The weather this winter has been mild, and we have been enjoying the “non-snow” and cold. For events it has been great – but of course you can’t plan on it, all winter we still keep our fingers crosses as events approach – hoping that the day we picked will be a mild day.

1. Beth Kanter writes about the social media impact and response: Komen Kan Kiss My Mammagram, PinActivism, and Newsjacking for a Cause

As Kivi says, “This is what happens when a leading nonprofit jumps into a highly controversial area of public debate without a communications strategy, stays silent, and therefore lets others take over the public dialogue, perhaps permanently redefining the organization and its brand. Watch and learn, so you don’t make the same mistake on whatever hot button issues your organization might be wading into.”

Related:

• The Five Stages of A Social Media PR Disaster (Beth’s Blog)
• What does monitoring your brand on social media channels really mean? (Beth’s Blot)
• Patriots, Komen Fumbles Offer Lessons for NPOs (Inspiring Generosity)

2.  Great list: Social Media for Social Good :: Your Nonprofit Tech Checklist from her book: Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits

That was my number one priority when writing the book… to create a comprehensive, useful social and mobile media how-to guide for nonprofits.

3. How to manage your Facebook Page content with PostPlanner (video) from John Haydon:

PostPlanner is a Facebook Page content management tool that allows you to schedule posts to a various different Pages that you manage. It optimizes content specifically for Facebook in a few ways:

4. Seven Tips to Write the Best Email Appeals from Frogloop: Samuel Mesquita, an expert email copy writer who spent years at ActionAid in the UK.  You can read his full article here:  ”17 Things I Have Learnt About Charity Email Copy“

Email is a numbers game.  With competition for attention becoming more of a challenge every day, paying attention to the details and best practices matters more and more.

Related articles

• Around the Web Jan 21 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Not sure how to get noticed? I had a talk the other day with the Editor of our local paper, and have been asking around about how to get local notice. The best bet is to write a press release and include a hi-res photo. Other hints were to make sure that it takes a local flavor, for example include people’s names and towns they reside in.

Recently my daughter’s Kiva project got into the local paper: Norwell: Beach named a Kiva Fellow I wrote the article and included a photo.

The Norwell Food Pantry got into the Norwell Mariner with a great article: Norwell Food Pantry: Finding success close to home.

The Toolbox, Inc. recently got noticed with our Tweetups and the Globe South: South Shore Tweet Ups hope to connect technology minds in community.

It is always hard to get noticed, but the more you get yourself out there, using blogging and social media, the higher your chances. Then once you do get noticed by a media outlet, make sure you promote their articles – share them through social media.

Related Article: Have Something to Say: Pitching the Story

Image via Wikipedia

It’s been feeling a little like spring here…I know we are not there yet, but a nice thought considering it is the first week in Feb This week’s theme seems to be fundraising.

1. 9 Ways Board Members Can Raise Money Without Fundraising from Social Velocity, By Nell Edgington

The good news is that there are lots of other things board members can do to bring money in the door. And remember, if you are financing not fundraising your organization, your definition of “bringing money in the door” should be very broad.

Here are 9 things you could ask your fundraising-shy board members to do

2. 5 Ways Your Brand Can Destroy Your Fundraising Results from Fundraising Fundamentals by AndrewOlsenCFRE

I’ve been talking about nonprofit branding a lot lately with organizations all over the country.  Seems brand strategy is top of mind once again for organizations trying to raise their community profile and generate more money for their causes.

There’s only one problem.  Brands  and fundraising don’t always mix.  In fact, often when a nonprofit makes changes to their brand strategy, it ends up killing their fundraising results.

Don’t let this happen to your organization.  Watch out for these five ways branding can kill your fundraising results.

3. 5 Tips for Successful Nonprofit Fundraising in 2012 from Marital Solutions

…there are steps nonprofits can take – regardless of size and scope – that will optimize their engagement and contribution opportunities in 2012 while remaining true to their cause and keeping their mission at the forefront. I have compiled the following 5 tips through my ongoing research of the latest studies, reports, podcasts and webinars relating to nonprofit and (to a lesser degree) for-profit business and marketing strategies that are worth considering.  

4. Nonprofit Governance: What Are Your Three Duties? from scHammond, by Susan Hammond:

True of all nonprofit boards our legal responsibilities can be defined as:

• Duty of Care
• Duty of Loyalty
• Duty of Obedience

5. Just in case you haven’t heard:  Pinterest Becomes Top Traffic Driver for Retailers [INFOGRAPHIC] from Mashable

The site’s popularity is quickly growing. Pinterest’s traffic increased more than fourfold between September 2011 and December 2011, bringing in 7.51 million unique visitors in December alone, data from Compete indicates. The amount of traffic Pinterest sent elsewhere has risen accordingly, becoming a top five referrer for several apparel retailers, according to internal data from Monetate, which provided the infographic below.

Related articles

• Around the Web Jan 27 (thenon-profittoolbox.com)
• Around the Web Jan 21 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

A couple of things got me thinking this week, the first week

Social Media Cafe (Photo credit: Cristiano Betta)

as working to help promote a program through social media for a friend, and the other was a recent blog post by John Haydon wrote about: Measuring the ROI of a Handshake, where he talks about the ROI of social media, comparing it to the handshake.

With social media, there are a ton of ways to measure. We can see shares, how many people clicked through, comments, hits, and when an event didn’t show results in the 2 weeks I have been working on it, the friend was disappointed….the ad in the newspaper did bring in two people, yet no one came through from social media. Yet unlike the newspaper ad, I was able to tell them that their Facebook ad was seen by over 15,000 targeted women in MA, NH, and RI, that there were 45 click thrus on the Facebook ad, and that on the new website/blog – there have been over 200 views in the first week.

I explained that social media is not a quick fix, but something that evolves, and given the time frame, we are doing good so far. We will be working on blog posts, and getting more information out, so that people go to them for advise, and we will add to their Facebook and LinkedIn groups, but they will also have to add to the groups. Since putting things out, I have already doubled the “Likes” of the group.

So, build it and they will come? We will see. And even though there are plenty of way to measure, the final up or down will depend on whether they will get the attendance for the group they are forming.

The program is a 10 week session for women returning to work or transitioning careers.

Check it out here: Women’s Career Rebuilder Program

Practical seems to be the theme for today:

Image via Wikipedia

1. Board Governance Resources great list of eight resources from Susan Hammond, sc Hammond Advisors

2. Free nonprofit tools from 10 different experts! from the Fundraising Coach

10 of us have gotten together to offer:

• 5 free ebooks including the Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising and my own Ask Without Fear!,
• 2 free workbooks,
• 2 free trainings, and
• one free Donor Map.

On the Nonprofit Goodies Giveaway site there are tools to help with your major gifts, annual fund, grant fundraising, storytelling and presentations. There’s even a training to help you with your benefit auctions.

But hurry these goodies are only available until January 31!

3. 22 Must-Circle Nonprofits on Google+ from Non-Profit 2.0

To me, the Google+ Stream  feels like a mixture of Twitter and Facebook. Like Twitter, you have to post or share content frequently to get exposure in the feed since there is no Edgerank-like algorithm to filter out (boring) posts/tweets.

4. Facebook Timeline Apps are Ultimately About The Future of Mobile Devices from John Haydon

Last week, Facebook announced the release of more than 60 new Timeline apps which allow Facebook users to automatically share application actions on their timeline.

5. 7 Totally Surprising Brain Tricks to Sell Your Cause from N-Ten:

Neuromarketing experts like Roger Dooley (author of the new book Brainfluence) want to change all that. They have studied how to appeal to the massive subconscious mind, and there are some interesting and sometimes bizarre takeaways for those of us engaged in social good. Here are seven of the most surprising ways to sell your cause.

Related articles

• Around the Web Jan 21 for NPO’s (thenon-profittoolbox.com)

So last week, out of the blue, I got a phone call from our exchange student. In 2000-01 school year, while our children were a freshman and a senior at the high school, we decided to host an AFS exchange student. It was a great experience, but we have not talked much since his year here. Every year I send a Christmas card, we connected on Facebook a couple of years back, last year he was in San Francisco, and he had coffee with my daughter -so we quazi-kept in touch.

He and his brother got tickets for the Pat’s AFC playoff game, and they were coming in from Mexico on Saturday, and leaving Monday morning. Quick trip, but we had enough time to “catch-up” on things, and he settled in nicely to our house – his “room” is now our office, and many things were the same, but a little different for him.

In the last couple of years, his family has opened a small boutique hotel in his home town, and he and his brother talked about it with us. – humm it thought, the Norwell Women’s Club was looking for a destination silent auction item…this could be perfect…couldn’t hurt to ask, so I did, and we now have a great, unique item for our Wine Tasting Dinner and Fundraiser.

So I guess the motto to this story is that you never know where or when your connections might help you out

Greetings from a light snowy Northeast…it has been a while.

1. Does Your Nonprofit Need Legal Counsel About Using Social Media? from Beth’s Blog:

“CYA – Consult Your Attorney!”

Now, I have another great resource to share,   Good Counsel:  Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits by Lesley Rosenthal, the astute General Counsel of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.   It is an thorough guide for the most common legal, governance, and fundraising compliance issues facing nonprofits.     Her writing style is less lawyerly, and well, human.   The book is filled with stories, practical resources, and tools.      The book is written for staff and board members.      While the advice in the book does not replace an attorney,  having this on your reference desk can help you be more efficient your attorney’s time because you’ll come to meetings educated.

2. Nonprofit Governance: How Small All-Volunteer Organizations Can be Successful from Susan Hammond, scHammond Advisors:

This all prompted me to think about what it takes to run an all-volunteer organization.  Here are a few of my thoughts:

1. Mission. All board members need to agree and be able to articulate to the public what the purpose the organization serves.
2. Vision. We all need to agree on the value the organization will provide to the public
3. Strategy.All decisions and activities then need to be driven by what the shared vision and mission is. The two most important questions to answer are:
   1. How does this decision, be it an expenditure or activity, further the organization’s mission & vision?
   2. Is this the mosst resource efficient and impactful way to approach this expenditure or activity?

3. I put this in because it happen to us at The Non-Profit Toolbox… No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. It Costs Too Much from Forbes: Adrienne Graham, Contributor

I can’t tell you how flattering it is to be approached by representatives from major companies seeking my wisdom and advice. It shows they are listening, and like what I have to say.

But often I find the road ends when they are just on a fact finding mission. That mission is to pick my brain to gather as much free intel and knowledge they need to make their jobs easier.

4. 12 ways to use Pinterest for your nonprofit from John Haydon a guest post from my good friend Noland Hoshino. Pinterest is the hottest, newest thing…with many people writing about it…

There is a new darling in the social media world and her name is Pinterest. A virtual, interactive bulletin board where individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations can pin their interests and drive traffic to their website.

What is Pinterest?

Pinsterest is basically a vision board or scrapbook that you put together while surfing the internet. According to the website, “Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

Other Pinterest articles:

• Steal these 42 Creative Pinterest Ideas for Nonprofits
• HOW TO: Get Your Nonprofit Started on Pinterest
• Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr Today: Inspiration from Pinboard

5. How to Turn Your Super Bowl Party into a Fundraiser from by geofflivingston on Inspiring Generosity:

Winter isn’t the best time for fundraisers, but it’s sure great for football! Why not do both, and turn your Super Bowl party into a fundraiser?

The key to turning a successful Super Bowl party into a winning fundraiser is fun. You have to make your fundraiser fun, something people can enjoy. It should fit within the larger context of the Super Bowl party.

Some suggestions to build an event around your cause:

 

“One person can make a difference, and every person should try.” ~ John F. Kennedy

This fall (2011) our daughter decided to quit her job, and spend the next year volunteering. She went to Cuzco, Peru, and did work for Fair Play, and will probably continue to help them through the year, researching ways for them to collect donations from the US.

In the last month she found out she was accepted into the Kiva Fellowship program, and she just found out that she will be serving in Vera Cruz, Mexico for 4 months starting in February. The Fellows Program with Kiva is an unpaid, volunteer position, and she will need to fund her trip herself, and with the help and support of others…you can help…she has set up a site on Indiegogo, her contribution site is: http://igg.me/p/55811 (any amount will help her out, $5, $10 or more) so please consider helping her with her work. She has just started her fundraising…so even if you can’t support her with cash, please help her spread the word about Kiva and her fellowship:

KIVA is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. Leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, Kiva lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. Learn more about how it works.

You can follow her travels at: KiyomiBeach.com and learn more what she is doing or join to her Facebook Group Support Kiyomi, Support Kiva

Related articles

• Back in the USA – Reflections on Peru (Part 2): The Culture (kiyomibeach.com)
• Volunteering and my daughter (thenon-profittoolbox.com)