NTEN published my somewhat snarky predictions for nonprofits’ use of fundraising technologies in 2012. My overall predictions are that most things will be pretty much the same as last year (and 2010 and 2009, etc.): many nonprofits will struggle with out-of-date systems.  No surprise — many will also lack the funding to replace them.  But [...]

Tags: Advancement Services, Fundraising, IT Management, Mobile Communications, Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit Technology, NTEN, Online Fundraising, Social Media, Web, Web 2.0

As the calendar year draws to an end, charities (and ideally, donors) are focused on year-end donations and tax deductions.  Here are a few scenarios for U.S. charities to keep in mind. (Note: I am not a lawyer. When in doubt, contact an attorney who specializes in nonprofit law or contact the IRS for a [...]

Tags: Advancement Services, Fundraising, Online Fundraising

One of the presentations at last month’s Association of Advancement Services Professionals conference dealt with mobile giving. I’m still skeptical about its suitability for most nonprofits, and the NY Times said the same yesterday. If you have an urgent call to action, a way of reaching a mass audience, and don’t mind not being able [...]

Tags: Fundraising, Mobile Communications, Online Fundraising

Have you successfully moved from paper-based direct mail fundraising to digital tools (email, websites, video, social media, widgets, and/or mobile)? Want to gloat about your successes and possibly make some (more) money as well? The Paperless Choice Challenge is rewarding successful, creative, replicable campaigns that use electronic  fundraising tools by giving away eight prizes totalling [...]

Tags: Email Marketing, Fundraising, Green Tech, Online Fundraising

It’s the season for a slew of reports analyzing last year’s online giving results. Convio released their 2010 Online Nonprofit Benchmark Study in March, based on results from nearly 500 clients. Its findings included: 14% growth in online giving overall.  69% of the organizations they looked at raised more online in 2009 than in 2008, [...]

Tags: Online Fundraising

In the wake of the huge number of donations given to Haiti earthquake relief via text mesage, MobileActive has published Texting for Charitable Dollars: The Definitive Guide.  It describes the process of raising funds via SMS from the donors’ and the nonprofits’ perspectives, including costs and tips for getting started. The guide is available for [...]

Tags: Fundraising, Mobile Communications, Online Fundraising

San Francisco’s Fundraising Day will be happening June 16 at the downtown Marriott.  Once again I have the honor of co-chairing the Technology Track with Michael Stein. We’ve programmed sessions on online fundraising with Madeline Stanionis, social media with Jeff Patrick, database selection with Eric Leland, and an open discussion session with me and Michael [...]

Tags: Donor Databases, Email Marketing, Fundraising, Online Fundraising, Social Media, Web 2.0

My friends at Idealware have created a new fund to support their research.  Many of Idealware’s reports have been funded by foundations and some have had corporate sponsorship. As you probably know, neither foundation nor corporate support is a reliable funding source these days. In addition, since Idealware must maintain its independence in order to [...]

Tags: Donor Databases, Fundraising, IT Management, Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit Technology, Online Fundraising, Social Media, Web 2.0

I spent the last 3 days at the CASE District VII conference, for schools in AZ, CA, Guam, HI, NV, and UT.  Social Media was a big topic this year, with workshop titles like "Maximizing Social Networks and Online Resources in Alumni Relations", "Now That Facebook and Twitter Aren’t Enough: Integrating Social Media into Your [...]

Tags: Fundraising, Online Fundraising, Social Media

The latest round of the America’s Giving Challenge is on. This is a national competition to encourage people to use their personal and social networks to help win cash for their favorite nonprofit. The Giving Challenge is not focused on how much money you can raise, but on how successful you are at getting people to [...]

Tags: Online Fundraising, Social Media, Web 2.0