Tag Archives: YAI

Some of My Favorite Nonprofits

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These are some organizations I support either financially, as a volunteer, or both:

G-ds Love We Deliver provides food deliveries to anyone suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, or other serious illnesses, as well as nutrition education and counseling.  I’ve helped in the kitchen to prepare food, and also to help deliver meals as a van assistant.  Mazon fights hunger as does City Harvest which salvages leftovers from food businesses in NYC.

The Wartburg is an adult care community in Mount Vernon, NY.  Many types of living arrangements are provided, from assisted living to 24 hour care.  Just spending a little time with a resident can make a huge difference.  Dorot also does great work with seniors, including programs which bring together the young and the old.

Southern Poverty Law Center helps fight intolerance through a variety of programs, such as the educational program Teaching Tolerance.  The Museum of Tolerance, affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is based in Los Angeles but also has a wonderful exhibit in midtown Manhattan.

The Save Darfur Coalition and Charity: Water have used a variety of online fundraising / outreach tools to promote their causes, both which are well worth supporting.

Despite the tragic loss of its founders, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation continues to seek a cure for spinal cord injury and support those who are afflicted by paralysis.  YAI recently won an award as the best nonprofit to work for in NYC.  So not only do they do great work to support the disabled, but they provide a nice work environment.

And of course don’t forget those organizations which serve the nonprofit community, Idealware and Nten.

While it’s nice to get a tax deduction, it’s especially rewarding to help a nonprofit that helps others year-round, whether financially or by the gift of your time.

What are your favorite causes to support?

What’s New in ePhilanthropy

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America’s Giving Challenge has kicked off – raise funds for your favorite nonprofit(s) and compete for award monies for top fundraisers.

The Agitator analyzes online strategies for Charity:Water, a ‘model’ for new nonprofits and a more established organization, Habitat for Humanity

Just getting started with raising money online?  The Backyard Philanthropist offers an online fundraising bootcamp.

Need a ‘best practices’ example for how to build an email list?  I recently signed up to receive online communications from YAI, and they use a few good techniques:

  • sign up form requires only first name, last name, email address and how subscriber is related to mission of organization (e.g. have disability, have family member with disability, work in field, staff member etc.)
  • asking for specific areas of  interests – and explaining why they are asking for this information, providing a way for YAI to use segmentation in choosing who will get each mailing
  • sign-up box tells constituents exactly what they will be receiving if they subscribe – YAI news, events and program openings.

(Although I recently received my first YAI enewsletter, I haven’t seen any type of ‘welcome series’ messages as many nonprofits are now starting to utilize – see my post about online giving earlier this year. )

Finally, I attended a few events last week on nonprofit web sites by Charity Dynamics and Empax.   Some takeaways:

  • organize site for visitors, not by the organization chart (may seem obvious, but many nonprofits still fall short here)
  • include clear calls to action
  • provide a variety of ways for visitors to support the organization (but make sure donation button is easily findable)
  • redesign or refresh?  Not always an easy choice, but evaluate site every 18-24 months to determine if it’s meeting needs of visitors – do usability testing.