China's Response to Earthquake Recovery May Crack Open Door to Real Nonprofit Presence

Update 5/20/08: New York Times reports on unprecedented volunteer movement among Chinese citizens wanting to help earthquake survivors.

As I listened to earthquake news this morning from China's Sichuan province, I realized that the cards may be aligned for the Chinese government to welcome a real nonprofit sector. Reminds me of post-Berlin wall days in Eastern Europe.

There are already thousands of grassroots nonprofits in China, but they are fighting just to survive without the necessary support and infrastructure, much less to provide services to this huge population (estimated at 1.4 billion). Weak management skills and lack of operating resources are among the  key barriers to Chinese nonprofit impact, as cited in a recent McKinsey & Company report.

However, dramatic events are the most common harbinger of major change, and there's little more dramatic than the events of the last days in China. There may be a star in this dark, dark sky.

The Chinese government's response to this earthquake is strikingly different than that to the last major quake in Tangshan in 1976. In those last days of Mao's regime, the government tried to hide the earthquake, vastly underestimating the death and injury toll. By the end of the year, the Gang of Four was out of power.

In this last ten days, we've seen the Chinese government act very differently in:

• Launching a massive rescue and relief effort
• Asking for help (rescue equipment)
• Opening information and news channels
• Opening its doors to foreign aid (contributions and aid experts), and acknowledging that "without aid [they] won't be able to return to even current quality of life in the region for over 30 years."
• Honoring its citizens who perished in the quake with a three-day period of mourning (the first ever for Chinese citizens).

Yes, this is political maneuvering (aka crisis communications) as China tries to shine in contrast to Myanmar's government's disgraceful power play rather than the well being of its people and to the worldwide critique of its anti-human-rights approach, while maintaining some semblance of national glory in hosting the 2008 Olympics. Nonetheless, it's the end result that really matters.

In addition, over $1 billion in domestic donations have been made by a citizenry largely unpracticed in giving. What a great start. Much of the giving, according to NPR, is coming from students, and those who have achieved urban success after migrating from rural locales who are already busy on message boards questing for accountability for the use of their gifts. 

This is a society aching for nonprofits to fill the gaps the government has been content to hide for so long. This is a people no longer willing to live without rights, or in poverty. This is a country where nonprofit organizations can bring their issue and functional expertise to complement what the government can provide.

Watch, look and listen. With over 50,000 dead and 5 million homeless quake survivors, there's no better time than now for China to birth a robust nonprofit sector.

Your thoughts?

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Anyone else participating in the Summit onPhilanthropy V, Tuesday 3/11 in NYC?

I'll be live-blogging from this celebrity-filled (from the nonprofit point of view, doubtful if Brangelina will be in attendance) event next Tuesday, and would love to meet you if you're going too.

You know what I  look like (here I am), so do look out for me. Better yet, email me today and we'll set up a rendezvous. I love to meet Getting Attention readers!

Here's what I'm looking forward to:

• Meeting, or catching up with, some of my favs including Allison Fine, Mario Morino, and  Chronicle of Philanthropy editor Stacy Palmer.
• Learning and discussing on the three crucial topics covered in the panels. Really excited about CauseWired: Plugging In, Getting Involved, Changing the World.

If you're going to be there, let me know and we'll get together. If you're not, check back next week for what I learn, hear and see.

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Capitalize on The Big Give -- 4 Ways to Work it Via Nonprofit Marketing

Oprah's Big Give premiered Sunday evening March 2nd to record audiences (15.6 million, according to Nielsen ratings). Now that's a huge number of folks paying attention to giving; many of whom are likely to have little experience with nonprofits, donating or volunteering.

The show works like this: Ten contestants, ordinary people who auditioned in different cities like “American Idol” aspirants, are paired into teams and assigned a person who needs help. The team that raises most money — and presents the most moving case — wins. Each week the lowest-scoring contestant gets sent home.

Despite the fact that critics have panned the show as a venue for product placement, not good will; as a fraud and so far worse than a show that doesn't claim to do good, The Big Give is clearly a dream for ABC and its advertisers. I see it as a dream come true for nonprofit marketers.

Here are four low-cost/effort, high-return ways to put those 31 million eyeballs (and millions more who are reading about the show) to work for your nonprofit:

1. Harvest volunteers, while interest is hot. Register today with VolunteerMatch. Oprah has wisely partnered with experts on this front -- VolunteerMatch is sheparding folks into volunteering, a service featured on the show home page. Make sure you're volunteer ops are listed in the VolunteerMatch database. Here's how.


2. Make it easy for folks to give via Network for Good, even if you're already using another online giving strategy. Oprah has partnered with online giving service Network for Good on the donation side. Sign up today so you don't lose these viewers.


3. Invite supporters to throw Big Give parties for your org, and simplify the process by providing a downloadable party kit with e-invite text, stories of other giving parties, a party hotline, etc. Oprah offers tips for format and food here.


4. Sponsor or launch a local "Big Give" knock off in your community. I just heard today from Alicia Williams in Houston who has 20 locals ready to set one up. I'll follow up with my how-tos within the next few days.

Is your nonprofit capitalizing on The Big Give in other ways? Let me know in the Comments field below please.

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Your Chance to Hone Your Video Skills, and Win a Trip to Frisco -- 2nd Annual DoGooderTV Awards

Calling all nonprofit marketers! See3 Communications and the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) invite you to submit your videos to the contest, hosted on DoGooderTV.

The theme of this year's contest is From the Ground Up: Using Technology to Engage Constituents and Make the World a Better Place.  Last year's winner, Avaaz' "Stop the Clash of Civilizations" has been viewed over 1.5 million times on YouTube. (Take a look--this is fabulous, compelling and catchy. You'll want to view it at least twice.)

I love contests and awards. They get me off my b___ to create, to push myself, to experiment for client organizations (and to win a great prize on occasion). Use this opportunity to do this same with a few videos for your nonprofit, even if its a first-time production for you.

The dets:

• Videos can focus on almost any issue area.
• Submission deadline is February 15th, 2008, with finalist videos posted on DoGooderTV March 1st so viewers can vote on winners
• Winner will be announced at NTEN's annual conference (NTC) on March 21. 
• The winner will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to the 2009 NTC to be held in San Francisco.

Jump into this no lose, little cost, a bit of risk and effort opportunity with great potential for fun, marketing impact and perhaps even a trip to Frisco.

More information here.

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Broadcast Your Cause via YouTube -- New Channel Launched for Nonprofit Videos

Seems it's all the rage for corporate media entities to go nonprofit. Last week YouTube, Google and MTV announced nonprofit initiatives.

Most interestingly, YouTube announced Broadcast Your Cause, a way to make it even easier for people to find, watch and engage with nonprofit video content on the site. YouTube’s 2007/2008 Clinton Global Initiative commitment enables nonprofit organizations (501c3 tax filing status required for US orgs) that register for the program to receive a free nonprofit-specific YouTube channel where they can upload footage of their work, public service announcements, calls to action and more.

The channel will also allow you to collect donations with no processing costs using the newly-free Google Checkout for Non-Profits. YouTube’s global platform enables nonprofits to deliver their message, showcase their impact and needs, and encourage supporters to take action.

Meanwhile, the recent launch of ThinkMTV, MTV's social activism social network (that's a mouthful) has angered nonprofits planning or running social networks and turned down for funding by the same foundations (Case and Gates among others) who are funding this initiative. More from The New York Times here.

Obviously corporate media entities see that affiliation with nonprofits is of value to them. I see these initiatives as a complement to nonprofit-only networks if they partner with the right nonprofits on focus, strategy and communications. More is more. Reach audiences where they are. Yada yada yada.

Others are angered and/or threatened by these big boys stepping into the nonprofit world. Only time, and the nature of the partnerships these entities develop with nonprofit organizations, will tell how their involvement impacts nonprofit results. Stay tuned.

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Star Light, Star Bright -- Don't Miss These Ops for Your Nonprofit to Shine

Kivi Miller, mastermind behind the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, asked for input on some of nonprofits' most commonly missed or overlooked opportunities to share success stories, good deeds, accomplishments. What should nonprofits be bragging about, but aren’t? What tools can you use to help your organization shine more brightly?

I anticipate an incredibly useful conversation among the experts who participate in the Carnival. Here are a few of my ideas:

• Comment -- Every time you read about another nonprofit's accomplishment, innovation, success or new program, you have an opportunity to talk about your organization's related accomplishment etc.
  • Blog comments, list servs and MySpace pages are all great venues for doing so.

• Speak and share -- Toot your own horn while you share your expertise and the experience with colleagues in nonprofit communications, via Webinar, conference, workshop:

• I just finished participating in a Webinar (web-based conference call) with players in the powerful communications success enjoyed by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists when it moved its doomsday clock closer to midnight.
• Participation is a benefit of my membership in The Communications Network, an association of communications specialists working for and with foundations.
• Speakers included the Bulletin's ED and the various communications experts who shaped the very innovative campaign.
• The result was a great learning experience for me, and a wonderful opportunity for the Bulletin to spread the word on the hows, whys and results of its innovative campaign.I'm going to write about it, and I'm sure others will spread the word too.
• Also, a great way for a professional association to offer a benefit for its members -- a win-win for The Communications Network and the Bulletin.

• Quit Thinking so Much, and Make it Quick and Easy -- Sometimes I think we all overthink. One of the most effective communications I absorbed recently was a simple letter-size flyer I picked off the circulation desk at the local library. Titled Facts and Figures for 2006, it cites number of patrons served, books checked out, volumes purchased and other stats that say a lot, without any comment from library staff. Less is more in action.

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How to Keep Your Nonprofit Marketing Skills Sharp and Your Interest High -- From Colleagues in the Field

How do you keep your nonprofit marketing skills and interests fresh, when we're all fighting against not enough time and money? That's what I asked colleagues to share in this week's Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants.

The Big Top is here at Getting Attention this week (call me Ringmistress), and your peers have some great professional learning strategies to share:

Marc Sirkin of NPMarketing Blog takes a three-fold path to professional learning, built on a foundation of love of learning and reading, willingness to try new things and sheer curiosity.

Whitewater's Michelle Taylor always seeks a way to zig while others are zagging  to keep the creative juices flowing, and get a fresh perspective on communications and fundraising.

Beth Kanter at Beth's Blog is a passionate continual learner who pursues learning with a discipline I've rarely seen (she dedicates 30 minutes daily to learning). Her learning strategies include searching for, digesting, capturing and organizing perspectives and data online (blogs plus) -- an activity which in itself enables Beth to process new ideas (much as taking notes in the classroom did for me as a student) -- and getting to face-to-face meetings (mostly vlogger and blogger meet ups) on a regular basis.

Kivi Miller at Nonprofit Communications learns most when she teaches -- as a speaker, writer or trainer.

Kerri Karvetski of KK's Blog counts on LinkedIn as a powerful network to query on the challenges you're facing or the best way to pursue your new communications goal (she's right on target here, what a creative strategy for learning),  reading cutting -edge blogs (live conference and campaign blogs and wikis) and volunteering to keep learning and invested.

And finally, yours truly recommends writing (all the time, all media, all topics), nurturing a community of peers as a network (mine's a combo of offline and online, folks in the field and in related fields),  getting away from the desk to face-to-face meetings (irreplaceable) and finding your nonprofit marketing muse.

What's your method of continual learning? Share your strategies in the comments box below.

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Knight to Award $5 Million for Great Ideas on Strengthening Communities via Online Content & Conversation

The Knight Foundation is inviting entries to a $5 million competition to find innovative new ways to ensure communities get the news they need. Knight's 21st Century News Challenge is focused on using online channels to power physical communities much like newspapers (Knight's heritage) have done in the past.

It's all about what Knight is calling the need for "community news experiments," says Eric Newtown, Director of Journalism Initiatives. To motivate, "smart, new ways to help communities act in their own true interests," Knight will award a total of $5 million to individuals, organizations or businesses worldwide that can show their ideas will transform community life, Newtown says.

News Challenge awards will be made in five categories:

• Ideas -- Those who receive awards in this category must agree to share their ideas with others, further developing them publicly in a blog on a Knight-designated web site for at least a year. (Individuals)
• Pilot Projects & Field Tests -- To support the development of innovative pilot projects, prototypes, field tests or trials that use news and information to create physical, geographic community. (Individuals, groups, organizations or companies)
• Leadership -- To achieve large-scale impact. (Educational institutions, nonprofits or think tanks)
• Commercial Products & Investment -- To launch products that might not yield the return a venture capitalist is looking for, but are likely to be profitable and address a social need. ("Double bottom-line" products or companies.)
• Other -- Wide open.

Beware though. Knight isn't looking for the obvious. As stated in the What We're NOT Looking For section of the contest Web site, "We  love citizen bloggers, but to qualify for one of these awards, you’ll have to show how what you’re doing will transform the field. Blogging about a school board meeting is valuable, but not unique."

This is a great opportunity for community-based nonprofits, or national organizations working on regional or local projects, to be funded to experiment with online communications innovations. I'm interested to see what happens with this Challenge.

PS The communications strategy for the Challenge itself is also a great model. This RFP looks far different from the standard. And the 'quick and dirty' application form is designed to solicit key info from applicants, without sucking them dry. Nice job, Knight Foundation.

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Capture Seth Godin's Imagination for Free Seat to Dec. 12th Marketing Seminar

If you don't who know Seth Godin is, get on it. He's a free-wheeling, free-thinking marketing innovator who's turned the field on its ear in the last few years. With his blog, his books and his few personal appearances, Seth has helped to shape a cohort of creative marketers who are engaging audiences better than ever.

Now Seth has an opportunity for you -- in New York City, on December 12th. He's leading an all-day seminar (best word I can find, although that's not quite it--more interaction, more case studies) beginning with "a long presentation with plenty of micro-explosions and macro-ideas to turn your head inside out along with heavy interaction in which we talk about your problems and your organization and your marketing," as he puts it.

Only 60 seats total, with a few freebies for nonprofit marketers. Here's what to do:

• Build a lens on Squidoo outlining what you do (be creative here, remember -- Seth is a non-traditional thinker)
• Send him an email with your lens address
• He'll invite his favorites
• Let me know if you get in, and what you learn.

PS You can download Seth’s book “Unleashing the IdeaVirus” for free on his website.

Call for Blog Posts on Nonprofit Marketing and Communications

Hey marketing, fundraising, and nonprofit bloggers, I have a great opportunity for you to spread the word on your blog, and your perspective. It's finally my turn to host the fabulous Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants, and I'd like to invite you to submit a post on nonprofit marketing (one you create especially for the carnival, or one you've posted within the last two weeks).

This fabulous blog carnival compiles the best advice and resources that consultants and other support organizations are offering to nonprofits through their blogs each week. I’m looking for your post (either an existing post, or a new one you’ll quickly write for this purpose) on nonprofit marketing – either a case study, or a do or don’t that you’ve seen implemented by a nonprofit.

Please don’t limit yourself to the marketing standards. Consider marketing in its broadest sense.... as it relates to fundraising, messaging, technology, etc. 

Here's what to do:

1. Some time between now and 2pm ET Monday, September 25, post your nonprofit marketing case study, do or don’t to your blog.
2. Once you've done that, email me the URL (permalink) of your post Deadline  is September 25, 2PM ET.
3. By COB Monday, September 25, I'll post the carnival.  It will comment on and link to the seven best nonprofit marketing posts I've read.  I’m sure one of them will be yours.

Being part of this carnival is a great way to boost traffic and be found by new readers.  The weeks my posts have been in it, I've seen a modest but persistent increase in traffic. C'mon. Submit your post URL to me right now.

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GOING, GOING FAST: Grab One of the Last Seats for My October 18th E-Newsletter Workshop in New York City

I promise you it'll be an incredibly worthwhile three hours when you do. In E-Newsletters: Five Steps to High-Impact, Low-Cost Communications, you'll learn everything you need to get an e-newsletter going for your nonprofit, or to strengthen the one you have.

You'll learn how to :

• Clarify realistic goals for your e-newsletter, and who you have to reach to achieve them.
• Shape the right approach -- content, style, how much interactivity with readers.
• Design the most effective delivery -- frequency,"look and feel."
• Master the mechanics -- opt-in vs. double opt-in, list management, in-house vs. outsource.
• Promote your e-newsletter to get the most from your effort.

Best of all, you'll walk out of the workshop with a plan for your e-news launch or revision, ready to be implemented.

Register today. Just a few seats are left.

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Will Blog From Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Conference Next Week

Keep eyes and ears open for my blog report-outs from next week's DMA Nonprofit Conference in New York. BTW, still time to register if you haven't already.

I'm looking forward to hearing about innovations in mail and online direct marketing, particularly where fundraising is concerned. That's an area that I'm determined to become more of an expert in, and a bit different from my up-till-now focus on overall marketing strategy, message development, new communications tools -- both online and off, and product and service development.

The speakers' list looks great, and I know I'll meet some expert practitioners there as well, who are likely to approach nonprofit marketing from a different perspective. Should be really useful. I'm excited.

Trumpet Your Nonprofit Marketing Successes -- PRNewsWire Announces Nonprofit Marketing Award Submissions Due August 18

PR News is calling for entries for its second annual Nonprofit PR Awards, with all entries due August 18. The awards are open to all associations, nonprofits, government agencies, NGOs and their agency partners, and are made in a broad range of categories, including advocacy campaigns, crisis management and membership communications.

Thank you, PR News. It's been way too long that our sector has been without these award programs, that are so popular in the for-profit marketing sector, and bring satisfaction to winners and great models to their peers. And here, finally, is an addition to the handful of reward programs that cover nonprofit marketing. Go nonprofit marketers, go.

I urge you to enter. First of all, you deserve the recognition. Secondly, entering is a great motivator for reviewing your work over the last year, analyzing the greatest successes and framing them for the marketing universe at large. Do it.

Need inspiration? Take a look at last year's award winners.

P.S. There is a fee of $225 per entry. I don't quite no why but didn't receive a response when I queried the appointed contact at PR News. I'd say that's a bad PR move for PR News.After all, they get great attention from the program. Wouldn't you think that would be fair trade for the time it takes to run it?

Loyola University Marketing Center Serves Regional Nonprofits

Was I surprised to stumble on the website of the Shawn Donnelley Center for Nonprofit Communications at Loyola University in New Orleans. The Center, funded by a Loyola alumna, offers communications students an opportunity to assist nonprofit organizations with advertising and promotional campaigns, providing services as straightforward as flyer design, or as complex as an
integrated communications campaign.

Students work on real projects under faculty supervision and organizations receive help on their advertising and public relations problems. These marketers-in-the-making offer a broad range of services to nonprofit clients, from message development to public education campaigns and branding. And what a win-win.  Not only is the work produced put into use by client organizations, but work by students consistently wins awards at the Ad Club of New Orleans Addy Competition.

Why not research whether a local university or college makes such a service available to regional nonprofits? You'll benefit the students, and their work will benefit your nonprofit. At the very least, a fresh perspective is always of value.

Read about a Florida university offering student marketing services to local nonprofits.

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Let Issue Lab Distribute and Promote Your Nonprofit's Research--At No Charge

Thanks to IssueLab for closing a huge gap in the nonprofit research landscape. Despite the significant volume of research produced by nonprofits, there's never been a central online repository of these findings. If your nonprofit is savvy (or lucky) enough, your organization can generate a media hit or two when a paper is released, and/or push traffic to the publications area on your website. But even this rare success is fleeting.

IssueLab is the solution. Launched in 2006, IssueLab is a wide-ranging, searchable and browseable archive of critical publications. It simplifies the process of locating and accessing research and policy analysis materials, including reports, white papers, fact sheets, case studies, data sets and
more. When your nonprofit releases a paper on IssueLab (you can publish it yourself--in print and/or online--at the same time),  it gets attention every time another nonprofit working in the same issue
area posts its research.  And it's archived for the long term.

Register with IssueLab today to begin submitting your nonprofit's research, both current and historical.

Bonus--you can also subscribe to email alerts on new research publications in your organization's issue areas.

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Two Surefire Ways to Get Your Nonprofit Website Up & Running -- Cheap, Quick & Easy

If your nonprofit still doesn't have a web presence, and you believe you don't have the money or the time to invest in developing one, I have two alternatives to suggest:

1) Consider starting a blog, which is a simple way to set-up and manage a web presence, instead of a more traditional you-to-them website.That way you can brand your nonprofit with its own domain name, i.e. www.MaplewoodPTA.org.

2) If you feel strongly that a traditional website is the way to go, OrgSites.com provides a free, template-driven website, with hosting, to nonprofit organizations. The tool is quick and easy to set up. You type in the content you want on your site, and the template tool formats and designs it for you.

The down side?

• Your site has a OrgSite.com address (i.e.http://www.orgsites.com/al/sacbs/)rather than one that brands your organization.
• Page design and layout options are limited.

Ken Gross, in his Nonprofit Consultants Blog, is right on target when he recommends that only minimally-funded or staffed organizations at the local level, like PTAs, consider using the OrgSites.com free service. Personally, I think the blog approach offers more flexibility and impact.

Add a Communications Specialist to Your Board

BoardNet, in partnership with the updated Verizon Foundation Resource Center for nonprofit organizations, is offering a special matching service for those nonprofits seeking
communications expertise for their boards.

I've worked through BoardNet myself in seeking the right board position, and find their service (a matchmaking service joining nonprofit organizations and prospective board members) to be an ideal use of the web. It's like online dating that works. Through capitalizing on web technology, BoardNet enables nonprofits and prospective board members  with common interests or needs to find each other. They have lots of success stories to share.

Whether you are a nonprofit staffer seeking to bring some marketing expertise to your board leadership, or a marketing and communications expert interested in sharing your skills with an organization working on issues that mean something to you, BoardNet is the place to be.

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Could Your Nonprofit Be A 2006 ePhilanthropy Award Winner?

If your nonprofit has "demonstrated extraordinary talent, creativity, and insight in drawing the public's attention to the important use of the Internet for philanthropic purposes and/or have created services or strategies that support this effort," then the answer is yes.

So go ahead and enter the competition, assuming that your campaign was implemented sometime between May 2005 and May 2006, and falls into one of the categories below:

• Best Integrated Online and Offline ePhilanthropy Campaign
• Best Online Donations/Fundraising Campaign
• Best Special Event Registration and/or Membership Campaign
• Best Community Building/ Volunteerism and/or Activism Campaign

This new award program (2005 winners available online, and a great resource as you shape your application) is sponsored by various e-vendors serving the nonprofit sector, and is a great contribution to nonprofit communications.

Nothing better than competition to spur excitement, and excellence. The deadline is July 15, 2006. Let's see what you have to offer.

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Free May 31 Tele-Training -- Learn to Write Powerful Blog Content

The Build a Better Blog team invites you to join them in this no-charge training on writing blog content that'll build relationships, drive traffic and motivate the action your nonprofit wants.

Register today for this free May 31 tele-training.

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Win $100,000 Of In-Kind Marketing Services

I just read this morning about a great opportunity for your nonprofit. Relative newcomer The Bemporad Baranowski Marketing Group (BBMG), which specializes in branding services for nonprofits and "socially-responsible businesses," has just launched the It's How We Live grant program (IHWL). What a great chance for the winning nonprofit and its corporate partner to get $100,000 of in-kind marketing services to create and launch a cause marketing campaign. And what a great way for BBMG to get attention.

Read carefully. This grant is for cause marketing only. Specifics are clearly outlined in the IHWL site, including BBMG's clear definition of suitability.

Jump on today. Deadline is July 31, 2006 but you have to do some groundwork before you apply. It's too good an opportunity to miss.

America Online to Cover Fee for Nonprofits Emailing AOL Users

America Online intends to pick up the costs for nonprofit groups that wish to email AOL members via its new Enhanced Whitelist service. The announcement came in response to the protests of a nonprofit consortium that spoke out against the company's plan to charge for a new bulk email service.

AOL said that it will offer nonprofit organizations two new free email options providing many of the features, such as images and links, of the company's premium service designed for commercial mass email. On Monday, a consortium of nonprofit and public interest groups, including MoveOn.org Civic Action, the AFL-CIO, Gun Owners of America and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, lashed out at the plan by AOL and Yahoo to charge a fee for guaranteed delivery of bulk emails.

Some opponents called the fee-based service an email tax, while others said it would effectively silence less affluent organizations that can't afford to pay AOL's fees. AOL had argued that the rise of phishing schemes and spam requires the company to create a certified email so customers can tell good email from bad.

AOL spokesperson Nicholas Graham clarified, "We want to make it crystal clear for not-for-profits as well as not-for-profit advocacy groups that they will have multiple avenues of having email delivered," Graham said. The first new free service, AOL's Enhanced Whitelist, is for nonprofit organizations that meet the company's anti-spam and email requirements. Messages will be handled and delivered in a way like that of AOL's new fee-based certified mail.

Unlike certified email, messages sent via the Enhanced Whitelist will not be marked as "certified" and will be delivered for free. AOL will charge commercial companies up to a penny per email for certified email. The Enhanced Whitelist service is scheduled to be available in June 2006.

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Enter the Cause Marketing Halo Awards, Deadline February 27th

Sorry for the last minute notice, but I just learned about this fabulous award program.

Whether you're a for-profit that sponsored a cause-related campaign last year (think pink ribbons, etc.) or you're a nonprofit using successful tactics to raise awareness and/or funds, these awards are for you. Plus, winners get a plug in Ad Age magazine. (Does anyone read that in print anymore?)

Deadline February 27th, but if you can't do it this year, make a note to enter the 2007 award competition.

Just a Few Spots Left -- March 8th Blogging for Beginners Workshop

I'd like to invite GA readers in the New York metro area to join Blogging for Beginners, my March 8th workshop for nonprofit communicators.

You know that blogging is all about connecting with your audiences in this fast-moving world. Gain insights into how blogs can benefit your nonprofit, and learn strategies to develop and manage a successful blog, making you a smarter communicator. I'll introduce you to the basics of nonprofit blogging, and show you how to incorporate the newest internet-based strategy into your organization’s marketing plan.

You'll learn how to:

• Select the blogging publishing platform that's right for your nonprofit
• Leverage your blog to build stronger loyalty
• Increase the visibility of your blog to create "buzz"
• Evaluate your blog's impact.

Register today. Just a few spots remain for this half-day hands-on, workshop, sponsored by the Support Center for Nonprofit Management in New York, NY.

First-Time True Spin Conference for Nonprofit Communicators -- February 2006, Denver

Ben Cohen (of Ben and Jerry's fame) is one of many bound-to-be-great speakers at this first time conference. The True Spin Conference -- February 2-3, 3006, in Denver -- is aimed at nonprofit communicators. Goal being to strengthen skills, introduce new and creative contacts and, of course, to make connections.

The agenda here looks stellar, featuring such experts as Kathy Bonk and Holly Minch of The SPIN Project facilitating workshops and panels on topics from Websites as News and Pitching to Print Reporters.

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Nominate Your Organization to Receive Free Communications Capacity Building Support from the SPIN Project

Thanks to a $250,000, two-year grant from the Ford Foundation's Knowledge, Creativity & Freedom Program, the SPIN Project will provide no-cost services to help develop the strategic communications capacity of key non-profit organizations working to enhance the transparency and accountability of communications and information policymaking in the United States. "It is our sincere hope that this suite of capacity building services will expand the media reform and media justice community’s ability to shape public opinion and inform media policy in America’s communities," said Holly Minch, SPIN Project Director.

SPIN Project’s goals for the strategic communications initiative include:

• Strengthening the communications skills of media reform and media justice advocates, community organizers and researchers;
• Strengthening the communications infrastructure and strategic capacity among organizations working to improve electronic media policy in the public interest;
• Improving the framing, messages and communications strategies employed by advocates, researchers and organizers within the media reform and media justice communities.

To nominate your organization for communications capacity building support, please contact the SPIN Project at info@spinproject.org.

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E-News Provider Offers Free Accounts for Nonprofits That Support Children

Email marketing service Constant Contact recently launched its "Cares4Kids," designed to help children-focused organizations communicate and connect at a local level by enabling Constant Contact customers, partners and employees to sponsor a free Constant Contact account for those groups that meet the program requirements. The account gives these nonprofits the ability to reach out to their key audiences easily and effectively email communications, helping to build support and awareness of their mission in the communities that they serve.

In addition, as part of the program, sponsors will donate their time to assist the nonprofit organization they have chosen. Utilizing their own email marketing proficiency, sponsors will help the organization in setting up and using the Constant Contact service to communicate.

Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact comments, "Constant Contact's 'Cares4Kids' program helps address this critical need by giving them an effective web-based tool to help bridge the communications gap that exists for many nonprofits and the communities they serve."

It's great to see such an innovative approach to corporate giving. I'd like to see more of this kind of strategy, which really gets current clients and staff members involved in the giving, and motivates them to share their expertise as well. Way to go Constant Contact.

To apply or get more information, visit the Cares4Kids website.

Google Grants Provides Free Advertising to Nonprofit Orgs

Google is demonstrating its commitment to sharing its success with the nonprofit sector with its new in-kind grant program:

"It harnesses the power of our flagship advertising product, Google AdWords, to non-profits seeking to inform and engage their constituents online. Google Grants has awarded AdWords advertising to hundreds of non-profit groups whose missions range from animal welfare to literacy, from supporting homeless children to promoting HIV education. "

Google Grant recipients use their award of free AdWords advertising on Google.com to raise awareness and increase traffic to their websites. Each organization that receives a Google Grant gets at least three months of in-kind advertising. Here are some recent success stories:

• Room to Read, which educates children in Vietnam, Nepal, India and Cambodia, attracted a sponsor who clicked on its AdWords ad. He has donated funds to support the education of 25 girls for the next 10 years.
• The US Fund for UNICEF's e-commerce site, Shop UNICEF, has experienced a 43 percent increase in sales over the previous year.
• CoachArt, supporting children with life-threatening illnesses through art and athletics programs, has seen a 60 to 70 percent increase in volunteers.

Click here for details on how to apply.