Every now and then, members of the Big Duck staff publish articles and contribute to nonprofit trade publications and blogs. We also write a bi-monthly “Brandraising” column in Fundraising Success Magazine that highlights different issues nonprofits face when communicating with their audiences. You can browse our most recent articles below.
Who's in Charge of Communications These Days?
Instead of thinking of communications as a separate department, nonprofits should start seeing everyone as a communicator, regardless of if it's in their job title or not. It's up to the program, development, and executive staffs to identify meaningful topics on the organization that should be shared externally and make sure it's handled well—otherwise that content gets lost, or can feel filtered and less engaged. In this article on Guidestar, Sarah Durham explains how to get your staff singing from the same songbook.
Raising Visibility and Money for Nonprofits
In this episode of The Business of Giving. Sarah Durham, founder of Big Duck, sits down with host Denver Frederick to talk about how nonprofits can raise visibility and money through smart communications.
A 'Flip' Chat With...Farra Trompeter, Vice President, Big Duck
As you think about how your organization should use social media, be sure to connect your social media strategy to the organization's mission, says Big Duck Vice President of Client Relationships and Strategy, Farra Trompeter (@farra) in the final installment of our "social media for social good" series. Among other things, be sure to consider "your [nonprofit's] goals around raising money, creating change, [and] getting people to engage...and participate in programs or become a volunteer."
Focus on Your People, People!
In 2010 the conversation shifted. Folks begrudgingly set up their nonprofits' Facebook pages, Twitter streams or other social-media tools and started asking, "How do you use this to raise money?" Consultants like Sarah Durham traveled all over the place talking about relationship building, community, storytelling and other feel-good concepts to explain where social media and fundraising connect.
Start priming for end-of-year appeals.
Yep, it's that time of year again, and many of us are immersed up to our eyelashes in the year-end campaign season. We've written and designed our appeals; developed campaigns; strategized with vendors, designers and consultants; and sent appeals out into the world hoping they will be lovingly welcomed by deep-pocketed donors.
Sure, it'd be fun to put your feet up on the desk and wait for the checks and online donations to come pouring in. But there are a few things you might want to do first.
Start donor relationships off right with prompt, polite, thank-you notes
Fundraising is, first and foremost, about relationships — many of the basic tenets of good manners apply. Unfortunately, we often forgo the niceties of relationship-building in order to get through all of the day-to-day work that piles up. But thank-you notes? I have yet to meet a nonprofit that can afford to neglect them.
Out of the Trenches
Organizations in which leadership makes time for the long view are better equipped to plan and budget for change. In this article, Sarah Durham explains that it's hard to take a few hours out of each week to explore online, read trade publications or participate in a webinar when you're struggling to make a deadline, update the website copy or put together materials for a donor. But taking the long view helps you avoid working reactively. It becomes easier to set objectives, plan, delegate and prioritize when you're more clear about where you're heading.
Using Brandraising Principles to Hire Better Candidates
In this article, Sarah Durham outlines two tried-and-true marketing concepts most nonprofit staff people have never heard of: positioning and personality, and explains how they can help your fundraising, advocacy, and outreach. But these concepts are useful in other areas beyond external relations, too. For instance, they can help hiring managers and job seekers alike make better matches, thus reducing job dissatisfaction and high turnover rates.
Build Your Brand Without Breaking the Bank
Sarah Durham speaks with GettingAttention.org about the concept of Brandraising and the value it has for increasing the impact of communications and fundraising for nonprofits of every size and budget level.
Brandraising: Blogging for Dollars
Sure, blogs are great for communicating, but why not build in some giving opportunities while you’re at it? In this article, Sarah Durham looks into nonprofit blogs and how they are leveraging their content to raise money for their organizations.
Running Away From Home Page
Microsites must be unique but tied to your mission. In this article, Farra Trompeter, discusses the importance of defining the strategy behind the microsite before diving in. This article also features two microsites created by Big Duck: Duchenne Connect for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy and Totally Baldacious for the Luekemia Lymphona Society.
Read the rest of this article on The NonProfit Times website.
Brandraising: TuDiabetes.org
Building support through community. In this article, Sarah Durham discusses the benefits of building community sites to increase awareness, connections, and fundraising dollars.
Sector Report: Fundraising 2009-2010
Late last year, Fundraising Success Magazine asked folks from all across the fundraising spectrum a series of questions focused on fundraising in 2009 and what lies ahead for the sector in 2010. In this article, Sarah Durham and Farra Trompeter share their analysis of 2009 and visions for 2010.
Relaunching a Grand Old Web Site
The Republicans spiffy up their online presence with new design, social networking. In this article, Elizabeth Ricca discusses the importance of taking the time to build a nice-looking and professional site with an emphasis on functionality and content.
Social Media Fundraising for the Little Guy
Is your organization taking advantage of the social media world? In this article, Elizabeth Ricca gives you a glimpse into what other nonprofits are doing to help you figure out where your organization should be headed.
Dipping Your Toe into the Blogopool
Like it or not, the future of fundraising is online. In this article, Sarah Durham gives you a quick overview of some blogs providing the most valuable information about fundraising online.
With economy tight, groups look for ways to boost attendance
Feeling the pressure of the economic downturn, member and professional conferences are looking for ways to make their events more financially accessible. In this article, Sarah Durham, talks to the NonProfit Times about giving people more for their time and money.
Lessons for fundraisers from a site that's not about fundraising
Your Web site is a tool for engaging people. The more it’s about them, the more involved and emotionally invested they will become. And an emotional investment from your audience is the first step toward getting its financial support.
Fundraising in 2008 proved it really is about who you know.
For fundraisers, the first quarter of the year is as much a time to look back as ahead. It’s a time to find out how year-end appeals tallied up, to assess how winter events performed and perhaps to report back to the board on what it all means.
Who says alienating whole segments of the giving public is always a bad thing?
For fundraisers, 2008 was a year of change and challenge. In this article Sarah Durham discusses how a new era of fundraising is changing the way people communicate online.
Effective site suffers just a bit from form-over-function syndrome.
Function before form. Sarah Durham offer tips on how this organization can make a few simple adjustments to make their already effective site an even stronger one.
