We’ve talked before about how nonprofits are using Facebook to connect with their supporters online, figuring out ways to work around the “closed door” model of the popular social-networking site. For example, setting up a nonprofit Facebook Page  that can be viewed by anyone on the Web  is often more effective than just having a ...

''As a donor to charity, what do we nonprofits do that irritates you? What’s caused you to stop giving to a charity?'' Marc Pitman asked the tough questions on LinkedIn, a social-networking site with a business/professional focus where the demographic is likely to be a close match for many nonprofits’ donors.  And the answers are very ...

When your nonprofit sends out its next fundraising direct mail appeal, how many potential donors will be heading to the Internet before they decide if they want to donate? The number of people checking out your organization online may be higher than you think! According to a new study by The NonProfit Times, the number of potential donors ...

Facebook is fast becoming a popular way to publicize an organization’s event, invite guests, and track who plans to attend. Facebook Events may be just what your group needs — but could you be shutting out some of the people who might support your event, by relying solely on Facebook to manage it? The fact is, for non-members of the site, ...

Has this ever happened to you? The printer jams, just as you’re trying to rush out a newsletter. Or you come up short on stationery and stamps, a few letters short of your mailing list run. Or you’re on the road with only a web-enabled phone at hand, when you remember an urgent note that must go out by mail… Some days, we can’t help wishing ...

Why would your organization want to pay for an email marketing service, instead of simply using Outlook and your regular email server to contact your members? There are a number of compelling reasons why even a small e-newsletter subscription list might best be handled by a dedicated email marketing service, starting — first and foremost — ...

RSS is a very powerful technology, useful for anyone to gather and digest many information sources in one place — and even more useful for nonprofits to get their information out to their members and supporters.  If you were to put all of your most important news sources onto a single web page, what a useful resource that could ...

The trick to effective mind mapping is finding the right tool for the job — whether that tool is pen and paper, as Guy Lewis used to unravel his personal life, or dedicated software, as Patrick Lynch used to explain Wild Apricot’s features to his colleagues. What is Mind Mapping? Mind mapping is a non-linear, highly visual method of ...

If your organization makes PowerPoint slideshows for special events, meetings and conferences, you've probably put a lot of time and effort into creating each one. Why not get extra mileage from those PowerPoint presentations by putting them onto your website or blog for others to see? Here are four different ways to share PowerPoint files on ...

New features and other enhancements have been added to Facebook since Wild Apricot's Beginner's Guide to Facebook for Non-Profits, and nonprofits are learning more about making the best use of the popular social networking site. We've talked about setting up a Facebook account and Profile, and a bit about Groups. Let's take a quick look now at ...