Note from Beth: I recently met Megan Kashner who is  founder and CEO of Benevolent, a nonprofit with a mission to bring dignity and self-determination to both sides of the giving equation for social service agencies. The Benevolent fundraising platform helps people living in low-income circumstances to make progress toward personal goals of self-sufficiency that may hinge on a one-time need or opportunity—like the example in the video of Stefanie who needs $700 for security deposit for an … [Read more...]

Note from Beth: Here's a guest post from my colleague Steve MacLaughlin that is a great example of "data informed fundraising."   A Fundraising Cliff?  What does the data say? A Guest Post by Steve MacLaughlin Over the past few months I've been asked a lot of questions about giving trends: What explains the flat trend in overall fundraising? Is it the economy? Was it the election cycle? What about Hurricane Sandy? Are we approaching the fundraising cliff? Will it get better? When will it … [Read more...]

Note From Beth: I'm a huge fan of  Giving Days because they raise the awareness, engagement, and donations to nonprofits and being generous.     Last week,  we watched as a national day of giving and awareness campaign for "Giving Tuesday" unfold and spur spikes in donations.   As I wrote back in September when first covering Giving Tuesday,  Giving Days are not a new idea and have been successful in local communities and entire states, like GiveMN which raised many millions of dollars  in 24 … [Read more...]

Last month, I had the honor of keynoting the Social Good Brasil Conference and one of the other keynote speakers was Peter Sims, author of "Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries."  I will have a full book review coming.   One message in the book is not start with a big idea with it all planned out in advance, but to make a methodical series of little bets about what might be a good direction and learning from lots of little failures and from small wins to find … [Read more...]

Happy Giving Tuesday, a national movement to add a day of charity and doing good founded by the 92nd Street Y, the United Nations Foundation and Mashable, and supported by many nonprofits and corporations as well as individuals to jumpstart the giving season in the US. I've set up a fundraiser for NTEN on Crowdrise and all donations are being matched to day by the Case Foundation and Six Degrees as part of a match day - in partnership with Networked for Good. I'm proud to be a community champion … [Read more...]