Even your most cash-strapped donors have the wherewithal to contribute “twollars” — a virtual “currency of appreciation” in circulation on the social networking site, Twitter, designed to raise awareness and money for charity.

According to a twollars fact sheet, each Twitter user is assigned 50 twollars which can by freely exchanged over the network via 140-character “tweets.” But only nonprofit groups can cash in the virtual currency for real dollars (at an exchange rate of 10 twollars to $1). Users who exhaust their twollar bank accounts can purchase more from charities, or earn them by visiting Web sites of businesses that give them away.

Rebecca Leaman at the blog Wild Apricot asks the critical question: Will...

A British association of fund raisers is asking its members to become whistle-blowers when it comes to unethical direct-mail solicitations.

According to Third Sector, a British publication about nonprofit groups, the Institute of Fundraising, in London, last week sent a message to its 5,000 members that asks them to tell the organization, even anonymously, about campaigns that violate its direct-mail code of conduct.

As part of its code, the institute encourages charities not to use “shock tactics,” limit the use of inserts and other items enclosed in the pitch letters, and not overwhelm potential supporters with mail.

Kevin Brennan, who oversees charities for the British government, had told the institute that poorly managed direct-mail efforts threaten to erode the public confidence in charities, reports Third Sector.

What do you think? Should American fund raisers play a...

Fund raisers who seek big gifts are often evaluated each year on whether they make a specific number of visits to potential donors or complete a set number of solicitations.

But by setting overly high goals for both donor visits and number of solicitations, many charities are preventing fund raisers from getting the best possible results, according to a new study of college fund raisers by Eduventures, a Boston consulting company.

Fund raisers who were supposed to make 170 visits annually to donors raised an average of $1.23-million and completed five solicitations on average. But those with a lower goal, 130 donor visit per year, did better. On average, they completed nine solicitations, raising $1.37-million.

And fund raisers with lower goals for the number of solicitations, 20 to 30 annually, also raised more money in a year’s time: an average of $1.5-million — compared with $1...

Are you looking for a way to boost interest in a fund-raising campaign? Perhaps public humiliation of your executive director is the answer.

Well, that might be putting it a little strongly, but Nancy E. Schwartz, a charity marketing consultant, suggests on her blog Getting Attention that sharing something personal, “can deepen understanding, interest, and the connection” between donors and charity leadership.

Case in point is Holly Ross, executive director of the Nonprofit Technology Network, a Portland, Ore., charity that helps nonprofit groups use technology It recently conducted a campaign to raise $10,000 to help pay for charity workers to attend a national technology conference. To “kick it up a notch,” she challenged donors to give by offering them a chance to select a wacky stunt for her to perform if the goal was met.

The money was indeed raised and the selected stunt ...

Battered by the recession, few donors plan to increase their giving anytime soon. But their confidence in the economy is now showing some signs of improvement — which could bode well for longer-term fund-raising efforts — according to a new survey.

The study, released by Campbell Rinker, a Valencia, Calif., company that specializes in research on donor behavior, is based on data from 504 donors who answered questions in April about their charitable intentions and their views on the nation’s economic health.

The company used those data to compile its Donor Confidence Index, which rose to 88.2, up from 87.5 in February and 84.7 in December.

The index is calculated every two months. In the April survey, 51 percent of donors were satisfied with the country’s economic direction, up from 32 percent in December. Only 29 percent said the economy is in decline, down from 58 percent in...

The brevity imposed by Twitter — a social-media site that enables people to post messages of 140 characters or less — has created a boom in tools that shorten Web addresses. The sites, such as bit.ly and tinyurl.com, convert lengthy links into short ones that give users the chance to more easily meet Twitter’s restrictions.

Nathaniel Whittemore, a blogger at Change.org, has identified a Web address shortener, called Good.ly#, that promotes giving.

Here’s how it works, according to Mr. Whittemore: A Twitter user writes a post about a great bag she just bought and then includes a link to the retailer’s page using Good.ly. One of the user’s friends on Twitter clicks on the link, is then directed to the retailer’s site, and buys the bag.

Assuming the retailer has a referral program set up, Good.ly gets a small fee for “referring” the sale to the retailer, and then Good.ly donates 55...

Employees responsible for a charity’s online activities are likely to be spread throughout an organization, rather than concentrated in a single department, according to a new report.

An online survey of 60 nonprofit groups found that only 20 percent had organized all of their employees who work on online programs into a single department whose leader is responsible for those programs. The study was conducted by Convio, an Austin, Tex., company that provides Web-based software to charities.

The other organizations were split almost evenly between a decentralized model — 39 percent of groups — where employees working on online efforts were spread across several different departments and a hybrid model — 40 percent — where a majority of employees were located in a single department, but some staff members were in other departments.

“Given the rate of change in this constantly...

Patricia Wilson, who is facing a $200,000 deficit as the executive director of the Greater Bay Area Make-a-Wish Foundation, in San Francisco, is telling everyone she knows that she ‘s a “big loser” when it comes to raising money.

But as she becomes more of a loser, her charity is the winner.

Ms. Wilson has started a one-woman fund-raising campaign, going on a 12-week diet and getting people she knows to pledge money for every pound she loses. So far, she has recruited more than 100 people who are collectively giving $610 for every pound she loses—and she’s looking for more donors.

Ms. Wilson shares her experiences in an article she wrote for Blue Avocado, an online publication about fund raising and nonprofit issues.

“The short story: You are going to see less of me,” she writes. “Why? Because while I’ve helped grow our organization significantly over the last 10 years, my...

The Salvation Army of Northern New England has started a new advertising campaign focusing on the charity’s low overhead costs.

The Christian group, in Portland, Me., is working with more than 40 local businesses to display ads in store windows, coffee cups, mirrors in bars, and the sides of buildings. For example, an ad on the inside of a pizza box says, “This ad cost nothing. The money we saved advertising on this pizza box helps us feed the homeless.”

“Recently, local businesses in Portland, Maine, helped us launch an ad campaign that cost absolutely nothing,” the group says on its Web site. “That’s right. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Sure, a big, expensive campaign could have gotten our name out there. But at what cost? See, it’s thinking like this that helps us give 83 cents of every dollar donated directly to the people who need it most.”

The Web site also includes examples of the ad...

Donors who participate in giving circles — in which individuals pool their money and decide collectively how to distribute it — give more than other donors, give more strategically, and give to a greater number of organizations, according to results of a study released this week.

The study examined 587 people to learn about their philanthropic attitudes and behavior. It found that donors who participated in giving circles tended to be highly engaged in their communities, and that 70 percent felt that their participation had increased their awareness of nonprofit groups and community needs.

The study was conducted by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Giving circles have grown in...