Don Akchin

Gail Perry, author of the “Fired-Up Fundraising” blog, says the perfect companion to your awesome annual appeal letter is an equally awesome letter of thanks to your donors. She offers 16 ideas and a checklist of do’s and don’ts that can inspire and fire-up the donor steward inside you.

When Google+ first appeared on the scene last summer, the conventional wisdom was explore but don’t invest much. Facebook, after all, was the social media platform where all the players were. Well, that was then. A few weeks ago, Google flexed its muscles and added activity on Google+ to the Google search algorhythm which, as we all know, determines not just our place within search rankings but our sense of self-worth.  Geoff Livingston, one of the most respected minds in digital media, makes a very convincing argument that it’s  now time to get on board Google+ because it will have more impact on search than any other platform.

SOFII (The Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration) has compiled its list of the best fundraising campaigns of all time.  It’s an international list that includes such icons as the first UNICEF card and the British Red Cross appeal during World War II. With descriptions of each all-star entry, there’s plenty of potential inspiration for 2012.

It’s not easy to keep up with the new digital media, much less understand it. But this provocative article in Ad Age, by Doug Levy and Bob Garfield, offers a look at the big picture. In their eyes, we’re living at the dawn of the Relationship Era, and as a result, everything we used to know about marketing is now wrong. On a similar theme, see for yourself what all the buzz is about regarding the “10 fresh realities of the Digital Age,”  a slide presentation by Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet Project. In fact, have a look at the slide presentation itself.

In the early 1990s, a direct mail company in Seattle discovered, through relentless testing, a formula that turned routine newsletters to donors into dependable fundraising machines. The writing was donor-centered, the headlines powerful, the articles short – and five more key points.  Copywriter and blogger Jeff Brooks, a member of that Seattle firm at the time, recites the entire formula, then adds a few things he’s learned in the years since then. Could it work for you? Yes, it absolutely could.  And I will be happy to show you how.  

Nothing sets a development professional’s teeth on edge like being told how to do her job by a boss who knows not a whit about fundraising.  And no one can express the frustration as viscerally as fundraising professionalTom Ahern, ranting here about know-nothings critiquing direct mail: The opinions of the untutored simply do NOT count in direct mail. Quite the opposite: acting on untutored opinions can only decrease or eliminate income. Direct mail is a sales medium that brutally punishes presumptions. You either know what you’re doing. Or you don’t. And direct mail virgins guess wrong 110% of the time. Read the entire rant (it’s that good!). If you’ve been there, been done that way, got the t-shirt, please share it (anonymously if you prefer) with a comment.

Joe Waters, the co-author of  Cause Marketing for Dummies, thinks nonprofits could learn a lot about marketing from the small, entrepreneurial start-ups known as food trucks – particularly in the area of building and keeping strong relationships with the customer base. His five principles in brief: have a distinctive and memorable product, adapt to market changes, go where the people are, turn customers into fans, and recognize what’s most important.

If you’re resolved to tell your story better in 2012, take a look at this free e-book on how to use video for better storytelling. The Starter Guide to Nonprofit Video Storytelling is a joint effort of Listen In Pictures, a video production house, and Cause Vox, an online giving platform. The book even comes with a useful worksheet for step-by-step planning of videos. (Truth in Advertising – I helped edit the final manuscript.) And while we’re on the subject of video storytelling- and free – have a look at 10 free tools that can help your videos do more tricks.

This month I had terrific conversations with three movers and shakers in the nonprofit marketing world – and you can read the results. The interviews were posted in the Nonprofit Marketing 360 blog. This month’s offerings are: Howard Adam Levy – principal of Red Rooster Group, a nonprofit branding agency in New York City. Notable quote: “Social media is a step toward engaging younger people and bringing them into the nonprofits’ world.” Nicole Harrison – founder of SocialNicole agency in Minneapolis and host of #nptalk on Twitter. Notable quote: “This digital world we’re entering is raising the bar for everyone, but for nonprofits especially.”  Tom Ahern - author of four books on fundraising communications and internationally acclaimed speaker. Notable quote: “There’s a ton more money that could be made in philanthropy if we just stopped doing that bad practice [not being donor-centered]. I think the golden age is ahead of us.”

My wife and I recently joined a CSA. (Note to Dixie kin: Don’t get excited – it stands for Community Supported Agriculture.) We were expecting our first delivery this week, and were surprised when we didn’t see it last night. Our address is 221. It’s a large co-op apartment building. Little did we know that our shipment had been dropped off by mistake at 211. Timothy, who lives at 211, was stepping outside to take out the trash when he saw a strange parcel near his garbage cans. He inspected it and found vegetables inside.  Puzzled, he photographed it and loaded the picture on Facebook, with a message along the lines of, “What is this city coming to, now people are randomly dumping root vegetables.” A Facebook friend of Timothy, who until recently worked for my wife, looked at the photo, noticed that our name was on the label, and

By now you’re fully into the annual pre-tax appeal, and you will know in a few weeks whether you met your goal. Offering fantastic terrific fundraising ideas this month, when it’s too late to use them, would be the height of bad taste. So let’s not go there.   Good luck, happy holidays, and we’ll be back with more fantastic terrific fundraising ideas next year.

What does the data tell you? How can you use it? The CoolData blog walks through an example of a college alumni office which learns that the number of times an alumnus visits the college website correlates to the size and frequency of his gifts.

Facebook made significant changes last month. In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, blogger Amy Sample Ward explains their impact and directs you to links with more information. Twitter has launched a Twitter for Nonprofits program. Google Analytics has released a new and improved version. Allyson Kapin of Frogloop can explain it all.  Blogger Mitch Joel makes a case for why you should be present on Google+ now. For your reference collection: 10 must-have social media primers.

Want to get free advice from highly paid experts? Last month I interviewed three consultants who advise nonprofits on fundraising and marketing. The interviews appeared on the Nonprofit Marketing 360 blog. Here are links, along with a taste of each interview:   Toby Bloomberg writes the Diva Marketing Blog and hosts Blog Talk Radio. She talks about how social media can help nonprofits perfect “corner grocery store” relationships with donors and constituents.   Michael Stein, a senior executive at Donordigital, co-wrote a groundbreaking book about online fundraising. He discusses the intersection of direct mail and social media.  “People can organize revolutions on Facebook and Twitter, so why not fundraising?”   Mike Kujawski, who blogs at Public Sector Marketing 2.0, talks about building engagement strategies within the risk-averse cultures of government and nonprofit organizations.  “By the end of 2012, over 50% of world Internet access is going to occur via mobile device. Yet today, less than

“What’s the return on investment?” is one of those questions we’re frequently asked by nonprofit executives casting themselves in the role of no-nonsense business moguls. Hard numbers for social media have been hard to come by. Not so anymore. Now there are at least 67 examples of social media successes here and here. Use this valuable resource the next time you have to answer the ROI question.

In a piece about how to tell the story of your brand, consultant Simon Mainwaring made an observation that really struck me:   Like most marketers today, many non-profits still tell their story in a way that positions themselves as the focus or destination. Instead, every brand must shift from being the celebrity of their community to being its chief celebrant. That means the brand and its story exist to celebrate the success of its donors, field workers or community at large, and in so doing, inspires further fundraising and volunteer efforts on the basis of shared values and a sense of community. (emphasis added)   This observation, it seems to me, captures the essence of why social marketing differs from past marketing approaches. The old approach – we talk, you listen – no longer works when people are unwilling to listen. Customers, constituents and clients have learned that they hold the Power of the

Some nonprofits, in order to stretch the budget to the max, end up stretching their internal staff even more. Don’t let your boss strap you to the rack, when hiring a professional writer could solve a problem and make you look good in the bargain. Writer Kimberlee Roth points out five telltale signs that it’s time to hire a writer.

If you’re not sure how to measure the performance of your website, you’re in excellent company. And you’re also in luck, because blogger John Haydon has posted his list of five reports you can get from your free Google Analytics account. Even better, he tells you what the results mean.

Charity:Water has had one of the nation’s most successful online fundraising efforts. On Beth’s Blog, social media guru Beth Kanter features an interview with the group’s director of digital, who reveals some of the techniques they have used with good results. Here’s one shrewd piece of advice: “Do it wrong quickly.”

The social media that get all the ink have one thing in common: they are open to everyone. But House (or Private) Social Networks are gaining ground among nonprofits. The third annual Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report notes that 13% of nonprofits operate at least one – and among those nonprofits, 42% started up their house networks in the past year.   A House Social Network is a great tool for building engagement with donors or special groups of donors (alumni, for example). It’s a place to share insider news about your organization – and by sharing it, making your network members feel more like insiders. Check out the benchmark report for more on how nonprofits are using these networks, staffing and budgeting for them, and measuring ROI.