The book “Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money Through Smart Communications,” by Sarah Durham, offers nonprofit organizations strategies to communicate more effectively using limited resources — which has become an even greater challenge for many nonprofits, large and small, in today's struggling economy.
Not since the Great Depression has our nation experienced such a wide distribution of need throughout all socio-economic levels. It started out as a snowball at the top of the mountain with the subprime mortgage debacle. But as it continues to make its way down a steep slope, millions of Americans are getting swept up into what amounts to nothing less than an avalanche of personal destruction. Many, through no fault of their own, are losing their jobs, and as a result, are losing their homes, health care, life savings, sense of self respect and more.
The scenario had become all too common for Christian Children's Fund. Mike Pressendo's young son had chosen to sponsor a Cambodian child through the Christian Children's Fund Web site. But when the Cambodian affiliate — called ChildFund Cambodia — sent his sponsor package, it immediately caused confusion for the boy. Why, when he had sponsored a child through Christian Children's Fund, was he now receiving information on the sponsorship from another organization?
Lynn Edmonds, president, L.W. Robbins Associates
Loyal donors are being conservative but holding on. Since the spring, we have seen a slight increase in giving in some audiences but not all. And in certain cases, we have been able to reactivate lapsed donors by decreasing the gift asks.
November 11, 2009 — A brand launch is a special moment in an organization’s public life and one that affords it the opportunity to greet both loyal and potential supporters with a fresh image and message that, if effective, will lay the foundation for building strong relationships between these valued supporters and the organization.
The winners of this year's Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards were announced recently by Nancy Schwartz, president of nonprofit services provider Nancy Schwartz & Co. and author of the Getting Attention blog and e-update that organizes the annual competition.
Cary, NC, October 20, 2009 — Brand-X-Press has just released a line of viral social media content for nonprofits. Providing engaging social media content is the key to building relationships and educating constituents. Brand-X-Press (BXP) creates customized games, animated public service announcements and virtual gifts designed to raise funds and awareness throughout social media channels.
Maplewood, NJ, October 20, 2009 — Both large and small nonprofits earned top honors this week for their attention-getting taglines, demonstrating again that an organization of any size can craft a powerful, pithy motto to build awareness and connect with its key audiences.
October 9, 2009, The New York Times — In an effort to establish a clearer identity, the United Jewish Communities renamed itself the Jewish Federations of North America and adopted a new logo that it hopes will be used by the network of more than 500 Jewish organizations under its umbrella.
In the late 1980s, United Jewish Communities/The Jewish Federations of North America had more than 800,000 donors. By 2009, that number had dwindled to fewer than 500,000. A steady, 20-year decline in donor numbers is a sure indication that something is wrong — something much deeper and long-term than the down economy that has been decimating donor bases across the nonprofit sector since last year.
