Gone are the days when nonprofit organizations were able to host a walk, gala, or other fundraising event, and have the entire weekend devoted to their organization. Now, there are often multiple events in the same time period, pulling from a similar pool of donors.

What used to be a simple way to engage the community has turned into a competition on how to be more creative in raising dollars. And let’s be honest: our economy appears to be improving in certain areas, but overall we are still a ways off from the good ol’ days where unemployment and the uncertain housing market weren’t hot topics and mentioned in every news portal available. As much as we want to be optimistic, these topics make our community nervous and often unsure of what direction we are heading.

This is why we need to be working smarter, not harder, and we need to start collaborating. It is a time to unite with companies within our community and connect with one another’s missions. How can we help each other? How can we grow our fundraising campaigns and be good stewards in our community while also informing our supporters of the good work they are building on? Many are promoting fundraising campaigns within their establishments, not only engaging employees but engaging customers. This type of exposure is extremely valuable, as many nonprofits do not have a marketing budget. Furthermore, it is wise to learn as much as possible about the companies your nonprofit is…

Social media, whether it be Facebook, Google+ or Twitter, thrives due to its ability to cultivate connections and promote interactions in real time, regardless of users’ location. Accessibility and connectivity are joint rulers of this digital world, transforming how we perceive and consume information.

From celebrities’ tweets to multinational companies’ posts on Facebook, social media simultaneously allows individuals and various groups to promote themselves and their messages while creating a dialogue with interested followers — which is why it comes as no surprise that an increasing number of nonprofit organizations and governments are embracing social media and using it to communicate their messages to a wider audience.

In the United States, one major development in the utilization of social media for public outreach has been the State Department’s employment of technology in the field of diplomacy, also known as “21st-century statecraft.” As noted in the American Prospect, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described statecraft in a speech she delivered to the Council of Foreign Relations back in 2009, saying, “We are working at the State Department to ensure that our government is using the most innovative technologies not only to speak and listen across borders, not only to keep technologies up and going, but to widen opportunities, especially for…

There are mountains of resources for nonprofits who want to perfect the art of telling the stories of the clients and communities they serve. Successfully telling these stories is considered a crucial part of nearly all aspects of nonprofit marketing, from the basics of communicating a mission and vision to soliciting the support of donors, inspiring commitment from volunteers, writing compelling grant proposals and more.

To be sure, these are all very important aspects of defining and promoting a nonprofits’ identity, but individual organizations and the sector as a whole have an even bigger reason to sharpen their storytelling skills.

In fact, a recent Nonprofit Quarterly blog post calls on nonprofits to use their storytelling skills on a much broader level; to change the prevailing narrative about being poor in America. This call to action is right on point. After all, nonprofits invest significant intellectual and financial resources in learning to tell rich, vibrant stories as a means of marketing and fundraising. Many organizations are well-positioned to use existing skills to support honest portrayals of their clients in politics, popular culture and the media as well as challenge misconceptions or over-generalizations. As a trusted community resource with intimate knowledge of the hardships and challenges their…

The word marketing is usually associated with profit generating tactics; however, inbound marketing is focused on organic growth. The goal is to attract people to your cause based on the relevance of the information you offer your specific target audience. Outbound marketing consists of reaching out en masse in hopes of generating leads.

As opposed to traditional outbound marketing, inbound marketing is like a puzzle – but not because it’s confusing. It’s a puzzle in the sense that it’s made up of many pieces. To truly succeed online, businesses need to have a comprehensive strategy inclusive of all the pieces, including:

• Blogging 
• Social media engagement 
• Search engine optimization (SEO) 
• Landing pages 
• Email marketing 
• Video marketing 
• Strategic website design.

These inbound marketing tactics, when orchestrated in unison, can drive traffic and interested leads. But the “in unison” piece is the key to success.

With that said, the web allows for almost total traceability, which means most marketing tactics and campaigns are instantly measurable. This allows for easy replication of success and fast learning from mistakes.

There are a lot of advantages that inbound…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

A few months ago, I was embroiled in a weeks-long interaction with one of the largest government agencies. As I sought to work out the kinks of my issue, my calls were shuttled from office to office and officer to officer. It seemed that my issue might linger indefinitely with this shall-go-unnamed agency, until one day, when a customer service representative took me off hold and turned out to be an especially attentive, thorough, and service-minded individual. She gathered my information, gauged where I was in the process, and assisted me through the close of the issue. At the end, I thanked her profusely for her assistance, and hung up mulling over the question of engagement. Why is it that some employees DO feel this commitment to their work, and others suffer from a sense of disengagement that cripples their effectiveness as employees?

Last year, Opportunity Knocks commissioned a report1 to evaluate this question of engagement across the nonprofit workforce. They sought to understand individual commitment to mission, management, and emotion in the workplace.…