Nonprofit groups that want to emulate Barack Obama’s success in fund raising through social networks and mobile technologies should start by identifying the networks that are best suited to the organization’s needs and its supporters’ habits, advised experts this week at a session of the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation conference in Washington.

Social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn are an effective way to reach large audiences at relatively low cost, said Scott Goodstein, who worked as a social-media strategist in the Obama campaign. But maintaining networks can be labor intensive, and their impact – especially in dollars donated — is often hard to quantify.

Mr. Goodstein urged fund raisers to examine the advantages of each network.

For example, he said, MySpace, which functions as an...

In tough economic times, fund raisers often face pressure from board members and constituents to cut back on costly direct mail and telemarketing efforts to recruit new donors.

But short term gain can mean long term pain for an organization, warned Craig Finstad, assistant vice president of direct-response operations at the American Lung Association in a speech at this week’s Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation conference in Washington.

He pointed to the experiences of one of his charity’s affiliates, which decided to stop spending money on recruitment efforts during the last recession in 2000. Over the following seven years, said Mr. Finstad, the affiliate’s donor pool declined by 70 percent.

Mr. Finstad also cautioned against making big changes to the format or schedule of direct-mail appeals in...

In what may be the latest sign that the job market for fund raisers is shrinking, a Bethesda, Md., executive recruiting firm is opening a new service that will place experienced development officers in temporary positions.

“Because of the economy, we see this as the wave of the future,” said Diane Charness, president of the firm, Higher Talent Executive Search. She said that her company started working on the idea of temporary placements for fund raisers about two years ago. The economy is one motivating factor, Ms. Charness said, but the company has also seen an increase in interest among both fund raisers and organizations in short-term assignments.

As a rule, the temporary fund-raising jobs, she said, will offer no health insurance or other benefits. However, she added, the company is looking into whether benefits might be offered, depending on the length of the assignment and...

The philanthropist Lorry I. Lokey has some simple advice for fund raisers who want to cultivate strong relationships with wealthy donors: be friendly, no matter what.

Mr. Lokey, a businessman who has appeared on The Chronicle‘s list of America’s top donors every year since 2000, said in a live online discussion with readers that he works best with fund raisers who treat him as an investor — not as an ATM machine.

“I like gift officers who approach me on a peer level and truly are friendly whether or not I say yes. And if I become a donor, I, in effect, am adopting that organization as if I worked there or owned it or had close experience ties with it,” Mr. Lokey says.

“It becomes an investment that I want to follow and see success. My grants are not gifts. They are investments.”

To read the rest of Mr. Lokey’s thoughts on fund raising and philanthropy, read the transcript of...

Some nonprofit organizations send letters and e-mail messages to potential donors with the goal of raising awareness.

Weeks or months later — presumably after recipients understand the cause — the nonprofit group follows up with a more formal appeal for money or support.

Is such a tactic successful?

Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing at Network for Good, answers that question with an emphatic “no” on Katya’s Non-Profit Marketing Blog.

Ms. Andresen says the initial effort to raise awareness amounts to nothing more than “wasted breath.”

“Most people treat the pre-ask as a non-ask,” she writes. “Any response to a pre-ask is not to be trusted. The real answer will only come when you do ask.”

Her advice: ask for something — whether it be a donation or some other call to action. The key is to make sure that you are trying to inspire the recipient to engage with your...

A new survey of Americans sheds light on what they think President Obama should focus on — and perhaps where their philanthropic priorities lie.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, Americans primarily want the president to focus on the economy, with 85 percent saying it should be a “top priority.”

The results of the survey, which polled 1,503 people by telephone in January, were not unexpected given the recession. But Pew did note with some surprise that several issues — environment, crime, immigration, and health-care costs — had become less of a concern for many respondents.

Protecting the environment, in particular, appeared to be receiving less emphasis and fell most precipitously in public opinion. In 2008, 56 percent identified it as a top priority, but today 41 percent do.

Views on other nonprofit-related issues stayed...

This week, in Slate’s new advice column on philanthropic dilemmas, the mother and daughter team Patty and Sandy Stonesifer tackle the question weigh the merits of supporting friends involved in an endless stream of bike/walk/read-for-a-cause events that seek to raise money for charity.

Before agreeing to make a donation to sponsor a friend’s participation in such an “eventathon,” Patty Stonesifer, former president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (and current chair of the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents) and her daughter suggest that would-be donors ask themselves four questions:

• Would the beneficiary charity figure on your “top 20” list of causes?

• Has the organization made demonstrable progress toward achieving its goals?

• Are the individual’s or...

Will the inauguration of President Obama lead to bump in charitable giving?

Tom Belford thinks so.

On The Agitator blog, the fund-raising consultant predicts there will be an “Obama effect” for charities because the president has tapped into a vein of hopefulness and optimism, has pushed Americans to serve their communities, and has made steps to make his message bipartisan.

“So absolutely, I do think there will be a positive ‘Obama effect’ on nonprofit fund raising. It might not fully counter the harsh realities of recession, but it will certainly put most donors in a more positive, more receptive emotional state of mind. Thanks to Obama, gigawatts of fresh energy (and dollars) await out there to be harnessed by nonprofits,” he writes.

Indeed, a recent study has suggested that Mr. Obama has already spurred teenagers to want to get involved in public service.

What do you...

No one can say for sure how charities will fare in efforts to raise money this year, but Robert F. Sharpe, a planned-giving consultant in Memphis, says several trends will influence how generous donors are in 2009 and beyond.

Among them:

• A reduction in estate taxes. This year people whose estates are worth less than $3.5-million will be exempt from estate taxes,compared with the $2-million limit last year. Donors who are now exempt from the tax may direct more of their assets to charity.

• Low investment returns. Falling interest rates and dividends will depress many donors’ income from some bonds and other sources. Some types of charitable gifts, particularly gift annuities, can help donors receive more income in the form of guaranteed payments for life, in exchange for contributing cash and other assets. At their death, the charity receives the remaining assets. Gift a...

College and university fund raisers anticipate a slight decline in giving in 2009, according to a biannual fund-raising index released by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

The index, compiled from online surveys of senior fund-raising officials at 242 institutions, found that contributions to higher education were relatively flat for calendar year 2008, with an average growth of 0.3 percent. But fund raisers forecast an average decline of 1.7 percent for the coming year.

John Lippincott, president of the council, has both a glass-half-empty and glass-half-full interpretation of the index’s findings:

On the one hand, he says, even this slight decline represents a significant reversal of the 7-percent average annual growth in donations colleges have achieved over the past 20 years.

“The bad news is that 2009 could be one of ...