There is a wealth of non-profit resources available online about every single aspect of fundraising and we have collected some of our favorites to share with you!
We will update this post from time to time to add other new and useful resources as they pop up. Enjoy!
Feel free to add your own favorite non-profit resources in the comments below.
In no particular order:
Non-profit marketing resources
* Amy Neumann offers marketing and PR services at Good Plus Tech, contributes on Forbes and The Huffington Post and is author of “Uplifting Quotes on Gratitude and Goodness to Show Appreciation.” Follow her at CharityIdeas on Twitter for inspirations and practical tips.
* For non-profit marketing training, consulting and a whole lot of free information, click over to Kivi Leroux Miller’s NonprofitMarketingGuide.com and check out all the free e-books and webinars offered. You need to register for a free account to receive them.
* Top fundraiser and non-profit consultant Mazarine Treys is the author of several books for non-profits, including “Wild Woman Fundraising.” Sign up for her emails at WildWomanFundraising.com and learn from someone who’s been there and done that! If you’ve been thinking about a career in fundraising, this blog is for you.
* Joe Waters at SelfishGiving.com describes cause marketing as a partnership between a nonprofit and a for-profit for mutual profit. “He gives small nonprofits and businesses the tools and skills they need to execute win-win partnerships to help good causes and boost the bottom-line.”
* Katya Andresen at NonprofitMarketingBlog.com is the chief operating officer at Network for Good and author of “Robin Hood Marketing.” With her experience in marketing and the the non-profit world you can expect well rounded information from current events, social media and marketing tips to reviews of individual campaigns and more.
* Katya is also the co-founder of recently launched Characters Magazine, a print magazine with stories of and by the non profit sector. “It’s both a call to tell your story and celebration of good storytelling by people who are seeking to change the world.”
* For a relentless stream of social media marketing tips and marketing strategies, like optimizing YouTube videos and integrating socila media with your other channels, click over to NonprofitOrgs.Wordpress.com.
* Beth Kanter, author of “The Networked Nonprofit” analyzes numbers and graphs related to social media strategies all about the non-profit world. She is a speaker and consultant and you can sign up for regular updates on her blog BethKanter.org.
Need help with non-profit copywriting?
* If you’re at a loss for words when composing your newsletters, donation request letters or simply want better website copy, click over to Karen Zapp’s blog at PKScribe.com. You’ll learn about non-profit storytelling, how to develop your brand in your writing and how to Not bore your readers!
Non-profit Guides and Q & A
* Have a pressing question about your non-profit’s legal issue? Visit NonprofitIssues.com where lawyer Don Kramer hosts a Q & A section.
A typical question would be:
“A major charity has received a lot of bad comments in social media because it told a church that it couldn’t accept donations from the church because it is a religious entity. Is there a legal reason for refusing the gift?”
* For a great resource about anything grant related, visit the Foundation Center’s GrantSpace.org. Besides offering free and paid learning resources, there is also a knowledge base covering all the basics free to use.
Software and equipment for your non-profit
* A staple in the no-profit world and a non-profit themselves Techsoup.org helps nonprofits acquire free of charge or at discounted prices software and hardware equipment, plus the learning resources needed to make informed decisions about technology. Their free learning resources are available to all users. You need to register and have your non-profit approved in order to access donated and discounted products and services. More than 180,000 organizations have received hardware and software donations from TechSoup’s donor partners.
* For online fundraising software for specific events like walk-a-thons, online auctions and golf tournaments visit DoJiggy.com. (Sponsored link)
Looking for a steady source of available grants?
* Click over to Grantgopher and sign up with them to get a steady flow of grant opportunities in your email box. Some service are free, some for pay only. Their service alerts you to available grants while they are open for application which is a great help to organizations who need to stay on top of these opportunities.
Solicit reviews about your non-profit
* You probably already know about Guidestar, the database for non-profits in the US. They recently posted a video showing people in the Bay area who can’t name even one local charity and have no idea that there are actually over 70,000!
Does your community even know you exist? Test: can you name at least a few non-profits in your community? How many did you come up with? If you’d ask another member of your community, how many do you think they could name? Would they name yours?
Having reviews online is just another tool to spread the word about your cause. You can solicit reviews on Guidestar from your donors, clients or volunteers. The reviews from Guidestar will also appear on Great Nonprofits.
* You can also create your non-profit’s page in Yelp’s Business section and solicit reviews there. Yelp reviews can be a great resource for honest feedback – positive and negative. For tips on how to deal with and make the best of negative reviews, watch this video.
Keep an eye on non-profit trends
* The Blackbaud Index shows year over year comparisons of about $10 billion in US-based charitable giving for online and traditional fundraising split for different sized non-profits in different sectors. Blackbaud offers technical solutions, including website email and bookkeeping tools to non-profits.
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We know there are many more excellent non-profit resources out there, but if you’re just starting out, or if you need some inspiration for your current group, give these a whirl!
If you know of any other great resources, please add them in the comments!