As any parochial school child know, there are seven cardinal or capital sins. They are:

1. Pride
2. Sloth
3. Wrath
4. Gluttony
5. Envy
6. Greed
7. Lust

These are the so called mortal sins - and committing them can affect the mortality rate of non-profit organizations.  Think that they don’t apply to your organization?  Here’s how they can creep into any organization.

Pride is the most common pitfall that affects non-profits. We all know people who joined boards out of a desire to improve their resume and not because they wanted to offer their expertise to a cause. Replace them with people who are willing to do the necessary work.

Sloth is just another word for lazy. Some people want to do as little as possible, even while they claim to be passionate about a cause. Hold everyone - paid or volunteer - to practical performance standards.

Wrath (anger) usually affects a not-for-profit when personalities and egos clash. This wastes time and energy that ought to be used to achieve the organization’s goals - especially in hard times. Agree to disagree, and nip disputes in the bud before they escalate.

In theological terms, gluttony is defined as overindulgence in anything. In organizational terms, it means using self-restraint to avoid problems. Focus on the group’s core mission, and assess any expense in terms of its benefit to that core mission.

Envy, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, is “sorrow for another’s good.” That may be true, but in organizational terms, it’s usually little more than being unwilling to accept the role of follower. Don’t let anyone sow discord by openly criticizing those who accept leadership positions in the organization.

Greed and gluttony are closely related. In the nonprofit world, greed can manifest itself when an organization - desperate for operating capital - accepts a grant or donation that forces it to take on something beyond its core mission, or beyond its capacity. Again, keep the focus on the group’s core mission, and assess any project in those terms.

Last, but not least, is the sin of lust. In an organization, this usually takes the form of wanting prestige, recognition, or money. Avoid comparing your organization to another, unless the comparison shows you better ways to focus on your core mission.

So how does a not-for-profit organization avoid letting any (or all) of the seven cardinal sins get in the way of its cause? Like most other challenges, it boils down to effective leadership that is able to see potential problems, and hold staff, volunteers, and board members accountable for “sins” that can harm the organization.

None of us have the time to read all the tweets, blogs, magazine articles, and Google alerts that address the issues that not-for-profit fundraisers need to stay on top of every day. Given the limited time available, here’s a collection of 10 must-read items for any not-for-profit manager or fund-raiser.  

1.  2009 CEO Compensation Survey - Charity Navigator explains what non-profit CEOs earn in major U.S. markets - and why salaries at not-for-profits have been on the rise.
2. Network Weavers & Social Media - Fundraiser Beth Kanter takes a look at five things non-profit fundraisers need to know in 2010.
3. Annoying Yourself and Flunking Your English Teacher - Copywriter Jeff Brooks put together the 25 keys to writing great fundraising pitches. 
4.  Gift Receiving vs. Fundraising - Tom Belford, one of the founders of Common Cause, explains the difference between receiving gifts and fundraising - and why the massive outpouring of donations for Haiti may not be a good predictor of donor behavior in 2010.
5. Back to Basics - Gail Hyman, writing in eJewish Philanthropy wrote an excellent short treatise on why smart not-for-profits are going back to basics in 2010.
6. Not Your Mother’s Bake Sale — Martha Keates, senior consultant at Marts & Lundy, researched and report an excellent report on the gender differences between donors.
7. How Much “Touch” Do Donors Want? — The Nonprofit Quarterly shows once again why its subscription fee is one budget item that shouldn’t be trimmed with an excellent article that explores just what kind of relationship and interaction today’s donors want. (Subscription required.)
8. Philanthropy in 2020: Five Trends That Will Remake Your World - The Chronicle of Philanthropy looks ahead, and identifies five sea changes that will change the world. (Subscription required.) 
9. Trends for 2010 - Fundraising consultant Gail Perry’s take on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 10 Trends for 2010. 
10. Fundraising Mistakes that Bedevil All Boards - If you’re considering a capital campaign in 2010, buy author Kay Sprinkel Grace’s book - reading it is a shortcut to an MBA in effective fundraising.

Even if you’ve never heard the monologue that got George Carlin fired from a Texas radio station (and later propelled him to stardom and multiple arrests when he took the same comedy routine on the road), chances are you’d never think of using his “Seven Words You Can’t Say on TV” in your fundraising emails or social media campaigns.

Good thing, too - because, while several of the words that weren’t considered fit for prime time in the 1960’s and 1970’s are now all too common on the airwaves, they’ll still get you blocked by the spam filters on most email systems. 

In the years after his original monologue, Carlin often told interviewers that they key was context. Words and phrases that are perfectly ok in one medium, he said, are anything but acceptable in another. 

Carlin was talking about the difference between telling jokes in an adult only comedy club and performing on live network television, where children might overhear. He was right, though: the context and the medium for a message determine what language is most appropriate. That’s why Carlin’s advice on avoiding “the words you can never say on television” can serve as a guide for non-profit fund-raisers struggling with the best way to write an effective email.

Words that are perfectly acceptable — and sometimes very effective - in broadcast or print solicitations can cause trouble in email. Here are a few phrases that are commonplace in charity fundraising letters that should be avoided in email subject lines:

• act now
• amazing
• call now
• collect
• Dear Friend
• earn
• free
• friend
• get
• hello
• hidden
• hot
• information you requested
• instant
• limited time
• lose
• offer
• only
• open
• opportunity
• satisfaction
• stop or stops
• teen
• winner
• your family

Surprised? Most people are. All of these are perfectly good words, but they’ve been overused by spammers and scammers, so junk mail filters are programmed to flag messages that include them in subject lines.

Also, avoid dollar signs ($) in an email subject line.  It’s also a good idea to avoid using numbers (Arabic numerals like 7, 10, or 100) at the end of a subject line. Capital letters and extra punctuation (double exclamation marks, ellipses, or multiple question marks) can also trip the junk mail filters.

Of course, not-for-profit organizations participating in the 10Beyond donation stamp program don’t have to worry about the George Carlin rule, because they can take advantage of the marketing materials that are provided as part of the program. For more details, click here.

Not so long ago, some pundits were predicting that texting and microblogging services like Twitter would replace email as the standard for everyday communications. That may be true – but several recent studies indicate that it is going to take awhile as email usage continues to grow.

According to a 2009 Neilsen study, 18% of all Americans check email more than 10 times a day, and 41% check email before they get dressed in the morning.

If email users had their own country, it would be the largest in the world, with a population of 1.4 billion, according to direct marketing blogger Mark Brownlow.

A May 2009 report by technology market research firm the Radicati Group estimated that the number of email users will increase by another 500 million — to 1.9 billion — by 2013.

Sara Radicati also suggests that some 247 billion emails were sent each day in 2009 – and that’s just the emails sent from a computer.

She also reports that 139 million users sent emails each day on wireless devices like smart phones. Over the next four years, the Palo Alto-based technology researcher expects the number of email users on wireless devices to increase at an average annual rate of 68%, totaling over 1 billion wireless mailboxes by year-end 2013.

Of course, social media usage is also increasing, especially among potential donors and volunteers under 21, who use email less than employed adults over 21. The implication for non-profit fundraisers is clear: fundraising programs that don’t include email are going to be left behind as more and more individuals rely on digital communications

Direct mail volume, results and spending are already in decline in the corporate world. According to direct marketing expert Gordon Borrell spending on direct mail of all kinds is expected to decline by 38% by 2013. However, both direct mail and email fundraising continue to show results for non-profits, according to the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University.

What does it mean? That smart fundraisers will continue to email for dollars, and take advantage of the digital tools available to them to maximize results. For more information on becoming part of the growing 10Beyond network of not-for-profit fundraisers to take advantage of the 10Beyond donation stamp and its marketing program, click here.

Ever heard the old saying “The proof is in the pudding?” It’s a contraction of a quote from Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes’ timeless tale of the fearless (if befuddled) knight who tilted at windmills in his attempts to do good.

Don Quixote said, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” What he meant was that the true value of something is in its outcome. It doesn’t matter how pretty the dessert looks as it’s carried to the table - it’s how it tastes that counts.

Charitable giving is the perfect example of that. Donors want to know what the problem is - and they want to know what their donation will do to resolve the problem. Problem + Proof = Donations. It’s a proven formula that gets results.

The people planning fundraisers want proof, too. They want to know how much it will cost, how long it will take, and how much work is involved in reaching their goal. Like donors, fundraisers are bombarded with messages about an ever-growing list of tools and ideas.

So what’s the formula that fundraisers can use to determine which fundraising tool to use?

Reach + Effort + Donor experience = Results

Reaching the maximum number of potential donors is crucial to any effort. Once upon a time, that means holding big community events, or massive direct mailings. Nowadays, it means harnessing the power of donor networks - email, social media, and online communities. 

Baby Boomers - the generation born between 1946 and 1962 - are the primary donor targets for many non-profit groups for the obvious reason that they account for approximately 50% of all giving to non-profits in the U.S. And they’re the most wired generation, too, sending nearly 65% of all emails. 

According to a survey by the A.C. Neilson Company, in 2009, adults under 40 spent an average of 7.5 hours a day in front of a cell phone or computer screen - while adults 40-55 spend an hour more: 8.5 hours.

Effort is another factor that is critical in a fundraising campaign. Social media and email fundraising is at an all time high in part because it looks effortless to donors and fundraisers alike.

Networks like 10Beyond.com  have done the behind-the-scenes work that creates the “one-click” donation stamp, and built the processing networks and distribution system that get the money from donor to recipient. And donors themselves increase your reach effortlessly by sending emails to their friends with an embedded message about your group.

But what it comes down to for many online donors is the experience of giving. Make sure that it’s easy to donate, with a process that works flawlessly and simply. Give them a way to tell others about the cause - indirectly, so they can reach out to others without embarrassment

So, next time you’re considering a fund-raising tool, think RED:  Reach + Effort + Donor experience. It will generate results!

• Twitter: Has been useful in helping people connect with relatives, donate money, and share information about safety and resource availability on the island.
• Cell phones: Have been used to find information on first aid, share information, find missing relatives, and raise funds.
• Email: Personal appeals for information and funds have gained traction as ordinary people used their personal networks and tools like the donation stamps from 10Beyond.com to make donations and watch their donation grow as their friends and contacts added their contributions.
• Mapping/GPS: On the ground in Haiti, aid workers have used their mapping and GPS devices and applications as a critical part of the effort.

According to David Russell, founder of 10Beyond.com, immediacy is one major reason that unprecedented numbers people turned to their social network via computer or cell phone to respond to the Haitian relief effort. “People have been shopping online for several years now. A lot of us don’t even keep personal checkbooks around anymore - we pay bills online, and we use debit or credit cards to shop online or in a store. So it’s natural to use the same tools to make donations.”

Add in the power of a shared experience as people tweet, chat, post, and email each other after a crisis, and it’s clear that online fundraising is here to stay. “Much of the fundraising that’s happened this time has come from an outpouring of concern by Americans who saw the devastation in Haiti,” Russell says.

“For charities, that means that it’s critical to have the tools in place to benefit from online giving. All not-for-profits need a great website, a social media presence, and a way to tap into donor networks. Most of them can’t do it all, which is why more of them are joining networks like 10Beyond, where the tools they need most are readily available.”

For more information about the 10Beyond.com program to help non-profits raise money, view the online tutorial.

Hitting your online target can be as simple as 1-2-3:

1. Know your target audience.
2. Communicate a clearly defined goal.
3. Make it easy for them to give.

Before you launch a fundraising campaign - online or off -the first step is to identify your audience and set a clear goal for your campaign.

When you ask a specific audience for a donation, you want them to respond - and pass it on to others. That’s the whole premise behind the donation stamps from 10Beyond.com. Donation stamps allow individual donors - the people you already have a previously established relationship with - to reach out to others (who have a relationship with them), thereby magnifying the impact of that original donation.

It’s important to communicate your fund raising goal clearly. Tell people what you are going to do with the money - and be specific, bold, and exciting. Action verbs matter. Don’t say, “Help us help” - that’s too vague. Say, “Feed a hungry child. Give to cure cancer. Stop animal abuse. Keep a homeless man warm.”

Here’s a clear fundraising message that will play well in social media and online fundraising. It’s from the North Texas Food Bank, a Dallas organization that serves the city and surrounding rural areas.

20 Million Meals in 2010
$1 = 4 Meals

It’s on billboards, Twitter, Facebook, email, and direct mail. It’s simple, powerful, and repeated consistently so that potential donors know exactly what they’re being asked to do - pay for a meal for a hungry person in North Texas - and how far their donation will go toward helping the food bank reach its goal.

Perhaps most importantly, make it easy for your target audience to donate. Links to a page where the donation can be taken immediately are vital. In fact, requiring multiple steps in order to process a donation can lead to what online retailers call “the abandoned shopping cart syndrome”.  In one study researchers found that up to 65% of the people who used online shopping carts at online retail stores clicked away from the site before completing the purchase.

To avoid that, make sure that your donors can navigate to the donation link in one click - and complete their donation with a second click.  If it’s any more complicated than that, it just doesn’t work.

These days, everybody is a social media expert - and the millions raised online for the Haitian relief effort is putting pressure on some non-profit organizations jump onto the social media bandwagon right now, whether doing so was part of the plan for 2010 or not.There are many, many ways to harness the power of social media and donor networks for fund-raising, including donation stamps, widgets, donor circles, flash donation campaigns, and Facebook applications.

But there’s one way to kill almost any social media campaign so fast you’ll spend weeks wondering what went wrong. How? Start it before you’ve done the hard work of getting ready to handle the response.

Consider this real conversation between a social media marketing agency and a non-profit executive who was under pressure to put the cart before the horse and launch a social media campaign he wasn’t prepared to manage.

Non-Profit Executive: We’d like to do some social media fund-raising.

Social Media Expert: Great! What can we help you with?

Non-Profit Executive: Well, we need a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account.

Social Media Expert:  So, you’ve got a great fund-raising message and a fabulous website with great content?  And all you need is to get the word out more? Right?

Non-Profit Executive:  hmm…see, our website isn’t quite what we need it to be. It’s done in Flash and we hired a designer to do it five years ago and now we don’t know how to update it. And, we also need a new message. The old one doesn’t exactly describe what we do anymore.

Social Media Expert: How do you plan on using social media marketing then?

Non-Profit Executive: Someone on our board said that’s how you get the word out these days. And I read an article about all that money that was raised overnight after the earthquake in Haiti. We need money - quickly - so we figured we had to use social media.

Social Media Expert: Yes, of course you want to get the word out and build relationships with new prospective donors. But, what exactly do you want amplified? Because social media is the ultimate amplifier.  If there are flaws in your message, or problems handling traffic at your web site, then social media will amplify the problems.

Non-Profit Executive: <Long Pause> So, are you saying that social media marketing comes last? And we have to do some work to get ready for it before we start?

Social Media Expert:  Exactly. Think about what would happen if your current website was inundated with thousands of visitors overnight. How would you capture the information you need to follow-up? Could you handle the traffic? What impression would they come away with about your organization?

Non-Profit Executive: <longer pause> But the board member said that we could get on Twitter today and start raising money in minutes!

As Tom Landry, legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys once said, “Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”  So, while social media marketing is a definite “must consider” part of charitable fundraising, it won’t solve all of a non-profit’s fund-raising problems unless it’s built on a solid strategic plan.

Victorian biologist Thomas H. Huxley famously wrote, “I have as much charity as I can afford.”

The question of how much charity we can afford is hard to answer. For hundreds of years, churches have asked parishioners to tithe 10% of their earnings, but few modern families can squeeze out that much when housing, utilities, transportation, food, medical care, and taxes take up over 80% of each paycheck. Most families are having enough trouble covering all the other things they need - education, clothing and personal care, entertainment, savings or investment, and insurance.

For a surprising look at how the average American spends a paycheck, check out the “Where does the money go?” graphic at Visual Economics

In spite of the squeeze on earnings that most families have seen during the recent downturn that began after 9/11, the average working American manages to give more than 3.7% of their annual paycheck to charities.

Perhaps they heard the Scottish proverb: “Charity begins at home, but shouldn’t end there.” Or maybe it’s the words of Winston Churchill that resonate: “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

A good example of that happened recently when a woman stopped at a food bank to make a donation. She brought in several boxes filled with grocery items she’d purchased, and added a small check. Recognizing her as a former client of the food bank, a volunteer said, “It looks as if this year is better for your family. I’m glad.”

The woman grinned and said, “Yes, my husband and I are both working now. The grocery store had these on sale at 10 for $10, so I bought 20 of everything I was buying for my family, and I am bringing half of it here. You helped me out a lot last year when I was sick, and my husband was laid off. My grandmother always said that if you can buy all the groceries you need then you can afford to help people who have less. So here I am.”

She had defined for herself exactly how much she could afford to give to charity, and set about doing it.  Which brings us back to the original question:  how much charity can YOU afford?

Here are some approaches to begin the process of finding out-of-the-ordinary answers to the challenges of raising money:

• Get advisors with backgrounds different from yours. A different mindset and world view can often spark new thinking.
• Look for strategies used by companies and organizations that are very different from yours. Manufacturers, service providers, distributors and for-profit organizations often approach problem-solving differently than charities and non-profits.
• Look for ways to cooperate instead of competing with other organizations for scarce resources.
• Ask yourself, what haven’t we done, and who haven’t we involved? What are we assuming that may not be accurate?