With new methods of fundraising popping up all over the internet these days, it can be hard to decide what the best, most efficient options for your particular organization are. But if you have a cause that appeals to a large audience - or even better, that matches up with the mission or vision of a private, corporate counterpart - then you cannot afford to overlook the hottest new ticket in nonprofit fundraising: cause marketing.

Cause marketing refers to the practice of teaming up a nonprofi...
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If you're running a charity or nonprofit, one of the biggest concerns and challenges is being transparent with how you use your funds.  Not only do organizations need to strive to be honest in their use of money, but somehow communicate their nonprofit accountability to donors.  Charity Navigator can help in both of these areas.



How Charity Navigator Works
Charity Navigator evaluates nonprofits in two areas: Financial performance and accountability.  Areas of financial performance include progr...
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I recently met with a friend of mine at Geekdom who specializes in video storytelling for nonprofits. We were discussing some of his recent projects when he mentioned that two of the nonprofits he created videos for had the same exact fundraising strategy. This seemed odd to him, because the target causes and passions of the two nonprofits could not have been more opposite. In short, they both were going to ask for donations from the same three or four wealthy philanthropists in the local are...

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The world of Social Entrepreneurship is quickly evolving and numerous resources can now be found on the internet.  While funding and inspiration can still be a challenge, every day you can find new and exciting ways to stretch your ability to effect real social change.

We have gathered some examples that you may find to be helpful in making your own social change dream a reality:


Change.org
Change.org is a great way to easily create and publicize your own campaign to bring about social chang...
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Have you checked your GuideStar rating lately?  A GuideStar report is similar to a consumer credit report.  Does your organization do what it says it will do?  Is the money spent properly?  These questions and more can be answered by a GuideStar report.


Today’s responsible donors are taking time to perform due diligence on organizations before directing their donations.  GuideStar is one tool that donors can use to find useful, accurate, and reliable information.  With 22,000 visitors each d...
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When most people think of corporations today, they think of companies which are designed to make a profit.  This is usually the largest profit possible while still using legitimate business methods and not jeopardizing the health, safety, and well-being of the employees.  This is the traditional view of a corporation; however, with the introduction of benefit corporations, this idea is beginning to change.

In the traditional corporation, the president or CEO could not decide on his or her own ...
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The use of social media provides nonprofits with a platform for attracting donors. If you are looking for different nonprofit outsourcing options, then many alternatives are available. Review various options that can be used by any organization to attract donations.

Razoo

This is a fundraising platform that has raised over $104 million to date. Users can sign up using an email address, a Google+ account or a Facebook account. Creating a fundraiser is a simple process. You need to enter the name...
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In November 2010 I left the big public IT company to get back to my start-up roots and roll the dice all over again. I joined an SEO / PPC company where I was in charge of the entire support operation. While assessing what the team needed I quickly realized that we were in need of some tools if we were going to be mean lean start-up machines.

I knew that I needed to get some type of project management tool to replace all the custom stuff we had going on in Salesforce. Don’t get me wrong Sal...
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Nonprofits have many new ways to raise money by using the Internet to their advantage. A nonprofit needs to have more than an online form to use for accepting donations. New nonprofit methods to connect with supporters and accept donations include the use of mobile devices, text messaging, and social networks.

Online Payment System

Nonprofit organizations can use online payment systems to accept donations from supporters. The use of an online payment system can process payments made by credit c...
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Cousera is social entrepreneurship organization that removes the barrier to higher education. A major dilemma in the United States and in the world is access to education. The barrier to education in the United States is funding. Outside of America, especially in countries like Africa, there is no access to higher education at all. This amazing organization is less than a year old; it was created by Stanford University Computer Science professors Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. Furthermore, anyo...
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In Part 1 of this series we briefly went through answering the "why" when it comes to nonprofit outsourcing. Today we are going to walk through the "How" for those that want to know how you can actually execute when in need of some outsourcing help.  Hiring a VA effectively is much like hiring a great employee, with just a few caveats and additional considerations.

First, where do you find VAs? The most common places are oDesk (my personal favorite) and eLance. A quick Google search will also...
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Perhaps you haven't heard the term "Social Entrepreneurship" before now, or perhaps you have wondered how the social entrepreneur goes about their work of trying to change the world.  The person we are talking about is one who sees solutions to large social problems and envisions new approaches and solutions.  They do not see the world as a place to profit but instead as a place to improve and sustain.

Because of the large scale nature of these problems, they often work with the very poor and ...
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Today's post is the first of a two part series that focuses on why and how a nonprofit or charity should use outsourcing. I was first introduced to this concept while reading Tim Ferriss's book The 4 Hour Work Week. If you haven't read this book it is a must read for any nonprofit or charity that needs to upgrading their online toolkit. Click here for a blog post of other must reads like this book.

My first use of an outsourcing service was a result of a conversation I had with a graphic desig...
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Today's post highlights three organizations that give us a peek into the future of philanthropy. These companies have embraced two secrets that the internet has helped to unlock.

One of the main reasons for my post is my desire to express how much I love their ideas! I get excited every time I think about what these companies have achieved. I want more nonprofits around the world to think just like these companies, so they will not get left behind in a constantly changing world.

These compani...
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The backbone of any organization, whether it be for-profit or non-profit is a sound financial accounting structure. An accurate accounting system is a catalyst to organizational growth as it provides access to critical data. This data is the only way to truly understand an organization’s financial health. Without the presence of timely and accurate information, an organization can quickly find itself making assumptions based on “gut reactions” and a false sense of confidence. Poor finan...
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Three names come up more than others when discussing email newsletters: MailChimp, TinyLetter, and Constant Contact. While there are a dozen or more other services, those three have established themselves as the go-to brands for small businesses, individuals and nonprofits needing an easy-to-manage solution for email outreach.


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A few months before I started a new job in the philanthropic world, my wife (then my girl-friend) and I decided to take a trip to Asia. I was winding down a start-up that wasn't as successful as I hoped it would be; statistically speaking 9 out of 10 start-ups fail. I told Kara after the decision was made to shut down the company that we should skip town and travel Asia while I was between jobs. 

I said, "Hey, I am jobless right now and I know that you have been thinking of quitting your job. ...
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A friend of mine Wes Bright sent me an email a couple of weeks back telling me about a cool CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) his church had started using. I asked if he wouldn't mind writing a blog post about the tool and what his church was using the tool for in case any other organizations out there were looking for something similar. Wes and I used to work on some projects together when I worked at Rackspace. The guy is very sharp and knows his technology! I know you all will find valu...
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If you are the Executive Director of a nonprofit or running a small business this blog post will help change your business. The message is so controversial that when you show it to your IT Manager the first thing they are going to do is attack it like a raccoon that has been cornered after stealing hot dogs out of your ice chest. But before tempers flare and emotions run high allow me to give you a small disclaimer. I promise I won't be that guy that just tells you want is wrong with your org...
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The books covered in this blog post are new methodologies on how to think about yourself and your customers. I learned about these two books while working at Rackspace and they are embedded into the backbone of the Rackspace business framework. As I encounter more and more companies that use them I can't help but sing their praises and I firmly believe that these are the lenses you need to be viewing the world through. Lets start shall we?
 
 



 
Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
This book is broug...
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How important is transparency to the donor-nonprofit relationship? Or better yet, what does it mean for a nonprofit to be transparent? Is it wise for a nonprofit to be transparent about activities that might divert attention away from its core vision and message?

Questions like these are incredibly important for nonprofits in today’s world. In fact, it seems like every week we hear about another nonprofit which comes under fire for a “lack of transparency”. This criticism, which can quic...
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When I first started working in the nonprofit sector I did what anyone would do who finds themselves in a strange land with no one to guide them; I starting reading up on the subject. Having spent over a decade in Corporate America I had read just about all the books that they throw at you. Some are very good and helpful and others really suck. The problem I have run into with nonprofit literature is that I have yet to find any books that really rock my world. None of them seem to challenge t...
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Overview

Every successful for-profit and non-profit enterprise knows how critical a good CRM (customer relationship management) system is to success. A powerful CRM platform can not only help organizations find new customers, but also help to retain them by creating deeper and richer relationships. Over the past few years businesses and non-profits have begun to understand the immense potential of transforming themselves into these social enterprises. This new identity engages customers/donors...
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I recently started a small photography business on a shoestring, and I was able to use and benefit from a lot of the online tools that are mentioned here on E-Samaritan. I was thrilled with just how quickly I was able to get my business up and running with these tools…for cheap. When I first realized that it was time to start the ball rolling and turn an idea into an actual business, the first thing I knew I needed to do was decide on a business structure and get my business filed with th...
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For many small and medium-sized nonprofits, daily operations are often a constant juggling act. The ability to efficiently manage a scarcity of resources while constantly advancing the organization’s mission is a skill that most successful directors and managers must possess. A few decades ago, nonprofits without a substantially large bank account and donor list had little chance of surviving, let alone thriving, in a resource-poor environment. With the explosion of the Internet and new tec...

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Today you are really going to enjoy the two sites we cover. My misses and I recently launched businesses and so had to each get a logo. While doing our research we came across two super cool sites where you can get a logo designed and not have to break the bank. 

Typically if you are going to get a logo designed it runs somewhere in the area of $500 and up. I am here to tell you peeps that you can now get a logo for as little as $149. The area of cloud computing has made the world a consumer's...
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Since Jeff Kelly was kind enough to break the ice on PM issues I feel compelled to show you some cool tools out there for Project Management. As with most of the tools we feature here on eSamaritan the majority of them you can use for free or for very little money. For those that have never used a collaboration tool it's very simple. You have a project that you are doing and using excel to list all of your tasks is not enough anymore. It's not even enough to use Microsoft Project because you ...
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In the excitement of kicking off a project, people can get lost in all the details that come along.
1.     What features can I add?
2.     How soon can we get this done?
3.     How am I going to keep track of all this stuff?
 
Sadly, they lose sight of the two key questions they should be asking.
1.     What is the goal of the project?
2.     How am I going to measure success of the project?
 
When you’re discussing the scope of a project, you want to make sure that the activities that you do, the f...
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Today I am going to stray from my current topic of "Must Have" technologies. My brief detour is specifically about web conferencing technology because I used one that saved my behind three days ago. I had a call scheduled in the afternoon with a technology foundation and a national non-profit. The call bridge was setup by the foundation and for some reason the bridge was not working. I called the foundation and they were troubleshooting the problem but I got the feeling that it may take a whi...
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Online marketing means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. The biggest vehicles out there for online marketing are Google, Facebook and Twitter. I was once in a meeting with a guy that owned an AC company and he said probably the most honest statement I ever heard. 

"I keep hearing everyone talk about this social media. I don't know what it is but I am pretty sure I need to do something in regards to it. Can you help me?" 

I am going to attempt to condense the basics into th...
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 Let me just say this; email doesn't have to be one of those very complex things that tends to scare people. My own mother was very hesitant about using it until she found out that she could keep track of her kids grades online. Then the entire game changed for her. If you are starting out your own business at some point using Google Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo Mail simply will not cut the mustard. So when that glorious day finally arrives you are going to have to get a real mail provider. 

What ...
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 In my previous blog post I listed all the essential ingredients to make your business or non-profit operate. And although the pyramid I show has websites listed second from the top I am starting with it for one simple reason, it's the easiest. When it come's to making websites there are really 3 ways to go about this; (1) pay someone to make it, (2) make it yourself, or (3) pay someone to make it and then you maintain it after they hand it over to you.

Typically if you want a site you go find...
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The more I work with and talk to various non-profits the more I am learning that there is an entire sector of the organizational world that has not fully embraced the power of online tools. Today I would like to start by showing you that every organization, whether you are a for-profit business or a non-profits, needs to have certain functions (or departments) in order to operate. I have condensed them into the slide below. 

What I want you to take away from this slide is that of all the funct...
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