The Joyaux Associates website also includes information about fundraising, consulting, and training services, Simone's book on Strategic Fund Development, and links and information to valuable resources. For more information, see www.simonejoyaux.com.

Hone your fundraising skills online. The Forum for Fundraising offers 90-minute webcast seminars on topics like planned giving, prospect research, donor relations, and professional ethics. Presenters include Simone Joyaux, ACFRE, communications guru Tom Ahern, Ted Bailey, ACFRE, Joseph Bull, J.D., and others. Interactive discussion forums also are planned. For more information, visit the Forum for Fundraising website at www.forumforfundraising.com.

Check your ethics! The ePhilanthropy foundation's new Code of Ethics Self Test helps you adhere to sound ethical online fundraising and other fundraising principles. Completing the 15-question test generates an instant report on ethical strengths and weaknesses. Check it out at www.ephilanthropy.org.

Also, Independent Sector has released a model code of ethics for nonprofits and foundations. The Statement of Values and Code of Ethics for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations identifies core values such as commitment to the public good, public accountability, and going beyond the letter of the law. Ethical principles touch on personal and professional integrity, mission, governance, legal compliance, responsible stewardship, openness and disclosure, program evaluation, inclusiveness and diversity, and fundraising.

More information and the text of the code can be found online at www.independentsector.org/members/code_main.html.

[Sources: "ePhilanthropy Foundation Launches Online Ethics Test," Philanthropy News Network Online, December 16, 2003; and Independent Sector press release, February 10, 2004.]

Adopt -- and live by the spirit and letter of -- fundraising's ethical standards. The Association of Fundraising Professionals' Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice are available on Joyaux Associates' website at http://www.simonejoyaux.com/resources. The site also contains The Donor Bill of Rights, which should be given to every one of your supporters.

Strive to be an important part of your donors' lives.

People who identify closely with your group are far more likely to volunteer and make donations. Help donors and potential supporters identify with your organization by inviting them to social events with your staff and to community-service projects. Also useful: sponsored trips, logo t-shirts, and bumper stickers.

For more information, see "The Identity Salience Model of Relationship Marketing Success: The Case of Nonprofit Marketing," a study by Dennis Arnett and Shelby Hunt of Texas Tech University and Steve German of Lubbock Christian University, published in the Journal of Marketing (vol. 67, no. 2; http://www.marketingpower.com/live/content1053C362.php).

[Source: "Donor Satisfaction: The importance of social identity in giving," Roseanne Siino, The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2003.]

Tune in to teens. Tap into their sense of moral outrage and duty.

Teenagers are shedding their image as complacent and disengeged. They want the world to know they are a force to be reckoned with. Experts are seeing a rise in high-school activism and advocacy on a wide range of issues across the country.

On issues like smoking, young people are making a difference through groups like California's Youth Tobacco Prevention Corps. They are taking the lead and being successful where adults have failed. Part of their motivation: the sense that adults have dropped the ball on issues that concern youth.

[Source: "Teen activists a rising force against smoking," Daniel B. Wood, The Christian Science Monitor, May 4, 2003.]

Battling public ignorance of your goals, mission, services, and benefits? Take a hard look at your communications and marketing strategies. Even nonprofits with strong internal communications often fail to keep clients and the public informed about program changes. These key constituents are frequently out of the decision-making loop, as well.

To better shape and project your group's image, solicit input from the public and clients. Don't just disseminate information -- listen to feedback. Adopt the marketing tools of the for-profit world: market research, polling, focus groups, comment hotlines. Get former clients on your board. Give tours to donors, and ask their advice.

[Source: "Out of the Loop: For nonprofits, communication is often a one-way street," Melissa Fullwood, The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2003.]

Thinking about starting a for-profit venture? Make sure your supporters know that business income can't replace donor support.

Research shows that donations often drop when nonprofits start earning taxable income. The cannibalization of donations can be significant: for every dollar in taxable income earned, nonprofits lose 55¢ to 59¢ in donations, studies find. Donations particularly dropped when nonprofits earned money from advertising.

Tell your donors that their gifts complement alternative sources of income. And address any concerns they may have about your profit-making ventures.

For more information, see "The Effect of Nonprofits' Taxable Activities on the Supply of Private Donations" by Robert Yetman, published in the March 2003 issue of the National Tax Journal.

[Source: "Donation Cannibalization: When nonprofits earn taxable income, private donors give less," Andrew Nelson, The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2003.]

Newsletters are the fundraising tool of the future. For many nonprofits, newsletters are at least as effective as appeal letters for raising money. Many groups publish newsletter monthly and in full color -- and still break even or better.

For more information, see this article on nonprofit newsletters: http://www.thedomaingroup.com/pdfs/DomainNewsletterWhitePaper.pdf.

[Source: Jeff Brooks, The Domain Group, 701 Pike St., Suite 700, Seattle, WA 98101; 206-834-1490; jbrooks@thedomaingroup.com.]

Make people notice your newsletter. Be sure to:

• use "news-like" language. People crave the new.
• make your newsletter easy to skim. Keep headlines concise. Avoid deep, dense prose.
• prioritize your news. Put the meaty stories first. Don't waste the front page on a windy opinion piece from your program director, unless it is something fabulously compelling.
• personalize. "You" is glue: it makes messages stick. It is the most effective word in the personalization lexicon. It's the most intimate word at your command. Use "you" early and often.
• avoid the institutional voice. Don't write "we did this" or "we did that."
• ensure that your newsletter is about what you do, not how you do it. Stress accomplishment, vision, and recognition.
• rely on anecdotes, not statistics, to move donors. Statistics are weak persuaders. They're too abstract. Anecdotes are concrete, easy to understand, and stir the emotions.

Time your e-mail carefully to get the best response. The best time to reach business people is Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. For consumers, shoot for Friday to Sunday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

A good fundraising e-mail campaign should:

• tell the consumer what you want them to do, and why.
• include working links to more information and a donation site (always test your links first).
• be personalized.
• include a follow-up.
• gather customer information cautiously, to avoid scaring away potential donors.
• track results, including donations from those who open your e-mail but go to your website directly rather than clicking on the link in the e-mail.

Take volunteer management seriously. 81% of nonprofits use volunteers, but few groups employ volunteer managers who spend more than half of their time supervising volunteers and coordinating their activities.

To make your volunteers more effective, consider devoting more staff time and resources to managing volunteers. Ensure that managers get proper training. Adopt best practices. Formalize procedures to acknowledge the work of volunteers.

For more information, see the Urban Institute report, "Volunteer Management Capacity in America's Charities and Congregations: A Briefing Report," available free at http://www.urban.org, www.freedomcorps.gov, or www.nationalservice.org.

[Source: "Charities Must Learn to Better Manage Volunteers, Study Finds," Cassie Moore, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 18, 2004.]

Make board members ambassadors for your organization. Have members accompany staff when making funding requests. Utilize professionals' public-speaking skills to communicate with lawmakers, the public, donors, etc. Allow members to share their passion for your work with others.

If board members represent a particular constituency in your community, put them to work in that community. Make connections with other boards your board members serve on.

[Source: "Put board member skills to use as "ambassadors for the organization," Board & Administrator, December 2003.]

Recruit older minority volunteers. African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Americans ages 45 and older volunteer just as often as whites.

51% of people over age 45 say they "formally" volunteer through an organization. But when "informal" volunteering was considered -- such as recruiting friends to clean a park, or running an errand for an elderly neighbor -- the volunteer rate rose to 87%.

For more information, see the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) report, "Time and Money: An In-Depth Look at 45-plus Volunteers and Donors," available on the AARP website.

[Source: "Older Diverse Donors, Volunteers Not So Dissimilar," Advancing Philanthropy, January/February 2004; www.afpnet.org.]

Remember the seven emotional triggers that lead to direct-mail success: greed, guilt, anger, fear, exclusivity, flattery, and salvation. Keep them in mind when writing a fundraising appeal or case statement.

Write these seven words on the top of the page when you sit down to work. Circle the ones you think will work best with your target audience, and tell yourself why. Once your figure out your emotional triggers, start writing.

[Source: Tom Ahern, Ahern Communications, Ink.]

Find the secret to "SUCCES." Messages that "stick" with readers, viewers are Simple, Unexpected, Concrete (using specific language and details), Credentialed (relying on authorities or tested ideas), Emotional, and Stories that include real people.

To write effective fundraising appeals and other public materials, you must first overcome "the curse of knowledge." You know your group does good work. But you need to think like an outsider to create effective messages for the public. Never assume that your good works stand on their own merits. Constantly ask "why" to find the SUCCES-ful elements in your appeals.

[Source: "Loud and Clear: Crafting Messages that Stick: What Nonprofits Can Learn from Urban Legend," Chip Heath, The Stamford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2003; .]

Ask wealthy donors to give more. Most rich Americans say they plan to give more to charity. And studies show the wealthy have a stronger sense of philanthropy than they did just a few years ago.

Wealthy donors often calculate their donations based on their annual income. But if investments also were taken into account, wealthy individuals could afford to give $107 billion more each year.

To get bigger donations, encourage wealthy donors to give a fixed percentage of their total assets. Direct them to the NewTithing project's giving calculator, the PrudentPal Charitable Giving Planner, online at www.newtithing.org. Point out that the sooner they give, the greater the impact their money will have on long-term social ills.

For more information, see "Wealth and Affordable Donations in Uncertain Times: Trends in Income, Assets, and Charitable Giving 1997 to 2003," from the NewTithing Group, available online.

[Source: Wealthy Donors Could Increase Giving by $107 Billion, Nonprofit Group Says," Nicole Wallace, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Jan. 8, 2004; and "Affluence and Giving Trends," Advancing Philanthropy, January/February 2004; www.afpnet.org.]

Internet ...

Check out these Application Service Providers (ASPs) that provide Internet software tools tailored to the needs of nonprofit groups:

* Altrue.com: Website content management.

* CharityFinders.com: Website content management, donor management, e-mail messaging, events, advocacy.

* Convio.com: Website content management, donor management, e-mail messaging, events, advocacy.

* CTSG.com: Website content management, donor management, e-mail messaging, events, advocacy.

* eTapestry.com: Donor management.

* GetActive.com: Website content management, donor management, e-mail messaging, events, advocacy.

* Groundspring.org: Donation processing, e-mail messaging, surveys, advocacy.

* Groupstone.com: Website content management, donor management, e-mail messaging, events, advocacy.

* Kintera.com: Website content management, donor management, e-mail messaging, events, advocacy.

* NetworkForGood.org: Donation processing, volunteer recruitment.

* NPOGroups.org: e-mail messaging, online discussion groups.

* VolunteerMatch.org: Volunteer recruitment.

Resources ...

Short Changed: Foundation Giving and Communities of Color. Report by the Applied Research Center says that philanthropic giving to communities of color and on racial-justice issues is flagging. For a free copy, visit www.arc.org/Pages/pubs/shortchanged_b.html.

Philanthropy's Forgotten Resource? Engaging the Individual Donor. Report recommends teaching donors to give wisely, and provides a critical look at the use of donor-education programs. For a copy of the report, visit www.newvisionsprd.org/results/index.html.

Grassroots Fundraising Journal. Published every other month, this journal provides practical, how-to instruction on fundraising strategies such as direct mail, special events, major gift campaigns, and online fundraising. A free monthly e-newsletter also is available. Annual subscriptions to the print publication are $24; order online or by calling 888-458-8588.