Data-Scribe Blog | Musings & News

It's time for Data-Scribe to host the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants again. Since it's still early in the New Year, it's a good time to think about what 2007 will bring. Reading through these posts will help you to find great advice and ideas from several nonprofit consultants.

Speaking of advice, don't you hate it when you get it unsolicited? David Maister of Passion, People, and Principles discusses what to do when you're tempted to give unsolicited advice when no one has asked for it.

Nancy Schwartz from Getting Attention! has a survey on nonprofit marketing goals and challenges for 2007. As an added bonus, she'll compile the results so that you can see you're not alone in some of your challenges.

For some nonprofits, it's the start of a new fiscal year. Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog reminds us how important it is to earn the trust of donors. This is a good thing to do for both current and new donors.

And for more about donors, Matthew Monberg from Beyond Giving makes a great analogy between grammar and fundraising. In his post, Transparency: Draining the Swamp, he mentions that it's important to keep the lines of communication open with your donors.

It's a new year, so why not start a blog? Britt Bravo presents 5 Tips to Start a Nonprofit Blog posted at Have Fun Do Good.

Looking for a unique way to make your nonprofit organization stand out from others?
Michael Gibbons from makehope has a neat marketing/fundraising idea called Buttons of Hope - faces make messages that stick!.

And a bonus post from yours truly at Data-Scribe Blog in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - Reflecting on a Greater Purpose.

Happy New Year!

Instead of just including a summary of the news and events from the past year, we thought we would do something different. A best of 2006 list. These are things that we did throughout the year that also could help your small business or nonprofit.

Here's the list in no particular order:

Accepting credit cards

Volunteering our services through the Center for Nonprofit Excellence

Joining a few key associations instead of spreading ourselves thin with several (like NMSAE)

Underwriting a program spot on KNME (local PBS station)

Joining the board of the Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance

Offering a service grant to nonprofit organizations

Redefining business partnerships for mutual benefit

Working with a core group of local contractors to assist with specific parts of projects

Thanks to all of our partners. We hope that we also contributed to your success in 2006. Here's to another great year!

The Albuquerque Independent Business Alliance is holding an event to celebrate the holiday season and encourage the community to shop local. Today, I was elected as Vice President of the organization and will become President in 2007.

On Monday, November 13, from 5:30p to 7:30p, we will have our Keep it Querque! Gala. It will be held at the lovely Los Poblanos Inn & Conference Center (4803 Rio Grande N.W., Albuquerque, NM 87107).

Special guest speaker, Jean Bernstein, co-owner of Flying Star Cafes.
Guest emcee, Fred Mondragon, Director of Economic Development, City of Albuquerque

Appetizers and wine tasting provided
Cupcakes provided by Cake Fetish

Please RSVP by November 8th to Rebecca Dakota, our Executive Director, at AIBAdirector@aol.com.

Hope you can join us!

We had a great turn out for our "Getting the Word Out About Your Web Site" training through the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (United Way of Central New Mexico). Over 20 nonprofit professionals attended. Thanks to everyone for your participation and your great questions.

For those who missed it, here's a quick overview of what we discussed:

Web terminology
Explanation of search engines & optimization
7 options for marketing online
Roadmap for online marketing

We plan to hold more classes in 2007. Contact us if you would like to be notified of future online marketing training. Hope to see you there!

This week, I had money on the mind. It seems to happen around the 15th of each month when payroll taxes are due. You start to compare how much money you're bringing in to how much money you have to pay out. So, it was this week that I coined the phrase, "it's like bringing in pennies and paying out quarters".

Now, I'm not complaining about having to pay taxes. This actually got me thinking about why so many small businesses and nonprofits are struggling financially. Between insurance, payroll, advertising, marketing, and technology needs, it can seem impossible to keep up.

Nonprofits and socially conscious businesses probably feel the penny & quarter effect often. Should those that are doing the most good accept that they aren't going to be paid well for it? It almost seems unfair when you compare it to the money that celebrities and sports stars are bringing in. I'd like to think that a time will come when the world rewards those who are doing well by doing good.

I'm sure everyone has heard about the historic $31 billion gift that Warren Buffet made to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Like them or hate them, this did give me hope for the world. They are making good money in the for-profit world and reinvesting it into a nonprofit cause. May we all be so fortunate to be able to do the same.

Albuquerque is taking part in the boycott by holding a march and rally at 3pm today: May 1, 2006 National Call to Action (Albuquerque)

We plan to refrain from purchasing anything today to show our support. After all, at one point in time all of our ancestors were immigrants. Having a mass deportation just doesn't seem like the right way to go.

It's great to see several communities joining together to show the impact that they have on the US economy. Let's just hope that the rallies remain peaceful. Anything else will just defeat the purpose and provide the government with more fuel for the fire.