Last month, we released an Assessment and Reflection Report authored by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine on America’s Giving Challenge, a program we launched in order to test and encourage the power of individual giving online. As part of this report, Beth and Allison featured three case studies on organizations that were successful in mobilizing their supporters during the Challenge. The case studies are based on interviews with remarkable individuals leading their Challenge efforts and winning $50,000 each for their causes.

A nonprofit’s website needs to make it easy to find out more about their cause, to donate money, and to become more involved. It needs to make it easy for media contacts to find the information they need and the contact information of key personnel. And it needs to do all this in a way that’s inviting to the organization’s targeted donors and/or volunteers.

“What distinguishes a good nonprofit from a great nonprofit? At the end of the day, the great, charismatic nonprofits are not necessarily those that have charismatic leaders, but those that can create strong social capital,” said Deborah Jospin at a Center for American Progress event about the book she co-authored with Shirley Sagawa, “The Charismatic Organization: Eight Ways to Grow a Nonprofit that Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees.” Nina Easton, Washington Bureau Chief of Fortune Magazine, moderated the discussion with Sagawa and Jospin.

What to call these innovative businesspeople is the subject of some debate. The terms “social entrepreneur” and “social businesses” are generally used to characterize people and businesses that bring entrepreneurship to ventures that have a social mission. Yet there are those who would limit the social entrepreneur label only to those without any profit motive. A separate, but related, category are companies referred to as “socially responsible.” These are generally companies whose core business does not necessarily have a social mission, but who display socially responsible characteristics, like environmental sensitivity…

A Respected Brand Can Get You Through Tough Times
When friends, coworkers and even family members find out that I went to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration of President Barack H. Obama, they ask, What was it like? In their usually hushed voices, you hear one part awe, one part envy and two parts reverence. Even one of my husband’s friends, who mostly just nods when he sees me, asked to speak with me – during their sacred weekly call about football – when he heard that I was on …

Blake Mycoskie, a former contestant on The Amazing Race, explains how he can give away a pair of shoes for every pair his company sells
The Entrepreneur: Blake Mycoskie, 32
Background: A self-described serial entrepreneur and inveterate traveler, Mycoskie’s ventures have ranged from a laundry service for college students to a reality-TV network. In 2001 he was a contestant on the CBS (CBS) television show The Amazing Race (he finished third). In January 2006, Mycoskie traveled to Argentina to learn how to play polo, practice tango, and do some community service work. …

Companies like JetBlue, Starbucks, and Apple don’t sell just a product or service; they sell an experience. So, what does this have to do with nonprofits? I would argue that some nonprofits do a pretty good job of packaging “experience” with what they do. Heifer, Save the Children, and Kiva do a pretty decent job of connecting donors directly to recipients, using online tools for donors to view pictures and stories of the people they are directly supporting. I would also argue in this communications-hyped world, your nonprofits’ actions speak …

In December, Fast Company published an article called “The Most Influential Women in Web 2.0″ featuring about a dozen amazing women who work in the Web 2.0 world. The list included BlogHer founders Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins, and Lisa Stone. Kaliya Hamlin, who is the founder of She’s Geeky, a women and technology conference taking place in Mountain View, CA on January 30-31st was also on the list.
The post sparked heated debate. Fast Company responded with “The Most Influential Women in Technology.”
I’m humbled to be listed …

Albert Einstein was quoted as saying “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Unfortunately, the world of nonprofit development can be notoriously fickle and unfocused.
Clearly we are in a major recession with no end in sight. The trick is not to panic. Here’s how you can meet your goals and, yes, even prosper in the upcoming year!

Stay the course. Develop a balanced, thoughtful budget approach which includes realistic goals for grants and corporate support, individual support, program support and events. Plan as you normally …

It’s the Data, Stupid! Why Your Organization’s Database is Your Most Important Development Tool
We all know the story of Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign against George H.W. Bush. While, early on, Bush was considered virtually unbeatable, Clinton’s campaign chose to address an issue that Bush Sr. had ignored, and “It’s the economy, stupid” became a catch phrase.
Nonprofit development is, by its very nature, data driven.
Yet it is rare that an organization gives more than lip service to its database. Databases are often selected solely on the basis of price. …