via Flickr”]

Image by UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO // WORLD // TRAVEL

So here are some of my pick to get you thru:

1. From Marc Pitman, The Fundraising Coach: There’s still time! (suggestions on how and what to do):

And if we’re honest, as fundraisers we’re tired. It’s been a long year. Wouldn’t it be easier to coast through December and get a fresh start in January.

No!
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR EXCUSES…AND GET TO WORK FUNDRAISING ANYWAY

2. How Are You Inspiring New Givers? from Inspiring Generosity and Socialbutterfly:

“Individuals today are no more generous than their predecessors were over four decades ago,” according to a new report released by Blackbaud titled Growing Philanthropy in the United States. The report outlines 32 recommendations for nonprofits on how to increase overall giving organized around the following four themes:

1. Enhancing the quality of donor relationships
2. Developing public trust and confidence in the sector
3. Identifying new audiences, channels, and forms of giving with strong potential for growth
4. Improving the quality of fundraising training and development

3.  From Susan Hammond, of scHammond Advisors: something that we often don’t think about: Nonprofit Governance: Twelve Elements of Good Board Minutes.

Board minutes are legal documents of the organization and subject to discovery in the event of a lawsuit.  Someone reading the minutes should be able to tell what decisions were made and why.  It is not necessary to record the meeting verbatim however.  Too much detail and you put individual directors at risk.

4. Beth’s Blog: How non-profits become experts at Social Branding Guest Post by Simon Mainwaring, Founder/Author WE FIRST

There are two elements critical to the success of any branding effort, non-profit or otherwise. The first is compelling brand storytelling, and the second is fluency in social technology. Unfortunately few brands effectively master both, as veteran storytellers struggle to deeply understand social technology, or digital natives rush to emerging technology only to overlook the importance of storytelling. Here’s how a non-profit effectively combines them both.

5. 3 Paradigm Shifts That Will Boost Your Nonprofit’s Social Media by John Haydon on Inspiring Generosity:

Regardless of where you’re at in becoming a Networked Nonprofit, you can always improve how your organization uses social media.

Here are three ways you can dramatically improve your results by changing your perspective.

Related articles

• Around the web 11/18 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the web Nov 11 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Well, yesterday it felt like summer, and today fall is definitely in the air here in MA.  Say good-bye to the lazy days of summer and back to business with this brisk weather.

1. Let’s start with the changes (again) to Facebook: At Long Last, Facebook Adds Twitter-Style Following, Calls It “Subscribe” from All Things Digital:

Users can choose to post a Subscribe button on their profile. Once they do, any visitor can choose to subscribe to receive one of three options in their Facebook news feeds: all updates, most updates (what you’d see normally) or important updates (like getting married or having a kid)….On the flip side, brands can’t have subscribers. The Subscribe button is only for people.

More:  What the Facebook Subscribe Feature Means to Nonprofit News Sharing (Frogloop)

2. Events Are a Means to an End: Collecting Data that Will Help You Raise More Money from NTen:

Chances are, your organization has one or more special events that are part of your fundraising portfolio. You know events are a great way to engage your constituents in an immersive and impactful way. But are you using your events as an opportunity to learn more about your advocates and better focus all of your fundraising efforts?

3. 11 Qualities of an Effective Social Media Manager from NonProfit Tech2.0

Despite all the buzz about social media, the reality is that your social media campaigns are only as good as the human being(s) behind them. Going “viral” on social media sites is extremely rare, and instantaneous success is a myth. Being an effective social media manager is both an art and a skill.

4. Give2Gether, Rally, Razoo, Fundly offer nonprofits a new way to support causes from Frogloop:

There’s a new breed of fundraising tools out there that can help organizations with “social fundraising.” These tools leverage the social networks of donors, supporters and organizations to substantially increase the revenue raised as well as the long-term benefits of becoming a part of the fabric of your donors’ social media networks. They focus not just on large donations but on the collective power of micro-donations, which are often repeated and shared with friends.

5. Using an Advisory Committee to Transform a Founding Nonprofit Board from Susan Hammond

A young executive director (ED) I’m advising is working to change the founding board by way of an advisory committee.  The three-year old organization has a board comprised of family members.  The organization is at the point where it needs a board made up of members more representative of the community served and with greater expertise and experience. The organization has only one employee, the ED.  So the board of directors will be a working board for the foreseeable future.

Have a great, productive week!

Image by Richard Elzey via Flickr

Whew, what a week for us, we were without power for 4 days, even though we did not have much rain, and winds were no worse than some of the N’or-easter’s that come through. It was interesting “camping out” at home. Our hearts go out to those with real damage, flooding and trauma.

Here are my picks for the week:

1. Hurricane Irene and the Nonprofit Social Media Storm from NTen:

We know our friends over at the Red Cross have been expertly using social media for disaster response for years now, but this weekend, with Hurricane Irene set to touch down all along the east coast, we saw many other organizations and government entities reaching out via social media, as well.

2. Get the Most Value from Your Audit from Blue Avacado and Denise Walsh, CPA:

Many nonprofits have annual CPA audits, but the executive director and/or the board’s finance or audit committee may be unsure whether they are getting the most out of the audit. A worthwhile question for the board to ask might be: “Are we getting the most out of this significant investment of money and time?”

3. Foursquare (a geo-locating site where you can find information & friends)  can help promote your location & NPO: Five Types of “Tips” Nonprofits Can Post on Foursquare Venue Pages from Nonprofit Tech 2.0

…five different types of “Tips” that your nonprofit can post on Foursquare Venue Pages using your nonprofit’s Foursquare Page (not your personal Foursquare account) to both gain new followers and inspire the Foursquare community. That said, some things to keep in mind when posting Tips:

4. 7 Things Nonprofits Can Talk About on Facebook Besides Themselves from Social Strand Media:

…there are other things besides press opportunities and fundraising or awareness events that your fans are interested in learning more about. As I’ve talked about before, social media is about being social, so when you talk only about yourself or your organization, it gets old quickly. Spice it up. Here’s a list of 7 things a nonprofit can talk about on Facebook besides themselves…

5. This is a fun one…which persona are you? The Six Personas Of Social Media Sharing from John Haydon:

The New York Times partnered with Latitude Research to conduct a study to understand why people share content.

By conducting in-person interviews, “sharing panels”, and surveying over 2500 participants, they were able to define sharing six personas

Have a safe Labor Day Weekend!!

Related articles

• Around the web Aug 26 for NPOs (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the Web Aug 19 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

Image by robbplusjessie via Flickr

Lazy days of summer are here…Time to make the most of the time Here are some “food for thought”

1. Building Relationships with Donors from GuideStar

…many organizations struggle to find the time to establish relationships with donors. Phone calls, people dropping by, employee issues, and e-mails seem like a giant time-sucking machine that descends from the ceiling in your office and vacuums the life out of your day. With corporate and individual donors struggling financially, building relationships with your supporters has never been more important.

2. How to get more Facebook fans with Page Like Story ads from John Haydon

One way to acquire Facebook fans for your nonprofit is to use Facebook Ads to promote your Page. But not traditional Facebook Ads – Sponsored Page Like Story Ads.

Facebook Sponsored Like Story ads are different from traditional Facebook ads in four ways…

3. Seven Tips To Boost Your Email Open Rates from Frogloop by Allyson Kapin.

it’s not too early to start thinking about your year-end fundraising. Convio helps jumpstart your brainstorming with their new guide - Crafting Subject Lines That Work: Making Email Appeals More Effective.

This guide focuses on the importance of your email’s subject line, especially at a time when everyone’s inbox is flooded with messages. Getting even your most devoted supporters to open your carefully-crafted appeal can be quite a challenge, and you need to keep these seven factors in mind.

4. Socialbrite: Engage your supporters & succeed on the Social Web from JD Lasica: Slides and handouts from Social Media for Non-Profits. Lots of great ideas and information, links…check it out!

5. From NTen: Megan Yarbrough: Why We Love the “Like” Button!: it’s about spreading content:

we’re not talking about putting a ‘Like’ button for your organization’s Facebook fan page on your website to allow people to like your fan page (althoughthat’s a great idea, too!). We’re talking about adding a ‘Like’ button for your organization’s website (or for a piece of content on your website)

Have a great week!!

Related articles

• Around the Web Jul 22 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the web Jul 15 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

We are so pleased with our line-up for our March 22 Mini-Conference at the Rockland Holiday Inn!

We hope you will be able to Join Us, 8:00am-12:30pm!

Along with some of the best on the South Shore: Susan Hammond, Jane Ford, Nadine Pfautz, Jacqueline Collins, and J. Keith Phifer we have some Recent additions:

Steve Dubin

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* Steve Dubin of PR Works recently agreed to join us to talk about: PR – Visibility and Credibility for your organization.

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Timothy S. Bell, CPA

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* Timothy Bell, CPA of Malloy, Lynch, Bienvenue LLP has agreed to speak about 2011 Tax updates, and be there throughout the conference with his partner Robert Lynch to answer questions.

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Learn more about Steve and Tim  and all of our speakers from our Speakers Page.

Find the Agenda for the morning on our event page.

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And we want to welcome our sponsors:

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(there is still room for more…contact Lisa (at) thetoolboxinc.com)

Image by Dystopos via Flickr

1. An Opinion for Philantropy.com: Foundations Should Offer Thoughtful Support to Struggling Charities. by Douglas B. Bauer. (thanks Susan Hammond for alerting us to this post). Mr. Bauer writes about how impressed he is by how well nonprofits are surviving  in these tough times.

How, then, should foundations respond to best help our grantees deal with what experts call the new normal?

The grant dollars we allocate certainly cannot fill the gaps created by reduced government support—nor should they. But we certainly can be more thoughtful about how we focus our giving. For maximum impact in real time, one could suggest increased attention on four item.

General operating support, management training, access to working capital and making advocacy a priority.

2.Five Ways Nonprofits Can Use Social Media to Build Their e-Newsletter List from Nonprofit Tech 2.0

And though some reports claim that email use is dropping, others claim its use is steady and even on the rise. Reports and predictions of the death of e-mail fluctuate seemingly on a quarterly basis. However, one thing that is certain is that the ROI (Return on Investment) from e-newsletters is still relatively high compared to other Web-based channels.

Blog, convert Facebook fans to subscribers, convert twitter followers to subscribers, add subscribe to videos, add subscribe to photos and slideshare.

3. From John Haydon: What’s the best way to post as a Facebook Page? There have been drastic changes to Facebook’s pages, here is a “how to” and some thoughts on using the new tool best.

4. $100,000 in three days: How #TeamAutism did it from Socialbrite Guest post by Amy Sample Ward
amysampleward.org. Great article/interview on how they did it.

That’s a whole lot of donations in just three days! So, I connected with Sloane Berrent, founder of The Causemopolitan and a partner in Socialbrite, to learn more about this success story. She’s working with the creative agency JESS3 on this entire campaign. They created the infographic and pulled her in for the overall digital strategy.

5. From Beth Kanter:Tips for Shooting A Winning Video For Your Nonprofit guest post by Dawn and Brian Crawford

Note from Beth: After you read this guest post, you’ll have lots of great tips for your nonprofit’s video.   And don’t forget, The 5th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards is now  open for submissions from members of the YouTube Nonprofit Program until March 2nd. This year, for the first time, in addition to awards for Best Small, Medium, and Large nonprofit organization videos, there is also a Best Thrifty Video category for videos produced for under $500.

Have a great week!

Next Mini-Camp set for Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Thank you all for helping us with the survey to decide what topics will be of interest to you at our March 22 Mini-conference!

This is what we will have:

• “The Ask” to help folks who are afraid to ask for donations (Jane Ford)
• “Yes, It Applies to You Also” – A discussion of various employment laws that apply to non-profits as they hire, fire and everything in between. (Nadine Pfautz)
• Managing expectations, How to Get More from Your Board (Susan Hammond)
• Building Your NPO’s Raving Fan Base (Lisa Morrisey)
• How to limit liability for the officers and directors of a non-profit (Attorney J. Keith Phifer)
• Using Facebook & Linkedin (Reiko Beach)

Hope you can attend!

Member Rate: $49

Non-member, early booking: $79 (bring a second person $49)

[Register here]

1. Thinking about a blog for your NPO? Here is some thoughts & advise from one of the best (John Haydon): The Killer Blog Strategy Mind-Map For Simple Minded Bloggers.

2,  5 Facebook Applications to Add Useful Tabs to Your Facebook Fan Page For those of you using Facebook, just replace “business” with NPO…

Your Facebook Fan page is more than your business brochure. It is even more than the tool to build the community around your business. Actually it can both and even more.

With the variety of free applications you can turn it into the huge source of information around your brand: it can be as comprehensive as your own website giving your “fans” plenty of options to meet, get in touch with you and each other and find more information about your business.

3. Nine Essential Tools for Business Sustainability (again just replace with NPO) from Susan Hammond

It’s a new year, a new decade.  Let’s start it off right.  Now is the time to adopt best practices.

If you’re a business owner or the executive director of a nonprofit consider some or all of these nine essential tools to improve the operations of the organization

4. Support a Charity just by watching youtube from Mashable:

BroadbandTV Corp. recently launched a YouTube destination to get your social good on. The site, named VISO Give, aggregates pre-existing video content from non-profits, sorts it by company name and type of cause, and lets you watch or search for your favorites.

5. List of Tools, Resources and Nonprofit Service Providers Covered in the Book: from Non-Profit Tech 2.0

My upcoming book about social media and mobile technology will feature more than 100 tools, resources, and nonprofit service providers. A good number of them were recommended by nonprofits during the research process. Others are the favorites I’ve used over the last 15 years in my nonprofit career.

Please take our survey, even if you can’t make it to the Mar 22 Mini-conference!

Related articles

• Developing a Financially Intelligent Organization (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• How to Rock Your Facebook Fan Page with John Haydon [@InboundNow #3] (hubspot.com)

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