Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

NOVEMBER 13, 2019

You know you need great photography. But for whatever reason, you don’t have it in-house. Maybe you don’t have the skills or access to a professional. Or maybe you can’t photograph the real people you work with for whatever reason (privacy and safety being the main ones in the nonprofit world). So, you turn to stock photography. and find nothing that looks authentic. Or maybe it looks OK, but represents a very slim segment of the people you are communicating to and about.

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Getting Attention

MAY 22, 2019

G uest post by Sam Horn. Are you preparing an important communication? Whether it’s a report to your boss or board, [annual report, or donor thank-you campaign], its success depends a lot on whether people can remember what you said. Because if they can’t, all the hours (weeks?) you spent collecting your research, organizing your thoughts, and preparing your copy, video, or design just went down the drain.

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EveryAction

JUNE 6, 2019

Predictive Analytics Fundraising Product Fuels EveryAction’s Rise in Nonprofit Market. Washington, D.C., June 6, 2019 – EveryAction, a leading software provider for nonprofit fundraisers, announced today that it has acquired DonorTrends. The acquisition empowers EveryAction’s clients to raise more money and furthers EveryAction’s strategy of bringing innovation in revenue generation to its SaaS products. “We

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J Campbell Social Marketing

DECEMBER 17, 2019

Nonprofit email marketing continues to be a driving force of donations, advocacy, and participation actions for many nonprofits small and large. . This is despite the fact that most of us dread opening our inboxes in the morning and feel like we are drowning in email ! .

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iMarketSmart

JULY 21, 2019

Let me know what you think about my top 10 reasons why some fundraisers might be uncomfortable making the ask : 10. They are in the wrong job and should be doing something else; 9. They are poorly trained (or not trained at all) and, therefore, don’t know how and when to do it; 8. They don’t truly believe in their employer’s mission ; 7.

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Public Sector Marketing 2.0

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

The Government of Canada has a generally well-written Values and Ethics Code , which public servants must abide by. With every passing year, a particular element of this Code has become increasingly challenging to explain with absolute clarity and even more challenging to enforce, save for the most obvious cases.

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CrowdRise

APRIL 17, 2019

Have a charity event coming up? Whether you’ve started selling tickets, are just beginning to think about your theme, or your event is next week, it’s a good idea to get a good grasp on how you will promote your event. Social Social Fundraising

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Fundraising Coach

MAY 21, 2019

During my time as a leadership and fundraising coach, I've helped thousands of nonprofit leaders clarify their fundraising stories. Nearly all make the same mistake: they forget the audience - the donors. Take hospitals for instance. Have you ever asked hospital leaders and fundraisers what the most important story they should be telling to donors? If you do, you'll get lots of talk about quality measures and safety awards. You'll hear the pride in their voice. And the passion.

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Ann Green

MARCH 12, 2019

A newsletter can be a great way to engage with your donors, but the key word here is can. How often does that actually happen? Unfortunately, not very much because most donor newsletters can be used as a cure for insomnia. They’re too long and filled with boring articles that brag about how wonderful the organization is. It’s possible to create an engaging newsletter your donors will want to read. Here are a few ways to create a better nonprofit newsletter. Think about what your donors want.

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NonProfit Hub

DECEMBER 27, 2019

With an increasing number of nonprofits entering the scene, there’s a lot of competition for the limited amount of attention and resources out there. In this environment, you need to stay at the top of your game to make the most out of all the available opportunities. .

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Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

JUNE 26, 2019

I don’t know about you, but sitting at my desk all day is really hard right now. Like near impossible. Here are a few ways to stay motivated during the sweet summertime months when all of that work still needs to get done. Give more time to strategic thinking and professional development. Go sit outside with a pen and a notebook and think big thoughts under a shady tree. Or read a non-fiction book with your feet in the grass. Go in earlier, and LEAVE EARLIER.

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Getting Attention

JULY 17, 2019

Learn how to ask, train, and support your team in this free webinar on July 23. Register now. We all have an incredible resource right in front of us — our colleagues, board, donors, volunteers, and members. Just as you discuss your work and affiliations with your friends, family, and colleagues, these messengers share information on your organization’s focus and programs.

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EveryAction

MAY 8, 2019

Innovative Talent and Digital Product Add to EveryAction’s Rapid Growth. Washington, D.C., May 8, 2019 – EveryAction, a leading provider of software serving over 15,000 nonprofits, announced today that it has acquired We Also Walk Dogs Inc., more commonly known by their product’s name, ActionKit. The acquisition follows EveryAction’s strategy of collecting the best people who create the best SaaS products, that provide the most value to nonprofits.

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J Campbell Social Marketing

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

It’s year-end giving season, and GivingTuesday is fast approaching. . Nonprofits of all sizes are in a frenzy about the Facebook $7M match ( more on that here ) and whether or not they should use Facebook charitable giving tools. .

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iMarketSmart

MAY 2, 2019

I think fundraisers should recognize that donors are playing a lifelong game of musical chairs. The people you consider to be YOUR donors are circling around many other charities and, from time to time, they ‘sit’ with one that engages them properly and makes them feel good. Then, when the music starts playing again, they go around and around until they find another charity and take a seat there for a while.

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Public Sector Marketing 2.0

SEPTEMBER 5, 2019

Quite a bit of my consulting work lately has focused on helping clients counter false information spreading online. This sort of engagement can very quickly lead to rough and murky waters, especially if an organization does not arm itself with proper ongoing situational awareness tools in order to differentiate between the bad actors who are steering the narrative and the people unknowingly posting false information.

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Fundraising Report Card

JANUARY 29, 2019

You tell me, is that what’s really holding back nonprofits from growth — their lack of machines to make decisions in place of their staff? The post Artificial Intelligence Is the Newest Shiny Object — Don’t Fall Prey appeared first on Fundraising Report Card. Culture

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Mission Minded

JUNE 7, 2019

We counsel our clients to repeat, repeat, repeat: Get a good message and stick with it—in print, digital, and spoken. The post When it comes to your message, how much is enough? appeared first on Mission Minded. Blog Nonprofit Communications Nonprofit Messaging Storytelling

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Fundraising Coach

DECEMBER 13, 2019

One of the joys of being a speaker and executive coach is that people send me their books. I have such a long reading list, that I usually take a l-o-n-g time reading the ones that are sent to me. I'm glad I didn't wait to read Jim Eskin's. (It It definitely helped that he sent me the physical book.

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CrowdRise

APRIL 24, 2019

Crowdfunding is an incredible way to raise money for your cause and to get your network of supporters involved in your mission. That’s why we recently teamed up with Nonprofit Tech for Good to host a webinar all about the basics of crowdfunding

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Ann Green

DECEMBER 10, 2019

In my last few posts, I’ve emphasized the importance of keeping in touch with your donors throughout the year. Some nonprofit organizations are good at communicating with their donors, but many are not. Often the only times you hear from these organizations is when they’re asking for donations.

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Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

MARCH 26, 2019

I’ve been doing a ton of research and thinking about social media strategies for nonprofits, especially those of you without dedicated social media staff, ahead of the two new webinars I am teaching in April: Social Media Strategies for Nonprofits that Won’t Waste Your Time. What is most likely to work regardless of the platform or future algorithm changes? The framework above is what I am recommending and what I’ll be teaching in the webinars.

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Getting Attention

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

That’s the subject line of this morning’s email from our local Jewish Community Center (JCC), asking for my input on its member survey. My immediate response was to delete it because it’s all about the JCC’s needs and not about what us members need. At least that’s what the subject line conveys! Has your organization ever alienated its audiences doing something like this, something totally narcissistic ?

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EveryAction

MAY 15, 2019

Every year, nonprofit consultants M+R release their annual Benchmarks report , which provides an overview of digital trends in the sector. This year's report addressed issues such as email list growth and churn, the rise of monthly giving, and the impact of social media's peer-to-peer fundraising for nonprofits. If you haven't yet had time to dig into the full report, here are some of the top highlights that we think are important for nonprofits to know: 1. Online revenue growth has plateaued.

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J Campbell Social Marketing

OCTOBER 2, 2019

Are you not using Facebook Fundraisers because you don’t know how to thank Facebook donors that come to you from the platform? Consider this: Mark Zuckerberg announced that more than $2 billion has been raised on Facebook for causes , with more than 45 million people making a donation on the platform. . Let’s think about this for a moment. .

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iMarketSmart

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

I think too many in the nonprofit sector fear failure. Unfortunately, that paralyzes people. It prevents them from making decisions and thwarts innovation. In most cases it isn’t the fundraisers fault. They want to take risks. But, unfortunately the leaders, the board or the media make fundraisers feel like they can’t. They always seem to be lurking, waiting for failure so they can jump in shouting, “How dare you waste money!” and that thwarts risk-taking which leads to innovation.

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Public Sector Marketing 2.0

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Over the past year, I’ve had a significant increase in the number of client requests for custom consulting and/or training help relating to combating the spread of disinformation. I thought I’d share some recent slides (edited to remove any client sensitive information of course), where I provide some useful tools for any newbies to the field of OSINT / SOCMINT. But first, what the heck am I talking about? Disinformation is false information spread deliberately to deceive.

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NonProfit Hub

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

The elders in my family set high standards for what “hard work” felt and looked like. They subscribed to the adage that people of color (especially women of color) had to work “twice as hard” in business to prove themselves. I deeply respect my family’s wisdom.

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Mission Minded

DECEMBER 12, 2019

Social and digital media have become vital components of most modern marketing strategies. They are cost-effective, easy to manage, and. The post The Ever-Changing Digital World: How to Feel Less “Arghh” and More “Ahh” appeared first on Mission Minded.

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Fundraising Coach

DECEMBER 9, 2019

Over the past few years, charitable giving has evolved with online donations rising as its new star. If you’re not including a digital giving option by now, your organization is almost certainly missing out.

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CrowdRise

MARCH 27, 2019

We’re heading to San Antonio. And not just for the tex-mex or a leisurely stroll along the River Walk. We’re coming to hit up the AFP ICON conference in a big way. We’re talking tee shirt giveaways, a candlelit dinner, and maybe even a selfie station

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Ann Green

AUGUST 15, 2019

Can you believe we’re already halfway through August? Like it or not, September will be here before you know it. Fall is a busy time for nonprofits, especially if you’re doing a year-end appeal. You don’t need to mourn the end of summer yet, but you should start planning for your year-end appeal. Many nonprofits rely on their year-end appeal for a good portion of their revenue so you want it to be successful. Use this checklist to help you get started.

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Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog

OCTOBER 2, 2019

With the advent of social media, it seems like you constantly hear cries of “Email is dead!” ” That isn’t exactly true based on a recent survey of small to medium business by SharpSpring and Ascend2. In that survey, most participants said email was the best way to get their communications out with 77% saying email was the most effective channel to drive marketing content to prospects. Social media and blogging were the next two important channels.)

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Getting Attention

JANUARY 16, 2019

This updated marketing plan template takes you from big-picture goals to the right methods, activities, required skills, and budget, and impact! Preview the plan template here. Eeesh! Those New Year’s resolutions—including the ones we set for marketing and fundraising work—are so hard to keep.

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EveryAction

MARCH 5, 2019

As a general rule, retaining existing donors costs less than acquiring new ones. Current donors are a curated universe who have already demonstrated a belief in your organization’s mission, and willingness to take action toward it. As such, for most nonprofit organizations, pursuing strategies to reducing donor losses is the most affordable strategy for increasing net fundraising gains. Unfortunately, across the nonprofit sector, donor retention rates are low and getting worse.

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J Campbell Social Marketing

MAY 1, 2019

It’s like Christmas – the Instagram Donation Sticker is finally here! Yes, it may seem like a shiny new object to chase around. But I have 3 reasons why fundraisers should at least pay attention: 1) People of all ages love Instagram, especially younger generations. Seen as a respite from the trolls of Twitter and the political fights of Facebook, Instagram has remained a relaxed, beautiful, carefully curated oasis.

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iMarketSmart

AUGUST 5, 2019

This is a first! I’ve never had anyone write a guest post for my blog. But when I saw what Daphne Powell was doing to grow relationships with her donors, I reached out to her to see if she might consider telling you her story. So, here goes… Introducing Daphne Powell and her magical use of photo books for donor stewardship. Hoooooorayyyyy Daphne! Connecting with donors through photo books. By Daphne Powell.

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