They had never met anyone like Irene before, coming from a community that does not get involved in politics. A community that would actively try to prevent her from succeeding in politics. Political fundraising is more personal than nonprofit fundraising. MORE

Politics & Motivation board members volunteering volunteers Lets talk a little more about getting donors (and board members) involved in your nonprofit. I think that it is important that we do not take a too narrow view of fund development. Every nonprofit has a lot of different needs that vary from simple volunteer tasks like sorting or answering phones all the way to creating an IT infrastructure, crafting a marketing campaign, or advocating on behalf of the organization. MORE

Phone2Action is a suite of advocacy tools that helps nonprofits and political campaigns connect supporters directly to decision makers. Looking for ways to unite and engage your supporters online for your cause? MORE

Even if you’re not into political fundraising many of the lessons and insights powerfully apply. accountability communications Don''t Miss these Posts email marketing issue fundraising online activism online advocacy online fundraising politics You Deserve a Raise MORE

Here’s a good rundown of how the political candidates are using online video and social media — ad targeting on Facebook, Pawlenty breakthrough video treatments, budget allocations, and more. ClickZ’ Politics & Advocacy is a good news feed if you want to follow political use — often at the cutting edge — of the digital realm. advocacy communications issue fundraising online activism online advocacy online fundraising online video politics MORE

NPR did a great piece on political direct mail. According to NPR, if you thought the political ads on TV were bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. Political junk mail is about to hit. MORE

But listening to NPR's All Things Considered on my ride home this evening, I remembered how much more challenging political mailing will make your fundraising this fall. Ask Fundraising Letters Video fundraising letters politics year endFall fundraising is hard enough. So I pulled to the side of the rode to record this reminder. How are you re-engineering your fall fundraising letters? What ways are you testing to make your nonprofit's fall fundraising stand out? MORE

Could SOPA chill free speech? On the surface, not much seems to be of relevance in the ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ ( SOPA, H.R. 3261 ) because nonprofits aren’t really in the business of selling digitized content, much less pirated content. MORE

Pew terms 26% of adult Americans “mobile political users.&# 12% of adults used their cell phones to keep up with news about the election or politics. Don't Miss these Posts Hot Research mobile advocacy politicsPew Internet Research published some good stuff during the holiday break. For example, a report on mobile use in connection with the 2010 US congressional elections. MORE

Much like the age-old saw about not discussing religion or politics at social gatherings, this is meant to avoid controversy, and, more to the point, not give any work associates reason to disagree with you (or terminate your job, etc.). The only possible area of controversy is the political. Then, yesterday, following news of the death of George McGovern, I wondered why I am not more overtly political on this blog. MORE

Here’s a good Independence Day read for our American Agitators in particular, but for all who want more insight into how online tools are re-shaping political participation amongst youth (15-25 year-olds) … Participatory Politics: New Media and Youth Political Action , funded by an arm of the MacArthur Foundation. And of this group, fully 90% either vote or engage in traditional institutional politics. candidate, campaign or political issues.” MORE

Whatever your political affiliation, don’t let divisive partisanship cause you to ignore what works for your organization. Click to enlarge. MORE

One of which is her look at education and its role on our economic and political structures, specifically, the American public’s access to quality information. There’s been plenty of debate on the true value in crowdsourcing. MORE

This seems about right. Have you heard about everything going wrong with the games in the UK this year? Olympics corporate are just not making any friends at all. Behold: They are making their symbol illegal for anyone else to use, You can only link to their site if you have nice things to say. MORE

This tool, aimed more at legislative advocacy, has backing from both sides of the political aisle. Tags: Don't Miss these Posts advocacy communications fundraising online activism online advocacy online fundraising online publishing online video politics If you’re in the biz of targeting online ads for member acquisition, fundraising or issue persuasion, here are two articles that illustrate the data-driven capabilities that exist. MORE

But they couldn’t move it enough to match the power held by Republicans inside the political system. We progressives have a bad habit of assuming that large numbers of people supporting our positions is the same as gaining political power. When we lose statehouses in places like Florida and Texas, the key levers of political power like the ability to gerrymander districts into Rorsach tests of political affiliation, are lost with it, often times for a generation. MORE

The political guys say they’re looking for audiences (folks sharing some key online behaviors), as opposed to targeting sites. For a broader update on campaign and issue advocates’ use of digital media, check this latest report from ClickZ Politics , where you’ll find that the Obama campaign is on pace to spend $35 million on web ads. advocacy communications Don't Miss these Posts issue fundraising online advocacy online fundraising politics MORE

have been inundated with political ads of all kinds. Agitator readers in the U.S. An estimated $4.4 billion in TV spending alone. Up from $3.8 billion in 2012. Enough is enough. Too much”, as Grandma Craver used to say, “will make a dog sick.” MORE

It’s election season. While you might get tired of the constant commercials, news clips, and solicitations, we have to give a nod to the candidates and their campaigns. Because perhaps more than anyone, politicians know their audience. And, just like our nonprofit branding clients, knowing your audience is the first step in creating the brand, […]. MORE

All marketing is political now- Umair Haque. Alexa Clay says, “Advertisers are becoming our moral compass” Umair Haque replies, “All marketing is political now, the best and worst most intensely so.” TO get Political or NOT get Political, THAT is the question. MORE

As Bernie Sanders’ Presidential campaign nears the $150 million mark in small gift (average $27) fundraising, and as record amounts pour into the rest of the Presidential primary campaigns, there’s no doubt that nonprofit CEOs and Boards will be wondering: How will all that political giving impact support for our organization this year? MORE

Politics & Motivation If you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s my birthday. Birthdays seem to be the only day of the year everyone is okay with someone tooting their own horn. So here it goes… A Small Change has sort of been a life’s work for me. MORE

Pew Research has just published findings on social nets and political activities. Here are some key findings: 36% of social networking site (SNS) users say the sites are “very important” or “somewhat important” to them in keeping up with political news. 26% of SNS users say the sites are “very important” or “somewhat important” to them in recruiting people to get involved in political issues that matter to them. pew internet project politics social networking MORE

For those who study how political campaigns use the online channel, and advocacy groups in particular should, here’s a recent update from ClickZ Politics … the latest in political use of Twitter, mobile, and the ‘plain old’ web. Your donors will be receiving a blizzard of political persuasion and fundraising messages in the next four months. advocacy communications issue fundraising online advocacy online fundraising politics MORE

ClickZ, an online marketing news service, offers a feed focused on online political and advocacy marketing. Agitator readers in the cause world might want to check it out. The latest edition includes an item on how Urban Ministries of Durham (in Durham, North Carolina) is using the mobile app Foursquare to draw attention to homelessness in the community. Check it out. MORE

Fundraisers: Stop the political vitriol! We need to participate in the politics of our communities and countries. Unless your cause is political, your politics can seriously hinder your fundraising. Ask politicsA few weeks ago I sent a version of this to my Fundraising Kick subscribers. But I’m seeing someting that will seriously impair your fundraising so I wanted to share it with you too. If we live in a democracy, we need to be active. MORE

It’s time that even the smallest of nonprofit organizations steps up to the plate and gets political. The post Why Your Nonprofit Needs to Get Political – Now appeared first on JCSM. Nonprofits Budget proposal IRS lobbying politics soapbox Trump MORE

Recent news of the fundraising results of Senator Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign — $33 million in the last three months from a base of 2.2 million donors who give an average of $27 — got me thinking about the various problems and opportunities faced by vastly different types of organizations. MORE

I chose to interview Joe because I was interested in his political fundraising background. Joe, what is your fundraising background, and why political fundraising? I met my future wife there, I had the time of my life and got a HUGE range of connections in politics. Joe Garecht. MORE

One of which is her look at education and its role on our economic and political structures, specifically, the American public’s access to quality information. There’s been plenty of debate on the true value in crowdsourcing. MORE

Many political organizations wishing to acquire or retain their 501(c)(4) charitable status also collect donations without reporting from whom or where the donations came and how much those donations were. Watchdogs claim that the right these political organizations have to raise tax free dollars without having to provide any true charitable service is not just unfair, but leading to a lack of real welfare programs in a wake of many dollars being raised tax free. MORE

Political campaigns, especially in presidential years, are great testing grounds for new communications and fundraising techniques that eventually transfer over to the nonprofit world. Howard Dean revolutionized small-dollar online giving and Barack Obama was the first to integrate mobile/texting both for campaign advocacy and fundraising. I wonder what we’ll learn about in the coming year? Well, nevermind all that for now. MORE

People said she should keep her personal and political views out of her newsletter. To that I say, “You’re only saying that because you don’t agree with my politics and personal views. Look what I found. MORE

As this report from ClickZ Marketing news indicates, political video ads have surged in this election season, to the point where inventory is scarce — and significantly bid up in price — in hotly contested markets. Tags: Don't Miss these Posts advocacy communications fundraising issue fundraising nonprofits online activism online advocacy online fundraising online publishing online video politics social networking MORE

I recently posted some fascinating information on ethnicity and online behavior; now there’s a study on various donors by religion, political persuasion, ethnicity and age and it, too, may reveal some surprising things. The study also looked at the influence of political persuasion, ethnicitiy and age. Most popular among people in the 45 – 69 age group and political moderates and liberals. Making sweeping assumptions about donors and activists is dangerous. MORE

Pew Research has just published findings on social nets and political activities. Here are some key findings: 36% of social networking site (SNS) users say the sites are “very important” or “somewhat important” to them in keeping up with political news. 26% of SNS users say the sites are “very important” or “somewhat important” to them in recruiting people to get involved in political issues that matter to them. pew internet project politics social networking MORE

We are supposed to be involved in politics because we are called to be engaged citizens. If the personal, the political, and the nonprofit mix, your organization can be challenged in court ? So get engaged politically! MORE

Lately I’ve been researching how to do political fundraising for a friend of mine. Since in politics what you communicate doesn’t matter as much as how you communicate it, you’ve got to start fundraising early and never stop, even after you get elected. MORE

I don’t have any data on this whatsoever but something tells me that a good number of fundraisers might lean left when it comes to politics. Could you be alienating them by assuming that their politics align with yours? MORE

The Chronicle of Philanthropy just headlined a story, Political Gifts Don’t Hamper Philanthropy , based upon Blackbaud data indicating that charitable donations don’t really diminish in an election year, despite the intensity of political solicitations. First was the relatively puny scale of US political giving — about $6.3 MORE

political in the last year. Why I am more political has to do with Occupy. Revolutions are fueled by an inept and distant ruling class that perpetuates political paralysis. that my blog posts have gotten a little more. Why is this, do you think? MORE

It pains me to do this already in July 2011, but here’s a rundown on what the emergent 2012 political campaigns are doing with respect to online fundraising. This report from Clickz.com provides several articles for you political groupies, covering Obama, Romney, Palin, Bachmann, Pawlenty, Huntsman … and even Ann Coulter. As always, my interest in this political propaganda is chiefly from the perspective of … Anything here for us legitimate, principled fundraisers? MORE

In brief, Jim Rutenberg, political correspondent for NYT, brings us up to date with what the data whiz kids — the folks who probably won re-election for Barack Obama — are up to now that the $1 billion election is over. MORE