the standard advice for coming up with a creative inspiration: take a walk, sleep on it, put it aside and come back to it later, and all that.

The charity event Awesome Games Done Quick, a weeklong gaming livestream featured on the video-streaming site Twitch, raised more than $1.5 million for charity research earlier this month, benefiting the Prevent Cancer Foundation. How it did it says a lot about the value of embracing niche audiences online.

The weeklong gaming marathon was hosted at a physical location, but the momentum and energy behind the event was really online, where people could watch speedrunners play live, chat about it, donate money and potentially win some prizes.

(Press release, Nov. 19, 2014) — A new American Red Cross survey found that even among social-media users, it's the messenger, not the medium, that's key to motivating social-media users to donate to charity, suggesting that personal appeals from friends matter more than trending topics and gimmicks.

Recent tweets from folks you should be following.

Knowing as much as possible about donors can help fundraisers keep them involved with the organization and develop greater retention. Nonprofits can break through the noise by utilizing traditional engagement methods, as well as emerging data and personalization tactics to focus on what matters — cultivating relationships with donors by addressing their interests and allowing them to communicate with your organization based on their preferences.

Peer-to-peer fundraising events continue to grow in popularity across the nonprofit sector, and the most common form is the run/walk/ride event. They’re a great way to raise awareness, raise money, and actively engage participants and supporters. Plus, the participants and their friends do a large portion of the fundraising for you.

Looking for volunteers for a good cause? You’re most likely to have success if you head to Utah. That’s according to a new survey from Gallup, which breaks down by state where Americans donate the most time and money to charity. Relatively low population states such as South Dakota, Vermont, Montana and Idaho topped a list of survey respondents who reported giving a donation and volunteering their time to an organization within the last six months.

Recent tweets from folks you should be following.

If there’s a link, we can track it. But digital fundraising isn’t bound by links. It may surprise you, but the future of digital is actually offline. It encompasses all forms of marketing, video, advertising, direct response, social, branded websites, maps, search, third-party review platforms, brick-and-mortar locations, events, etc.

The most meaningful information you have to share should be at the forefront of your website with options for next steps. Giving your visitor too many links, too many choices or too much information divides their attention and detracts from the bare essence of what you are trying to achieve. You’ve got to make it easy for them.

Google got it Right! Google. Now, this is a website we all can relate to. But imagine this … What if Google were a nonprofit? Here’s what its homepage could look like.