Weekend Link Roundup (March 27 - 28, 2010)

Our weekly roundup of new and noteworthy posts from and about the nonprofit sector....

Communications/Marketing

On her Non-Profit Marketing blog, Katya Andresen announces the newest e-book from Network for Good, The 8 Online Fundraising Changes You Must Make in 2010. In it, Andresen advises nonprofit marketers to "Spend more time pointing to the work of others and celebrating what they say than you do talking about yourself. Rather than pontificating on a topic, share the thoughts of another person and praise their insight. The more you do this," she adds, "the more popular you become."

Fundraising

Future Fundraising Now blogger Jeff Brooks shares five warning signs that a fundraising consultant is lying to you:

1. When their pitch to you is a powerful new way to get young donors.
2. When their thesis is "(Direct mail, e-mail, blogging, etc.) is dead."
3. When they talk about the future, but not the present.
4. When they already know your problem before they've even spent some time with you and your data.
5. When they won't explain how their new cutting-edge product works because it's "proprietary."

Leadership

On the It's Your World blog, World Affairs Council president and CEO Jane Wales reflects on a recent study which suggests that "this is the first time in history that society is experiencing a delay in leadership transition, as people live longer and retire later." Adds Wales, "If the philanthropic sector fails to tap the next generation's skills and knowledge, the emerging leaders will simply move on to sectors that will...."

Philanthropy

On the Tactical Philanthropy blog, Sean Stannard-Stockton asks his readers to weigh in on "what program, activity or entity has the potential to be a killer app that drives a larger uptake of engaged philanthropy."

Getting Attention's Nancy Schwartz shares six key takeaways from a new white paper that examines The Next Generation of American Giving. The report, notes Schwartz, is "the most in-depth study to date of how donors of different generations learn about our organizations and give."

Allison Fine admits in a recent post that she's still trying to figure out "the point" of the Pepsi Refresh Project?. Writes Fine:

When the contest was first announced it was framed in the media as Pepsi choosing philanthropy over Super Bowl ads. But as [the social media blog] Mashable warned, if the campaign worked, "..the company can build brand awareness while also helping out communities across the world. On the flip side, if not executed properly, the company could wind up spending $20 million on philanthropic causes (which is to be commended), without getting the benefits of a buzz-generating ad campaign....

Which is it, Pepsi? Are you interested in the kinds of returns that an expensive ad campaign would create? For instance, are you interested in greater sales? Or are you interested in philanthropic outcomes, improved reading skills or greener classrooms or better health outcomes? Or are you betting that that this new form of philanthropy can create a hybrid of the two?...I need to know, Pepsi, please tell me!

Social Media

Writing on the Nonprofit Tech 2.0 blog, Heather Mansfield shares ten social media metrics for nonprofits -- and how to track them.

Last but not least, the Case Foundation's Kari Dunn Saratovsky announces the launch of CaseSoup, "an interactive hub of videos and live discussions centered around some of the big issues and areas of focus that are important to us here...."

That's it for now. What did we miss? Drop us a line at rnm@foundationcenter.org. And have a great week!

-- Regina Mahone

Comments

[Cary Walski]

Thanks for mentioning MCF's Potluck blog, and Tawanna Black's interview with Shawn Lewis. :)