Duck Call

What an abundance of interesting links this week related to nonprofit communications. Must be harvest season.

• All of the posts this week in NTEN’s fundraising series were so more-ish, I couldn’t choose just one. And frankly, I don’t think I should have to.
  • Online donors are generous, but they can be fickle. How can you turn one-time donors into long-term supporters? Some ideas and advice to make sure they keep coming back.
  • Are you still in doubt as to whether your nonprofit should bother trying to raise money online? If so, this compelling data about the growth of online fundraising may change your mind.
  • If you’re contemplating a fundraising effort on Facebook, check out these strategic suggestions for using Facebook’s social features to best effect.
  • Some tips on crafting a great year-end fundraising campaign by establishing clear goals, reaching out through online and offline channels, and more.
• A great post from a former employee of the Obama campaign’s design team on how to craft and maintain an excellent website. One critical point: once the website goes live, the design work isn’t necessarily over. To keep it looking sharp, you’ll need ongoing design support.
• In all your communications—fundraising or advocacy; online or off—choosing the right channels to reach your audience can be the difference between success and failure. This post from Wild Apricot highlights a great worksheet that can help you decide what media (print, online, social) and which tools (postcards, websites, social networks) will be most effective in helping you achieve your communications goals.
• Fast Company shares mini case studies of five nonprofits breaking new ground in fundraising with creative Twitter strategies.
• Is your nonprofit using LinkedIn? Even though it doesn’t generate as much excitement in the nonprofit community as Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn is a fast-growing networking tool with some interesting possibilities for nonprofits. If you haven’t checked it out yet, here are a few ideas for how getting started.

A weekly roundup of interesting reads from the online world of nonprofit communications. Check out my Delicious bookmarks for more noteworthy links.