Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention wrote yesterday on the value of graphic designers who can write well too, quoting an article by Derek Powazek. While I think it’s incredibly difficult to be both an outstanding writer and an outstanding designer, it is reasonable to expect design professionals to have solid writing skills, and vice versa.…
Many consultants who specialize in the nonprofit sector are offering fabulous advice and resources through their blogs. To help get that information out to more organizations, I am launching the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants. Blog carnivals are traveling collections of the best blog posts of the week on a various topic (tips for nonprofits in…
I decided to stop writing grant applications for clients a few years ago because I simply don’t enjoy that kind of writing. To cut down my reading pile (in paper and online), I stopped paying close attention to magazines, websites, etc. related to fundraising. But I’ve decided to move one fundraising blog on to the…
If you are searching for help with writing your nonprofit’s annual report, check out www.nonprofitannualreports.net. I’m now teaching “How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report” once a month, starting on the first Monday of the month. Each course lasts four weeks and includes instruction and exercises on all of the major sections of a nonprofit…
Forbes.com publishes a list of the top 200 largest nonprofits. Whenever I’m researching a new communications topic or looking for samples for one of my nonprofit writing workshops, I will visit several of these sites to see what the big organizations are doing. If you are looking for samples of annual reports, newsletters, website sections,…
The best communications tips are solid bits of wisdom that do not change, even during a crisis. I was reminded of this when I saw a flyer titled, “Dealing with the News Media at Reunion” provided by Duke University in the packets handed to alumni attending their college reunions last weekend. (My husband is a…
I am helping a nonprofit client set up a blog for the group’s annual conference and exposition. Since I’ve never created a blog for this purpose, I tried to find some info online about conference blogging. While there are a zillion posts from people blogging conferences they are attending, there are very few by the…
Wake Forest University’s business school held its Seventh Annual Elevator Competition this weekend. Teams of business school students from around the country got two minutes on an elevator ride to pitch their million-dollar idea to a venture capitalist. The winners get a cash prize, free professional services, and a real meeting with a potential investor.…
It’s annual report season for many nonprofits. Here are my top seven tips for writing a nonprofit annual report. 1. Focus on accomplishments, not activities. We want to know what you did, but more importantly, we want to know why you did it. What were the results? Why did you spend your time the way…
I’ve been surprised by the number of nonprofits I’ve talked to who don’t realize that their IRS Form 990 is online for the world to see at GuideStar. This website is incredibly important for any nonprofit seeking funds from foundations or other savvy donors. I know some foundation officers who say they check GuideStar before…
If you want to learn how to produce a top-notch email newsletter or ezine, my favorite site, far and above all others, is Ezine-Tips.com. The site isn’t for nonprofits specifically, but many of the lessons shared there can be applied easily to the nonprofit sector. The site covers everything from design and formatting to content…
I come across a lot of interesting information during the course of running my websites and working with clients, but don’t currently have a good forum for sharing this information or my opinions on it. I hope this new blog will fill that void. Lots more coming soon . . .
