Links to the articles I’ve reviewed and posted to Twitter between November 21 – November 27, 2011.  This week’s topics include:  Jewish Federations’ New GPT Directive  •  Jewish & Israel  •  Management & Strategy  •  Fundraising & Marketing  •  Social Media & Internet

You can stay up-to-date with these articles and more by following me on Twitter or subscribing to receive The Nonprofit Banker by email.

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey
@nonprofitbanker

JEWISH FEDERATIONS’ NEW GPT DIRECTIVE

Global Planning Table Recommended to JFNA’s Board - JFNA Briefing

Federations Drop Overseas Giving Formula – The Forward

Global Planning Table Ends Funding Split between Two Agencies – Jewish Ledger (nice history & background)

The Jewish Federations’ Big Gamble – Op-Ed by Dan Brown on eJewishPhilanthropy (great discussion in the comments)

JEWISH & ISRAEL

New Canadian Foundation aims 2 expedite donations to worthy nonprofits in Israel ow.ly/1B6hiS on eJPhil // expect serious scrutiny (as with all Canadian charitable ventures)

Congratulations to Prof Eliezer Jaffe, Israel “Dean of Philanthropy”, on receiving Knesset Speakers Prize ow.ly/7AlXA on eJPhil

MANAGEMENT & STRATEGY

Global recession impact: new study shows nonprofit orgs seek financial stability ow.ly/1B4McE on eJPhil

Donor Advised Funds: answer to our prayers or devil in disguise? Op-ed on NyTimes ow.ly/7G7s3 via IndSector

Calling All Boomers: Don’t Start More Nonprofits ow.ly/7Dp5e on Philanthropy via NAFund

Does your boss know that worker disengagement costs $300 billion a yr in lost productivity? ow.ly/1AKOpk

FUNDRAISING & MARKETING

Awesome & Inspiring >> Pndblog: (12 min VID) I am a Philanthropist: Diverse Voices in Giving ow.ly/7GqzM

PatrickSternal: The World’s 7 Most Powerful Philanthropists Forbes onforb.es/v7bV6R | The .000000001%

Principles that apply to so many things >> Johnhaydon: 3 Ways To Keep Cause Marketing Authentic zite.to/uHZTx9

SOCIAL MEDIA & INTERNET

Askdebra: Twitter donors worth the most on social media via Stevebridger | Scoopit bit.ly/v9vL79

VID – Are LinkedIn pgs actualy more robust than Facebook pgs 4 your nonprofit ? ow.ly/1AKRai via Johnhaydon

It’s more than just Likes & Shares >> Franswaa: Thoughtful engagement matters more than we think ow.ly/7yVQp

Links to the articles I’ve reviewed and posted to Twitter between October 10 – November 6, 2011.  This week’s topics include:  Regulations  •  Israel  •  Strategy  •  Impact & Innovation  •  Fundraising  •  Social Media & Internet  •  Entertainment

You can stay up-to-date with these articles and more by following me on Twitter or subscribing to receive The Nonprofit Banker by email.

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey
@nonprofitbanker

REGULATIONS

Especially relevant after this yr’s revocations RT @DonKramer: How 2 reinstate an inactive nonprofit ow.ly/1zf1Rz

Interesting take on taxes & their affect on how society interacts (by Kimberlytso) ow.ly/1zBaMs via HildyGottlieb & Alexandrapeters

ISRAEL

NonProfitBanker: Increasing Demands on Israeli Charities, but is it Fair? ow.ly/7if2j

STRATEGY

Very, very sound principles >> The New 10 Commandments of Strategy: Planning for our Uncertain World ow.ly/1yrnBR on eJPhil

A timely title >> God is in the Details: Planning & Implementing for Success, by Stephen Donshik ow.ly/1yrPPS on eJPhil

An oldy but especially relevant nowadays >> Charitylawyer: Collaboration Case Study – Failed Merger ow.ly/1z8o1s

Love the empirical evidence! RT KatyaN4G: 3 Leadership Skills That Count, by GreatbyChoice ow.ly/1z8mAY on HarvardBiz

Who would have thought: Leadership starts in the middle, not at the too ow.ly/1zeOEb on FastCompany

THE Question in Giving: Defining a Meaningful Gift (checkbook or S.O.B.) ow.ly/1zJqhM in Nytimes via eJPhil

IMPACT & INNOVATION

NAFund: Yes! >> SmartNonprofits & NonprofitBooks: 3 things musts to address to sustain impact ow.ly/6Z6Q2

Cool, a double whammy >> NAFund & SmartNonprofits: Foundations use investments to achieve their missions ow.ly/7cbQI

Nicely put >> NAFund: & Smartgivers: What’s really needed for nonprofit innovation? by mjwera ow.ly/1yHA9J

SOCIAL MEDIA & INTERNET

Makes a great case >> Nonprofitorgs: 4 Reasons Why Nonprofit Orgs Should Follow More on Twitter ow.ly/1yumoF

It’s almost like we need a monthly update >> HildyGottlieb: A New Guide to Facebook Safety & Privacy ow.ly/1zuB1D

Compelling argument for doing a profile on GuideStarUSA >> Nptechblogs: How Do U Measure Nonprofit Impact ow.ly/1zTZRj via Convio

FUNDRAISING

A cure for your fundraising crisis? Do you suffer from Scatterization? ow.ly/70AyN on HarvardBiz

Do you kill your #fundraising efforts by talking too much? By GailPerrync gailperry.com/2011/08/the-fu…

Don’t set yourself up for failure: 5 Lies to Stop Telling Donors, by Nedgington socialvelocity.net/2011/10/financ…

Incredibly Informative: How to find the right fundraising model for your nonprofit tow.ly/1zlADw on SSIReview

Chuck-full of gr8 tips >> GailPerrync: Killer fundraising strategy for 2012! My Best Practices 4 Monthly Giving Programs http://www.gailperry.com/2011/07/20-best-practices-for-monthly-giving-programs 

Put your money where your mouth is >> GailPerrync: This donor-centered appeal letter uses the word “you” 16 times. ow.ly/7iUXm

ENTERTAINMENT

Philanthropy CAN be funny: Clinton Fdn “celebrity” video celebrates 10 yrs ow.ly/78vt7 via IShopForIsrael

Readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of online polls (see previous post: “Why Online Contests Aren’t Worth the Click”).  These popularity contests for nonprofits tend to waste a lot of energy and time for both the organization and their donors (with, perhaps,  the exception being the winning nonprofit).

That being said, there is another type of contest, one whose winners are judged by panels (some even staffed by experts) and whose goal is to foster innovation and creativity.  These contests don’t send charities running to their donors to vote but rather to their conference tables to brain storm. While only a few actually win these contests, most, if not all, learned something in the process and have come out better from the experience.

So without further ado, take your laptop over to the couch, grab your favorite beer (mine is Pete’s Wicked Ale, but to each his own) and explore how nonprofit organizations challenged themselves to produce some real creative, innovative and, dare I say, fun material for the following contests.

Adobe-TechSoup Show Your Impact Design Contest 2010

Adobe and Techsoup, two big names in nonprofit technology, teamed up to ask nonprofits to “submit an exceptional piece of work created with Adobe products that demonstrates or showcases how your organization is generating innovative and creative ideas to address issues that impact the communities you serve with ideas and information to improve lives, communities, or the globe.”

Participants were asked to submit pieces and essay in one of three different categories: (1) Print/Photo (2) Web or (3) Other Media.

2010 Getting Attention Nonprofit Tagline Awards

Since 2008, Nancy Schwartz has been running the a contest of the “Best in Nonprofit Taglines” or what she affectionately has dubbed, The Taggies.

The contests goals are simple yet vital: “A strong tagline does double-duty — working to extend your organization’s name and mission, while delivering a focused, memorable and repeatable message to your base. It’s one of your most effective marketing tools, but a GettingAttention.org survey showed that 72% of nonprofit organizations don’t have a tagline or rate theirs as performing poorly.  I’m trying to change that with this annual award program and report, highlighting the best in nonprofit taglines.”

2010 DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards

450 Nonprofits from 4 countries submitted videos to be considered in the various categories. With videos having a much higher click-through rate, it’s no wonder why this kind of contest arose. The contest was run by Google, Case Foundation, 3C and others.

The 10 Most Innovative Viral Video Ads of 2010

Every year Mashable collects the most viral video ads on YouTube.  This last one isn’t really for the nonprofit sector — so sue me.  It’s worth the click as some of them are just darn funny (i.e. Old Spice Responses) or plain-out cool (i.e. Master of the Business-Card Throw).

For More of the Intellectual Type…

And for those still warming themselves up by huddling around the fire place, here are the Top 10 nonprofit-sector books published in 2010. Recommendations courtesy of Beth Kanter.

I hope you enjoy the above links and that while working hard you don’t forget to play hard, even if it’s just for a little.

Best wishes for a successful 2011.

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey

Welcome to the first of a new style of video posts, “Money Musings,” which will cover issues and challenges inspired by conversations with nonprofit professionals.

In this episode, I discuss 2 reasons why local nonprofit organizations should fundraise from their constituents first. While the video specifically describes a nonprofit operating in Israel, the principles are true for any charity in any country.

Alternatively, the video can be viewed directly in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFpP4wxjnOU

As always, comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey

Disclaimer: This blog houses my personal opinions and is for informational purposes only – not advice. As charity laws can be quite complex, please refer all questions to qualified and licensed professionals. Read the full disclaimer.