‘Tis the season for freshly-sharpened pencils and year-end appeal strategies, so we invite you to submit your best and brightest blog posts on this month’s theme:

Back to school in nonprofit communications

If you’re a blogger, here’s how it works:

1. Write a blog post that relates to this month’s theme, or sift through your recent posts for one that fits the bill.
2. Submit your permalink to the Nonprofit Blog Carnival, or just email it to nonprofitcarnival [at] gmail [dot] com) by Tuesday, September 28.
3. Visit the Duck Call on Thursday, September 30, and eagerly hit “refresh” until the carnival goes live to find out if we’ve included your post.

If you’re a reader, here’s how it works:

1. Visit the Duck Call on Thursday, September 30, and eagerly hit “refresh” until the carnival goes live. Read lots of helpful articles that will make you feel that first-day-of-school excitement all over again.

The nonprofit carnival is a great opportunity to drive traffic back to your own blog, so we hope you’ll submit a post and tell all your friends to do the same. We’re most likely to include posts that are recent, easy to read, and (at least loosely) related to theme.

Check out August’s carnival to see the excitement in action—the topic is “creative ideas you can make your own,” and it’s hosted by Kivi Leroux Miller on Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog.

See you at the carnival…

* If you’re asking yourself, “what the heck is a blog carnival?”, this is the link for you.

A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethricca for more noteworthy links.

Pallotta gives good keynote, and now I’m wishing I’d added his book to my summer reading list. I’ll order it today. His talk emphasized the challenges of working in a sector that plays by different rules than for-profit companies do. In particular, he waxed poetic about the disadvantages of paying nonprofit leaders less than their for-profit counterparts, our obsessive focus on keeping overhead costs low, and the lack of risk-taking. While his ideas might seem controversial to some, it was clearly music to the ears of the fundraisers in this crowd.

I often think that the nonprofit sector’s resistance to branding, or perhaps investing in effective communications in general, is penny-wise and pound foolish. After all, branding is the way you build an effective platform for communicating about your mission.  It’s the foundation of the house- a critical starting point. Why start campaigning, eg, raising money for a new roof, when the fundamental structure is flawed?

Kim Klein’s new book, “Reliable Fundraising in Unreliable Times” raises of few of the same points Pallotta discussed. In particular, Klein worries that an organization that won’t invest in comfortable office space, appropriately paid staff, or other fundamental tools necessary to run a business essentially hamstring themselves.

While I wish Pallotta had spent a bit more time talking about solutions and less time preaching to the converted, I’m with him. And if you work in a nonprofit where you’re trying to convince leadership that investing in your own capacity is a good idea (regardless of how it impacts the percentage of your costs that go to overhead versus programs), I suggest you check these two books out.

A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethricca for more noteworthy links.

Rather than get tangled up in nitty-gritty tactics, the discussion stayed on big-picture themes for successful social media organizing – important stuff that’s easy to forget in the day-to-day reality of managing your social media presence.

Highlights included learning what Kermit the Frog can teach us about social media (answer: a lot) from Deanna’s Ignite presentation on the subject. Watch the video here, or take a look at my other key takeaways below.

A few more key takeaways:

• Don’t forget to tell stories – personal stories. Sharing and storytelling are fundamental to movement-building, because they build trust and empathy.
• Individual updates matter less than the overall picture they create. Sometimes sharing small bits of seemingly inconsequential information is important for movement-building too. The picture they create over time, and the ambient awareness of your cause that they generate, helps build empathy and stronger relationships in your community.
• Change doesn’t happen on its own – you have to participate if you want to see social media succeed at movement-building. While nonprofits should always think carefully and strategically before getting involved in social media, it’s still true that the potential of social media to bring about change will go untapped unless people who care join in.
• The internet is not an ATM. A great reminder – social media is best for cultivating and engaging your audiences, not necessarily raising money directly.
• Don’t let your interns manage your social media… but do let them help educate you. If your interns manage your social media, what happens when they leave? All of their knowledge leaves with them, and you’re left in a tricky situation. A better way to get interns involved in social media might be to use them as peer educators, to coach staff through using social media on their own.
• Demonstrate to management why social media is relevant by showing them what peers and competitors are doing. If your management team is resisting getting into social media personally, show them what their peers, friends, or rivals are doing already.

Great stuff, I think you’ll agree. If you were there and have insights I missed, share them in the comments!

Oh, and keep September 15^th free for the next 501 Tech NYC, where our very own Sarah Durham and Big Duck client Ayelet Margolin of Masa Israel Journey will be talking about Brandraising. More details here: http://501technycsept10.eventbrite.com/

Nominate a Do Gooder

The Do Gooders are a chance to show a little love for fellow Brooklynites and celebrate the altruism, philanthropy and commitment of five individuals who are working toward a stronger Brooklyn. The categories include: Arts for All, Caring Neighbors, Community Development, Education and Youth Achievement, and Green Communities. Public voting for the twenty finalists (each finalist represents one field of interest) will be open the first two weeks in October. The Brooklyn Community Foundation will then donate $5,000 to a Brooklyn based nonprofit or a Brooklyn Community Foundation Field of Interest Fund of choice, in honor of each of the five winners.

Winners will be recognized at the Brooklyn Does Good event on November 3 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Palm House, where they will also celebrate the Foundation’s first anniversary since its re-launch as a public charity.

This is a great opportunity to nominate a friend, colleague, or neighbor for the great work they are doing to give back to Brooklyn. You can also “like” the awards and  join their “Brooklyn Do Gooders” group on Facebook or follow the campaign on Twitter @DoGoodBklyn and #DoGooder.

A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethricca for more noteworthy links.

I love these commercials because they’re funny, smart, memorable, and undeniably Old Spice. There are lots of ads that make you laugh but are so loosely tied to what they’re selling that you’ll remember the ad but not the product behind it a day or so later. Entertaining, perhaps. Good for sales? Probably not.

Old Spice did a several really smart things with this campaign that any business–including a nonprofit–can learn from.

1. They didn’t ignore their reputation. Old Spice embraced their reputation as an old-school manly cologne/product, and all of the possible clichés that come with it. Then they turned them on their head–making it current, funny and hip. Your organization’s reputation is key to your brand’s success, and it’s hard to control or shape. Why not admit what’s working and what’s not and use it- rather than fight it?
2. They used humor effectively. Who doesn’t love to laugh? This campaign lets you laugh at and with it at the same time. It doesn’t victimize anyone or play to the negative (for instance, the obvious “want to get rid of that unpleasant B.O. before your big date? Try Old Spice body wash.”). Nonprofits rarely find a way to inject humor in serious work, and end up talking more about the problems that have to be fixed than celebrating the outcomes by telling those stories with style. You can still be taken seriously and be funny.
3. They blurred the lines between old and new media. Sure, the ad campaign is broadcast in the typical ways (mostly on your TV). But then the folks at ad agency Weiden + Kennedy (who created this campaign) also set up a hilarious Twitter stream, and used it to encourage people to tweet in questions that the Old Spice guy answered in real time videos on You Tube. It was so effective that celebrities like Apollo Anton Ono, Guy Kawasaki ,  and others got involved, and several major media outlets like Fast Company and the New York Times wrote it up. One guy even had the Old Spice guy propose to his girlfriend on his behalf. Instead of trying to do everything (eg use every type of social media) they focused on just one big push involving Twitter and YouTube, which had tremendous reach. Not bad, for a day’s work.
4. They’re building results while reaching new audiences. According to a recent article in Ad Age, Old Spice is slowly regaining its market share. Nope, the campaign didn’t sell a gazillion bottles of body wash overnight (although I did buy several for guys I know as a gag gift, I confess). Instead, it’s dusted off Old Spice’s reputation and made it cool in the eyes of Millenials, Gen Xers, and other people who would have never considered, or even heard of, the brand before. Nonprofits are always looking for a way to build relationships with younger and new donors. This is a great example of having your generational cake and eating it too.
5. And they didn’t have to totally rebrand to do it. Sure, they made some changes. But the didn’t change their name or even their (rather cheesy) age-old logo. Instead, they used the freshness of their campaign concept to shift perceptions.

What else have you learned from the Old Spice guy? I’d love to know.

Speaking of the Carnival, the September edition will be taking place right here on the Duck Call. So sharpen up your blogging fingers, and stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks.

A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Follow me on Twitter @elizabethricca or check out my Delicious bookmarks for more noteworthy links.

But where do you actually start? More than almost anything, the strength of your campaign will depend on finding the right year-end story to tell your donors—and then telling it through every channel you’ve got. But how do you home in on a year-end story that’s both rooted in emotion and makes an urgent case for giving? Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Are you starting your story with a challenge? Telling your donors all of the amazing things you’ve already accomplished is great, but it doesn’t belong at the beginning of your year-end story. Donors need to know why you need them now, not six months ago. Start your year-end story by telling donors what challenges you’ll be able to successfully tackle in 2011 if enough funds are raised now.
• Are your goals achievable? The eyes of even the most dedicated conservationist will glaze over if you say next year’s goal is to “solve global warming.” Try “getting the clean energy bill passed in the Senate” instead. Focusing on a challenge that donors can wrap their minds around lends credibility—and helps them feel part of a real solution.
• Does your year-end story fit with your organization’s story? Review your organization’s mission and founding story. Does your year-end story reflect the emotion and inspiration of that mission? Wrap up your year-end story by making it clear why December’s goals are a natural and compelling next step in your organization’s path.

Once you decide what story will be at the core of your year-end campaign, here are a few more resources to help you feature that story as effectively as possible through your web, email and social media channels.

• Be sure to check out the whitepaper “The Overachiever’s Guide to Year-End Fundraising” from Sea Change Strategies’ Alia McKee Scott and Care2’s Eric Rardin. One suggestion we especially liked: Give your friend or family member $10 and ask them to donate through your website. Then watch them try to donate and see if they get confused or lost at any point on your webpage or form. A great way to uncover usability road bumps and improve donor page conversion!
• See how four tips for year-end integration can help raise money and awareness across all of your channels.
• Your year-end story is strongest when it responds to the voices of your supporters. Read Elizabeth Ricca’s post on how remaining nimble allowed Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy to take advantage of an amazing (and unexpected!) match opportunity last December.

Have other suggestions for what to include in your year-end story? Share them in the comments section below!