At last year’s Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits, Allison Nassour and I presented to a full room on the topic of QR codes. We were thrilled that so many people wanted to learn more about them, but also surprised at how many were already using them at their nonprofits. It seems that QR codes have gone [...]

I just got back from the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference, where listening was top of mind: Listening to the amazing speakers, listening to the #nptech community, and listening to all the great ideas floating around the halls of the Washington Hilton. I gotta hand it to Holly Ross and the tireless NTEN team for putting [...]

I’ve enjoyed watching the use of QR codes grow recently, particularly in the nonprofit space. For a sector often looking for creative ways to communicate our message, QR codes are a great tool for things like advocacy and scavenger hunts. But they are also great for traditional calls to action! The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network [...]

Videos are an amazing way to share your nonprofit’s story with supporters. But as with all forms of online communication, the goal should be to get that visitor to take an action. Thankfully, the YouTube Nonprofit Program has made it easy to add interactive calls to action to your videos. What do Calls to Action [...]

Did you notice something toony about Facebook last weekend? In an effort to raise awareness for child abuse, thousands of Facebook users changed their profile photos to one of their favorite childhood cartoon characters (full disclosure: mine was Underdog.) Whether it started on accident, was part of a specific campaign, or originated in Greece, this [...]

For the past 30 days I have been participating in Movember: a worldwide team fundraising campaign to fight men’s cancer. While the dogooder in me loves a great cause, I also relish the opportunity to learn more about online fundraising and why people give. It was interesting seeing which platform (Facebook, Twitter, email, face-to-face, etc.) [...]

I’m sure you’ve noticed QR codes by now – those funny little black and white squares that are appearing on posters, business cards, and event lanyards everywhere. These next-gen bar codes are most often used by marketers who want to link to a website or landing page from a visual appeal. If you’re looking for [...]

So, you have a social media plan…right? Hopefully your nonprofit is pretty far down the social media strategy rabbit hole at this point. While it’s easy setup a Twitter account and start tweeting, it’s much more difficult to tie that activity back to outcomes. That’s why it’s important to begin your foray into social media [...]

One of my favorite things about NTC are the fantastic plenaries. These all-hands keynote presentations offer some of the most quote-worthy, insightful anecdotes from the event. Last year’s talk from Clay Shirky generated gobs of great quotes, 15 of which I catalogued on this blog. Today we had the pleasure of hearing Andrew Sullivan speak [...]

Depending on who you ask, it may or may not be a surprise that SXSW 2010 has become a destination for nonprofit staffers. With fifteen percent-ish attendees working with nonprofits, SXSW can be inspirational. It’s the perfect place to meet change agents like Beth Kanter, David Neff, and Amy Sample Ward, as well as network [...]