Yes, we know this is on a Shabbat; we still want to bring it to the attention of our greater New York area readers. Join the ePhilanthropy Foundation as they present a content-packed full day conference at Columbia University on Saturday, June 14th. Registration is filling up. The Conference will feature best techniques for online fundraising and what does and doesn't work for social networking online. General and advanced sessions will be held. For more information and to register, click here. If you still need to get you feet wet in social marketing, here's a suggested starting place: 11 Steps to Success with Social Networking.

The current economic situation nationwide, combined with higher costs and tighter regulations relating to postal fundraising, will make online marketing even more important in upcoming years. Vinay Bhagat, chief strategy officer for online fundraising firm Convio, maintains that nonprofits will need to invest in effective online marketing programs. He offers 10 best practices for getting started online:

• Ensure your Web site makes the right first impression. Prospective donors are very likely to visit your site before making a gift in any channel.
• Collect email addresses of current donors. Communicating online with donors enhances their value. Few organizations have emails for more than 30 percent of their active donors.
• Optimize your Web site to convert visitors to email subscribers. Target a 3 percent conversion ...
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  Tags: online fundraising, social networking, web 2.0

A round-up from the world of philanthropy: Book Review: Using Technology to Mobilize Young People The question isn’t whether or not nonprofits should use new media and technologies to engage new members — but how. Ben Rigby’s new book, “Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth,” provides organizations and campaigns with a how-to on finding and targeting young supporters, volunteers, members and donors. Charities feel Wall Street pain The LA Times weighs in: New York charities, long dependent on steady donations from New Yorkers who earn big salaries on Wall Street, are starting to feel the strain of the uncertain economic times. It's ...

MRM Worldwide's digital strategist outlines three key considerations for keeping up with the new online consumer. by By Dr. Augustine Fou Web 2.0 has been described as "lots of video," "cool user interfaces that use javascript," "social networking," "word of mouth." Google, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc. have been used as examples, as have countless other companies and terms, correctly or incorrectly. But what really is the essence of this new wave of websites rising from the ashes of the first web implosion? And what are the implications for advertising and marketing? Web 2.0 versus Web 1.0 Web 1.0 was about the tools which made getting information online easier -- HTML, website creation software, standards, internet connections, etc. This led to an explosion of ...

The American Red Cross spent $10. million to develop their web site; $2. million annually sustains it. While I do not know any organization in our communal world with an expenditure so large, I do suspect more than one are in the same ballpark as a percentage of their operating budgets. So, the question is, you've put all this time, effort and money into the site. Beta-tested new ideas; possibly even held focus groups. And you're still left with the nagging question,

will they come?

You can easily fall into a bottomless pit spending money to market your website. But, there are also many (and important) ways you should be building your brand for free.

...

A snapshot in history with rarely seen footage. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6gNYbKxu8k&NR=1[/youtube]

Provisional Government of Israel Official Gazette: Number 1; Tel Aviv, 5 Iyar 5708, 14.5.1948 Page 1

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel:

WE APPEAL to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel. PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE "ROCK OF ISRAEL", WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THIS SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL ...

Regular visitors to eJewish Philanthropy know we believe strongly in the use of social media / social networking within our non-profit world. There are many variations for an organization to choose from; no "one size fits all" approach. Hopefully, we are encouraging you to consider the various possibilities available and pointing you in some useful directions.

Perhaps just writing a blog on your organization's web site and monitoring comments is what will best for your non-profit. Certainly the "big" tool (and I can't stress this enough) is the use of video. The important thing, though, we hope you will keep in mind,

any ...

Facebook messaged the 4,600 fans of the FacebookPages Page with helpful hints on how to make your presence on Facebook go viral (by messaging all of your fans, for example). Check out some key strategies from the most successful businesses on Pages, including:

• Regularly adding engaging and useful content
• Letting fans participate in the conversation

To read about some winning strategies—along with the nuts of bolts of how to create and manage a Page—here's a link: Insider's Guide to Viral ...

Celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary with a new dance from Moses. Brought to you by Birthright Israel.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH3crBQyyhY[/youtube]

Chag Pesach Sameach

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem

A selection of recent articles and postings around the nonprofit world you may find of interest; first in our Jewish world followed by some links to recent non-profit blog posts. Study: Consultants May Hold the Key to Future of Synagogues A new study examining efforts at long-range planning in synagogues found that -- under the right conditions -- outside consultants, if armed with an understanding of both the business and the nonprofit worlds, can help congregations formulate strategic blueprints for the future. But the encouraging findings contained in "Strategic Planning in Congregations: Capitalizing on Opportunities for Organizational Change" came with a few caveats. Annual Survey of State Laws Regulating Charitable Solicitations Did you know that over 40 states ...