Robert L. Weiner: Nonprofit Fundraising Technology Consulting » TechSoup

Apologies for the strange posts

Robert — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:03:41 +0000

For those of you who noticed some strange posts here lately, please accept my apologies. My blog automatically scoops up anything I write on TechSoup's blog. TechSoup just launched a new blog and it messed up my automated scooper-upper. I've been deleting the posts when they appear while trying to fix the problem. In the meantime I've turned off this feature.

CTK Foundation’s "Heart and Soul" Grants

Robert — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 09:59:03 +0000

The CTK Foundation just opened its 2011 Heart and Soul Grant Award Program. They'll be awarding over $25,000 in grants to nonprofits, charities and voluntary organizations of all sizes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The only eligibility requirements are that the submitting nonprofit must be a registered 501(c)(3), charity, or voluntary organization and that it follow the submission procedures.

Here's where it gets fun (or tricky). Applicants are being asked to submit an original four-to-eight-line poem that reflects the work or mission of their organization. The poem can be written by staff members, clients, or volunteers, but must be wholly original. The grant application window is from March 1 to March 28, 2011.

Your organization could win:

A cash grant of $10,000 USD
A cash grant of $5,000 USD
Two steel-stringed guitars, signed by all members of Los Lonely Boys for use in an auction or other fundraising.
Up to 20 technology grants, valued at $10,000, to nonprofits that indicate an interest.
The first place award winner will also receive a professionally-produced song about the nonprofit's mission, to be used for public education or awareness.

Information and the application form are at http://communitytech.net/foundation. Follow the effort on Twitter at #ctkgrant and enter today!

Prizes for Paperless Fundraising

Robert — Sat, 29 May 2010 08:59:03 +0000

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 over $20,000. Entries can be submitted between June 15 and September 15, 2010.

For more information go to http://www.paperlesschoice.org/. And while you're at it, check out more resources on going paperless from the GreenTech Initiative's paper reduction campaign.

Roundup of 2009 Online Giving Stats

Robert — Wed, 05 May 2010 08:59:03 +0000

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, while 31% raised less.
Donors were still giving, but in smaller amounts. The average gift size was $80.80. Most organizations saw declines in average gift size
Small organizations grew fastest. This has been the finding of several studies over the past few years, and isn't surprising. When your list is small it's easier to rack up big percentage gains.
Email open rates remained steady at around 20% but click-through rates declined.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual assessment of online giving came out in April, based on data from 176 of the largest nonprofits in the U.S. Its findings included:

The 151 nonprofits that provided data for both 2008 and 2009 reported that overall donations fell by a median of 9% while online gifts grew by 5%.
As Convio found, average gift size declined. More than half of the nonprofits that reported the size of their average online gifts saw decreases in gift size.

read more

The Nonprofit Guide to Going Green: Book Release Parties!

Robert — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 08:59:03 +0000

The website for the new book, The Nonprofit Guide to Going Green describes it as "a comprehensive learning tool to guide nonprofits and NGOs towards becoming greener. The definitive, practical, go-to resource guide on helping all charities become more green."

The authors are on a brief North American book tour, with stops in Toronto, Berkeley, and DC over the next few weeks:

Toronto, Ontario: April 22

Idealware’s Field Guide to Nonprofit Software: Fundraising, Communications and Outreach

Robert — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:59:03 +0000

Idealware recently released its Fundraising, Communications and Outreach. Unlike their earlier guides (to inexpensive donor databases, content management systems, online donation tools, etc.) this one is an actual book (84 pages, paperback) and costs actual money ($19.95, plus, I assume, shipping and maybe tax). They describe it as follows:

What types of software should your nonprofit be using? It's hard to even know even what types exist, let alone what might work for you. Through a friendly, easy-reference format, this book helps you pinpoint the types of software that can help your organization based on your needs and your level of technology savvy, and provides user-friendly summaries to demystify all the possible options.

The 84-page Field Guide includes an overview of 35 different types of software, helping you to understand what each is, how it fits in with your needs, how much you might expect to pay, and some of the most common vendors in the area.

Full disclosure: I reviewed an early draft, but haven't seen the final version. It's likely to be a useful guide to nonprofits who are planning to purchase (or request donations) of a lot of software in the near future.

You can get more information and order a copy on their site.

Texting for $$: The Definitive Guide

Robert — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:59:03 +0000

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 free at http://mobileactive.org/mobile-fundraising.

C3 Announces 2010 In-Kind Donation and Grant Program for Nonprofits

Robert — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:59:02 +0000

Applications are being accepted for $2,500 in-kind donations of audio, video, and web conferencing services from C3 Conferencing. C3 will also provide complimentary training as needed. In addition to the in-kind donation, C3 will provide a $2,500 cash grant to be used for the purposes of enhancing communication.

C3 is looking for examples of how organizations can increase internal communication, communication between donors, clients and communities, and/or effective communication strategies in times of crisis or other large scale campaigns.

Nominations Closing Soon for $10,000 Pizzigati Prize

Robert — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 09:59:03 +0000

The Tides Foundation is accepting nominations for the annual Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. The prize will award $10,000 to an open-source software developer whose work is helping nonprofits succeed. Nominations will be accepted through February 1, 2010. The winner will be announced this April at NTEN's 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference in Atlanta.

From the announcement:

Social Media for Revenue or Volunteers? Maybe Not

Robert — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:59:02 +0000

The results of two new surveys paint a bleak picture of the effectiveness of social media for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. The first from Philanthropy Action, has the depressing title, "Social Networking and Mid-Size Nonprofits: What's the Use?" The survey is based on responses from about 200 mid-sized nonprofits (defined as having revenues between $1 and $5 million annually) between July 2008 and March 2009. It concludes that:

Social technologies are not delivering much in terms of fundraising or attracting volunteers. While the majority (of respondents) began using social networking with an expectation that it would help the organization attract donors and volunteers, results have been particularly disappointing in those categories. More than 70 percent of respondents indicated that they had raised less than $100 or did not know whether they had raised any money.

However, despite poor results to date, "the overwhelming majority of respondents... say they are going to increase their investment in the use of social networking."

A second survey, from the Cone communications agency, reached similar conclusions.