Social Media

The internet did not just “speak” for Obama during the election race; it roared. The rest is history. It is a history, however, that validates what Ted Hart, CEO of the Hart Philanthropic Services Group, international consultant and speaker on nonprofit strategies, and author of six books on the subject, believed would be the case when, in 2000, he founded the group to develop the concept of raising funds online. “The internet,” Hart claimed at the time, “is going to drive fund raising.”

LATE last month, tens of thousands of runners who are registered for this year’s New York City Marathon got an e-mail from Mary Wittenberg, the president and chief executive of New York Road Runners.

She implored the runners to join a social networking Web site that Mr. Norton and three partners started in May that she says has the potential to revolutionize charitable giving. It’s called Crowdrise.com.

C-level executives Angel Aloma, Danny McGregor and Atul Tandon, along with moderator Tom Harrison, discussed the biggest issues concerning fundraisers at the DMA Nonprofit Federation New York Nonprofit Conference.

Just as "Internet Management for Nonprofits: Strategies, Tools & Trade Secrets" advises its readers to do, the book is available via different channels — including Kindle, online, e-mail updates and hardcover — and takes on the appropriate identity in each. Here, Hart explains more about how the book can benefit nonprofits:

Fundraisers from all walks of life are encountering many challenges these days, but what do the C-level executives see as the most important issues facing the sector? At the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation’s 2010 New York Nonprofit Conference, three top nonprofit executives joined moderator Tom Harrison, president and CEO of Russ Reid, to discuss these issues in a two-part session, “Cracking the Shell: Open Dialogue & Discussion With America’s Top Nonprofit C-Level Executives on the Sector’s Most Pressing Issues."

How many times have you heard people say, "Think of all charities can learn from the corporate world?" Now, it appears that nonprofits might have something to teach their for-profit marketing counterparts. According to a survey from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, charities are outpacing large and small businesses in adopting social marketing.

When the Haiti earthquake hit back in January, the outcry and response were swift and plentiful. In this new era of the iPhone and other mobile devices, the biggest buzz in the fundraising sector was generated from the mobile-giving explosion following the disaster. But the biggest takeaway for fundraisers — all of them, not just disaster-relief organizations — is that donors have certain, higher expectations these days, and your organization must meet them.

Among 76 organizations responding to a survey of the 200 largest U.S. charities based on a listed compiled annually by Forbes magazine, 65 percent are blogging and 42 percent report social media are very important to their fundraising strategy.

The share of charities using some form of social media, known as Web 2.0, is up 8 percentage points and 22 percentage points, respectively, from similar studies in 2008 and 2007.

A social-media enthusiast breathes, sleeps and eats social media, and also tends to have a niche within social media. The trick is finding the perfect enthusiast for the job. Here are a few tips on finding your perfect match.

My friend Denise is a loud, lovely, bawdy powerhouse of a woman. Every time I see her I think, "Everybody should have a little Denise in her heart." She has more love, passion and zest for life than one human body can contain, so of course it's always spilling out onto those around her.