Happy Surprises
Marquette University is a Jesuit Catholic university located in urban Milwaukee. It was founded in 1881 as a liberal arts school for men to support the immigrant populations of the Milwaukee community. Now open to both women and men, the...
Grappling With Writer’s ... Um ...
Whether professional writers generating grant applications, direct-mail copy and annual reports or just authors of everyday memos, all of us have been plagued by writer’s block. Writer’s block is something that I consistently battle. As a copywriter, the author...
Avoid Web Site Stagnation
If you worked in corporate America before you decided to help make the world a better place, you probably experienced the Internet revolution of the ’90s first-hand. If so, you probably chuckle today over the sweat you and your colleagues...
Free — for Real
Through a program called Free is Free, e-mail security software is free for the taking for nonprofit organizations small and large that provide things such as food, medicine, shelter, emergency services and education to children in need. The program...
Mom Knows Best
OK, OK, I’ll admit it … my mother was right — but, please, don’t tell her!! Turns out that some of the lessons she taught me can apply to the ethical collection and use of personally identifiable data, and other...
They’re Doing What?
Results from end-of-year giving campaigns are still coming in, but one fundraising trend was clear in 2006: nonprofits’ growing expertise in integrating campaigns across multiple communications channels. The increasing costs of acquiring new donors through traditional methods, the continuing...
Easy as Pie
Spam filters are a definite improvement in the world of cyber communications. But, face it, it’s annoying and potentially costly to have legitimate e-communications trapped in overzealous filters. There’s a solution: RSS, or Really Simple Syndication. And, yes, it...
All in the Family
[Editor’s Note: This is the first in a quarterly series of stories that we’re calling “The Leadership Series,” where leaders in the fundraising sector speak to big-picture issues that fundraisers need to think about over and above the day-to-day...
Blog Heaven
Should we launch a blog?” That’s what forward-thinking nonprofits everywhere are asking. There’s a short answer to that question. (Hint: It’s yes.) But there are some complicating factors you need to think through. ...
Resuscitating Your Campaign
Healthcare institutions certainly have come under fire in the past few years. As new reports emerge about failing emergency rooms, overworked staff at understaffed hospitals, insurance issues, and skyrocketing medical expenses, the challenge to raise funds for nonprofit healthcare...
Is This You? Are You Sure?
Let’s make 2007 a year of fearless self-examination, shall we? I’m not talking about checking out your ’do every time you pass a mirror or even about those all-important preventative health self-exams that we’re all supposed to be doing. What...
Thinking Big(ger)
UNICEF is like no other organization in the world. Founded in 1946 to help children in post-war Europe, China and the Middle East, the organization now has 37 national committees and gives aid to disadvantaged children in 156 countries and...
