The Los Angeles Times has unveiled a controversial new database that rates charities registered to raise money in California on their fund-raising performance.

The database accompanied an article that highlights the poor returns some charities earn when they hire outside companies to conduct telephone and direct-mail fund-raising campaigns. Many of the organizations in the database are based outside California and raise money across the country.

The newspaper’s database compares the revenue earned by each charity against the amount of money they paid in fees to outside companies. It relies on data from the California Attorney General’s office on commercial fund-raising activities from 1997 to 2006.

The database also includes a feature in which charities are rated red, yellow, or green depending on the percentage of their income that is paid to commercial fund raisers.

Those...

Charities are increasingly taking steps to make their operations more environmentally friendly.

And, increasingly, donors want to know that the charities they support are doing their part to protect the environment.

With that in mind, fund raisers should be thinking green when they plan events for donors, says Sarah S. Brophy, a consultant who helps promote environmentally friendly practices for cultural groups.

To do that, Ms. Brophy encourages groups that host fund-raising events to hire businesses that rely on reusable dinnerware, washable linens, and locally grown food and flowers. She also says groups should be deliberate in explaining their green efforts at their events (on high-content recycled paper, of course).

For more tips from Ms. Brophy and other experts on green philanthropy, check see the transcript of The Chronicle’s recent live discussion on the topic.

And if...

Some charities have taken the extreme step of canceling their annual fund-raising galas in light of the economic downturn.

But Robert Evans, a fund-raising expert, advises against making a last-minute decision to cancel a special event.

“I have indeed heard that some agencies are becoming ‘chicken’ and are not continuing a tradition of special events that has been ongoing,” Mr. Evans said in a live discussion today with Chronicle readers. “Our advice: Do not cancel events but rather consider ways to make the event(s) more appealing for attendees.”

Mr. Evans, managing director of the EHL Consulting Group, a fund-raising consulting firm in Willow Grove, Pa., said one charity his company advises recently had a record-setting annual dinner by landing a matching grant from a major donor before the event.

For more on how to raise money during the difficult economy, read the full...

How long should charities wait before they begin soliciting donations from people who signed up to receive information via e-mail?

Jeff Patrick, president of Common Knowledge, a San Francisco consulting company that helps charities conduct online fund-raising campaigns, says the rule of thumb is one month.

Mr. Patrick said in an online discussion Tuesday with Chronicle readers that his company has tested sending the first appeal after 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, and 90 days and has found that the rate of donations is much higher for those who get their first solicitation after 30 days.

To get that return, however, he says charities have to communicate regularly with the prospective donor during the first 30 days.

“It is critical that you groom the new e-subscribers during the 30 days,” Mr. Patrick said. “We actually have a program for our clients where we send two e-mails a week —...

Fund raisers are increasingly sending e-mail messages to prospective donors in the hopes of persuading them to donate more.

But figuring out what to send can be a challenge, so the marketing expert Seth Godin offers a comprehensive checklist that you should pay attention to before you hit the send button.

Among the key items on Mr. Godin’s list:

• Could I do this note better with a phone call?

• Did every person on the list really and truly opt in? Not like sort of, but really ask for it?

• Does the subject line make it easy to understand what’s to come and likely it will get filed properly?

• If I had to pay 42 cents to send this e-mail message, would I?

For more marketing advice from Mr. Godin, read the transcript of his recent live discussion with Chronicle readers.

New York Cares is taking an unusual approach in its efforts to convert some of its 36,000 volunteers into regular donors.

The organization, which matches volunteers with hands-on projects in New York schools, social-service groups, and other charities, has a series of events called “Dare to Cares” in which it invites volunteers to learn more about New York Cares’ work.

“We find that many volunteers know their ‘corner’ of our work, but not the full breadth or depth,” said Gary Bagley, the organization’s associate executive director, in an online discussion with Chronicle readers.

The charity is also reversing the process by creating projects designed to turn its donors into volunteers.

“We’re finding that these projects are “hooking” our donors tremendously,” Mr. Bagley said. “Either way, it appears that maintaining contact with the ‘volunteer-turned-donor’ or ‘donor turned...

The Case Foundation’s new report on how nonprofit groups can more effectively engage members of the millennial generation is getting quite a bit of attention from fund raisers who want to learn how to establish relationships with younger adults.

The report argues that this younger generation has great new ideas for using technology and modern communications to help further the missions of charities and advocacy groups.

The key for established groups, of course, is adjusting their strategies to be able to more effectively communicate with members of this generation.

Allison Fine, a senior fellow at Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action, in New York, and the study’s author, will be available today at noon Eastern time to take questions from fund raisers and charity leaders on this topic.

The text-based live discussion is free and will last one hour. A full transcript will be...

Many organizations spend significant time and money creating glossy annual reports with the hope that these reports will spur interest.

But if groups really want to spread the word, they should put as little effort as possible into their annual reports, the marketing expert Seth Godin says.

Instead, he says, “I’d create a storytelling document that is aimed at the vernacular of the people you need to read it. Turn it into a PDF and a piece that’s easy to share. Test it and make it spread. No need to conflate the two.”

For more ideas from Mr. Godin, read the transcript of his live discussion today with Chronicle readers.

Join the Chronicle tomorrow when the marketing expert Seth Godin will take questions online about techniques nonprofit groups can use to more effectively spread their messages to supporters.

Mr. Godin will take questions beginning at noon Eastern time.

Fund raisers will also want to join our conversation Thursday, when Chronicle readers will have a chance to ask Brian A. Gallagher, head of United Way of America, about his organization’s new 10-year strategic plan.

The plan, which was announced last week, could significantly change how local United Ways provide money to nonprofit groups.

The one-hour discussion with Mr. Gallagher begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

These discussions are open to everyone, not just Chronicle subscribers.

People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of receiving answers during the online discussions.

Jimmy Buffett is more than just a musician with a few hit songs.

Mr. Buffett is a major brand who has turned the message behind his breezy tunes into a license to print money though restaurants, drinks, books, and T-shirts.

What does this mean for charities?

Quite a bit, according to Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing at Network for Good.

Ms. Andresen writes on her blog that Mr. Buffett has become a successful brand because he follows three basic marketing principles.

His message is simple. His message is consistent. And his message is hopeful.

Mr. Buffett doesn’t try to do too many things. He tries to promote fun — and he never deviates from that message.

“While I know it’s easier to sell margaritas or pigs than it is to promote the end of poverty, the principles remain the same,” Ms. Andresen writes. “Stand for something compelling and hopeful. And stand for ...