I was recently talking to a long-time friend who is the founder and president of a large electrical distribution company. We covered a lot of topics, and eventually wound up discussing the pros and cons of different types of software. When…Read more…
Microsoft Teams application is now available for Office 365 users. So what is Microsoft Teams? Microsoft Teams is the new chat-based workspace for teamwork in Office 365. For your nonprofit, this means teamwork just became a whole lot easier, faster,…Read more…
If you’re using StratusLIVE, you’re using Gartner’s magic quadrant leader – Microsoft! If you have been around StratusLIVE much, you know we are very committed to the idea of using the commercial Microsoft stack – and in particular, Dynamics 365 –…Read more…
What’s in it for me? In this “what’s in it for me” world, you can usually tell when someone only wants something from you. Well, guess what. So can donors. Yet in the nonprofit community, many organizations often forget that donors…Read more…
The nonprofit overhead debate rages on as organizations and their rating agencies take a closer look at what it means to be an effective nonprofit. In 2013, three major agencies that evaluate and serve the nonprofit industry co-authored an open letter to…Read more…
The dog days of summer. While this phrase conjures up images of fun in the sun and backyard barbecues, it’s also synonymous with a period of heat-induced sluggishness that coincides with the heliacal rising of Sirius, also known as the “dog star”. It’s…Read more…
Are donors more cash-strapped during an election year? Survey says… Now that the national nominating conventions are over for the country’s two largest political parties, many nonprofits are left wondering how the coming general election will shape their own fundraising campaigns. As…Read more…
Game app Pokémon Go is revolutionizing marketing for businesses and nonprofits In just a few weeks, Pokémon Go has already rewritten the rules of what a mobile app game can do. Using augmented reality (AR) technology, the app requires players (known in the game…Read more…
New nonprofit rating system changes evaluation methods for revenue and administrative costs Earlier this year, Charity Navigator announced it would be introducing a new charity rating methodology, dubbed CN 2.1. The updated version of the charity rating system consists mainly of changes made to…Read more…
Improve the quality of your donor data in one easy step by incorporating double opt-in into your email marketing strategy The argument could be made that nowhere is the adage “old habits die hard” more true than in the nonprofit world….Read more…
Good deeds are good for business. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate citizenship, responsible business, corporate responsibility & sustainability, etc.) is a form of corporate self-regulation which is natively integrated into the business model. CSR is intended to not only ensure…Read more…
LinkedIn acquisition fuels Microsoft’s expansion by introducing natively integrated social, analytics, and more. Just last week, Microsoft announced they would be acquiring professional social network LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, the largest acquisition in the company’s history. Under the terms of the acquisition — and with the…Read more…
Free software may cost more than you think. Imagine you’re in the market to buy a car. When doing research, what do you look for? Does it have to be sporty? Have 4-wheel drive? Will you only consider blue cars? Or cars with leather…Read more…
When measuring social impact, actions speak louder than words. Nowadays, everyone wants to talk about social impact: helping society, making a difference, giving back to the community. While the sentiment is admirable, without quantifiable results, it’s just a warm fuzzy…Read more…
If you’ve ever seen or heard the phrase “a portion of the proceeds will be donated,” then you may already familiar with cause marketing. Cause marketing is when a for-profit business and a nonprofit charity combine their efforts to benefit each other…Read more…
You already know that storytelling is an amazingly effective tool to get donors to connect to your cause and your mission. (And if you need inspiration, check out these 7 story archetypes to ramp up your fundraising appeals.) But to…Read more…
Red Nose Day celebrates its second annual U.S. fundraising drive with big names and big laughs Childhood poverty is a heartbreaking reality for thousands of children in this country and millions across the globe. Luckily, Red Nose Day is once…Read more…
Leave bags of non-perishable food by your mailbox this Saturday, May 14th for the USPS Stamp Out Hunger food drive. Every year, on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America collect non-perishable…Read more…
Pause a moment to reflect on your nonprofit’s mission. Is it to perpetually write grant proposals? Make phone calls asking for donations? Write emails? Probably not. More than likely, your nonprofit was initially founded because there was a need and…Read more…
The value of a volunteer hour rose again last year, up 49 cents to $23.56 an hour, continuing the steady upward trend that has been observed each year since volunteer time value was first recorded in 2001, according to Independent Sector…Read more…