Donor InSite Fundraising Blog

Seth Godin’s new book - The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (and when to stick)”

Duke Smith — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 12:35:34 +0000

I thought you would enjoy seeing this book review by the people over at Idea Sandbox. Seth Godin will have a new bookout in May, “The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)”. Looks like this book will be another huge winner for Seth. Why would someone write a book about [...]

links for 2007-02-20

Duke Smith — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 06:21:35 +0000

Yahoo! Co-Founder donates $75 million to University Stanford University alumnus and Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang and his wife have donated $75 million to the university, with much of the donation being earmarked towards construction of a new environmental studies building, according to the university. (tags: charity philanthropy Jerry Yang) Copywriting Webinar - From DMA Hall-of-Famer and Marketing Expert [...]

Links for 2007-02-19 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Yahoo! Co-Founder donates $75 million to University
Stanford University alumnus and Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang and his wife have donated $75 million to the university, with much of the donation being earmarked towards construction of a new environmental studies building, according to the university.
Copywriting Webinar - From DMA Hall-of-Famer and Marketing Expert Herschell Gordon Lewis
Direct Marketing Association Hall-of-Fame member and world-renowned copywriter and direct marketing expert Herschell Gordon Lewis will present a live, 90-minute online training session on how to write direct response sales copy. The program, entitled "How

A Cry for Innovation

Duke Smith — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:02:02 +0000

The folks over at InfluxInsights posted an alarming POV of the (RED) Campaign championed by Bono. As you may know “(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)RED branded products. A [...]

How to Produce Powerful Fundraising Communications

Duke Smith — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:14:30 +0000

Haunting ad from Association Renuir and Saatchi & Saatchi France. This ad hits the mark the mark in a lot of ways. I think we would care more if the plight of those affected so unjustly by poverty and hunger were at our doorstep. Caring is the right word here. And this is the way to [...]

links for 2007-02-19

Duke Smith — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 06:18:03 +0000

The 60 largest American charitable contributions of the last year. There are a few changes to the Slate 60 itself worth noting. For the first time, the feature includes a searchable database.You can sort by name, recipient, or source of wealth (tags: charity nonprofit phil) When philanthropy meets profitmaking For many people, philanthropy and profit-making are mutually exclusive. But [...]

Links for 2007-02-18 [del.icio.us]

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

The 60 largest American charitable contributions of the last year.
There are a few changes to the Slate 60 itself worth noting. For the first time, the feature includes a searchable database.You can sort by name, recipient, or source of wealth
When philanthropy meets profitmaking
For many people, philanthropy and profit-making are mutually exclusive. But a new wave of socially-minded financial projects, attracting charities and wealthy investors alike, are blurring the lines.
Try A Webinar - The Agitator
Excellent post on the value and availability of webinars for nonprofit orgs. Thanks guys.
MySpace-style websites perfect for disaster survival
Dialling emergency services when a major disaster strikes is a typical first response. Now US computer scientists are recommending useful follow-up: logging on to a social networking site, such as MySpace, to share information and survival tips.
Integration: Irrelevant?
Agencies strive to use rich online media to close the circle on their marketing initiatives. At times, their efforts are unique and successful; at other times, they're forced and irrelevant.

Good is Great.

Duke Smith — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 14:09:45 +0000

Ok. Maybe this is old news to you, but here’s a very interesting publication that claims to give 100% of their $20 subscription fee to a number of charitable organizations. Good Magazine’s founder, Ben Goldhirsh writes: Welcome to GOOD, media for people who give a damn We see a growing number of people tied together not by [...]

10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work

Duke Smith — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:43:10 +0000

I came across this post today from, The Copyblogger that is an excellent read. Ok, it’s written for the profit-world. However, I’d encourage you to go read it through in a “more than obvious” headspace. It’s about lettercopy as well. Enjoy… ——– So, you’re seeing too many of those “how to” and list headlines, and want to try [...]

links for 2007-02-13

Duke Smith — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 06:22:15 +0000

Amnesty International Cell Phone Service Cell phones just got a little less annoying. Human rights organization Amnesty International has just launched Amnesty Wireless, a new mobile phone service that donates 10 percent of your billed talk time to the non-profit. They’ll even chip in $175 to (tags: nonprofit fundraising char) Marketers advised to spend wisely as direct mail budgets [...]

Links for 2007-02-12 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Amnesty International Cell Phone Service
Cell phones just got a little less annoying. Human rights organization Amnesty International has just launched Amnesty Wireless, a new mobile phone service that donates 10 percent of your billed talk time to the non-profit. They'll even chip in $175 to
Marketers advised to spend wisely as direct mail budgets tighten
Just 14 per cent of direct marketers in the UK are planning to increase their budgets this year, according to a new report. With the budgets allocated to direct mail tightening, marketers will be forced to consider extremely carefully their strategies
2007 Budgets shifting??
"The Internet is the foundation for our future growth and success." But when I asked how much of JC Penney's $1 billion ad budget was being shifted to online, Ullman conceded, "Not much. We're still mostly doing direct mail."
Nonprofit Federation Asks USPS for One Year Before Increases @ Media Buyer Planner
The Direct Marketing Association's Nonprofit Federation has filed formal complaints with the U.S. Postal Service,
Five Steps to an Optimized Customer Experience—and a Stronger Brand
Every product or service you bring to market yields a customer experience. Is it the experience you intend? Does that experience fulfill the promise you’ve made to the marketplace?
Charity joins the MySpace revolution
International development charity ActionAid is launching a new website inspired by the success of community site MySpace, to offer support to fundraisers.
Religious TV channel on carpet for questionable fundraising practices
A religious television channel that has encouraged viewers to liquidate their retirement savings and charge up credit cards to make donations in the name of God may learn today whether it answers to Canada's broadcast regulator as a higher power.

Moving beyond direct marketing in our fundrasing

Duke Smith — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:02:28 +0000

Thanks to everyone who wrote me this past month or so. Your encouragement meant a lot to me. Being in the agency business, as I have been for the past 25 years, can be one of the most exciting…and challenging of professions. Expecially for those of us who get the privilege to work with great [...]

Donor InSite Has Been on Holiday

Duke Smith — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 21:35:10 +0000

Sorry for not posting in a few weeks. Between heavy client load and the Holidays, I’ve been a bit out of communication…and will be until the week of January 8. Thanks to all who have subscribed and who follow this site on a regular basis. We’ll be roaring back in January with a tremendous amount of [...]

Links for 2006-12-12 [del.icio.us]

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600

2006 Web Technology Trends
It's December already and so it's about that time to reflect on what has happened in Web Technology during 2006 - and ponder what 2007 may bring.

Links for 2006-12-11 [del.icio.us]

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Offline Marketing Is the New Online Marketing
The concepts of brand and brand marketing are becoming more important in the online marketing mix, and online marketing is becoming more important to brand marketing activities. The challenge is to develop how you actually measure the effectiveness of onl
Features | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California
Turns out that Nike swoosh is more than just a feel-good brand logo. It actually lights up your brain. Does your nonprofit logo do the same?
Borat on Branding and Positioning
“If you don’t position yourself, someone else will do it for you.” Thoughful (?) look at now donors and prospects may see your nonprofit organization.
URL as effective as toll-free number
Parallels exist between these proliferating URLs and the advent of toll-free numbers in direct response spots about 30 years ago.

Links for 2006-12-10 [del.icio.us]

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600

St. Jude Lessons in Fundrasing
By 2012, in a mere six years, ALSAC hopes to break $1 billion a year in fund-raising for St. Jude. Incredibly, the average gift given to St. Jude is only $25.09. Think about that: $1 billion in fund-raising by 2012, raised $25.09 at a time.
A look back at a year of ideas
This is the new face of philanthropy: brand-enhancing, profit-making, tax- paying. Its proponents argue that we have lost sight of what really matters: the good you foster, not necessarily how you go about fostering it.
Online Shoppers Choose Site Efficiency over Brand, Sales
Online shoppers are more loyal to websites that process their orders correctly and load pages quickly - and in droves abandon sites that don't meet those expectations
Darfur Genocide Photo Exhibit in Second Life
Actress and activist Mia Farrow, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, will on Friday discuss and answer questions about the worsening situation in Darfur and neighboring Chad at a virtual event in Second Life
Book Review of "Raising Thousands (if Not Tens of Thousands) of Dollars with Email"
The publication should be welcome news for nonprofits of all sizes that are trying to harness the Internet to grow their lists, engage constituents and raise money.

Links for 2006-11-30 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Rich or poor, charity begins one by one
There is a natural law, a Divine law, that obliges you and me to relieve the suffering, the distressed, and the destitute," Conrad Hilton, the late hotelier and philanthropist, wrote in his will. "The practice of charity will bind us - will bind all men i