Raise More Funds and Increase Impact

 
 
Philanthropy Today
April 9, 2010

Raise More Funds and Increase Impact

  • 10 Social Media Metrics for Nonprofits and How to Track Them

    A nonprofit's success is directly related to how it keeps its community and donors engaged. Social media has quickly become a very valuable and inexpensive tool for user engagement and awareness. However, since the technology aspects of social media are relatively new, a lot of nonprofits do not know how to leverage social media and how to measure the results.

    10 Social Media Metrics for Nonprofits provides an ROI (Return on Investment) spreadsheet which helps a nonprofit understand what to look for and what to track when it comes to social media. Each metric is explained, so you will understand why, for example, website "hits" is not the right metric but "unique visitors" is, or why you should blog even if you think the world does not need another blogger.
  • Five Online Fundraising Tips to Raise More Money

    Your online newsletters and website content are important in raising money. What you say, how you say it, and when you say it can make a difference in how many of your visitors and recipients read your content, and how many of them donate.

    In Five Online Fundraising Tips you can find useful guidelines about how to tell a story, and how to pick a subject line for your email or newsletter. The article also emphasizes making timely communications and following up with donors.
  • New Model for Maximizing Impact 

    Impact is what sets philanthropy apart from pure charity.  More and more donors and nonprofit organizations are looking for evidence of depth and breadth of their impact.  Systematic research plays a key role in identifying the main areas of impact, and fortunately such research is becoming more and more available to nonprofits and donors.

    Root Cause has started a series of research efforts and the first one, on school readiness, is just out.  The report uses statistical data and follows the same methodology used in the for-profit, financial sector.

    New Model for Maximizing Impact is a great summary of the report and its methodology.  It explains why this research and other research efforts like this matter since they can change the current tradition in which "it's those with the longest history or the most recognizable brand names that raise the most money, not necessarily the ones creating the most impact per dollar."