In today’s world, no nonprofit organization would think twice about collecting, and hopefully analyzing, information about their donors. So too, with website traffic. For how else can one effectively judge site visitors’ demographics and interests?

Based on site and RSS feed analytics, here – in descending order – are the five most popular posts on eJewish Philanthropy last week:

Scrapping Synagogue Dues
by Dan Judson

A case study of one synagogue that radically altered their dues system and found more money, more members and more harmony.

Jewish Education for a Time of Wandering
by Daniel J. Libenson

I am a Jewish educator, not a philosopher or an academic, but this is an article about the philosophy of Jewish education. That is, this is an article about the Big Picture. My work with college students over the past decade has led me to believe that if we are not guided by a philosophy of Jewish education – a big picture idea of the aims of education and the best strategies to achieve those aims – much of our day-to-day work is wasted (at best) or counterproductive (at worst).

Three Thank You Templates and You’re OUT!
by Deborah Kaplan Polivy, Ph.D.

Because I coach so many fund raising professionals, a friend called the other day to ask my opinion of the way in which she was thanked by a nonprofit organization. Within a short time she had received three template letters and wondered if that was “normal”. She described the scenario as follows.

Seven Social-Media Pitfalls for Nonprofits
by Hannah Brazee Gregory

Nonprofits are flocking to social media as a way to communicate with stakeholders.
While that effort to engage donors and supports is laudable, it’s also fraught with challenges.

Was 2011 the Tipping Point for “Public Space Judaism”?
by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky

Ten years ago, the Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI) released a landmark survey of participants in engagement programs, which clarified many of the best practices that are still of paramount relevancy today to any Jewish communal professional interested in reaching less-engaged Jews and unaffiliated intermarried households. One of those findings now seems obvious, but was not at the time: that Jewish programs held in secular venues attract a less-affiliated crowd than the same programs held inside the four walls of Jewish institutions. We believe this past year was a tipping point for the key outreach method of taking Jewish life out to where people are rather than waiting for them to come to us.

Click the red tab above for previous weeks most popular posts.