29Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Make A Difference Day is Just Around the Corner

Fundraising
If you’re looking for a way to give back to your community, then look no further than Make A Difference Day. Sponsored by USA WEEKEND Magazine and its more than 600 carrier newspapers, Make A Difference Day is billed as “the most encompassing national day of helping others -- a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors.” Make A Difference Day is held in partnership with the Points of Light Foundation and supported by Paul Newman, who donates $10,000 each on behalf of 10 of the participating charitable initiatives. Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. This year, that would be October 22, 2005. If you want to take part in this very special day devoted to volunteerism, but you don’t…
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23Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Yvonne DiVita’s Lip-Sticking

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Marketing
If you’ve ever read Yvonne DiVita’s Lip-Sticking, you know what I mean when I say it’s arguably one of the best blogs in the blogosphere. It’s a prolific, practical account of what’s what and who’s who in online marketing to women – and much, much more. Yvonne – as Jane, her alter ego – is able to provide her readers with almost as much humor as business insight and intelligence, and as she herself would say, what’s not to like about that? I was very fortunate – and honored – to have just been interviewed by Yvonne for a series of profiles she posts regularly of online marketing professionals. In this interview, Jane asked me if I thought that blogging could really be as personal as, say, a phone call,…
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15Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Blogging on Behalf of Women’s Legal Rights

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
If you’re interested in monitoring the confirmation hearing of Chief Justice nominee John G. Roberts, you may be interested in monitoring NominationWatch.org. But that’s not the only reason to check out this relatively new blog published by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), a group dedicated to advancing and protecting women’s legal rights. NominationWatch.org is also an excellent example of how a nonprofit organization can use a blog to get the word out about its cause. Take it from Nancy Schwartz, editor and publisher of Getting Attention, a monthly e-newsletter that helps nonprofits succeed through effective communications. She’s just written and posted an insightful case study of NominationWatch.org called "Three Steps to Launching Your Nonprofit Blog." According to Schwartz’s article, “Ranit Schmelzer, NWLC vice president for communications, says that for…
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12Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

A Great Opportunity for Shoestring Direct Marketers

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
From the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), I recently learned about Word of Blog, a free service that “enables blog owners to spread ideas and influence throughout the blogosphere, promote causes or services that they believe in, recommend products and organizations they like, and create communities of like-minded blog owners, all through blog word of mouth.” To use this service, all a blogger needs to do is select any ad appearing on the Word of Blog site, then copy and paste the corresponding code into your template – like I did with ads for both The American Red Cross and Feed the Children, just two of the many organizations that are helping victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. On the other hand, if you yourself want to get the…
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04Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

How to Help the Victims of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster

Fundraising
Survivors of Hurricane Katrina are being evacuated away from the devastated Gulf Coast and food, water and thousands of National Guard troops have finally arrived on the scene, but a complete recovery from this disaster is going to take months, if not years, and an unprecedented outpouring of benevolence. Yes, we Americans are going to have to give more than we ever have before to help our brothers and sisters in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the surrounding area get back on their own feet. In the next few weeks alone, we’ll likely part with more of our charitable dollars than we ever have before towards one single cause. And, as a result, those nonprofit organizations that are not related to the hurricane relief efforts could very well see a decrease…
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02Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Hurricane Katrina: A Reason to Give, A Reason to Blog

Blogging, Cause-Related Marketing, Fundraising
If you’re looking for a reason to blog, you need look no further than the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Florida, where Katrina’s fierce winds and brutal, punishing rain resulted in what could be America’s deadliest natural disaster since the 1906 San Francisco fire and earthquake. As I wrote here back in December, 2004, “a blog makes it possible for the everyday communications professional to distribute newsworthy, thematic content to a large, like-minded audience – without many, if any, layers of approval – almost instantaneously. If timeliness is a critical element of your publishing plan, it’s an irresistible platform.” Today, there’s no valid reason for any organization involved in the business of providing disaster relief not to have a blog in its communications toolbox. A blog can be set…
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