... The difference between being charitable and being a philanthropist is having a strategy. What do you want to accomplish? What values or priorities do you want your philanthropy to affirm [even if only to you]? Do you have a plan to help you decide which solicitations get thrown away or which phone calls get ignored or which friends - ouch - you say “no” to? If not, your generosity may be wonderful and admirable, but your charitability won’t make you a philanthropist. [Not that there is anything wrong with that]. There is, to my mind, no one single answer to what that strategy should be or even if it meets someone else’s objective criteria for what makes good philanthropy - but in general one can feel more gratified in one’ s giving if one has a good understanding of why and how one … Continue Reading
March to Metrics: The Downside
from The Nonprofit Quarterly: What Do Donors Want? There is little question that data, metrics, and measurement have become embedded into the philanthropic process in recent years - practices were initially met with deep skepticism by some but eventually gained considerable traction among a majority of nonprofits and philanthropic institutions. Today, in fact, few would argue against the need for more evidence-based measures of progress, outcomes, and impact. Foundations, in particular, have been focused on helping nonprofits beef up their data collection and evaluative capacities, due to a growing demand from their boards for evidence that their investments were having an impact. Also a factor is increased public and government scrutiny, and competition from private companies moving into … Continue Reading
We Need Stories to Understand Ourselves
from Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog: Without our stories, we are lost - and we are forgotten It’s not a newsflash that we are forgotten without stories. As I’ve said many times, a good story is the one thing that sticks with an audience. It is guaranteed to be remembered and to motivate supporters. That’s not as true with any other form of information. Unfortunately, we continue to struggle mightly in our sector to tell good stories. Most nonprofits don’t have a single story on their home page. Appeals tend to feature a litany of statistics rather than a human story that grips a supporter’s attention. Why? … Continue Reading
Engage Proactively Online
Bassie Shemtov, the co-founder and director of The Friendship Circle, based in West Bloomfield, Michigan, writes in Mashable: How Non-Profits Can Rally Support for Online Contests Cause marketing is quickly becoming a popular option for corporations looking to give back to the community and spark awareness around social issues. From the Chase Community Giving challenge to the Pepsi Refresh Project to the Giving Made Simple contest by Sam’s Club, non-profits are sitting on a mound of opportunity. When it comes to online cause contests, what does it take for your non-profit to win? The answer, in brief, is passionate supporters and an organization that understands social media and recognizes its power to guide supporters to the polls. But how do you gather all your supporters on the … Continue Reading
What Social Good Does Well
from Mashable: How Social Good Has Revolutionized Philanthropy The term “Social Good” has been bandied about, but pinning down exactly what it means in concrete terms can sometimes be tricky. Is social good the same as “the common good”? Is it the same as normal fundraising? Is it just online giving, or is it particular to social networks and web trends? Social good is equal parts online fundraising and advocacy via social networks. While the Internet has been used before by non-profits and charities to raise money, social good implies more than just money changing hands. Social good campaigns often combine the ability of the Internet to find, introduce and bond communities around a common interest. That interest, in this case, is usually a problem worth fixing. ... Ultimately, … Continue Reading
Our Jewish Communal Language (part 2)
from PunkTorah.org: The (Expanded) Secret Language of Jewish Communal Professionals Young Jewish Professional: anyone who has a worthy job in the Jewish community, ages 21-35. You’re out of college (or about to be) and you work a job that requires you to wear a suit and tie. Your Blackberry (or iPhone if you’re in an “edgy” career like advertising or marketing) is filled with last names that end with -stein, -burg, -man or -feld, all of whom are ready to give you a great deal on whatever it is that you want. You volunteer for at least two Jewish non-profits, which includes at least one Young Jewish Professionals Group such as Birthright Israel Next or something at the JCC or a synagogue. “The Young Jewish Professionals group of Congregations Beth Israel will be meeting at TGI … Continue Reading
Attracting the Best and Brightest
from The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Purpose Is a Terrible Thing to Waste ... Nonprofit organizations need to find ways to close the compensation gap to tap into the passion and purpose of potential employees. One option is to borrow from academe, government, and private think tanks by creating sponsored fellowships and tie those fellowships to innovation. Charities could raise money to fund an individual or group of individuals to brainstorm new approaches to addressing the organization's cause. Give the fellows the resources and access to all the information they need to think and act creatively, dissect the problem, and develop a new set of solutions. The Innovation Void Most nonprofit organizations have not institutionally embraced innovation; they lack a dedicated group whose sole … Continue Reading
Our Jewish Communal Language
from PunkTorah.org: The Secret Language of Jewish Communal Professionals Like any profession, those of us who are Jewish-For-A-Living have a secret language that we use with each other. To the outsider, this language is strange and unfamiliar. And since I believe in openness, here is my own personal WikiLeaks glossary of Jewish non-profit speak. ... Communications Management: the process of any large Jewish organization saying something. It usually takes several weeks and involves multiple meetings. The steps are as follows: 1) something happens (see Floatilla). 2) Jewish organization sits around for a while and talks about it. Possibly some team building taking place. 3) Multiple meetings of higher-ups who relay the message to the people lower-on-the-totem-pole. 4) PR person writes an … Continue Reading
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