What's wrong with Mashable's Summer of Social Good?
The desire to raise serious sums of money for charities (or non-profits as our American cousins might say) is a fantastic thing. Animal rescue, tackling global poverty, protection of wildlife and the environment and funding cancer research and awareness are cracking causes that deserve every...
Why does it always have to be un-earmarked?
Which of the following statements are true? The earth is flat. Global warming isn't happening. Lemmings commit mass suicide. Wearing a warm coat will stop you catching flu. Warts are caused by handling toads. Appeals have to be for unrestricted funds. Yep. You got it....
Do your supporters look like nails, carrots or beetroots?
Recency, Frequency and Value are the mainstays of a successful segmentation strategy. You can use values, geo-demographics, regression and even snake oil to try and improve your targeting of appeals, but at the end of the day, the long-term use of RFV can make the...
Anna Walsh and The Bergstrom Effect
Bluefrog's Head of Social Fundraising, Anna Walsh, has recently started her own blog – Social Frog – with a specific focus on street and door to door fundraising. Her first post highlights a phenomena which she has named the Bergstrom Effect. As Anna explains, It's...
Nine tips on how to make viral videos
It's been around for a while, but this guide on how to make viral videos has some great tips that charities could benefit from. In under 4 minutes it shows you: Why content is not king How to get on the most viewed pages Title...
Time to pay the Prostate Cancer Charity back
Back in the early days of the recession, the Prostate Cancer Charity shared some very important information on their copy testing programme with the sector about the impact of talking about the economic downturn in appeals. Now you have an opportunity to say thank you and help the men in your...
When should you try and reactivate lapsed donors?
There's the old story of the man driving around lost in the countryside. He eventually sees someone up ahead and pulls over and asks for directions to his destination. The local looks at him, scratches his head and says, "Well, if I were you, I...
Online giving increases by 43% though average gift size falls
A new report on online activism and fundraising has just been published by M+R Strategic Services and the Nonprofit Technology Network. Using data from 32 US charities for 2007 and 2008 (including Care International, Oxfam America, The Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity and IFAW) and...
There's no need to pull your hair out over online fundraising...
Juan Manuel Fraga can teach you everything you need to know about making your ask online. Show need Demonstrate the solution Give the donor an easy and simple action Tell them the cost Use a strong call to action Thank Show the donor what they...
An eight point plan for when good intentions go wrong
Some interesting data regarding the impact of Action for Children's recent TV campaign has recently been published. It shows the campaign did very well, gaining 9% awareness along with a 20% increase in people saying they would be likely to consider donating to the charity. It's...
The Essentials
Crack the Code to Regular Giving: Insights, Strategies, and a Special Giveaway!
‘Tis Halloween. Keep to the light and beware the Four Fundraisers of the Apocalypse!
Why do people give? The Donor Participation Project with Louis Diez.
A guide to fundraising on the back of a postcard
What does the latest research tell us about the state of fundraising?