Hi!
As a resource to people I know, clients, former clients, and anyone I know with an interest in keeping up with happenings in the nonprofit world, but without the time to peruse all of the email newsletters that come out each week, I’m offering this alternative – a once a week or so listing of the headlines I found the most interesting from the prior week. Below is a sample of articles from the past week that I will be including in this blog. Topics range from the current state of the industry to international giving to direct mail to email tips.
Thanks!
INDUSTRY OUTLOOKS: THE NEW FUNDRAISING PARADIGM (Jan. 12, 2009) Direct marketing is rapidly changing. Most organizations are experiencing declines in donor response, acquisition and renewals-but not a result of donor fatigue, the economy or any other short term impact. It is a signal that donors, competition and the media are changing. http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=914&content_item_id=24771
WRITTEN APPEALS: IMAGINATIVE WAYS TO ASK DONORS TO GIVE MORE (Jan. 12, 2009) Caught in a rut with how you make the “ask” in your appeal letters? Want to encourage annual fund donors to give more? Here are some effective strategies.
FACE THE ECONOMY WITH SHARPENED FOCUS, SOLID STRATEGY (Dec. 15, 2008) As they face tough financial decisions, donors want to give to organizations that have a clear, mission-driven strategy. Are you making a strong enough case? Are you taking a critical look at your programs for ways to best reach donors? http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?folder_id=2545&content_item_id=24753
POSTAL HIKE CAPPED AT 3.8% AVERAGE Plummeting energy prices during the last quarter of 2008 could very well have saved nonprofits untold thousands in future postal increases. The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) determined a cap of 3.8 percent on the average postal class after new economic data were released Friday morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://ga0.org/ct/Id1U4on1ErNN/
FEELING THE SQUEEZE: CHARITIES AND THE ECONOMY Nonprofit groups are putting their fund raising on overdrive and cutting costs as they seek to cope with the worst economy in decades. In a special report, The Chronicle offers an in-depth look at how charities are coping. See: <http://philanthropy.com/free/articles/v21/i06/squeeze.htm>
ECONOMIC-STIMULUS PACKAGE TO HELP NONPROFIT GROUPS MEET SOCIAL NEEDS (Jan. 15, Chronicle of Philanthropy) U.S. House Democrats unveiled an economic-stimulus package today that proposes billions of dollars in spending on Medicaid and other federal programs that will help nonprofit groups in cash-strapped states meet spiking demand for social services. http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=6812
STATES PUSH TO ENCRYPT DONOR/CLIENT INFO (Jan. 6, The Nonprofit Times) A new Nevada law states that personal information cannot be transferred through electronic transmission outside a secure system unless it’s encrypted. A similar data security measure became law on Jan. 1 in Massachusetts and it is being talked about in several other states. http://www.nptimes.com/instantfund/09Jan/IF-090106-1.html
COMPANIES CUTTING BACK ON MATCHING GIFT PROGRAMS (Jan 16, Foundation Center) A growing number of companies that have been hit hard by the recession are cutting back on their charitable matching gifts and volunteer programs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Such programs have been popular for decades with nonprofits, employees, and companies themselves, which see the programs as both a recruiting tool and a way to burnish their image while receiving tax deductions. Over the past year, however, more than a dozen large U.S. companies — including Northrop Grumman, General Motors, and Pfizer — have closed the doors on their matching programs or significantly reduced the matching ratio, while others have lowered matching limits or excluded retirees or part-time employees from participating. http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016525/story
GIVING TO CHURCHES IN UNCERTAIN TIMES (Jan 19, Press Release Newswire) Giving in 2009 is presenting major challenges and opportunities for most churches in America. — That, according to Mr. Pat Graham, President of Cargill Associates, Inc., a Christian stewardship development firm located in Ft. Worth, Texas which has helped churches develop their donor base and teach generosity and giving for more than thirty years. Working closely with Catholic, Evangelical, and Protestant churches across the U.S. in 2008, they have been carefully monitoring the financial impact of the economy on church giving. According to their year-end research and analysis report, along with the recently released report on giving by The Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University, they have concluded many churches are facing the prospect of “needing a bailout” themselves. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1876184.htm
5 TIPS FOR WINNING THE IN-BOX CONTEST IN 2009 While reflecting on the tough economic times in 2008 and the related opportunities and challenges e-mail marketers face this year, I remembered a homeless man whose marketing prowess rivals most CMOs I’ve met. I gave money to this man as he waited, holding a cardboard sign at a traffic intersection. Near him were two other men, also with pleas scribbled on cardboard. Yet, what stood out for me was this one man’s message. It said, “Spaceship Broken — Need Parts.” http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/story/5-tips-winning-inbox-contest-2009?curpage=1
GREETINGS FROM AMERICA: HOW US-STYLE FUNDRAISING CAN WORK IN YOUR COUNTRY I have presented fund-raising workshops in many countries outside North America during a professional career of more than 35 years. I have also presented fund-raising workshops to numerous foreign visitors in the United States who were representing charities in their respective countries. In every case, the people who attended my workshops came from nations in which there was neither a tradition nor an established process of individual or corporate philanthropy toward charitable and cultural agencies or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). http://www.emarketingandcommerce.com/story/5-tips-winning-inbox-contest-2009?curpage=1
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