Your path to storybook year-end fundraising starts here

August 2010
where do you actually start your year-end fundraising? 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: (More)
capacity-building, fundraising, marketing

Who should manage communications at your nonprofit?

July 2010
After 16 years of observing how nonprofits manage communications, we Ducks aren’t convinced that staffing structure is the real challenge. Instead, we think the more important question is what type of culture does your organization have around communication? (More)
capacity-building, communications strategy, nonprofit management, Sarah Durham

A picture’s worth 1,000 words: information graphics for nonprofits

June 2010
Most nonprofits understand the importance of written communication. Mission statements, fundraising appeals, and grant proposals are just a few ways organizations use words to make their case. But communicating information graphically can be another powerful tool for nonprofits. (More)
capacity-building, communications strategy, design

Cultivating strong relationships = big dollar

May 2010
Going into the 2009 year-end fundraising season, no one knew quite what to expect. Would donors cut back in the face of a still-floundering economy? Would they give less, or just not give at all?

As it turns out, most nonprofits did encounter a decline in overall revenue, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual survey. But many saw a distant light at the end of the economic tunnel in the form of online fundraising, with overall online revenue up 14% from 2008 according to Convio’s 2010 Online Nonprofit Benchmark Study.

Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) , a long-time client of Big Duck’s, saw the story of the sector overall reflected in the returns from their integrated annual campaign—slight overall decline; big jump in online revenue. But their results tell another story, too, about the importance building strong relationships with your donors year-round, not just at year end. (More)
campaigns, capacity-building, fundraising

Nonprofits + mobile: R U Ready?

April 2010
In light of the millions of dollars raised in response to the Haiti earthquake in January, it’s hard to ignore the potential fundraising and communications power of mobile communications. But just like you can’t bring in lots of gifts simply by placing a donate button on your site, most charities won’t see a cash windfall by allowing donors to give via mobile. Technology is only as good as the strategy that surrounds it. (More)
capacity-building, communications strategy

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

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