Weekend Link Roundup (November 20 - 21, 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 has a few tips for nonprofit marketers looking to improve their "dull" fundraising appeals.

Philanthropy

In a guest post on the Council of Foundation's RE: Philanthropy blog, AFP president and CEO Paulette V. Maehara explains why "A sea change in Congress...represents an opportunity for the sector to educate new legislators about philanthropy...."

Or maybe not. In an article adapted from a speech he gave at the Southeastern Council of Foundations 41st annual meeting, The Nonprofit Quarterly's Rick Cohen looks at the seven issues likely to affect foundations and the nonprofit sector as control of the House of Representatives shifts to "a conservative, Tea Party-heavy group."

"One of the biggest problems about looking at everything through an economic lens," writes Sasha Dichter on his blog, "is that you inevitably place more value on the things that are easy to count and easy to measure."

If nothing else, writes Sean Stannard-Stockton on his Tactical Philanthropy blog, the controversy that has dogged the Social Innovation Fund underscores in an important way "the broad freedom that private foundations have to conduct their activities as they see fit."

Social Media

Guest blogging on Beth Kanter's blog, the HandsOn Network's Jessica Kirkwood offers some lessons from her organization's latest social media experiment. And in another guest post, Anita Jackson and Ashley Boyd of MomsRising.org reflect on a blog carnival they organized in September to highlight new consumer protections being rolled out as part of healthcare reform.

Allison Fine, co-author of The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting With Social Media to Drive Change, explains on her blog why listservs are an "abomination" in "a social media world powered by social networks."

Women

Guest blogging on the Case Foundation blog, Debra Mesch of the Women's Philanthropy Institute shares findings from the Women Give 2010 report and explains why it's important for fundraisers to "engage women as donors."

That's it for now. What did we miss? Drop us a line at [email protected]. And have a great Thanksgiving!

-- Regina Mahone

Comments

[Anita]

Thanks so much for linking to our post at Beth's Blog!

-Anita and Ashley, MomsRising.org