nonprofit

Blog Post

by The Wall Street Journal
  A few weeks ago, some children who live across the street from us set up a lemonade stand with a big sign announcing that proceeds would go to childhood cancer research. How can you argue with that? We bought a round of lemonade for the whole...
by Stanford Social Innovation Review
Many nonprofits continue to use their brands primarily as a fundraising tool, but a growing number of nonprofits are developing a broader and more strategic approach, managing their brands to create greater social impact and tighter organizational...
by Times Record News
With nearly 1.5 million nonprofit organizations across the nation, the sector has become an important part of the U.S. economy. Nonprofits accounted for 9 percent of all wages and salaries in 2009, according to the Urban Institute’s National Center...
by The Chronicle of Philanthropy
For the past 20 years, the design firm IDEO has helped companies like Apple, Ford, and Bank of America develop new products and services. Now the Palo Alto, Calif., company has started a nonprofit arm to take its approach to innovation to the...
by Guest Blogger: Marijane Miller
This post was originally published on WhatGives?! Talking about Twitter at its core isn’t that complicated. Say whatever you want in 140 characters and share it with whomever thinks you’re interesting enough to “follow”. What’s so hard about that?...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
This is part of a special series on “accidental entrepreneurs” that showcases inspiring stories and learnings of determination and innovation in business across sectors. One of the first stumbling blocks that halt or stall great entrepreneurial (...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
This is part of a special series on “accidental entrepreneurs” that showcases inspiring stories and learnings of determination and innovation in business across sectors. Innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. Entrepreneurs usually start...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
This is part of a special series on “accidental entrepreneurs” that showcases inspiring stories and learnings of determination and innovation in business across sectors. Melissa Kushner, Founder of GoodsforGood's story is such a great example of...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
Did you know today is Social Media Day? Yup, Mashable declared it so. It may be obvious for the tech world to embrace social media so whole-heartedly, but it has been even more exciting for me to see the nonprofit world embrace it, especially right...
by Allison Fine
To continue our series on nonprofit network building, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing diversity of people we had at the table a few weeks ago. They had all sorts of interesting and different professional backgrounds from community...
by Kari Dunn Saratovsky
Last week we convened a savvy group of nonprofit network builders for a discussion to learn more about what they do and how they do it. After all, the field of network building is still emerging and the rules have yet to be defined. In fact, it...
by Allison Fine
As nonprofits increasingly use social media as part of their fundraising, communications and educational strategies, nonprofit staff are stepping up to lead and manage those efforts. Recently, the Case Foundation hosted a group of these emerging...
by Eric Johnson
I love my phone. Not so much for the phone part, but for the little computer in there that connects me to the world, no matter where I am. The phone has our calendars, our mail -- and, increasingly, our volunteer opportunities. It's the day timer...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
Did you know that by 2042, the US will be a "minority-majority" society? I learned this at a panel presented by Jocelyn Harmon, Allyson Kapin, Shireen Mitchell, and Ivan Boothe on Diversifying Your Tech and Online Communications Team at NTC. A...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
If you missed our CaseSoup session featuring Ramya Raghavan of YouTube and Basho Mosko of Flip Video, you can watch the recorded video below! Ramya and Basho spent an hour with us offering advice and answering questions the public sent in (live via...
by Kristin Ivie
Now gearing up for its third event, Twestival has already proven a successful track record for fundraising through global social media communities. To recap, Twestival raised more than $250,000 last February for charity:water with tweet ups in 202...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
Did your nonprofit organization create a video in 2009? If so, enter it into the 4th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards for the chance to win $2,500 for your nonprofit, get your video featured on the YouTube homepage, receive great prizes from...
by Michael Smith
For many people the holiday season is a time to reflect on our blessings, to enjoy family, and to observe time-honored religious traditions. For others, it’s just the opposite – a time to break personal debt records, to compete with the Joneses for...
by George Pillsbury
Next year, the federal government will count everyone in the country through the 2010 Census. If our communities are not counted, they will not get the resources or representation they deserve. Today’s guest blogger, George Pilsbury, is Founder and...
by Marnie Webb
Giving Guru Marnie Webb is Co-CEO of TechSoup Global where under her leadership the NetSquared initiative is in its fourth year of helping nonprofits worldwide use innovative web tools to increase their reach and impact. A sought-after speaker and...
by Sokunthea Sa Chhabra
As we wrap up the third installment of our Gear Up for Giving Ask the Gurus session with author and activist Allison Fine, we are thrilled with the thoughtful and strategic questions the audience continues to email, chat and tweet in. Below are a...
by Allison Fine
Giving Guru Allison Fine is an author, activist and Senior Fellow at Demos: A Network for Change and Action. She has written extensively on social media for social change and the effects of new media tools on democracy and activism. Allison will be...
by Kristin Ivie
Our Gear Up for Giving Ask the Gurus sessions continued today with more great advice for nonprofits who are learning to use social media for outreach, marketing and fundraising. Katya Andresen, COO of Network for Good and nonprofit marketing blogger...
by Jean Case
It's hard to believe that when we launched our first America's Giving Challenge in 2007, social media was a somewhat new phenomenon, largely comprised of early adopters to technology, Facebook had only a fraction of the more than 250 million users...
by Josh Tabb
There is no lingo to be learned when it comes to YouTube. We all know what it is, we have all used it. We have all watched videos of squirrels going water skiing and we are all witness to the Star Wars kid’s totally awesome moves. But what if I were...
by Eric Johnson
Lew Moorman is the CEO of Rackspace, a company that operates computer data centers for companies. Rackspace’s business, while touching racks and racks of servers, is concerned primarily with less glamorous things—electricity, for one, and air...
by Kari Dunn Saratovsky
It wasn’t all that long ago that I remember spending a good deal of time here at the Case Foundation working with nonprofits as they contemplated their willingness to dip their toes into unknown social media waters. The most common response went one...
by Eric Johnson
A fellow once wanted to give away $100 bills to people in New York City. Because he was wheelchair-bound, he hired a young fellow to help him out. Together, they found that giving away money was not the easiest thing to do. Through trial-and-error,...

Spotlight Archive

by Britt Bravo
I am often asked for advice from nonprofits that want to start a blog. Here are five of the tips I most frequently give: Read blogs. I can't tell you how many amazing, visionary nonprofit leaders I talk to who, when I ask them if they read...
by Gaby Pham
For Kids: A Kid's Guide to Giving, by Freddi Zeiler (Innovative Kids, 2006). Written by a kid for kids, this book offers a comprehensible guide to giving money, volunteering, donating goods, and organizing charity events. Ages 10 and older. The...
by Elaine Gast
It's never too early to get kids into the giving habit. Here's how to do it. Ravi Shah is wild about dinosaurs. He knows more about them than any adult I know (maybe with the exception of his mom), and he can rattle off a dizzying number of dinosaur...
by Laura Gassner Otting
Myths about nonprofit organizations abound. Some people who consider a nonprofit job may hear such statements as: "You've turned into a do-gooder." "You've gone soft." "You will decimate your savings account." "If you want to work less, you...
by Laura Gassner Otting
Working in the nonprofit sector, you will encounter things that will alternately excite and frustrate you. Some advantages, like fulfilling work and kind coworkers, can be expected. Many disadvantages, like increased bureaucracy and burnout, often...
by Jean Case
This article is reprinted with permission from the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy. It is featured in the Spring 2008 issue of The Corporate Philanthropist. Every day, nonprofit groups around the country are on the front lines of our...
by Elaine Gast
Forget the wining and dining. Do something that matters. Like many people, I've had good Valentine's Days, and...not so good. The not-so-good ones date back to middle school, when I, like many of my classmates, anxiously awaited one of those...
by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller
How can parents make the spirit of giving a way of life for their children? If you want your children to acquire the habit of charity, consider implementing as a family the strategies that follow: Donate clothes. Periodically go through your...
by Charity Navigator, republished with permission
Be Proactive in Your Giving Smart givers generally don't give reactively in a knee-jerk reaction. They don't respond to the first organization that appeals for help. They take the time to identify which causes are most important to them and...
by Gaby Pham
As one year ends and another begins, it's time to set some new goals. How will you use your time to have more fun, be more productive, and make 2007 a great year? One way to make a difference while hanging out with your friends and meeting new...
by Janice Schoos
The holiday season inevitably becomes a time of hectic errands, as people shop online or brave the crowds in stores to buy gifts while juggling schedules crammed with social events. Amid the frenzy the holiday season can bring, many families manage...
by Gaby Pham
Whether you're a U.S. service member returning home from a tour of duty with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a young military wife whose four-year-old has had nightmares since her father's deployment to Iraq, a nonprofit organization known...
by Gaby Pham
Q+A with author Allison Fine After reading Allison Fine's book Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, we were eager to talk with her about her tips, warnings, and predictions about the role of technology in advancing social change....
by Nathalie Jordi
For most people, the point of traveling involves leaving the familiar. Whether that translates to an azure coastline lined by tingly warm white sand topped with pin-striped parasols, the cryptic illegibles of a hectic foreign city, or the scrapings...
by Janice Schoos
"Are we there yet?" is a phrase parents often hear as they embark on family vacations. As more families incorporate philanthropic principles into their vacations, perhaps they will begin to hear a new question: "Are we making a difference yet?" "...
by Gaby Pham
The world of philanthropy and the world around philanthropy are changing. To thrive, foundations must reinvigorate their approaches by being more visionary, collaborative, and innovative, according to Steve Case, chairman of the Case Foundation....

Video

by drupal
Senior TED Fellow Erik Hersman gives an interview from TED2011 and discusses his work on projects like Ushahidi and Nairobi's iHub as well as the role of business and technology in the development of East Africa. 
by drupal
Derek Silvers narrates the video of that shirtless dancing guy (official name), using it as an example of how social movements start and describing the importance of the 'first follower' in igniting group action. Read more at http://www....

Web Resource

by Network for Good
A short quiz on acknowledging and thanking your donors and reporting on their money's impact.
by Wall Street Journal
Take this Wall Street Journal quiz and find out who gives, how much they give and whom they give to.
by Zimmerman Lehman
Are you up to the task? Each month ZimNotes will feature a one-question quiz to help ensure you know basic but critical information about fundraising, leadership, boards and other relevant nonprofit areas. Answers will appear both on our website and...