Tara is Creating a Formal Messaging Platform

23 May 2013

Our 200+ Nonprofit Marketing Guide All-Access Pass Holders, along with all of you reading this blog, represent the great diversity in the world of nonprofit communications. To help you see that you aren’t alone in your challenges and that you really are part of a wonderful community of passionate, creative professionals, we are introducing you [...]

       

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On sprinting and passing the baton

23 May 2013

Many, many years ago I ran the 4 X 400 relay on my track team.  I was no star, but I loved the race.  It’s a long, tough sprint that leaves you completely spent yet strangely exhilarated.  The coach used to tell me to leave nothing behind on the track.  The trick at the end was to finish with only enough strength to raise an arm and pass the baton. 

I started this blog nearly seven years ago.  For the first few years, I posted several times a week.  Then I got serious on January 1, 2011, when I started posting every single weekday.  Go big or go home, I figured.  If I was going to blog, I should throw my full self into it and truly sprint.  I didn’t miss a day for nearly two and a half years, and that’s when this blog really took off.  I think the daily posting forced me to be a more disciplined thinker and writer, and as the quality of my posts grew, so did the community around the blog.  It’s been a good lesson to me in the power of concentrated commitment in the face of discomfort (which daily posting can be!).

But now it’s time for me to pass the proverbial baton, for several reasons.  First, I am striking out on a new adventure. After eight wonderful years at Network for Good, I’m moving on to take a job as CEO at ePals, an education media company that connects learners around the world.  That will be my new sprint.  Second, I’m more than a little winded.  After nearly 1,500 posts, I’ve said nearly all I could ever imagine saying.  And so I am passing the blog baton to the Network for Good team.  Network for Good will host the blog and all the archives and add posts content regularly, starting now. 

This is the perfect handoff, because Network for Good’s mission is the same as mine has been with this blog: to give you, the amazing person doing good in the world, a little information, insight or inspiration to help you along the way.  The Network for Good team will be lucky to have you, and they know it and will serve you well. 

I said in my book that writing advice for others is an act both vain and humbling.  Vain, because to sit down and write you must believe yourself an expert.  Humbling, because in writing you discover there is so much you don’t know.  I’m grateful to you for being with me as I learned along the way.  Thanks for reading this blog over the years - and for continuing to read it in the future.  And even more important, thank you for the incredible work you do, day in and day out, to make a difference for someone or something that matters.  The world needs you and your concentrated commitment in the face of discomfort.  How fortunate we all are that you chose to be a sprinter for good.

Get Attention With Your Next Multichannel Campaign

22 May 2013

Thanks to co-guest-bloggers Amy Sample Ward and Allyson Kapin. Allyson is acclaimed for her leadership role in technology and social media, and runs Rad Campaign. Amy is the Membership Director for NTEN and blogs for Stanford Social Innovation Review. Getting the attention of your supporters and engaging them in your campaigns on one platform is [...]

How to Involve Staff in Nonprofit Branding

22 May 2013

Earlier this month Haila Yates shared how her organization created audience personas to make better marketing decisions. Part of that process included getting the staff involved. Today, we are publishing another piece by Haila where she talks about how she got her organization’s staff involved with deciding on their messaging platform and other aspects of [...]

       

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24+ Free Non-profit Webinars for June 2013

22 May 2013

Here's our round-up of free non-profit webinars that will be available in June.

3 Ideas for Inspiring Member Loyalty and Demonstrating Value

21 May 2013

Here are some ideas on ways associations can inspire mutual loyalty and demonstrate member value.

How Businesses Can Help Oklahoma Tornado Victims (Hint: Learn from Boston)

21 May 2013

I’m away this week speaking at the New Strategies Conference in Charleston, S.C. But like everyone else I heard the sad news about the tornados in Oklahoma and the terrible loss of life and property.

I know businesses are going to want to help. And after seeing how businesses responded after the tragedy in my hometown of Boston, I have a few suggestions.

1. Donate what’s needed most, but especially cash. Give what you can and tell people what and how much you gave. People are expecting you to do something so be upfront.

2. If your business has a cash register, set up a register program so customers can donate. If you can match their donations, even better.

3. If your company has made a donation, but is not a B2C business with a register, explore your options to donate a portion or percentage of sales from your product or service.… Keep reading

Don't Let Endless Meetings Derail Decision-Making

20 May 2013

Does your organization have trouble making decisions? Perhaps you have endless meetings discussing whether to launch a campaign? Or debates about that rapid response to a recent development around a core issue that your organization is working on. Sound familiar? Our discomfort with taking action and making decisions quickly stems from our desire to want everyone at the table to be supportive and feel good about the decisions being made within the organization. But having too many cooks in the kitchen and this desire to please everyone actually derails our progress to make decisions, especially when it comes to rapid response. This is why organizations miss important opportunities during key moments to take the lead on national or local conversations relating to their advocacy campaigns.

I was reminded of this quandary we face after seeing Hugh MacLeod’s recent illustration that says “You don’t need more time. You need to decide.”  It was inspired by a post from Seth Godin and Dr. Len Schlesinger, President of Babson College who wrote a book on the subject, "Action Trumps Everything."

“Sometimes we feel that we need more time, more information, more... before making a move. Endless meetings, analysis and discussion will likely not get you any closer to a better decision. You need to make your move. Inaction is one of the greatest curses of life,” says MacLeod.

So the next time someone at your organization asks for another meeting to make yet another decision about a campaign, have this poster on hand to remind you that your organization does not need more time, you just need to make a decision. And “carry on” as Tim Gunn so eloquently says.

I Love You, Katya Andresen

20 May 2013

If you are a complete nonprofit marketing geek, you may have heard that Katya Andresen is leaving the nonprofit world, moving on as the COO of Network for Good to become the CEO of ePals, a global community of K-12 classrooms. If not, I’m sorry to break the news to you. If you read this [...]

       

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15 Fantastic Nonprofit Marketing Jobs: Movin’ Up Monday

20 May 2013

  Please post your nonprofit marketing position here for full-time or part-time staff, consulting or internship opportunities. New Opportunities Associate Director of Integrated Content Management, The American Optometric Association (St. Louis, MO) Campaigns Communications Manager,  Free Press (Florence, MA) Chief Marketing Officer, Malaria No More (Flexible) Communications Director, The Pachamama Alliance (San Francisco Bay Area) [...]

Mixed Links for Nonprofit Marketers

17 May 2013

Happy Friday from hot Texas! Would you like to join us for some Mixed Links? If you are having trouble getting your supporters to talk to others about your organization, Nancy Schwartz has some ideas on what you can do to Make It Easy to Spread the Word. How do you track engagement? NTEN shares [...]

       

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The Art of Petition Delivery

17 May 2013

So you got 10,000 people to sign your petition - awesome! Now let the fun begin...

We all know that petitions are effective for list growth and influencing policy when combined with a strategic campaign plan. But really, what to do with all those juicy signatures to move your issue?

Join Care2 and Salsa Labs on a 'tour de petition' as we explore how organizations like Protect Our Defenders, ForestEthics, Environmental Defense Fund and more are making the most out of their hard earned signatures.

Join Care2, Salsa Labs and organizations from the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign for this Expert Webinar on TUESDAY MAY 28th at 2pm ET

In this webinar you'll learn how to use petition signatures to:

• Impact decision makers
• Gain media exposure
• Engage your members
• Build on your campaign momentum

About the Presenters:

Jeanette Russell – Organizing Director, Salsa Labs
Nonprofit leader Jeanette Russell brings nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience to her role as organizing director for Salsa Labs. She has extensive knowledge of NP technology, organizing and fundraising, gathered in part from her role as a co-founder of a national coalition to protect national forests from industrial logging. Jeanette has planned hundreds of workshops, events, rallies and webinars for progressive nonprofits nationwide. In addition, she has served on the board of the WildWest Institute and co-founded the Missoula chapter of the New Leaders Council.

Ryan Rastegar – Campaign Coordinator, Mississippi River Delta Restoration
Ryan is the Campaign Coordinator for the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign whose primary goal is to restore Louisiana’s coast (which is losing a football field of land every hour!). It is a coalition effort comprised of National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society and Environmental Defense Fund. Ryan works jointly for all three groups as part of the central campaign team. He organizes the coalition’s internal structure and work plan and also leads the coalition’s online action team.

Ryan got his start as an organizer with Green Corps back in 2008 and has been working to build large movements on behalf of the environment ever since. He has worked on a multitude of issues from climate and energy policy to food issues to conservation. Ryan’s specialties include field organizing, online organizing, coalition work, media outreach, strategic campaign planning, leadership development, public speaking and fundraising.

Molly Connors – Director of Nonprofit Services, Care2
Molly learned first hand the power of having a ready and dedicated list of supporters to turn to during her many years with PBS. As part of the original PBS Interactive team, Molly was instrumental in the launch of PBS Online in the mid 1990s, the precursor to pbs.org.

With over 20 years of marketing and business development experience with media brands such as C-SPAN, PBS, TLC and founding and managing a women-owned small business, Molly brings a unique perspective to nonprofit fundraising. At Care2, Molly helps small and large nonprofits grow their donor and supporter base through targeted online engagement campaigns.

REGISTER NOW and attend this FREE Expert Webinar on TUESDAY, MAY 28th at 2PM ET

CauseTalk Radio Ep55: How Short Videos Can Have a Big Impact for Nonprofits

17 May 2013

Today on CauseTalk Radio, Megan and I talk to Natasha Deganello Giraudie, the CEO of Micro-Documentaries. Natasha and her team produce 1-2 minute authentic, actionable and affordable documentaries for purposeful companies and nonprofit organizations.

Natasha makes the case for short videos that give viewers a powerful taste of the aspirational goals of a cause. She also offers some tips for nonprofits that want to make their own impactful videos, and gives her perspective on the new six-second video app Vine.

Finally, Natasha shares how listeners can access a free guide from Micro-Documentaries that explains everything from writing compelling titles and climbing search engine rankings to sharing the video with stakeholders and getting the attention of the media.

Tune into this short but powerful conversation! … Keep reading

Dear Board...Observations From a New Volunteer

17 May 2013

Here is a letter to the board from a new volunteer offering some insight and advice Dr. Seuss-style.

How Often Should Your Nonprofit Send Email to Your List?

16 May 2013

I recently presented a webinar for GuideStar called Taming Your Communications Calendar Six Months a Time. It was sold out, so I couldn’t get to all of the questions. Guidestar asked me to do a couple of follow-up blog posts answering two questions that tended to pop up most frequently. One was “How often should we [...]

       

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Boston Strong Cause Marketing: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

16 May 2013

I can’t believe it’s already been a month since the Boston Marathon bombing. It was a harrowing day (and week with the ensuing man hunt), which I recounted in my newsletter and on the For Momentum blog. In the days following the bombing, Boston Strong became the battle cry for a whole nation.

On the cause marketing front, it was a interesting and enlightening to watch things unfold. I saw a lot of great examples of cause marketing that were innovative, creative and downright inspiring. It made me even prouder to be a wicked awesome Bostonian!

But there was also a downside to all the attention the tragedy got, and the mad rush to give when it wasn’t always clear who was getting what and how much.

Here’s my perspective on the good, the bad and the ugly of Boston Strong cause marketing.

The Good

One Fund Boston. State and city officials did a great job moving quickly to establish a single fund to which people could donate.… Keep reading

Make It Easy to Spread the Word (Case Study)

16 May 2013

Your supporters and partners are one of the most productive marketing channels you have, and one of the least expensive. But I see so few orgs that ask supporters to spread the word on vital asks, and even fewer who make it easy (and far more likely) for them to do so. This “spreading the [...]

Help your corporate partners be brainiac cause marketers

16 May 2013

image via the Sparkologist

As I’ve often written on this blog, human beings are inherently empathetic. Our brains are hardwired to relate to other people’s experiences. When we witness or imagine someone acting, our neurons fire the same way they would if we were undertaking the same action. That’s why your heart races when your favorite athlete soars toward the basket or why the sight of a mother struggling to save her child from floodwaters causes you pain.

When we translate this empathy into helping another person, our brains have another reaction: We’re rewarded with happy feelings, thanks to a dopamine dose to our brain’s pleasure center.

That’s powerful stuff for nonprofit marketers.

You can read about how the science of giving relates to nonprofit marketing in Network for Good’s eBooks Homer Simpson for Nonprofits and Lisa Simpson for Nonprofits.  And now I’ve translated these same learnings for companies looking to engage their customers through cause marketing programs.  This new eGuide – The Brainiac’s Guide to Cause Marketing: How People’s Minds Really Work, and What That Means for Your Next Campaign – shows that if we get how people think, we can get them to do.

While the findings are geared toward a corporate audience, the lessons still apply to those of us who work in nonprofit marketing.  Plus this is a great resource to share with your corporate partners. You can demonstrate true value as a partner in helping companies deepen their engagement with customers through cause initiatives with your organization. 

The Brainiac’s Guide to Cause Marketing has lots of ideas to do just that.

Download your FREE eGuide now!

IT Staff, Marketing and Leadership #13ntc

15 May 2013

We met Imtiaz Haiyoom by accident our first night at the Nonprofit Technology Conference (#13NTC) in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. He was sitting approximately where we wanted to host a little meet and greet, so we basically commandeered his table and forced him join us. He got a free drink out of the ordeal, but I think [...]

       

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How Story Trumps Description (Nonprofit Storytelling #9)

15 May 2013

Nonprofit Storytelling #1-8 I’m a sucker for stark contrast. It’s one of the best learning tools ever, and today I’m drawing on examples from  Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP). The Challenge MMP supports and strengthens mentoring programs in Massachusetts and faces this marketing challenge common to every organization that doesn’t provide direct services: How to show [...]