Every week or so, I get a question like I did last night. It was basically, “How do you convince your boss to let me use social media?” So being a social media geek, I immediately posted the question on LinkedIn’s “Answers” tool. You can see the question and the answers here: http://www.linkedin.com/answers/non-profit/non-profit-management/NNP_MGM/975753-8616660 Three basic [...]

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Nonprofit’s can be incredibly crushing places to work. We give all we have because we believe in our cause. Our passion is admirable but leads to bad choices about our own lives. I’d argue this is especially true for fundraisers. People don’t really get what we do. And when we’re successful, the bar gets raised! [...]

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In the last 24 hours, I’ve heard 6 different commentators talk about the polarization of our US government being exacerbated by the fact that no one socializes anymore. Ok. I was one of the people. And I was talking to my aunt and uncle in a restaurant in Hanover, NH. But then on NHPR, I [...]

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I am fond of saying that “fundraising is an extreme sport.” Like great athletes, fundraisers need to focus on the basics. At Blog World Expo last November I got to do a live interview with Susan McLennan about those basics, treating people with respect, and an easy way to do a “thankathon.” Watch the entire [...]

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Thank you! As a fundraiser for a nonprofit cause, you are changing the world. Making it a better place. We need people like you! Loving the askers If we’re good at fundraising, we spend considerable time thinking about how to best thank our donors. We throw galas, write notes, set up tours and appointments with [...]

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I’m thrilled to be hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival for February! Since Valentines’ Day is this month, the Carnival topic is: As a fundraiser, how do you take care of yourself? I believe fundraising is the best profession in the world! But it can be incredibly stressful, grueling, and thankless. We often focus on letting [...]

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[Warning: Rant in progress] In my book Ask Without Fear!, I encourage fundraisers to PYITS–put yourself in their shoes. Thinking like the donor or prospect can save you lots of embarrassment in the process of asking for money. But never forget: you are not your perfect donor Your major gift donor prospects are not on [...]

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Here’s a 5 minute recording of CC Chapman talking with me about using video in nonprofit work. Filmed at BlogWorld Expo in Los Angeles last month, you’ll see there’s a lot going around in the background…including voices from on high and a loud shriek!

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Have you ever been thanked for a nonprofit donation over Google Chat? I just was. And it was so cool! I just made a donation to an amazing nonprofit, Amirah. [Full disclosure: I am on their board.] A couple minutes later, Google Chat popped up with the message: You just donated to a great cause! [...]

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Here’s a video of my “Google+ for Nonprofits” session from BlogWorld Expo in Los Angeles last month. There were 2 sessions about Google+ there: Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan did one; I did the other. This was presented days before Google opened up pages for brands. The information presented here is still relevant but now [...]

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