Kirsten’s Fundraising Headlines

What’s stopping you from having your best fundraising year yet? Are you simple overwhelmed? Is it time? Is it discomfort asking for a gift? Perhaps you’re scared of success. Whatever it is, I implore you to just take the first step. I understand that it can get really overwhelming. And trust me, I know exactly how that feels. There’s so much that needs to be done.

Take it one step at a time and trust that the results will come. Take a step out and start work on one new project this week. And remember, the harder you work, the ‘luckier’ you become. Please let me know how it goes!

Here’s a summary of recent articles and blogs related to fundraising and nonprofit organizations. As always, please share this with others might benefit from the information. Thanks again for reading!

FUNDRAISING

Three Keys to Increasing Your Average Gift http://j.mp/hoU0JZ Growing Your Donors
Trust is Key Giving Motivator for Millennials | bit.ly/gZXQV7 JGA Counsel
Rant in progress: You’re going to have to ask! bit.ly/gmdYEu Fundraising Coach
Fundraising Direct Mail That Drives Online Response – bit.ly/eQQ8pe FundRaising Success
Are the Wealthy Stingy? And What You Can Do About It – bit.ly/igCTre Joanne’s Nonprofit Blog
Buying Products Tied to Charities Depresses Giving, New Study Finds – bit.ly/h58AKi The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Cause Marketing, Selfishness Drive Consumer Giving | bit.ly/gaYahl Cause marketing for nonprofits

GIVING TRENDS

U.S. foundation giving steady in 2010 – bit.ly/eB2fJN Trust.org, AlertNet
Donors Still Eroding, But Gifts Getting Larger – bit.ly/fZnhhf NonProfit Times
3rd Annual State of the Plate Survey: Church Giving Begins to Rebound – bit.ly/hQIaPR Christian Newswire
2010 Nonprofit Fundraising Survey partly cloudy with gradually brightening skies) bit.ly/fvB41z PhilanTopic
Donations to Churches Rebounded Slightly Last Year – bit.ly/i65IP8 The Chronicle of Philanthropy

TECHNOLOGY/SOCIAL MEDIA

Growing Virtual Roots – How our online efforts led to amazing offline results | bit.ly/hNFTeB Case Foundation
10 rules for how nonprofits should use Twitter bit.ly/i2QUkw socialbrite
The Nonprofit Evolution of the Cloud — bit.ly/eMpmyA CIOUpdate.com
Social Media Policy Best Practices: Trust Is Cheaper Than Control | bit.ly/fWDXdz Beth’s Blog
2011 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study – bit.ly/XSs2T M+R Research Labs
2011 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report | http://bit.ly/XpzBu NTEN
Do You Need a New Donor Management System? bit.ly/i6eNHv techsoup
PURLs of wisdom: Personalized URLs help increase membership, donations – bit.ly/flAvkW FundRaising Success

COMMUNICATIONS

We’re the Best Kept Secret! (hint: you need to let people know you’re there) http://bit.ly/dZPNC7 Growing Your Donors
10 media relations tips for your nonprofit – bit.ly/hgogAN socialbrite
9 Tips: Convincing Your Internal Audiences bit.ly/dZel8Z Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog
Storytelling Q & A bit.ly/hIVUtX Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog
What they hate about your fundraising copy is exactly what makes it good – bit.ly/g5QS7X Future Fundraising Now
Strategies for better donor newsletters: a before and after success story | bit.ly/eSZuyS SOFII
Your Nonprofit’s Annual Report: Drudgery or Opportunity? | bit.ly/gqtFBe Getting Attention

LEADERSHIP

ClearPoint merges with New York nonprofit | bit.ly/gKMJxmRichmond Times-Dispatch via NonProfit Times
Nine Rules to a Successful Collaboration | bit.ly/hKMZDw eJewish Philanthropy
Here We Go Again: The Cyclical Nature of Board Behavior – bit.ly/gzqNlv The Nonprofit Quarterly
Form 990 Policies – Is it better to check “yes” or “no”? bit.ly/ewm758 Nonprofit Law Blog
Mission Accomplished, Nonprofits Close – nyti.ms/dNS1Ny NYTimes.com
Creating Coalitions: Stretching to Serve the Community (don’t need to go it on our own) bit.ly/eBVSpO eJewish Philanthropy

OTHER

Great visual showing the growth of the #nonprofit sector – bit.ly/dUVHG7 The Chronicle of Philanthropy
More About Nonprofits and the Recession (some fared much better than others) bit.ly/dOHMHQ The NonProfit Times
6 Actions That Grow Generous Kids, Future Donors – bit.ly/e3Sxy1 The NonProfit Times
Free Non-Profit Webinars for April 2011 – http://bit.ly/herFsN Wild Apricot Blog