American Red Cross

The term "Big Data" gets tossed around an awful lot these days, no matter if you're talking the business sector or nonprofit fundraising sector. But "big data is really about the small data," said David Acup, managing director of interactive marketing and membership at the Environmental Defense Fund.

The term "Big Data" gets tossed around an awful lot these days, no matter if you're talking the business sector or nonprofit fundraising sector. But "big data is really about the small data," said David Acup, managing director of interactive marketing and membership at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Last month, the American Red Cross was under the microscope again, this time for questions surrounding how it raised funds for Hurricane Sandy relief and, subsequently, how it spent those funds. I did an admittedly unscientific poll of more than a dozen people, asking simply, "What are your thoughts on the Red Cross?" Here's a sampling of their responses: "All we ever hear about anymore is how they're not using the money they raise the right way." "What are they trying to hide?" The word "suspicious" came up a lot. And save for a few folks who had positive associations with the organization and three others who were ambivalent, the majority of responses were negative.

Marty Coelho was one of the driving forces behind Relay for Life. You probably don't  know him in that context. But if your organization does or is considering doing peer-to-peer fundraising, you probably will want to hear what he has to say.

Keep in mind a marketing plan is not the same as a marketing vision. Here are some helpful tips for creating a vision that is actionable, achievable and measurable.

If you are a nonprofit fundraising leader, join in on the Leadership Summit.

What I love about the roundtables is that they are almost completely attendee-driven. The moderators say a quick hi and share an overview of the topic, but then the discussion is steered by the questions posed by the guests at the table.

Here is a mobile and social fundraising success checklist excerpted from "Mobile for Good: A How-To Fundraising Guide for Nonprofits" by Heather Mansfield, founder and principal blogger at Nonprofit Tech for Good. By reading the book and implementing the steps necessary to launch a comprehensive mobile and social fundraixsing plan — and checking off the must-do items as you go along — your nonprofit will have in place mobile and social fundraising plan flexible enough to adjust to rapid changes in fundraising and communication technology that will occur over the next decade.

Nonprofit crowdfunding is changing the landscape in online fundraising. As more and more donors are being exposed to crowdfunding for products and services, they’ll expect your fundraising to shift toward those approaches as well. Here are five best practices that I’ve learned along the way that you need to follow in order to crowdfund successfully for your nonprofit: 1. Start with a measurable goal. 2. Rethink rewards and donation tiers. 3. Create a sexy story. 4. Build a tribe of champions.

Joie Fuentes, senior director of sales and marketing for Branders.com, recently spoke with FundRaising Success about the "Give a Way" campaign in which the company provides merchandise to national and regional nonprofit organizations to help them brand their causes.