When someone asks me what the best way to connect with a support network is, my answer is always the same – blogging.
Blogging is hands down the best way to connect with a group of followers, whether they be your peers, a group of learners, or customers.
And in the nonprofit world, these are some of the most influential bloggers out there.
They are writing epic stuff. Advice you should be reading and following.
In other words, these ten people need to be on your radar.
Heather Mansfield – Nonprofit Tech 2.0
Heather has presented at more than 100 social media and mobile technology trainings throughout the United States.
Qualified? Definitely.
Heather’s a pioneer in utilizing social media for the nonprofit sector. Her 15 years of experience in fundraising (much of it on the Internet), community-building, and advocacy has led her to the logical step of sharing this wealth of knowledge as author of the book Social Media for Social Good.
Lately she’s been blogging about Google+… she’s got my attention on the matter and has me considering getting this site on Google+ soon.
Want to see the future of nonprofit fundraising? Check out how mobile wallets are going to revolutionize how you collect your donations.
Beth Kanter – Beth’s Blog
Twitter - @Kanter
“An expert in the use of Web 2.0 for fundraising”
Beth is another book author in the nonprofit space, having co-authored The Networked Nonprofit. It’s not in my library yet, but it’s on my list of books to check out at the local library.
Beth has over 30 years experience working in the nonprofit sector in multiple areas, including:
- technology
- training
- capacity building
- evaluation
- fundraising
- and marketing.
Her expertise is on how to use new web tools (blogging, tagging, photo sharing, video blogging, social networking) to support nonprofits. The thing I really appreciate about her is her data analysis skills. She highlights tools that make your stats real, like this one for Twitter.
And hey, I didn’t realize Minnesota nonprofits did this, but for the third straight year they’ve banded together for a day of giving and hit a fundraising grand slam. Check out Give to the Max for yourself.
$13.4 million in 24 hours. Awesome.
Amy Sample Ward – Version of NPTech
Twitter – @amyrsward
“I work with organizations of all sizes and all kinds, and truly believe that by creating strong communities we can change our world.”
Amy co-authored Social by Social, a handbook for using social technologies for social impact.
(If you’re noticing a trend here with nonprofit bloggers and authors, nice work. You’re so perceptive…)
Amy’s impact is also felt at NTEN, where she is the Membership Director. Additionally, she’s a contributor at Stanford Social Innovation Review, which, if you don’t have plugged in to your RSS reader, you should. SSIR touches on many topics relevant to nonprofits, and one, what Facebook’s changes mean to nonprofits, is called out on Amy’s blog.
Speaking of which – when is Facebook going to settle on a format for their pages?
Allison Fine – A. Fine Blog
Twitter - @Afine
“Writes about the intersection of social media and social change.”
Allison has enough publications that I think a bullet list is appropriate:
- teamed up with Beth as the co-author of The Networked Nonprofit
- authored Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age
- co-author, The Wired Nonprofit
Allison appears to be everywhere these days, including on your iPod. She produces and hosts a monthly podcast for the Chronicle of Philanthropy called Social Good.
Head over to her blog and take a look around.
Notice anything?
Allison’s design uses the same WordPress Woothemes template, Canvas, that this blog relies on. I’ve blogged about the merits of WordPress themes for blogs and nonprofit web sites before, and I’ll say it again – templates like Woothemes’ can get your nonprofit web site up and running fast and cheap.
Great design choice, Allison.
Katya Andresen – Network for Good
Twitter - @katyaN4G
“Traces her passion for good causes to the enormous social need she witnessed as a journalist prior to her work in the non-profit sector.”
Katya is Chief Strategy Officer at Network for Good, as well as board member for NTEN. Her book, Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes, resonates with me because, quite frankly, nonprofits need to start taking more of the best lessons from the corporate world.
Her infographic about online giving in December, which I’ve shamelessly copied below, tells an interesting picture if you are trying to capture online donations. Hoping to capture attention from potential donors on Twitter and other social media? 10am – 6pm appears to be your sweet spot.
Nancy E. Schwartz – Getting Attention
Twitter - @NancySchwartz
Getting attention. Isn’t that what this is all about?
Nancy can help. You’ll want to start with her marketing plan template she offers up here .
Spend 5-10 hours on your nonprofit marketing efforts with this plan, and you’ll end up with stronger connections between your base and prospects — leading to more giving, volunteering and advocacy.
And the marketing plan is only the start…
Jeff Brooks – Future Fundraising Now
Twitter - @jeffbrooks
“I believe there’s a marketing revolution going on and it’s high time for nonprofits to join that revolution.”
Jeff relies on his experience as creative director at TrueSense Marketing to share with you his vision for the future of fundraising. He’s also the second podcast producer on this list of influential bloggers, co-hosting a podcast called Fundraising Is Beautiful.
I was surprised by the size of Jeff’s team and reach – TrueSense has a team of 60 fundraising professionals developing campaigns representing 40 million donor impressions each year.
That’s a lot of impressions.
I like getting into the details, and Jeff does this regularly on his blog. If you are authoring email campaigns to your supporters around the holidays, you should check out his post about subject headlines – and yes, headlines do matter!
Allyson Kapin – Rad Campaign
Twitter - @WomenWhoTech
“A part of the first generation of online advocacy experts”
Allyson is a founding partner of Rad, a group which helps nonprofit organizations and political campaigns create dynamic and award-winning websites and online marketing and recruitment campaigns.
Allyson has been named a Top Tech Titan by the Washingtonian, one of the Most Influential Women In Tech by Fast Company and one of the Top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter by Forbes for her leadership role in technology and social media.
Rad’s web site is a great example of web design principles in action, including attention-grabbing headlines, solid content ‘above the fold’, social media baked right in, and a prominently-displayed newsletter sign-up.
I suppose you could call their site radical.
Tell me you found that reference funny. Please.
In addition to great site design, you’ll find great content on this site, including expert analysis in the latest trends in social networking, blogging, online video, and other online tools and strategies.
If you are looking for advice on how to cost-effectively incorporate the latest trends into your nonprofit’s online presence, check Rad out.
Jason Dick – A Small Change
Twitter - @infosmallchange
“I am fervent about community and social change, passionate about non-profits securing funding for their mission.”
A skilled fundraising development professional, Jason works within corporate giving, granting, major gifts, annual fund and grassroots fundraising.
He offers some great insight on his blog, like the cautionary words about your $1K donors (I don’t have that problem at this moment because I’m still lacking $1K donors – where can I find them?).
I haven’t dished out any advice yet in this post, so at the risk of making it through 1,800 words and no advice, here we go.
One of Jason’s most valuable sections of his blog (and social proof that he has an engaged audience) is his open-ended question to his readers:
Have you run an online fundraising campaign? Was it successful? What did you do that really worked and what did you do that did not work?
Some awesome insight there. I think Jason should highlight the feedback somewhere more prominently on the blog. AND, get this going on a more regular basis, like a quarterly survey. Hearing it from the ones in the trenches, I think your readers are really going to get a lot out of that.
My two cents.
Kivi Leroux Miller – Nonprofit Marketing Guide
Twitter - @kivilm
“More than 3,000 nonprofits in more than 30 countries have participated in Kivi’s webinars.”
Sadly, our journey together to find the most influential nonprofit bloggers is coming to a close.
Rest assured, I’m saving the best for last. Consider it my gift to you for all the great work you are doing out there, advocating, supporting, making a difference. Cheers to that!
Kivi has an awesome blog at the Nonprofit Marketing Guide.
Great content. Check.
Great design. Check.
A catchy tag line (Training and tips for do-it-yourself nonprofit marketers). Check.
I love the DIY mentality of nonprofit marketing – you don’t need a degree to understand how to reach people. But it is a learning process, and Kivi makes that learning easier.
Kivi wrote the book on nonprofit marketing, literally… The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause.
Call nonprofits thrifty- the word freebie resonates well with this group. And the 2012 nonprofit marketing trends report is one of the best freebies I’ve seen. Even cooler, is that the graphics are easily digestible, available on Flicker here
If you were wondering how often you should email your list, now you know!
Your Turn
Anyone I missed? If there is an excellent nonprofit blogger out there I didn’t mention but think I should, be sure to share below in the comments section.
|
Download my FREE non-profit design workbook. Benefits include...
 Freedom in pursuing your visionFulfillment in your purposeRecognition for your efforts |
|
This is a great list, and there are always other people you could add to the mix. Here are a few that I like:
John Hayden, http://www.johnhaydon.com/
Inspiring Generosity (Razoo), http://social.razoo.com/
Debra Askanase, http://www.communityorganizer20.com/
Joe Waters, http://selfishgiving.com/
Pamela Grow, http://www.pamelasgrantwritingblog.com/
Socialbrite, http://www.socialbrite.org/
Frogloop (mostly penned by AllysonK) http://www.frogloop.com/
Just to name a few. Hopefully you’ll see some you will like on this list that you don’t know. :-)
Great to “meet” you here.
Thanks for the additional influential bloggers, Kami. I’m familiar with Debra (been trying to get her to guest post on my blog sometime soon!), but I’m not familiar with the others. Will definitely check them out.
Terrific list and I appreciate the shout-out Kami. You’ve listed my favorites as well, particularly John Haydon, who has a rare gift for making anything technical seem doable to the least techie among us – and has a generous soul to boot. I would also add Mazarine Treyz, AKA http://wildwomanfundraising.com/ and Mark Philips http://www.queerideas.co.uk/.
You took the words out of my… hands? Yes, I completely agree – no list like this is complete without John Haydon and Debra Askanase!
Thanks Kami!
Bret – wow. Thank you so much for including me on this list; I’m honored!
I’d also suggest folks follow the NTEN blog, not because I work for NTEN but because the majority of content on the blog is actually from the nonprofit technology community! We have a theme each month and feature the thoughts, case studies, and lessons from the community. I’m impressed every day by the great insights and terrific work people share on the NTEN blog so that others can learn.
Thanks again!
My pleasure, Amy. Keep up the great work. And thanks for the note about NTEN!
Thanks for including me and I endorse everyone else on the list wholeheartedly too! Those are the people I read to make me smarter.
Susan Torres manages the social media and blog for New York Cares – http://blog.newyorkcares.org/, https://twitter.com/newyorkcares – her posts are both entertaining and informative.
As an added bonus, she blogs for Current Instincts, a site about animal issues with a fun twist. http://currentinstincts.com
Indeed she does. Thanks Erin. Here’s to becoming a better cook in 2012! That’s something I really need to work on.
Bret thanks for sharing! A few that are influential in my network about nonprofits
@charityIdeas
@2Morrowknight
@MrStevenGeorge
@MichaelChatman
Thanks! Let’s connect @SocialSola
Marisol
Thanks Marisol. Let me know if there is anything I can help you out with. Cheers.
I regularly read all 10 on your great list…plus a few more:
Marc A. Pitman http://fundraisingcoach.com/
Gail Perry http://www.gailperry.com/
Sandy Rees http://getfullyfunded.com/gff-home/
Thanks Lori. Marc has a guest post on this blog. One of my favorite topics of his. Check it out here: http://startanonprofitnow.org/399/how-to-keep-your-web-visitors-focused/
Great list – thank you! I’d also second Kami’s list above.
I love these interwebs – so much great sharing and info out there!
This list of resources that will make my own work (and blog) much more productive and better targeted. As one who is new at this activity I am grateful to receive this list of experienced bloggers to emulate. I will start subscribing now….
John Burke
Most of these blogs/bloggers are part of my Nonprofit Blog Exchange blog. I write monthly roundups and I always include a few of them in my entries! Check out the blog to find more nonprofit bloggers.
Hi there! I couldn’t help but notice that all of the faces on the slideshow are white. I read tons of these blogs regularly and agree that they are sources of fabulous information. But you also have an opportunity to highlight folks like Allison Jones (@ajlovesya), Rosetta Thurman (@rosettathurman), the team at Black Gives Back…not just “because” they are people of color but because they have great influence and cover some of the topics you mention here.
I also enjoy the Big Duck blog, Ask a Manager (not strictly nonprofit-focused, but helpful), and the Tips of the Day on the New Organizing Institute blog.
I fully agree Julia – its a bit disturbing to see such a homogenous list not only in terms of racial and ethic diversity but in terms of age – are any of these folks millennial bloggers or baby boomers for that matter?
Elisa-
We’ve got a second set of bloggers to follow on the horizon. Stay tuned! This one is more diverse than the first.
Thanks for your input.
Hey Bret, thanks for this helpful list of great resources! How grand to see the nonprofit tech sector grow to have such a wealth of experts sharing knowledge. I knew about Beth of course and a few others, but some are new to me and I will definitely check them out.
I am surprised not see inclusion the great Jayne Cravens (http://www.coyotecommunications.com/) , who practically invented the notion of online volunteering at the UN and elsewhere. Jayne is the best resource I know of for volunteer recruitment and management both on and off line. If you haven’t read Jayne’s blog (http://coyoteblog.posterous.com/ ), you are denying yourself both entertainment and a tremendously helpful resource.
In the meantime, I will check out those on your list that I have not yet read – thanks again!
Great list! If you do a list of new resources for nonprofits, please consider linking to Good Counsel: Meeting the Legal Needs of Nonprofits, an actionable and personable guide. Free website includes glossaries,case studies and work plans. http://Www.wiley.com/go/goodcounselbook
Lori, thanks for suggesting my blog – which focuses more on major gifts and boards than on tech.
I also read The Agitator http://www.theagitator.net every single day. Those guys help me keep up with important trends and the latest research.
Great resources! I’d add Rosetta Thurman – here’s a link with an example of one of her recent blog posts:
http://www.rosettathurman.com/2012/01/how-to-create-your-2012-nonprofit-career-plan/
There are some great folks listed here, however most seem to involve tech, social media, and marketing. The Nonprofit sector is evolving fast in these areas, but other topics need just as much focus if not more, like; management, fundraising, messaging, succession planning and recruitment. I suggest these pros for your list:
http://thefundraisingauthority.com with Joe Garecht (@fundraisingauth)
Community of NP pros on #fundchat and http://fundchat.org/transcripts
http://michaelrosensays.wordpress.com with Michael Rosen (@mlinnovations)
@ericamills
@zanarama
@desireeadaway
@nolandhoshino
@seattledrury
@aliceferriss
@tammyzonker
You can find me at @ianmadair
Always great promoting good people!