Long time gone--again

Well, we are deep into the holiday season and i've been gone ever since thanksgiving--no excuse, but posting has gone down my priority list.

Time to play catchup.

1. Wall Street Journal last Monday had a long article about making good charitable choices for holiday donations. Nothing radical, but two full pages on WSJ space highlights the importance of, and the oversight on the issue. One of the criteria was, not surprisingly, transparency, and another was "Cost of fundraising" These articles are important for nonprofits to attend to, as they set the standard for many people who are trying to be more selective with their donations. So, if you are a nonprofit manager, pay attention. Here is one shortened (read: dumbed down) version of the article, but the full article is not available unless you are a WSJ subscriber....

2. I have long contended that Good To Great, by Jim Collins is the most important nonprofit management book out there--even though it is written solely about for-profits. Rumors have abounded that Collins was trying to take his deep research methods and apply them to find some magic in and for nonprofits. The rumors are true---but it was MUCH harder than he thought it would be.

The result of his efforts is a monograph available on Amazon called Good to Great and the Social Sector. I have it ordered, but have not received it...when I get it and read it through, I'll post a review.

3. Saw Boston University with Caitlin last week. She loved it, and is really excited about the Hospitality Management program there. Applications still going out....


More soon.

Online Donations

We all know that online donations are growing, and I have long recommended to all of my clients to have the ability to accept donations both by credit card and PayPal. Of course, there are numerous providers who process donations, and lots of software that tracks it. So where to start.

As always, start with TechSoup. Their current newsletter highlights a set of articles on selecting a good online donation tool. http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articles/funding/page4172.cfm will get you there.

Take a look, and make sure that you consider taking donations online, and if you do, in upgrading your donation interface. I saw one last night that only let me give $10, $25, or $50. Really. No more, no different.....silly.