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Non-profit fundraising: Are mobile digital wallets the way to go?
As non-profit news organizations increasingly strive toward sustainability and finding ways to think “digital first,” the trend towards mobile digital wallets could be an effective way to raise funds according to an article published on Mashable.com Tuesday. Companies such as Google, PayPal, Visa, and American Express have created platforms for mobile digital wallets, or e-wallets that allow users to make quick and secure electronic transactions on their smartphones according to the article. The article noted that potential donors who want to contribute to a nonprofit through its website might have reservations about entering their personal information or receiving follow-up calls that text-to-give campaigns often entail. That’s where mobile digital wallets would come in. “The luxury of mobile digital wallets is that they contain all of that information in one protected place, which eliminates … Read entire article »
Filed under: Media business
Chicago News Cooperative digitally retools a classic fundraising approach
If there’s one thing we’ve established looking at evolving non-profit investigative news models online this year, it’s that digital platforms necessitate a completely new perspective on business and publishing strategies. Some roles, such as investigative reporting and fundraising, still depend on tried and true core instincts, though. In regards to the latter, we noticed the Chicago News Cooperative doing something innovative that harkens back to a tried and true print tradition of publishing supporters’ names. The … Read entire article »
Filed under: Media business
You Have to Give a Little to Get a Little: How to show supporters you care
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been blogging more and more frequently about our work for the Chicago Reporter. We’ve covered how we’re approaching logo redesign, attracting foundation support, SEO best practices and a new social media plan. (And don’t forget to check out our white paper on what’s working for watchdog news organizations). This week I will expand on the article about attracting foundation money by explaining our approach to attracting another important supporter: the reader. For news organization, a key component to sustainability is the increasing need to corral smaller donations. But how do you do it? Of course, there’s no single answer, but here are a couple of suggestions based on the research we’ve done so far: (1) Language plays a huge role. The language you use to attract individuals will, in many instances, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sustainability
Nonprofit “Watchdog” Report Published
After weeks of research and writing, we have written a report on a number of nonprofit “watchdog” sites! We interviewed and researched nine different news organizations to find out how they seek success by engaging their audience through online conversations, establishing distribution partnerships and diversifying revenue sources. “Nonprofit Watchdog News: What’s Working?” was produced by the seven journalism students in the Interactive Publishing Innovation Project. From the research, Brian Warmoth and I divided up the sites into three groups: broad-based news websites, partnership-based investigators and print-first publishers. Broad-based news websites, such as the Bay Citizen, make an effort to cover a wide range of news in their communities in addition to their investigative components. Some have publishing partnerships with other media, such as The New York Times. Partnership-based investigators, such as Wisconsin Watch, concentrate … Read entire article »
Filed under: Uncategorized
Logo a go-go? When to change or keep your logo
As we’ve been working on redesigning the Chicago Reporter’s website, I’ve been thinking about colors, infographics and, lately, logos. A logo is the centerpiece of a news organization. People identify with logos, recognize them and can get extremely upset if you change them. Take Gap’s gaffe with their attempt at logo redesign. Or, when Wired launched a redesign contest of iTunes’ ugly new icon. Sometimes, what you’ve got is good. What you have is memorable. You could consider an update. You slightly tweak what you already have. Maybe bold the font, go two shades darker with your logo’s shade or switch to a sans serif — little things that help spruce up your image. Updates can go undetected by your audience. Did you notice that Google, Wikipedia and Cartoon Network changed their logos … Read entire article »
Filed under: Advertising
Don’t Lean on Me: Foundations set to drop support of news sites
A new study confirms what we’ve been hearing in our discussions with development experts and news organizations themselves: Foundation coffers — and interest — in funding news non-profits are running dry. The headline from a San Francisco State Renaissance Journalism Center survey is that many nonprofit sites are in need of new revenue sources. Two-thirds of the survey’s 32 respondents said they faced a funding “crossroads” and would need new funders to achieve sustainability; seventy percent “wanted information” about innovative revenue streams. Among the anecdotal quotes the study provides on this issue: “We believe that the window for foundations’ intense interest in funding journalism is probably limited, so we are intensely focused on how to be sustainable through earned income.” “We have been 85-90 percent dependent on foundation support, and that support is declining.” Tolstoy’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sustainability
4 sites to help make your Drupal dreams come true
As our team continues to work on revamping the Chicago Reporter’s website, we have encountered several Drupal-related questions along the way. Those issues have ranged from the basic structure of a Drupal site to more specific concerns, such as how to create an event calendar in the CMS or how views, blocks and nodes can work together. Luckily our Drupal consultant foresaw this potentially treacherous phase in our site building process and recommended a few websites that we might visit if we run into roadblocks. Sites like the four below gave us a much clearer picture of how Drupal works and what it will take to accomplish our web development goals. Drupal should be your first stop if you have questions about how to build your site. Drupal has an excellent section … Read entire article »
Filed under: Web development