Best Practices

A Four-letter Word That Won't Get You into Trouble with Supporters

Rebecca Ruby Higman

For a sector defined by its lack of revenue ("nonprofit"), we sure talk about money a lot with our audiences--as in fundraising dollars, grants, special event tickets and so on.

But what four-letter word do supporters want to hear? What model should you incorporate into your organization's culture to better connect with supporters and potential supporters?

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50 Resources for Getting the Most Out of Google Analytics

Derek Collins, KISSmetrics Blog

Google Analytics is a very useful free tool for tracking site statistics. For most users, however, it never becomes more than just a pretty interface with intersting graphs.

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10 Strategies for Recession Fundraising

Andrea Seale

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great series up right now with 10 things to do now, to raise money during the downturn. You need a subscription to read the full articles but here’s their list. It is based on interviews with a variety of organizations. Some of these are back-to-basics ideas, which is what a lot of people are focusing on.

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Do Your Communications Suffer from "Jargon Breath"?

Tom Ahern

"At risk"? "Accessible"? "Services"? I hear what you're saying. I just can't SEE what you're saying. And that's the problem.

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Are Images in Email Campaigns a Good Idea?

Network for Good

Question: "John Kenyon mentioned using images in e-mail... What about Outlook automatically blocking those images? Is it worth including since the user has to take another step to download the image?" - John

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One Fool-Proof Way to Make Donating Easier for Donors

Network for Good

At Network for Good, we love donate buttons. Big, bold, juicy, bordering-on-obnoxious donate buttons.

Sadly, during an informal survey of more than two dozen nonprofit websites, we found tiny, buried buttons gasping to see the light of day and clicking action. Why does this matter? Research shows that size DOES matter: Bigger donate buttons help convert more donors!

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Building Trust and Transparency

Rebecca Ruby Higman

We've entered a Catch-22 of sorts these days: Constituents need our organizations' programs, support and mission activities more than ever, but the nationwide belt-tightening is affecting our donors. (Don't worry: They're definitely still giving -- especially online!)

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Two Things You'd Be Crazy to Cut Out of Your Fundraising/Marketing Budget

Jeff Brooks

It's been a tough year for a lot of us. And as much as we hate to say it, we as fundraising people probably face cuts. You can't hold it off forever, but you need to be smart about what programs you put aside and which ones you keep going. Let's talk about what you'd be crazy to cut:

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Top 10 Reasons for Creating a Communications Plan

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Published in an edition of the Food and Society Update, the electronic newsletter for the Foundation's Food and Society initiative, here are 10 reasons to have a communication plan.

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Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide

Google

Nonprofits often ask us, "What are some simple ways that I can improve my website's performance in Google?" There are lots of possible answers to this question, and a wealth of search engine optimization information on the web, so much that it can be intimidating for those unfamiliar with the topic.

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