Digital Fundraiser: The Nonprofit Weekly Roundup:

Sunday 2 March 2014

The Nonprofit Weekly Roundup:

Is it really March already?

I feel as if I blinked and January faded into the past before I even had time to nail down my New Year's resolutions.

Time flies..

We're into the 3^rd month of 2014 and I've already hit my yearly quota of losses, letdowns, and surprises.

I'm stronger for it, sure, but I've been struggling with anxiety over what's coming next. Sometimes I wish there was a weather radar for life so that I could be just a little more prepared for the next big storm.

I guess my only option is to keep my slickest rain gear on standby and carry all the lightning bolts and thunderclaps of the past with me as I keep moving forward. And I’ll turn to my fellow travelers for advice along the way. Speaking of – there’s some pretty killer advice below.

Here are this week’s nonprofit highlights:

Close to 75% of new donors won’t return after they’ve given their first gift. And these retention rates won’t improve until things are done a little differently – until we stop settling for 27%. Frank Barry’s 3 Ways Content Marketing Can Improve Donor Retention Rates on Content Marketing Institute offers guidance on building a strategy your supporters will appreciate.
Joanne Fritz says that if you’re not already competing in the content marketing game, you’re likely falling behind. Her post Got a Blog? It Could Be a Perpetual Content Creating Machine for Your Nonprofit echoes peers, like Claire Axelrad and Marc Koenig, that 2014 is the year of the blog.
Want to know How Nonprofits Keep Up with Online Fundraising? Nonprofit Hub’s Randy Hawthorne shares highlights from the online fundraising scorecard provided by Dunham+Company and Next After that you shouldn’t miss. What you’ll see – online fundraising is growing, but there’s huge opportunity for improvement.
Is your nonprofit looking for ways to diversify your online presence? J Campbell Social Marketing’s 10 Reasons Your Nonprofit Needs to Be On Google+ builds the case for why your nonprofit should wait no longer to jump on the third largest social network’s bandwagon.
This month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival is dedicated to the men and women leading the industry. Marc Pitman presents – Nonprofit executives: fundraising advice, tips, and exhortations. The compilation of posts focuses on providing leadership the support and staffing they need to carry out their missions.
Some call the ever shrinking attention span of Gen Yers a character flaw. But, the fact is, we’re a byproduct of this instantaneous information culture. If you want to motivate us through story, maybe it’s time to get on our level. This npENGAGE post by Ben Baker, From a Millennial: Nobody Wants to Hear Your Stories. We Want to See Them., urges nonprofits to lean to the visual. Instagram ads may be the ticket.