Picture 1 With the year skipping along quite nicely, it's time for the April Twitter round up.

It's another great crop and, as ever, it's the tweeter who found the piece that get's the credit. If there isn't anyone cited, it's from one of my own tweets.

Without more ado…

Busted Nonprofit Brand: Anatomy of a Corporate Sponsorship Meltdown via @ImagineCanada

Komen for the Cure is a massive US breast cancer research charity that is like a cross between Cancer Research UK and Breast Cancer Campaign. They are the largest grassroots breast cancer research charity in the US and run America's verion of Race for Life (Race for the Cure) which has now been adopted by a number of other countries (Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Egypt).

Picture 2 As part of their fundraising programme, Komen has linked up with KFC. Their Buckets for the Cure campaign hopes to raise $8.5 million.

This has created a bit of a stink, with a number of commentators and activists pointing out that selling millions of pink buckets of fried chicken doesn't sit particularly well with women's health. To read more about a charity that seems to have forgotten its brand promise, check out the link above.

If you are terrible at what you do, Twitter won't change that via @KimberleyCanada

Kimberley's blog features a presentation by Scott Stratten, President of UnMarketing. It's well worth watching. It argues very entertainingly that 'social media' is about building relationships and that takes time and effort. Take a look. It's worth it.

From threepenny opera to £5 direct debit via @AmandaSanter

A great post that questions why charity websites fail to show prospective donors what they'll experience once they start giving.

2010 eNonprofit Benchmarks study reveal surprising stats via @Quiel

A huge benchmarking study from the US, tracking what did and what didn't work in online fundraising and advocacy. The study analyses the activity of 31 charities. The biggest increase in success was seen to be gained by improving click-through rates on emails (I have to agree with that). 

Keys to Creating a Failing Non-profit Newsletter via @JeffBrooks

This post highlights an article by Sandy Rees on the 8 most common mistakes charities make when producing newsletters and adds a few more for good measure.

How to make money from newsletters via @AlineReed

Aline shows how a charity newsletter was overhauled and turned into a money making machine.

Acknowledging Donor Loyalty

This post from The Agitator contains two simple ideas that are well worth implementing when writing to donors.

New Research Reveals Barriers to Giving via @UKCPhilanthropy

A review of a study looking at giving by high net worth individuals in the UK and the US. It contains masses of interesting information but one key point is worth highlighting. Once a donor has decided on a cause to support, how efficiently money is used and the size of admin costs become the major factors influencing which charity will receive the gift. 

Bob Geldof condemns lame and ineffective anti-poverty campaigners

An insider's view of Make Poverty History. Apparently, political leaders don't listen to charities! The comments make for interesting reading too.

Is Charity Comparative Advertising a Good Idea? via @frdetective

Helped kick off a debate about changes in rules regarding charity advertising regulation.

Ten ways to slim down obese copy via @GuyKawasaki

How to write copy that people are more likely to read.

Are there creative ways to publicly thank donors? via @marcapitman

This is an area that gets very little thought and is going to become increasingly important as a means of competitive difference. Charities put a huge amount of effort in making their appeals creative and exciting. Why not put the same effort into thanking and feeding back?

There were loads more that could have made it that lie hidden in my twitter stream. If you'd like to receive notification of everything I think might be of interest, you can follow me by clicking here.