SEMINARS Passia Seminar 1999 Media and Communication Skills

 

 

 

Using the Internet for

Fundraising Research and

Better Public Relations[1]

 

 

 

Donor research is the backbone of any successful fundraising effort. It used to be difficult to do if you could not afford expensive directories or access a specialized resource library. To­day, we can all benefit from the Internet websites with useful reference works, general infor­mation, online training and advice for fundraisers. This listing is only a sampling and you are sure to find more as you explore their links to other resources. Note that many Internet sites are commercial.

 

 

Fundraising Research & Training:

 

1.        The Foundation Center (www.fdncenter.org), a master website with many sub-sites, including information on US corporate and foundation donors; an online library of reference materials; links to websites of other foundations and nonprofit resources; a bookstore for ordering publica­tions; and a series of online training programs in which you can learn the basics of grant seeking, funding research and proposal writ­ing. There is even access to an ‘online li­brarian'. Look for ‘Guide to Funding for International and Foreign Programs’ and ‘Grants for For­eign and International Programs’.

 

2.        Internet Prospector (w3.uwyo.edu/~prospect), an online newsletter serving the nonprofit fundraising community, with frequently updated information on donors, new research tools and how to use the Internet resources, and it includes an international reference section, which when last checked was promoting the Middle East Network Informa­tion Center at the University of Texas at Austin as the "epicenter for online information about the Middle East" (menic.utexas.edu/mes.html).

 

3.        The Nonprofit Times site provides an online version of the newspaper with access to arti­cles about strengthening nonprofit organizations, in­cluding fundraising, with links to other nonprofit sites:

www.nptimes.com.

 

4.        The Grantsmanship Center, a site with training and funding informa­tion for nonprofits with access to magazine articles and other publica­tions and resources: www.tgci.com.

 

 

 

5.        The Council on Foundations, representing grant-making organiza­tions, provides access to more than 130 publications at the site, plus infor­mation about foundations. Look at ‘Di­rectory of International Grant-makers’: www.cof.org

 

6.        Program on Nonprofit Corporations: Fundraising via the Internet, ac­cesses charity web­sites in North America, Europe and Australia, show­ing how these groups have initiated fundraising and what ap­proaches were more effective than others:

www.qut.edu.au/bus/ponc/ponc5.html#fundraising

 

7.        The Nonprofit Resource Center site provides legal and grants-writing information plus links to support organizations and fundraising publi­cations. You can also sign up for mailing lists of various organizations and services: www.not-for-profit.org

 

8.        The National Society of Fundraising Executives (USA) site accesses more than 3,000 references and periodicals about fundraising and de­velopment: www.nsfre.org

 

9.        Check out the book, Fundraising and Friendraising on the Web, a book by A.C. Finney and L. Blanchard, along with the synopsis of a one-day course on online fundraising of­fered at the University of Penn­sylvania: www.fund-online.com

 

10.     The European Foundation Center/Brussels, lists publications and in­for­mation about foundation and corporate donors in Europe: www.efc.be

 

 

 

The following sites provide models or general support to nonprofits, in­cluding advice on using information technologies for planning and imple­menting PR activities.

 

General Nonprofit/NGO Resources & Models:

 

1.       Good sample events publicity/organizing site: www.womlaw.org

 

2.       Promotion of services to nonprofits and funding resources: www.funding-exchange.org

 

3.       Excellent sample website for organization/presentation of content and issues from AVSC International, a reproductive health NGO: www.avsc.org

 

4.       ‘Best practices tool kit’ from the Benton Foundation, to help nonprofits make effective use of communications and information technologies: www.benton.org/Practice/Toolkit/

 

5.       The Chronicle of Philanthropy's collection of world-wide web sites and electronic discus­sion lists, for nonprofits , including links to sites that explain how to use the Internet to for fundraising/seeking donations: www.philanthropy.com

 

6.       The Philanthropy Journal Online/Philanthropy News Network Technol­ogy Report, a won­derful resource that includes a lot of fundraising in­formation as well as general help to nonprofits. www.pj.org

 

7.       Coyote Communications, a site with ‘technology tips’ for nonprofits, on topics from data­base and software to how to promote your organiza­tion online by establishing and main­taining a website:

www.coyotecom.com/tips.html

 

8.       Institute for Global Communications offers resources and information for progressive or­ganizations focusing on peace, economic and social justice, environmental protection and conflict resolution., with links to more than 15,000 networks and activists: www.igc.org

 

9.       Handsnet allows public interest and human service organizations to communicate with as many as 5,000 other organizations, experts and newsmakers through this site which is updated daily and provides other nonprofit links: www.igc.apc.org/handsnet.

 

10.    Nonprofit Information Gallery uses 13 search engines to access refer­ence materials about financial management, taxes, legal issues, ap­plying for grants, and planning events: www.infogallery.com.

 

11.    Nonprofit.Net's site lets you look at other nonprofits' online sites. It is a commercial serv­ice for nonprofits, providing HTML design, www host­ing, announcements and access to mailing lists: www.nonprofit.net.

 

12.    Nonprofit Nuts & Bolts accesses short articles on improving nonprofit or­ganizations; both current issues and back-issues: www.nutsbolts.com.

 

13. The bilingual (Arabic/English) site of the "BUNIAN" program for capac­ity building and net­working of NGOs, funded by the EU and imple­mented by the Friedrich Naumann Foun­dation/Amman and the Inter­national Training and Management Institute /Beirut is worth checking out for news of training events, workshops, internships and consulta­tions: www.bunian.org.jo. You can also email your website addresses to BUNIAN to be included in their links page with other regional NGOs: bunian@index.com.jo.