Brandraising®: One organization, many channels

June 11, 2010
As you expand the tools you use to communicate online and off and staff's roles change, how do you ensure you're all speaking with one voice? Based on Sarah Durham's book "Brandraising: How to Raise Money and Increase Visibility through Smart Communications", (Jossey-Bass, 2009) this session, facilitated by Sarah Durham, will link vision, mission, branding and beyond, with a particular focus on websites, social media, and other online channels fundraisers can use to cultivate, solicit and steward donor relationships. (More)
brandraising, capacity-building, positioning

Brandraising®: Critique

May 5, 2010, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.
Are your communications materials helping you raise money, conduct outreach, and establish your organization optimally? Based on Sarah Durham's book, "Brandraising: How to Raise Money and Increase Visibility Through Smart Communications" (Jossey-Bass 2009) this workshop will give you a chance to get detailed feedback on your print, video and online communications. (More)
brandraising, capacity-building, messaging

Brandraising®: One organization, many channels

April 10, 2010, 1:30 p.m.
As you expand the tools you use to communicate online and off and staff's roles change, how do you ensure you're all speaking with one voice? Based on Sarah Durham's book "Brandraising: How to Raise Money and Increase Visibility through Smart Communications", (Jossey-Bass, 2009) this session, facilitated by Sarah Durham, will link vision, mission, branding and beyond, with a particular focus on websites, social media, and other online channels fundraisers can use to cultivate, solicit and steward donor relationships. (More)
brandraising, capacity-building, positioning

Intro to Social Media

March 24, 2010, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
MySpace... Facebook... Digg... Twitter... With all the buzz about social networks and social media, it is hard to know where to start. In this workshop, Elizabeth Ricca, will highlight the most popular social media tools, review demographics, explore some examples, and share a process to help you build a social media strategy — including how to listen to "manage" your brand. (More)
capacity-building, online, positioning, social media

Integrating Your Online and Offline Marketing and Fundraising Campaigns

March 9th, 2010 1:00 p.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Like cats and dogs. That’s how many nonprofits treat their offline and online marketing and fundraising campaigns — as separate strategies that either can’t work together or are too much trouble to train to play nice. But research and practical experience show that when you integrate your online and offline communications — and take the multi-channel marketing approach — you get better results from your supporters.

During this webinar, led by Kivi Leroux Miller, Farra Trompeter will guest speak on ways to integrate your offline and online marketing, starting with the communications planning process and good data management. We’ll look at ways to use email to increase direct mail giving, and to use direct mail to increase online giving. We’ll also look at how social media can be used to reinforce work you are doing with supporters in person or through the mail, and how to encourage your offline supporters to connect with you online.

(More)
capacity-building, online, social media

The art of giving good feedback

March 2010

A few months ago, Dan and Sonny, the fearless-except-when-fearful heads of our creative team, put together a lovely blog series about feedback. Over the years, we’ve found that good, honest feedback can make all the difference in having that new website, brand identity, marketing campaign, etc. be something you want to show off to participants, donors, advocates, funders, board members, and the like.

We got such a great response from our clients that we thought we’d send it out again to make sure you saw it. The series offers advice on how to give helpful (read: productive) feedback whether you are working with an in-house designer or writer, a freelancer, or an agency like ours.

(More)
capacity-building, communications strategy, nonprofit management

Fundraising 2009 – was it good for you?

February 2010

2009 ended on a high note for many nonprofits whose year-end appeals raised more money online than in 2008.

• According to Network for Good, online giving in December 2009 grew 25% compared to 2008.
• According to Blackbaud, it grew 32%.
• The average online gift in December 2009 remained relatively the same as it was in December 2008. The average gift processed via Network for Good was $153 (a 4% drop), and the average gift processed via Blackbaud was $244.17 (a 2% drop).

Because most nonprofits raise nearly 50% of their online donations during the October-December time period, we follow year-end campaigns closely. (We even created a few year-end campaigns for our clients, but more about that in a future Duck Pond issue.)

(More)
campaigns, capacity-building, fundraising, messaging

“Brandraising®: TuDiabetes.org”

February 01, 2010
Building support through community. In this article, Sarah Durham discusses the benefits of building community sites, like ning, to increase awareness, connections, and fundraising dollars. (More)
brandraising, capacity-building, online

Goodies for 2010

January 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Kick off your 2010 just right. Click here to collect a gift from each member of the Big Duck team. (More)
capacity-building, marketing, online

Brandraising: communicating more effectively

December 2009
Many nonprofits struggle when it comes to aligning their communications. Sarah Durham's book, Brandraising: How Nonprofits Raise Visibility and Money through Smart Communications weaves together best practices from for-profit strategic communications and the nonprofit sector to create a new model for effective nonprofit communications. (More)
branding, brandraising, capacity-building

Tweeting for dollars

November 2009
Everyone is using Twitter! Read on to get some great tips on how to run a successful campaign on this rapidly rising social messaging platform. (More)
capacity-building, online, positioning, social media

Shouting to be heard: communicating in a noisy era

October 2009
Getting your organization's message out in this day and age can be challenge. In this month's newsletter we give some tips on how to rise about the noise and reach donors effectively. (More)
capacity-building, communications strategy, positioning

That’s our Mission! Vision? No, our Values! Wait, What?

September 2009
Ever wonder what the difference is between Vision, Mission, and Values Statements? This short primer will help it all become clear. (More)
brandraising, capacity-building, communications strategy, messaging, personality, positioning

Do you have a social media policy?

August 2009
Whether you are sparking discussion or others are discussing you, your organization has a presence in social media. (More)
capacity-building, communications strategy, online, personality, social media

Reflections for the NTC — NTEN’s nonprofit technology conference

May 2009
On April 26-28, 2009, Big Duck's Sarah Durham and Farra Trompeter joined over 1,400 nonprofit professionals and consultants in San Francisco, CA for the 2009 NTC (nonprofit technology conference). Read on to get some of their takeaways. (More)
capacity-building, communications strategy, nonprofit management, social media