Unlike all of the other planned giving mechanisms, a bequest program doesn’t require major technical expertise and specific financial instruments. It’s easy, it’s fast, it can pay off substantially, and the dollars from bequests comprise close to 90% of all planned gifts. Many non-profit organizations refuse to get into planned giving because of the perception …

Part two: Tips on Communicating Your Business Case In continuing the topic of business cases, here are some tips on creating a Business Case. How do you begin to create your business case? A business case justifies the value of a project by defining the goal and scope of the project. It will describe the …

Tips for tackling crises on Twitter What defines a social media crisis is still murky to many. Is it one furious stakeholder speaking their mind? Is it an offensive post going out from your account? The truth is there are different levels of threat you’ll see on all types of social media, and each calls …

Crisis communications in line with stakeholder expectations help mitigate the early impact of a data breach crisis Oftentimes the crises you’ll encounter are a result of something totally beyond your control. This was the case for T-Mobile when a data breach at Experian, which processes credit applications for the cell provider, exposed the data of …

“Well, I guess that’s about all I have.” “Well, I guess we are out of time.” “That’s about it.” How do you close your meetings and presentations? Hopefully not like these endings, which are common enough, but entirely ineffective. Closing your presentation can be challenging, especially if you have run out of time, taken a …

September 16, 2015 – Monrovia, CA — Keeping the Wolves at Bay, the widely used free media training manual published by Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., is now being given away in its PDF format. Formerly $10, there will be no charge for the publication as long as demand exists. The hard …

As previously noted, Donor Acquisition, requires an investment … often, a significant investment. But with many nonprofits finding finances a little tight, the question often is, “Where do we get the money?” I’ll start by examining the components of a donor acquisition mailing – the package: The carrier envelope, the letter, the return envelope and …

What is Business Case Communication? A business case is a document that describes the reason why something has to be done. It will describe the usefulness of the project and the consequences if the project is not approved. Because it is a document that defines the project and its purpose, it can almost be compared …

In my August 12th posting, I provided a link to a three-part piece on Planning Studies. In that series, I discussed how/why the Planning Study is the best way to determine what programs/activities donors are likely/willing to support, and for identifying which donors will support which program/activity. In a Planning Study you are interviewing people/donors …

Attributes that will help land your story in front of social media users One of the primary goals of crisis communications is to get your side of the story out there. Not just anywhere, though. What you’re aiming for is to put it straight in front of specific target audiences. Today that often means getting …