American Red Cross

People expect nonprofits that provide disaster aid to use social networks to communicate, according to a new survey by the American Red Cross.

Eighty percent of Americans said they expect national relief groups to monitor their social-media feeds and websites where disaster victims might make urgent requests for help. And they expect those groups to act quickly. About 35 percent of respondents said that it is reasonable to expect assistance to arrive within an hour after a request for help is posted online.

Once the immediate crisis passed, many 9/11-related charities broadened their mission to serve more people, such as rescue workers and their families or overseas victims of terror. Others have added educational programs to teach kids what happened on that tragic day.

The key: Adapt, or face irrelevance.

"You can't necessarily make an appeal for something that happened 10 years ago," says Jennifer Adams, CEO of the Tribute WTC Visitor Center in New York. "You have to have a current issue people want to support."

Newport Creative Communications announced that Bob Hoagland, a direct-response veteran, has joined the agency and will spearhead additional expansion and growth of its Washington, D.C.-area office.

Hoagland comes to Newport with more than 30 years of agency experience. During this time, Hoagland launched and grew highly successful fundraising programs for March of Dimes Canada, The Jimmy Fund, Feed the Children, Save the Children, International Child Care, American Red Cross Chapters, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, AARP, HSUS, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The Missionary Oblates of Mary, and others.

Customer relationship agency Merkle has named Will Stansbury as vice president of technology solutions for nonprofit practice. The new addition to Merkle's team of 140 experts in nonprofit marketing and fundraising emphasizes the company's commitment to solving the technological needs of clients who engage with constituents via multiple offline and digital touchpoints. With more than 20 years of technology experience in the nonprofit space, Stansbury was a co-founder of Target Software, which became a Blackbaud company in 2007.

A new service, GiveBackMail, promises to give 25 percent of its profit to charity if users route their e-mail activities through its website.

Every action users take on the site generates a new ad display and revenue for the company. A dashboard keeps track of how many donations the user generates and, at the end of the month, how much money has been generated, as well as notifications from charities acknowledging donations made by the service.

Two Arizona State University American Humanics students have been awarded Next Generation Nonprofit Leaders Program (NextGen) scholarships.

These students will each receive $4,500 from NextGen as part of a multi-year Kellogg Foundation Grant to American Humanics Inc. to support students across the American Humanics campus affiliate network. The NextGen scholarships support costs associated with the students’ senior internships in nonprofits.

ASU American Humanics NextGen scholarship recipients are David Heyward, of New Castle, Del., and Mary Whatcott, of Novato, Calif.

Confronted with an unprecedented string of tornadoes, floods and wildfires, the American Red Cross and other relief groups are scrambling to raise money fast enough to meet the demand for help.

“The disasters just keep coming,” said Red Cross spokesman Roger Lowe, reporting that the organization has spent $41 million thus far responding to the seven-week onslaught while raising $33.6 million to cover the costs.

Many other national and local groups also are facing fundraising challenges as they respond to the recent calamities.

BiddingForGood, the charitable e-commerce platform connecting consumers and marketers to thousands of nonprofit auctions, announced its unique, dynamic Goodometer(TM), a public display of the tangible impact the company delivers on an hour-by-hour basis. The company also announced it will license its trademark to any company that would like to create its own Goodometer(TM).

The International Swimming Hall of Fame conferred the 2011 G. Harold Martin Award to Robert Ogoreuc, president of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA), at a May 7 awards ceremony. The award is given annually to an individual who exemplifies “long and exceptional leadership, insight and dedication to the water safety of children and the cause of making ‘Every Child a Swimmer.’”

The NDPA is currently working on a federally funded, national public education program that complements the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Pool Safely campaign.

Grizzard Communications Group announced that it has hired Karen E. Gleason as group vice president and senior strategist. Gleason will be responsible for leadership on national accounts and developing strategies for multichannel fundraising for a variety of clients.