Little Rock, AR, July 21, 2009 — Non Profits can raise more money than ever, even in a terrible economy and have fun doing it. Bonnie Marlewski-Probert, author of 13 books, more than 1000 magazine articles and a professional in the horse industry for 20 years has recently founded Funding101.org.
I have found that when talking about great online fundraising campaigns, we often cite the work of very large, very well-known organizations. But most of you — by definition — are small and have less than a handful of staff. When you hear about the digital success of huge fundraisers it can be hard to connect all the dots in order to apply their lessons to your particular situation.
SOMERVILLE, Mass., July 13, 2009 — Firstgiving.com, a leading web-based fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations, today announced a major milestone. Since 2003, Firstgiving has helped over 1.8 million people raise more than $100 Million for over 27,000 different nonprofit organizations. These funds have helped disease research, education, housing, healthcare, animal care and many other very worthy causes all across the United States.
Still wondering what this Twitter thing people keep talking about is and if/how your nonprofit can use it to connect with constituents?
In the Network for Good webinar "Twitter Fundraising: Holy Grail or Fail Whale?" in late April, presenter John Haydon, a social-media marketing coach and consultant and publisher of a free report for nonprofits called "Twitter Jump Start: The Twitter Guide for Small Nonprofits," shed some light on what Twitter is, mastering the four post types, the advantages of Twitter vs. e-mail and direct mail, and Twitter campaign-management basics.
FAIRFAX, Va., June 4, 2009 — Datatel, Inc. today announced that it has signed a partner agreement with HEP Development Services to help higher education institutions boost monetary donations by coupling individual donors with affiliated corporations that will match or increase their contribution. By using HEP’s E-Match™ – a link installed on the institution’s website giving page – donors can verify instantly whether their gift can be matched, and will be provided with “how to” instructions and a link for downloading the applicable matching forms.
June 2, 2009, Third Sector — The value of charity donations given through online auction website eBay has tripled in the past year, new figures show.
BOSTON, MA, May 20, 2009 — Gazelle (gazelle.com), the nation's largest company rewarding consumers for responsibly trading in their electronics, today announced the launch of its Gazelle for Good fundraising service (gazelleforgood.com). This new service enables fundraisers to raise money for a good cause by collecting used gadgets instead of cash -- allowing everyone to get involved and support causes in their community regardless of financial means. Dozens of organizations and individuals have signed on to use the free service, including the Epilepsy Therapy Project, Little Red Wagon Foundation, and Pluta Cancer Center.
AUSTIN, Texas, May 20, 2009 — Convio, Inc., — the leading provider of on-demand constituent relationship management software and services to nonprofit organizations — today announced the results of a study designed to learn more about how leading nonprofit organizations structure and staff to drive results in their online marketing, fundraising and advocacy campaigns. The study identified consistent themes and practices that lead to success regardless of the size of the organization. The study provides seven steps nonprofits can take to address resource constraints and evaluate the best structure, staff size and skill sets to generate online results.
Fundraising today is a mixed bag where results for some organizations are down, others are holding steady, and still others are at record highs. And falling acquisition rates seem to be the norm almost across the board.
Still, most major organizations are resisting cuts in fundraising, and many top nonprofits are stepping up efforts online — all sound reactions to these shaky economic times, said Mal Warwick, founder and chairman of direct-response fundraising firm Mal Warwick Associates, in his session "Fighting the Recession With Online Tools" last week at the first International Fundraising eConference May 12 to 14, which was held completely online.
In the plenary session, "Digital Advocacy: What Nonprofits Can Learn From Obama," at the first International Fundraising eConference from May 12 to 14, Scott Goodstein compared the benefits of different communications channels as they relate to the fundraising/organizing success of the Obama campaign.
The bonuses of e-mail marketing, according to Goodstein, who served as external online director for Obama for America, are that it's easy to segment, allows for recurring donor programs, is trackable, provides for messages that are easy to link and forward, allows links to video, and helps build relationships with constituents.
