For many nonprofit organizations, the annual report is the longest, most important, and most time-intensive document or project that is produced all year. And while every part of a nonprofit’s annual report is likely to be reviewed and scrutinized several times, there are some sections that are more important than others. …Read More

Do you have a hard time coming up with regular topics for your nonprofit blog? If so, you certainly aren't alone; even for those of us who work in the media and public relations industry, it can be hard to consistently come up with great material week in and week out. That doesn't mean that it's impossible, though. All you have to do is remember to think like a professional. Whenever we find ourselves looking for something interesting to add to the blog, we turn to a number of standby, evergreen topics that work for a nonprofit every time. …Read More

In a way, it can always seem like there's something missing from your nonprofit website. No matter how much planning and editing you do, it always seems like there's another feature, update, or idea that you could have implemented… or will need to in the future.

But it's precisely for that reason that some of the simplest things are the easiest to miss. For example, one mistake we tend to see over and over on nonprofit websites is that they are often missing contact details. …Read More

Although mobile websites are everywhere these days, nonprofits shouldn't necessarily feel the same urgency to create one as other types of organizations do. Why? Because even though people may shop for retail goods, or look for instant news and information, while they're on the go, not too many people plan their donation strategies that way.  …Read More

We will start out by admitting that this is a trick question: The correct answer is a nonprofit brochure could be for spreading information or attracting donations... or, it could do both. So why raise the issue at all? Because the trick to making any of these work is to decide what you are trying to accomplish from the beginning of the process, not later when you're already deep in the copywriting and design.

Too many charitable organizations take a "kitchen sink" approach to writing and designing brochures. They simply figure that if they mention everything they think they should—from the mission statement to donation details and contact information for the executive board—people will find what they're looking for and act on it.

But how often does that really happen in the real world? …Read More

I just read this blog post on Steve McLaughlin's blog "Nonprofit Trends" and I thought it was definitely worth sharing with our readers. It captures the data of online giving for 2010, such as the percentage of donations given online and which nonprofit sectors are the most successful at online donations.  Enjoy! …Read More

Here at SW Creatives, we are often asked what makes a good nonprofit website. The answer varies from organization to organization, of course, but it would be easy to agree that some of the common elements include lots of information, a great layout with some nice visuals, and some key features like an online donation page and social media links.

But while those might be the ingredients of a good nonprofit website, we don't think you should stop there. Why pay someone to design and launch a good website for your charitable organization when you could get a great one? …Read More

Do you need a great-looking brochure, logo, or website for your nonprofit organization? If so, you're in luck – there are literally hundreds of vendors out there who can help you to design something that looks fantastic and makes a positive impression on the public.

What we have found over time, however, is that charitable groups don't actually need these materials so much as they need the right results that they are hoping to achieve by producing them. In other words, they don't want a brochure, they want increased public awareness of a specific cause or issue; they aren’t looking for a nonprofit website so much as they are online donations. …Read More

Over time, logos have come to mean quite a bit. Marketing experts and business gurus have written entire books, and taught comprehensive courses, on the heavy bottom-line implications that come with changing the small fonts, graphics, and colors that can easily come to represent the public face of any organization. And so, it's no surprise that a lot of nonprofits struggle with the decision of whether to update their logo or not…not to mention what to shoot for when they do make a change.   …Read More

Earlier on this blog, we advised nonprofit executives and directors to use Twitter carefully. Although it's incredibly easy to fall into the trap of simply posting appeals for donations, savvy charitable groups know that it's better to sprinkle in lots of positive news updates, smaller items, and other timely bits of information and insight.

There is one exception to this rule, however: Whenever your charitable group is dealing with an immediate, urgent, and public crisis. …Read More