#FUNDRAISING: Maximizing Your Organization’s Return on Fundraising Events
We are pleased to welcome back Susan Emfinger of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. For her previous posts on institutional fundraising, please click here.
In today’s post, I ask readers to imagine a world in which fundraising staff and programmatic work closely together with a variety of “programmatic” events in order to expose the organization to those very individuals who have the financial capacity to enhance and/or to ensure the organizations’ future. My prediction: your fundraising results will surprise you.
Given how much time, energy and effort tends to go into organizing fundraising events, I thought we might start with one question: Just what is a “fundraising” event?
Popularity: 1% | Category Advocacy, Campaigns, Communications, Community, Conference/Congress, Development, Events, Fundraising, Gala, How-to, Marketing, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Planned Giving, Planned Giving, Public Relations, Resource, Sustainability | | 0 Comments
Written by: Susan Emfinger
#ADVOCACY: Make Sure Pitch Has Call To Action, Not Just High Concept
What happens when you get corporate assistance to launch a new campaign, or pro bono development from a commercial ad agency? You can get some fabulous ideas and some valuable insights on establishing your brand. You can get your materials into some of the best publication and on some of the most visited sites on the web.
But as some of our colleagues at Sofii.org have discovered, you can also get a good deal of expensive nothing. The commercial backer or ad agency might not be sensitive to the constituents who want to be involved with various types of nonprofits. They might encourage outreach through channels that are quite unlikely to reach the people your charity traditionally reaches. They might give you a fabulous product on the design board (Indeed, I think it’s safe to say that they certainly will give you a fabulous design.) that falls flat in the real world. Let’s look at a couple of examples from Sofii.
Popularity: 1% | Category Advertising, Advice, Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Case Study, Cause Marketing, Communications, Copyrighting, Crowdfunding, Design, Development, Donor Acquisition, Fundraising, Graphic Design, How-to, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Measurement, Media Review, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Publications, Publications Design, Resource, Reviews, Sponsorship, Storytelling, Strategic Marketing, Study, Writing | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#ADVOCACY: Kony 2012 Sequel Not Going Viral, Nor Ending Debate
Too little too late?
Last Thursday, Invisible Children released their tepidly anticipated sequel to the stunningly viral video Kony 2012 (over 100 million views). The sequel, “Kony Part II – Beyond Famous,” was almost destined not to make as big a splash in the nonprofit/video/social-media ocean because the impact of the message had already been made, and those millions who responded − positively or negatively − probably don’t need to see a sequel to be re-convinced. Since the first video came out, just over a month ago, the ‘media packages’ people were asked to purchase to support the campaign were quickly sold out and the video’s director/narrator, Jason Russell, was arrested and committed to hospital for mental and emotional fatigue.
We still await the climactic ‘Cover The Night’ campaign of 20 April, but what all this has done to bring Kony to justice remains to be seen. What we want to focus on today, though, is how social networks inspired the explosion of interest around the original, and how those same networks might be dampening the responses to the sequel.
Popularity: 3% | Category Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Fundraising, Marketing, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Newspaper Article, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics, Public Media, Social Media, Social Networks, Storytelling, Video, YouTube | | 1 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Tech: SOPA Inspiring Blackouts & Lobbyists – Should Nonprofits Care?
Could SOPA chill free speech?
On the surface, not much seems to be of relevance in the ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ (SOPA, H.R. 3261) because nonprofits aren’t really in the business of selling digitized content, much less pirated content. Nevertheless, nonprofit organizations and consumer protection groups are decrying the bill and calling for an internet ‘blackout’ on 18 January as Congress discusses the bill. AnonymousIRC, Reddit, and even the many Cheezburger sites are all participating in the blackout while encouraging others to do the same.
The blackout is meant, in part, to call attention to the powers SOPA offers internet service providers (ISPs) and media corporations to shut down sites they believe are dealing with copyrighted material. The blackout is also meant to act as a counterweight to the quarter of a billion dollars these companies have pooled to lobby Congresspeople for their votes in favor of SOPA.
The stakes are high for media businesses and service providers, but nonprofits apparently outside the bailiwick of the act are also starting to get involved. Why?
Popularity: 5% | Category Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Cause Marketing, Civics, Communications, Community, Copyrighting, Events, Marketing, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics, Public Media, Site Administration, Social Media, Technology | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#SocialNetworking: Jumo And Good Join To Create Largest Nonprofit Network
We have followed the development of the Jumo website and network over the last year or so, and that organization has recently announced a development ‘merger’ with Good.is that will make it/them arguably the largest nonprofit socially-conscious network around.
The union will bring together Jumo’s model of searching for and supporting projects by topics with Good.is’s focus on stories, data, and news about a myriad of projects near and dear to the ethically-driven, the socially-engaged, and the community-oriented. What will the merger entail, and what might it mean for nonprofits and social-action groups who want to extend their outreach?
Popularity: 4% | Category Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Civics, Communications, Community, Crowdfunding, Development, eNewsletter, Environment, Fundraising, Marketing, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Permission Marketing, Politics, Public Media, Public Relations, Research, Reviews, Social Media, Volunteerism, Wellness | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Enviro: Time To Plan Your Proposal For The 2012 Baltimore Green Week!
The fine folks at Baltimore Green Works have been putting on Baltimore Green Week for the past eight years, and they are calling for submissions for those individuals and organizations ready to make the ninth one the best yet.
The form required to propose your project, product, booth, or happening is available online, and is due on December 14th. The winning proposals will be announced in mid-January. GreenWeek 2012 will be April 21-28 at Druid Hill Park in northwest Baltimore. Green Week is part of BGW’s ongoing EcoFest.
If you are in need of some guidance, inspiration, or feedback, BGW is sponsoring a Q&A Meeting for 27 September at 6:pm at 2002 Clipper Park Road, 4th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211. The meeting is open to anyone even considering submitting a proposal, though GBW asks for an RSVP either to [email protected] or with a call to 410-952-0334.
But if you are not part of a greening organization or company, you can still take part as volunteers for any of the seven days are always wanted.
Check out BGW’s site if you are unfamiliar with it, and mark your calendars for these upcoming events. Finally, to give yourself the good and tasty nourishment needed for this level of community action, look for your local (MD) farmer’s market and support local farmers for the rest of the summer and fall.
Popularity: 8% | Category Advocacy, Communications, Community, Diet, eNewsletter, Environment, Events, Greening, Health, Local/Maryland, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Urban Farming | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Philanthropy: After Momentous News, What Are Your Next Steps?
As you surely know: Last night, President Obama announced the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The news is developing as we post, and we are not going to pretend we can add anything to this ‘momentous occasion.’
The much more modest proposal today is to ask “What am I going to do next?” The question comes from a PBS mini-series called “What’s Your Calling?” The series follows seven people from the three monotheistic faiths as they grow to accept a priestly/leadership role in their traditions. But the question has also gone viral in the philanthropic world, whether expressly religious or not. Facebook, not surprisingly, has proven the medium to make it so.
Britt Bravo, a Social-Media Consultant in California, has expanded upon the question to encourage those of us engaged in the greater nonprofit endeavor to refocus our goals and motives.
Popularity: 2% | Category Advocacy, Blogs, Campaigns, Community, Marketing, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Storytelling | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Media: Defunding Public Media Would Stifle Digital Innovation
Jessica Clark argues that it’s time to change the conversation about public media from “one of scarcity to one of abundance.” A fixture on the PBS.org webspace, MediaShift, Ms. Clark suggests that ” if not a single dollar ends up being stripped from public broadcasting appropriations, the current battle threatens to strangle innovation in a sector that was just gaining new media sea legs.”
Click here to read the full article.
Popularity: 2% | Category Advocacy, Nonprofit, Public Media | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco Kathuria
#Sustainability: Keeping Families In Homes Keeps Neighborhoods Alive
Bernell Grier, CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC
We welcome Bernell Grier, CEO of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, Inc. to the growing list of Contributors to the MKCREATIVEnonprofit Blog. Ms. Grier was appointed CEO in May of last year, having been COO of the housing organization since 2004. She is writing about proposed cuts in government funding to community-development programs.
Each day Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City and its affiliated Neighborhood Offices (NHSNYC) assist homeowners that are facing the potential loss of their homes through foreclosure. Government, at every level, has been the primary funder for many of the foreclosure prevention and intervention programs over the past three years.
Now, despite the fact that the foreclosure crisis continues, government funding that has been effective is threatened to be completely cut at the federal, state, and local level.
Popularity: 5% | Category Advocacy, Affordable Housing, Banking & Finance, Civics, Community, Low-Income, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics | | Comments Off
Written by: Bernell Grier
Sustainability: Corporate Responsibility = Sustainability?
The MKCREATIVE blog welcomes Maria Lilly, principal of MJLilly Associates LLC, to our blog. She is a communications strategist who develops positioning programs that unite corporate, marketing and financial messages to create and support a company’s brand.
As I canvas the business marketplace, I am thrilled to see the ongoing emergence of corporate responsibility and sustainability as a critical piece of the business lexicon.
Ironically though, there appears to be some confusion about the connection between these two terms. Nomenclature issues and old definitions continue to confuse people – even some professionals working in the space. Let me connect these dots.
Popularity: 6% | Category Advocacy, Banking & Finance, Cross-Post, Environment, Greening, Public Relations, Sustainability, Volunteerism, Wellness | | Comments Off
Written by: Maria Lilly
#Advocacy: Nonprofits Expand Influence Via Growth In Documentaries
Americans spend weeks vetting and prognosticating before Oscar Night. We then spend days celebrating, lamenting, or lampooning the winners. After the really big show last night, we wanted to call attention to the growing influence and funding for independent documentary films, many of which include influential grass-roots movements to call attention to the issues raised in these films.
Popularity: 5% | Category Advocacy, Climate Change, Community, Environment, Fundraising, Greening, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Nonprofit | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Team Up With YouTube To Win 2010 Do-Gooder Video Award
Image via CrunchBase
We have often commented on this blog about opportunities for the nonprofit community to enjoy mutually beneficial relationships with the business world. Here is an example that can not only enrich such a symbiosis, but can also fire up your organization’s creative spark while also reaching an international audience without (necessarily) embarking on a long and expensive messaging campaign.
YouTube and See3 of Chicago are co-sponsoring the 2011 “DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards,” and submissions are open until Wednesday, March 2nd. Submissions will be posted at YouTube’s Nonprofits channel, and your video could win cash prizes and any number of ‘views’ on YouTube’s homepage!
Popularity: 2% | Category Advertising, Advocacy, Campaigns, Communications, Development, Fundraising, Major Gifts, Marketing, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Public Relations, Social Media, Technology, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Interview: Cass Naugle, Executive Director of The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Maryland Chapter
Alzheimer’s is a word most of us have heard, but how many of us know much about the disease itself?
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. According to recent estimates, as many as 2.4 million to 5.1 million Americans have AD, with numbers expected to grow with the growth of the population. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from developing.
One organization actively working to raise awareness and support for this disease is the Alzheimer’s Association, started in 1980. With a mission to ‘eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all effected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health,’ today, the Association reaches millions of people affected by Alzheimer’s across the globe through its national office and more than 75 local chapters. As the largest donor-supported, voluntary health organization for Alzheimer’s, the Association is a catalyst for advancements in Alzheimer research and care.
Popularity: 7% | Category Advocacy, Aging, Facebook, Fundraising, Interview, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Perspectives, Retirement Living, Video Interview | | Comments Off
Written by: Cate Neilson
Net Neutrality Neutered
"IF"?
The FCC voted 3-2 to pass the rules it had drawn up with the ‘help’ of telecommunications companies like Verizon and AT&T. In the ways of Washington over the last several months, almost no one is happy with the plan. And yet again the Obama Administration is being called to the mat. Well, AT&T seems pretty happy with it, which might tell us something about the plan already:
Based on our understandings, this measure would avoid onerous Title II regulation; would be narrowly drawn along the lines of a compromise we have endorsed previously; would reject limits on our ability to properly manage our network and efficiently utilize our wireless spectrum; would recognize the capabilities and limitations of different broadband technologies; would ensure specialized services are protected against intrusive regulation; and would provide for a case-by-case resolution of complaints that also encourages non-governmental dispute settlement.
So why do we keep harping on the issue?
Popularity: 1% | Category Advertising, Advocacy, Communications, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Politics, Social Media, Technology, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Harsh Op-Ed On ‘Charitable Scrooges’
Debates about social media as catalyst, about political responses to economic crises, about open internets, about the care of our health… can help us sharpen our own positions and/or encourage us to take on ideas that we had avoided. This particular blog outlet tends to focus on the nexus of nonprofits, politics, and communications technologies, and we strive to show some of ‘the other side’ of a given issue. Yet when Pablo Eisenberg’s recent op-ed from the Chronicle of Philanthropy arrived through our tweet stream, we were admittedly hard pressed to stay on his side – though his passion is to be admired. You should read his ideas in their entirety first. Go ahead, we’ll be here when you get back. (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Advocacy, Banking & Finance, Community, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Opinion, Politics, Thought for the Day | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Education Resources And Analyses In The Context of The Great Recession
Education is a stunningly inefficient human endeavor. A teacher might invest hours of time on a student only to discover that the student’s family situation is too unstable to allow any of the teacher’s influence to stick after the school bell rings. Or the teacher might get dispirited about students’ indifferent reactions to a story, only to discover that a couple of those students recall the story years later and are inspired to write great novels or, better still, become teachers themselves. Or (an irony I have myself experienced) a ‘bad’ teacher might spur a child to believe she could do better if the roles were reversed, so she strives to reverse the roles. Unlike so many other aspects of our economic and social environment, the links of cause-and-effect are tenuous indeed when discussing the ‘value’ or ‘success’ of education.
Nevertheless, we must not give up on the ideal that everyone should have opportunity for a good education to help them strive for what they might choose to strive for. And we must continue to study how better to reform, adjust, and align the educational systems we have. As with environmental and housing issues so important to MKCREATIVE, we are pleased to pass on the word when private and public concerns combine to improve the educational environment of our communities. Today’s example is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation‘s report “PRIMARY SOURCES: America’s Teachers on America’s Schools,” a project done with Scholastic and recently published online.
Popularity: 1% | Category Advocacy, Community, Education: General, Grants and Funding, Low-Income, News and Current Affairs | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD