The Nonprofit Weekly Roundup: Right Now Marketing, Hacking Facebook, and #GivingTuesday

I was Cinderella this Halloween.

Literally.

My mom came for a visit this weekend and my house was anything but prepared, so Thursday night I was adorned in a different type of costume- one that I won’t be posting pictures of on social media or receiving retweets for.

There was no prince charming and definitely no fairy godmother coming to my rescue. I was on my own with a bottle of Windex, a Swiffer (the new magic broomstick), and my two step-sisters, aka my roommates.

My fairytale’s happy ending was up to me. Sacrifices had to be made, priorities had to be adjusted, and I had to do what I had to do to get the job done. The queen was coming.

That’s life, though, right? In order to turn dreams into reality, campaigns into revenue, or attrition into retention, there’s no question that you’ll have to get your hands dirty- change your perspective. And the compilation of posts below will help you do just that.

Here are this week’s nonprofit highlights:

• The Nonprofit Blog Carnival got dressed up this year, major donor style. In Claire Axelrad’s edition, Halloween Nonprofit Blog Carnival- Major Gifts Tricks and Treats, nonprofits are given advice galore on building relationships with major givers. From finding the obvious prospects to creating thoughtful thank you’s, this carnival has a treat for every palate.
• Halloween How-Tos: Right Things, Right Now Marketing Don’t let the title of this post trick you- it isn’t just a Halloween thing. It’s a year-long thing. Creating marketing campaigns based around current holidays or events is a no brainer for nonprofits, but there’s a catch. As Nancy Schwartz puts it, if you’re not creating marketing that deepens understanding and motivates support, you’re creating who-cares, right now marketing. And there’s a big difference.
• Consistently finding and creating content that resonates with your audience can be a struggle. But it doesn’t have to be. John Haydon let’s us in on a small, but powerful secret in his post: How to Hack Facebook Interests Lists for Content Marketing. In just 4 easy steps, your nonprofit can be using Interest Lists to curate read-worthy resources for your fan base.
• In this short episode of Fundraising Fundamentals, How to Use Social Media in Year-End Drives, Natalie Stamer of St. Baldrick’s Foundation shares expert story-telling advice. Creating share-worthy content means understanding your audience and the story they want to tell. Twitter and Facebook serve different functions, but two things should always be consistent: your ask and your story.
• Twitter. It’s the #2 social network, and nonprofits everywhere are being encouraged to use it to expand their reach and share their story, but the need to quickly build a social presence leaves many wondering where to begin . In Julia Campbell’s  Top 10 Twitter To Do’s for Nonprofits, she provides some much needed direction for nonprofits surveying the field.
• It’s projected that there will be more than $602 billion generated this holiday season. Think about how much of that money is wasted on awkward gifts- the junk. What if even a portion of that of that $602 billion was spent with purpose? Imagine that. Nonprofit Tech For Good highlights  29 Online Gift Stores that Benefit Nonprofits to bring new meaning to your giving this season.

and speaking of the giving season..

•  #GivingTuesday is December 3rd: Are You Ready? Rachel Hutchisson is. In her npEngage post, she shares secrets and tools to help get your nonprofit prepared, too. Join the movement. {And check-out the webinar series to learn how you can leverage the day for year-end fundraising}

I’ll be spending the rest of my Sunday with the queen herself, my mom. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yours truly,

@MaddieTplease

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Madeline Turner

Madeline Turner is the Online and Social Marketing Manager at Blackbaud. Prior to running Blackbaud’s social media and thought leadership blog npENGAGE, Madeline worked as a Managing Editor for Blackbaud’s Content Marketing program. It is her goal to create content and share ideas that challenge the status quo of the nonprofit industry. When Madeline isn’t tweeting or writing blog posts, you can find her drinking coffee out of her ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ mug, wearing giant headphones and singing off-key.