Tips of the Month

Steal these tips! They're designed to be easily included into any eNewsletter or Newsletter that goes out to a group of nonprofits - distribute them as widely as you like.

Every month we publish a new software tip that's useful to a broad range of organizations. Want to be on our Tip of the Month email list, to receive each tip as soon as it comes out? Drop us an email at info@idealware.org. We typically publish it in the last week of the prior month.

  • Basic Email Metrics
    February 2012

    You already know the value a good email campaign can bring to your nonprofit, whether it’s an eNewsletter, action email or fundraising appeal, but how can you tell if your electronic communications are actually having the impact you hoped for? Is the work you’re putting in worth the effort? Email metrics can help you determine the effectiveness of your communications and fine tune them to improve their efficiency.

  • Finding Fans on Social Media
    January 2012
    You need an audience for any social media strategy to work. The good news is, because of the “network effect,” attracting a few followers can often increase your potential audience exponentially—the very nature of social media makes it easy for your friends to spread the word to their own networks of friends, and so on. So how do you attract people to “like” your Facebook page, follow your Twitter feed or subscribe to your blog?
     
    It should go without saying that if you want people to pay attention, post something they’ll find useful and relevant.

  • Building Email List Subscribers
    December 2011
    An email list is one of the sharpest arrows in any nonprofit’s quiver. An effective list can maximize your reach, help foster closer relationships with constituents and improve fundraising. But what makes a list effective?
     
    For one thing, critical mass—the more people you can reach who are genuinely interested in your organization, the better. But you can’t just buy an email list as easily as you can buy one for direct mail. So how do you expand yours sufficiently to meet your goals?

  • Is Open Source Software Right For Your Organization?
    November 2011

    Open source software is software written by programmers that can be viewed, modified or downloaded by anyone, and the software is typically developed, marketed and distributed by a loosely organized community of individuals rather than a vendor. It’s often distributed for free, which makes it appealing to organizations seeking to meet their goals on limited budgets. But “open source” can mean different things to different people—and so can “free.”

  • Defining Your Social Media Goals and Audience

    October 2011

    Social media often has two aspects. There’s an important listening aspect that helps you hear what people are saying about you online, and there’s a second aspect that includes hosting conversations. Through tools like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, you can post information, encourage comments and get feedback.

  • Making it Easy to Measure Social Media
    September 2011

    Is social media working for your organization? That question seems simple enough until you start to think about it. Working for what? Compared to what? Are you doing what you are supposed to be doing? Wait, what exactly are you doing again?

  • Choosing an Affordable Accounting System
    August 2011

    Can you access the information you need in your accounting software, and create useful reports, pay stubs or invoices? The accounting software you use can make your work easier—and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. QuickBooks, Peachtree and Fund E-Z are all affordable packages that can help you get your books in order.  

  • Get Started with Email Fundraising
    August 2011
    No matter how small your organization is, email fundraising is an effective way to communicate with donors and raise money without substantially raising your overhead. Emails provide inexpensive reasons and reminders to give, and some donors are more likely to read and act on an email. It’s not particularly complicated—here are a few tips to get you started.
     
    • Define Your Strategy.

  • Attracting New Event Attendees on Facebook

    July 2011

    Your organization is on Facebook, right? Everyone is these days, it seems, but are they all seeing results from their use of the site, or is Facebook a bandwagon for nonprofits that’s not going anywhere?

  • Tracking Volunteer Data
    June 2011

    Volunteer-based organizations have to keep track of a lot of data—for example, contact info, schedules, time sheets and job sites—and the right software can help, freeing time for managing volunteers.

  • Integrating Constituent Data

    April 2011

    There are three ways to integrate all your constituent-tracking applications so they can share data: Manual Import and Export, Integrated Packages, and Automated Connectors. Which is best? It depends upon your organization’s budget, needs and other factors.

  • How to Decide Whether you Need a New Donor Management System
    March 2011

    Without an effective system to track donors and other constituents, you can spend too much time just trying to figure out who to contact and miss out on many fundraising opportunities. Most organizations have some kind of constituent database, but is it the right one?