Brian Solis wrote an amazing post today listing loads of Twitter tools for building community.
In his post, he gives a description and links to each of these tools:

twubble

GroupTweet

twitt(urly)y

TwitLinks

TweetDeck

Gridjit

Tweet Later

Twist

Twerp Scan

Summize

Twemes

#hashtags

Tweet Scan

Twinfluence

TwitterGrader

Twittertise

Twitterrific

Twhirl

TwitterWhere

tweetbeep

twitterfeed

TwitDir

Ping.fm

brightkite

TwitterLocal

twitpic

SnapTweet

DoesFollow

follow cost

Qwitter

Twittelator

Twitterfon

Twinkle

Twitterberry

Pretty amazing, isn’t it?
If you’re interested in Twitter, you need to read Brian’s blog post:
Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals.

[Read more →]

One of the biggest jobs in we in development have is being “keepers of the lore.”
So often our organizations are so focused on the present–being the best they can at their mission–and the future–strategizing where they’re going and how they’ll get there–that they forget the past–the very people and events that brought they to [...]

[Read more →]

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is reporting that Sen. Grassley is continuing his push to increase regulations on nonprofit hospitals.
I work in one and didn’t think the regulation could get any tighter–especially for small community hospitals with a large reliance on Medicaid and Medicare!
His focus and intensity on this issue seems to me to be a [...]

[Read more →]

My blog post What really bugs your donors? has gotten a lot of traffic.
I’ve received over 100 responses between the question on LinkedIn, the comments on the blog, and emails sent directly to me!
I’ve been amazed at how relieved people are that someone finally asked them what annoys them! Donors have been carrying these things [...]

[Read more →]

As you all know, I’m a big believer in actually asking donors what they think rather than trying to read their mind.
So yesterday I posted this question on LinkedIn.com:

As a donor to charity, what do we nonprofits do that REALLY annoys the tar out of you?
What do we do that irritates you? What do you [...]

[Read more →]

Last night, I held a free Ask Without Fear! fundraising seminar to a standing room only crowd at the local library.
It’s always a rush to speak to a standing room only group. And these were mainly “normal people”–board members and volunteers. I love talking to this group!
But my 8 year-old son had a different [...]

[Read more →]

I just signed three thank you notes that have given me more joy than any I’ve had the privilege to sign: one to each of my kids ages 8, 6, and 3.
On Father’s Day, they gave my breakfast in bed. They also each gave 25 cents to the Foundation.
They knew I raised money for [...]

[Read more →]

Gayle Robertswas my guest on today’s Ask Without Fear radio show.
You really owe it to yourself to listen to Gayle’s thoughts on fundraising and generousity. You’ll be challenged to re-evaluate your thoughts on raising support for nonprofits. And you’ll be re-energized as you realize how incredibly important your role is. And you’ll hear Gayle’s [...]

[Read more →]

In the spirit of the last fundraising secret People give to people, I offer
Fundraising Secret #16: ALWAYS be interested in the donor as a PERSON not as a pocketbook.
Relationships are always our most vital asset. Whether or not people give to us, they are intrinsically important.
That’s not to say we have to pour [...]

[Read more →]

This was the It Could Happen to You episode of Oprah’s The Big Give!
I suspect, most viewers thought it’d be incredibly easy to give away $100,000 in 24 hours, even with the quirky restrictions. But it’s not as easy as it seems!
First I want to highlight a couple lessons donors can learn from this [...]

[Read more →]